The Strongest Talent Tree

Xiyue Frost suddenly turned her head to look at Feng Hao, her gaze profound. "In a little over two months, Yaoyao will be here. Do you... have any plans?"

"She’s coming, so she’s coming. What plans could I have?" Feng Hao replied with a purse of his lips.

Xiyue Frost’s expression darkened, and she furrowed her brow. "Don’t you want to give Yaoyao a surprise?"

"Tch. Seeing me is the biggest surprise," Feng Hao said, full of himself. He then turned to Xiyue Frost, stunned. "Wait a minute. What business is it of yours what happens between Yaoyao and me?"

"I... I’m her older sister," Xiyue Frost said, her cheeks flushing slightly as she averted her beautiful eyes.

"Alright, I guess that’s a valid reason," Feng Hao said with a choked laugh. "By the way, I might have to leave Five States City for a while."

Xiyue Frost froze, her eyes full of confusion. "Where are you going?"

"Mu Country," Feng Hao answered truthfully.

"What are you going to Mu Country for?" Xiyue Frost asked, puzzled.

Feng Hao chuckled lightly. "To participate in the Thief Preliminaries at the Thief God Hall headquarters."

"The Thief Preliminaries?" Xiyue Frost looked at Feng Hao in astonishment and disbelief. "You’re going to compete for a Thief’s seat?"

"What, you think I can’t?" Feng Hao asked with a smile.

"It’s just a bit unexpected," Xiyue Frost said with a strange look in her eyes. "I heard from my old aunt that the Thieves hold a special status in the Thief God Hall. There are only five seats for each generation, and there’s only one spot left for the current generation."

Feng Hao was surprised. "Whoa, you know a lot about our Thief God Hall!"

"Of course," Xiyue Frost said, a rare hint of playfulness in her expression, though her eyes were complex. "With such an important selection, the competition is bound to be fierce. Are you confident?"

"What do you think?"

Xiyue Frost laughed, at a loss for words, and turned her gaze away. "How long will you be gone?"

"Not sure," Feng Hao said, frowning in thought. "I should be able to make it back before Yaoyao starts at the academy."

"That’s good," Xiyue Frost said, her face breaking into a smile. She suddenly stood up, jumped off the roof of the car, and pulled open the door. "Enough talk. Take me back to my dorm."

"Sure." Feng Hao had no reason to refuse. With a stylish flip, he jumped off the roof and drove the Man-Sa toward the Five Provinces Academy.

...

After a lightning-fast journey, the Man-Sa landed smoothly in the Power Arts Department’s dormitory area.

Feng Hao had planned to drop Xiyue Frost at her dorm and then head to the Alchemy Department to say goodbye to his friends. But to his surprise, as soon as he pushed open the dorm room door, he saw a bald, middle-aged man trying to coax a pouting Man Tiaotiao.

A bald, creepy-looking uncle in a girls’ dorm... Xiyue Frost was startled too. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The bald man turned around, sized up Xiyue Frost, and immediately put on an amiable expression. "You must be Tiaotiao’s roommate, right? Come, come, let your uncle get a good look at you."

"And you are...?" Xiyue Frost asked warily.

Just then, the sulking Man Tiaotiao rushed over, kicked the bald man away, and pulled Xiyue Frost aside. "Xiaoshuang, don’t mind him."

Despite being kicked by Man Tiaotiao, the bald man didn’t get angry. Instead, he said with an apologetic smile, "Tiaotiao, Daddy was wrong, okay?"

"Hmph. You’re a liar who doesn’t keep his word. I don’t have a dad like you," Man Tiaotiao said haughtily.

Xiyue Frost was taken aback, then quickly got up. "Oh, so you’re Uncle Man. I’m sorry for being so rude."

"Don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it." Barbarian Three Punches chuckled, then shot Feng Hao a peculiar glance. "And who is this little brother?"

"My... friend," Xiyue Frost said, her cheeks scarlet.

Only then did Man Tiaotiao notice Feng Hao. Her eyes darted about, and she said viciously, "Barbarian Three Punches, your daughter has been bullied! What are you going to do about it?"

Hearing this, Barbarian Three Punches flew into a rage, roaring, "What? Who dares bully my daughter?!"

"Him! It was this guy!" Man Tiaotiao declared, pointing a small hand at Feng Hao.

Feng Hao was speechless. He stared at Man Tiaotiao, his expression darkening. ’Damn, this woman really holds a grudge, doesn’t she?’

By now, Barbarian Three Punches was incandescent with rage. He strode up to Feng Hao, gritted his teeth, and snorted coldly. "Kid, are you the bastard who bullied my daughter?"

"Er, can I explain?" Feng Hao asked, his mouth twitching.

"Explain my ass! Just tell me, did you bully her or not?" Barbarian Three Punches demanded, fuming.

As a model student, honesty was his most fundamental quality. Therefore, Feng Hao chose to admit it frankly. "Well... I did beat her up a few times, but I wouldn’t say it counts as bullying."

Upon hearing this, Barbarian Three Punches’s face turned ashen. He rubbed his bald head and roared in fury, "You dare bully my, Barbarian Three Punches’s, daughter? Take this!"

’Shit, does he have to be so direct?’ Feng Hao cursed inwardly and turned tail to run. He unhesitatingly used [Shadow Fade], [Black Pupil], and [Shadow Strike]. He had no choice; his opponent was just too strong.

"Trying to run?" Barbarian Three Punches sneered, shooting after him like a cannonball.

Seeing that Feng Hao was about to get beaten up, Xiyue Frost said anxiously, "Tiaotiao, quickly, tell your uncle to stop!"

"Don’t worry. Barbarian Three Punches may be a bastard, but he knows how to pull his punches," Man Tiaotiao said, gloating.

"But..."

Man Tiaotiao said fiercely, "Xiaoshuang, stay out of it! I have to teach that country bumpkin a lesson today. Let’s see if he ever dares to bully me again!"

With that, she ignored whether Xiyue Frost was willing or not and dragged her along in pursuit, wanting to see Feng Hao get thrashed with her own eyes.

Meanwhile, Feng Hao was fleeing desperately, shoving Qi Recovery Pills into his mouth as if his life depended on it. He couldn’t help it; the difference in their speed was too great. He could only escape by constantly using [Shadow Strike].

Barbarian Three Punches was in hot pursuit. Seeing how well Feng Hao could run, he was somewhat surprised. "Let’s see how long you can keep up that Shadow Strike! You dare bully my daughter? If I don’t beat the shit out of you today, my name isn’t Barbarian Three Punches!"

"I say, bro, can you just listen to my explanation for a second?" Feng Hao shouted with a bitter smile as he saw his Magic Power dwindling.

"Explain my ass! I, Barbarian Three Punches, never listen to explanations," Barbarian Three Punches gritted out with a cold snort.

The two of them, one chasing and one fleeing, had bolted out of the Five Provinces Academy without even realizing it.

Feng Hao’s Magic Power was running lower and lower. Even Tier Five Qi Recovery Pills couldn’t keep up with the cost of [Shadow Strike]. Consequently, his use of the skill became less frequent, and Barbarian Three Punches drew closer and closer.

At this critical moment, a ripple from a Listening Stone emanated from his sea of consciousness. It was Wang Tongqian, who had come to pick him up for the competition. "Brother Feng, isn’t your shop next to the Treasure Pavilion? Why is it closed?"

"Brother San, you couldn’t have come at a better time! I’m being hunted down, come save me, quick!" Feng Hao cried out in desperation.

Wang Tongqian’s expression turned grim. He asked gravely, "What? Where are you? I’ll be right over."

"I’ve already turned around and am heading your way," Feng Hao replied anxiously.

"Alright, just activate the distress signal on your [Thief’s Mark]."

"Okay." Feng Hao paused, only now remembering the distress call function of the [Thief’s Mark]. He hastily sent out the signal.

As the distance between them shrank, Wang Tongqian quickly received the distress signal and rushed to provide support.

At the same time, in other corners of Five States City, many other masters of the same trade also received the signal. One by one, they dropped what they were doing and sped toward Feng Hao’s location.

Barbarian Three Punches continued his relentless pursuit. Seeing Feng Hao slow down, he sneered inwardly.

But what he didn’t know was that an invisible net was closing in around him...