The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 249: Chapter 246: IQ Crush

Seeing Lu Linfei escape with Ming Xin Yan, Huang Danian immediately gave orders. "You three, go after them. Lao Li and I will deal with this kid."

"Be careful, Boss. This kid’s no pushover." The three Mages offered a word of warning before quickly chasing after Lu Linfei and his companion.

Huang Danian picked up his twin hammers and, with cover from the Bow and Arrow Mage, charged straight at Feng Hao, swinging them down.

"Kid, have a taste of this Master Thief’s hammers!" Huang Danian roared with laughter. As a Defense Mage, he felt no fear at all when attacking.

A bloodthirsty glint in his eyes, Feng Hao retreated to dodge the attack, simultaneously swallowing a Blood Recovery Pill and a Qi Recovery Pill to restore his stats.

His condition was already poor after the battle with the Emperor Scorpion. Combined with the ambush from Huang Danian’s group, his Qi Blood was now less than half, and his Magic Power was all but gone.

Fortunately, Huang Danian was slow. By using good positioning and the terrain, Feng Hao could dodge his attacks, giving himself plenty of breathing room.

’Archers are so damn annoying.’ Feng Hao was incredibly frustrated as he narrowly dodged another few arrows.

At last, thanks to the Tier Five Qi Recovery Pill, his Magic Power recovered past the halfway mark. Feng Hao seized the opportunity to activate [Shadowmeld] and crept toward the Archer.

He had no choice. Huang Danian was a Defense Mage with an annoying [Reflect] talent; killing him in one shot would be too difficult.

"Lao Li, watch out!" Huang Danian wasn’t a complete idiot. Seeing Feng Hao vanish into stealth, he immediately moved closer to the Archer.

The Bow and Arrow Mage’s expression tightened. He hastily spread his Divine Sense to scan the area, but he couldn’t find a single trace of Feng Hao’s presence.

"This kid’s concealment skill is incredible. I can’t detect him," the Bow and Arrow Mage said grimly.

"Damn it," Huang Danian cursed. He started swinging his twin hammers around wildly. "You little thief! Come out and fight me if you’ve got the guts!"

Feng Hao remained unfazed. He stayed hidden in the shadows, recovering his stats and using the opportunity to whittle down his opponent from afar with his [Pulse Wrist Guard]. Combined with the massive damage bonus from his concealment, a single shot could drain over three thousand of the Bow and Arrow Mage’s Qi Blood. If he hit a vital point, the damage could reach six or seven thousand.

The two of them were getting completely tilted by Feng Hao’s tactics. But Feng Hao had no intention of engaging directly; after every shot, he would immediately re-enter [Shadowmeld], reposition, and launch another sneak attack.

After a few more attacks, the Bow and Arrow Mage’s health was plummeting.

"Dammit, come out and fight me one-on-one! This Master Thief will even give you a one-hand handicap!" Huang Danian roared.

But Feng Hao had no intention of revealing himself, continuing to fire relentlessly from the shadows.

Just when the Bow and Arrow Mage was on his last sliver of health, Feng Hao suddenly stopped attacking. This only made Huang Danian and his partner more tense.

"What’s happening?" the Bow and Arrow Mage asked, his eyes wide with panic.

"Watch your back! That little thief is definitely planning something," Huang Danian said, his expression twisting as he scanned their surroundings.

The two of them remained on high alert, terrified, for what felt like an eternity, but still no attack came. At that moment, Huang Danian finally realized what was wrong.

"Damn it, Wu Fei and the others are in danger!" Huang Danian roared in sudden realization, rushing to provide support in the direction Lu Linfei had fled.

That was right. After toying with the pair, Feng Hao had secretly gone to support Lu Linfei and Ming Xin Yan, leaving Huang Danian and his partner with the illusion that he was still there.

Huang Danian was absolutely livid. He couldn’t stand the feeling of being so thoroughly outsmarted.

...

「Outside the Saint Realm, atop Thief God Peak.」

Although a day had passed, the crowd of spectators hadn’t thinned in the slightest. In fact, it had grown even larger.

This was unheard of in previous competitions. The reason for the excitement was that this year’s preliminaries had been full of surprises, especially the elimination of Huo Yuanjia and the emergence of Feng Hao, which had shaken the entire Thief God Hall.

Suddenly, Feng Hao had become the biggest dark horse of the preliminaries. Everyone was discussing his origins and speculating about his true strength.

And as it turned out, Feng Hao’s subsequent performance was even more astonishing.

The three of them had worked together to slay a Tier Six Emperor Scorpion. And while he’d had help from Ming Xin Yan and Lu Linfei, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Feng Hao had been the key to their success.

A level-thirty-eight "little thief" killing a Tier Six Magical Beast with the help of two Fourth-rank Mages—if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed it.

In short, the moment the Emperor Scorpion fell, the entire Thief God Peak erupted in an uproar.

Unfortunately, the excitement didn’t last long. The scene shifted to Huang Danian’s team launching a surprise attack, and many spectators found themselves breaking into a cold sweat for Feng Hao’s trio.

However, Feng Hao’s response left them dumbfounded. Not only did he hold off Huang Danian and his partner all by himself, but he also completely outsmarted them. In comparison, Huang Danian looked like a total fool.

"This...?" On the viewing platform, Jing Lou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Just a moment ago, he’d been worried about how Feng Hao would handle the situation. He never expected Feng Hao to pull off such an unpredictable maneuver.

The Thief Master wore a gratified expression, the look of admiration in his eyes deepening. "Not bad, not bad at all. Very promising."

Lin Luo and his three companions were equally stunned. Mei Meimei, in particular, stared with wide, beautiful eyes. "Is that Huang Danian an idiot?" she said in disbelief. "Xiaowu was clearly long gone."

"Heh," Wang Tongqian scoffed. "No offense, but if that were you, you’d probably still be waiting there when the match ends."

"No way!" Mei Meimei shot back haughtily. "If it were me, I would’ve just blasted the hell out of them with a barrage of cannonballs!"

"Er... you’ve got a point," Wang Tongqian was left speechless.

「Within the Thief God Realm.」

Feng Hao was already on his way to provide backup. Sprinting in his [Shadowmeld] state, he used a Listening Stone to tell Lu Linfei to slow down. He soon caught up to the other three ambushers.

By this time, Ming Xin Yan had also recovered. While she wasn’t well enough to activate her Golden Body form, she could now fight normally like any other Magic Master.

Seeing the pair come to a stop, the three attackers assumed they had given up all hope and surrounded them with triumphant laughter.

"Haha! I can’t believe we’re actually going to be the ones to eliminate Ming Xin Yan! Just the thought of it is thrilling!" The leader, Sword Magic Master Wu Fei, was ecstatic. "Everyone, attack!"

However, just as the three of them were about to swarm Ming Xin Yan, a Stone Listening Communication from Huang Danian instantly stopped them in their tracks.

Wu Fei’s face fell. He shouted a warning, "Watch your backs! That little thief is here!"

"What’s going on? Wasn’t that kid already at half health? The boss still hasn’t finished him?" the other two Mages asked, looking perplexed.

"How should I know?" Wu Fei snapped. "What are you gaping for? Ming Xin Yan is already charging us!"

Seeing Ming Xin Yan and Lu Linfei launch a counterattack, Wu Fei and his two companions could only grit their teeth and brace for impact.

Just then, a shadow suddenly appeared in their midst. It was Feng Hao, cutting in with [Rapid Shadow Slash]. Before the three could react, [Moon Wheel Dance] had already blossomed among them. A Moon-shaped Qi Reincarnation spun out, dealing massive area-of-effect damage.

"Damn it, fall back!" Wu Fei, now at half health in an instant, turned pale and scrambled to retreat.

The other two, more fragile Mages had already been cut down by two intersecting [Dark Moon Strikes] and were instantly eliminated.

Wu Fei didn’t have time to think. He swallowed a Blood Recovery Pill, turned to run, but found his path blocked by Lu Linfei and Ming Xin Yan.

P.S. My cold’s gotten pretty bad, I’ve got a headache and a fever, so I’m not in the best shape. Please forgive me if the writing isn’t up to par, everyone.

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