The Strongest Talent Tree

For so many geniuses to emerge from a small border town further confirmed the suspicion in Feng Hao’s heart.

Combining this with the information Lin Luo had revealed to him, he was almost certain that Rongcheng was far from as simple as he had thought. The four great families of the north, south, east, and west, in particular, had outstanding genes. Among the younger generation of Feng Hao’s peers alone, there were quite a few talented disciples.

Needless to say, the sisters of the Xiyue Family had excellent talent and aptitude. Then there was that girl, Beixing Ran. Although her personality was lacking, her aptitude was definitely outstanding. There was also that kid, Zhou Chen. Oh, right, his own little brothers weren’t bad either.

Now, the addition of Dongfang Qi, a genius ranked fourth in the Strength Department, truly made one suspicious.

On the other side, Man Tiaotiao looked at Xiyue Frost with equal disbelief. She had always thought Xiyue Frost came from some unremarkable little place, but now it seemed this "little place" was far more impressive than she had imagined.

"Xiaoshuang, you and Dongfang Qi are from the same place?" Man Tiaotiao asked, looking at Xiyue Frost in astonishment.

Xiyue Frost nodded, her eyes perfectly calm. She furrowed her brow in slight surprise and said, "Is that strange?"

"It is a little strange," Man Tiaotiao said, scratching her head in embarrassment. "I just didn’t expect a small border town to produce so many geniuses."

Houhuiyao chimed in from the side, "Exactly! My hometown is a city second only to the Imperial Capital and Five States City, but even we only have a few people who can make a name for themselves in the academy."

"Is it that many?" Xiyue Frost’s delicate brows knitted together, her expression a little confused.

"How is it not many? You and Dongfang Qi make two. Add Brother Feng, and that’s three," Houhuiyao said with a pout.

Hearing this, Xiyue Frost fell into thoughtful silence for a long moment before saying something that left everyone dumbfounded: "If I remember correctly, Li Haoyang, who is ranked eighth in the Reconnaissance Department, is also from Rongcheng. Oh, and there’s Nanyuan Xu, ranked second in the Magic Injury Department."

"..." Man Tiaotiao and Houhuiyao were speechless. It took them a long while to recover, their lips twitching. "Boss Xiyue, are you sure you’re not joking with us?"

Even though he knew Xiyue Frost’s personality wasn’t one for joking, Houhuiyao still found it hard to believe. After all, it was already impressive for a large city to produce two or three geniuses. For a small border town to suddenly pop out five in one go... how were others supposed to compete?

Feng Hao was also incredibly surprised. ’I can’t believe there are so many impressive fellow townspeople from Rongcheng hidden in Five Provinces Academy.’ Nanyuan Xu went without saying; he was definitely from the Nanyuan Family. As for Li Haoyang from the Reconnaissance Department, he was very likely that kid Li Mufeng’s older brother.

"So there were this many people from our hometown. Why didn’t you say so earlier?" Feng Hao asked with a pout.

Xiyue Frost’s face was as still as water in an old well. "You didn’t ask, so why would I say anything? Besides, I don’t know them well."

"Alright, you win," Feng Hao said, rendered speechless. Given the extent of Xiyue Frost’s reclusiveness, a situation like this wasn’t surprising.

Shock was shock, but the match still had to be watched. In the arena, Xie Kuangfeng and Dongfang Qi had already begun to fight. The battle between Fourth-rank Mages was quite magnificent, with flashes of sword light and waves of Qi crisscrossing, creating an immense spectacle.

Meanwhile, Houhuiyao and Man Tiaotiao were still hung up on the Rongcheng issue. They couldn’t help it; the number and quality of students from Rongcheng were just too high!

"Look! Xie Kuangfeng has activated his Third Gear Light Blade!"

"To be able to push Xie Kuangfeng this far, Dongfang Qi’s strength has clearly improved a lot."

"I know, right? Xie Kuangfeng hasn’t used his Third Gear Light Blade since his spar with Senior Sister Bai Yin."

"Do you guys think Dongfang Qi has a chance of defeating Xie Kuangfeng?"

"I think it’s a long shot. Xie Kuangfeng is Xie Kuangfeng, after all. No one knows just how strong he’s become."

Hearing the discussions around him, Feng Hao couldn’t help but focus his gaze on the blue Light Blade in Xie Kuangfeng’s hand. As far as he knew, the Light Blade was a new style of weapon that incorporated many mechanical principles. After being charged with a certain amount of Magic Power, its basic performance could be enhanced—this was what they called "gears."

A typical Light Blade only had two gears, but the one in Xie Kuangfeng’s hand had three. One could only imagine that the person who forged this blade was definitely a master of the new school of Artifact Refining.

"You know, this kid really does look a lot like Dongfang Wuji."

Watching Dongfang Qi on stage with his sword and shield, Feng Hao couldn’t help but pout and make the teasing comment.

Just then, Xie Kuangfeng, having activated his Third Gear Light Blade, launched his attack and quickly gained the upper hand. Streaks of blue Sword Qi swept out, suppressing Dongfang Qi and keeping him at a safe distance.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Dongfang Qi continuously blocked with his shield but was inevitably hit a few times. His Qi Blood, which was nearly at 100,000, rapidly declined.

’This can’t go on. I have to use my trump card!’

Facing Xie Kuangfeng’s terrifying damage, Dongfang Qi didn’t dare to be careless. With a clenched jaw and a roar, his entire body was suddenly enveloped in a layer of earthy-yellow Gang Qi. At the same time, Xie Kuangfeng’s speed began to drop rapidly.

Sensing the strange change, Xie Kuangfeng’s expression shifted dramatically. He exclaimed in shock, "A Gravity Secret Technique? No, this isn’t a Secret Technique!"

"Haha, now it’s my turn to attack!"

Dongfang Qi laughed loudly and charged forward. While ramming with his shield, he rapidly closed the distance, his sword slashing wildly.

Xie Kuangfeng’s face fell in alarm. He wanted to retreat to a safe distance but was severely restricted by the gravity pulling at his feet. He could only clash head-on and trade blows with Dongfang Qi. Fortunately, his armor’s defensive capabilities were excellent; otherwise, he wouldn’t even have the means to fight back like this.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG...

The battle continued, while the audience below had already erupted in gasps of astonishment.

Even the academy’s upper management on the viewing platform wore expressions of shocked suspicion. The Head Dean, Xuchang, stared at Dongfang Qi with glittering eyes and said in disbelief, "This aura... could it be a bloodline talent?!"

"There are clear bloodline fluctuations, and it’s a gravity-controlling ability. It’s very effective in combat," an Elder next to him mused.

"Another genius who has awakened their bloodline. It looks like our Five Provinces Academy’s ranking can rise even further!" Xuchang said, his eyes filled with gratification.

The dean of the Strength Department’s face was flushed with pride. "Recently, some people have been saying our Strength Department doesn’t deserve to be the number one combat department, that we’re not even as good as students from the Pharmacy Department. I’d like to see who dares to say that now!"

Sun Yaowen, who had just caught a stray bullet, looked exasperated. He pouted and snorted coldly, "Old Li, why the hell are you looking at me? Do you really think my Pharmacy Department has no one?"

"Isn’t that the case? As far as I know, there aren’t any Pharmacy Department students on the list of finalists, are there?" Dean Li taunted with a cold smile.

"Bullshit. A bunch of Strength Department students got beaten so badly by a first-year from the Pharmacy Department that they didn’t dare make a peep, and you have the nerve to be smug about this?" Sun Yaowen said scornfully.

Dean Li’s face instantly turned ashen. He gritted his teeth and said, "First of all, that kid has already been expelled. If you’ve got the guts, let him fight one of the top ten students from our Strength Department! If I don’t beat the shit out of him, my surname isn’t Li!"

"A loss is a loss. Why make so many excuses?" Sun Yaowen said, his eyes full of disdain.

"You...!" Dean Li was choked speechless.

Seeing the two of them arguing more and more fiercely, Xuchang interrupted them with a deep voice, "That’s enough. Look at the two of you. Do you even look like deans?"

Dean Li gritted his teeth, flicked his sleeve, and turned his head away in resentment.

Sun Yaowen, however, just gave a disdainful smile and smugly crossed his legs.

He couldn’t help it. The Pharmacy Department’s profile had been too high recently. First, there was Feng Hao, whose combat power was off the charts, and then there was the Treatment Magic Master who had founded a whole new school of thought. As the dean, it was impossible for him to keep a low profile even if he wanted to.