The Strongest Talent Tree

Feng Hao chuckled. "No problem, but I have to go to my match now. We can talk when I get back."

"Go on, go on! Get going and come back soon." Mei Meimei nodded excitedly, her eyes full of anticipation.

Feng Hao smiled, then quickly walked out of the training grounds. He drove his *Man Sa* at top speed, heading straight for the Thief God Peak arena.

Thief God Peak was already packed with people. He had been delayed for quite a while, so by the time Feng Hao arrived, the tournament had already begun. Fortunately, he didn’t have any matches in the first two rounds.

Squeezing through the crowd, he saw Lu Linfei stepping down from the fighting stage with a wry smile. It looked like he had already lost to Huang Danian.

"Brother Feng, you’re here?" Lu Linfei asked, his face full of sorrow.

"Yeah, something held me up." Feng Hao chuckled and comforted him, "A loss is just a loss. Nothing to be so upset about."

Ming Xin Yan was also there. Seeing Feng Hao approach, her beautiful eyes showed a trace of surprise. "Huh? You broke through to level thirty-nine?"

"What do you think? Scared yet?" Feng Hao teased smugly.

Ming Xin Yan pursed her lips and smirked. "Just one level. This lady isn’t afraid of you. Enough nonsense. Get ready to go on stage."

"Alright, alright. Please go easy on me, Sis."

As the first round of matches concluded one after another, Feng Hao cut the chatter and ascended fighting stage number four with Ming Xin Yan.

Their duel naturally attracted a great deal of attention. Needless to say, Ming Xin Yan had been a favorite to win from the very beginning. Meanwhile, Feng Hao’s performance in the opening battle royale had earned him the title of "dark horse." Adding to that his mysterious relationship with the Thief God, it was impossible for people not to pay attention.

In short, when the two of them stepped onto the stage, the eyes of nearly every spectator and contestant focused on them, including top contenders like Fang Jie, Huang Danian, and Yanziqing.

This was especially true for Fang Jie. Possessing a Divine Soul Weapon, he had almost no need to fear anyone. But Feng Hao’s relationship with the Thief God was far from simple, and there were even rumors that Feng Hao had already been pre-selected as the winner, which left him feeling deeply unsettled.

"Boss, I’ve already investigated for you. This kid is from Beilang Country and specializes in Shadow Force. His damage is exceptionally strange. A lot of people who fought him in the opening battle royale said so," one of Fang Jie’s two underlings reported in a low voice.

Hearing this, Fang Jie couldn’t help but frown. "Doesn’t Beilang Country not have any slots?"

"It was supposedly a special slot approved by the Grand Hall. That part is very strange."

"A special slot?" Fang Jie’s expression hardened as he wondered to himself, ’Could the rumors be true? Was this kid really pre-selected?’

"That’s unlikely," the underling beside him said thoughtfully. "The position of the Thief God is too important to be casually pre-determined. Besides, even if he was, he wouldn’t be able to get past you, Boss. The higher-ups would definitely change their minds then."

"That’s true." Fang Jie chuckled. "Alright, let’s watch the match seriously. I’m curious to see what makes this kid so special."

As they spoke, the barrier’s curtain of light rose around the stage. The battle was about to begin.

Feng Hao had intended to exchange a few pleasantries with Ming Xin Yan, but the moment she got on stage, she was like a completely different person. She had no intention of making small talk, immediately activating her Golden Body Form and forming an Energy Ball to hurl at him.

"Damn, do you have to be so direct?" Feng Hao muttered, hastily dodging with Shadow Strike and instantly gripping the Su Mu Dagger.

Before he could even catch his breath, Ming Xin Yan’s second Energy Ball arrived. It sealed off his path while a golden vortex materialized to his side, its terrifying suction instantly pulling him toward it.

BOOM!

Although Feng Hao used Shadow Strike to evade the direct hit, the blast wave from the Energy Ball knocked him back, right into the unyielding pull of the golden vortex.

At the same time, a sky full of golden rain began to fall, sprinkling down on him.

A searing pain spread throughout his body as streams of damage numbers, each over a thousand, rose above his head. In the blink of an eye, his Qi Blood had dropped by more than ten thousand.

"Damn it, she’s not giving me an inch!"

Seeing the golden vortex closing in, Feng Hao cursed under his breath. He stopped hesitating, used Rapid Shadow Slash to break free of the vortex’s pull, and charged straight for Ming Xin Yan. "Sorry, Sis, but you asked for it!"

As he spoke, he slashed out with both daggers, creating two intersecting Dark Moon Slashes, followed immediately by Moon Wheel Dance.

"Bring it on," Ming Xin Yan snorted, and the phantom of a golden bell around her body rippled.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

As the black-colored energy passed through the phantom bell, it was significantly weakened. Even its projectile speed was reduced, allowing her to easily dodge the two Dark Moon Slashes.

Luckily, Moon Wheel Dance had no projectile. Although it was weakened considerably, Feng Hao’s base Shadow Force damage was terrifying. The continuous assault took out a quarter of Ming Xin Yan’s Qi Blood.

As a Magic-type Mage, Ming Xin Yan didn’t naturally have much Qi Blood. However, thanks to her full set of Primordial-grade equipment, her Qi Blood was stacked quite high. Combined with her special Golden Body Form, her total Qi Blood was even a bit higher than Feng Hao’s.

’Such strong Shadow Force.’ Ming Xin Yan was clearly startled by Feng Hao’s damage. She hastily retreated several meters, formed a massive Golden Energy Ball in her hand, and launched it at him.

Startled, Feng Hao quickly used Shadow Strike to dodge, but he was still caught by a good portion of the blast wave. Moreover, the stage was still covered by the golden rain, making it impossible for him to completely avoid taking damage.

Before he knew it, Feng Hao’s Qi Blood had already dropped to half.

’This golden rain is so annoying. I can’t even use Shadow Escape,’ Feng Hao thought with frustration. On a small battlefield like the fighting stage, Ming Xin Yan had a significant advantage.

’If we were dueling in an open area, I’m confident she wouldn’t be able to land a single hit on me.’

Unfortunately, there were no "ifs" in reality. Under the corrosion of the endless golden rain, the 0.8-second channel time for Shadow Escape would be instantly interrupted. This meant he could only face her head-on or try to stall until her Golden Body Form ended.

But the facts were clear: given the rate at which his Qi Blood was dropping, it was impossible for him to stall that long.

’Forget it. I’ve held back long enough. Time to end this fight.’

With that thought, Feng Hao no longer hesitated. After calculating the Magic Power cost, he used a two-part Shadow Strike to dash forward. He discreetly activated Black Pupils, which, combined with the high concealment of his level-100 evolved Concealed Roots, allowed him to instantly break Ming Xin Yan’s Divine Sense lock.

Weaving several Shadow Strikes into his fluid and unpredictable footwork, he easily dodged all of Ming Xin Yan’s attacks.

"You bastard, were you going easy on me just now?" Ming Xin Yan suddenly realized, her face turning livid. "This lady doesn’t need your pity!"

With that, she unleashed a barrage of Energy Balls. The entire stage was instantly enveloped in a blinding golden light. If not for the barrier’s light curtain, the entire arena would have likely been razed to the ground.

Caught in the endless barrage, Feng Hao felt utterly helpless.

’If I had known Ming Xin Yan’s pride was this strong, I never would have held back in the first place. Now look, my good intentions have completely backfired.’

’Jeez, this sis is terrifying when she gets mad.’

Seeing his Qi Blood dwindling under the bombardment, Feng Hao didn’t dare waste any more time. While throwing out Shadow Sparks, he once again closed the distance with Rapid Shadow Slash. Under the cover of Moon Wheel Dance, he stealthily slipped in a Moon Thorn.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The next moment, Ming Xin Yan’s aura instantly weakened. The golden light around her body vanished, and a dim Three Treasures Bell fell to the ground.