The Strongest Talent Tree

The competition continued, and more and more of the academy’s top students came into Feng Hao’s view.

He had to admit, he had indeed underestimated the strength of the Five Provinces Academy. This was especially true for the students in the top ten of the Crystal Stele; every single one of them was an elite. Not only was their strength formidable, but their equipment was also ridiculously good.

Some students had even awakened their bloodline talents, which surprised him even more!

After more than ten rounds of elimination, Xie Kuangfeng and Bai Yin overwhelmed the competition and successfully entered the championship match.

The duel between the top experts of the two major combat divisions, Strength and Magic Damage, captured everyone’s attention. Although everyone was cheering for Bai Yin, Xie Kuangfeng didn’t care. In fact, he himself felt he should be gentle with the beautiful girl.

On the battle stage, the two stood facing each other. As a sign of respect, Xie Kuangfeng deliberately removed his armored helmet, revealing a handsome face.

"Bai Yin, I don’t think we should fight. What if I accidentally hurt you?" Xie Kuangfeng said, his eyes full of adoration.

"Senior Brother Xie, please respect your opponent," Bai Yin said, her elegant brows knitting slightly.

Xie Kuangfeng said awkwardly, "You saw it just now. If I use my Fifth Gear Light Blade, you definitely won’t be a match for me."

Bai Yin was instantly furious. His words clearly implied that he had lost to her in their last encounter only because he had gone easy on her. As a proud and talented beauty, how could she tolerate such an insult?

"Then please, Senior Brother, enlighten me!" Bai Yin gritted her teeth and immediately began her attack, controlling her Treasure Pearl.

Xie Kuangfeng shook his head helplessly, casually putting his armored helmet back on. He activated his Light Blade to the third gear and with a flick of his hand, sent out two streams of Sword Qi.

SWISH! SWISH!

The pale blue Sword Qi tore through the air with incredible speed. Bai Yin had no time to dodge, and her Qi Blood immediately dropped by a third.

"Are you looking down on me?" Bai Yin asked defiantly, raising her eyes.

"Alright then. You’d better be careful," Xie Kuangfeng said, shaking his head in resignation. He instantly poured his Magic Power into his Light Blade, activating all five gears.

Seeing this, Bai Yin no longer hesitated. The Treasure Pearl in her hand spun wildly as she raised a Gang Qi shield. At the same time, she cast various Secret Techniques almost simultaneously.

The next moment, the arena was covered in dark clouds as a fierce wind howled. A sky full of icicles mixed with rain rained down furiously, forming a terrifying and immense cyclone of ice under the effect of a tornado.

"What the—!" The sudden change stunned Xie Kuangfeng, and he hastily dodged the sweeping ice cyclone.

At this moment, Xie Kuangfeng finally started to take the fight seriously.

’Are you kidding me? Casting three Secret Techniques at once, and they’re even amplifying each other? That’s not something a human should be able to do!’

Under the erosion of the gloomy rain, Xie Kuangfeng’s speed dropped significantly. In the blink of an eye, he was swallowed by the ice tornado, and more than half of his eighty thousand-plus Qi Blood vanished with a WHOOSH, like air from a punctured ball.

Before he could even counterattack, a rapid series of magic orbs shot toward him, and with a BANG, BANG, BANG, they took away the last of his Qi Blood.

The entire arena fell silent in an instant. No one could have imagined that this climactic duel would end just like that!

Xie Kuangfeng stood there, completely dumbfounded. It took him a long while to come to his senses. Forcing back his dizziness, he looked at Bai Yin and said with wistful admiration, "Bai Yin, your progress is astonishing. I wholeheartedly admit defeat."

"You let me win," Bai Yin said with a calm smile. She gracefully flew off the battle stage and slowly departed under the stunned and amazed gazes of the crowd.

With that, the academy’s grand competition finally came to a close, with Bai Yin successfully taking the championship.

On and off the stage, everyone was immersed in Bai Yin’s terrifying power, even overlooking her stunning beauty. Even Xuchang and the academy’s upper management were shocked by the strength Bai Yin had displayed.

"Casting three Secret Techniques at once... I’m afraid even we couldn’t do that, could we?" Xuchang exclaimed in amazement.

"The Inner Ring bloodline is already powerful. Add to that the guidance of the Supreme Elder, and this girl will surely achieve great things in the future," an Elder at the side said, his eyes glinting.

Just as everyone was marveling, Sun Yaowen scoffed, "That kid has no idea how to use armor. Otherwise, how could that girl Bai Yin possibly have beaten him?"

"What do you mean by that?" the others asked in surprise.

Sun Yaowen smirked and said, "Armor is different from regular equipment. The combat styles are vastly different. But that kid is still fighting the way you would with regular equipment. And to think he even has a Fifth Gear Light Blade."

"Don’t listen to his nonsense. He just wants to pull Xie Kuangfeng into their Apothecary Department," Dean Li of the Strength Department said viciously.

"Tch. Believe it or not," Sun Yaowen said dismissively.

...

Back with Feng Hao, after witnessing that shocking display, Xiyue Frost and the other two were already dumbfounded.

’Holy shit, I completely misjudged her. That woman is definitely a top-tier Mage!’

Feng Hao subconsciously swallowed. If he had been dismissive of Bai Yin before, at this moment, her strength had completely earned his respect.

Such masterful control from a Mage was rare even in the game "Mage."

Of course, respect was one thing, but in his eyes, a Mage was still a salted fish—just a slightly tougher salted fish to deal with.

"I’ve decided! From this day forward, Senior Sister Bai Yin is my idol!" Man Tiaotiao exclaimed, his eyes full of adoration.

"Count me in," Houhuiyao chimed in from the side.

Although Xiyue Frost didn’t speak, the shock and admiration in her eyes said it all.

Feng Hao looked at the three of them with disdain and said irritably, "Can’t you guys have a little restraint? So she won a match, big deal. Just wait until I get a chance, and you’ll see how I’ll crush her."

"A hick is a hick. You don’t even think before you brag," Man Tiaotiao scoffed, turning and walking away on his own.

"Brother Feng, even I don’t believe you this time." Houhuiyao also had a look of disbelief. "Um, I’m going to go find Senior Sister Bai Yin for an autograph. You guys chat."

After saying that, he hurried off after Man Tiaotiao.

Feng Hao stood there dumbfounded. ’Damn it,’ he thought, ’no one believes me even when I’m telling the truth. Looks like I’ll have to find a chance to prove myself.’

The competition was over, and the crowd in the Central Square began to disperse.

Xiyue Frost looked at Feng Hao pensively and only spoke after a long moment. "Are you really confident you can defeat Senior Sister Bai Yin?"

"Of course," Feng Hao said, full of swagger. "I can’t beat Xie Kuangfeng for now, but Bai Yin is doable."

"Why is that?" Xiyue Frost asked, frowning in confusion.

"It’s a matter of class counters, uh... you wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. Anyway, you just need to know that most Magic-type Mages can’t beat me," Feng Hao said, clicking his tongue.

Xiyue Frost nodded thoughtfully and didn’t press the matter further.

After walking Xiyue Frost back to her dormitory, Feng Hao turned right around and headed for the Artifact Refining Department to find Xiong Tianfang, handing over the blueprints and materials he had prepared.

Xiong Tianfang took the blueprints and looked at them, his expression immediately turning strange. "Female-style equipment? And the measurements are so small?"

"It’s for your sister-in-law," Feng Hao said with a faint smile.

"Is my sister-in-law that petite?" Xiong Tianfang’s expression grew even stranger.

Feng Hao’s face darkened. "Brother Xiong, don’t get the wrong idea. Your sister-in-law is already an adult."

"Oh, that’s a relief," Xiong Tianfang said, sighing inwardly. "Don’t worry. Since it’s for my sister-in-law, I’ll definitely do a good job for you."

"Then thank you very much, Brother Xiong," Feng Hao said with a light chuckle.