The Strongest Talent Tree

Back at the pharmacy, the two couldn’t help but share a drink and catch up, recounting their respective experiences.

They talked all the way until dawn. Reeking of alcohol, Feng Hao led Lin Luo into the room across the hall.

As soon as they entered, Lin Luo wrinkled his nose in confusion. Emboldened by the alcohol, he asked with a sleazy grin, "Why does it smell like a woman in here? Hehe, has Brother Feng learned to keep a beauty stashed away?"

"What are you talking about?" Feng Hao said irritably. "A female patient stayed here before. I was helping her with some poison."

"Is that so?" Lin Luo gave him a knowing smile, clearly doubting Feng Hao’s answer.

Feng Hao was speechless. "Brother, why don’t you lie down for a bit. When I have the chance, I’ll introduce you to my girlfriend."

Lin Luo jolted, suddenly sobering up. His eyes wide with surprise, he said, "Brother Feng has a girlfriend? Which family’s daughter is so lucky? I’m not sleeping. Quick, let me meet her."

"She’s the second young miss of the Xiyue Family. She’s still studying in Rongcheng, so you can’t meet her right now," Feng Hao replied with a soft chuckle.

"The Xiyue Family?" Lin Luo paused, then it quickly dawned on him. "Oh, I remember now. Isn’t that the small family from when we first met? Speaking of which, I almost forgot. I still have the underwear I stole back then. Here, for you."

As he spoke, he casually tossed a Spatial Ring to Feng Hao.

Feng Hao subconsciously scanned its contents with his Divine Sense and was rendered speechless. A set of cute, pink underwear lay inside, making his expression darken. "Didn’t you say someone was offering a high price for it? Why do you still have it?"

"Couldn’t be helped. By the time I went back to hand it over, the client had already withdrawn the request," Lin Luo said with a helpless pout.

Feng Hao juggled the Spatial Ring in his hand and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Brother, do you have any idea? Because of this underwear, I’m too embarrassed to even face Xiyue Frost."

"You’re not the one who stole it. What’s there to feel guilty about?" Lin Luo said, astonished.

"But Xiyue Frost is convinced I was in on it with you," Feng Hao said with a wry smile.

"Just explain it to her."

"Do you think she’d believe me?" Feng Hao asked, completely exasperated.

Lin Luo paused for a moment, then gave a sleazy grin. "No problem. Just find a chance to return it to her, and the misunderstanding will be cleared up."

"..." Feng Hao rolled his eyes irritably. ’If I actually do that, wouldn’t Xiyue Frost just explode?’

As the two were joking around, a knock came from the shop door downstairs. Through his Thief’s Mark, he could clearly sense that it was people from the Thief God Hall.

Lin Luo could naturally sense it too. He swayed and flopped onto the bed, saying with a pout, "I knew those guys would come over. Brother Feng, deal with them for me. Your big brother is going to catch some sleep."

"Alright." Feng Hao nodded in understanding, gently closed the door, and went downstairs to open the shop.

When he opened the door, a large group of old thieves led by Qian Sanduo swarmed in, their eyes eagerly scanning the surroundings.

"Where is the Master Thief? Quick, take us to pay our respects," Qian Sanduo said excitedly.

Feng Hao gave him a speechless look, then went back behind the counter and said, "My big brother drank too much last night. He’s resting in his room, so it’s best not to disturb him."

"Ah." Qian Sanduo and the others exchanged embarrassed glances, clearly disappointed.

After a long, hesitant moment, Qian Sanduo sidled up to Feng Hao with an obsequious smile and asked in a low voice, "Young thief, tell me the truth. What is your relationship with the Master Thief?"

"Why are you asking?" Feng Hao said, confused.

"No reason, just asking," Qian Sanduo said meaningfully. "Speaking of which, our Wolf Country Branch Hall hasn’t produced a Master Thief in a very long time. You absolutely must seize this opportunity and bring glory to our Wolf Country Branch Hall!"

Hearing this, Feng Hao couldn’t help but frown, saying with some annoyance, "If there’s nothing else, you should all go back. Don’t interfere with my business."

"Hehe, well, think about it. We have high hopes for you!"

Qian Sanduo gave an awkward smile, made a "go for it" gesture at Feng Hao, and then led the old thieves away.

After seeing the group from the Thief God Hall off, Feng Hao couldn’t help but fall into deep thought, his brow furrowed. ’Looks like my brother Lin Luo holds a very high position in the Thief God Hall.’

Shaking his head with a private smile, he stopped dwelling on it and took out *Demon Pattern Mechanism Theory* to study seriously. It couldn’t be helped; life in a pharmacy with no customers was just this relaxed. He could do whatever he wanted. He had all the time in the world.

’When Lin Luo wakes up, I’ll ask him how to use the Inheritance Demon Patterns. Life couldn’t be more fulfilling.’

「...」

Time trickled by as he studied *Demon Pattern Mechanism Theory*. Meanwhile, business at the pharmacy was the same as usual—not a single customer came in.

After closing up for the night, Feng Hao didn’t rush back to his room to cultivate. Instead, he slipped into Lin Luo’s room.

Lin Luo had already woken up and was sitting cross-legged on the bed, cultivating with his eyes closed. Sensing Feng Hao’s arrival, he opened his eyes with a slight smile and teased, "Brother Feng, business at your pharmacy seems a little slow, huh?"

"Eh, I never planned on making money with it anyway. It’s mainly just a place to live," Feng Hao said with a casual smile, familiarly sitting cross-legged in front of Lin Luo.

Lin Luo met Feng Hao’s gaze for a few moments, then smiled. "If you have something to ask, just spit it out."

"Hehe, you know me best, brother," Feng Hao grinned. "I mainly want to ask you how to use Inheritance Demon Patterns."

"You redeemed the inheritances?" Lin Luo asked, surprised.

"Mhm, I redeemed all five," Feng Hao nodded.

Lin Luo nodded in satisfaction and began to explain after a moment of thought. "Because Inheritance Demon Patterns are very difficult to comprehend, when you construct a circuit, you can only copy them. Then, you combine and link them with other Demon Patterns."

"Unlike universal Demon Patterns, Inheritance Demon Patterns produce different effects when combined with different Demon Patterns."

"For example, take our Thief God Hall’s ’Swiftness’ inheritance. If you combine it with damage-type Demon Patterns, you get a high-damage effect. If you combine it with support-type Demon Patterns, you get a speed-enhancing effect."

"I see." Feng Hao had a moment of epiphany. He had been trying to draw the Inheritance Demon Patterns all this time, but it turned out he just needed to copy them—the same method he used when constructing the Moon Wheel Dance.

Lin Luo continued his explanation, "Additionally, the ’Swiftness’ Demon Pattern is one of the few that can synergize with the branch of a Secret Technique."

"The ’Swiftness’ Demon Pattern can enhance Genetic Secret Techniques?" Feng Hao couldn’t help but exclaim.

"That’s right." Lin Luo nodded with a light chuckle. "I see you’ve just awakened Shadow Strike. As long as you brand the ’Swiftness’ Demon Pattern onto the branch of the Secret Technique, you can greatly increase Shadow Strike’s teleportation speed and distance. Of course, the consumption will also increase a little."

"Whoa, so you can use it like that?" Feng Hao clicked his tongue in amazement.

Lin Luo nodded with a soft laugh. "Besides that, the other four inheritances each have their own unique effects. The ’Shadow’ Demon Pattern is mainly used for Concealing Secret Skills and also has a certain amplifying effect on dark force. The ’Silence’ Demon Pattern, as its name implies, can be integrated into a Secret Technique to mask any sounds produced by casting it. Even with an explosive Secret Technique, there won’t be any noise. It also has good effects when used in support-type Secret Techniques."

"The ’Hidden Thorn’ Demon Pattern is the most popular inheritance in our Thief God Hall. It can increase the damage bonus you get from concealing your presence. The effect is even stronger if the target is completely unprepared. It’s usually used for assassinations and sneak attacks."

"As for ’Instant Death,’ it’s quite special. Each time you deal damage, it adds 1 point of vitality damage. The actual effect isn’t that great; everyone says it’s a bit useless. However, it’s not bad when paired with a Fire Attribute Secret Technique that has a burning effect."

Hearing the introduction for the ’Instant Death’ Demon Pattern, Feng Hao couldn’t help but feel a flicker of doubt. "Can Dark Force Fifth Layer trigger the ’Instant Death’ effect?"

"It should be possible." Lin Luo was taken aback for a moment, his eyes glinting. "Heh, now that you mention it, the Dark Force Fifth Layer and ’Instant Death’ are actually a perfect match."