Eternal Thief

The next day,

Ace opened his eyes from his slumber and he felt all his fatigue was completely gone. After taking a warm bath, he left his room.

He was planning to go on a stroll to see the outer blade domain's liveness and some scouting. He didn't take anyone with him because he didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to himself.

However, unbeknownst to him, there were three pairs of eyes monitoring him very closely from shadows. These demons were completely mixed with a large crowd of demons.

But how could Ace didn't notice them with his newly fortify soul sense? They were tailing him for a while and with his soul signature, he could easily tell something was amiss with these three soul signatures constantly moving around him.

'Could they be set up by the Demon King to keep an eye on me?' Ace mused as he pretended he noticed nothing.

'They're all second-level iron river core cultivators and keeping a distance of at least fifty meters from me. But they're moving separately. Could it be three different powers are monitoring me? It's not impossible, since there are four more powerful clans of Blade Demon Tribe, slightly weaker than Blade Demon Clan.' Ace mused as nonchalantly move within the crowd.

Those three had no idea that Ace had already detected them, so they continue to follow him around.

Since they didn't have any malicious intentions, Ace let them do as they pleased. He also wanted to clear any doubts about him and the ocean demon tribe incident. This would be a perfect chance to free himself from any suspicion.

It was only natural if someone were to suspect Feng of being in the cohort with the thief since he had the biggest grudge with the ocean demon tribe.

Ace was skimming through various shops with great interest when suddenly, a skinny demon bump into him and got knocked back because of his sturdy body.

"Watch where are going!" Feng coolly said and moved on without even giving a second glance at the skinny demon, who seemed to be apologizing.

However, Ace's eyes shimmered ambiguously at this moment.

Soon, he found the Life Wine Pavilion, which was an ancient structure building with thirty floors.

Ace coolly entered the building and, after showing his demon earl token, he got a private room on the fifteenth floor.

After making sure he was alone and no one was monitoring him, nor there were any arrays or formations.

Ace suddenly put his hand in his robe's pocket and took out a folded white paper.

This paper was slipped into his pocket by that skinny demon who bump into him, and it was not an accident.

Ace instantly notice this, but he didn't react and that demon slip this note into his pocket. It was very clear that whoever sent this note wanted it to be a secret, and they also knew he was being followed, and they want something from him.

He frowned slightly; he knew no one in this place, nor did he want to tangle with troublesome people or offend anyone who might get in his way. That was why he let this incident slide.

Ace had no intention of doing whatever was written in his note, but it won't hurt to see the content of it.

However, when he started reading the note, his expression abruptly changed. It read,

[Dear Mr. Feng, I know who you are, and I mean no harm. I just wanted to have a chat with you. If you agree, then just left the window of your room open tonight. If you didn't, I'll consider this as a no. Oh, by the way, I admire your 'Element Sword Intent'!]

Ace's eyes dilated as his heart trembled when he saw the last words 'Element Sword Intent' and his expression was icy at this moment.

'They know about my element sword intent?! But how could it be possible I never used it in public and only used it once accidentally? How could someone find out about this? This also means they're not bluffing about knowing my real identity. Just where did I slip?!'

Ace grimaced at just the thought of it. He knew if news of his real identity was exposed, it would be a huge calamity and many will know about his abilities. Right now, the others only know he can change his face, but they didn't know he can also use sword intent or even bypass loyalty contracts of the royal demon council.

It would be a tremendous headache if they started to suspect everyone, and this might blow up his cover.

'Just who the fuck is this guy and how did he know about my ability and even guess my identity so accurately!?!' Ace's heart turned cold.

But he knew since the other party approached him and didn't reveal his identity, this mean they wanted something from him or want him to do something for them.

Ace's expression was extremely frosty. It was his first time falling into such a position, and he didn't even make any mistakes or left any loophole for anyone to exploit.

But somehow someone found out about his element sword intent and then connected him to sword genius Feng. After thinking about it for some time, he smiled bitterly because he was too oblivious.

If it was him, and he had known about the element sword intent, even he would suspect Feng because the thievery happened soon after when Feng got his status as demon earl and no one would've suspected him.

But he didn't know how can they could be so sure that he was the thief, and that the incident was not just a coincidence. There was something he didn't know again, and this put him in an extremely disadvantageous position.

'Could they know about Noa as well?' A faint killing intent surfaced in his eyes. 'No, if they have her, they might use her to directly as leverage and threaten me. But I can't throw this possibility to the side either. I have to make sure they didn't have her.'

Ace quickly opened the house panel and wrote a mission.

Although he can't contact her directly, this mission system was a good way to communicate, even if it was vague. But it still worked for him as long as he knew she was safe.

<strong>====</strong>

<strong>[Thief House Leader Mission Creation]</strong>

<strong>Mission: Are you safe?</strong>

<strong>Requirement: If you're safe, then circulate your cultivation art and use your movement technique once.</strong>

<strong>Reward: 10 House Points</strong>

<strong>Time: 30 minutes</strong>

<strong>Punishment: None  </strong>

<strong>====</strong>

<strong>[Are you sure you want to issue this mission to Old Member Noa Night?]</strong>

<strong>[Sent/Edit Again]</strong>

<strong>====</strong>

Ace sent it without any hesitation and wait with an anxious expression on his face.

However, he didn't have to wait much because within five minutes the system voice rang again.

<strong>====</strong>

<strong>[Thief House]</strong>

<strong>-The system had deemed the house leader's mission complete!</strong>

<strong>-Did the house leader want to release the rewards of the mission?  </strong>

<strong>[Release/Delay]</strong>

<strong>====</strong>

Ace had a massive sigh of relief as he released the reward.

He didn't know if Noa were to be taken as a hostage, what would've he done? But he was glad that things won't turn to worst and Noa was still safe and sound.

However, the fact remained that someone was aware of his identity and wanted to talk with him.

If he wanted, he could easily escape right now and gain a new face and plan something else, but he was afraid the other party would release the news and make things difficult for him even more. Furthermore, Feng's identity was too good for him to just discard right at this moment.

'Since they didn't invite me to any other places, this means they are also wary of people monitoring me and wanted to meet in my room where I can easily get rid of them if I don't like what they said. But this person might not be such a fool since he dared to purpose this meeting. He might be extremely confident coming out if unscratched. Let me see just who you are!'

In the end, Ace decided to meet this mysterious person and see what he wanted from him before deciding what to do next.

It's not like they can stop him if he wanted to leave. Now only a demon king can find him, not any random tom, dick, or harry.

Ace quickly left the Life Wine Pavilion, he wasn't in the mood to drink anymore and returned with a vexed expression on his face.

On his way back, he encountered ocean demon youths as they stare daggers at him with hostile gazes, and he completely ignored them.

He also bumped into Thomas and Milly, who quickly invited him for sight seen, but he refused, saying he wasn't feeling well and left the couple alone, which made Milly smile.

As for his two maids, he also told them not to go outside, for now, and just cultivate.

Ace patiently waited for the night as he was calmly gazing at the opened window…