The Strongest Talent Tree

The cabin door closed, and Feng Hao swallowed the Life Spirit Pill and began to cultivate. A strange, oppressive pressure immediately followed.

Admittedly, the modified training pod’s efficiency was significantly improved, but the price was excruciating pain. It was like being in an extremely high-pressure container; his body felt like a balloon being continuously inflated, on the verge of bursting at any moment.

’Damn, Fourth Sister’s modifications are brutal. What kind of person could possibly endure this pain?’

In just a few short minutes, Feng Hao was drenched in sweat. A terrifying, stabbing pain coursed through his meridians, and his tense limbs began to tremble. The agony almost completely overwhelmed his consciousness.

Fortunately, Feng Hao’s pain tolerance was quite high. While gritting his teeth and enduring, he frantically absorbed the magical energy from the Level 3 Magic Crystal.

As time ticked by, he gradually adapted to the pain. Sensing the changes in his Genetic Tree, Feng Hao managed a gratified smile on his contorted face.

’Almost there, almost there! I’m about to break through to level thirty-nine!’

The high-pressure training pod, combined with the Life Spirit Pill, more than tripled Feng Hao’s absorption speed for Magic Crystals. As a result, his consumption of Tier Three Magic Crystals also accelerated. At one million per crystal, this was a cost that no ordinary person could possibly bear.

Fortunately, Feng Hao had prepared enough Magic Crystals beforehand. Otherwise, at this rate of consumption, he’d be eating dirt sooner or later.

As one Level 3 Magic Crystal after another turned to dust, the Genetic Tree in his sea of consciousness flourished.

After an unknown amount of time, the Genetic Tree suddenly shot up in height, officially reaching level thirty-nine.

’Man, this is the first time a breakthrough has felt this awful.’

Opening his eyes, Feng Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. A breakthrough was normally a pleasant experience, but in the high-pressure training pod, that feeling was completely overshadowed by pain. To use a phrase from Earth: it was a painful pleasure.

After allocating the [Gene Points], he gritted his teeth and resumed his cultivation.

He had no choice. To deal with that monster, Fang Jie, he would have to spend the entire next month cultivating in this agony.

PSSSH—

The cabin door opened, and the Thief Master appeared before Feng Hao with a pleased look in his eyes. The oppressive pain vanished instantly, replaced by a feeling of unprecedented relief.

"Not bad, not bad at all. At this rate, your promotion to Tier Four is just around the corner!" the Thief Master said with a light chuckle, stroking his beard.

Stepping out of the training pod, Feng Hao looked utterly exhausted. "Is the match about to start?"

"No rush. There’s still an hour," the Thief Master said with a smile.

"That’s a relief. I’m going to take a shower first." With that, he rushed into the fully automated bathroom.

After a quick shower that washed away all his fatigue, he came out to find his Fourth Sister, Mei Meimei, already in the training area. She was in a corner, studying some machinery. Perhaps because the Thief Master was there, Mei Meimei seemed unusually well-behaved.

"Fourth Sister, how’s the research on the [Pulse Wrist Guard] coming along?" Feng Hao asked with curiosity.

Mei Meimei shot a furtive glance at the Thief Master and whispered, "Version five is almost ready. It’ll definitely work this time. Don’t worry, your sis won’t forget the credit you’re due."

"But it’s only been two or three days, right? How are you already on version five?" Feng Hao asked, nonplussed.

"Version five is nothing! Your sis has already drawn up the blueprints for versions six and seven," Mei Meimei said, pleased with herself. "Actually, no, this one is bound to succeed. The subsequent versions won’t be necessary at all."

"Alright then, good luck," Feng Hao said with a helpless shake of his head as he turned to walk over to the Thief Master.

The Thief Master shot Mei Meimei an annoyed glance and snorted. "That girl, Sanmei, she never has her act together. Ask her to do a mission, she doesn’t do it right. Tell her to learn mechanics from Elder Jiang, and she won’t study properly. She just has to go off and fool around on her own."

"Well... I suppose Fourth Sister has her own ambitions," Feng Hao said with a strained laugh.

"What ambitions could she have? Perfectly good Magic Energy Weapons become disposable one-time-use items in her hands," the Thief Master huffed.

Feng Hao was taken aback. "Disposable items? What do you mean?"

"You’ll find out if you ever go on a mission with her. In short, that girl’s a complete spendthrift." The Thief Master shook his head with a wry smile, then took out the Life Spirit Pill from yesterday. His expression grew serious. "By the way, Xiaofeng, can you leave the formula for this pill with us?"

"Of course," Feng Hao nodded with a faint smile. "I was planning on it. Besides, the Life Spirit Pill is just a precursor to another, much more potent pill. This is the truly incredible one."

With that, Feng Hao took out an Experience Pill, a mysterious look on his face.

The Thief Master paused, taking the Experience Pill with curiosity. "And what kind of pill is this?" he asked.

"I call it an Experience Pill. It’s a type of pill from my hometown. Taking it can directly increase your genetic level. You can take up to five per tier, which will raise your level by about five," Feng Hao explained honestly.

The Thief Master gasped and shot to his feet. "This... Isn’t this the Life Creation Pill, something that’s only supposed to exist in the outer realms?"

"The Life Creation Pill? That’s an impressive name." Feng Hao nodded thoughtfully. He wasn’t surprised that this kind of pill existed in the outer realms; West Moon Ridge had mentioned it to him before.

The Thief Master was panting with excitement. It took him a long while to calm down before he said with a knowing look, "If I recall correctly, this is the reason Xiaolin’s strength surged back then, isn’t it?"

"That’s right," Feng Hao grinned.

"That kid’s a loyal one, I’ll give him that. And he lied to me, saying he ate some kind of bizarre fruit," the Thief Master said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Feng Hao was speechless. His big brother was a real piece of work. Of all the excuses he could have come up with, why did it have to be such a corny one?

"This Life Creation Pill is a matter of grave importance. It’s best you wait until after your coronation as a Thief Lord to hand it over to Jing Lou. The Life Spirit Pill, however, shouldn’t be a problem."

"Understood. I’ll do as you say, Master."

The Thief Master studied the Experience Pill in his hand for a long time before his brow furrowed. He looked at Feng Hao. "Xiaofeng, if my memory serves, the Life Creation Pill comes from the Inner Ring Star Realm, and not just anyone can concoct it. For it to come from your hometown in the outer realms... it’s simply inconceivable."

"To be honest with you, Master, I still haven’t figured out the situation with my own hometown," Feng Hao said with a wry smile and a shake of his head.

"Oh? Is there something wrong with your hometown?" the Thief Master asked, deep in thought.

Feng Hao pursed his lips and recounted what he had previously discussed with the Old City Lord.

After hearing Feng Hao’s account, the Thief Master couldn’t help but cry out in shock. "Are you saying the demons from the outer realms are going to invade again?"

"According to the Old City Lord’s analysis, yes, that’s right," Feng Hao confirmed with a bitter smile.

"This is a matter of immense importance!" The light in the Thief Master’s eyes flickered. "It seems my own plans must be accelerated. Once the demons from the outer realms invade, the entire region will fall into chaos. That will be the moment for our Thief God Hall to rise."

"Er, what plans do you have, Master?" Feng Hao asked curiously.

"We’ll talk about that later. It’s getting late. You go and get to your match. I’m going to find that Jing Lou fellow and discuss our strategy." After a moment’s thought, the Thief Master vanished from before Feng Hao in an instant.

Feng Hao clicked his tongue, stood up, and prepared to head to his match. His opponent today was Ming Xin Yan; he couldn’t afford any carelessness.

Just as he stood up to leave, he jumped in surprise. Mei Meimei was hiding furtively to the side, batting her big eyes at him, the Mount Everest of her chest rising and falling.

"Xiaowu, those pills you were just telling the Thief Master about... do you have any more? Let your big sis try a few, huh?" Mei Meimei sidled up to Feng Hao with a brazen grin, her beautiful eyes glittering with anticipation.