After seeing off his big brother, Lin Luo, and returning to the pharmacy, Feng Hao was still filled with doubt.
Although Lin Luo had repeatedly warned him not to return to Rongcheng, he couldn’t help but want to go back. For one, he had a special attachment to the city. For another, there were many people there he cared about—especially a girl named Xi Yueyao.
"I should find some time to go back and see." Feng Hao sighed as he went back upstairs, with no desire to do any business whatsoever.
He calmed his mind and sat cross-legged on the bed, sketching out the framework for a Secret Technique in his sea of consciousness. Now that he had successfully constructed [Moon Thorn], he still needed a stealth-type support Secret Technique. After all, if he was going to be an Assassin, stealth was crucial.
Since it was a stealth support Secret Technique, it would naturally be based on the [Silence] and [Shadow] Demon Patterns. One eliminated sound, while the other had a concealing effect. If he could successfully construct it, it would be an excellent stealth Secret Technique.
’It’s a shame the patterns of these two Demon Patterns already exceed six hundred strokes, making it impossible to integrate the [Swiftness] Demon Pattern.’
Feng Hao sighed with a touch of regret. His current meridian growth was only 159 *ji*, a long way from the 300 *ji* required to condense his Dark Energy. Based on his current [Gene Element] allocation, he would need to reach at least level fifty-four to achieve it.
He had to admit, the limitations of Dark Energy were a real pain in the ass in this respect. It just couldn’t compare to Strength or Magic Damage.
BZZZT!
Just as Feng Hao was lamenting this, a ripple emanated from his Listening Stone. He probed it with his Divine Sense and found a message from Houhuiyao: "Brother Feng, we won the championship! Tomorrow are the finals for the individual tournament. You sure you’re not coming to watch?"
"Are there many experts? If not, I won’t bother going," Feng Hao replied, a corner of his mouth curling up.
"The top ten experts from every department are participating. What do you think?"
Feng Hao was momentarily stunned, then nodded. "Alright then, I’ll head over tomorrow and check it out."
"Awesome! I’ll drive over and pick you up tomorrow," Houhuiyao said, his voice suddenly smug.
"Hm? You bought a car?"
"Heh heh, just bought it yesterday. A Nightingale 360. The design is absolutely stunning." Houhuiyao let out a few laughs, then sent an image via his Divine Sense.
The image showed a jet-black sports car parked in front of a dormitory, its perfectly streamlined body breathtakingly beautiful.
Chuckling to himself, Feng Hao cut the Listening Stone connection and immersed himself once more in constructing the Secret Technique, repeatedly trying to connect the two Inheritance Demon Patterns.
Failure. Try again.
Failure. Try again...
Time slipped by, and before he knew it, it was the next morning. He was woken by Houhuiyao’s boisterous knocking, but he was still no closer to figuring out the framework for his stealth Secret Technique.
Sighing, he stepped out of the pharmacy to see Houhuiyao leaning flamboyantly against the Nightingale 360, looking every bit the playboy.
"Handsome, your ride is here." Houhuiyao pulled open the car door with a sleazy grin, gesturing for him to get in.
’Fucking show-off,’ Feng Hao cursed under his breath, ducking into the car.
Houhuiyao wasted no time, hopping into the driver’s seat and skillfully starting the flying car, then speeding off toward the Main Battle Academy.
From the back seat, Feng Hao looked around curiously, clicking his tongue in admiration. "Not bad, not bad. The interior is luxurious. How much was it? With my current status, I should probably get a car myself."
"Not too expensive, just 1.2 billion Magic Crystals. After the tournament, I’ll take you to the dealerships, Brother Feng."
"1.2 billion? Cheaper than I expected." Feng Hao couldn’t help but laugh. With his current net worth of over ten billion, the price was perfectly acceptable.
As the two chatted and laughed, the flying car landed at the Main Battle Academy’s Flying Car Port. Houhuiyao put the Nightingale 360 away, and they started walking toward the Central Square.
By this stage of the academy-wide competition, all other events had already concluded. Only the most anticipated event was left: the individual tournament finals.
According to the rules from previous tournaments, the top ten students from each department in the Main Battle Academy would enter the finals directly as seeded contestants. They would compete against twenty other outstanding students who had qualified through the preliminary rounds.
A competition of this caliber naturally drew a crowd. Students from every academy and department had flocked to watch, and the vast Central Square was already packed to the brim.
"Boss Xiyue and Sister Tiao are over there. Let’s head over," Houhuiyao said, leading the way.
Feng Hao nodded and followed. After weaving through the dense crowd, they finally spotted Xiyue Frost and Man Tiaotiao.
"What took you so long? The matches have already started!" Man Tiaotiao snapped, glaring at Feng Hao. For some reason, she just couldn’t stand the sight of him.
"Mm." Feng Hao gave Xiyue Frost a slight nod, completely ignoring Man Tiaotiao. "By the way, didn’t you two participate in the individual tournament?"
"The competition in the individual tournament is too fierce. Very few first-years participate," Xiyue Frost replied calmly.
"Is that so?" Feng Hao pursed his lips, his gaze shifting to the battle on stage. "Who are those two?" he asked curiously. "They seem pretty strong."
Houhuiyao explained, "Those are two contestants who qualified yesterday. One is ranked twenty-fifth in the Strength Department, and the other is twelfth in the Reconnaissance Department. The top-ten seeded contestants from the Crystal Stele haven’t taken the stage yet, so this isn’t the main event."
"Looks like I’ve underestimated the Five Provinces Academy," Feng Hao remarked with a click of his tongue.
Man Tiaotiao sneered from the side, "Of course it is. The academy gathers geniuses from the entire Wolf Country. Your paltry strength means nothing here."
A playful glint appeared in Feng Hao’s eyes. "I just said they’re pretty strong. Did I say I couldn’t beat them?"
"Hmph, keep pretending," Man Tiaotiao said with a look of disbelief. "It’s not that I’m looking down on you, but you couldn’t beat a single one of the contestants here today."
Feng Hao merely smirked, not bothering to argue with her. His gaze shifted to the distant stands where the senior staff of the various academies were seated. An involuntary, cold glint appeared in his eyes, for among them was Xuchang, the Head of the Main Battle Academy.
The duel on stage soon concluded. The student from the Reconnaissance Department, wielding a bow and arrow, claimed victory by a very narrow margin.
Immediately after, the second pair of contestants took the stage, inciting a roar from the entire crowd.
One contestant was completely encased in metal armor, wielding a high-tech blue light blade. His overall appearance clashed jarringly with his surroundings. His opponent, in contrast, looked much more conventional, dressed in off-white light armor and tightly gripping a sword and shield.
Feng Hao stared at the armored young man, completely speechless. The sight was incredibly bizarre. ’Isn’t that a goddamn legendary Armored Warrior?’
"Whoa, what’s the deal with the guy in the full-body turtle shell?" Feng Hao blurted out in shocked confusion.
Hearing this, Houhuiyao quickly whispered a reminder, "Brother Feng, keep it down! That’s Xie Kuangfeng, the number one student in the Strength Department. He’s level forty-eight and terrifyingly strong."
"The number one of the Strength Department looks like *that*? In a turtle shell?" Feng Hao was dumbfounded.
Exasperated, Houhuiyao explained, "What do you mean, turtle shell? It’s called armor. It works just like regular equipment."
"Uh, a piece made by a new-school Artifact Refiner?" Feng Hao paused for a second before it dawned on him.
"Exactly," Houhuiyao confirmed with a nod. "Speaking of which, very few Mages in our Wolf Country wear armor. Xie Kuangfeng is an exception."
Feng Hao was secretly amazed and couldn’t help but study the armor with curiosity. Although he had been delving into Artifact Refining lately, this was the first time he had ever seen a creation from a new-school Artifact Refiner. Honestly, it was ridiculously cool.
"By the way, who’s his opponent? What’s his story?" Feng Hao asked, his awe giving way to curiosity.
"The other guy is Dongfang Qi. He’s also in the Strength Department, ranked fourth on the Crystal Stele. I heard he’s had a huge power-up recently and might actually have a chance to beat Xie Kuangfeng. In short, this is going to be a great match," Houhuiyao continued, giving him the rundown.
"Dongfang Qi?" Feng Hao froze, his eyes instinctively darting toward Xiyue Frost. He frowned and asked, "From the Dongfang Family?"
Xiyue Frost gave a quiet nod, confirming Feng Hao’s suspicion.