The Strongest Talent Tree

Feng Hao slowly stood up, a sense of warmth filling his heart. "Master, please rest assured. I will do the art of forging proud."

"Heh heh, there’s no rush. Just take your time," Elder Tang said with a gentle smile. "You have a great talent for cultivation. Don’t let forging get in the way of it."

"Understood." Feng Hao nodded earnestly.

After establishing their master-disciple relationship, the old man and the young man chatted with growing enthusiasm. They talked about everything under the sun for a good while, and in the blink of an eye, it was already evening.

Back at the general store, Feng Hao habitually began his cultivation. Not long into his training, he received a message from Xiyue Frost: "Tomorrow morning. The usual place!"

Feng Hao was about to chat for a bit, but he found that Xiyue Frost had already cut the Listening Stone connection, leaving him speechless.

’We’ll be heading to the Mu Country soon. A spar might be a good idea,’ Feng Hao thought, shaking his head with a faint smile.

The night of cultivation passed quickly. 「The next morning.」 Feng Hao drove his Mansa Vehicle straight to the outskirts of Five States City.

Arriving at the location of their last spar, the scars from their previous battle were still clearly visible. Xiyue Frost had already arrived. She stood there quietly, her greatsword planted in the ground beside her. As the gentle breeze blew past, her figure looked slightly lonely from behind.

"You’re here?" Xiyue Frost turned her head gracefully, her fair hand slowly closing around the hilt of her sword.

"Uh, are we starting right away?" Feng Hao asked, a look of astonishment on his face.

Xiyue Frost wasted no time on words. She swung her greatsword and charged forward. "You’re definitely losing this time!"

"Me, lose? You’ve got to be kidding." Feng Hao smirked. The Su Mu Dagger instantly appeared in his hand as his figure flickered and entered a state of Shadow Step.

’Honestly, I really don’t get what Xiyue Frost is thinking. Putting everything else aside, with just my Shadow Step, there’s no way she can be my opponent. After all, ignoring 500 points of Divine Sense is no joke.’

’Besides, I’m already level thirty-eight, and my Concealment root system has evolved a Pervasive Base ability, greatly enhancing my stealth and presence-hiding capabilities. Even without activating Black-Pupil, Xiyue Frost wouldn’t be able to detect me.’

Seeing Feng Hao vanish with Shadow Step, a mischievous smile played on Xiyue Frost’s lips. A faint light flickered in her beautiful eyes, and she unexpectedly locked onto Feng Hao’s position.

The Ice Domain unfurled in an instant. Accompanied by whistling Ice Lotus Sword Qi, it quickly enveloped Feng Hao.

"What the hell?! What’s going on?!"

Feng Hao was stunned. He hastily used a two-stage Shadow Assault to dodge, asking in disbelief, "How did you find me?"

"Still dare to underestimate me now?" Xiyue Frost said with a faint smile, brandishing her greatsword. "To counter your Shadow Step, I spared no expense to get a pair of high-spec Crystal Eyes."

"..." Feng Hao was suddenly at a loss for words.

’No wonder she could see through my Shadow Step’s stealth effect. So she got high-spec Crystal Eyes.’ As far as Feng Hao knew, many high-spec Crystal Eyes came with special visual aids. Some even had a "True Sight" effect, ignoring all stealth and Illusion Techniques.

’Shadow Step is powerful, but it’s not true invisibility. It can only block normal visual detection.’

’Then again, Xiyue Frost is something else. To win a single spar, she was actually willing to buy high-spec Crystal Eyes.’

Since Shadow Step was useless, Feng Hao simply exited the state to avoid wasting Magic Power. "Alright, alright, let’s see how much you’ve improved."

As he spoke, he used Shadow Assault to close the distance, unleashing Dark Moon Massacre and Moon Wheel Dance right at her.

Within the Ice Domain, a layer of frost quickly coated Feng Hao, drastically reducing his movement and attack speed. There was nothing he could do; for a melee class, the Ice Domain was just that broken.

But this didn’t affect Feng Hao’s offensive. He blasted her with two Secret Techniques, easily shaving off a quarter of Xiyue Frost’s Qi Blood.

"Since you’ve come in, don’t even think about leaving!" Xiyue Frost ignored the damage to her Qi Blood and swung her greatsword. The surrounding temperature plummeted. Immediately after, pillars of ice burst from the ground, instantly surrounding Feng Hao and completely trapping him within the domain.

Feng Hao’s face fell. He could feel his body rapidly freezing as a terrifying chill invaded his system.

"Is this your new Secret Technique?" Feng Hao asked in shocked suspicion.

"That’s right." Xiyue Frost smiled confidently and sent out a black Sword Qi. "This is a Secret Technique designed specifically for my Crystal Ice Soul. I call it Ice Crystal Shatter!"

Shocked as he was, Feng Hao didn’t give up. He repeatedly used Shadow Assault to evade her attacks, throwing out a few Dark Moon Massacres from time to time. Before he knew it, he had pushed Xiyue Frost’s health below half.

On top of that, the vitality-draining effect of his Instant Death Demon Pattern greatly reduced Xiyue Frost’s healing ability.

Of course, Feng Hao wasn’t having an easy time either. Under the constant drain of the Ice Domain, his Qi Blood was steadily dropping. He was also grazed by her Vibrating Sword a few times, and his Qi Blood soon fell below half.

Furthermore, with Ice Crystal Shatter blocking his path, Feng Hao had no way of escaping the Ice Domain.

"It’s over!" Following Xiyue Frost’s sharp cry, the ice pillars created by Ice Crystal Shatter shattered in unison. Like a volley of ten thousand arrows, the fragments shot toward Feng Hao from all directions.

’Damn it, I knew it wasn’t that simple.’ Feng Hao cursed inwardly. He had a feeling Ice Crystal Shatter was more than it seemed. ’It looks like the imprisonment was just the setup; this explosive burst is the main event.’

With no time to think, Feng Hao used Shadow Assault directly on Xiyue Frost. It took three consecutive Shadow Assaults to close the distance and get in front of her.

"It’s useless. With my Spirit Soul, my own Secret Techniques can’t harm me," Xiyue Frost said with a cold smirk.

"Of course I know that." Feng Hao shot her an exasperated glare. Without another word, he used Shadow Assault to appear at her side and suddenly activated Moon Pierce.

The fine streams of force fired by Moon Pierce were incredibly fast. Cloaked by the frost in the air, they were nearly impossible to detect. Coupled with Feng Hao’s precise control, one successfully struck Xiyue Frost’s side ribs.

BANG!

After the soft sound, Xiyue Frost’s face turned deathly pale. Under the assault of the Five-Layered Dark Force, her Qi Blood vanished in an instant.

In truth, Feng Hao’s response was simple: a head-on, do-or-die gamble. It was either her or him. As it turned out, the burst damage from Moon Pierce didn’t disappoint. He had successfully depleted Xiyue Frost’s Qi Blood just before the ice shards could turn him into a pincushion.

The next moment, the sky full of ice shards shot over, and the terrifying ice-attribute damage instantly emptied his Qi Blood.

Once his Qi Blood was empty, a debilitating wave of dizziness washed over him. Feng Hao wasn’t as concerned with saving face as Xiyue Frost. He plopped right down on the ground and swallowed a few Blood Recovery Pills to recuperate.

"A draw. You satisfied now?" Feng Hao asked with a smirk.

Xiyue Frost snapped out of her daze, her eyes filled with disappointment. "You don’t have to console me. You won."

"I said it’s a draw, so it’s a draw." Feng Hao rolled his eyes, annoyed. "You’re already incredible for being able to push me this far!"

"But I don’t see it that way," Xiyue Frost said, shaking her head in disappointment.

"..." Feng Hao was speechless once again.

For a moment, they were both silent. Feng Hao quickly recovered with the help of the Blood Recovery Pills. Xiyue Frost, too, no longer held back by pride, willingly took a Blood Recovery Pill.

Atop the Mansa Vehicle, the two of them sat side by side. Xiyue Frost was the first to break the silence. "It’s already been almost a year, just like that."

"Yeah, time really flies," Feng Hao gazed up at the sky and sighed wistfully.