The Strongest Talent Tree

Feng Hao’s Shadow Ambushes grew less frequent until his Magic Power was completely depleted. He could only sustain himself with the recovery provided by Qi Recovery Pills.

However, the amount of recovery from a Tier Five Qi Recovery Pill was limited, and it took him two seconds to build up enough power for a single Shadow Ambush. As a result, Barbarian Three Punches closed the distance and soon cut off Feng Hao’s escape.

"Done running, kid?" Barbarian Three Punches asked, slightly out of breath.

Feng Hao rolled his eyes and plopped down on the ground, gasping for breath. "Hey, man," he panted, "how about you let me explain?"

"Enough talk! Eat this—!"

Barbarian Three Punches clearly had no intention of wasting words. He shot forward, appearing before Feng Hao and bringing a fist the size of a bowl crashing down furiously.

Fortunately, the effects of the Qi Recovery Pill were still active. Having recovered a decent amount of Magic Power, Feng Hao hastily used Shadow Ambush to dodge.

BOOM!

Barbarian Three Punches’ attack slammed into the ground, sending a shower of rubble flying. His second fist immediately followed, aiming straight for Feng Hao’s head. "Stalling for time, are we? Just take your beating quietly. Otherwise, you’ll be sorry."

’Like father, like daughter. Neither of them knows the meaning of the word reasonable,’ Feng Hao cursed inwardly as he once again dodged Barbarian Three Punches’ attack.

Seeing his attack dodged again, Barbarian Three Punches gritted his teeth in frustration. In his opinion, there was no need to use a Secret Technique against a mere junior. But now, he had no other choice.

"No wonder you dared to hit my daughter. You’ve got a few tricks up your sleeve," Barbarian Three Punches said with a cold smirk. He stopped holding back. A monstrous wave of energy erupted from his body, and his fists, as if wreathed in flame, transformed into a blur of countless phantoms, completely boxing Feng Hao in.

’Shit, he’s serious?!’

Feng Hao’s heart pounded in his chest. The Secret Technique of a Seventh Rank Mage was no joke. With his current health, he would be crippled, if not killed.

To his dismay, Barbarian Three Punches’ Secret Technique had no blind spots and its range was immense; not even Shadow Ambush could get him out of it.

At the critical moment, Wang Tongqian arrived just in time. "Who dares lay a hand on my Brother Feng?!" he bellowed.

As he spoke, he hurled his long, dark-red blade. It embedded itself in the ground before Feng Hao as flashes of light erupted from the steel, instantly shredding the phantom fists.

"Brother Feng, are you all right?" Wang Tongqian asked with concern as he landed.

Feng Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief. Shaking his head, he gave a wry smile. "I’m fine."

Barbarian Three Punches looked startled. His fierce eyes stared at Wang Tongqian as he asked in astonishment, "Such ferocious blade work. Who are you?"

"Wang Tongqian of the Thief God Hall." Wang Tongqian pulled his long blade from the ground and pointed it coolly at Barbarian Three Punches.

"The Third Scion of the Thief God Hall?" Barbarian Three Punches froze, a strange expression on his face. "What does this have to do with your Thief God Hall?"

Feng Hao explained awkwardly, "Well... actually, I’m a member of the Thief God Hall."

"You’re from the Thief God Hall?" Barbarian Three Punches was even more astonished.

"Actually, Man Tiaotiao and I are on pretty good terms. Hitting her earlier was for her own good. I think we should just let this whole thing go," Feng Hao said with a light laugh as he stepped forward.

But Barbarian Three Punches just snorted arrogantly. "So what if you’re from the Thief God Hall? I don’t care who you are. You bully my daughter, and I’ll beat you down even if you’re the Heavenly King himself!"

"Uh, do you have to be so serious about this?" Feng Hao asked, completely exasperated.

"Cut the crap." Barbarian Three Punches rubbed his bald head and shot a cold look at Wang Tongqian. "If you know what’s good for you, get out of the way. Otherwise, I’ll beat you up too."

Wang Tongqian’s eyebrow twitched as he unleashed his terrifying aura. "Brother Feng, stand back. Let your Brother San see what this old geezer is made of."

Feng Hao shook his head helplessly and sullenly retreated to the side.

"You’re sure you want to fight me, boy?" Barbarian Three Punches asked coldly.

Wang Tongqian gave his long blade a casual swing, a playful sneer on his face. "This Master Thief doesn’t waste his blade on nameless thugs. State your name, and be quick about it."

"Heh, are all the young people these days so arrogant?" Barbarian Three Punches couldn’t help but laugh. "When I, Barbarian Three Punches, roamed the Ancient Cang Realm, you were still suckling at your mother’s breast!"

"Only level seventy-six at your age, and you have the nerve to stand here bragging?" Wang Tongqian scoffed.

"What did you say? Say that again if you’ve got the guts!" Barbarian Three Punches rubbed his bald head repeatedly, clearly fuming.

"I said, you’re only level seventy-six at your age, and you have the nerve to stand here bragging?"

"AAAAH—! You’re asking for it!"

Barbarian Three Punches instantly exploded with rage. Gang Qi flowed around his body as he charged forward furiously.

Unafraid, Wang Tongqian swung his long blade to meet the charge. He executed a direct horizontal sweep—no flashy bursts of energy, no dazzling special effects, just a simple, clean sweep.

CLANG!

The next moment, blade and fist collided, unleashing powerful shockwaves. Barbarian Three Punches was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing heavily to the ground.

"How’d that feel, old-timer?" Wang Tongqian asked with a smirk, resting his long blade on his shoulder.

Barbarian Three Punches scrambled to his feet, his old face as red as a monkey’s backside. "So you do have some skill! That one didn’t count! Let’s go again!"

But at that exact moment, a dozen or so unfamiliar figures rushed in from all directions, surrounding Barbarian Three Punches in the blink of an eye.

"Who dares to bully someone from the Thief God Hall?" the dozen or so old thieves demanded in unison. The weakest among them was level fifty-eight; gathered together, their combined presence was absolutely terrifying.

This sudden development left Barbarian Three Punches dumbfounded, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.

Feng Hao was startled as well. He hadn’t expected a single distress call to summon so many old thieves. ’Come to think of it, the response wasn’t nearly this big the last time I was ambushed. Is it because it’s daytime and more people are around?’

"All of you, stand down. I’ll handle this!" Wang Tongqian said with a wave of his hand.

The dozen or so old thieves froze, their eyes instinctively turning to Wang Tongqian. When they detected his Thief’s Mark, they were all left dumbfounded.

"Holy crap, a Thief’s Mark!"

"A Scion who uses a blade... could he be the Third Scion, Cankun?"

"Sweet heavens, what’s a Scion doing here in Five States City?"

"Uh... since the Scion has given his word, I guess we’ll just watch from the sidelines."

A few of the old thieves nearby said with excitement shining in their eyes, "Don’t you worry, Scion! Just go all out! If you can’t handle it, we’ll all jump in together."

"That’s right! It’s not every day a Scion visits Five States City. We can’t let you be disrespected."

Barbarian Three Punches’ expression was grim and uncertain. For the first time, he felt the urge to retreat. He had never imagined that beating up one kid would stir up such a hornet’s nest.

Wang Tongqian smiled faintly, his gaze turning back to Barbarian Three Punches. "Hey, old-timer. Are we still fighting?"

"Damn it! If you’ve got the guts, then all of you come at me at once! Who have I, Barbarian Three Punches, ever been afraid of?" he bit out, clenching his jaw.

He had no choice. He had to see his own bluff through to the end, even if it killed him.

"Some real backbone. Just like a senior should have." Wang Tongqian nodded in approval, then turned to the old thieves. "Since the senior insists, let’s all attack together. But let’s agree on one thing beforehand: show the man some respect. No hitting the face."

"Don’t worry, Scion! ’When you fight, don’t hit the face.’ We get it!" the dozen or so old thieves roared with laughter.

"..." Barbarian Three Punches was so dismayed he wanted to cry but had no tears. He never expected these guys from the Thief God Hall to completely ignore convention.

Watching from the side, Feng Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The next moment, to his utter astonishment, the dozen-odd old thieves and Wang Tongqian swarmed forward all at once.

Though Barbarian Three Punches was powerful, two fists are no match for four hands. He was quickly swallowed by the mob, and his miserable screams echoed one after another.