The Strongest Talent Tree

Outside the simulator, the receptionist’s face turned pale as she watched the Magic Power reserves drain at an incredible speed.

As the manager of the second-floor simulators, she was responsible for any losses. If the cost of operation exceeded the revenue, the difference would be deducted from her salary.

Because of this, she always tried to raise the price slightly whenever powerful members rented a simulator, just to avoid excessive operational costs.

Besides, the gym’s members took pride in their high spending, so they didn’t mind her deliberately inflating the prices.

In fact, many members even hoped she would.

But at this moment, the receptionist was utterly dumbfounded. Ever since she’d taken over the second-floor simulators, she had never seen such an insane rate of consumption. It was like opening a floodgate.

In just over an hour, Feng Hao’s simulator had already consumed over a hundred thousand Level 1 Magic Crystals.

In other words, any further consumption would be coming out of her salary.

"How could this be?" The receptionist’s face was deathly pale, and it took her a long moment to snap out of it. ’I can’t let this continue. I have to inform the Gym Master.’

With that thought, she rushed up to the third floor...

Meanwhile, inside the simulator, Feng Hao was having a blast. Not only had he honed his proficiency with [Poisonous Chain], but he had also developed several clever ways to use it.

Fighting multiple enemies at once had always been his weak point, but [Poisonous Chain] completely changed that.

Using the chain’s ability to extend indefinitely, he could easily bundle multiple monsters together and then shred them with [Moon Wheel Dance] and [Shadow Sparks].

Although the Magic Power consumption was immense, his monster-clearing efficiency was absurdly high.

As batch after batch of monsters fell, time flew by, and before he knew it, it was noon the next day.

After such large-scale, high-efficiency training, his proficiency with [Poisonous Chain] was successfully maxed out. To Feng Hao’s surprise, he had also inexplicably mastered [Moon Wheel Dance].

On top of that, the level of his [Dark Moon Strike] had also increased significantly, much to his delight.

[Poisonous Chain]

Secret Skill Soul: Deceitful Poison Chain Soul

Proficiency: 100

Magic Power Cost: 60

Effect: Releases a poisonous chain that entangles the target, dealing 200% Dark Force damage and 1000 poison damage per second.

Trait: Poison Devour (Absorbs toxins to add poison effects.)

Attack Range: 10 meters (Cost increases by 1 Magic Power for each additional meter.)

Cooldown: 20 seconds

Cast Time: 0.7 seconds

[Moon Wheel Dance]

Secret Skill Soul: Dark Moon

Level: 115

Magic Power Cost: 82

Effect: Condenses Dark Moon Power and releases it in a spin, forming a swirling Moon Blade that deals 215% Dark Force damage twice and inflicts instant-kill vitality damage.

Attack Range: 3.5 meters

Cooldown: 6 seconds

Mastery: Cancels cast time; grants immunity to knockback during casting.

[Dark Moon Strike]

Secret Skill Soul: Dark Moon

Level: 148

Magic Power Cost: 55

Effect: Deals 248% Dark Force damage and inflicts instant-kill vitality damage.

Attack Range: 2 meters

Mastery: Secret Technique Penetration +32

’Holy crap! Mastering [Moon Wheel Dance] got rid of the cast time and even gives knockback immunity. Damn, that’s basically a super armor effect!’

Feng Hao grinned from ear to ear as he looked at the changes to the three Secret Techniques on his skill panel.

’[Poisonous Chain] was self-explanatory. It wasn’t meant for DPS, so the 200% Dark Force damage was negligible. Only the 1000 poison damage per second was halfway decent.’

’As for [Dark Moon Strike], the improvement was significant. For a basic attack skill with no cooldown, a 248% damage bonus was already insane, not to mention the +32 penetration. Combined with the 105 sharpness from his off-hand Su Mu Dagger, he could easily pierce ordinary Tier Five Armor.’

’All in all, the gains from less than a day of simulator training had completely surpassed his expectations.’

’Time to check the clock. I should get out and prepare for the performance.’

Glancing back at the access card’s timer, which showed a little over forty minutes remaining, Feng Hao reluctantly exited the simulator.

Any other time, he would have insisted on using up the last forty minutes. But today was different. Yao Ying’s performance was imminent, and he had to get out early to prepare.

WHOOSH—!

The simulator pod door slowly opened, and Feng Hao stepped out, humming a little tune. After all, having upgraded three Secret Techniques in one go, he was in a great mood.

But when he saw the scene outside the door, he instantly froze.

The old Gym Master was standing right outside, his face dark with anger, surrounded by a large crowd of dumbfounded onlookers.

"Whoa, what’s going on?" Feng Hao exclaimed in astonishment. He subconsciously glanced back at the simulator. ’I didn’t break it, did I?’ he thought, his expression puzzled.

"Cut the crap and put this Gold Badge on!" the old Gym Master sneered. He stormed up to Feng Hao, ripped the Silver Badge from his chest, and slapped a Gold Badge in its place. His movements were brutal and rough.

Feng Hao was completely bewildered by this sudden turn of events. "What the hell?!" he protested through clenched teeth. "Give me back my Silver Badge!"

"Hmph!" the old Gym Master said, his face livid. "I’m already being generous by not throwing you out. If you don’t like it, suck it up! Or just don’t come to the gym again."

"Screw you! As if I wanted to come here anyway!" Feng Hao’s temper flared. He ripped the Gold Badge from his chest and threw it at the old Gym Master’s feet.

The old Gym Master trembled with rage, but he couldn’t bring himself to attack. He could only force the words through his clenched teeth, "Fine! Fine! Fine! You’ve got guts, kid! Without a badge, you’re no longer a member of this gym. Now get the hell out of my sight!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but there happens to be an event in your gym’s performance hall this afternoon. So right now, I’m standing here as a partner," Feng Hao said with a taunting smirk.

"You—!" The old Gym Master nearly fainted from anger.

Feng Hao began to swagger back and forth in front of him, looking as arrogant as he possibly could. He even waved to the onlookers from time to time. "Hey everyone, there’s a show in the performance hall at three this afternoon. It’s gonna be amazing, so any of you guys who are interested should come check it out."

"Oh, right, Gym Master, are you interested in watching?" Feng Hao looked at the old man, his eyes full of mockery. "Don’t worry, it’s a quality show. All tickets are free, and we’ll have free drinks and little gifts, too~!"

"..." The old Gym Master was too angry to speak. He let out a cold snort through clenched teeth, turned, and stormed away.

"Take care now! Don’t forget the show this afternoon—it’s free~!" Feng Hao shouted after him in a sing-song, taunting voice.

After the Gym Master left, the crowd of onlookers began to buzz, chattering amongst themselves and asking about the performance.

"Hey man, were you serious about that performance?" a few of the wealthy-looking young men asked curiously.

"Of course I was," Feng Hao chuckled.

"The tickets are really free? And the drinks, too?"

"That’s right." Feng Hao nodded with a smile. "This performance is generously sponsored by our Thief God Entertainment Company. Not only is it completely free, but we’ve also invited the legendary [Wind Love Dance Troupe] to perform. It’s guaranteed to be an unforgettable experience!"

His words sent another wave of excitement through the crowd. After all, who wouldn’t want to see a free show?

"The [Wind Love Dance Troupe]? Who are they? How come I’ve never heard of them?" someone soon asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, me neither."

Hearing this, a mischievous smile played on Feng Hao’s lips. He put on an expression of utter shock and said, "What? You’ve never even heard of the Wind Love Dance Troupe? That’s unbelievable!"

"So, from the way you’re talking, this Wind Love Dance Troupe is really famous?"

"Famous is an understatement. They’re a sensation all over the Ancient Cang Realm," Feng Hao bluffed smoothly. "I heard that in other countries, it’s almost impossible to get a ticket to one of their shows. We had to pull a lot of strings to get them here."

"For real? If what you’re saying is true, it’d be a real shame to miss it."

Feng Hao nodded meaningfully. "More than just a shame. It would be the regret of a lifetime!"