Eternal Thief

Time passed, and Ace had spent over three months in the House Leader Chamber doing nothing but forging and perfecting his technique, which he called the Universal Forger Technique. This name was apparently inspired by the Universal Ascension Black Physique because he created this technique solely to cultivate the Universal Physique!

This technique was solely based on his Heavenly Spirit Qi, and without it, no one could utilize it. This was just the technique he needed to forge Heavenly Weapons, far stronger than weapons forged with Worldly Spirit Qi.

Furthermore, Ace also created another technique called Heavenly Metal Creation on the foundation of Molten Alloy Creation. Unlike its predecessor, the Heavenly Metal Creation purely worked on Heavenly Spirit Qi, and it has massive room for growth as long as Ace’s comprehension of Creation Law increases.

Moreover, this spell success rate was over 50%, far higher than the Molten Alloy Creation. Although it also required more materials, the law comprehension of the element he wanted to create, and Heavenly Spirit Qi, Ace found it worth it since he could create any metal with the law of creation and the elemental laws.

As for his comprehension of the Law of Creation, he was already at 100% after the seal on his bloodlines had been lifted! Although he didn’t know the reason or how it was relevant, he was glad and didn’t mind small details.

Still, for now, he can only make dark and lightning-type metals because they are his innate laws, especially darkness, which he mended with his Heavenly Spirit Qi.

But for Ace, it didn’t matter since he was only learning to forge because he wanted to create dark element weapons so he could cultivate the Universal Ascension Black Physique.

Once Ace started forging, the first thing he did was forge the forging tools with his Heavenly Spirit Qi since ordinary tools would eventually crumble once they came in contact with his Heavenly Spirit Qi.

It took him ten days to create them, and he was able to create Upper Ascension Grade-2 Quasi-Spirit Forging Tools with Dark Affinity. This was also his limit in his current realm, and it was also thanks to the Jade Scroll given to him by the Sect Master, he made such progress.

Furthermore, the more Ace forge, the higher his flame control over the Demonic Black Spirit Fire, and he had to admit, this growth-type spirit fire was extremely potent and perfectly matched his needs.

Although he was new to the use of spirit fire, he learned quickly, and soon, he was a bona fide 2-Star Spirit Forger!

Not only that, but learning Spirit Forging also seemed to affect his comprehension of Spirit Rune Crafting, and soon, he was immersed in it.

Since he could forge his own weapons, he decided to forge ‘Daggers’ to use as the medium to cultivate the Universal Ascension Black Physique. It wasn’t stated what type of weapons he needed in the cultivation technique; all he needed were weapons with darkness-related affinities.

That’s why he chose daggers: They require less material and less perception than other weapons or armor.

However, Ace soon learned that he was wrong because forging Heavenly Grade weapons was even more taxing than forging normal weapons, even with the Holy Twilight Spirit Qi, and the materials’ requirement was double or even triple.

Furthermore, upon forging his first tool with the Heavenly Spirit Qi, Ace made a huge discovery: the presence of Heavenly Punishment!

The system instantly notified him that anything that reached perfection would suffer the wrath of heaven. Heavenly Grade tools or treasures were the same case. But to Ace’s relief, since he was forging in the Thief’s House, the Heavenly Punishment could find him, which made him sigh in relief, or he couldn’t imagine suffering from Heavenly Punishment every time he forged a heavenly treasure.

Nonetheless, Ace was still shocked, and he decided never to forge using the Heavenly Spirit Qi outside the thief’s house.

After this, Ace again focused on forging and started to forge the ‘Upper-Ascension Grade-1 Black Heavenly Dagger’ with a pure darkness affinity.

Ace also had another advantage: the Heaven’s Stealer Dismantler Principles. Even if he failed, he could always salvage some forging materials. Moreover, with his wealth of treasures, he has vast materials as long as he dismantles them, and that he did.

With the help of Heavenly Metal Creation, he was able to turn lower-grade materials into higher ones until they were at a sufficient level. Since newly created materials were always of dark affinity, Ace couldn’t be happier. Despite this method being extremely wasteful, he didn’t care since all those lower-grade materials were no longer useful for him.

Not only that, but in these three months, Ace’s cultivation has raised again, and he was now a 10-Star Ascension Soldier, a realm that no one in the entire Mortal Ascension Heaven can reach unless they had a primordial foundation like him.

Furthermore, Ace discovered that forging heavenly-grade treasures increases his cultivation even more than forging ordinary treasures. Before he knew it, he was already at the peak of the Ascension Soldier Realm and just a hair away from breaking through to the next realm!

It was also a novel experience for Ace because he had never breakthrough a major realm like the other cultivators before. He needed the Elemental Orbs, and the system would also initiate the breakthrough process.

But not anymore. He was now in complete control, and he could sense his cultivation increasing and the realm wall that he could cross at will, which was a very peculiar feeling.

However, despite the feeling of breakthrough, Ace didn’t try breaking through because he might be able to avoid the Heavenly Punishment as long as he was inside the Thief’s House. The moment he stepped outside, the Heavenly Punishment would instantly descend. With his previous experience with the Heavenly Punishment, he didn’t dare belittle it even if he was now a Law State cultivator because the next Heavenly Punishment would also be on the same grade, and he needed to prepare before he confronted it.

That’s why he suppressed his breakthrough and focused on creating more Black Heavenly Daggers so he could first cultivate the Universal Ascension Black Physique.

But things always don’t go as planned. Today, Ace stopped forging as he looked at the rows of crescent-shaped pitch-black daggers neatly arranged on a table and then at the newly forged dagger of the same kind in front of his runic forging table.

“Even with all those materials, I could only forge 72 Black Heavenly Daggers!?” Ace muttered in disbelief as he looked at his thief’s space and found no more materials to work with or any treasures to dismantle. He knew he wasn’t dreaming.

Unknowingly, this little venture of his had cost him all the treasures and materials he had gathered ever since he started his journey as a thief.

Ace had never expected that forging Heavenly Grade Weapons would be this costly, but when he considered that most of his treasures were only elemental states and that he needed to combine hundreds of them to create a single ascension grade one material, he wasn’t

surprised anymore.

But still, his heart ached. The Universal Ascension Black Physique was really turning out to be a money-burning technique, and he finally understood why the system said it was challenging to cultivate it.

Furthermore, he was sure only after forging the heavenly weapons that the weapons mentioned in the cultivation techniques were really heavenly weapons, not ordinary ones.

But now, he had run out of materials, and he knew he needed at least the treasury of a first- grade sect to forge the remaining daggers.

Although he still had billions of Qi stones and Soul crystals, with alchemy herbs and alchemy treasures, he knew only fools would trade them with law state materials even if he offered a higher price. So, the truth of the matter was he needed to gather those materials now!

Ace thought momentarily before his eyes shimmered with resolution, ‘It seemed I really need to ‘gather’ all those materials on my own. But first, I need to break through; I can’t delay it any longer. Let’s hope I’ll overcome my first Heavenly Punishment of Law State!’