Over a hundred miles away, Ace was hiding while observing the fate map or, accurately, Jake's bright golden fate point.
Ace had been observing for a day now, and he found that more people were gathering in the Vindictive Ridged Valley, which made him even more sure that something in this place was also valuable to him, so he stuck around.
However, he checked the fate map for even two hours while he continued to refine his control of his force because he felt this might somehow affect his heavenly punishment.
Another day passed, and Ace opened the fate map to see any movement, but everything was the same as the people from the Runic Alchemy City still seemed to be waiting for something.
He habitually looked at Jake's fate point, but his eyes suddenly went wide in astonishment because today there was another fate point besides Jake. It was a black fate point, but the reason behind Ace's shock was there was another color ring around this fate.
'A Bright Amber Fate Point!' Ace's eyes were locked on this fate point because it was his first time seeing a bright amber fate point, which was only below the Glittering Amber Fate Point, which represented the highest fortuitous opportunity Ace could have!
"Moira, is this really a Bright Amber Fate Point?" Ace still asked Moira for confirmation.
"Yes. Sir Ace, this person has something extremely useful to you or knows how to lead you to it. Furthermore, any amber color represents opportunities that represent something life-changing that directly affects your fate! So, I would like to suggest not to miss it since it might never come again!" Moira solemnly advised.
Ace's expression also turned solemn. After all, he knew about the path of death he was on, and the ETFC had never been wrong before, so he took Moira's words seriously.
'This fate point can change my life or lead me to something that could… just who is it and why it appeared in this place with another bright golden fate point. Could it be my luck has turned for the better, or is it because of the Lucky Thief?' Ace couldn't help but think about the description of the Lucky Thief and its role in the Thief House.
After all, he only came out to look for a place for a breakthrough, but now he stumbled upon not only a golden fate point but also an amber fate point!
'But this fate point is also black, which means, at least, an ascension guardian or, even worse, an Ascension Lord. I can't mark it with my current leave nor follow it without getting caught in its law sense.
'Even if I become an ascension grand general, I still might not be able to mark it. The only way might be to reach the next realm in Universal Ascension Black Physique. But I haven't even started refining weapons yet, and it'll take at least a few months if I start now…' Ace became flustered when he thought about his current situation.
Although he didn't want to lose this opportunity, he knew about his capabilities. In the end, he decided to continue to observe from a distance. He wanted to see what these two fate points were doing together and who they were.
As long as he knew their identities, he could always look for them in the future. Right now, all he knew was these fate points belonged to the Runic Alchemy City or at least had some relationship with it. They might even be from the Runic King Crown Palace.
Ace then closely looked at the other fate points surrounding their camp, and his eyes locked on one peculiar fate point, which was light red, which means it was probably an ascension master and the weakest among all the other fate points.
'Should I try subduing it and take its place? But if I miss it, it'll cause a huge commotion, especially with three black fate points present in this camp. I might not even escape them unless I use soul body sweep…' Ace was in a dilemma as he felt a sense of urgency.
"You look quite pathetic…" At this moment, a snarky voice suddenly rang in Ace's mind, startled him.
But Ace's expression instantly lightened up, "Master Malservus, you awake?"
"Yeah, but I wish I hadn't; at least then, I don't have to see you so pathetic!" Malservus scoffed, clearly unhappy about something.
Ace's expression darkened slightly as he retorted, "Do you even know what you're talking about?"
"Well, I don't need to know, but I can tell by the chaos in your heart that you are not in the right mind. I wonder what happened when I was sleeping. Don't tell me that little cat broke your heart?" Malservus inquired teasingly.
Ace was shocked when he heard 'chaos in his heart' and instantly became vigilant, "Can you please explain what this means?"
"Well, it's simple, a cultivation heart is the very foundation of a cultivator, it represents their mindset and react to it. If your mind is strong and clear, and you have absolute belief in yourself and your cultivation path, your heart will never waver, and you'll never face bottlenecks.
"But at the same time, if you have doubts, misgivings, wavering convictions about yourself, your cultivation heart will waver, and you'll face a bottleneck. Now, this bottleneck wouldn't just appear in your cultivation progress.
"Bottleneck has many types, like your comprehension abilities will decrease with time; your judgment will become cloudy and rash, and your law will become stagnant. This will lead to the birth of the Three Evils of the Heart, starting with the chaos in the heart, like what you're experiencing.
"However, you are a special case; despite the chaos in your heart, I can't sense any signs of Three Evils of Heart manifesting, and I can only assume it has something to do with you being a Heaven's Stealer.
"Nonetheless, if you continue , you will meet a terrible bottleneck and might never be able to progress anymore. That's why I said you are pathetic since you start doubting yourself. As my steward, this is not acceptable, so gather your shit together while you still can, or I'll be the first one to cut ties with you!" Malservus coldly stated.
After hearing this unexpected response, Ace was shocked and suddenly remembered the Three Evils of Heart that the system once told him about. He knew he couldn't manifest them because of the Dark Void, but it seemed it wasn't as simple as that.
However, what shocked him even more was the part about his mindset being affected, and the only thing he could think of was the Fate Path that was weighing down on his mind.
Although he might not show it, or he may think he didn't care much, who would not be affected after learning that they are walking towards their death, and it could come at any time?
Despite being a Heaven's Stealer, he was a human, living being, and most importantly, a cultivator with tens of thousands of years of lifespan. Lastly, the burden of Thief House members lives on his shoulders, so he is terrified of dying because everyone he loves and cares about will die with him.
That's why his mind was affected, and this could also be seen in how he left the city to break through while he wanted to hold it for a while initially. After seeing the amber fate point and learning about how it could change his life, it became even more apparent that he desperately wanted to get this opportunity.
This also made him think of taking the risk of replacing an Ascension Master without even considering there were Ascension Guardians or probably Ascension Lords there who could see through his mask's current capabilities.
Malservus's words might be harsh, but they were like a hammer striking his head as Ace realized that he had been making hast decisions and, worst of it all, he might be walking towards his death with his current state of mind and without even realizing it, letting the fate win!