Eternal Thief

The inner part of the Devil Mountain of Trinity Alliance Mountains was hollowed, and the Qi density in this place was over a hundred times denser than the outside. Thereby, it turned into a crystal white lake, and the air was filled with misty Qi. 

In the center of this Qi lake was a black platform filled with runic symbols, and at this moment, Edward was sitting cross-legged while in front of him were three kneeling devils from Blood, Dark, and Vile Devil Clans. 

These three were the strongest devils in the All Devil City, known as the three Devil Lords, and their prowess was only slightly less than Edward himself. 

"It's good to see you, Ancestor!" The 2'1-meter-tall middle-aged devil with a devilishly handsome face and his eyes were just like Edward's, crimson eyeballs with white irises and black pupils and a pair of crimson horns, and he was dressed like a gentleman in black. He was the Blood Devil Lord of the Blood Devil Clan and first Lord of the All Devil City and also the 5th former Clan Leader of the Blood Devil Clan, Talon! 

Edward smiled in content seeing Talon and nodded in acknowledgment, "I reckon it's been a thousand years since I last saw you? You've almost caught up to me." 

Talon respectfully lowered his head and said with a faint, proud smile, "It's all thanks to Ancestor's blessings." 

"Not need to be humble. You are my flesh and blood, and I expect nothing less from you, and I hope after me, you will be the second Law Comprehension Realm expert of our race." Edward chuckled. 

The eyes of the three devil lords shone at this moment as they looked at Edward in disbelief. 

The black-skinned devil with bat-shaped gray wings quickly asked with anticipation, "D-does this mean Ancestor found the method to break through in the Law Comprehension Realm?" 

Edward smiled smugly, "Of course, or why do you think we all came here in the first place? Only the Trinity Alliance mountains are good enough to help us break through in the Law Comprehension Realm sufficiently and effectively with minimum risks. 

"Furthermore, the world outside had gone under a massive change. In a few days, someone will come from the outside world and provide you with everything you need to know and the arrangements we've made. 

"We need to break through in the final realm as quickly as possible, so we'll be close this entire place, and I want you to forbid any entries. If someone dared to go against it, kill them without mercy. 

"Once I've succeeded, I'll hand over the method so you all can break through next. Now, go and wait for my return as the Law Comprehension Realm Cultivator!" Edward arrogantly proclaimed with oppressive might. 

The three devil lords instantly bowed down in reverence and ecstasy, "Congratulation, Ancestor! We'll obey your command. May the Devil God be with you!" 

The next moment, the three of them vanished like ghosts. 

Edward appeared quite pleased with their performance, and after making sure all of them were gone, he took out a ghostly Black Scepter. The top of the scepter was made with a devilish black skull, and between the skull's fangs was clinched a pitch-black orb. It was the Ghostly Devil Scepter. 

Edward then stabbed the Ghostly Devil Scepter right in front of him, and the next moment, the dark orb on the Scepter shone, releasing a gloomy darkness, and the symbols on the platform lightened up. 

Thereby, the white lake suddenly started to turn inky while the mist became black as the entire space was slowly devoured by darkness. 

"I'll take the world this time!" Edward's murderous words rang in the darkness before deadly silence enveloped the space, and no one could see what was going on anymore. 

--- 

After Ace and Winter got all the information they needed, Ace ordered a temporary retreat from the residence of the Blood Devil Lord, and he made Winter forfeit her faceless possession, which met with stern criticism from Winter. Because there was a cooldown period, but Ace didn't care. 

Thereafter, they both entered the only marketplace in the city and decided to steal both a small alchemy shop and the owner's identity without a second thought. Thereby, Ace becomes the owner of a Vile Devil with a bald head and strange ghastly marking on his dark gray body, while Winter becomes the shop attendant, a Ghost Devil woman with an expression of a ghost face. 

After closing the shop, Ace finally revealed to sulking Winter what he was planning, "I want you to increase your thief house rank. Steal anything you can in this city from anyone and anywhere. You have my full permission." 

Winter's eyes winded in disbelief as if she just heard something absurd, "Are you serious? Do you want those ancestors to go after me? So now I'm bait for you?" She angrily glared at him. 

Ace shook his head, "No, you're overthinking. First, I don't think those three will be coming after you because they are planning to break through in the Law Comprehension Realm, and do you think they can afford to pay attention to a thief? 

"Furthermore, I don't think the guys in charge of the city will even bother to report it since it will just show how incompetent they are, and I think their ancestors don't want to be disturbed by them either. So, there are even fewer chances that they will come out to deal with a thief, which would waste their precious time. 

"Second, you are lagging behind too much from the other two, and at this pace, they will be Veteran Members in two or three years while you will remain an excellent member. So, this is a perfect opportunity for you to catch up or even surpass them. 

"Don't you know the house shop will be updated once you reach the Veteran Member Rank? Do you really want to get behind them?" Ace's words were like the devil's whisper to Winter as her expression grew graver the more Ace's words made sense. 

Ace could feel Winter was being tempted and quickly said, "Besides, you are more than capable of even avoiding the devil lords, and I'm pretty sure they won't bother to chase after a thief since it's beneath them. Don't forget these people are cut off from the outside world, so they don't know about us yet. 

"So, before they know and become alert, I want you to steal everything you can from the All Devil City, Mighty Demon City, and Blood City. There is no need to go after high-profile targets. Just focus on increasing your thievery count, and this way, you'll also earn more house points." 

Winter's eyes shone when she heard about house points, and she finally agreed to Ace's plan, "Alright, you made so much damn sense. But what about you? Do you want to go after the ancestors alone while I divert others' attention?" 

Ace shook his head and mysteriously smiled, "No, it's too soon. I'll give them some time so they can fully absorb into their cultivation while, in the meantime, I'll focus on increasing my own prowess." 

His eyes went ruthless, "Once I stole from either Devil or Blood Ancestor, the other one will be instantly alerted while the other one will be after me. So, I'm going to prepare for the disaster before I start it!"