The Strongest Talent Tree

A battle was imminent. The Sixth-rank Mage, who was refining an essence, could only abandon the process and draw his blade to face Feng Hao.

Meanwhile, the white-robed Mage was being chased all over the place by the Water Luminous Beast, shouting curses nonstop, "I have no grudge against you! Why are you setting your Summoned Beast on me?"

"Sorry, but I’m with them," Sirlius sneered. As his Magic Power surged, a strange contract pattern materialized between his brows.

Immediately after, the Water Luminous Beast erupted in a golden light, its speed and combat power increasing dramatically. It easily pounced on the white-robed Mage and pinned him to the ground. Using both claws and teeth, it began to tear into him savagely. Within the span of a single breath, the white-robed Mage was teleported away by the Spatial Ability.

The Natural Essence he was carrying then floated to the ground, a vibrant golden light shooting up into the sky.

This sudden turn of events made everyone present turn pale with shock. However, Feng Hao was about to give them an even greater one!

"A mere Fourth-rank Mage dares to challenge a Sixth-rank Mage? You’re courting death." The Sixth-rank Mage sneered contemptuously. As he moved his long blade, light and shadows intertwined.

The blade energy danced like scattered willow leaves, then, as if swept up by a violent wind, it roared as it tore toward Feng Hao.

"Hmph." Feng Hao snorted, wielding his main and off-hand daggers in coordination and unleashing two strikes of [Dark Moon Kill].

Then, to everyone’s astonishment, he used [Shadow Strike] to bypass the blade energy, landing in front of the Sixth-rank Mage at almost the exact same moment as the energy from his [Dark Moon Kill].

The Sixth-rank Mage was startled and subconsciously swung his long blade in a horizontal sweep, intending to force Feng Hao back.

Unfortunately for him, Feng Hao had no intention of retreating. He leaned back sharply to dodge the sweeping blade, then used a curved [Shadow Strike] to circle behind his opponent like a phantom.

With a fluid upward flick of his off-hand dagger, he easily landed [Moon Thorn] on the center of the Sixth-rank Mage’s back.

BANG!

Terrifying Dark Force damage exploded inside the Sixth-rank Mage, rampaging through him like a surging tsunami. His armor was instantly torn open.

It couldn’t be helped. After Feng Hao refined the Natural Essence, the sharpness of his off-hand Su Mu Dagger had reached 105. The Sixth-rank Mage’s armor toughness was clearly not very high, making it difficult to withstand the dagger’s destructive power.

Once the armor was breached, [Moon Thorn] was no longer affected by Dark Force defenses, and its damage skyrocketed.

-69,508

-53,806

-40,704

Just those three hits were enough to completely empty the Sixth-rank Mage’s Qi Blood. Although the subsequent two hits weren’t displayed, they easily obliterated what was left of his life force.

And just like that, before the terrified eyes of the crowd, the Sixth-rank Mage was insta-killed without any chance to fight back.

"Damn, what kind of damage was that? Am I seeing things?"

"It must be because his armor was broken. But even so, he shouldn’t have been insta-killed, right?"

"Is that kid really only Fourth-rank?"

"Since when could a low-rank Dark Force Mage be this powerful?!"

...

Sirlius also witnessed this, his eyes wide with shock. Although he had previously seen Feng Hao slaughter a four-man team, this scene still far exceeded his expectations.

"What terrifying Dark Force damage... Feng Hao is far from simple!" Sirlius clicked his tongue in amazement.

As a disciple from a top sect in the Second Ring Star Realm, he had seen countless astonishingly talented people. But compared to the Feng Hao before him, those so-called geniuses seemed rather ordinary.

While everyone stood there in disbelief, Feng Hao had already sheathed his daggers with a stylish flair.

’At this stage, my off-hand weapon’s damage really is a bit higher.’ Feng Hao nodded to himself as the stats for his off-hand Su Mu Dagger appeared in his mind:

[Su Mu Dagger] (Taisu)

Rank: Fourth-rank

Lethality: 292

Dark Force Amplification: 81

Sharpness: 105

Weight: 88

Demon Pattern Resonance: Attack Speed +12%

’Although I lost the bonus from [Light Weapon Specialization], I gained 172 lethality and 36 extra Dark Force amplification. More importantly, the 67-point increase in sharpness makes it the bane of low-toughness armor.’

’In comparison, the loss of 120 lethality and 29 attack speed is completely negligible.’

’Looks like I’ll have to allocate some [Gene Points] to the Strength Root System in the future.’

’My aptitude for strength is pitifully low, but [Light Weapon Specialization] is tied to the Strength Root System. I estimate I’ll need at least 200 base points in it. After all, higher-rank weapons are heavier.’

’If I can activate [Light Weapon Specialization], the returns will absolutely be worth it.’

’It’s important to remember that the lethality provided by a Natural Essence is also boosted by [Light Weapon Specialization].’

’In other words, if I raise my Strength Root System to 89 base points, my off-hand Su Mu Dagger will gain an additional 292 lethality, which is equivalent to 876 points of Dark Force.’

’In short, [Light Weapon Specialization] is a branch talent I absolutely cannot give up on.’

Just as Feng Hao was analyzing his future plans, Yao Girl spoke up again, her voice filled with even more confidence than before. "Anyone else not convinced? If so, feel free to step forward. This young lady will respect you for being a hero!"

"What? No one? Where did all that arrogance from before disappear to?" Xi Yueyao taunted cheerfully.

"Since no one objects, let’s start paying up. It’s not much, not much at all—just two Level 6 Magic Crystals per person."

As soon as she said this, a collective groan of misery swept through the crowd.

"Wasn’t it one Level 6 Magic Crystal? How did it become two?" a few Mages asked, their faces contorted in pain.

Xi Yueyao pouted and huffed, "I was very dissatisfied with your performance just now. I’m already being generous by only charging two."

"..." The dozens of Mages wanted to cry but had no tears left.

And so, a few of the weaker Mages started to hand over their Magic Crystals. Once someone took the lead, the others stopped hesitating and came forward to pay as well.

Although many were resentful, they could only obediently hand over their Magic Crystals under the intimidating presence of Feng Hao and Sirlius.

"Haha, all mine, all mine!" Xi Yueyao grinned from ear to ear, looking like a little money-grubber.

Feng Hao, watching from the side, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He cleared his throat and stepped forward to announce, "By the way, if you have any Concealment-, Defense-, or Speed-type essences, you can use one for a discount of one Level 6 Magic Crystal."

The girl pouted, looking slightly displeased, but she understood Feng Hao’s intentions.

Hearing Feng Hao’s words, the crowd began to stir once more. Many people took out the essences they had acquired from their recent hunts.

After all, a single essence was nothing compared to a Level 6 Magic Crystal. One had to remember that a single Level 6 Magic Crystal was worth a trillion regular Magic Crystals!

"Now this guy is reasonable. I happen to have a Defense-type essence right here."

"I have some too! Two Speed-type essences!"

"I’m a Magic Master, so these three types of essences are useless to me. I’ve got seven or eight of them, and also a Top-Grade Divine Sense Magic Crystal."

"You should’ve said so earlier! I have one too. Say, can I get back the Magic Crystal I just handed over?"

Although the girl loved money, she mostly just enjoyed the thrill of accumulating wealth. Besides, she didn’t have much to spend it on, so she readily accepted everyone’s trades.

In just a short while, they had acquired over a dozen essences suitable for their needs.

If they had to hunt for this many essences themselves, it would have taken at least a month to finish—and if their luck was bad, even a month might not have been enough.

After all, the attributes of a Spirit Beast Essence were not fixed. Depending on a Spirit Beast’s evolutionary path, it could manifest all sorts of different attributes.