The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 73: Chapter 71: From Squishy to Tank

That icy voice made Feng Hao shudder. He quickly grabbed the back of the seat to move aside, saying with immense awkwardness, "Uh, I really didn’t mean for that to happen. I assume you didn’t either, right?"

"Shameless." Xiyue Frost sat up straight, her cheeks flushing slightly as she hissed out the single word in a mix of shame and anger.

"..." Feng Hao rolled his eyes. ’This woman’s prejudice against me is getting out of hand. We were thrown together by forces beyond our control, but of course, she has to make it dirty.’

The atmosphere in the carriage fell silent once more. Xiyue Frost preoccupied herself with adjusting her clothes, refusing to spare Feng Hao another glance, her expression a mixture of revulsion and bashfulness.

Just then, the battle outside the carriage subsided. West Moon Ridge and Chief Black Cat returned one after the other.

"Xiaoshuang, are you two unhurt?" West Moon Ridge asked, her hair disheveled and her eyes filled with worry.

Xiyue Frost shook her head slightly. "Don’t worry, Auntie. We’re fine."

"As long as you’re okay. We’ve dealt with the Ghost Eagle. Let’s rest for a bit before we head out again." West Moon Ridge breathed a sigh of relief and slid expertly into the driver’s seat. Chief Black Cat shook the bird feathers from its fur, quickly shrank down to its smaller form, and scampered into the carriage.

The sharp-eyed Feng Hao quickly spotted a deep gash on West Moon Ridge’s right arm. Blood had already soaked through a large patch of her sleeve.

"You’re hurt?" Feng Hao exclaimed, his mind instantly racing.

Xiyue Frost cried out in alarm and rushed forward to fuss over her. She was her niece, after all; seeing her aunt hurt was naturally heartbreaking.

"It’s just a scratch, nothing serious." West Moon Ridge gave a small smile, clearly not taking the injury to heart. "That beast put up a real fight when it went berserk. It actually managed to tear through my armor."

Feng Hao was also a little concerned, but his attention was mostly fixed on the blood seeping from the wound. ’I can’t help it,’ he thought. ’West Moon Ridge’s branch-related talent is just too appealing.’

"Um... let me tend to your wound. I am an Alchemist, after all." An idea sparked in Feng Hao’s mind, and he quickly came up with a plan.

West Moon Ridge was taken aback for a moment, then turned and smiled warmly. "Just a little medicine will be fine."

"That won’t do at all! It needs to be treated properly." Feng Hao protested, quickly pulling some bandaging supplies from his Spatial Ring. "Here, hold your arm out straight. I’m quite professional when it comes to dressing wounds."

"I’ll be in your hands, then." West Moon Ridge gave a radiant smile and gently lifted her right arm.

Seeing Feng Hao act so earnestly, a rare smile touched Xiyue Frost’s lips, and her gaze toward him softened considerably.

It was a shame they would never have guessed that Feng Hao’s true purpose was to obtain a sample of West Moon Ridge’s blood to add to his Genetic Tree.

Of course, Feng Hao’s skill in dressing wounds was truly professional. He was a Ninth-level Alchemist, after all. In just a few minutes, he had cleaned West Moon Ridge’s wound, dusted it with a special Antiseptic Medicine, and carefully bandaged it.

"This Antiseptic Medicine of yours works surprisingly well. It’s taking effect so quickly," West Moon Ridge noted, her eyes widening in surprise as she felt the change in her wound.

"It’s just average, nothing special," Feng Hao replied humbly, though inwardly he was ecstatic. He had managed to secure West Moon Ridge’s blood sample while dressing her wound.

West Moon Ridge smiled. "You’re quite a thoughtful kid. Yaoyao shouldn’t have a hard time with you."

Feng Hao felt awkward, unsure of how to respond.

"Alright, we’ve been delayed long enough. Time to go!" West Moon Ridge gave him a meaningful smile, then turned and started up the Magic Energy Flying Vehicle.

...

Because the Ghost Eagle had delayed them considerably, it was already nighttime when they arrived in Five States City.

Beneath the hazy night sky, Five States City was a blaze of lights, its streets and shops bustling with activity. Countless flying vehicles streaked across the city’s airspace. With the Five Provinces Academy assessment underway, the city was even livelier than usual, with Magic Energy Flying Vehicles constantly arriving from all corners of the land.

Although the assessment wasn’t for another two days, most candidates arrived early to get their bearings and snag a room in a decent hotel.

After all, with candidates from all five surrounding states converging here, the sheer number of people was staggering!

"We need to find a hotel and book rooms, quickly." West Moon Ridge was clearly familiar with the drill here. The moment they landed, she led Feng Hao and Xiyue Frost on a search, and only after a good while did they find a hotel with decent accommodations.

Since West Moon Ridge was injured, she went upstairs to rest with Xiyue Frost as soon as the rooms were booked.

Feng Hao was in no mood to wander around either. He hurried into his room, locked the door, drew the curtains, and carefully took out the blood sample from West Moon Ridge.

’I went through so much trouble to get this blood sample. Please don’t let anything go wrong,’ Feng Hao prayed silently.

After being delayed on the road for so long, Feng Hao couldn’t help but worry. Blood, after all, doesn’t stay fresh for long.

He took a deep breath, smeared the blood sample onto his finger, and quickly pressed it to the point between his eyebrows. [Black Pupil] and his bloodline energy activated simultaneously. He closed his eyes, sank into his sea of consciousness, and a familiar sight appeared before him.

’Phew... looks like the freshness of the blood sample doesn’t affect the grafting.’ Seeing the Genetic Tree manifest from the blood within his sea of consciousness, Feng Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With two prior grafting experiences, Feng Hao knew the next steps like the back of his hand.

His bloodline ability circulated continuously through his body. After an arduous grafting process, an extra talent successfully appeared on the second-tier branch of his Genetic Tree, and the corresponding genetic information flooded his mind.

At the same instant the graft succeeded, a sensation of boiling blood swept through him, and his internal Qi Blood Ability began to surge wildly.

"Haha... I’m not a damn squishy anymore!"

Feng Hao’s eyes flew open with a wild laugh, a surge of heroic ambition welling up in his chest. He pulled up his game panel and grinned so wide he couldn’t close his mouth.

Genetic Level: 21

Qi Blood: 35300 (2650)

Vitality: 39 (18)

Magic Power: 1050

Strength: 301 (154)

Shadow Force: 1092

Magic Damage: 147

Defense: 263 (32)

Gang Qi: 630

Speed: 553 (120)

Attack Speed: 254 (128)

Divine Sense: 252

Stealth: 288

Divine Sense Strength: 42

Weakness Exploit: 42

’Tsk, tsk. My Qi Blood jumped to thirty-five thousand in an instant. Who can stop me now?’ Feng Hao’s heart pounded with excitement.

’After all, even a Berserker-path Mage like Xiyue Frost only has a little over thirty thousand Qi Blood, and that’s at level thirty-six. But I, a level-twenty-one Assassin, have thirty-five thousand. It’s insane just thinking about it.’

’I never had it this good back in the game *Mage*. In the game, attribute growth and talent points were more or less fixed. An Assassin, no matter how well-geared, could never have more health than a tank of the same level.’

’But now, here in the Mage World, the existence of a broken talent like [Black Pupil] has made the impossible possible!’

’Once I get a full set of gear, my defense will go up too. Then I can just carry a greatsword onto the battlefield and show off. The thought alone is a thrill.’

He couldn’t help but indulge in the little fantasy for a moment before starting his daily training routine.

’Even though the Life Spirit Pills meant I don’t have to worry about my training speed, it’s still better to grind out a few more levels before using the Experience Pills. That way, I can maximize their effect.’