Chapter 459 - 456: What Do You Mean?
Chapter 459: Chapter 456: What Do You Mean?
In the spectator stands, the high-ranking officials and leaders wore looks of shock and suspicion. Delt, the Palace Master of the Nanyue Country’s Song City Branch Hall, was especially smug, basking in the envious gazes of his colleagues.
"Hey, Lao De, you really went all out this time! To think you were even willing to part with a Divine Soul," a few of the neighboring Sub-Palace Masters teased.
"Hey, hey, watch your mouth," Delt said, suddenly displeased. "Our Xin Yan caught that Divine Soul all by herself. It has nothing to do with me."
"Who’d believe that?!" The neighboring Sub-Palace Masters had teasing looks on their faces, clearly not believing a word Delt said.
Delt couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. He curled his lip into a sneer and said, "Believe it or not."
The Sub-Palace Masters pouted resentfully. Looking at the battle on the stage, their eyes flickered as one asked, "By the way, Lao De, what’s the special effect of Ming Xin Yan’s Divine Soul?"
"Energy Condensation," Delt said smugly.
As soon as he said it, the people around him exclaimed in shock. "An Energy Condensation effect! No wonder she could break through Diaron’s Gang Qi."
...
While everyone was marveling at Ming Xin Yan’s Divine Soul Spiritual Artifact, on stage, Diaron was already in a steady retreat, his expression absolutely foul.
’Damn it! She actually has a Divine Soul Spiritual Artifact!’
Watching his Qi Blood plummet, Diaron’s expression was grim. There was nothing he could do. In the face of the Divine Soul’s Energy Condensation effect, his original advantage with Gang Qi had instantly become a disadvantage.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Layer after layer of his Gang Qi vanished under the bombardment of Ming Xin Yan’s Magic. Diaron could only rely on his high defense and health to desperately hold on, forced to switch to attacking with physical damage.
Unfortunately, his physical damage was nowhere near enough to pose a threat to Ming Xin Yan.
It couldn’t be helped. Although Gang Qi Mages had some physical damage capability, it wasn’t their primary source of damage. They couldn’t compare to a true strength-based Mage. Besides, his equipment was all specialized for Gang Qi.
And just like that, under Ming Xin Yan’s fierce assault, Diaron’s Qi Blood was quickly depleted. The match was decided.
Watching Ming Xin Yan walk proudly off the battle stage, Feng Hao felt a bit surprised. ’To be honest, this "Energy Condensation" Divine Soul effect is a little beyond my expectations.’
’Although the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms also has this kind of effect, it clearly can’t compare to hers.’
’The thing is, Divine Soul effects are attached to weapons and Magical Artifacts. That means as long as Ming Xin Yan uses her Divine Soul Spiritual Artifact to cast a Secret Technique, all of her Secret Techniques will get the "Energy Condensation" bonus. That’s what’s truly terrifying.’
"Not bad, sis! I haven’t seen you in over a year, and now you’ve even got a Divine Soul Spiritual Artifact," Feng Hao said, walking up to her with a teasing tone.
Ming Xin Yan gave a faint smile and sighed slightly. "I was hoping to save it as a surprise for you, but I didn’t expect to be forced to use it so early."
"Uh." Feng Hao was speechless.
"Alright, it’s your turn next. Don’t let me down!" Ming Xin Yan teased with a light laugh, then gracefully returned to her seat.
Feng Hao shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. His gaze fell on Fang Jie, who was standing nearby with a dazed expression. "Hey, man, it’s our turn!"
"Huh?" Fang Jie snapped out of his trance and hurriedly rushed toward the battle stage.
Faced with Ming Xin Yan’s immense strength, Fang Jie’s confidence had taken a considerable blow. But his opponent this round was Feng Hao, so he planned to regain some of that confidence at Feng Hao’s expense.
The two of them ascended the battle stage one after the other, drawing a great deal of attention. After all, they were the first and second-place finishers from the qualifiers.
"It’s been a while. I wonder who’s stronger now?"
"Probably Feng Hao, right? His level has improved the most."
"No, no, no, I think Fang Jie has a better shot. Don’t forget, he has a Divine Soul Weapon."
"So what? He still lost to Feng Hao in the qualifiers, didn’t he?"
As the crowd argued endlessly, someone nearby sneered, "Is there any point in arguing about this? Anyway, with their current levels, neither of them has a shot at the Fifth Thief position."
"That’s true," someone nearby nodded in agreement.
"Right, I almost forgot... what’s the deal with Ming Xin Yan’s level? Even if she managed to catch the Magic Tide, it shouldn’t have given her such a massive boost, right?"
"How would I know? But I heard from a friend in Nanyue Country that Ming Xin Yan apparently took some kind of medicinal pill."
"That can’t be right. The way I heard it, she ate some kind of natural treasure."
"You’re both wrong. I visited Nanyue Country a while ago and heard that while Ming Xin Yan was out training, she accidentally stumbled into a Daoist Secret Realm and received the inheritance of an ancient powerhouse."
...
On the other side of the waiting area, Diaron wore an ugly expression, clearly still dwelling on his loss to Ming Xin Yan. After all, in the contest for the Thief title, a single loss meant you were out of the running.
Meanwhile, Wu Qing and Chen Yanlin were scrutinizing the pair on stage, their heads bowed in thought.
In the main seats of the viewing stands, Feng Hao’s appearance immediately drew everyone’s attention, especially from the heads of the various departments. To this day, they still disapproved of the Thief Master’s decision to unofficially designate the next Thief.
"Thief Master, are you sure Xiaofeng has what it takes to secure the Thief title?" Jing Lou asked, concerned. "After all, in terms of level, Feng Hao is the lowest of the six. What’s more terrifying is that Wu Qing and the other two have already reached the sixth rank."
As the saying goes, surpassing levels is easy, but surpassing ranks is hard. Although Feng Hao performed exceptionally well in the qualifiers, he was ultimately a whole talent branch behind them. Moreover, for a Mage, the true journey only begins after reaching the fifth rank.
This is because from the fifth rank onward, various cultivation paths begin to solidify, and the synergies between talent branches start to become apparent.
In short, this is the stage where the gap between cultivators truly widens. The strong get stronger, while the weak must find other ways to make up the difference.
Seeing Jing Lou’s worried expression, the Thief Master smiled faintly. "If you had seen his performance during the Five States City disaster, you wouldn’t be asking that."
"Is the kid really that exceptional?" Jing Lou asked doubtfully.
"You’ll see whether he’s exceptional or not if you just keep watching," the Thief Master said with a light chuckle. "By the way, Xiaofeng also has a powerful medicinal pill on him that he plans to contribute after he is crowned the new Thief."
The moment he heard "medicinal pill," Jing Lou’s eyes lit up with excitement. "Is it a pill like the Life Spirit Pill?"
"Of course not," the Thief Master said with a mysterious smile. "In terms of its effects and value alone, the Life Spirit Pill can’t even compare."
Jing Lou sucked in a sharp breath. "What kind of pill is that powerful?" he asked in disbelief.
"Well... you’ll find out when Xiaofeng is crowned," the Thief Master said, deliberately keeping him in suspense.
At the same time, the two on the battle stage were already facing off.
"I told you, this time, I will defeat you with my own hands!"
Fang Jie gripped his Divine Spirit Dagger, his eyes filled with arrogance. He couldn’t help it. Under the pressure from Ming Xin Yan and the three seeded contestants, his only hope of regaining some confidence was to beat Feng Hao.
"Okay, okay. Whatever makes you happy," Feng Hao said with a playful smile. He casually drew his off-hand Su Mu Dagger, his nimble fingers making it spin and flip through the air in a series of fancy flourishes.
Fang Jie faltered for a second, his expression turning sour. "Just one dagger? What do you mean by that?!"
"It doesn’t mean anything," Feng Hao said with a teasing smirk. "I got bored of dual-wielding, so I thought I’d try using just one. Besides, aren’t you doing the same?"