Eternal Thief

The Earthen Mist Forest remains barren all the time because of the danger surrounding it. 

However, today, the outskirts of the earthen mist forest were bursting with actives. There were thousands of youngsters gathering a mile away from the Emerald Mist. 

All these fifty thousand youngsters were geniuses from all around the middle-level lands. Though 80% were from the 1st-grade land and 18% were from the 2nd-grade lands. 

The 3rd-grade lands were most pitiful, with only 2%. Everyone looked down on them and didn’t put them in their eyes at all. 

As for the reason for this gathering, it was because of the finale of Damien Royal Institute’s recruitment tests. 

The last test was already announced, and that was to survive in the outermost region of the Emerald Mist for 3 days! 

Although this area was relatively safe, whereas for all these youngsters in the Qi gates realm it was extremely dangerous. 

One had to know the Emerald Mist’s bewitching effect in the outermost area can even endanger a Qi foundation building cultivator. 

But all these youngsters needed to bear it for 3 days and there wasn’t any method to cheat either because nothing work on Emerald Mist. No treasure, no medicine, nothing!

That’s the true terror of Earthen Mist Forest was, and that’s why to this day not a single person returned alive from its depth. 

But the danger wasn’t just the Emerald Mist and beings living in there. The actual danger for these youths was the other participants! 

The seats were limited and all of them were geniuses of their regions. Everyone wanted a seat, and they all will do anything to eliminate as much competition as they can. 

This was the actual test of survival, no one will look for them for three days, and they were free to do anything and everything! That’s why the death rate was so high for these tests!

—

While all those fifty thousand youths were receiving survival instruction from their seniors. 

A black-clad person, his face was hidden behind a hood, he was leisurely sitting on a strange tree inside the Emerald Mist as if this terrifying mist didn’t have any effect on him at all! 

This person was indeed Ace, who came here this morning just before all those participants. They released the news about the last test to the public, and this greatly benefits Ace. 

He deliberately chose this day to lure everyone inside this mysterious forest and in his free time harvest some TP from all those young ones. 

Ace was very confident about the elemental orb was somewhere deep inside this forest. 

His confidence comes from this Emerald Mist because when he was traveling with Alvin, at that time Alvin wasn’t sure about Finn’s element physique. He heard about the mystery of this forest from the old beast tamer and consider it a backup plan in case of if Finn wasn’t an element physique.   

At that time, Alvin even has the old beast tamer fly over this Emerald Mist to check the bewitching effects. 

But by doing this, Ace also came in contact with the Emerald Mist and instantly felt the similarity between this Emerald Mist and the White Mist he encountered at the Moon Forest in low-level lands. He found the light orb there!

Even though the similarity was vague, but Ace only need this much to consider there was an elemental orb here and came here after he robbed the Flame City. 

Furthermore, this Emerald Mist didn’t have any kind of effect on him, just like that white mist didn’t have any kind of effect. This makes things easier for him. 

That’s why he selected to lure everyone who was after him here and let them follow him, so he can use them on luring the orb guardian away in case he found the elemental orb!

Although his plan of robbing the flame city didn’t go as he thought it would, he still got many things and understand the powers he was facing. 

He wasn’t ignorant anymore and even if he didn’t find any elemental orb, he can cripple the most powerful beings who were after him, and make his mission more feasible!

Now, he was only waiting for the test to begin and then start his little game. 

Ace suddenly opened his eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his face. He felt many soul fluctuations coming this way. 

“Oh, these familiar soul signatures. They’re some people from the Regal Kingdom and also testers.” Ace instantly remembered where he felt these soul signatures and his smile widen. 

“Thirty Empty River, Twenty River Depth, Five River Source, oh…one Flowing River Cultivator, and hundreds of Qi Foundation realm cultivators. Hehe, I should start with them, this time I’ll be able to level up my thief rank!” Ace’s heartbeat raced as he counted all those powerful cultivators. 

All these cultivators were here to protect some important youths like prince and princess of first-grade lands and other geniuses deemed important by the institute after they monitored them for last tests and investigate their life histories. 

They can’t let these seedlings die no matter what. 

As for Ace, after robbing the Leap King, he become more confident in robbing cultivators in Qi River Realm and all these people protecting those youngsters from shadow were nothing but TP in Ace’s eyes now! 

He was determined to level up his thief title this time around; he hides and cower long enough.

With a faint smile, Ace disappeared in Emerald Mist. 

All those youngsters enter the Emerald Mist, and shadowing them were those people of the institute. They will only interfere when the ‘special participants’ were about to face death, not before. 

“River Shadow 9, follow the Price of Earth Kingdom…”

“Foundation Shadow 88 Followed the Duke Brat of Scarlet Moon Kingdom, he’s very troublesome…”

“River Shadow 3 follow the nephew of Lavender Queen…” 

A person clads in completely black gave these kinds of orders to all those people hidden. He was the Shadow Leader; he appointed everyone to a special participant based on their importance. The River Shadows were Qi river cultivators and Foundation Shadows were Qi foundation building cultivators. As for the number, the lower it was, the higher the power of that person.

Every shadow received its order, and they shadow their targets. The shadow leader and number 2 and 1 river shadows followed two princes and one princess of the Royal Damien Family. 

Half a day pass and 238 participants were already dead because of internal fights between the participants. But all those dead were commoners who had big dreams and didn’t submit to big families and wanted to stay independent. 

This was the real cruelty of these lands, if those in power felt a threat from you, and you won’t submit to them either you vanished mysteriously or die in some unknown gutter. 

All these geniuses with humble backgrounds or those below 1st-grade lands were nothing but crops in the eyes of 1st-grade kingdoms’ nobles. Either they harvest them or just render them rotten so no one could eat them if they cannot.

Ace was observing these fights between weak commoners and powerful nobles, who were also protected by the people of the institute. If those protected nobles were about to die from a commoner’s hand, the other person interfere and take them away. 

This disgusted Ace and his mood fell, seeing this unfairness of the fairest institute of middle-lands. In the end, it was just a sham, and this turn Ace’s heart cold. 

‘Well, I also needed some EXP, might as well not waste it.’ A sharp glint flash past his eyes and he finally made a move after observing for half a day. 

“Why are you attacking me?! I have no enmity with you?” A short boy was panting while hatefully grimacing at a young man with a wintry smile. 

“I know, but you refused a loyalty (Slave) contract from Ruby Chamber of Commerce, and my father didn’t seem to like it very much.” The young man wore a cold smile as he coolly answered.

The short boy suddenly remembered and pursed his lips, “So you want to recruit me with force now?” 

“Nah.” The young man shook his head as a mocking smile surfaced on his face, “We only gave one chance, that’s our policy.” 

The very next moment, he slashed his long sword toward the short boy’s neck with no hint of hesitation. 

“Heh, your policy matched mine.” A sneering crisp voice sounded at this moment and the young man’s sword suddenly fell with his hand!

Everyone was flabbergasted by what just happened, even that peak Qi foundation cultivators protecting the young man didn’t see what happened.

“Ahhhhh….” The young man finally come to his sense and shrilled like a pig after he saw his bloody hand on the floor. 

The person protecting the young man also moved quickly, he could feel something wasn’t right and wanted to leave quickly and report this to the Shadow Leader! 

But alas, before he could do anything he felt a huge hammered strike inside his brain and he instantly fell on the floor, dead!