Eternal Thief

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[System Upgrade is underway; please wait plenty!]

[Time: 00:00:08…07… 08… 07… 06… 05… 04… 03… 02… 01] =====

The moment the timer dropped to zero, Ace’s heart skipped a beat. The wait was finally over, and he couldn’t help but feel huge relief washing over him. He had been on high alert after almost falling into a dangerous situation right after his ascension, and his feeling of powerlessness was not very good.

If anything, it only made him appreciate the system and the power he was given more, and he had never thought he would miss the system’s emotionless voice so much.

Nonetheless, Ace had also started to think of ways never to let something like this happen again, which meant less reliance on the system or at least making sure his power would never vane even if something untoward happened with the system in the future. He knew it was far easier said than done, but he still had a new goal for himself.

At this moment, the interface changed, and the system’s voice rang in his head. This time, he could tell that the system voice wasn’t completely static but somewhat different, but he couldn’t put his finger on it, and his attention was instantly drawn by the notifications.

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[System Upgrade/Restart has been successfully completed!]

[First Codex of Eternal Thief System has been successfully integrated with Universal Clavis Symbolum!]

[The Eternal Thief System is online!]

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[System Upgrade Reward(s)]

-1. Authority: Level-1 < Level-2

-2. Information Level-1 < Level-2

-3. New Living Thief’s Space Upgrade Scheme! freēwēbηovel.c૦m

-4. The Beginner System Functions have been removed! -5. A New System Function has been unlocked after integrating the Universal Clavis Symbolum: Universal Key!

[Information is being transferred to the Host’s brain!] =====

The next moment, Ace felt a familiar sensation of something stabbing into his brain before a huge amount of foreign knowledge started to pour in. He closed his eyes and started to arrange the information. After a while, when Ace was done arranging and refining all the information, he opened his eyes, and there was clear shock written on his face.

Foremost, Authority Level-2 granted him higher-level control over the system. Now, the information and appraisal of the system that he needed to pay for most of the time were removed, and it became entirely free.

Meaning, as long as the information was under his authority level, he could get it free of charge and no longer had to pay for it!

It was related to the fourth notification about the ‘beginner system function,’ which has been removed. However, Ace didn’t like the other things that had been removed except for the costs of system information.

He found that with this Beginner System Function removal, the EXP and SP bars were also gone, meaning he could no longer just increase his cultivation with EXP and SP.

According to the information he just got, EXP and SP were only available to him until he went through the Elemental State, which made it easier for him to grow from a complete beginner. This was going to change many things for him.

However, he could still do without it, and his dissatisfaction didn’t last long because of the system’s new function, the Universal Key.

It turned out that the Universal Clavis Symbolum was actually the Heaven’s Secret that he stole from the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple, which the system grabbed before he could even touch it.

But he no longer had any grievance after knowing that the Universal Clavis Symbolum was integrated with the system, unlocking this ridiculous Universal Key function. This means that he can now use Heaven’s Secret without being worried about getting exposed.

The Universal Key function can unlock all the locks no matter their grades as long as Ace can pay thief points for it. This simply means that as long as he has a thief point, he can unlock anything!

That’s what excited him since this could mean he no longer needs to waste time unlocking doors! However, Ace was a little confused because, according to the memories related to the Universal Key Function, he can only use this function when he comes in contact with a lock. In a strange way, this could be considered an innate ability rather than a system function, with the only difference between the required system to use it and, of course, thief points.

At this moment, the interface suddenly changed, as if the system knew that Ace had already arranged all the new information. But what Ace heard made all the excitement vanish like smoke. ===== [Warning! Warning! Warning!]

[System detects that the Host’s bloodlines are greatly damaged and on the verge of complete depletion because of the Fiend Purgatory Curse and Devil’s Malediction of Desolation Bloodline Seal!]

[The Primordial Spirit Qi has been supporting the bloodlines from fully depleting. Hence, the host can’t use his cultivation or Primordial Spirit Qi anymore!]

[Warning (1): If host Bloodlines are completely depleted, you’ll die as a result!]

[Warning (2): If the host doesn’t take care of the damage to your bloodlines, you’ll never be able to use your cultivation again!]

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“What?!” Ace was shocked as cold sweat broke out all over his body, and a sudden chill ran down his spine.

All this time, he was thinking that he couldn’t use his Heavenly Qi because the system was upgrading but now, he knew he was thoroughly wrong. It wasn’t the system that was behind the blockade of the Heavenly Qi. Instead, it was his own freaking bloodlines that he had just barely unsealed, and he was even looking forward to finding more about them.

Yet now, after knowing the gravity of the situation, he didn’t know what to feel since those bloodlines that he had unsealed after enduring so much were on the verge of killing him.

He even started to wonder if his bloodlines were cursed after remembering what happened in that vision right after he was born. First, he was schemed against by his own family and those sages, and then he was hit by that curse, destined to die.

But then, somehow, his parents were able to save him, and he could guess that it most likely had something to do with this bloodline seal called the Devil’s Malediction, which was keeping him alive.

But how could he have known this? He had already broken the bloodline seal, and just when he thought he could get revenge on the same bloodlines those cowards feared so much, it again came back to bite him!

He was afraid that if it were not for his primordial Qi, he would’ve been dead the moment he broke that seal!

Nonetheless, Ace was extremely indignant and unwilling to accept something like this. He gravely questioned the system with hope, yet his voice was icy cold, “Did you have a way to make this right? I know you have, or you would’ve waited all this time to break this news to me.

“You could’ve warned me long ago if there wasn’t a solution to this problem. In fact, you were the one who gave me the method to break the seal. So, I know there is a method, and I might not like it, but what choice do I have?

“I’m not going to die because of some damn bloodlines that gave me nothing but misery in the past. I’ve reached this point without them, and I’m confident in continuing the same way. So, even if this solution required abandoning these damn bloodlines, I’m willing to do it!”