The Strongest Talent Tree

Feng Hao chuckled. He was long used to this girl’s cute arrogance. He stepped forward, tweaked her little nose, and teased, "If you missed me, just say so. What’s there to be embarrassed about?"

"Nonsense, nonsense! I am the invincible, beautiful girl of the universe! Why would I miss a mere mortal like you!" Xi Yueyao shook her head, batting away Feng Hao’s hand. She struck a smug pose, as if showing something off to him.

Feng Hao watched her for a moment before he finally figured it out. A smile of realization spread across his face. "So you’ve advanced to the second rank. No wonder you’re so smug."

"Hmph!" Xi Yueyao continued to preen smugly.

"Quick, tell me what second-rank talent you awakened," Feng Hao asked with great interest.

’After all, this girl is practically half a Dark Force Mage,’ he thought. ’It’s very possible she’s awakened a branch talent that would suit me. Even if I can’t graft it now, there’s always a chance in the future.’

Hearing this, Xi Yueyao grew even smugger. She tilted her head back and announced, "My second-rank talent is [Light Becomes Heavy]."

"[Light Becomes Heavy]?" Feng Hao paused, surprised. "Is that the talent that doubles your damage as long as your weapon’s weight is below your strength base?"

"So? Pretty amazing, right?" Xi Yueyao put her hands on her hips, a look on her face that said, *Gasp in amazement and praise me already!*

Back when he was poring over books, Feng Hao had learned about many common talents. [Light Becomes Heavy] was one of them. Its counterpart was [Heavy Becomes Light], which increased damage by 1 point for every point of weapon weight.

From a gamer’s perspective, they were equivalent to light weapon and heavy weapon specializations—both were Strength-based genetic talents.

"Tsk, tsk. If you specialized only in Strength, it would be a decent talent. But you’re doing a Strength and Dark Force Dual Cultivation build, so the bonus will be greatly diminished," Feng Hao said, stroking his chin and analyzing rationally.

Xi Yueyao’s face fell the moment she heard that. She ground her teeth. "Hmph! And whose idea was that?"

"Ahem... I suppose it was," Feng Hao said with an awkward laugh, quickly changing the subject. "So, how has your mechanical skill practice been lately? You haven’t been slacking off, have you?"

"Hmph, I’m super strong now! Do you dare duel me one-on-one?" Xi Yueyao brandished her long whip, her voice full of challenge.

Feng Hao’s eyes scanned her, and he found it amusing. "Oh? Feeling bold now, are we? Come on, then. Show me how much you’ve improved."

"Watch the whip!" Xi Yueyao grinned mischievously and, without another word, launched a preemptive strike.

Anyone else would have been caught off guard, but for a pro player like Feng Hao, who possessed top-tier mechanics and awareness, dealing with a small sneak attack like this couldn’t have been easier.

With a few short, diagonal steps, he smoothly drew his Dark Moon Dagger and spun into a [Moon Wheel Dance].

SWISH! SWISH!

A seven-meter-wide wheel of black energy spiraled outward like a giant millstone, kicking up sand and stones, utterly unstoppable.

Xi Yueyao reacted quickly. She used her whip to parry a few times before doing a backflip, leaping high into the air to easily evade the [Moon Wheel Dance]’s lethal spin.

After landing, she immediately counterattacked with a horizontal sweep of her whip, perfectly timed to hit during the recovery frames of his [Moon Wheel Dance].

"Not bad, not bad. Good awareness, quick reactions," Feng Hao couldn’t help but praise her.

Seeing the crimson energy sweeping toward him, Feng Hao flicked his wrist and unleashed a [Dark Moon Massacre]. Taking advantage of the fact that [Dark Moon Massacre] had no cast time, and with the help of his Dharma Soul and high attack speed, he easily shattered the whip’s energy before it could reach him.

"Try my upgraded Frenzied Flurry!"

As the energy dissipated, Xi Yueyao flew forward, closing the distance. With a wave of her hand, she unleashed a wild barrage of strikes. Her [Frenzied Flurry] kicked up waves of pressure as dark red energy flew everywhere like a startled flock of birds. Amidst the CRACKLE and POP, there were even a few strands of black energy mixed in.

"You’ve condensed your Dark Force?" Feng Hao exclaimed, hastily retreating.

Xi Yueyao immediately pressed her advantage, her pretty face blooming into a smile, utterly delighted. "Haha, I saved my [Gene Primes] from the last two levels for my meridians, just to give you a shock!"

"..." Feng Hao was speechless. He hadn’t ’trained’ her for half a month, and the girl’s ego was already soaring to the heavens.

So, Feng Hao stopped holding back and testing her. Unleashing his full speed, he weaved a graceful arc, leaped through a gap in her whip’s attack, and easily circled behind Xi Yueyao. The next moment, his dagger was at her throat.

"You’ve improved a lot. You deserve some praise," Feng Hao whispered in her ear.

"I still lost, after all," Xi Yueyao sighed faintly, her tone tinged with sadness.

Feng Hao froze. It was the first time he’d ever seen such an expression on her face. He quickly withdrew the dagger and asked with concern, "What’s wrong, kiddo?"

Suddenly, Xi Yueyao squatted on the ground, hugging her knees, looking exceptionally lonely. "When you go to Five States Academy, there’ll be no one left to play with me."

"You know about that?" Feng Hao asked, realization dawning on him.

"Mhm," Xi Yueyao hummed softly, lowering her head and falling silent.

A warm smile touched Feng Hao’s heart. He sat down beside her, gently pulling her into his arms. "Don’t you still have Fatty and the others?" he comforted her.

"They’re not the same," Xi Yueyao said, her lips pursed.

"How are they not the same?" Feng Hao asked with a smile.

Xi Yueyao’s face flushed, and she huffed, "They just aren’t."

"You know, you’re not the same as them in my heart, either," Feng Hao couldn’t help but reply softly.

"Really?" The little girl’s eyes lit up.

"Of course, it is." Feng Hao nodded seriously, unconsciously tightening his embrace. He tapped her nose and said softly, "Study hard for two years, then come find me at Five States Academy."

Sensing Feng Hao’s feelings, Xi Yueyao clearly brightened up. She pouted and huffed, "I refuse to wait two years!"

"With that lazy streak of yours, you’ll be lucky to graduate in two years," Feng Hao teased.

"Nonsense! I will definitely train hard," Xi Yueyao said, her little mouth set in a pout, her gaze resolute.

"Then Brother Feng will be waiting for you at Five States Academy!"

Hearing that, Xi Yueyao couldn’t help but shiver, her face scrunching up. "That sounds awful. ’Medicine boy’ rolls off the tongue better."

Feng Hao’s face darkened. "Hey, girl, can’t you be a little more romantic?"

"Hmph, I’m going to call you medicine boy, what are you going to do about it?" Xi Yueyao said playfully.

"Are you asking for a spanking?" Feng Hao pulled her onto his lap and gave her rounded bottom a light pat. "Quick, call me Brother Feng."

"No."

SMACK!

"Call me Brother Feng."

"I won’t."

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK...

Feng Hao spanked her for a good while, but he couldn’t get her to change what she called him. Helpless, he had to give up.

But now Xi Yueyao wasn’t happy. The little girl’s face was beet red as she muttered to herself, "This feels so strange... Hey, why did you stop?"

"Uh." Feng Hao was instantly speechless, staring dumbfounded at the girl in his arms.

’Damn, this loli’s ’attributes’ seem a little weird!’

Not far away, Chief Black Cat had long since eaten and drunk his fill. He was lounging in the grass, leisurely batting at butterflies with his tail. Every so often, he would glance over at the two of them with a look of utter disdain.

In Chief Black Cat’s opinion, humans were just so pretentious when it came to this stuff. Wouldn’t it be better to just get on with it? Why go through all this dawdling nonsense?

...

PS: A big thank you to all my dear readers for your recommendation ticket support. West Mountain is deeply grateful.

Due to the complexity of the world-building, it’s easy for bugs to appear. If any readers spot bugs or typos, please point them out in the comment section, and West Mountain will correct them promptly.

Thank you all once again. :)