The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 253: Chapter 250: The Points Match Begins

After getting the Refined Purple Flowing Gold, Mei Meimei went into a frenzy of activity. Before long, she had assembled a brand-new Pulse Wrist Guard.

"Haha, this time it’ll definitely work." Mei Meimei burst out laughing to herself, then turned to Feng Hao. "Xiaowu, how about you test it out for a few more days?"

Feng Hao hastily shook his head. He couldn’t help but shiver as he recalled the morning’s explosion.

"Come on, try it! It’ll be fine, I promise!" Mei Meimei pleaded, her eyes full of anticipation.

"Why me? Can’t you test it yourself?" Feng Hao asked in exasperation.

Mei Meimei sighed. "I can’t help it. I haven’t been on a mission in over two years, and the Pulse Wrist Guard’s effectiveness can only be tested in actual combat."

"Then why not find someone else?"

"No way. I don’t trust anyone else. The pulse technology is something I worked my butt off to develop," Mei Meimei said with a frown.

Feng Hao said, exasperated, "If you need actual combat, can’t you just find a sparring partner? If that doesn’t work, what about the Monster Simulator?"

"Huh, that’s actually a good idea." Mei Meimei nodded thoughtfully. She casually snapped the Pulse Wrist Guard onto her wrist and strode toward the Monster Simulator. "I’ll go give it a try. In the meantime, you can help me forge the other metals."

"No problem." Feng Hao certainly wasn’t going to refuse the chance to practice with so many rare metals.

The crisp sound of a hammer striking metal echoed through the training grounds, sometimes rapid, sometimes lingering...

Following the knowledge from Elder Tang’s notes, Feng Hao diligently processed each rare metal. Over the next two days, his forging skills improved by leaps and bounds.

On the day of the competition, Feng Hao received a Stone Listening Communication from Lu Linfei first thing in the morning. He set his forging aside and prepared for the match.

He had just put down his Forging Hammer when a muffled BANG came from the Monster Simulator, followed by Mei Meimei bursting out, covered in smoke.

"Good thing I know what I’m doing, or I’d have been blown to bits!" Mei Meimei gasped, panting heavily.

Feng Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "I have to say, Fourth Sister, isn’t your Pulse Wrist Guard a bit too unreliable?"

"You brat, Xiaowu." Mei Meimei huffed. "When did you start sounding like the others? Remember, I’m your Fourth Sister. If I say it’s reliable, then it’s reliable!"

"So what happened this time?" Feng Hao asked, stifling a laugh.

Mei Meimei wiped the soot from her face and declared righteously, "It was just an accident. I miscalculated a couple of parameters. It definitely won’t be a problem next time."

"Alright. Well, keep at it, Fourth Sister. I’m heading to my match now." Feng Hao chuckled and shook his head, then turned and left the training grounds.

Mei Meimei didn’t say anything. After seeing him off, she threw herself back into her research at the workbench.

...

Arriving at the summit of Thief God Peak again, Feng Hao felt things were completely different. The whole way up, he was the subject of whispers and pointing, which started to get on his nerves.

He finally spotted Lu Linfei and his girlfriend, but a dense crowd separated him from them.

After finally weaving through the crowd, he reached the couple. Ting Xiaoxue was now calling him Brother Feng with a sweet familiarity. "Brother Feng, I already checked the schedule for you. Your match is in Ring Two."

"Oh, really? Thanks a lot, Xiaoxue," Feng Hao said with a nod of gratitude.

Ting Xiaoxue smiled sweetly. "It’s nothing. I’m just here to cheer you guys on, anyway."

Feng Hao smiled and turned his gaze to Lu Linfei. "By the way, have you two seen Ming Xin Yan?"

"Sister Ming got here early. She’s over there," Lu Linfei said, pointing.

Feng Hao instinctively looked over and saw Ming Xin Yan standing proudly on the rearmost platform, Ring Ten, resting with her eyes closed.

"It’s only the first day. Does she need to be so serious?" Feng Hao remarked with a strange expression.

"You might not know this, Brother Feng, but Sister Ming’s three opponents today are no pushovers. In particular, there’s a Divine Thought Mage named Yanziqing whose strength is extraordinary. I heard he eliminated several hundred opponents by himself in the first round," Lu Linfei explained with a grave expression.

’A Divine Thought Mage?’ Feng Hao frowned unconsciously.

So-called Divine Thought Mages were Mages who specialized in Divine Sense. Their attack methods were quite unique, similar to Illusion Techniques and mind control. This path required an extremely high level of Divine Sense, and its practitioners could often kill without leaving a trace.

Feng Hao had only ever heard of Divine Thought Mages; this was the first time he had actually encountered one.

Following Lu Linfei’s directions, Feng Hao quickly spotted the Divine Thought Mage named Yanziqing. He looked rather frail and was dressed in plain clothes, making it easy to overlook him.

"Besides him, are there any other noteworthy opponents?" Feng Hao pressed, his brow furrowed.

Lu Linfei thought for a moment, then pointed to a purple-haired young man not far away. "The most noteworthy one is probably him. His name is Fang Jie, from the East Division of Mu Country. I heard he led the team that performed the final sweep in the first-round melee. Speaking of which, Huang Danian has him to thank for advancing."

Feng Hao paused, then quickly recalled the files Mei Meimei had gathered for him. It seemed the very first one was on this Fang Jie fellow.

Just as Feng Hao looked at Fang Jie, Fang Jie’s gaze met his, his dark purple eyes filled with defiance.

Feng Hao gave a faint smile and looked away. ’Heh, pretty arrogant,’ he thought with a cold, inward sneer.

If he remembered correctly, Fang Jie followed the thief’s path, proficient in the "Shadow" legacy and wielding a short blade and bow—a very traditional thief build.

But he was an Assassin with top-tier mechanics. In the face of the Mad God, all stealth-based classes were utter trash.

As they spoke, ten Referee Elders arrived, and the point-based matches officially began.

The point-based matches weren’t as ceremonious as the initial screening round. After all, they would last a month, and it was impossible to hold a grand ceremony every day. By tradition, the various bigwigs would only make an appearance for the final, decisive matches in the last day or two.

Feng Hao had no desire to waste time. As soon as the referees took their positions, he leaped directly onto Ring Two, drawing countless eyes.

"Where’s my opponent? Get up here already, don’t waste time," Feng Hao yelled.

The words had barely left his mouth when a young man in "Wind Armor" leather leaped onto the ring. He held a rapier at his side, and combined with the cool look of his armor, he gave off the air of a lonely, unmatched master.

At the same time, contestants on the other rings took their places. As the Barrier Arrays rose around the platforms, the battles began instantly.

"You’re the rogue who eliminated Huo Yuanjia, aren’t you?" the rapier-wielding youth asked, his eyes focused.

"That’s me," Feng Hao replied casually.

The young man with the rapier snorted, unleashing the aura of a level-forty-five fighter. "I know you’re strong, but I’ve come this far. I will not back down, no matter what!"

"Tsk, tsk. Commendable courage." Feng Hao couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up, a smirk playing on his lips. "Don’t worry, Brother Zei. Just for that outfit alone, I’ll be sure to go easy on you."

"Less talk, more fight—!"

The youth clearly had some skill. As his blade flashed, a wave of needle-thin Sword Qi swept out, instantly locking onto Feng Hao’s vital points. After all, anyone who could stand out from a crowd of thousands had to have something special.

Feng Hao was slightly surprised. Dual-wielding his daggers, he twisted his body to the side and used Shadowstrike to close the distance, flanking the wave of fine Sword Qi to cut toward the youth.

Although the fine Sword Qi grazed him for over five thousand points of Qi Blood, Feng Hao’s Moon Wheel Dance likewise blossomed before the rapier-wielding youth.

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