The Strongest Talent Tree

Fang Jie sneered. With a flourish of his short saber, he pointed it arrogantly at Feng Hao. "Let’s begin. I’ll show you the power of a Divine Soul Weapon!"

"Heh, sure. Very intimidating," Feng Hao quipped with a smile, then nodded to the Referee Elder.

The Referee Elder wasted no words. After nodding and glancing at them both, he announced loudly, "The match begins!"

The next moment, the entire arena fell silent. Everyone held their breath, their eyes glued to the stage, intently watching this final showdown.

Fang Jie was already prepared. The instant the referee’s announcement ended, he activated an explosive Body Technique. He transformed into a blur, just as he had against Yanziqing, and closed the distance to Feng Hao in the blink of an eye.

His short saber flowed with golden light, its momentum carrying an immense sense of pressure. Golden blade energy crisscrossed through the air, aimed straight for Feng Hao’s chest.

"A move like that only works once. The second time isn’t nearly as effective." Unfazed by the danger, Feng Hao sneered and easily dodged by activating Shadow Strike.

At the same time, countless gasps rose from the audience.

They had clearly seen Feng Hao’s Shadow Strike follow a curved path. Not only did he evade Fang Jie’s attack, but he also effortlessly circled around to Fang Jie’s back, his dagger unleashing a dark, crescent-shaped wave of force.

Fang Jie’s face fell in shock. He hurriedly spun around to counterattack, but unfortunately, in the instant he turned, Feng Hao had already used Shadow Strike again to move to a different position.

BANG!

Dark Moon Carnage landed on Fang Jie. A terrifying Dark Force energy instantly surged into his body, rampaging within him and causing a series of frightening damage numbers to appear.

Through his Crystal Eye’s monitoring, Feng Hao could clearly see the damage values floating above Fang Jie’s head:

"13,257"

"10,442"

"7,756"

"5,101"

"2,358"

It had to be said, with two new branch talents, Feng Hao’s damage had been strengthened to an unprecedented degree. This one Dark Moon Carnage had dealt a total of nearly thirty-nine thousand damage.

One had to remember, Fang Jie only had a little over ninety thousand Qi Blood. This single attack had wiped out more than a third of it.

’A rough calculation tells me his gear’s Dark Force protection is around 35 points. Plus, he has a massive defense boost from a full set of Taichu spirit essences. Otherwise, the damage would’ve been even higher.’

Feng Hao analyzed silently. To him, figuring out his opponent’s various stats was crucial.

Meanwhile, Fang Jie was clearly caught off guard. His expression grew grim. Feng Hao’s damage was completely beyond his expectations. ’Damn it, that little thief’s damage was nowhere near this high before! Could it be because he broke through to Rank 4?’

Fang Jie had also been paying close attention to Feng Hao recently and was well aware of his damage output.

Unfortunately, he never would have dreamed that Feng Hao gained two branch talents with every rank he broke through. The boost to his power was terrifying!

At the same time, both the audience below and the VIPs in the viewing stands were equally stunned. Feng Hao’s damage had surpassed their understanding.

In most people’s eyes, the Dark Force Mage was a path that required a long period of cultivation before its power became apparent, usually only showing its true strength at Rank 5 or 6.

For Feng Hao to have such a drastic change right after breaking through to Rank 4 was truly baffling.

Normally, when faced with such an illogical situation, many would instinctively think of a Bloodline Talent. After all, only a special bloodline could explain it. But Feng Hao showed no trace of bloodline fluctuations or the typical signs of an activated bloodline, which made it even more incomprehensible.

In the viewing stands, the Thief Master and Jing Lou were among the few in the know. The difference was that Jing Lou only knew Feng Hao had a special bloodline, but not its specific abilities or effects.

"Thief Master, what exactly is Xiaofeng’s bloodline? To have such a massive change right after breaking through to Rank 4..." Jing Lou asked, surprised and suspicious.

The Thief Master just smiled without a word, quietly watching the battle on the stage.

Seeing the Thief Master wasn’t talking, Jing Lou could only shake his head resentfully and turn his attention back to the match.

Elsewhere, the Eastern Sub-Palace Master of Mu Country’s East Division looked furious. As Fang Jie’s sponsor, he was well aware of his strength. He had thought that with a Divine Soul Weapon in hand, Fang Jie would sweep the preliminaries, but he never expected some little freak to show up out of nowhere.

The Eastern Sub-Palace Master’s brow furrowed. He asked, "Your Excellency, Thief God, where on earth did this kid come from? Why have I never heard of him?"

Jing Lou was taken aback for a moment, then clicked his tongue and said, "Beilang Country."

"Beilang Country? As I recall, Beilang Country doesn’t have a slot in this competition, do they?" the Eastern Sub-Palace Master questioned in a low voice.

"It was a specially approved slot," Jing Lou retorted with a purse of his lips.

"A specially approved slot? The Thief Disciple preliminaries are a matter of great importance! How can slots be approved so casually? I suggest we nullify this kid’s results," the Eastern Sub-Palace Master said with a cold laugh.

Jing Lou’s expression hardened. Just as he was about to say something, the Thief Master beside him spoke up with a sneer. "I was the one who approved the slot. What? You think I don’t have that authority?"

"Er..." The Eastern Sub-Palace Master’s expression froze instantly. He could only force himself to say, "Of course the Thief Master has that right, but..."

"But nothing!" the Thief Master snorted, curling his lip. "Don’t you just want that Fang Jie kid to win the championship to bring glory to your Eastern Branch Hall?"

The Eastern Sub-Palace Master said awkwardly, "Thief Master, you’re overthinking it. I just mean that for something as important as the Thief Disciple preliminaries, we should follow the rules."

"What a joke. Since when does the Thief God Hall care about rules?" the Thief Master sneered.

The Eastern Sub-Palace Master was rendered speechless. It was true. The greatest rule of the Thief God Hall was that there were no rules.

Meanwhile, on the stage, the battle between the two had entered a deadlock.

Although Feng Hao had gained the upper hand at the start, Fang Jie was no pushover. To have fought his way here from the initial free-for-all round, he wasn’t just relying on his Divine Soul Weapon; his own strength and combat experience were not to be underestimated.

Besides, all participants in the Thief Disciple preliminaries were Elite Thieves, hand-picked by the various branch halls. How could they have been chosen without some serious skills?

After a brief exchange, Fang Jie quickly turned the tables. He switched back and forth between his short saber and bow, combining long-range and close-quarters combat to seize the initiative.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

It had to be said, Fang Jie’s archery was indeed formidable. His firing angles were incredibly tricky. Although the damage couldn’t compare to his Divine Soul Short Saber, it had the advantage of long range and high accuracy. After a few exchanges, he had already chipped away more than twenty thousand of Feng Hao’s Qi Blood.

’Damn it, I knew this guy was holding back. From the looks of it, the bow is probably his main weapon.’

Feng Hao cursed under his breath as he frantically dodged the arrows Fang Jie fired. He even had to use Shadow Strike to avoid some of them, causing his Magic Power to deplete rapidly. If it weren’t for the 2 points of energy recovery provided by his Demon Jade Talisman, he probably wouldn’t have been able to hold on.

Furthermore, the rules of the match explicitly forbade the use of pills. This made Magic Power extremely precious in a fight; wasting even a little could lead to defeat.

Fortunately, Feng Hao’s total Magic Power was very high. After the repeated exchanges, he still had over a thousand points left.

Watching the arrows fly at him one after another, Feng Hao found himself completely unable to close the distance. Every time he tried to get near, he was forced back by the barrage. He had no choice; the arrows were all aimed at his vitals. If he didn’t dodge, the damage would be more than he could handle.

’Looks like the only way to get close to him is to activate Black Eyes.’