The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 230: Chapter 227: Imparting a Secret Technique

In what felt like the blink of an eye, Feng Hao found himself in an unfamiliar training ground.

Looking around, he saw every kind of training equipment imaginable, even more comprehensive than the facilities at the Iron Hand Martial Arts Hall. With only him and the Thief Master in the entire training ground, it felt like they had the whole place to themselves.

"This is where Xiaolinzi and the others do their daily training. It will also be your training ground from now on," the Thief Master explained, walking ahead.

"I can use any of it?" Feng Hao asked excitedly.

"Of course," the Thief Master said with a slight smile. "In any case, for the ten days before the competition, you’ll just stay here. Don’t go anywhere."

"Er, is that really necessary?" Feng Hao asked, a look of exasperation on his face.

The Thief Master suddenly stopped and said irritably, "Would I try to harm you? There are a lot of promising young thieves in this competition. At your current level, winning won’t be so easy."

"As long as I’m not up against a Fifth-rank Mage, it should be fine," Feng Hao said confidently.

The Thief Master’s brow furrowed. He said thoughtfully, "Don’t be so overconfident. Come on, use all your Secret Techniques on me. Let your master see what you’ve got."

"Is that really a good idea?" Feng Hao asked, hesitating.

"What, you think you can actually hurt me?" the Thief Master said, exasperated. "Hurry up. Stop wasting time."

"Alright, I’m coming at you then," Feng Hao confirmed one last time. Seeing the Thief Master just smiling silently, he hesitated no longer. Dual-wielding his Su Mu Daggers in standard and reverse grips, he instantly shadow-stepped forward.

The Thief Master stood his ground with a calm expression, showing no intention of defending himself.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A series of rapid collisions rang out. He unleashed three Secret Techniques in succession—Dark Moon Massacre, Moon Wheel Dance, and Moon Stab. Although he did his best to aim for weak points, he still failed to inflict much damage.

What surprised Feng Hao even more was that a faint glow emanated from the Thief Master’s tattered robes, easily deflecting his attacks.

"Holy crap, that raggedy outfit of yours is actually equipment? I thought it was just regular clothes!" Feng Hao exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"Raggedy my ass! This is Genetic Equipment. What you see is just its surface appearance," the Thief Master retorted irritably.

"And what’s Genetic Equipment?" Feng Hao was completely in the dark.

The Thief Master chuckled and explained, "Genetic Equipment is gear forged from the materials of Outer World monsters. Due to the unique nature of these monsters, Genetic Equipment is practically alive. It can merge perfectly with the body, and its external appearance is controlled entirely by one’s will."

"Equipment that can merge with your body?!" Feng Hao gasped.

"That’s right." The Thief Master pointed to his own head. "Take my head, for example. It looks unprotected, but I’ve actually transformed my Genetic Helmet into this headband. As long as I have this headband on, it’s no different from wearing a helmet."

Feng Hao was stunned. ’So the corpses of Outer World monsters have this kind of use. No wonder Sun Yaowen said monster corpses are hard to come by. It turns out they’re all being used to make Genetic Equipment.’

"Do all Outer World Mages use this kind of equipment?" Feng Hao asked curiously.

"Of course not," the Thief Master laughed. "Monster materials are hard to come by. Most Mages use regular equipment or armor. Only the most capable Mages can afford Genetic Equipment."

"Is Genetic Equipment that hard to get?"

The Thief Master nodded. "Hunting monsters is extremely dangerous. Besides, not all materials from a monster can be used to make equipment. Most monsters only yield one or two usable materials. To gather enough materials for a full set of Genetic Equipment, it would take several years, if not longer."

’Tsk, tsk. When I leave the Ancient Cang Realm in the future, I have to get my hands on a set of Genetic Equipment, no matter what,’ Feng Hao resolved to himself.

The Thief Master smiled, then his expression turned serious. "But first, let’s talk about the problem with your abilities."

"Er, is there a problem with my abilities?"

"The problems aren’t huge, but you have too few Secret Techniques, and your equipment is terrible," the Thief Master mused. "However, I have to admit, I underestimated your bloodline grafting ability. Even though you’re only level thirty-eight, your Shadow Force damage has basically met the standard."

It dawned on Feng Hao. ’Thinking about it, I really do have very few Secret Techniques, and my equipment is garbage.’

"Fortunately, these are minor issues. As for Secret Techniques, I’m here to help. As for equipment, I’ll have the old-timers at the Artifact Refining Department forge a set for you."

Feng Hao’s interest was immediately piqued. His eyes lit up as he asked, "Master, do you have any powerful Secret Techniques?"

"I do, but most of them require ’Shadow Force Shaping.’ At my level, I rarely use basic energy-condensing Secret Techniques anymore." The Thief Master closed his eyes in thought for a long while before opening them again. "I’ve got it. These two moves should be perfect for you."

With that, he gently waved his sleeve. A magical light flickered and coalesced into a light screen that resembled a game panel:

[Rapid Shadow Slash]

Magic Power Cost: 30

Effect: Coordinates with a shadow strike to unleash a powerful impact, dealing 200 + 100% Shadow Force damage.

Attack Range: Shadow Strike Range

Mark Rewind: 12 seconds

Channeling Time: None

[Shadow Sparks]

Magic Power Cost: 60

Effect: Shadow Force and flames resonate to create devastating sparks, dealing 100% Shadow Force damage to targets in an area, plus 25% Shadow Force per second as fire damage. Flames persist for 5 seconds and apply vitality damage with an instant-death effect.

Attack Range: Shadow Strike Range

Mark Rewind: 30 seconds

Channeling Time: 1.2s

Feng Hao practically drooled as he read. He couldn’t help it; these two Secret Techniques were just too perfect for him. The first, Rapid Shadow Slash, was a classic Assassin skill. The second, Shadow Sparks, was exactly the kind of skill he needed right now.

To be honest, Feng Hao’s biggest weakness was his single damage type. Against an opponent with high Shadow Force defenses, his damage output would be severely reduced. Shadow Sparks undoubtedly solved this problem. The fire damage, boosted by his Shadow Force, was an area-of-effect DoT—it would absolutely catch his opponents off guard.

"Master, Master, quick! Teach me how to construct them! I can’t wait!" Feng Hao urged impatiently.

The Thief Master smiled calmly. "No need to construct them. I can impart them to you directly."

"Huh?" Feng Hao froze, clearly not understanding what the Thief Master meant.

The next moment, to Feng Hao’s astonishment, the Thief Master flashed in front of him and placed a large hand on top of his head. "Relax your body and mind. Don’t resist."

Feng Hao quickly recovered and, though still bewildered, closed his eyes. His consciousness sank into his sea of consciousness.

Within the vast, empty sea of consciousness, fine golden lines rapidly sketched themselves out, quickly coalescing into a complete Secret Technique Mark. Then, it was effortlessly branded onto Feng Hao’s Genetic Tree.

In just over ten minutes, both Rapid Shadow Slash and Shadow Sparks were successfully constructed.

Opening his eyes, Feng Hao couldn’t help but exclaim, "This is... the Students’ Union’s ’Derivation’ inheritance?"

"Heh, is that so strange?" the Thief Master asked with a chuckle.

"It is a little strange."

The Thief Master chuckled and explained, "It’s not that strange, really. I spent some time at the academy back in the day. Caused quite a stir when I obtained the ’Derivation’ inheritance, actually."

"Er, didn’t the Students’ Union do anything?" Feng Hao asked, confused.

"Oh, they certainly tried to intervene. However, the Students’ Union is a direct affiliate of the All Living Beings Sect. According to their doctrine, any subject under the Sect’s governance is eligible to receive the ’Derivation’ inheritance. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have placed it in the academy in the first place."

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