The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 234: Chapter 231: Lu Linfei Gets Beaten Up

Feng Hao said with sincere gratitude, "Thank you, Master, for making this possible."

"Heh." The Thief Master chuckled and said wistfully, "Actually, even without that little girlfriend of yours, I would have done the same."

Feng Hao was taken aback. "Why is that?" he asked, astonished. "Aren’t the Thief God Hall and the five great sects as incompatible as fire and water?"

"’As incompatible as fire and water’ is an overstatement. At most, we just don’t see eye to eye," the Thief Master said meaningfully. "The relationships between the major sects are far more complicated than they appear. Take the five great sects, for example. They seem to coexist peacefully, but in reality, they’re constantly scheming against one another."

"Conflicts of interest?" Feng Hao asked with a frown.

The Thief Master nodded. "Conflicts of interest are one thing, but it’s more about their different allegiances."

"Different allegiances?" Feng Hao was confused.

"That involves the backgrounds of the five great sects. The Academic Alliance belongs to the All Living Beings Sect, and the Holy Hall belongs to the Taixu Sect. Both are native sects within the Fifth Ring Star Realm. The other three, however, are backed by external sects. From that perspective, we’re actually in the same camp as the Academic Alliance and the Holy Hall," the Thief Master explained patiently.

"Uh, a sect’s influence can spread to other Star Realms?" Feng Hao asked in surprise.

"Under normal circumstances, no. But the Ancient Cang Realm is a Bloodline Planet. Because of the cosmic catastrophe back then, Bloodline Planets not only preserved the bloodlines of various Star Realms, but also their different sectarian philosophies and beliefs. It’s not strange for sects with external backing to appear."

Feng Hao suddenly understood. It was like immigrant nations on Earth, which integrated not only the bloodlines of various ethnic groups but also their diverse cultures and beliefs.

"You’re still young, so it’s enough for you to just be aware of these things for now." The Thief Master smiled and pulled a set of dark gray gear from his Spatial Ring. "Here. I had someone make this set of gear for you. It’s made of Ghost Silkworm Silk and should suit you well."

Feng Hao took the gear and looked at it, his face lighting up with pleasant surprise:

[Ghost Silk Upper Garment]

Tier: 4

Protection: 32

Hidden Force Protection: 25

Defense Boost: 135

Toughness: 100

Weight: 45

Breath Concealment: 50

[Ghost Silk Leggings]

Tier: 4

Protection: 32

Hidden Force Protection: 25

Defense Boost: 120

Toughness: 100

Weight: 50

Breath Concealment: 55

[Ghost Silkworm Silk Boots]

Tier: 4

Protection: 32

Hidden Force Protection: 25

Defense Boost: 118

Toughness: 100

Weight: 32

Breath Concealment: 40

Speed Assist: 12%

[Ghost Silk Wrist Guards]

Tier: 4

Protection: 32

Hidden Force Protection: 25

Defense Boost: 115

Toughness: 100

Weight: 20

Breath Concealment: 35

[Demon Pattern Resonance] Breath Concealment +100, Elemental Protection +15%, Concealment Ability +20%

"As expected of the legendary Ghost Silkworm Silk. It feels amazing," Feng Hao said, his eyes glinting.

For stealth and reconnaissance Mages, Ghost Silkworm Silk was an absolutely top-tier material. Not only was it lightweight, but its toughness was also extremely high. This set of Ghost Silkworm Silk armor, for instance, had 100 Toughness at Tier 4, which was higher than most Tier 5 equipment.

The Thief Master smiled faintly. "I’m glad you like it. The competition is in a few days. I was originally planning to give you a few days of special training, but after seeing your performance in the simulator, I think we can skip it."

"Does that mean I have free time for the next few days?" Feng Hao asked, his eyes shining.

The Thief Master chuckled and nodded. "Heh, if you want to go learn about machinery from Sanmei, go ahead."

With that, the Thief Master cheerfully left the training grounds.

After seeing the Thief Master off, Feng Hao delightedly changed into the Ghost Silkworm Silk set. It was incredibly comfortable, but unfortunately, without a suitable Essence, its overall stats were still inferior to the Shadow Beast Hide Armor he was wearing.

’Forget it. I’ll deal with the Essence later. The Shadow Beast Hide Armor is more than enough for the competition.’ With that thought, Feng Hao stopped dwelling on it.

Speaking of which, Feng Hao actually had quite a few [Taiyi Essences]. If it were ordinary equipment, he would have fused them without hesitation. But the Ghost Silkworm Silk set was too precious; fusing it with only a [Taiyi Essence] would be a bit of a waste.

It would take either a [Primordial Essence] or a [Primordial Essence] to be worthy of a high-grade material like Ghost Silkworm Silk.

In the training grounds, not long after the Thief Master left, Mei Meimei rushed in like a whirlwind. She gave Feng Hao a quick greeting before diving headfirst into her mechanical research in the corner.

"Meimei, still need any help?" Feng Hao asked, sidling up to her.

Mei Meimei shot him a look and said irritably, "We’re already in the final testing phase, okay?"

"Alright, I’ll be leaving then," Feng Hao said with a helpless laugh.

"Go on, go on," Mei Meimei said nonchalantly.

Not wanting to disturb her, Feng Hao left the training grounds by himself. After wandering around for what felt like half the day, he finally left the area of the Thief’s Palace.

After the trial of the nightmare simulator, everything now seemed dear to Feng Hao. He drove his Mansa all the way back to the main peak. He hadn’t seen them in a few days and wondered how the young couple, Lu Linfei and his girlfriend, were doing.

Following the mountain path, he soon arrived at the residential area. Compared to a few days ago, it was significantly livelier. After all, with the preliminary matches approaching, most of the contestants had arrived.

"Whoa, it’s pretty crowded!" Feng Hao remarked as he walked toward his small pavilion.

But when he reached the entrance to his pavilion, he found it had been taken over.

Feng Hao couldn’t help but frown. He instinctively sent a Divine Sense message to Lu Linfei. "Brother Lu, what’s going on? Why is my pavilion occupied?"

A moment later, Lu Linfei rushed out from the neighboring courtyard. From the looks of his bruised and swollen face, he had just been beaten up.

"What happened? Did someone beat you up?" Feng Hao asked, his brows furrowing.

Lu Linfei nodded with a bitter smile, his eyes filled with guilt. "Brother Feng, I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect your place."

Feng Hao was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood what had happened. "You’ve been through enough," he said in a cold voice. "I’ll handle the rest."

"Brother Feng, maybe you should just let it go. That guy is really strong," Lu Linfei said with a bitter smile.

"Strong is good. I love nothing more than beating up powerful douchebags." Ignoring Lu Linfei’s attempt to stop him, Feng Hao rushed forward and kicked the door in.

BANG!

The wooden door shattered instantly. An angry roar came from inside. "Who the fuck is tired of living? How dare you kick down my door?"

Immediately after, a young man with a hooked nose rushed out, his expression incomparably grim.

"You’re the one who hit him, right?" Feng Hao asked in a low voice.

The hook-nosed youth glanced at Lu Linfei and said with contempt, "That’s right, it was me. What? Are you the backup he called for? Only level thirty-eight. You’re really courting death."

"Backup my ass!" Feng Hao couldn’t be bothered with words and charged forward to attack.

The hook-nosed youth never expected Feng Hao to attack so directly. He hastily drew his weapon to defend himself, his eyes filled with disdain. "A mere level thirty-eight dares to fight me? You’re asking to die."

The next moment, the light of his sword surged. Countless dazzling sword-shadows swirled and crisscrossed as they shot toward Feng Hao.

Unfortunately for him, Feng Hao had no intention of dodging. The instant the sword-shadows were about to land, he charged forward with a [Rapid Shadow Slash]. Combined with the superior defense of his Shadow Assault Etherealization, he only lost a little over five thousand Qi Blood—it was barely a scratch.

The hook-nosed youth, however, wasn’t so lucky. The [Rapid Shadow Slash] instantly wiped out a quarter of his Qi Blood.

"Hidden Force damage?" The hook-nosed youth was shocked and subconsciously tried to counterattack.

But Feng Hao had already made his next move. He activated [Dark Moon Carnage], and a terrifying aura instantly enveloped the entire courtyard.

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