Chapter 300 - 297: Running on Empty

Chapter 300: Chapter 297: Running on Empty

Feng Hao was in a fairly good mood after unexpectedly obtaining nine Blood Burial Flowers. He continued to wander around the Treasure Pavilion, exchanging his points for a huge pile of materials—some for common use, and others he might need down the line.

In short, by the time he left the Treasure Pavilion, he only had 77,308 points left in his [Thief’s Mark]. He had spent over a hundred thousand points in one go.

Now that he had the Blood Burial Flowers, it was naturally time to refine a batch of Blood Essence Pills.

But before that, Feng Hao needed to make a trip to the Second Secret Realm to contact Solos.

After a short, swift drive in his Mansa, he entered the Secret Realm through the [Origin Node] in Five States City and quickly established a Divine Sense connection with Solos.

Feng Hao hadn’t had much to worry about since learning his family was safe and sound last time.

So, he mainly asked Solos about the current situation on Earth and checked in on his parents and little sister.

"Oh, right. I just bought a ton of jade slips and books. I’ll transmit the contents to you, so get ready to record them," Feng Hao said, not wasting any words. He pulled out the large pile of jade slips and books and used the powerful information-transfer ability of his Divine Sense to send their contents over.

Solos was, of course, ecstatic. After all, what Earth lacked most right now was knowledge and technology.

"You’re incredible, Mad God! To think you could get your hands on such important materials," Solos flattered.

"Important, my ass. This stuff is a dime a dozen in the Mage World, okay?" Feng Hao retorted, rolling his eyes. "By the way, when you guys are training in the Secret Realm, you should try to trade for books and information from other people. It’s crucial for Earth’s development."

"Don’t worry, we’ve been doing that all along," Solos replied with a faint smile.

"Good. If there’s nothing else, I’m heading out," Feng Hao said, nodding in satisfaction.

With that, he cut off the Listening Stone connection, activated the Secret Realm Mark in his sea of consciousness, and successfully exited the Secret Realm.

Night had already fallen over Five States City. Not daring to waste any time, Feng Hao hurriedly drove his Mansa toward the Power Department Branch.

There, under the furious, teeth-grinding gaze of Xiyue Frost, he picked up Xi Yueyao and sped back to the general store.

The moment she walked through the door, Xi Yueyao couldn’t help but shout, "Medicine seller, I’m dying of boredom!"

"..." Feng Hao was speechless for a moment before retorting irritably, "What on earth is going on in that head of yours, you girl? Can’t you be quiet and settle down a bit, like other girls?"

Xi Yueyao pouted. "But I really am bored! It’s been days since I’ve had a good fight. My bones are getting rusty."

Feng Hao shook his head, thoroughly exasperated. His expression then turned serious. "We can talk about that later. First, your husband is going to help you graft a talent."

"Graft a talent?" Xi Yueyao froze for a second, then realization dawned. She pulled out a small vial. "I almost forgot until you mentioned it! This is blood I took from one of my lackeys in Rongcheng. He has a talent that adds 6 points of Magic Power to Stealth. It’s perfect for me."

"Well now, aren’t you the clever one!" Feng Hao chuckled in spite of himself. "By the way, what’s your fourth-tier talent?"

"Shadowstrike," Xi Yueyao replied playfully.

"Hahaha, that’s just perfect!" Feng Hao couldn’t help but laugh out loud, because this meant he could graft three talents for her all at once.

If he remembered correctly, Xi Yueyao’s second-tier talent was [Light Weapon Specialization], her third-tier was Stealth Completion, and her fourth-tier was [Shadowstrike]. Adding the talent from the blood she’d prepared, he could graft everything.

"What do you mean?" Xi Yueyao asked, confused.

"It doesn’t mean anything," Feng Hao said with a mysterious smile, then pulled her into the room.

Completely baffled, the girl asked, "What are you doing?"

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Feng Hao said, "Just sit tight and relax your mind. Your husband is going to help you graft your talents."

"Oh." Xi Yueyao pouted in disappointment, closing her eyes and sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Feng Hao shook his head helplessly, then sat cross-legged in front of Xi Yueyao. He took a single drop of blood from the vial and touched it to the spot between her eyebrows. Activating his Bloodline Power, his eyes instantly turned pitch-black.

Xi Yueyao had been through the grafting process before, so she cooperated skillfully, allowing Feng Hao to work within her sea of consciousness.

’Whew, grafting for someone else is so damn tiring!’ Feng Hao cursed inwardly, gritting his teeth as he channeled his Bloodline Power.

Half an hour later, the talent that added 6 points of Magic Power to Stealth was successfully grafted onto the branch of [Stealth Completion]. At the same time, Feng Hao’s Basic Qi Blood dropped from 3,450 to 3,350 points.

"So, how does it feel?" Feng Hao asked with a smile.

Xi Yueyao gave a sweet smile and awkwardly wiped the sweat from his brow. "You should rest for a bit."

"It’s fine. I’ll finish grafting them all in one go," Feng Hao said with a faint smile. He slit his finger with the Su Mu Dagger and once again pointed it toward the center of Xi Yueyao’s forehead.

The next moment, with a surge of Bloodline Power, the blood instantly merged into Xi Yueyao’s sea of consciousness and swiftly materialized as an illusory Genetic Tree.

With a mere thought, he easily "cut" [Increase Dark Energy by 3 for each point of Lethality] and [Shadowstrike Incorporeality].

Then he grafted them onto Xi Yueyao’s Genetic Tree...

The grafting, which took over an hour, was finally complete. Xi Yueyao now officially possessed eight branch talents.

Feeling the changes in her Genetic Tree, the girl was beyond excited. "Wahaha! This young lady is practically invincible now!"

"Look at you, all giddy. Meanwhile, your husband is about to collapse from exhaustion," Feng Hao said irritably.

Xi Yueyao snapped back to her senses, her eyes filled with concern. "Medicine seller, are you okay?"

"I’m fine, just a bit tired. But going out with you to beat people up is definitely off the table," Feng Hao said as he collapsed onto the bed.

"That’s okay. I’m so strong now, I don’t need you to come," Xi Yueyao said cheekily.

"..." Feng Hao’s expression darkened. He was suddenly rendered speechless.

"What’s with that look on your face??" Xi Yueyao huffed, pouting as she grumbled, "Are you looking down on this young lady?! Piss me off, and I’ll beat you up too!"

At this, Feng Hao froze, speechless. ’If I’d known this girl was such a troublemaker, I wouldn’t have been in such a rush to graft her talents. Great. Now I’ll probably be stuck cleaning up her messes from now on.’

...

「Early the next morning.」

Xi Yueyao opened her eyes, waking from a sweet dream. She saw Feng Hao bustling in front of the Alchemy Equipment and couldn’t help but ask, "Medicine seller, what are you doing?"

"Ah, the little lass is awake?" Feng Hao gave a warm smile and replied softly, "Couldn’t be helped. Grafting your talents yesterday drained some of my vital energy, so I need to refine some pills to replenish it."

Xi Yueyao’s eyes twinkled as she shot him a look, then she hugged him from behind. Touched and feeling affectionate, she said, "Hee hee, I’ll skip the thank yous. But in the future, just take your time with things like this. You don’t have to get it all done at once. It makes me worry about you."

"Is that so?" A warmth spread through Feng Hao’s heart.

"Of course! You’re this young lady’s man, and you have to be this young lady’s man for your entire life," Xi Yueyao declared domineeringly.

"And what about you?"

Xi Yueyao froze, her face instantly flushing bright red. But in the end, she still mumbled softly, "I want to be your girl for life."

"Emma, that’s so cheesy. Give me a warning next time you’re going to say something like that. You’re giving your husband goosebumps all over," Feng Hao said, pretending to be grossed out.

"What did you say? I’ll... I’ll bite you!" Xi Yueyao snapped, then lunged forward and bit down hard on Feng Hao’s shoulder.

Feng Hao yelped in pain, grimacing as he nearly dropped the Blood Burial Flower Extract. "OW! Jeez, are you part dog or something?"

"So what if I am? Dogs are a man’s best friend!" Xi Yueyao retorted, pouting indignantly.

(Revised Version. Please forgive any plot discrepancies.)