After leaving the River-Flower city, Ace and Eva heading in the western direction. Since all the big cities are in the west!
They were going to the Red-Mountain City that was somewhere between the western and eastern low-level lands!
Red-Mountain was also the closest 1-Star city around River-Flower City and most importantly no one from Grant or Kelby family would dare to move freely in a 1-Star city. Red-Mountain City was five days travel away from the River-Flower City.
They traveled tens of miles in the forest at full speed because they were afraid of those two families sending reinforcements after them.
Considering, Ace was almost out of Qi after all he did today, he and Eva travel for six hours before finding an empty cave to rest for the night.
After hiding their tracks and closed the cave entrance carefully. Eva lit the fire in the dark cave.
"Give me my bag I packed some rations." When Ace was doing his 'job' Eva backpacked everything she could for travel.
Ace was panting heavily while leaning against the wall of the cave, his complexion was not quite good because of overdrawing his Qi.
'I outdid myself today,' He smiles bitterly when he heard Eva's charming voice and snaps out of his thoughts. He quickly takes Eva's bag out from his thief's space.
Eva saw Ace take her bag out of thin air and again overwhelmed by it, she forgets about ashen Ace and asked like a curious child, "Now, tell me quickly! How can you do things like Rylan?"
Ace was hoping to recover a bit first but seeing her acting like a child, he swiftly recalled that she was a chatterbox, and if he didn't tell her about storage space treasures she would pester him to no end.
'Sigh' He sighed helplessly and tells her, ' "It is like this today in the meeting I saw Rylan...."
Ace tells her about what happened today while Eva listens with twinkling eyes.
After fifteen minutes Ace's story was finally finished and he didn't care about Eva who was flabbergasted and looking at him like he was some kind of monster. He starts to eat the cooked meat like a wild animal.
"YOU! You really did all this in half an hour?" She points her trembling finger at Ace while she exclaimed in shock.
Their original plan was after Ace successfully wins Gracie's trust he would make Gracie somehow spills the beans about the Grant Family's treasury. He can't scout with the system because it only worked with his mission targets.
After Ace gets the information, he would inform Eva. They have the advantage of Eva knowing about the Kelby family's hidden treasury so Ace didn't have to worry about it.
Once he confirms the position of Grant's family treasury,
Ace would act and plunder the entire Grant's treasury. He knows treasuries can't be open regularly, and if they emptied Grant's family treasury without anyone noticing it no one knows when the treasury would be open. In meantime, they would have already hit the Kelby Family's treasury and complete their task to plunder both families.
That's was their original plan but Ace has done all of this in half an hour and he even gets a legendary item like storage space treasure. How could Eva not be stunned silly?
"FO whaf? (So, what)" Ace answered smugly while eating.
"Humph! slow down or you might choke to death." She puffed after seeing Ace's pleased face.
However, Eva has to admit this twelve-year-old guy has just robbed two of the most powerful families of a 2-star city in half an hour. She secretly admires him in her heart. "Tell me how do you find out about Rylan space ring and how did he get it?"
"I don't know how he gets it but one thing is clear, he can't buy these things like space ring and all these techniques even if has the wealth. My guess is he finds this space ring on the corpse of someone from a kingdom. As for how I find out about that space ring 'Hehe' that's a trade secret." Ace grin mysteriously.
Furthermore, before Ace has some doubts about the system, but after the system gave him a storage space like Thief's Space like it was nothing and he even has the option to upgrade it. He was sure now that this system has come from outside of this world!
And he would never tell anyone about the system, not even his little sister. It's not like he didn't trust Alina it's just that he didn't want to bring her any troubles.
Because if one day someone comes looking for his secrets or the system they might have some kind of heaven-defining treasure. Hence, he decided that he would never tell anyone about it.
"Fine fine! I know you have your own secrets so, I won't ask again. Now give me the contract so I can get rid of this cursed mask." Eva was displeased seeing Ace acting all mysterious and finally give up. She just wanted to free herself from this mask now.
Ace didn't delay either and take out three thin stone slates. There were mysterious patterns engraved on them. These stone slates were item slave contracts.
Slave marks were the weakest forms of a slave contract, they were normally used on mortals and some of weaker Qi Gates realm cultivators. Slave marks can be planted on someone by taking their blood on slave contracts and if one isn't strong enough they can't resist.
But Eva's mask was a higher-level slave contract, it was an item slave contract. It was a set of one item and one contract together. She was a devil so she can't be bound by those normal slave contracts even if she was not strong.
However, Rylan has found this item slave contracts in that space ring. They were especially used on Qi Foundation Building realm or other races with special abilities. He thought that since Eva was a half-devil she will be strong in the future that's why he planted this slave item on her so he could control her in the future. If she wanted to free herself from this item slave contract she has to break through into 'Qi River Realm' a realm above Qi Foundation Building Realm!
"Which one is yours?" Ace showed her those three stone slates
Eva's eyes brighten when she saw those slave contracts. She quickly points towards one in the center on this contract was a mysterious pattern that looked like a fox, "That one! Give it to me!" Eva said excitedly.
Ace didn't say anything and give the contract to her, because he also wanted to free her since he considers her his 'first friend'.
Eva quickly grabs the contract, and then she used her full power to shatter the stone slate with the fox-like engraving. The moment the stone slate shatters the mask that tormented Eva for all these years begins to crack and shatter.
When the mask on her face was shattered Eva's face was revealed for the first time in many years. Ace saw her face and was instantly bewitched by it.
Eva had an oval face that was clear of any impurities. Her skin was creamy and tender, and unexpectedly, she was in no way inferior to little Alina!
A mature breathtaking beauty! With a charming smile on her face, she was looking at Ace with her fox-like hazel eyes, and her graceful figure starts to exude an imposing manner. Along with the power coursing in those eyes of hers, she could easily have been mistaken as an aloof otherworldly being.
Ace nearly forget to breathe after seeing Eva's charming face. Before he thought that only Alina could have this kind of face when she would mature but now seeing another beauty on the same level as Alina he was mystified.
Eva saw Ace was drooling while he was looking at her like a fool. A smile bloom on her beautiful face. But there were also tears in her eyes. 'I'm finally free from this cursed.' She thinks as she clears the tears from her eyes.
"Why are you gawking at me like an idiot? Didn't you see any beautiful girl before?" Eva teases Ace as she giggles.
Ace snapped out of his daze and quickly notice a droll on his lips and he blushed. He was having a hard time just looking away from Eva's face. 'She is really beautiful.'
Ace suddenly felt a strange feeling in his body. But before he could find out he felt Eva's power was rising rapidly and become serious.
Eva also feels her cultivation starts to increase at a rapid pace. She has only opened the second gate of Qi Gates in all these years. Now in an instant, 3rd gate was already opened, and her cultivation was still rising!
4th Gate of the Qi Gates! But it still didn't stop here.
In seconds Eva's aura skyrocket and she opened the 5th Gate!
Eva's cultivator finally stopped at the Peak of Qi Gates Realm! She was only a single step away from entering the Qi Foundation Building Realm.
"Th....this, what happened?" Eva was bewildered.