The Strongest Talent Tree

Chapter 96: Chapter 93: I Don’t Understand the World of the Rich

Man Tiaotiao froze. She’d thought her roommate for the next five years had arrived, but when she looked up, it was a guy.

It would have been one thing if it was just a guy, but it had to be that hick Alchemist who’d scammed her out of four sets of materials. And even though her parents had later explained just how precious perfect-grade Body Refining Nutrient Liquid was, it only made her more annoyed with Feng Hao. After all, that was *four* bottles of perfect-grade Body Refining Nutrient Liquid.

"What are you doing here?" Man Tiaotiao snapped back to her senses, gritting her teeth with a sour look on her face.

Feng Hao gave an awkward smile and quickly pushed Xiyue Frost, who was hiding behind him, forward. "Uh... don’t get the wrong idea. I was just escorting her. Here, this is your roommate, Xiyue Frost."

"Hello. It’s nice to meet you," Xiyue Frost stammered, her gaze lowered.

Man Tiaotiao paused, her attention immediately shifting to Xiyue Frost. Her eyes lit up. "You’re Xiyue Frost? Haha! I was looking to challenge you to a duel! I can’t believe we were assigned to the same dorm. Let me introduce myself: I’m Man Tiaotiao, a Level 32 Martial Arts Mage."

Xiyue Frost timidly raised her head and forced an awkward smile. "Xiyue Frost," she said with a nod. "Level 36 Heavy Sword Mage."

"A heavy sword user, huh? You’ve definitely got a bright future! Girls ought to be more domineering. Come on, do you have any luggage? I’ll help you get settled." Man Tiaotiao was surprisingly enthusiastic. She pulled Xiyue Frost to her side and started chatting her up, completely ignoring Feng Hao.

With an awkward expression, Xiyue Frost let Man Tiaotiao link arms with her, her eyes pleading with Feng Hao for help.

"Well, I’ll let you two chat. I won’t disturb you any longer." Feng Hao let out a dry laugh and, with a WHOOSH, fled the scene.

Seeing Feng Hao leave, Xiyue Frost grew even more tense. Facing Man Tiaotiao’s barrage of questions, she felt completely ill at ease and asked awkwardly, "Um... do you know Feng Hao?"

"You mean that hick? Oh, crap!" At his mention, Man Tiaotiao finally remembered the four sets of materials. With a cry of alarm, she chased after him out the door, but Feng Hao had long since vanished.

A few minutes later, Man Tiaotiao returned to the dorm, fuming. She stomped her foot while muttering curses under her breath.

Xiyue Frost had finally adjusted a bit. She hesitated before speaking. "Classmate Man, what’s wrong?"

"It’s all because of that hick! He scammed me out of four sets of materials! Hey, you came with him, so you must be friends, right? Quick, tell me what department he’s in. I’m going to find him and settle this score." Man Tiaotiao’s eyes lit up as she grabbed Xiyue Frost’s arm again.

"He stole something from you?" Xiyue Frost asked with a frown.

"More or less," Man Tiaotiao replied casually.

As soon as Xiyue Frost heard that, rage flared in her heart. She recalled the humiliation of when her underwear was stolen and felt a sudden sense of kinship with Man Tiaotiao. Her opinion of the boisterous girl warmed considerably. ’That bastard! That little thief really is a lost cause!’

"Um, so what’s your relationship with that hick? If you two are close, I’ll let it go out of respect for you," Man Tiaotiao said magnanimously.

"I have nothing to do with him! Let’s go! I’ll take you to the Alchemy Department to settle the score. We’ll see if he ever dares to steal again!" Xiyue Frost gritted her teeth and snorted, pulling Man Tiaotiao out the door.

Man Tiaotiao was so moved by Xiyue Frost’s willingness to place justice over personal ties that she was on the verge of tears. She nodded solemnly. "Sis, you’re a true friend! For saying that, I, Man Tiaotiao, will from now on consider you my own sister!"

"Let’s put that aside for now. The most urgent task is to go to the Alchemy Department and settle things with him. We can’t let him continue down this misguided path."

With a solemn expression, Xiyue Frost finished speaking and immediately started pulling Man Tiaotiao toward the Alchemy Department.

Meanwhile, Feng Hao had already rushed to the Alchemy Department, completely unaware that the withdrawn Xiyue Frost had overcome her psychological hurdles and was bravely leading Man Tiaotiao on a warpath toward him.

Arriving once again at the Alchemy Department, he found the campus was now bustling with far more people. Following the information on his student card, Feng Hao made his way to the dormitory area and, with the help of a few kind upperclassmen, finally located his room.

’I thought my roommate would be a normal person,’ he mused, ’but I ended up with a real character like Houhuiyao. I guess even a Transmigrator’s halo has its side effects.’

"Wahaha! I knew it would be Brother Feng!"

Houhuiyao yelled in excitement the moment he saw Feng Hao. He couldn’t help it; the thought of those two beautiful girls from the Dance Team who were associated with Feng Hao was enough to make his heart race.

"Damn it. Did you bribe the dean or a professor? How else could this be such a coincidence?" Feng Hao asked with a look of utter disgust.

"Brother Feng, what kind of talk is that? It’s fate! Since we were assigned to the same dorm, it just means we were destined to be roommates. See those two beds? I saved them so you could have first pick. Pretty decent of me, right?" Houhuiyao said with a goofy grin.

Feng Hao shook his head, speechless. He casually chose a bed and began to settle in. He’d brought quite a few things with him, and after a bit of organizing and decorating, his empty bunk was completely transformed. As for his Alchemy Equipment, there was no need to unpack it. The Alchemy Department dorms came with a standard set. While it wasn’t exactly high-end, it was still better than his own antiquated gear.

Seeing Feng Hao absorbed in tidying up, Houhuiyao also started arranging his own things. He had all sorts of high-end daily necessities and gadgets, creating a stark contrast with Feng Hao’s side of the room.

"Holy hell, did you move a damn five-star hotel in here?!" Feng Hao turned around, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.

Houhuiyao scratched his head in embarrassment. "It’s not my fault," he said sheepishly. "My dad wanted me to keep a low profile, so he had me bring the worst stuff we have at home."

"Alright, I guess I just don’t get the world of the super-rich." Feng Hao shook his head, a dark expression on his face. His gaze landed on Houhuiyao’s high-end Alchemy Equipment, and he couldn’t help but ask, "That set looks pretty nice. How much did it cost? Maybe I’ll get one myself someday."

Houhuiyao pointed at the Alchemy Equipment and said casually, "This is the latest alchemy set from the Alchemist Association. It’s full-featured and great value. The market price is probably around two or three hundred million Magic Crystals."

"Two to three hundred million Magic Crystals?!" Feng Hao’s eyes bulged, and he almost let an expletive fly.

’Holy hell,’ he thought. ’After working my butt off running the Miao Medicine Tower for over a year, I only managed to save up a little over a hundred million Magic Crystals. I figured that would at least make me Xiaokang in a big city. But looking at this, I’m still just a broke-ass scrub.’

’No wonder everyone says secondary professions are money pits. A single damn set of equipment costs two or three hundred million. How could any normal person afford to get into this?’

’Thank god I came with Ninth-Level Alchemy Techniques when I transmigrated. If I’d had to start from level one, who knows how many Magic Crystals I would’ve wasted.’

"If Brother Feng is interested, I do have some connections. I can’t promise more, but getting a fifty percent discount wouldn’t be a problem."

"Fifty percent off?" Feng Hao asked, surprised and skeptical.

"Hehe, it’s a business with huge profit margins, after all. The actual costs aren’t nearly that high," Houhuiyao said with a grin.

Feng Hao clicked his tongue. He understood immediately but politely declined. "I’ll pass. With my level of Alchemy Techniques, I don’t need such fancy equipment. It’d be a waste of money."

"You can’t look at it that way. Just like a weapon for a Combat Mage, Alchemy Equipment is how we make our living. The difference between having a good set and not is huge. Besides, compared to the gear for other secondary professions, Alchemy Equipment is actually cheap. Go take a look at Melting Furnaces, Magic Pattern Virtual Machines, or Automatic Mining Machines. Even the lousiest models start at two or three hundred million," Houhuiyao argued, his points logical and persuasive.

"So according to you, I absolutely have to buy a set?" Feng Hao said, rolling his eyes.

Houhuiyao quickly put on an apologetic smile. "Not necessarily. Brother Feng, you can try using mine first. Then you’ll naturally appreciate the advantages of high-end equipment."

"Fine, fine, we’ll talk about it later." Feng Hao waved his hand dismissively and changed the subject. "Since we’ve got nothing better to do, why don’t we go check out the Celestial Secret Tower?"

"I’m down for that. Speaking of which, we got totally ripped off last time we went. This time, we have to get inside no matter what," Houhuiyao agreed.

And so, on their very first day of school, the two once again embarked on their journey to the Celestial Secret Tower...