The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 260: Chapter 257: Counter-Strategy

The competition continued, but Feng Hao remained lost in thought, puzzling over the Divine Soul and the Divine Thought Mage.

The following matches were relatively simple. Lu Linfei and Ming Xin Yan both achieved consecutive victories. Feng Hao’s opponent in his second match forfeited, and in his third, he faced a level-forty-six Magic System Mage and won easily.

As the competition moved into its latter half, people were still discussing Fang Jie’s Divine Soul. It couldn’t be helped. For the Thief Preliminaries, the appearance of a Divine Soul was truly balance-breaking.

Soon, after the final match ended, the schedule for the next day was announced.

A crowd of contestants and curious spectators gathered in front of the schedule board. Feng Hao, Ming Xin Yan, and Lu Linfei were among them.

"Huh? I’m fighting Huang Danian tomorrow?" Lu Linfei’s expression turned grim.

Ting Xiaoxue comforted him from the side, "Just do your best. I’m already so happy that you’ve qualified."

"Thank you, Xiaoxue." Lu Linfei’s eyes reddened, and he was moved beyond words.

Watching the two of them being all lovey-dovey, Feng Hao and Ming Xin Yan were both speechless. They started searching for their own matchups on the schedule. When they saw the line reading [Ming Xin Yan] vs. [Feng Hao], their expressions turned strange.

"This... isn’t this a little too soon?" Feng Hao said with a peculiar look.

Ming Xin Yan shook her head and smiled faintly. "What’s meant to happen will happen. See you in the arena tomorrow. I won’t be holding back."

"Alright. See you in the arena tomorrow," Feng Hao replied with a light chuckle and a nod, not making a fuss about it.

Just then, a cry of surprise came from the crowd, drawing everyone’s attention.

"Everyone, look! Fang Jie is dueling Yanziqing tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this news, a heated discussion immediately erupted in the crowd. It couldn’t be helped. From the moment Fang Jie revealed his Divine Soul, he had become the most watched contestant, as well as the one most likely to win the championship.

Meanwhile, Yanziqing, the mysterious Divine Thought Mage, was also a popular contender. To some extent, Yanziqing was considered the person most likely to defeat Fang Jie. After all, Divine Thought Mages have a unique combat style. Once they confuse an opponent, they can potentially keep them bewildered until the very end. Even Fang Jie’s Divine Soul would be useless against that.

With the two greatest threats facing off, Feng Hao was naturally very interested. "Xin Yan, who do you think has a better chance of winning?"

"If Fang Jie doesn’t have any other trump cards, I’d say Yanziqing has the better odds," Ming Xin Yan said, her brow furrowed in thought. "After all, Fang Jie follows the path of a traditional thief, so his Divine Sense can’t be that strong."

"Huh? But isn’t the Divine Soul really powerful?" Feng Hao asked, confused.

Ming Xin Yan rolled her eyes. "No matter how powerful a Divine Soul is, it primarily affects damage. But Divine Thought Mages don’t focus on that. As long as they can confuse their opponent, they have a chance to win. Besides, Fang Jie’s Divine Soul Weapon isn’t invincible."

’Holding the ultimate weapon of a Hundred-level Mage isn’t invincible?’

Ming Xin Yan pursed her lips into a small smile. "You’re overthinking it. No matter how powerful the Divine Soul, it needs a good base weapon to show its true potential. Fang Jie’s weapon is only Tier 4 quality. It’s not as amazing as you think."

’Right, how could I forget about that.’ Feng Hao nodded in sudden understanding, a sense of relief washing over him.

The equipment system in the Mage World was slightly different from a game. In a game, you could get finished equipment just by killing monsters, but in the Mage World, a piece of equipment required a base item plus a spirit core to be considered complete.

In other words, Fang Jie’s weapon couldn’t be considered a true Divine Artifact yet. At best, it was a low-level Semi-Divine Artifact.

...

Back on Thief Peak, the sky had already grown dark. Feng Hao went to the training grounds and forged until late at night before returning to his bedroom in the East Courtyard to cultivate.

For most of the contestants, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night. The appearance of the Divine Soul had thrown everyone’s plans into disarray.

Feng Hao was no exception. While he tried to focus on his cultivation, he was constantly thinking of a way to deal with Fang Jie. Although Fang Jie’s Divine Soul Weapon wasn’t fully formed yet, a Divine Artifact was still a Divine Artifact, and it would be incredibly difficult to face.

Just as Feng Hao was lost in deep thought, the Thief Master’s figure suddenly appeared in his bedroom.

Feng Hao opened his eyes in surprise. "Master? What are you doing here?"

"I heard a Divine Soul Weapon appeared in the competition, so I came to check on the situation," the Thief Master said, his expression somewhat grave. "How is it, Xiaofeng? Are you confident?"

"I’ve never fought Fang Jie before, so I can’t say for sure," Feng Hao said with a frown.

"This Divine Soul business is indeed tricky." The Thief Master paced back and forth, muttering to himself, before finally stopping. "If things go as expected, your match against him will probably be scheduled for the end. If you can break through to Tier 4 soon, it shouldn’t be a big problem."

Feng Hao was taken aback. If he could break through to Tier 4, he was absolutely certain he would win. The key issue was that his genetic activity was too low, making it nearly impossible to advance to Tier 4 in such a short amount of time.

Although his recent efforts had brought him to the brink of level thirty-nine, the breakthrough from thirty-nine to forty was the most difficult.

At this thought, Feng Hao gave a wry smile. "Master, you know my cultivation aptitude. It would take me at least two months to break through to Tier 4."

"With your level of genetic activity, shouldn’t it take three months at the very least?" the Thief Master asked, stunned.

Feng Hao gave a helpless laugh, took out a Life Spirit Pill, and said, "Under normal circumstances, it would indeed take three to four months. But this pill can accelerate the absorption of Magic Crystals, roughly doubling my cultivation speed."

The Thief Master was startled. With a wave of his hand, he pulled the Life Spirit Pill into his grasp. A sharp light glinted in his eyes. "A good item. Did you develop it yourself?"

"Well... your disciple took on an Alchemy Disciple when I first arrived in the Ancient Cang Realm. He developed it by accident. It’s called a Life Spirit Pill."

"Oh? You little rascal, you’ve already started taking disciples?" the Thief Master said with a stunned laugh.

Feng Hao scratched his head in embarrassment. "Master, please don’t make fun of me. I’ll bring him to meet you when I have time."

"Good." The Thief Master nodded in satisfaction, then frowned and asked, "Can this Life Spirit Pill of yours be used with an Enhanced Cultivation Pod?"

"Yes." Feng Hao’s eyes lit up. Only then did he remember the Enhanced Cultivation Pod in the training grounds.

The Thief Master was pleasantly surprised. "In that case, come with me to the training grounds to cultivate for a while. That girl Sanmei might be unreliable, but she has a real talent for modifying machinery."

"Uh, there won’t be any problems with the cultivation pod that Fourth Sister modified, will there?" Feng Hao couldn’t help but worry. He couldn’t shake the vivid memories of the previous nightmare and the Monster Simulator.

"The problems aren’t major. It just produces a bursting, tearing pain. If you can endure it, Sanmei’s cultivation pod can increase your absorption efficiency by an additional fifty percent," the Thief Master said with a light chuckle.

"If it’s only pain, then there’s definitely no problem," Feng Hao said, sighing in relief.

"Alright then. There’s no time to waste. Come to the training grounds with me now." The Thief Master smiled in satisfaction and, grabbing Feng Hao, instantly teleported them to the training grounds.

The training grounds at night were somewhat dim, with the soft glow of Magic Energy Lamps illuminating the surroundings, making the area feel desolate and empty.

Arriving in front of the Enhanced Cultivation Pod, the Thief Master casually opened the door. "Get in. I’ll keep track of the time for you."

Without another word, Feng Hao resolutely stepped into the cultivation pod...

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