Blessing in disguise

"Charlotte, stay here and wait for me. I'll scout ahead to see what's going on." Ace told Charlotte who was behind him as he made his way towards the direction of the voice.

*Swoosh*

"I'm coming with you." Charlotte's voice came from behind as she took out her glacier sword and infused her sword intent into it.

Nodding his head, Ace whispered for her to be careful as he took out his black longsword from the spatial ring.

As they approached, they realised that it was actually taking place within the dimly lit cave.

"Follow closely behind me, don't make a single sound."

Charlotte nodded her head as she followed closely behind as instructed.

On the floor, there were countless bodies of the dead. Each drenched in blood as their blood flowed towards a gigantic array glowing brightly. The scarlet way devouring the blood of humans and right now, only a few hundred men are left here. The rest either died or contained somewhere else.

These people, they all deserve to die. The being behind this scarlet array, I'll make sure to destroy it for eternity. Ace vowed within his heart as he took out an energy pistol with a full magazine which Arith had improved on slightly and made for him.

This pistol was a customised lethal weapon capable of killing anyone in the Martial Master realm. To improve its firing power, Arith had made use of countless rare materials just to forge it.

It may seem like a waste, but to someone like Arith, knowing that his skills had improved was more than enough. Materials were nothing to him as long as he managed to forge the desired product regardless of its end value.

"Boss, how many human males do this female ghost want this time?"

One of the lackeys asked, his body shuddering from fear just by mentioning the female ghost which was probably the true mastermind behind all this.

"She doesn't want numbers this time, she wants someone whose cultivation is above the Martial Master realm in one month, or she would have to make do with me."

The boss was a man with a deep scar on the side of his face. His body was muscular and drenched in blood which flowed from his arm, connecting to the axe which then dyed the ground red.

"But...boss, even though your cultivation is there, it's just too difficult to bring back someone alive without that person losing any blood at all!"

Aiming his pistol, Ace aimed straight for the heart of both of them.

*Swoosh*

*Swoosh*

"What...just happened?"

Those were the last words from both of them as their body fell onto the bloody ground.

"Ace, was there a need to kill them instantly?" Charlotte asked with wrinkled brows as she swept their spatial rings over with a cold gust.

"Why? You feel pitiful for them?" Ace teased as he walked towards the passageway which they most likely came from.

"No, we could have gathered information from them," Charlotte said seriously as killing intent flashed in her eyes.

"By the way, are there any items of value besides the spirit stones?" Ace asked Charlotte who was checking the contents of the spatial rings and the next moment, Charlotte was holding a book in her hand.

Middle Earth grade martial skill: Heavy cleaver

"Not bad, this can be added into the Martial pavilion." Ace nodded his head and kept it with him for now as Charlotte took out a second item.

It was a totem that was red in colour and before Ace could fully study its appearance, wailing sounds came from behind him and Charlotte.

"Ahh!" Charlotte panicked as she hugged Ace from behind.

The sudden softness coming from behind surprised Ace, but the moment he turned around, he dashed away without any hesitation.

Damn it! This must be the female ghost that was manipulating the bandits. Ace cursed, but still didn't make a move.

In the end, he still didn't possess much combat strength since he wasn't a Martial Apprentice which made this battle hopeless in the first place.

The second problem is that this female ghost was able to make someone above the Martial Master realm afraid of it.

"System, are you able to detect the true identity of this ghost?"

"62 system points have been deducted!"

Vengeful soul: Dead, desires resurrection to acquire revenge

"Ding! New system mission has been issued!"

Detail: The vengeful soul would be able to revive with a strong enough blood essence

Choice 1: Spend 500 system points to resurrect it, comes back alive at full cultivation base

Choice 2: Spend 300 system points to eliminate it.

Choice 3: Attempt to escape

Should I resurrect it? Even though it was a dangerous plan, succeeding meant that he would have found a guardian that can defend his sect in the long run against external attacks.

"System, what's the purpose of keeping it alive?"

"That's for the host to find out, if you die from overestimating your own abilities, please do not link it to the system." The robotic voice message shut him down heartlessly.

"Charlotte, I need you to leave this place now."

Before Charlotte could even react, Ace was already prepared beforehand.

"50 system points have been deducted! Six-hour drowsiness talisman has been purchased!"

"50 system points have been deducted! Short distance teleportation talisman has been purchased!"

Forgive me Charlotte, but I'm unable to put you through this danger with me.

"600 system points have been deducted! Phantom essence blood!"

Without any hesitation, Ace took the essence blood out from the spatial ring immediately as he threw it towards the female ghost who devoured it instantly.

The next sudden moment, the female ghost exploded and what appeared before Ace, was a scarlet sword that was glowing brightly.

Holding the sword, was a woman whose appearance was blocked off by a mysterious energy.

"There isn't much time for me...but remember this...cherish this sword for it's my reincarnation…"

"Senior wait!"

Ignoring Ace, the woman slashed towards the open space before Ace.

That one slash, it was slow to the eye but quick to the extreme. Before his eyes, was a planet that was split in half from a simple act of swinging the sword.

"Ice and fire...it's possible young fella…"

The voice of the woman drifted into his mind miraculously and the next moment, the two individual planets became two polar extremes.

One was cold, one was hot. One was freezing. One was burning. One was crystal clear. One was dazzlingly chaotic,

The two planets took on the form of a sword as they merged and the next moment, Ace realised that everything had returned to normal.

That moment was so short that he questioned if it was just an illusion, but the sword in his hand right now told him that it wasn't.

In his mind, there was also another thing.

It was the martial sword skill which the woman had not shown just now.

Scarlet frenzy, its grade was unknown, but Ace knew one thing, this martial sword skill would lead him to the peak.

Just the first layer alone was more than enough for him to digest.

"Ding! Detected that the host has unlocked his first martial skill!"

Choice 1: Comprehend martial skills and intents by yourself

Choice 2: Make use of cultivation points to improve martial skills and intents

Without any hesitation, Ace chose the former.

Even though it was enticing to comprehend martial skills and intents quickly, doing so would mean that he would never capture the true essence of the sword.

That was the major difference between his cultivation base compared to others and it was annoying him already. To deal with this, he formulated a plan and realised that as long as he spent time, it was still possible for him to fully comprehend the essence behind each cultivation realm.

Scarlet frenzy, a sword martial skill in which its first stage, was just one slash. A slash that seeks extreme speed and power that chases down that one target marked as long as his sword intent can last.

This was a sword martial skill that was closely linked to his sword intent and right now, he knew that he was forced to step onto a new path for that woman, had left behind the initial stages of the flame intent within him.

Now, he had to fuse the frost and flame intent and the best moment...would be now when his mind is still fresh!