The Strongest Talent Tree

As he spoke, the blood-red palm print was already bearing down on him. Feng Hao sneered, flicked his dagger, and unleashed Rapid Shadow Slash. He transformed into a mass of black shadow that whistled as it pierced straight through the bloody palm print.

BANG!

The massive blood-red palm print shattered like glass, collapsing into fragments of magic energy that slowly dissipated.

The Seventh Rank Mage was greatly alarmed. After breaking through the blood-red palm print, Feng Hao was charging straight for him, his pitch-black eyes inspiring terror.

"A bloodline talent?" the Seventh Rank Mage muttered. A blood-red ripple suddenly spread from beneath his feet, launching him into the air and allowing him to dodge the sweeping attack of Feng Hao’s Moon Wheel Dance.

With his strike missing its mark, Feng Hao grew solemn. ’Judging from that brief exchange,’ he thought, ’this guy is no simple opponent.’

’Looks like I underestimated the Celestial Eagle Team’s strength. To have reached the rank of Steward... this is getting interesting.’ A battle lust surged within Feng Hao. With a flick of his hand, he threw the Poisonous Chain into the air.

The chain, tens of meters long, coiled like a great serpent as it closed in on the Seventh Rank Mage.

"Ridiculous!" the Seventh Rank Mage sneered. He suddenly transformed into a streak of blood-red light, streaking down like a meteor. He easily passed through the Poisonous Chain’s encirclement and shot toward Feng Hao’s throat with absolute speed.

Feng Hao’s heart pounded wildly. He subconsciously tried to dodge with a shadow technique, but his opponent was too fast; he didn’t even have a chance to initiate it.

BANG!

The next moment, a flash of blood-red light shot past his eyes. A terrifying impact struck his throat, and it felt as if he had swallowed a ball of fire, searing him with unbearable pain.

At the critical moment, Three-second Fire hastily surged within his Sea of Consciousness, using its flames to force the Seventh Rank Mage back.

Even so, the powerful impact sent Feng Hao flying a great distance.

"Damn it, can you handle this or not?! I only just acknowledged you as my master; I don’t want to find a new one so soon!" Three-second Fire snapped.

Feng Hao scrambled to his feet, spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, and replied through gritted teeth, "Don’t worry, I’m not dead yet."

Three-second Fire secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said urgently, "Then what are you standing there dazed for? Run!"

"Run my ass," Feng Hao cursed under his breath, his dark eyes fixed grimly on the Seventh Rank Mage. "This young master hasn’t had his fill of fighting yet!"

Three-second Fire didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "My little master, you’re only Fourth Rank. How can you possibly be his opponent? Listen to me and retreat, or I won’t be able to hold on for much longer either."

Feng Hao ignored Three-second Fire’s plea, grimly tightening his grip on his twin daggers.

Over on the other side, upon seeing Three-second Fire, the Seventh Rank Mage’s eyes glinted sharply, and his breathing grew ragged. "Haha, it really is a fire seed! Boy, don’t even think about leaving here alive today!"

Not far away, seeing Feng Hao in danger, Zhang Meng and the other two roared and charged forward to support him.

"Boss, you go first! We’ll cover your retreat!" Tu Xiaoshan’s eyes were bloodshot as he charged the Seventh Rank Mage like a wild bull.

At the same time, Zhang Meng and Li Mufeng also launched their attacks, unleashing a barrage of light projectiles and Secret Techniques on the middle-aged man as if they were free.

However, what met them was a monstrous, blood-red wave of energy. The wave surged forth with the force of an avalanche, instantly sending Zhang Meng and the other two flying.

"Everyone, on my command: leave no one alive!" the Seventh Rank Mage roared. Instantly, the dozens of surrounding Celestial Eagle Team Mages closed in on the four of them for the kill.

Seeing the countless enemies closing in, Three-second Fire roared, "Damn it, your Third Grandfather is going all out today!"

As it spoke, Three-second Fire, in its Fireman form, erupted in a brilliant light. A golden-red glow illuminated the entire battlefield, and a heatwave washed over everything like a bursting dam.

The next moment, a chorus of agonizing screams rose from the besieging Celestial Eagle Team Mages as countless of them were killed or injured.

"Let’s fight them to the death!" Zhang Meng snarled, forcing himself to his feet as his Magic Power gathered frantically. "To die with the boss would make this life worth living! Lao Li, Old Tu, let’s go together!"

Li Mufeng and Tu Xiaoshan also prepared to fight to the death.

Just as they were preparing to fight a bloody battle, they realized Feng Hao had suddenly disappeared. "The hell? Where’s the boss?"

BANG!

While the three of them were still stunned, a black shadow suddenly appeared behind the Seventh Rank Mage. It was Feng Hao, who had used Shadow Stealth to get there.

Caught by the sneak attack, the Seventh Rank Mage took the full brunt of one of Feng Hao’s Secret Technique combos. The terrifying hidden-force damage instantly wiped out two-thirds of his Qi Blood.

"You shameless brat, die!" The Seventh Rank Mage’s face was ashen. He backhanded a palm strike, trying to blast Feng Hao away.

Unfortunately, Feng Hao had anticipated this. He used the mastery effect of his Moon Wheel Dance to block the force of the palm strike and, forcing down the weakness that came with being at low health, used a shadow-dodge to leap aside.

"Haha... A grand Seventh Rank Mage, unable to detect a stealth state. Old man, did you sever your own perception roots or something?" Feng Hao laughed wildly.

"So what if I did?" the Seventh Rank Mage said, his expression ugly. "I refuse to believe you’d just abandon your three friends."

Hearing this, Feng Hao’s expression instantly darkened. ’To be honest, if this were a one-on-one fight, I could use my Shadow Stealth to play this old man to death. But with Zhang Meng and the others here, the moment I enter Shadow Stealth, he could use my three buddies’ lives to force me out of hiding.’

Just as he was wrestling with his dilemma, a Stone Listening Communication from his Sea of Consciousness gave him a glimmer of hope.

"Hey, old man, what kind of hero threatens people like that? If you have any guts, fight this young master one-on-one!" Feng Hao taunted.

"What a joke. We of the Celestial Eagle Team have never cared about being heroes," the Seventh Rank Mage sneered. "Kid, prepare to die!"

Feng Hao suddenly sighed, a playful look in his eyes. "No wonder they say villains die because they talk too much. In the time it took you to spout that nonsense, you’ve already missed your chance to kill me."

"Hmm?" The Seventh Rank Mage furrowed his brows in confusion.

The next moment, hundreds of Magic Energy Flying Vehicles came whistling in from the horizon, a dense swarm that nearly blotted out the entire sky.

At this sight, the faces of the Celestial Eagle Team Mages instantly turned deathly pale.

"Damnit!" the Seventh Rank Mage cursed through gritted teeth and quickly gave the order: "Quick, retreat! Reinforcements from Five States City are here!"

"Trying to run?" Naturally, Feng Hao wasn’t about to let them leave. He immediately threw out his Poisonous Chain to block their path.

Unfortunately, the Seventh Rank Mage threw out a blood-red curtain of light with a backhand motion, easily blocking the pursuing Poisonous Chain. In the blink of an eye, he led his group of subordinates away.

"Damn, they’re fast runners," Feng Hao couldn’t help but curse under his breath. He sunk his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness and asked Three-second Fire, "Xiao San’Er, you okay?"

"I’m okay, just a bit drained," Three-second Fire replied weakly. "Just get me a few spirit souls to replenish my energy when we get back."

"No problem. You can have as many as you want," Feng Hao said with a slight smile.

After confirming that Three-second Fire was fine, he hurried over to Zhang Meng and the others, fed them a few medicinal pills, and quickly stabilized their injuries.

Meanwhile, the Magic Energy Flying Vehicles from the horizon had arrived. Several hundred people disembarked one after another, and Xi Yueyao was among them.

"Medicine seller, are you alright?" the young girl asked, her face fraught with worry.