The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 105: Chapter 102: A Leisurely Half-Month

Fifty sets of materials would yield fifty bottles of Body Refining Nutrient Liquid, which was more than enough for his recovery.

Feng Hao felt a little guilty for taking so much for free, so he offered to pay for it. However, Houhuiyao flatly refused, saying he wasn’t concerned about such a small amount of money.

Feng Hao felt rather helpless about the situation. ’I should let Houhuiyao try my perfect nutrient liquid,’ he thought.

"Why don’t you try some? The effects of my Body Refining Nutrient Liquid are quite good," Feng Hao suggested.

Houhuiyao shook his head and smiled. "I won’t waste it. That little bit of extra strength is useless for me. Your injuries are more important, Brother Feng. Just don’t forget to take me with you to fight once you’re recovered."

"Don’t worry. I’ll definitely take you once I’m healed." As he said this, Feng Hao suddenly realized a serious problem: the special rules of the Origin Secret Realm.

According to information he’d found in the library, Mages couldn’t form parties when entering the Origin Secret Realm for the first time. They first had to hunt Spirit Beasts within the realm and absorb enough Spirit Beast Essence to make their Genetic Tree generate ’Secret Realm Power’. Only by establishing a ’Power Link’ could they teleport to the same location upon entry.

But with Houhuiyao’s combat strength, it was obviously impossible for him to acquire the ’Secret Realm Power’ on his own. This made things a bit difficult.

"By the way, do you know how other Treatment Magic Masters and support-class Mages deal with the ’Secret Realm Power’ issue?"

Hearing this, Houhuiyao quickly understood Feng Hao’s concern. He explained with a faint smile, "That’s simple. All you need to do is bring an Essence Storage Tank with you into the Secret Realm, Brother Feng. One tank of essence is just enough to generate the Secret Realm Power. The catch is that an Essence Storage Tank only preserves the essence for three days at most. After that, it becomes useless."

"Whoa, a thing like that actually exists?" Feng Hao said, surprised.

"Of course. Mechanics are brilliant people who benefit all of society. Everything from daily necessities to all sorts of complex equipment is thanks to them," Houhuiyao said with a solemn expression, his deep respect for the Mechanic profession obvious.

Feng Hao smiled in understanding. He wasn’t surprised—after all, in any world, professions that benefit society deserve respect.

With the Secret Realm Power issue resolved, Feng Hao stopped worrying about it and focused completely on his recovery.

...

「Half a month flew by in the blink of an eye.」

During this time, Feng Hao heeded Yang Caide’s advice, diligently soaking in a Body Refining Nutrient Liquid bath every day. He supplemented this with high-grade medicinal cuisine from the cafeteria. It cost him quite a few Magic Crystals, but it was all worth it.

As he felt his meridians gradually healing, Feng Hao’s mood improved considerably. The only awkward part was not being able to spend his nights cultivating. Having to suddenly start sleeping again just felt... weird.

Despite his recovery, Feng Hao didn’t forget about his classes. Since he had nothing better to do, he even attended his Alchemy classes.

At his level of skill, there was naturally nothing to learn in the Alchemy class. It did, however, allow him to get a general feel for the methods used by this world’s Alchemists.

During his Alchemy classes, he would occasionally point out Instructor Guo’s mistakes, often stumping him with questions. The poor Instructor Guo suffered immensely under Feng Hao’s relentless torment and complained to Dean Sun Yaowen more than once. Unfortunately, Sun Yaowen had no intention of intervening; in fact, it only strengthened his desire to take Feng Hao on as a disciple.

As for his Combat Skills and Foundations of Magic classes, Feng Hao paid much closer attention.

The Foundations of Magic class was a given. For one, it covered subjects he was eager to learn. For another, it was Instructor Yang’s class, so he made sure to listen attentively.

The Combat Skills class was a different story. Logically, with the techniques he’d honed in the game, he shouldn’t have needed to learn formal combat skills. But once he was actually exposed to them, he discovered there was a significant gap between game mechanics and real-life fighting techniques.

Half a month wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t short, either. The initial excitement surrounding the new students gradually faded, and academy life settled into a normal routine.

Notably, something incredible happened during that half-month period: Yun Jiansong of the Strength Department fought his way onto the department’s Crystal Stele. He became the first of the current freshmen to break into the top 100 of any department’s rankings.

What surprised everyone, however, was that Xiyue Frost, who had placed first in the entrance exams, had yet to make any significant moves.

Feng Hao, however, had a clearer picture. ’To be honest, in terms of pure aptitude and talent, Xiyue Frost is only about upper-mid tier,’ he thought. ’The only reason she took first place in the entrance test was due to the level advantage she got from an Experience Pill.’

Of course, that wasn’t to say Xiyue Frost was weak. Based on his own fight with her, Feng Hao knew she was definitely a top-tier Strength-type Mage. It was just that she still fell short when compared to a true genius.

But, as the old saying goes, when God closes a door, he opens a window.

Though Xiyue Frost may have fallen short in terms of strength, she became a winner in life in another respect!

In less than half a month, Xiyue Frost’s natural beauty and icy demeanor landed her the number three spot on the campus beauties list. She became an object of pursuit for the majority of the male student body, and an object of envy for the female students.

Feng Hao hadn’t been idle during this half month, either. In between his recovery and classes, he made occasional trips to the library to brush up on his knowledge.

The three girls from the Dance Team, led by Xu Zhenzhen, also came to visit him several times. They checked in on his recovery and never forgot to ask for advice on some of their Dance Team techniques.

Feng Hao didn’t mind. He gave pointers when they were needed and charged fees when they were due.

Houhuiyao, on the other hand, was ecstatic. Over the course of their visits, he hit it off with two of the pretty Dance Team girls. In the end, he even offered to cover the tutoring fees for Xu Zhenzhen’s trio, leaving Feng Hao at a loss for words.

Alchemist Department Dormitory.

Feng Hao was busy with his final preparations for entering the Origin Secret Realm. Houhuiyao handed him the Essence Storage Tanks he’d bought beforehand. Just to be safe, the guy had bought ten of them in one go, worried that Feng Hao might lose one and be left without.

After half a month of recuperation, Feng Hao’s meridians were fully healed. Furthermore, after going through a large amount of Body Refining Nutrient Liquid, his base stats had improved somewhat:

Genetic Level: 15

Qi Blood: 46050 (2650)

Vitality: 46 (18)

Strength: 380 (184)

Defense: 315 (35)

Speed: 749 (137)

Attack Speed: 300 (132)

In addition to his Strength, his Speed, Attack Speed, and Defense had also increased. This was an effect unique to the perfect-quality Body Refining Nutrient Liquid. It was a shame he hadn’t used it after strenuous exercise, or the gains would have been even greater.

"Brother Feng, be careful after you enter the Secret Realm, especially if you run into Outer World Mages fighting over Spirit Beasts," Houhuiyao reminded him earnestly.

Feng Hao laughed confidently. "Don’t worry. If I really run into Outer World Mages, they’ll be the ones running away."

’Heh, please. Back in the game *Mage*, I was always the one kill-stealing from others, never the other way around. After all, Assassins are the best class for kill-stealing and ambushes.’

"Well, I don’t really know much about what goes on in the Secret Realms anyway," Houhuiyao conceded. "The important thing is to stay safe."

"Alright. You just wait here for my good news!"

Feng Hao gave him a faint smile and patted his shoulder, then walked decisively out of the dormitory. He found a campus flying car nearby and sped off toward the Central Square.

’Origin Secret Realm, get ready! Your resident Assassin pro is here—!’