The Strongest Talent Tree

"Huh? Her bloodline mutated too?" Feng Hao was taken aback, his expression odd.

Why the "too"? Because Xi Yueyao already had a mutation.

As Feng Hao recalled, Yao Girl’s [Power Root] was a mutated gene. Its secondary attribute, dark energy, surpassed its primary attribute, strength, leaving her unsure whether to follow the Power Path or a dark energy path.

He never would have thought that the girl’s bloodline would also mutate upon awakening. ’Could it be she was just naturally prone to mutations?’

’Doesn’t the saying go that the rich rely on technology, while the poor rely on mutation?’

’But Xi Yueyao is clearly a rich young lady, isn’t she? Though the Xiyue Clan is just a family from a small frontier city, it has a long history and a deep heritage. She’s definitely the picture of a rich, beautiful heiress from a Hidden Clan.’

On the other end of the Stone Listening Communication, Xiyue Frost also sounded a bit helpless when she heard him say "too." "Yaoyao’s mutated bloodline is a bit strange. She’s locked herself in her room and is sulking right now."

"What? Was it a crippling mutation?" Feng Hao asked with a frown.

"Well... how should I put this? It’s not a beneficial mutation, but it’s not a detrimental one either. In any case, you’ll understand when you get back and see for yourself."

Feng Hao nodded thoughtfully. "Alright," he mused. "My competition here is almost over. Tell Yaoyao I’ll be back to see her soon, and that she shouldn’t lose heart."

"Yes, that’s why I’m calling you," Xiyue Frost said bitterly. "The girl only listens to you nowadays."

"Of course she does. My girl should listen to me," Feng Hao teased smugly.

"..." Xiyue Frost was speechless, and then she promptly cut off the Stone Listening Communication.

Feng Hao clicked his tongue, not bothering to get upset with the withdrawn girl. He pulled his thoughts back to his game panel.

In a nearby corner, Mei Meimei was still engrossed in tinkering with the [Pulse Wrist Guard]. It had exploded countless times over the past half-month; Feng Hao had lost count.

"Haha, I’m such a genius! To think I could come up with such an exquisite design."

Mei Meimei suddenly burst into excited laughter, then, to Feng Hao’s astonishment, she rushed headlong into the Monster Simulator.

Before long, a muffled BOOM echoed from the simulator, and Mei Meimei came scrambling out in a sorry state.

’Well, it blew up again,’ Feng Hao thought, shaking his head with a smile. He was secretly relieved.

’Good thing I never let her modify the [Man Sa]. Otherwise, who knows if it would’ve just blown up on me mid-drive.’

Feng Hao was a decent Mechanic himself by now, and after spending this much time with her, he had more or less figured out Mei Meimei’s style.

Simply put, Mei Meimei was a Mechanic who pursued performance above all else, completely disregarding stability. For example, if she built a Magic Energy Gun, it would be far more powerful than anyone else’s, but its stability would be laughably terrible.

In short, Mei Meimei’s mechanical creations were all ticking time bombs that no one but she herself could handle.

Mei Meimei came tumbling out from the Monster Simulator, coughing up puffs of green smoke and looking as wretched as could be. "Damn you, Xiaowu, don’t you dare laugh!"

"I’m really not laughing," Feng Hao said, trying his best to hold it in.

"Liar! You were totally just laughing." Mei Meimei stomped indignantly in front of Feng Hao, her face black with soot, as if she had just crawled out of a coal mine. "What are you staring at? Hurry up and get your big sister a glass of water!"

"Alright, alright." Feng Hao couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing as he poured her a glass of water.

Seeing him burst out laughing, Mei Meimei couldn’t help but laugh as well. She snatched the glass in a huff and chugged it down without a shred of ladylike grace. After she was done, she even let out a damn burp. "Phew! I almost got blown to bits!"

"If it’s not working out, why not just drop it? Aren’t you tired of things blowing up all day?" Feng Hao coaxed with a chuckle.

Mei Meimei huffed. "What do you know? I’m only going through all this trouble for you. If it were for my own use, I wouldn’t have to modify it at all."

Feng Hao chuckled, at a loss for words, a warmth spreading through his chest. Just as Mei Meimei said, if the [Pulse Wrist Guard] was for her own use, she wouldn’t need to go to such lengths.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Fourth Sister, but let’s just drop the research on the [Pulse Wrist Guard]."

"Absolutely not," Mei Meimei said decisively. "Your big sister has to give you a proper greeting gift. Otherwise, how could I have the nerve to ask you for Alchemy in the future?"

Feng Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "It’s just Alchemy. You can always come directly to me for that."

"That won’t do," Mei Meimei said, her expression serious. "I’m the older sister and you’re the younger brother. How can an older sister rely on her younger brother?"

"..." Feng Hao was left speechless.

"You just wait! I’m going to go check blueprint number seventy-eight right now. It’ll definitely work this time!" With that, Mei Meimei excitedly ran back to her corner and got to work.

Feng Hao’s face fell. ’Damn, she’s already on number seventy-eight!’

Not long after Mei Meimei resumed her work, the Thief Master arrived, as he always did, to oversee Feng Hao’s cultivation. During this period, the Thief Master had been incredibly busy discussing strategies to counter the demonic beast invasion with the higher-ups at the Grand Hall, but he still made time every evening to train with Feng Hao.

While they trained, he would also share his cultivation experiences, occasionally telling stories about the world beyond to distract Feng Hao and reduce the pain inflicted by the Enhanced Cultivation Pod.

"Master, you’ve arrived," Feng Hao said, rising to greet him.

The Thief Master gave a faint smile and gestured for Feng Hao to sit. He looked up and asked, "On my way here, I heard many of the junior thieves discussing you. What happened? Did something go wrong at the competition today?"

"Uh..." Feng Hao was taken aback. He then recounted the events of the competition in full detail, including the matter of the black, illusory figure in his sea of consciousness.

After hearing Feng Hao’s explanation, the Thief Master’s expression turned grim. With a wave of his hand, he pulled Feng Hao to his side and extended his Divine Sense into Feng Hao’s sea of consciousness. "Relax your mind and body. Don’t resist. I’d like to see just who dares to target my disciple."

Feng Hao naturally wouldn’t resist. He quickly calmed his mind and allowed the Thief Master to probe him.

Within the vast, empty sea of consciousness, a strand of powerful Divine Sense slowly entered and coalesced into the form of the Thief Master. He coldly scrutinized the gray ball of light floating above the Genetic Tree. "Just as I thought, a remnant soul. Trying to possess this old man’s disciple? What a fool’s dream."

The Thief Master snorted, and his ocean-like Divine Sense instantly enveloped the gray light.

However, the moment his Divine Sense touched the gray ball of light, the orb erupted with a powerful suction force, frantically devouring the Thief Master’s spiritual energy. Its once-dim light began to solidify.

The Thief Master was alarmed. He tried to retract his Divine Sense but found it was completely stuck.

Instantly, the Thief Master’s physical body broke out in a sweat, and his face turned pale from the loss of his spiritual energy.

"Master, are you okay?" Feng Hao asked in a panic.

The Thief Master gritted his teeth. "I’m fine. This remnant soul doesn’t seem to have any malicious intent. It’s just borrowing my spiritual energy to recover."

Hearing this, Feng Hao couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

At the same time, the gray ball of light began to expand rapidly, soon coalescing into a grayish-black figure. It had one black eye and one blue eye—the very same illusory figure from before.

Once the figure took form, it finally stopped devouring the Thief Master’s spiritual energy and blankly opened its eyes.

The Thief Master let out a breath of relief, though his expression remained grim as he stared at the figure. He asked through gritted teeth, "Who, exactly, are you, Senior? And why are you residing in this junior’s disciple’s sea of consciousness?"