Eternal Thief

The Royal Lands of the Azure Wind Continued were famous for faint azure wind drifting there all year long. No one knows where this wind came from, but it wasn't harmful. On the contrary, it was rich in the wind element.

Five Ancient Sects were rulers of the Royal Lands, and the territories were divided into the east; the Soul Flame Sect, west; the Beast Tamer Sect, south; the Dark Nightmare Sect, north; the Yin Flower Sect and in the center was the Azure Wind Mountain Sect.

Each sect handles its own territories without interfering with each other's business. These territories were filled with low-level sects of humans, which were directly under the Ancient Sects' jurisdiction.

Normally the Ancient Sects were aloof and seldom interfered with these low-level sects' business, and they recruited disciples every three years from all over the royal lands. This was the only time when the entire royal lands were stirred.

However, for the past few years, the peaceful environment of the royal lands had completely vanished when a sudden announcement was made about mass recruitment in the five ancient sects, which would be held every month without any ending period!

How could those small sects miss such a chance to have their sect disciples join the ranks of an ancient sect? Especially those arrogant and ambitious youths who didn't think of themselves any less than those geniuses of the Ancient Sects.

This made the entire royal lands lively, but another piece of news started to spread just three months ago. It was the news of a thief who betrayed humanity and was the enemy of all living beings, and all races were going to collaborate to get rid of him.

Furthermore, that thief might appear in the azure wind continent to save his kin, who was captured by the Grand Elder of Azure Wind Mountain Sect himself.

No one knows who spread this news or if it was true or not, but it instantly spread like wildfire and became a very popular topic among the masses.

However, when a demon was spotted entering the five sects, followed by devils, it became quite apparent that it might not be just a piece of baseless news after all.

This was the first time for almost all humans to see the top two races of the world gathering in their continent, and many became curious about why a thief would get so much attention from those two races.

At this moment, in the territory of Dark Nightmare Sect, within a small sect city.

A person with long dreadlocks filled with dirt, as his face was hiding behind those dirty dreadlocks, this bare bonny torso was filled with all kinds of wound marks and soil, and barely covered lower extremity with a short rag. There was an empty old bronze bowl covered with dust resting beside him. He looked like a schnorrer.

He was sitting in an old dark alley that seemed quite secluded, and if not for his steady breathing, someone might consider him a dead body that was dumped there by someone.

At this moment, a small silhouette suddenly appeared in the only narrow entrance of this alley. As it walked toward the beggar, a short skinny boy with a pale complexion and big bright gray eyes around the age between ten and twelve came into view.

He was wearing rundown clothes, but they were clean, and he was holding a small loaf of bread in his hand as he walked toward the beggar with an eager look in his lively eyes.

The beggar seemed to be completely oblivious to his arrival as he didn't move, and only breathing could be there.

The boy, without hesitation, stopped a foot away from the beggar and fell onto his knees. With a serious expression, he put the loaf of bread into the empty bronze bowl, but there was a hint of reluctance in his eyes as he stole a glance at that bread.

Still, he didn't take it back despite wanting to and said in his childish voice, "Old Master, thank you for saving me the other day. I'm here to repay you, and can you please teach me how to fight?

"I also want to fight back, just like what you did with those bullies, and I didn't want to suffer again. I want to protect my mother the most, so please teach me. I won't make you teach me for free, and I'll pay you with a loaf of bread daily!"

His eyes were full of resolution as he looked at the old beggar with eagerness and worry.

If anyone heard his words, they would say he had gone crazy since he was asking a beggar to teach him how to fight instead of going to the sect that rules this city.

However, the boy knew that this beggar was not ordinary at all as just the other day, he was dragged into this barren corner of the city and was about to get robbed of his hard earn money by some street bullies. Still, he was saved by this old beggar who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and beat those bullies black and blue without getting hurt at all.

The boy was fascinated by the old beggar's moves and his hidden prowess, but he was too afraid of getting robbed and wanted to buy medicine for his ill mother, so he ran away without looking back.

However, after he thought it over the entire night, he finally decided to ask the beggar to teach him since he couldn't leave his mother alone in this place. She was his only family, and he worked very hard to support her.

Even this loaf of bread was quite a steep price for him to pay since he earned only enough to buy all those expensive medicines, and with leftovers, he bought these cheap loaves of bread and ate one loaf of bread in three portions a day while gave his mother full bread three times.

If he could, he might think of joining a sect, but he didn't have the physique or skills to join any sect. The requirement was simply too high. So, he was not delusional enough to still try.

That's why he was here to seek this beggar's help and learn some self-preserving skills, so he didn't have to avoid those bullies. He learned his lesson the other day.

The beggar's face was covered under those dirty dreadlocks as silence regained the entire alley after the boy spoke.

The boy started to become agitated when no reply was given by the beggar, and he clenched his teeth and put in another offer, "I can even let you live in my house!"

Although it was quite dangerous, he had no other choice, and he believed his eyes more, and he knew this beggar was not a bad person after he was saved by him. That's why he invited him to live in his small house.

Because it was still quite safe to have such an expert living in his home, this way, his mother would be safe, and he won't have to worry about her all day whenever he left home.

However, still, no reply was given, and the boy lost hope since he had nothing more to offer, and he didn't want to anger the beggar. He was grateful he saved him, and he was just trying his luck anyway.

So, he stood up, leaving the loaf of bread in the bronze bowl, and bowed his head, "Again, thank you for saving me." He then turned around to leave.

However, when he was at the edge of the alleyway, he heard a husky voice from behind.

"In one month, if you are able to steal everything from that gang, I'll teach you!"

The boy was startled and frowned as he thought he had heard wrong. When he turned around to ask again, the beggar had surprisingly vanished from his spot.

But the bronze bowl was still there. However, the loaf of bread has vanished from his bronze bowl, and an eye-catching golden color book has replaced it.

The boy was astonished as his attention was drawn by that book, but he quickly regained his focus and looked at the empty spot where the beggar was sitting motionlessly a moment ago.

He suddenly thought, 'Could it be he was one of those cultivators?'

His heart raced as he looked at that book in the bronze bowl. But he didn't go there and pick it up instantly out of caution. Although he was sure that the old beggar wouldn't harm him, everything involved in cultivation couldn't be ordinary.

So, he found a broken tree branch first before he approached the bronze bowl and tried to touch the bowl and the golden book with the tree branch. After nothing happened, he ground his teeth and moved his hand to pick up the book.

But when his fingertip touched the cold book cover, he instantly retracted it and looked around vigilantly. After confirming nothing had happened, a massive sigh escaped his mouth, and he finally picked the book up.

With ecstasy, he looked at the golden book and saw a few silver words on the book cover.

'Achromatic Theft Cultivation Art (Nine Soul Gates Manual)!'