The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 47: Chapter 45: The Black Pupils Appear

Stats often provide the most direct impression. Experiencing Xiyue Frost’s full power for the first time, Feng Hao felt a headache coming on.

With Xiyue Frost’s Qi Blood and defense, coupled with her set of rare equipment, it was impossible to kill her in one shot without striking a weak point or vital spot. On top of that, her 168 points of vitality allowed her to recover 168 points of Qi Blood per second, meaning she could heal quickly even after taking damage.

No wonder everyone was afraid of her. Genetic stats like these made her an absolutely invincible existence in the assessment tournament!

’Good lord, this is going to be tough!’

Feng Hao gulped, a little unnerved. With his current Qi Blood, he couldn’t withstand a single one of Xiyue Frost’s attacks; even a glancing blow would be devastating.

Fortunately, he had great confidence in his own skills. Anyone else would have stood no chance at all.

"Ice Lotus Sword Qi!"

As she spoke, Xiyue Frost was already on the attack. She began with her familiar Ice Lotus Sword Qi, whipping up flurries of ice petals. A biting chill instantly filled the entire battle stage.

Feng Hao didn’t dare let his guard down and immediately activated [Black Pupils]. In an instant, his pupils dilated and turned completely black, resembling two deep abysses.

Feng Hao was well aware of his own limitations. He was level seventeen against her level twenty-eight, and his genetic stats were inferior across the board. His only sliver of a chance at victory was to activate [Black Pupils].

The Ice Lotus Sword Qi swept toward him. Dazzling ice blossoms quickly closed in, and a torrent of bone-chilling ice spikes rained down on him!

’Why can’t I track his movements all of a sudden?’ Xiyue Frost’s expression changed slightly.

The moment Feng Hao activated [Black Pupils], Xiyue Frost keenly sensed that the lock she had on him with her Divine Sense had become unstable. His figure began to flicker erratically, making it difficult to track his movements.

Normally, this only happened when an opponent’s presence-concealing technique was superior to one’s own Divine Sense—and significantly so.

’But I could clearly lock onto him just a moment ago. Why did that change?’

"His eyes?!" Xiyue Frost quickly noticed the change in Feng Hao’s eyes and couldn’t help but exclaim.

At the same time, Feng Hao had already bypassed the layers of the Ice Lotus blockade. He closed in like a phantom, his pitch-black eyes like those of a demon.

THUNK!

The hidden-force strike was extremely fast, and with Xiyue Frost momentarily distracted, it landed true.

Boosted by his dual hidden-force talents and a Secret Technique, a five-fold damage value flashed across his Crystal Eye. With the added power of the Dark Moon Dagger and a small damage bonus from his concealed presence, the attack was incredibly potent.

Unfortunately, Xiyue Frost’s armor clearly had some kind of protection against hidden force. It blocked a large portion of the attack, so she only lost two-thirds of her Qi Blood.

And thanks to her incredibly high vitality, her health was already regenerating rapidly.

’As expected, I can’t one-shot her. I’ll have to find another chance!’

Having landed the blow, Feng Hao decisively pulled back. An Assassin was an Assassin, after all; going head-to-head in a brawl with a Warrior would only lead to a beating.

"Trying to run?" Xiyue Frost reacted quickly, unleashing a basic Sword Qi with a backhand slash, but Feng Hao dodged it with ease.

Xiyue Frost was inwardly surprised. For the first time, she felt a sense of tension and threat. Even though that hidden-force strike had only hit her arm, the damage was already more than she could comfortably handle.

"You’re only level seventeen, so why is your damage so high? And what’s going on with your eyes?" Xiyue Frost demanded coldly as she gave chase.

Feng Hao’s eyes glinted with an eerie light as he weaved back and forth across the stage like a phantom, precisely dodging her attacks one after another.

"Heh, it’s not too late for you to surrender," Feng Hao teased.

Xiyue Frost’s face darkened. Seeing that Feng Hao was evading the question, she swung her sword and unleashed a massive Cross Sword Qi. "Arrogant brat! Defeat me first, then we’ll talk!"

’Boring. Yao Girl is way cuter!’ Feng Hao muttered under his breath. Aided by the enhanced presence-concealing from [Black Pupils] and his own impressive speed, he narrowly dodged the Cross Sword Qi.

Watching Xiyue Frost’s Qi Blood rapidly regenerating, he grew extremely frustrated. If the tournament rules didn’t forbid striking vital spots, that last attack would have seriously wounded her. At the very least, it would have damaged her vitality, slowing her regeneration.

But a match was a match, not a life-or-death battle. This greatly limited his options!

The battle raged on, and the crowd below was in a constant uproar. Since the beginning of the assessment, no one had ever been able to fight Xiyue Frost on such even terms.

At this point, no one doubted Feng Hao’s strength anymore. In particular, his strange black eyes had become a source of endless speculation and debate.

"I’m not seeing things, am I? That auditing student still hasn’t lost?"

"Lose, my ass! Can’t you see they’re trading blows back and forth?"

"What’s with Feng Hao’s eyes? He feels so much stronger after they turned black."

"Do you even have to ask? It must be a bloodline talent!"

"No way! Since when were bloodline talents so common?"

"Yeah! One Zhou Chen was bad enough, and now there’s another one? Are the rest of us even supposed to have a chance?"

...

Up in the stands, the various VIPs were also exclaiming in shock. Headmaster Zhao Hao, in particular, was so excited he nearly fainted.

Xiyue Luan’s expression was a mixture of shock and doubt. She had been certain her niece, Xiyue Frost, would win. But from the moment Feng Hao’s eyes turned black, she had been stunned. ’That boy actually awakened a bloodline... no wonder he dared to challenge an upperclassman.’

"Another child with an awakened bloodline! It seems our Rongcheng Academy is truly on the rise!" the Elders said, thrilled.

"If I had known, I would have had him join the academy from the start!" Zhao Hao lamented. "No. After the assessment is over, I have to find a way to make him stay!"

The Old City Lord was paying close attention to Feng Hao, watching the match with a smile in his eyes the whole time.

When Feng Hao displayed his bloodline talent, a look of surprise appeared on the usually placid face of the Old City Lord. "What a deeply hidden talent this little fellow has. But... I feel as if I’ve seen this bloodline talent somewhere before."

"You’ve seen this kind of bloodline?" Xiyue Luan asked curiously.

"It seems vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite place it. It was probably a very long time ago." The Old City Lord frowned in thought for a moment before shaking his head.

Xiyue Luan frowned as she looked toward Feng Hao, a hint of gravity appearing on her mature, beautiful face. "I’m afraid Xiaoshuang is going to lose."

By now, the battle had reached its climax.

As powerful as Xiyue Frost was, Feng Hao dodged or parried her every attack. The scene was reminiscent of their encounter in the monster simulation room.

The feeling of being completely unable to land a hit on her opponent was driving Xiyue Frost mad. "You little rat, how long are you going to keep dodging?"

"Heh, right now!"

In the instant Xiyue Frost spoke out in anger, Feng Hao seized the opportunity. His dagger slid silently across her back.

Xiyue Frost’s Qi Blood hadn’t fully recovered yet. The solid impact of the hidden-force strike instantly dropped her health below ten percent. The outcome was decided in a flash.

After a brief silence, the entire arena erupted in an unprecedented uproar.

Xiyue Frost actually lost? And she lost to a first-year auditing student? This was a result no one had ever expected!

"My sister lost?" Xi Yueyao’s jaw dropped. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "No, that’s not right. I must be seeing things. How could that medicine-selling brat possibly beat my sister?"

"Fatty, pinch me. Am I dreaming?" Li Mufeng said, his face a mask of disbelief.

Nearby, Yue Linglong was also frozen in place, her mind reeling.

The auditing student she had always ignored and written off was proving himself again and again... ’Perhaps,’ she thought, ’he’s just like the other students, longing for recognition and praise.’