The Strongest Talent Tree

Gradually, the twin thieves began to lower their guard and put their weapons away.

"Sister, do you think we’ll make it through?" the Archer asked, taking out two portions of rations and handing one to the Mage.

The Mage comforted her, "Don’t worry. As long as we don’t run into freaks like Huo Yuanjia and Ming Xin Yan, no one can eliminate us."

"But I keep getting this feeling of dread," the Archer said, chewing on her rations.

"What are you thinking about? Don’t scare yourself," the Mage said, rolling her eyes at her.

"You’re right." The Archer gave a resigned smile and decided not to dwell on it.

However, just as the two let down their guard, a shadowy figure materialized behind the Mage. Immediately after, two streaks of black light flashed past, and a horrifying amount of damage registered above her head.

"Sister!" the Archer cried out, glancing to the side, only to see the Mage’s figure distorting before quickly vanishing on the spot.

Panicked, she spun around to see the level-thirty-eight thief charging toward her, daggers glinting coldly, his assault as swift as lightning.

’How is this possible?’

The Archer’s face paled in horror. She subconsciously retreated a few steps, drew her longbow taut, and fired an arrow.

Unfortunately, Feng Hao didn’t dodge. Instead, he shifted his position slightly to ensure the arrow wouldn’t hit a vital spot, then used a shadow strike to rapidly close the distance. His twin daggers crisscrossed in a Dark Moon Massacre, and [Moon Wheel Dance] followed immediately after, instantly killing her.

The Archer cried out in pain. Weakness and helplessness flooded her consciousness, and she was soon teleported out by the Saint Realm’s Space Rules.

After dealing with the twin thieves, Feng Hao’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He never showed mercy to enemies who ambushed him.

’This competition is fraught with danger. No, I have to meet up with Ming Xin Yan as soon as possible.’

Feng Hao didn’t dare to be careless. After concealing himself with a shadow-hiding technique, he extended his Divine Sense into the [Jade Scroll Map]. The terrain of the Saint Realm’s outer ring was laid bare before him. After a quick look around, he soon pinpointed his own location.

Without further hesitation, he connected directly to Ming Xin Yan’s Spiritual Mark. "Sis, I’ve got the map. What’s your position?"

"I’m being hunted by Huo Yuanjia’s team! Get here fast and help!" Ming Xin Yan’s voice was frantic as she sent her coordinates directly to Feng Hao.

"Hang tight, I’m on my way."

Feng Hao didn’t dare waste a second. He hastily forwarded Ming Xin Yan’s location to Lu Linfei, then, following the map’s directions, rushed toward her.

Outside the Saint Realm, countless contestants were being teleported out one after another. They all had pale faces and sat cross-legged on the ground to recover.

The twin thieves looked at each other, the horror in their eyes still not having faded.

"Little sister, did we really get eliminated by that level-thirty-eight thief?" the Mage asked, her expression dazed.

The Archer nodded bitterly. "Seems so."

"This..." The Mage shook her head with a wry smile and sighed to herself. ’The Grand Hall is truly full of hidden masters. We’ll just have to work twice as hard when we get back.’

At the same time, the crowd of spectators suddenly erupted, with excited gasps and cries rising and falling.

"Everyone, look! Huo Yuanjia and Ming Xin Yan are fighting!"

"Whoa, this has to be the best matchup of the whole competition, right? I can’t believe we’re seeing it in the first round."

"Best matchup, my ass! Can’t you see Huo Yuanjia is ganging up on her?"

"So what? It’s her own fault for being unlucky. Who told her not to find teammates?" a few thieves from the Dust Wind Country Branch Hall sneered.

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately drew the ire of a large number of their counterparts from Nanyue Country, and a spectacular shouting match began.

Meanwhile, on the viewing platform, Jing Lou and the other bigwigs were still reeling from the shock Feng Hao had delivered. It was no joke—a pair of level-forty-five twin thieves with perfect teamwork had been taken out so cleanly by Feng Hao. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have believed it even if you killed them.

Fortunately, at this moment, the epic battle between Huo Yuanjia and Ming Xin Yan began, successfully diverting their attention. Even the Thief Master and Lin Luo’s group of four turned to watch.

After all, both were favorites to win the championship, and for them to clash in the first-round free-for-all was indeed a rare sight.

"Tsk, tsk, taking the opportunity to eliminate his biggest competitor in the first round. That little thief Huo Yuanjia has a good sense of timing," Lin Luo said with an appreciative nod.

Kang Shuai and Wang Tongqian both expressed their agreement. Only Mei Meimei looked disdainful. "Ganging up on a girl... how shameful."

"What do you know? This is called being flexible," Lin Luo said irritably. "Even if he can’t become a Thief’s Scion, this person is still worth cultivating."

"Hmph! A bunch of sinister, cunning thieves," Mei Meimei said indignantly.

Wang Tongqian couldn’t help but chuckle. "Heh, aren’t you a thief too?"

"That’s different. I am a noble Mechanical Thief," Mei Meimei said proudly, puffing out her chest.

"Oh, give me a break. We should be thankful you haven’t blown the Thief’s Palace to smithereens," Wang Tongqian retorted irritably.

"Nonsense! When have I ever blown up the Thief’s Palace?"

Wang Tongqian snorted. "Who was it last month that blew up their own house, had nowhere to live, and came crying to me?"

Mei Meimei’s pretty face flushed red, and she turned her head away with an indignant huff.

Kang Shuai shot them both a look and said irritably, "Watch your conduct. Pay attention to the competition."

Wang Tongqian nodded sheepishly, his gaze turning to the Saint Realm Projection. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "Hey, looks like Fifth Brother is heading that way."

"Whoa, you’re right," Lin Luo said in surprise.

...

Inside the Thief God’s Saint Realm, Ming Xin Yan looked a bit disheveled. A bell-shaped magic artifact flashed in her hand as she occasionally threw a few Secret Techniques behind her to block her pursuers.

"Stop wasting your energy! You can’t escape!" Huo Yuanjia pursued her relentlessly from behind, flanked by five underlings around level forty-five. Two of them were none other than Lv Mingbo and Zhang Zilin, the same two who had previously disdained teaming up with Feng Hao.

Originally, with their team’s strength, they could have basically walked all over the Saint Realm. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been showing off for long before they ran into Huo Yuanjia.

You can imagine what happened next. Most of their group was eliminated by Huo Yuanjia, and the rest were recruited as his underlings.

Frustrated as they were, Lv Mingbo and Zhang Zilin were actually quite happy. After all, by teaming up with Huo Yuanjia, they were basically guaranteed to advance.

"Huo Yuanjia, if you’ve got any guts, fight me one-on-one!" After being chased for so long, Ming Xin Yan was boiling with rage.

"Hilarious. Why would I risk a one-on-one duel when I can eliminate you easily?" Huo Yuanjia laughed coldly.

Ming Xin Yan gritted her teeth and kept running. "Shameless!"

"Haha, the word ’shameless’ doesn’t exist in the Thief God Hall’s dictionary," Huo Yuanjia roared with laughter. Surging Magic Power flooded into his fists, and as he threw a punch, two enormous wolf shadows howled forth, pouncing toward Ming Xin Yan.

Ming Xin Yan’s expression tightened. Magic Power poured into her Three Treasures Bell, forming a protective, illusory golden bell around her body.

CLANG! CLANG!

The wolf shadows charged through, and the bell-shaped shield shattered in an instant. The turbulent force of the punch threw Ming Xin Yan off balance, and Lv Mingbo seized the opportunity to fire a spray of light bullets, cutting off her retreat.

"I told you, you can’t escape." Huo Yuanjia pressed his advantage, spinning his body and delivering a direct roundhouse kick.