Ace was also overwhelmed, he didn't expect that she could reach the same level as Rylan in instant. "I think it has something to do with that slave mask." He makes a wild guess.
"My thoughts exactly." She was agreed with Ace.
They were right!
It has happened because the scariest thing about these item slave contracts is they would never let their hosts to breakthrough into 'Qi River Realm'. The slave item on the host body would always be sucking on their Qi continuously and make it extremely difficult just to break through to a small realm much less a whole full realm.
But if somehow the host of the item manages to break through into the 'Qi River realm' the slave item would release all the 'Qi' that it stole from its host for all those years and self-destruct on its own. And the host of the slave item would turn into meat paste with the slave item itself!
Rylan wasted this precious item slave contract from a Kingdom on Eva so he could control her, but even he didn't know that this item has been sucking more than half of Eva's Qi in all these years.
That's was also the reason she was still stuck at the 2nd stage of Qi Gates Realm even after she was a half-devil.
Now the contract has been lifted so all that Qi that was stored in that mask for years was given back to Eva and she reached the peak stage of Qi Gates's realm in one step.
Furthermore, since Eva was a half-devil, she doesn't have any bottleneck in her cultivation until she reached the Qi River Realm!
Eva thought emotionally, 'I think this is the reward I get after all my years of suffering!' Now she was truly free.
Ace was still staring at Eva's charming face, he couldn't help but deem, 'Having a powerful beauty like Eva as a team member isn't a bad thing at all.'
Ace was daydreaming when Eva's focus shifted on him again, and he quickly looked away in panic and blush a little as if he was caught doing something wrong.
Eva tittered seeing Ace's silly expression and said, "You should eat first, I'm going to cultivate because of the sudden increase in my power, and I think I awoke some new memories of my devil lineage. Therefore, don't disturb me and stop peeping at me from the corner of your eye if you want to look then just look it not like I'm stopping you. After all, even I didn't see how I look now after all these years and you are the first person to see me, but from your expression, I think my face is not that bad."
Eva chortled as she teases Ace, whose face has become redder after getting caught red-handed.
Ace force himself to shift his attention on his meal from Eva's face. He was feeling a strange kind of sensation today that he was very confused about. 'Why did I act like an idiot. It's not like I didn't see this kind of beauty before.' He starts to eat again and Eva sits on the corner of the cave while muttering something. She was cultivation her devil clan cultivation technique.
After finishing his meal, he feels a lot better. He suddenly remembers something and quickly transmitted in his mind eagerly, "System I complete my 2nd mission so where are my rewards?"
He has gained more than 500 TP by coincidence and now he has completed his mission perfectly so he was expecting great rewards. Especially that job mission, he was curious about it the most.
The black mission panel appears in front of Ace's eyes.
=======
"[Staring the evaluation process]"
[Mission Panel]
[Honorable Thief's Dignity: Someone is trying to steal from a thief and this is unacceptable. Consequently, the host has to show the despicable stealer who's the real thief is! The host has to empty the whole Kelby Family Treasury! The honor of a thief is in your hand Host!]
[Status: Complete]
[Scanning Host Performance] {1.2.3…100% Complete}
[Result]
{Performance Rating: Average}
[Rewards will be 2X for the first 3 Missions]
[Second 2X Reward will be given now]
[2X Reward]
{EXP =5000}
{Soul Points (SP) = 2000}
{Thief Points (TP) = 850}]
[Rewards have been added to host status]
========
[Second Reward: Job mission has been given]
[Job Mission: Host has to do honorable thievery at a city lord's mansion of the No.1 City in the Low-Level Lands. (Lands of cities)]
[Rewards]
{Thief Panel will be unlocked}
{Shop will be updated}
{Other rewards based on Host Performance}
[Time: 5 Years.]
[Punishment on failing: System will stop working for 50 years]
==========
Ace viewed all this information and listen to the system in excitement, but when he heard his performance was only rated as Average he was dumbfounded and questioned the system in anger, "Why 'Average'!? This time I didn't even get noticed by anyone!"
=======
"[System will consider this first free question of the host.]
[System evaluates the host performance according to the Thievery Criteria set by the system.]
[No doubt, the host did an excellent job by doing his mission diligently. However, the host has forgotten to do the most important thing in both of his mission.]
[That is the host didn't leave his Honorable Thief's Name behind! A thief's honorable name is like a second life. If the other party didn't know who robbed them how could they spread your fame throughout the world?]
[If the host would've left his name on the scene, the system would evaluate host performance a level higher.]
[Secondly, the host didn't steal everything. The treasury door, its array, and the traps are all considered treasures inside the treasury. Consequently, the host cannot get any higher evaluation. Lastly, there are not all the mistakes that the host has made but the system can only tell you according to your 0-level authority. If the host wants to know more, upgrade your authority level.]"
========
The system gives Ace a long yet passionate explanation.
Ace becomes inarticulate after hearing all this nonsense, 'She wants me to leave my name so they can spread my fame? Bullshit! It's more like they will spare no effort to hunt me down! And I even have to steal that big door and that array as well now? First, I have to know how the hell I'm supposed to detach them without anyone catching me first, and even this is not enough to give me a perfect rating!?'
He nearly blew his top and swore out loud. He didn't want to bicker with the system, since he didn't know when it would take his precious question away so he endured.
Ace could only calm down after seeing all those bountiful rewards.
'Where is this No. 1 city? Well, I will find out soon enough when I reach Red-Mountain city. And what is a thief panel.' Ace's face turned grave when he thought about this job mission.
He really wanted to ask the system but he didn't want to waste his precious question. He questioned after some deliberation. "System tell me where you come from?"
"[Host has not enough authority.]"
"Then why do you choose me?" This question was in his mind for a very long time.
"[Host has not enough authority.]"
"Then why a thief of all professions?" This was another one of the most important questions that he always wanted to ask.
Ace somewhat knew for a fact that the system can cultivate him into anything, he can be an alchemist or crafter or even a rune crafter that he hears from the system that time. He even can become a powerful warrior with all these mysterious skills and especially with the Heaven Stealer Technique. But why a Thief?
He didn't expect any answer from the system about this question either, but unexpectedly system answered,
"[A thief is free and can do whatever he wants. He isn't bound by any regulations of society or he has to follow any rules of a nation. If he is strong enough he isn't even bound by the laws of heaven itself! So why become an alchemist or a crafter when you can just take those things made by them with a mere thought? Why become a warrior when you can just steal your enemy's everything and become an even worse nightmare for them? Why fight in light when you become a Sovereign in Darkness?]
[Remember well host a Thief is FREE!]"
Ace instantly fell into a trance-like state after hearing system words he didn't expect that a thief can be described in such a way it was like a barrier has been broken and his cultivation starts to advance.
After 10 hours, Ace finally come back to his senses and felt his muscles can resonate with Qi just like his skin. He could even feel his bones were also undergoing a tremendous change.
'I've entered the 3rd Gate of the Heaven's Gates realm in one night! I think it was because of experience and some kind of mysterious power in system words that made me understand the Heaven Stealer Technique more deeply. A thief is Free huh..' He remembered with a simper on his face.