The Strongest Talent Tree

West Moon Ridge explained with a bitter smile, "That’s the situation. After Yaoyao’s Bloodline Power mutated, it can’t be released from the inside out. It can only be used from the outside in. Every time she activates her bloodline, she freezes herself into an ice sculpture."

"This mutation is certainly a bit strange," Feng Hao said, his brow furrowed. "Does it have any specific use?"

West Moon Ridge shook her head with a wry smile. "Other than freezing herself, I really can’t think of any combat value it might have."

"Our aunt has been helping Yaoyao try all sorts of methods recently, but she hasn’t found any leads. Thankfully, Yaoyao’s bloodline doesn’t cause her any harm," Xiyue Frost said with a sigh.

As they spoke, Xi Yueyao had already thawed out of the ice sculpture. She pouted and complained, "Medicine seller, is my bloodline completely useless?"

Feng Hao’s heart ached for her. He turned and asked, "Aunt, have you ever heard of a useless bloodline talent?"

"No, I haven’t. Generally speaking, even the worst bloodlines have some effect and use," West Moon Ridge said, her brow creased in thought.

"Then that’s it," Feng Hao said thoughtfully. "Yaoyao’s mutated bloodline might be strange, but it definitely has a use. We just haven’t discovered it yet."

"That’s easy to say, but I’ve already tried every possibility. I really can’t figure out how to give it any offensive capability."

Feng Hao froze, as if he’d just grasped something. "Offensive capability? You’ve only tested for offense?"

"What else?" West Moon Ridge asked, confused.

"Why not think about it from other angles?" Feng Hao frowned.

West Moon Ridge wore a look that said it was obvious. "Frost is inherently an offensive aspect of the water element, and this is especially true for our Xiyue Family’s Frost Bloodline."

"No, no, no. Since it’s a mutated bloodline, you can’t look at it from a normal perspective." Feng Hao pondered for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "Girl, release your bloodline again. Let me see."

"Again? It’s really uncomfortable, you know," Xi Yueyao said with a pout.

"Stop wasting time. Hurry up," Feng Hao said urgently.

Beside them, Xiyue Frost asked in surprise, "Feng Hao, did you think of something?"

"That’s right. Judging from how the bloodline manifested just now, it’s very likely a defensive ability," Feng Hao said with a nod.

Hearing this, Xiyue Frost and West Moon Ridge exchanged a look of shocked suspicion, but they quickly understood. "Yaoyao, release your bloodline, quickly!"

"My bloodline is useful?" Xi Yueyao was overjoyed. Before the three could urge her again, she willingly turned herself into an ice sculpture.

Feng Hao wasted no time. He pulled out the Su Mu Dagger and slashed at her. Of course, he couldn’t be careless when facing the person he loved, so he only used twenty percent of his latent power in this strike.

’Girl, how do you feel?’ Feng Hao asked using his Divine Sense.

’Huh? No damage at all! Try again,’ Xi Yueyao exclaimed sweetly.

’Just as I thought.’ Feng Hao’s spirits soared. He immediately smashed at her with [Dark Moon Slaughter].

BANG!

The layer of ice around Xi Yueyao’s body was frighteningly hard. A slash from [Dark Moon Slaughter] didn’t even chip off a single sliver of ice.

’What about this time?’ Feng Hao asked, a little concerned.

’Wahahaha, still don’t feel a thing! Hit me harder!’ Xi Yueyao said excitedly.

"Alright." Feng Hao didn’t hesitate any longer. He unleashed his entire Secret Technique, but still couldn’t damage the ice layer in the slightest.

What he found even more incredible was that Xi Yueyao still didn’t feel a single bit of damage.

"Good heavens, this isn’t just a defensive effect, it’s practically an invincibility effect!" Feng Hao couldn’t help but exclaim. He knew that even a Fifth-rank Mage wouldn’t be able to withstand the Secret Technique he had just used.

Nearby, Xiyue Frost and West Moon Ridge were already dumbfounded. They exchanged a horrified glance and both stepped forward to observe.

’It really is a defensive bloodline. No wonder I couldn’t figure out its use,’ West Moon Ridge exclaimed internally. She then turned to Xiyue Frost. "Xiaoshuang, you try."

"Mm." Xiyue Frost nodded gravely. After taking a few deep breaths, she swung her heavy sword and smashed it down.

BANG!

The force of the impact was so strong that the entire room trembled, yet the ice sculpture that was Xi Yueyao remained completely motionless.

"Why don’t you try it yourself?" Feng Hao suggested to West Moon Ridge.

West Moon Ridge considered it for a moment, then slowly drew her sword. To avoid hurting Xi Yueyao, she only used thirty percent of her power for the first strike.

As it turned out, Xi Yueyao’s defense in her ice sculpture state was terrifyingly abnormal. Even when facing thirty percent of West Moon Ridge’s attack power, she was completely unharmed.

"I’ll try with my full strength." West Moon Ridge swung her Longsword again. A sharp whistling sound accompanied the blade as it slashed toward Xi Yueyao.

The next moment, a terrifying shockwave of air blasted outwards. The room was thrown into chaos, as if it had just experienced a major earthquake, but the ice sculpture of Xi Yueyao still didn’t move an inch. She hadn’t even lost a single point of Qi Blood.

After a brief silence, Feng Hao and the other two sucked in a sharp breath. They couldn’t help it; this mutated bloodline was just too powerful!

"This... Even Aunt can’t break it?" Xiyue Frost said in disbelief.

West Moon Ridge came back to her senses, her eyes filled with shock and uncertainty. "Based on what I just felt, I doubt even a Ninth-rank Mage could shatter this layer of frost."

"I’m afraid it might be beyond a Ninth-rank. From the looks of it, this has a hint of absolute defense," Feng Hao said pensively.

"Absolute defense?" West Moon Ridge was startled, then said in horror, "You mean, as long as Yaoyao activates her bloodline, she can block all attacks and damage?"

"It’s very likely," Feng Hao nodded.

While the three of them were talking, Xi Yueyao thawed out of the ice sculpture again. Her little face was filled with excitement and pride, and she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "Wahahaha! I knew it! How could a girl like me awaken a useless bloodline? We’ll see who dares to look down on me now!"

"Keep a low profile. You shouldn’t reveal this kind of life-saving ability so easily," Feng Hao reminded her softly, then began to question her. "Right, girl, how long can you maintain this state?"

"As long as I have enough Magic Power, I can keep it up indefinitely. With my current total Magic Power, I can probably last for about an hour."

"Holy crap, there’s not even a time limit? That’s just..." Feng Hao was so shocked he was speechless.

From his gaming worldview, an invincibility skill that lasted a few seconds was already amazing. But Xi Yueyao’s bloodline was an invincibility with no time limit. That was simply savage to a whole new level.

Of course, whether it was truly invincible still needed to be tested. Plus, the drawback of this self-freezing was also obvious: she couldn’t attack.

To put it bluntly, it was purely for self-preservation. Once forced into the ice sculpture state, she could only wait for reinforcements or wait for death.

"It seems now that Yaoyao’s bloodline mutation is a beneficial one, and a very strong one at that." Xiyue Frost stepped forward and patted Xi Yueyao’s head, secretly happy for her.

West Moon Ridge did the same. After saying a few doting words to Xi Yueyao, she looked deeply at Feng Hao. "Xiaofeng, we have you to thank for this. Otherwise, Yaoyao’s bloodline might have gone to waste."

"We’re family. Why say thank you?" Feng Hao clicked his tongue.

"You’re right." West Moon Ridge chuckled in spite of herself. "At least from what I’ve seen so far, you’re not a bad son-in-law."

Feng Hao was taken aback, a rare hint of shyness appearing on his face.

But Xi Yueyao was different. She hopped up and threw herself into Feng Hao’s arms, tilting her head back proudly. "Of course! My medicine seller is the best. No one can compare to him."

"You, girl." West Moon Ridge rolled her eyes at her, exasperated.

PS: It’s New Year’s Eve, so Happy New Year to everyone! May your Year of the Rooster be... big! (This is my most sincere blessing. If you think about it, is there really anything more exciting than your ’little brother’ getting bigger?)