The Strongest Talent Tree

For several days straight, business at the general store was booming, showing no signs of slowing down.

In addition to the various movie and TV show Crystal Cards, the "educational films" had also seen a sudden boom. At first, only a few sleazy young men and their shady friends came to buy them, but as word spread, their influence grew.

Many nobles and aristocrats in Five States City would sneak over to knock on the shop door after the general store had closed for the day.

From this clientele, Feng Hao learned quite a bit of inside scoop. Apparently, these "educational films" had become a trend among the upper class. If you didn’t own a few respectable titles, you couldn’t even hold a conversation.

Of course, this trend was limited to the men of high society, and it remained a rather private affair. While no one spoke of it openly, it was a well-understood secret.

Because of this, Feng Hao had inexplicably become a "mentor" in the eyes of these upper-class men, leaving him at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.

Meanwhile, the noblewomen and young ladies of high society had been completely captivated by all sorts of melodramatic idol dramas.

To put it simply, everyone in the upper echelons of Five States City now knew the name Feng Hao.

Feng Hao, however, had no interest in hobnobbing with high society. He’d been busy preparing for the launch of the Thief God Entertainment Company with Qian Sanduo. Having seen the terrifying potential of the entertainment industry, Qian Sanduo was completely wired, eager to get the company established immediately.

As for Yao Ying and Xu Zhenzhen’s trio, they had already developed great chemistry and fully adapted to the song-and-dance performance style.

Once the Thief God Entertainment Company was established, he would arrange for their dazzling debut.

Despite being busy, Feng Hao hadn’t slacked off on his cultivation in the slightest. He could feel that he was on the verge of reaching level forty-one.

「Half a month later.」 Thief God Entertainment Company was officially established. All business related to the players and Crystal Cards was handed over to Qian Sanduo, and Feng Hao, finally free of that burden, felt more relaxed than ever before.

Of course, the adult film business wasn’t handed over to Qian Sanduo; those were still sold exclusively at the general store.

As the Crystal Cards’ popularity grew, pirated copies began to appear. After all, there was no real technical skill involved in making the players or the cards; any half-decent Mechanic could replicate them.

Feng Hao had anticipated this, so he wasn’t particularly bothered. Qian Sanduo, however, was a different story. Watching heaps of Magic Crystals get siphoned off by pirates, the money-grubber felt like his heart was bleeding.

"For Pete’s sake, you’ve got to think of something! If this keeps up, the company will go under sooner or later," Qian Sanduo said, his eyes filled with anxiety.

"There’s nothing I can do about it," Feng Hao said, shaking his head helplessly.

"How is that possible? Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of genius?" Qian Sanduo asked in disbelief.

"It can’t be helped. Piracy is like weeds—you can burn the fields, but they’ll just grow back again. You can’t control it."

Hearing this, Qian Sanduo collapsed onto the sofa and wailed, "So we’re just supposed to sit here and watch it happen?"

"Don’t worry. The Crystal Cards are just small-time. The real money is still to come," Feng Hao said with a knowing smirk.

Qian Sanduo’s spirits lifted instantly. His eyes lit up. "Haha! I knew you had a plan! Spit it out, quick!"

"Well... you wouldn’t get it even if I told you," Feng Hao said with a grin. "For now, just help me find a few performance venues. The more crowded, the better."

"Performance venues?" Qian Sanduo was confused. "I thought the goal was to make money. What do we need venues for?"

"Why all the questions? Just find me the venues. I’ll handle the rest."

"Fine, I’ll get right on it." With that, Qian Sanduo rushed out of the general store.

After Qian Sanduo left, the general store finally fell quiet. Now that the Crystal Card business was being managed by the Thief God Hall, the shop had returned to its usual state of being empty.

Of course, when closing time came each evening, plenty of furtive figures would still come knocking on the door.

CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

A series of crisp forging sounds echoed through the general store. Feng Hao’s control over his hidden strength was now so precise that the sound of his hammering was incredibly faint.

’I wonder where Elder Tang went. He’s been gone for so long.’

While forging, Feng Hao couldn’t help but think of his forging master, Elder Tang, and a hint of worry crept into his heart.

Time slowly passed amidst the sounds of forging.

That evening, Yao Girl returned with a swagger, Xiaohai cradled in her arms and Three-second Fire trailing behind her. She had quite the entourage.

"Hey, medicine-seller! I got bullied! What are you going to do about it?" Xi Yueyao demanded huffily the moment she walked in the door.

Feng Hao sighed and put down his Forging Hammer, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "No way. We should be grateful you’re not the one bullying others. Who would dare to bully you?"

"I don’t care. I’m unhappy," the girl pouted.

"..." Feng Hao shook his head in resignation. "Alright, just tell me who bullied you. I’ll go beat them up for you right now."

"Heehee, that’s more like it." Instantly satisfied, she shot him a playful smile and skipped toward the stairs. "Little Fireman, keep up! You did great today, so I’ll reward you with a magic soul."

"Coming, coming!" Three-second Fire scrambled to follow.

Lines of exasperation formed on Feng Hao’s forehead. "Hey, you! Didn’t you say you were bullied?"

"I was just teasing! Who would dare bully me?" Xi Yueyao huffed, then turned to make a face at Feng Hao before disappearing into the bedroom with a giggle.

Shaking his head, at a loss for whether to laugh or cry, Feng Hao stopped his forging. He strode into the bedroom, ready to teach her a lesson.

And so, Xiaohai and Three-second Fire were unceremoniously tossed out of the bedroom. Soon after, a rhythmic creaking began to emanate from inside.

...

「The next morning.」 After dropping Xi Yueyao off at the academy, Feng Hao headed toward the liberal arts department.

But before he reached the department, a sudden Stone Listening Communication threw him off. "You little shit, have you fucking decided to give up on my research altogether?"

"Damn, isn’t having Xiaomiaozi there enough for you?" Feng Hao retorted, exasperated.

"Xiaomiaozi’s skills are limited, and he wasn’t part of the initial research. We’re at a critical stage now, so you have to get your ass over here."

Feng Hao paused, surprised. "Huh? You mean the research was a success?"

"That’s right. We’re just waiting on you for the final step," Sun Yaowen huffed.

"Alright, I’m on my way."

Hearing there had been a breakthrough in the monster research, Feng Hao didn’t hesitate, quickly making his way to Sun Yaowen’s laboratory.

Inside the familiar laboratory, Sun Yaowen and Miao Feng were both present. The mangled corpse of a monster lay in the center of the room, emitting a strange, foul stench.

"Senior Brother, you’re here!" Miao Feng said, his eyes lighting up with delight when he saw Feng Hao.

Sun Yaowen, however, was in no mood for pleasantries. "Don’t waste time. Get into your protective suit and let’s get started. Xiaomiaozi, you watch carefully from the side and lend a hand where you can."

"Understood," Miao Feng nodded.

Feng Hao didn’t waste any time either. He quickly changed into a protective suit and asked seriously, "What exactly was the breakthrough? Let me see the experiment data."

"The demon-poison antibody," Sun Yaowen said, tossing the experiment data to Feng Hao.