The Strongest Talent Tree

The more Mei Meimei spoke, the more excited she became, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Feng Hao. "After the competition, don’t go back to Wolf Country. Why don’t you stay here and stick with your big sister?"

"I can’t do that. I still have a lot to take care of back in Wolf Country," Feng Hao replied, shaking his head.

Mei Meimei pouted but didn’t press the issue, turning her attention back to the shaft in her hands.

Half an hour later, the shaft was finished. Mei Meimei eagerly swapped it in and pressed the start button again.

Just as she had predicted, the decomposer ran perfectly smoothly this time, without the slightest hint of instability.

Mei Meimei couldn’t help but burst into laughter. "Haha, after struggling with this for over two months, it’s finally a success!"

"Congratulations, Fourth Sister," Feng Hao said.

"Haha, congratulations to us both! You get some of the credit for this too." Mei Meimei nonchalantly slung an arm over Feng Hao’s shoulders. The unfamiliar sensation left Feng Hao extremely embarrassed.

With an embarrassed look, Feng Hao said, "Um... it’s getting late, so I should get going."

"Not so fast!" Mei Meimei had no intention of letting him go, completely oblivious to how much distress her ’Mount Everest’ was causing him. She continued, "Once the first Pulse Core is finished, the gift I’m preparing for you will be ready too."

Feng Hao was taken aback. "A gift for me?"

"Of course." Mei Meimei smiled faintly. "It’s not every day I get to be a big sister; how could I not have a first-meeting gift? And since you’re about to enter the competition, this gift from your sis will absolutely be a huge help."

"What kind of gift?" Feng Hao asked, his eyes full of curiosity.

"You’ll find out in a little while," Mei Meimei said with a mysterious smile.

A few minutes later, the decomposer stopped automatically. Mei Meimei immediately rushed over, opened the hatch, and took out a sky-blue Crystal Chip. She nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, not bad. Much better than I expected."

As she spoke, she took out a device resembling a Wrist Guard from her Spatial Ring and set the sky-blue crystal into it.

"Here, hold out your hand. Your big sister will put it on for you herself," Mei Meimei said, beckoning with a beaming smile.

Feng Hao curiously sized up the Wrist Guard-like device and subconsciously held out his left hand. "What is this? It doesn’t look like a Magic Energy Gun, does it?"

"Of course a Magic Energy Gun doesn’t look like this." Mei Meimei pursed her lips into a smile as she fastened the device onto Feng Hao’s left wrist, her eyes brimming with pride. "This is the Pulse Wrist Guard your sis designed especially for you. Go on, use your Divine Sense to feel out its effects for yourself."

Feng Hao quietly examined the [Pulse Wrist Guard] and extended his Divine Sense into it.

[Pulse Wrist Guard]

Pulse Strength: 2800 + 360% Magic Injury

Charging Speed: 1.2 seconds

Pulse Range: 200 meters

Cost: 75

Weight: 20

"A ranged-attack wrist guard?" Feng Hao was thrilled. ’With this, I basically have a ranged attack. The damage isn’t super high, but a ranged attack is a ranged attack, and it’ll have its uses.’

Mei Meimei’s eyes crinkled in a smile. "I’m just glad you like it. It’s a shame my pulse technology isn’t fully developed yet, or it could have been even better."

"It’s already amazing! Thanks, Fourth Sister," Feng Hao said, unable to tear his eyes away from it.

"What’s with the formalities?" Mei Meimei rolled her eyes at Feng Hao, then turned and headed for the bathroom. "Ugh, I’m filthy. Your sis is going to take a shower. You should head back and get some rest."

Feng Hao nodded and left the training field, feeling absolutely delighted.

The whole endeavor had taken a long time. By the time he returned to his small attic courtyard, it was already the wee hours of the morning. With dawn about to break, Feng Hao couldn’t be bothered to cultivate, instead busying himself in the courtyard by playing with the [Pulse Wrist Guard].

’I have to hand it to her,’ he thought. ’Mei Meimei’s mechanical prowess is really something else. To think she could combine a Magic Energy Gun with a Wrist Guard... It only costs 75 points of Magic Power to fire a magic energy pulse. The projectile speed is incredible, the damage is decent, and it only takes 1.2 seconds to charge.’

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! Feng Hao fired a few random shots into the night sky, feeling pretty good. ’Tsk, tsk. A two-hundred-meter range... if I use this properly, it’ll be the perfect tool for finishing off opponents.’

’Too bad my Magic Injury is so low. If a Magic Injury Magic Master were using this, the damage would be insane.’

’Good thing I have that damage bonus from my stealth skill. The output won’t be too shabby.’

...

He spent the whole night firing away. Before he knew it, day had broken, and he had grown much more proficient with the [Pulse Wrist Guard].

The early morning scenery in the small courtyard was breathtaking. On a tree branch outside the gate, several pretty birds chattered incessantly.

Feng Hao focused intently, aiming at one of them, preparing to make an incredible trick shot.

But who would have thought that just as he was about to fire the pulse, an unexpected visitor would walk in, scaring away the birds and leaving Feng Hao at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, Ming Xin Yan had also been startled. She had come to find Feng Hao to discuss teaming up, not expecting to have a weapon pointed at her the moment she walked in.

"Huh? Sis, what are you doing here?" Feng Hao hastily lowered his left hand, a look of astonishment on his face.

Ming Xin Yan’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. She walked gracefully up to Feng Hao and huffed, "What, am I not welcome?"

"You are, of course you are!" Feng Hao laughed awkwardly and invited Ming Xin Yan into the living room.

Inside the living room, Ming Xin Yan glanced around curiously before turning her gaze to Feng Hao. "I imagine you can guess why I’ve come to find you."

Feng Hao was speechless for a moment, then said sheepishly, "Actually, I have no idea. Don’t tell me you came to ask me out for a meal, Sis?"

"..." Ming Xin Yan looked utterly exasperated. "I’m here to propose a partnership."

Hearing this, Feng Hao finally understood. So, she was here to ask him to team up.

"You’ve probably heard about my strength. So, what do you say? Care to consider it?" Ming Xin Yan asked with a radiant smile.

"What’s there to consider? If you want to partner up, let’s partner up," Feng Hao said nonchalantly.

Seeing how readily Feng Hao agreed, Ming Xin Yan was a little taken aback. "Then it’s settled. With our strength, we should be fine as long as we don’t run into Huo Yuanjia and his people."

"You sound pretty confident, Sis!" Feng Hao teased.

"Aren’t you the same?" Ming Xin Yan said pointedly. "Honestly, for someone at level thirty-eight to have your kind of strength... it’s quite astonishing."

"Er, I’m just average, I suppose. I definitely can’t compare to you, Sis," Feng Hao said, putting on a show of modesty.

Ming Xin Yan ignored Feng Hao’s flattery, releasing her Divine Sense with a faint smile. "Let’s exchange Spiritual Marks. It’ll make it easier to contact each other."

"Sure." Feng Hao certainly wasn’t going to refuse. He immediately released his Divine Sense and exchanged Spiritual Marks with Ming Xin Yan.

Ming Xin Yan didn’t seem to have any intention of staying long. After exchanging their Spiritual Marks, she departed gracefully.

Watching Ming Xin Yan’s departing figure, Feng Hao became lost in thought. ’Tsk, tsk. There’s definitely more to that woman than meets the eye. I bet she has plenty of aces up her sleeve, beyond what Fourth Sister managed to dig up.’

’Whatever. For now, we’ll team up to get through the first round. After that... I don’t care if you’re a genius or a prodigy. Anyone who stands in my way will have to bow their heads to me.’

Feng Hao was now fully prepared. He was just waiting for the qualifying matches to start so he could unleash his divine might and blind those big shots in the Grand Hall.

It wasn’t for anything else. He was doing it to prove himself, and to bring honor to the Thief Master!