Eternal Thief

"Yes, I can give it to you, but it's not on me, you can even check my storage ring, as long as you can get me out of this place, I can hand it to you once we reached my 'abode'!" Ace quickly reacted. 

He knew this was his only chance to get out of here before that Demon Duke arrive. He did not know how would that Duke behave, but a person with a Demon Duke title won't be fooled like this low-rank subordinate. 

Furthermore, he was basically asking Shadow to betray Duke Livy and come to his side with just a mere empty promise, so he had to win over her trust, which was probably night impossible. 

But he had to try so, Ace quickly removed his Qi mark from the storage ring in Shadow's hand, he had to convince her and if this refinement technique was really important to her, she would probably believe him after examining his storage ring which was just a dummy to fool others. 

However, just as he speculated, Shadow didn't seem to believe him and quested with a hint of coldness in her voice, "You're not what you seemed!" 

She finally noticed the huge loophole in Ace's words. 'Why did a legendary body demon make a deal with a lowly subordinate like me?' 

Shadow's sharp finger suddenly moved like lightning toward Ace's forehead! 

Ace's expression turned ugly. He knew his plan of fooling this demon woman had probably been failed, and she was now testing him. Although he had grasped some situation. But he can't properly deal with it if he did not know of it at all! 

Shadow send her martial sense inside Ace's head and her eyes suddenly soften for a moment before instantly turning icy as she spoke with a hint of killing intent, "You didn't have a Demon Core, you are not Demon!" 

'What was that feeling of intimacy just now?' Shadow suppressed that feeling, which flashed when she scanned Ace with her martial sense and touched him.

However, Ace did not know about it yet.

He was panicking because he knew she was thinking of him as a demon and that's why she probably even spoke with him, but now she had found out he wasn't a demon because of this demon-core.

Demon Core was basically like a life of demons, located inside their brains. A demon can live without a heart, but not without a Demon Core! 

That's why Ace's cover was instantly blown. If Shadow didn't astonish by his powerful physique and thought he was a powerful demon who wanted Duke Livy's throne, she doesn't even consider him a demon since he didn't have horns. But there was one more reason for Shadow's actions that even Shadow didn't know about! 

Unusually, her desire momentarily blinded her, and she thought of Ace as a rare demon species. However, the moment Ace tried to win over her, she instantly senses something was amiss. So, she tested him and, in the end, he was just a paper tiger, nothing else! 

Now, Shadow was feeling quite humiliated and wanted to kill Ace because he tried to trick her and nearly succeeded and if Demon Duke Livy or Warden Cane found out about it, she would be dead! 

<br/>Ace's heart sank as cold sweat beaded on his forehead when he felt Shadow's killing intent and her aura rising. He knew he had to quickly act, or she would probably kill him just to hide her humiliation and blunder.

"Wait, wait!" Ace quickly surrendered and said, "I was wrong. I'm a human, not a demon. I should've told you about it sooner, but listen to me. Likewise, I can really help you get that refinement technique!" 

Shadow's eyes turned even more icy as she sneered with full of disdain, "Hmph… Human?! Those inferior ants? What gave you the courage to even speak in front of the Demon Race!" 

Ace's heart turn cold when he felt the arrogance that come from Shadow's words, and he was somewhat shocked seeing this kind of disdain for humans in this demon woman. He was, after all, a human, and he felt a little anger rising when he saw the contempt in her eyes, but he didn't lose his reason and argument. 

"I know, but look, don't you find it strange? How did I get here, even after being an ant? I can really help you with that technique because I'm very special!" 

Ace again try to talk reason with her, he knew she had an intense desire for that refinement technique and if he could just arouse it again, he'll be able to negotiate with her.

Shadow's eyes instantly narrowed when she finally thinks about it because Ace was telling the truth. She heard of humanity. It was weak and too far away from the Mighty Demon Continent. 

Just reaching this continent was almost impossible for a human, much less enter this deep in Mighty Demon Continent that even a Devil won't be able to achieve. 

Ace noticed the slightest change in Shadow's soul and quickly continued, "Look, I know you don't trust me, but you just enslave me and then question me." 

He played his most crucial card, Enslavement, which was meaningless to him. He just needed to win her trust! 

Shadow's eyes finally lit with ambiguity as she coldly questioned, "Why did you want to deal with me when you can just get the same treatment if you prove your worth to Demon Duke Livy?" 

She had to admit Ace was really a rare case and if he was really telling the truth, then he can easily make a deal with Demon Duke Livy since he would be interested in Ace's 'unique' skills as well. 

Ace quickly retorted, "But he won't appreciate my skills like you, right? By your words, I can tell that demon duke can probably get this refinement technique on his own. Why did he take risks with me? 

"You, on the other hand, are just like me, just a discardable pawn of their races. I prefer to work with you, who can feel exactly how I feel before I change my destiny and become free!" 

His voice was filled with undying passion and 'hate' for his race, as his eyes showed a burning desire for 'freedom'. 

  Shadow's cold eyes finally showed a hint of emotion as she heard Ace's 'revolutionary' words. But she still can't put her future in this weak ant's words. 

"If you can show me something which proves your uniqueness, I don't mind making you my slave!" 

Shadow finally decided, if Ace was really as unique as he was babbling about, she didn't mind enslaving him and escaping with him from here. What gave her some confidence was Ace's unnatural body, which was impossible to achieve with his human race.

Besides, it was just what Ace said; she can never get those refinement techniques in her life, but Duke Livy can, and that's what made her take the risk. But if Ace's words were just empty, she will immediately silent him here and now and make a story that he was melted in that red liquid. 

She would only receive some minor punishment but for a weak creature who can melt in his red liquid without even resisting for a few moments, no one would blame her, and they would probably think Ace was just lucky to enter this place nothing more nothing less. 

Ace knew it was his last chance to prove his point. He gritted his teeth and a soul thread intently shot toward Shadow's hand. She noticed nothing, as she wasn't using her martial sense anymore after finding out Ace was just an ant. 

The very next moment, Shadow's eyes intently shimmer with astonishment, because Ace's storage ring in her hand instantly vanished and somehow appeared in Ace's hand without even startling her martial sense. 

"A space skill?!" Shadow's voice was filled with shock, but there was the slightest hint of elation in it. 

Because space skills were the rarest skills in this world, and only people with Space Element could truly comprehend them completely. But the space element was too much, rare even in the demon race.

Ace's skill was even more shocking because she didn't even feel the space element when he used it.

Ace, on the other hand, was feeling like his head would explode at any second because it intensified his pain the moment he used his soul thread. He knew this will only make things worse, but he had to do it, or he would be in deeper trouble once that demon duke came. 

He preferred Shadow because he could still fool her, but those high-ranking demons will probably kill him if they found out about his abilities!

Shadow at least won't act until he got her a refinement technique, and he only needed this time to heal his soul and escape Shadow's grasps. 

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[Warning: Please Refrain from using soul Qi!]

[Temporary healing effect cooldown: 489:27:58]

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