The Strongest Talent Tree

Jing Lou couldn’t help but ask again, "Thief Master, what exactly is this young thief’s bloodline? How could he defeat Huo Yuanjia at only level thirty-eight?"

"Heh heh, I’ll tell you once Xiaofeng succeeds as the Fifth Thief," the Thief Master said, his eyes full of mystery.

Jing Lou shook his head in resignation. "Fine. As long as he has what it takes to become a Thief, I will personally crown him."

"What’s this? You’re not against it anymore?" the Thief Master asked with a laugh.

"I certainly won’t object to a position earned through strength," Jing Lou sighed softly. "I have to admit, Feng Hao’s power is truly unexpected. When it comes to judging character, I am indeed your inferior."

The Thief Master chuckled. "Xiaofeng’s bloodline is unique. It’s not surprising you couldn’t tell."

Jing Lou’s brow furrowed. "Honestly, I can’t imagine what kind of bloodline would make you decide to handpick him for the role."

"You are the current Thief God. When the time comes, I will explain everything in detail," the Thief Master said, his expression grave. "For now, all you need to know is that Xiaofeng’s bloodline is tied to the rise of our Thief God Hall."

"Hiss!" Jing Lou sucked in a sharp breath. He stared at Feng Hao in the projection, his eyes, now glinting sharply, filled with shock and disbelief.

As the current Thief God, Jing Lou was no fool. And given the Thief Master’s unique status, for him to make such a claim meant Feng Hao’s bloodline was far more terrifying than he had ever imagined.

Nearby, Lin Luo and the other three were also stunned by Feng Hao. They already knew how powerful his bloodline was, but the practical combat skill he was demonstrating left them even more shaken.

After all, bloodlines and aptitude were innate. You either had them or you didn’t—they couldn’t be changed. Practical combat ability, however, was a different story.

It required not only natural talent for fighting but also immense effort and countless hours of practice.

"It’s hard to imagine Fifth Brother is only twenty-three," Kang Shuai said, his eyes wide with astonishment.

Wang Tongqian nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Even I can’t compare to the combat skills Fifth Brother just demonstrated. Among us, I’m afraid only our leader could pull that off."

"Brother Feng’s combat awareness is indeed extraordinary," Lin Luo said thoughtfully.

"Mei Meimei, are you listening?" Wang Tongqian couldn’t help but start lecturing her. "You should spend more time practicing your combat skills instead of messing with that junk machinery all day."

Mei Meimei scoffed, "Pfft, what’s the point of skill? For me, there’s nothing that can’t be solved with a single cannon blast."

"Alright, forget I said anything." Wang Tongqian rolled his eyes. Lin Luo and Kang Shuai also looked on helplessly.

It couldn’t be helped. Mei Meimei’s defining trait was that she never listened to advice. That would have been one thing, but she was also incredibly unreliable.

In short, she was the biggest liability of the group. Her mission success rate was terrifyingly low; she had never once properly completed an assignment. She either failed or caused some huge mess, to the point that the Thief Master hadn’t even bothered giving her a mission for the past two years.

...

Feng Hao was unaware of the situation outside the Saint Realm. After eliminating Huo Yuanjia, he gave Lu Linfei a thumbs-up. "Nice one!"

"I didn’t really do much. You were the key, Brother Feng," Lu Linfei said with a shy smile.

"Alright, that’s enough brown-nosing," Feng Hao said irritably. "You must have run into a lot of trouble on your way here, right?"

Lu Linfei said confidently, "Plenty of trouble, but none of them could catch me."

Just then, the sounds of a fierce battle erupted from not far away—the very direction Feng Hao had just come from.

"Oh no, Ming Xin Yan is still back there recovering!" Feng Hao exclaimed, hastily rushing back. Lu Linfei’s expression changed, and without a second thought, he followed close behind to provide backup.

Feeling the intense energy fluctuations up ahead, Feng Hao felt a pang of guilt.

’I was so focused on chasing down Huo Yuanjia that I completely forgot about Ming Xin Yan. The situation in this competition is a chaotic mess. If you’re not careful for even a second, someone will pop out and ambush you. In her current condition, she’s in serious danger.’

"Sis, what’s the situation? Can you hold on?" Feng Hao connected to Ming Xin Yan’s Spiritual Mark as he ran.

Ming Xin Yan’s scoff quickly came through the Listening Stone. "I wasn’t exactly counting on you. Don’t worry, I’m mostly recovered. It’s more than enough to handle this bunch of small fry."

"That’s good." Feng Hao finally let out a sigh of relief.

By the time the two of them arrived on the scene, the fighting had already died down. Ming Xin Yan was finishing off the last ambusher with a cold sneer, her eyes filled with contempt.

Seeing that Ming Xin Yan was unharmed, Feng Hao relaxed completely. He walked over with a faint smile. "Not bad, sis!"

"Cut the crap. Where’s that bastard Huo Yuanjia?" Ming Xin Yan snapped.

"He’s on the outside now," Feng Hao said with a shrug.

Ming Xin Yan froze, her eyes widening in surprise. "Looks like I underestimated you. You even managed to take out Huo Yuanjia."

"Er, you’re giving me too much credit, sis. It was all thanks to Xiaoluzi showing up just in time," Feng Hao said with an awkward laugh, quickly changing the subject. "So, what’s our next move?"

Ming Xin Yan’s brow furrowed. "Based on the current situation, there are fewer than a thousand people left in the Saint Realm. We need to eliminate as many key opponents as possible before this is over."

"No problem." Feng Hao nodded in understanding. "You scout for stealthed units, sis. Xiaoluzi will be responsible for running interference. I’ll handle the rest."

"Sounds good," Ming Xin Yan agreed with a nod. Lu Linfei had no objections either. In front of these two, he was just along for the ride anyway.

With their roles decided, the three-person squad officially began their hunt.

For a time, cries of despair echoed throughout the Saint Realm. No one who ran into Feng Hao’s trio could escape.

Meanwhile, the other teams formed by top contestants were also conducting their final sweeps. As the number of players dwindled, the difficulty of finding targets steadily increased.

Before they knew it, a full day had passed. Only a little over three hundred contestants remained in the Saint Realm.

Anyone who had survived this long was no ordinary person. They either possessed exceptional strength, had special life-saving skills, or had teamed up with one of the top contenders.

Feng Hao’s group had already explored a large swath of the map. They hadn’t run into many people, but they had encountered plenty of magical beasts.

For instance, right now they were being targeted by a Tier Six Magical Beast—a Tier Six Peak Emperor Scorpion, no less. Faced with such a powerful foe, their only option was to turn tail and run.

Luckily, the Emperor Scorpion wasn’t particularly fast. Against any other Tier Six Magical Beast, they wouldn’t have even had a chance to escape.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

As the Emperor Scorpion gave chase, it continuously fired dark green poisonous barbs from its stinger. Wherever the barbs landed, the earth was instantly charred black, and the surrounding plants shriveled and died in a flash.

The trio fled for their lives, with Feng Hao occasionally firing a few shots from his [Pulse Wrist Guard]. Unfortunately, the damage was so low it was practically useless.

"What do we do? We can’t just keep running like this!" Ming Xin Yan cried out anxiously.

"Damn it, let’s fight it!" Feng Hao cursed, glancing over his shoulder. "Sis, your Divine Sense is the strongest. See if you can scan its stats."

Ming Xin Yan considered this. "I have a mid-spec Crystal Eye. It should be doable."

With that, she fully released her Divine Sense. Aided by the Crystal Eye’s scanning ability, she quickly probed the Emperor Scorpion’s genetic data and transmitted it to Feng Hao and Lu Linfei via the Listening Stone:

[Emperor Scorpion]

Gene Level: 67

Evolutionary Path: Strength, Resilience, Psionics, Constitution, Toxin

Qi Blood: 259,500

Vitality: 361

Strength: 4,788

Defense: 3,520

Speed: 1,382

Physical Attack: 295

Toxin Potency: 484

Armor Plating: 55 (Penetration Resistance: 20, Toxin Immunity)