The Strongest Talent Tree

After eating and drinking its fill, the little guy was clearly much more affectionate toward Feng Hao, darting around him cheerfully.

But Feng Hao was in a sorry state. Gazing at the complete mess in his shop, he could only smile wryly and start cleaning.

Fortunately, the little guy was sensible enough. Seeing Feng Hao frowning as he cleaned the shop, it quickly realized its mistake. Though it couldn’t be of much help, it could cheer Feng Hao on from the sidelines, leaving him exasperated.

After a great deal of effort, the general store was finally back to normal.

"Whew, finally done."

Feng Hao patted the dust from his clothes and heaved a long sigh. He then scooped the little guy into his arms and said gruffly, "You can’t do this again, you hear me?"

"Meow." The little guy nodded timidly, promising to behave in the future.

A smile spread across Feng Hao’s face. He stroked the little guy’s fluffy head and muttered to himself, ’Now, what should I name you? How about Xiaomiao? Or Fluffy? Chief Black Cat the Second? No, no, those are all too tacky. It needs to be something epic, something awe-inspiring.’

Feng Hao continued to agonize over this problem as he carried the little guy back to his room upstairs.

But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t think of a suitable name. Chief Black Cat was a pretty badass name, but its mother had already claimed it. He couldn’t just give it the same name, could he?

After much fruitless deliberation, Feng Hao gave up. ’Whatever, I’ll just wait for Yaoyao to get back and we can decide together.’

With that thought, Feng Hao stopped agonizing over it. He cheerfully sat cross-legged on the bed, placed the little guy in front of him, and began to examine it with his Crystal Eye.

[Midnight Cat]

Gene Level: 28

Evolutionary Paths: Agility, Stealth, Strength, Resilience

Qi Blood: 78,450

Vitality: 175

Force: 2,160

Defense: 1,902

Speed: 1,028

Claw/Fang Damage: 145

Pelt Protection: 28 (Hidden Power Protection: 20)

"Not bad at all. Your potential is much better than your mom’s," Feng Hao said, his eyes lighting up as he clicked his tongue in amazement.

Magical beasts, like humans, were also subject to genetic evolution; their magical base forms were simply different. Thus, even among magical beasts, there were distinctions in potential and innate talent.

To have such high stats at only level 28, its potential was clearly much higher than Chief Black Cat’s. Furthermore, compared to Chief Black Cat, it had an extra evolutionary path: [Resilience], the same as the human [Resilience Root System].

Just as Feng Hao was deep in his study of the little guy, Xi Yueyao came skipping back home.

Seeing the little guy in Feng Hao’s arms, she cried out in delight, scooped it into her own embrace, and stroked it affectionately. "Little Miaomiao, you’re finally here!"

"Uh, you know about it?" Feng Hao asked, a strange look on his face.

"Of course. Auntie told me about it lots of times," Xi Yueyao said with a lovely laugh. "Speaking of which, where is Auntie?"

"Auntie didn’t come. She had someone deliver the little one," Feng Hao explained.

"Oh." Xi Yueyao looked slightly disappointed, but she recovered in an instant. She hugged the little guy and rolled around on the bed, having the time of her life.

Feng Hao watched from the side, exasperated. Once she finally settled down, he suppressed a smile and asked, "We should give the little guy a name."

"Why not just call it Little Miaomiao?" Xi Yueyao pouted and muttered. "Picking names is the absolute worst."

"..." Feng Hao was speechless, his face darkening with exasperation. "Isn’t that a little lazy?"

"I think it’s great," Xi Yueyao said with a pouty smile. She affectionately nuzzled the little guy’s nose and asked softly, "Right, Little Miaomiao?"

The little guy seemed quite satisfied with the name, nodding its little head cutely, which sent Xi Yueyao into a fit of giggles.

"Fine, Little Miaomiao it is. Saves me the brainpower," Feng Hao nodded, resigned to his fate.

With a new member in the family, the atmosphere became much livelier. At least things wouldn’t be as dull as before, when all they did was cultivate and "drive the train."

Seeing how happy Xi Yueyao was, Feng Hao’s heart felt warm and sweet. "By the way, sweetheart, how did your sister react when she saw you decked out in Taixu Equipment?"

"She didn’t react so much as she just chewed me out," Xi Yueyao said cheekily.

"What?" Feng Hao’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Why did she scold me?"

Xi Yueyao giggled, picked up Little Miaomiao, and leaned against Feng Hao’s chest, teasing, "My sister said you were too reckless, that you shouldn’t have taken me to the Fifth Secret Realm. She also said you’re arrogant and that you overestimate yourself."

"’I’m arrogant? I overestimate myself?’" Feng Hao fumed.

"Hehe," Xi Yueyao giggled. "I’m just messing with you. My sister isn’t that petty. She was just worried about me."

Only then did Feng Hao’s anger subside. He sneered, "That’s more like it. How dare someone I’ve already defeated call me overconfident."

"Hmph! You have the nerve to bring that up?" Xi Yueyao pouted. "Don’t you bully my sister anymore!"

"Alright, alright," Feng Hao said with a helpless laugh. He then remembered the Heart-Stealing Ring and put on a mysterious expression. "By the way, your dear husband bought you a gift. Want to see it?"

"A gift?" Yaoyao froze for a second, then her eyes lit up.

"Give me your hand." Feng Hao didn’t beat around the bush. He gently took her small hand, smoothly took out the Heart-Stealing Ring, and carefully slipped it onto her ring finger. "It’s a protective charm I bought today. It’s a matching pair with the ring on my hand. What do you think? Do you like it?"

"Mhm," Xi Yueyao nodded shyly, gazing adoringly at Feng Hao.

"I’m glad you like it," Feng Hao said with a warm smile.

Suddenly, Xi Yueyao threw her arms around his neck, her eyes sparkling. "What do I do? I feel like driving the train."

"Then let’s drive it. Your dear husband was just thinking the same thing," Feng Hao said, his gaze turning fiery.

"But what about Little Miaomiao?" Xi Yueyao asked, hesitating.

"Who cares about it?" Feng Hao was already getting impatient. He casually set the little creature aside and pinned Yaoyao beneath him. "It’s not like it can understand what we’re doing, is it?"

"But..." Xi Yueyao’s breath hitched as she trailed off.

"Stop thinking so much. Your husband can’t wait any longer," Feng Hao roared, tearing off his clothes and instantly turning into a beast. "WOOO~ WOOO~ WOOO~! The train’s arriving!"

And just like that, under Little Miaomiao’s innocent gaze, the two began to race their train.

...

The all-night drive left them both feeling physically and mentally satisfied.

「The next day.」

After dropping Xi Yueyao off at the academy for her classes, Feng Hao returned to the general store to start preparing his MP4 money-making scheme.

However, a problem arose when he tried to imprint the "educational films" from his memory onto the Crystal Cards.

He assumed video data could be imprinted onto the Crystal Cards with his Divine Sense, just like audio data, but reality slapped him in the face.

When he inserted the imprinted Crystal Card into a player, all that appeared on the screen was a blurry, indistinct mosaic. No matter how many times he tried, the result was always the same.

’What the hell? Where did I go wrong?’ Feng Hao was completely baffled.

The general store was all set for its grand opening, so of course a problem like this would crop up now. It was a massive headache.

Just as Feng Hao was knitting his brows in frustration, an unexpected visitor walked into the general store: Yun Jiansong, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

"Brother Sword Song? What are you doing here?" Feng Hao asked, stunned.

Upon seeing Feng Hao, Yun Jiansong looked equally stunned. "Er, so this is Brother Feng’s shop?"