The Strongest Talent Tree

Inside the annex, Sun Yaowen was buried in a mountain of paperwork. He looked up in surprise when Feng Hao walked in.

"Huh? What are you doing here, kid?" Sun Yaowen grumbled.

"I heard you were made dean, so I came to offer my congratulations," Feng Hao said with a laugh, casually plopping down into a nearby chair.

Sun Yaowen snorted. "Cut the crap," he said dismissively. "You wouldn’t come see me unless you wanted something. Spit it out. What do you need from me?"

Feng Hao chuckled. "I actually just came to ask about Xie Kuangfeng. I just heard from Little Sister Yu that she hasn’t been able to reach him for the last two or three days."

"Oh, I thought it was something serious," Sun Yaowen said with an understanding laugh. "Xiaoxie is in the Student Union Headquarters’ Inheritance Space right now. It’s normal for him to be unreachable."

Feng Hao was taken aback. "Inheritance Space? Is that like our Thief God Hall’s Thief God Realm?"

"That’s right," Sun Yaowen nodded. "After the demonic poison antibody was announced, the Student Union Headquarters gave me a spot for the Inheritance Space. I was going to save it for you, but since you’d already joined the Thief God Hall, I gave it to him instead."

"I see. I was worried something bad had happened," Feng Hao said, sighing in relief.

Now that he knew Xie Kuangfeng was fine, Feng Hao had no reason to linger. He offered a quick goodbye and turned to leave.

But Sun Yaowen grabbed his arm. "Not so fast," he grumbled. "There’s something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Feng Hao asked, confused.

"It’s nothing huge. It’s about my research into demonic creatures. While developing the antibody, I discovered a lot of interesting properties of the demonic poison. I plan to continue my research, and I’ll need you to lend a hand."

Feng Hao’s expression soured. "Damn, don’t tell me you’re getting addicted to this research, are you?"

"You little brat! Is that any way to speak to an elder?" Sun Yaowen’s eyes went wide, his mustache seeming to bristle with indignation.

"Uh," Feng Hao muttered, pouting slightly. "Besides, aren’t you the dean now? Where will you find the time to research demonic creatures?"

"I’ll handle the academy’s administration. You just need to be ready to help when I call," Sun Yaowen said with a mysterious smile. He then took two exquisite boxes from his Spatial Ring. "Oh, right," he chuckled. "Half the credit for the demonic poison antibody should have gone to you, but because of your connection to the Thief God Hall, I didn’t mention your name to the Student Union. I did, however, get you a few medicinal herbs."

Feng Hao smiled wryly and couldn’t resist teasing him. "I guess you have a conscience after all. But for a contribution as big as the demonic poison antibody, a few herbs seems a little cheap, doesn’t it?"

"Heh, why don’t you take a look before you decide if it’s enough?" Sun Yaowen shot Feng Hao a look and tossed the boxes to him.

Feng Hao caught the boxes and took a look inside. He immediately sucked in a breath of cold air. Lying inside the exquisite containers were several shockingly potent medicinal herbs.

"No way... Is this for real?" Feng Hao said in disbelief.

"Of course it is," Sun Yaowen said with a smirk. "Well? Do you still think it’s not enough?"

"It’s enough! More than enough!" Feng Hao swallowed hard, trying to contain his excitement as he carefully stored the boxes. "If any more ’good deeds’ like this come up, you know who to call. I may not have many virtues, but I just love to help people."

"Enough nonsense. Go on, get out of here. Don’t keep this dean from his official duties," Sun Yaowen said irritably.

"Alright, I’ll let you get back to it." Without another word, Feng Hao turned and left.

Watching Feng Hao’s retreating back, Sun Yaowen shook his head. ’That kid is mercenary to the core,’ he thought. ’I have no idea what kind of master could raise an apprentice like that.’

...

After leaving the Elder Hall, Feng Hao was in such a ridiculously good mood that everything he saw seemed wonderful.

He piloted his Manticore over to the Demonic Injury Department and quickly found Xie Xiaoyu. To his surprise, she was bruised and swollen, looking as miserable as could be.

"What happened? Don’t tell me you two started fighting again after I left?" Feng Hao asked, his expression darkening.

Xie Xiaoyu hastily shook her head. "No, I just tripped and fell."

"Is that so?" Feng Hao asked, unconvinced.

"Hmph! If I say I fell, then I fell," Xie Xiaoyu said in a huff. Covering the bruises on her face, she asked, "Did you find out what happened to my brother?"

"I did," Feng Hao replied honestly. "Your brother’s in the Student Union Headquarters’ Inheritance Space. He should be back soon."

"As long as he’s okay." Xie Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing how pitiful she looked, Feng Hao took out a few Healing Elixirs and offered them to her. "Here, take one. It’ll help you recover."

Xie Xiaoyu blinked, hesitating for a moment. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"Why would I bribe you?" Feng Hao said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Xie Xiaoyu tilted her chin up smugly, planting her hands on her hips. "Of course you have to bribe me. Otherwise, when my brother gets back, he definitely won’t let you off the hook."

"..." Feng Hao was speechless. He gave a wry smile. "Fine, whatever makes you happy. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going."

"Wait," Xie Xiaoyu suddenly shouted.

"What is it? Is there something else?" Feng Hao paused, confused.

Xie Xiaoyu worked her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then stopped. "Never mind. You can go."

Shaking his head in exasperation, Feng Hao turned and left in his Manticore. He couldn’t help but feel that the girl was acting strangely.

After leaving the Demonic Injury Department, Feng Hao had planned to swing by the Strength and Array Departments to pick up Yao Girl and take her home. When he arrived, however, he learned she had already left on her own.

This completely baffled Feng Hao. Knowing Yao Girl’s personality, there was no way she would have gone home this early.

’Strange... Did she have a personality transplant or something?’

Feng Hao racked his brain but couldn’t think of a single logical explanation. He gunned the Manticore’s engine and sped back to the general store.

Back at the store, he quickly found Xi Yueyao in the bedroom. Her head was buried under the blankets, and he couldn’t tell what she was doing.

"What’s wrong with you?" Feng Hao asked, walking closer in confusion.

A muffled voice came from under the covers. "You damn medicine-peddler, don’t come any closer!"

"Uh, what’s going on?" Feng Hao was completely baffled, with no idea what was happening.

"Just... don’t come over, okay?"

Eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, Feng Hao couldn’t help but creep closer and suddenly yank the blanket off Xi Yueyao’s head.

The next moment, with a shriek from Xi Yueyao, a small, bruised face appeared before him. Fuming, Xi Yueyao covered her face and averted her eyes. "You damn bastard! Don’t look!"

"..." Feng Hao was stunned for a second. Then, remembering Xie Xiaoyu’s bruised and swollen face, he put two and two together.

Seeing her trying to hide her face, Feng Hao felt a mix of anger and pity. He shot her an exasperated glare and popped a specially made Healing Elixir into her mouth. "You... You got into another fight with Xie Xiaoyu, didn’t you?"

"Who told you that? I just tripped and fell," Xi Yueyao said, her eyes darting away.

"Oh? So now you’re lying to your husband, is that it?" Feng Hao’s expression turned serious, and he put on a fierce look. "Now, tell me. Are you going to listen to me from now on?"

"No," Xi Yueyao replied, pouting defiantly.

Feng Hao’s eyes widened. He raised his palm and brought it down with a smack on her shapely bottom. "Will you listen," he asked in a low voice, "or not?"

"I won’t, I won’t, I just won’t!"

"Dammit, I refuse to believe I can’t handle you!" Feng Hao’s temper flared. He pushed her down onto the bed, gritting his teeth. "Today, your husband is going to reassert his authority—!"