Eternal Thief

Within the other prison cell, an old giant was nailed on the wall with the Soul Torturing Nails, but his condition and injuries were even more ghastly than Connor's, and he seemed to be dead without any movement or life force. If it weren't for faint soul fluctuations emitting from the nails, Ace would've presumed him dead. Still, he wasn't far from it.

This dying giant was once the strongest cultivator of the Sky Heart Plains and a man who was only a step away from ascension, Principal Zack!

Zack's current state is the result of his own recklessness. When he heard the news of Evie's death, he lost his will to move forward. He was already too old, and at the end of his lifespan, he knew the chances of succeeding in ascension were lower than 10% because of the heavenly tribulation.

He wanted to leave behind a worthy successor who could continue his legacy. He didn't have any descendants or people that he cared about, so maybe that's why he treated Evie like his own daughter and couldn't accept the news of her death.

In the end, he decided to cut off his path of progress forever and duke it out with the imperial family once and for all. But he had been very reckless, for despite knowing that a powerful formation was protecting the imperial palace, he still barged in with Connor and wreaked havoc.

But even with the powerful formation protecting the palace, Zack almost destroyed the entire imperial palace that day. If not for the desperate suicidal attacks from the imperial family's most powerful ancestors, Ancestor Monserrat, and Ancestor Greysen, no one would've been able to stop Zack.

Still, Zack made the imperial family pay a bloody price, but he was captured because of a strange secret soul skill Ancestor Monserrat used. In the end, both of these powerful beings died, and they still failed to kill Zack.

Afterward, Antonio and Jenna decided not to kill Zack but to keep him alive so they could torture his secret cultivation method. But they had underestimated the old giant's tenacity as he didn't even say a word to them and endure the ghastly torture.

Ace didn't know Zack, but since Zack also did all this for Eva, he wasn't going to leave him here to die. He knew Eva also secretly cared about Zack since he treated her very kindly.

So, he didn't say anything and used the Dismantle Qi to break the soul-torturing nails as he did with Connor. Zack didn't react much as he fell down on the floor, and Connor quickly moved forward to support him.

"Principal Zack! Can you hear me? Look what they did to you. Those bastards deserve to die!" Connor cursed furiously before he looked at Ace for his help.

Ace didn't delay and used the Life Jade of New Dawn on Zack. Zack was far stronger than Connor, and his wounds were worse, so it took the rest of the Life Jade of New Dawn to stabilize his condition. There were still some injuries left, but he was now out of danger, and his meridians were most healed.

So, as long as he takes high-grade medicines, he'll recover quickly to his peak state.

"Principal, are you alright?" Connor sighed in relief and tried to wake Zack.

At this moment, Zack's eyes snapped open with bewilderment. When he saw Connor supporting him and an unfamiliar young man standing there, he muttered, "Is this some kind of illusion?"

"Sigh… I'm glad that you are okay, Principal." Connor smiled in relief, "And this isn't an illusion; my disciple saved us both."

"Your disciple?" Zack was even more baffled as he looked at Ace, who had Leroy's face. He really thought that this was all but a new trick of the imperial family.

"You should've made it at least somewhat believable, just kill me I have nothing to give you, as a loser I can accept my defeat!" He suddenly sneered coldly.

Connor was speechless. He didn't know whether to cry or laugh. This entire thing was too hard to believe, especially for Zack. Connor knew Ace beforehand, so he quickly accepted it.

But Zack's perspective was too high, and he had never met with Ace, so he naturally did not believe that a 'disciple' could rescue them from the most guarded prison of the Sky Heart Plains, not to mention heal them from their wounds and recover their meridians.

"If you don't believe me, you should be able to believe your disciple, right?" Ace stated at this moment with a mysterious smile.

Zack's eyes emitted killing intent when Evie was mentioned, as he thought these guys were ridiculing him by spreading salt to his wounds.

"Principal, he's not what you think he is. Give him a chance to explain." Connor quickly tried to smooth things over when he felt Zack's anger rising and glared at Ace meaningfully.

"It seems you are already deep into this illusion." Zack didn't believe Connor at all and looked at him with pity.

"Look, I know it's too hard to believe, and you don't know me. But the truth is you don't even know your disciple. If you want to know more, then you should hear it from her. I just hope you listen to her with an open mind…"

Ace didn't waste more time explaining to Zack because he knew Eva would want to explain on her own rather than let him explain and have Zack develop resentment toward her.

Connor didn't understand what Ace was talking about, and he thought Ace was now going to take them out, but to his surprise, Ace came over to Zack, who watched the former with an unafraid raging glare. He really didn't believe a word that Ace just said and still thinks that this was an illusion.

But the next moment, Zack's eyes widened because he thought his entire body was suddenly being pulled into a vortex, and he was too weak to resist. He knew this kind of feeling since he had used teleportation many times before, but it was slightly different from teleportation.

However, this wasn't the important part because right after his vision became clear, he was shocked when he appeared in a brightly lit room, sitting on a comfortable chair, and a table was in front of him.

But he didn't even look at other things. His widened eyes were affixed on the woman sitting on the other side of the table, who looked at Zack's beggar-like appearance with a guilty look.

Zack's shocked expression was replaced with utter fury as he roared, "You really think by using Evie's illusion you can fool me!? I never thought the clan has fallen to such depths!"

Eva, who had taken Evie's face, smiled wryly as Ace had already given her the heads-up so she didn't waste her time explaining to Zack and took out a violet-gold color jade scroll from her storage ring and placed it on the table.

When Zack saw this violet-gold jade scroll, his fury vanished like a smock, and all that remained was utter shock and disbelief as he looked at the jade scroll and Evie.

"You can see if it's the Invisible Panorama Art or not. I'm the only one you have ever given this cultivation art jade scroll to, and without it, no one can learn it. So, I'm sure the teacher will be able to tell if this is an illusion or reality." Eva ruefully stated, trying her best to keep her calm and cool.

Zack didn't want to believe it, but deep down, he suddenly hoped that it was all real. With a trembling hand, he picked up the jade scroll, and by just a touch, he could tell it was extremely familiar. After all, this jade scroll had been with him almost his whole life.

Using the little amount of Qi he had in him, he probed the jade scroll, and information appeared in his mind: "Invisible Panorama Art of Invisible Nature Alliance!"

Zack almost dropped the jade scroll when he confirmed that all the information was accurate and that he wasn't hallucinating and again looked at Evie. But this time, his rageful eyes were filled with warmth and confusion. He no longer understood what was happening, but he was now ready to listen.

Eva smiled wryly and said, "I better start by telling you who I really am, but I'd like to apologize to you first since I can't tell you too much related to my husband…!"