The Strongest Talent Tree

Bai Yin stood rooted to the spot, stunned. By the time she came to her senses, Feng Hao was already gone.

She was the academy’s number one beauty—when had she ever been treated this way before?

’Doesn’t he even want to say a few more words to me?’ Bai Yin mused with a pout, her flawless face a mask of confusion.

Any other man would have been desperate for the chance to talk to her. Unfortunately, Feng Hao was indifferent to peerless beauties. It couldn’t be helped; back in the game *Mage*, gorgeous women were a dime a dozen, leaving him completely desensitized.

While Bai Yin was lost in a daze, Elder Yun slowly floated down beside her. "You lost again?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"Mhm." Bai Yin nodded dejectedly.

Elder Yun’s brow furrowed even more deeply. She simply couldn’t fathom how Bai Yin could have lost. After all, her Bone-Eroding Wind Spirit was incredibly powerful. Even though she had only given Bai Yin a mere sliver of its soul, it wasn’t something an ordinary person could withstand.

"Let’s go." Elder Yun sighed, her expression growing serious. "Tell me the details of what happened today."

Bai Yin gave a slight nod and followed closely as Elder Yun left the Central Square.

Meanwhile, Feng Hao was already piloting his Mansa back to the general store. Before he even landed, he was startled by the scene before him.

A huge crowd swarmed outside the general store. Countless people were pounding on the door, their angry complaints a constant uproar.

After finally managing to find a safe spot to land, he discovered he couldn’t even squeeze through the crowd.

’What’s going on? Has that woman, Yao Ying, been slacking off?’ Feng Hao’s brow furrowed as he stared at the closed doors of his shop.

He subconsciously extended his Divine Sense into the Listening Stone, establishing a connection with Yao Ying. "Hello? What’s going on? Why is the shop closed?"

"Thank heavens, you’re finally back," Yao Ying cried out in relief, and hurriedly opened the shop door.

The moment the door opened, the crowd outside erupted, surging forward into a tight mass.

"The Life Spirit Pills! Where are the Life Spirit Pills? I want Life Spirit Pills!"

"Snow Frost Ointment! I need Snow Frost Ointment! I’ll pay anything!" countless women were shouting themselves hoarse.

Yao Ying blocked the doorway, her beautiful eyes scanning the crowd. She quickly spotted Feng Hao and shouted, "Stop pushing! Everyone, quiet down! Our boss is back! Let him through!"

"What? The boss is back? Where? Where?" the customers, both new and old, exclaimed excitedly.

Just like that, Feng Hao finally made it back into the shop. He straightened his disheveled clothes, a look of exasperation on his face. "Didn’t I ask you to look after the business? How did it end up like this?"

Yao Ying rolled her eyes at him. "You have the nerve to talk? You were gone for over half a month! We ran out of pills ages ago."

"Er..." Feng Hao froze. He subconsciously glanced back and saw that the shelves were completely bare—picked clean, in fact.

"What the hell? Didn’t I stock a month’s supply before I left?" Feng Hao asked, stunned.

"Customer traffic has increased severalfold. How could a one-month supply possibly be enough?" Yao Ying retorted with a pout.

Feng Hao finally understood. He was inwardly astonished; the shop’s popularity had far exceeded his wildest expectations.

Gazing at the restless crowd outside, Feng Hao swallowed nervously. "Um... thank you all for your support! The Life Spirit Pills and Snow Frost Ointment will be restocked tomorrow, so please, be patient."

"Not until tomorrow?! What kind of operation are you running here?!"

"I’ve been waiting for three days, and you’re telling me *this*?"

"I don’t care! I want my Life Spirit Pills! I want my Snow Frost Ointment!"

"My girlfriend left me for another guy, and you’re telling me to come back tomorrow?"

...

Feng Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had no choice but to shut the door, and at last, there was some peace and quiet.

Yao Ying gave him a reproachful look, her lips parting slightly. "What now?"

"What else can we do? Time to work overtime and make more pills!" Feng Hao said with a wry smile. He hurried upstairs to his room, pulled out his Alchemy Equipment, and began refining like a madman.

He worked for an entire day, refining from afternoon until dawn the next morning, finally managing to produce about two weeks’ worth of stock.

If he hadn’t run out of materials, he would have refined a whole year’s supply in one go.

On the verge of opening the next day, a bleary-eyed Feng Hao came downstairs. He tossed Yao Ying a Spatial Ring packed with Life Spirit Pills and Snow Frost Ointment. "Get this stuff on the shelves. I’m going back upstairs to lie down. Don’t disturb me unless it’s an emergency."

"No problem." Yao Ying flashed a cloyingly sweet smile, her eyes shifting. "By the way, the Alchemist Association came looking for you."

"Oh," Feng Hao nodded, unfazed, and hurried back upstairs. "So tired."

’What a weirdo,’ Yao Ying grumbled under her breath.

Half an hour later, the general store opened again, and the small storefront was instantly crammed with people.

The fully stocked shelves were cleared out in an instant.

After seeing the last customer out, Yao Ying draped herself languidly over the counter. Her fatigue vanished the moment she saw the mountain of Magic Crystals piled up in the Spatial Ring. ’So much money... too bad it’s not mine.’

’Oh well,’ Yao Ying thought with a sly smile, ’as long as Feng Hao takes the bait, all this money will be mine eventually.’

Just as she was lost in her fantasies, Xue Xiaoyun from the neighboring Treasure Pavilion walked in out of curiosity. Upon seeing Yao Ying, her expression grew odd. "Hey... aren’t you the one from the other day...?"

Yao Ying’s expression faltered for a second before she quickly recovered and cut her off. "Sorry, we’re sold out for today. Please come back tomorrow if you need something."

Xue Xiaoyun gave her an odd look and glided forward. "I’m here to see your boss."

"What for?" Yao Ying was instantly on guard. Perhaps because of her recent daydreams, she felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of threat.

"I’m here to discuss the Life Spirit Pills and Snow Frost Ointment," Xue Xiaoyun replied.

Yao Ying breathed a silent sigh of relief, not even noticing the shift in her own attitude. "Fine, I’ll go wake him."

Just then, Feng Hao came downstairs, yawning. "No need, I’m already awake."

"Darling!" Yao Ying chirped, skipping over to Feng Hao.

Feng Hao’s face darkened, any lingering sleepiness vanishing in an instant. He hastily dodged her advance and turned to Xue Xiaoyun. "Hey, isn’t this the cutie from the Treasure Pavilion next door? What can I do for you?"

Xue Xiaoyun gritted her teeth. "I’m here to talk business."

"Oh? The great Treasure Pavilion needs to talk business with me?" Feng Hao chuckled teasingly.

Xue Xiaoyun grew even more indignant, but she couldn’t afford to lose her temper. She forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "Let’s be frank. We at the Treasure Pavilion would like to partner with your shop to sell the Life Spirit Pills and Snow Frost Ointment. I wonder if you’d be interested?"

"Whoa, straight to the point," Feng Hao said, a little surprised.

Xue Xiaoyun rolled her eyes. "Just tell me if you’re interested or not."

"Well..." Feng Hao furrowed his brow, considering it.

"You know the advantages the Treasure Pavilion offers. If you partner with us, we can distribute the Life Spirit Pills and Snow Frost Ointment throughout all of Wolf Country, maybe even the entire Ancient Cang Realm." Xue Xiaoyun’s eyes held a profound look. "The profits we could make would be far beyond what a small place like Five States City can offer."

Feng Hao considered her words, a flicker of interest igniting within him.

To be honest, when he first opened the shop, his only goal was to make a little extra money to cover his cultivation expenses.

But recent events had made him realize he needed a limitless supply of Magic Crystals. After his encounter with Solos, he now carried the weight of the entire Earth on his shoulders.

And you couldn’t save an entire planet with just tens of billions.