Chapter 53: Chapter 51: Chief Black Cat
He had just heard Yue Linglong mention gene-additive talents not long ago; he never expected to awaken one himself so quickly.
Moreover, according to the genetic information, his second-tier Talent Branches were excellent. He would gain 8 points of Magic Power growth for every base meridian, which would largely compensate for his lack of Magic Power.
After skillfully allocating the gene points, the growth of his meridian root system finally reached one hundred base units. To Feng Hao’s delighted surprise, a new branch sprouted from the root system.
At the same time, a special energy filled his entire body. Feng Hao knew this was the effect of[Dark Energy Condensation].
He summoned the panel and clicked to view his attribute panel. The magnificent genetic data left him ecstatic:
Gene Level: 20
Qi Blood: 8750 (2750)
Vitality: 38 (18)
Magic Power: 1000
Strength: 294 (154)
Dark Energy: 1040
Magic Damage: 140
Defense: 252 (32)
Gang Qi: 600
Speed: 529 (120)
Attack Speed: 248 (128)
Divine Sense: 240
Breath Concealment: 278
Divine Sense Strength: 40
Weak Point Enhancement: 40
’The feeling of being second-tier really is different. With a Magic Power cap of one thousand, I won’t have to worry about my mana pool at all anymore!’
Feng Hao’s eyes gleamed as he stared at the attribute panel, his heart pounding in his chest. His six major basic genetic stats had also received a huge boost during his advancement, making his overall strength even more formidable.
His Dark Energy had even surpassed a thousand. Combined with his dual Dark Energy talents, he could even hold his own against a Third-tier Mage!
The only thing that gave him a headache was his Qi Blood. It hadn’t even reached ten thousand yet, making him squishier than a Magic Master of the same level. But what could he do? His physique genes were just too poor.
"It would be great if I could awaken a talent that increases Qi Blood," Feng Hao said, shaking his head with a wry smile. Suddenly, his eyes lit up in realization. "Wait, don’t I have[Black Pupils]? I can just graft a Qi Blood-type branch!"
The thought made Feng Hao grow more and more excited. ’From now on, I’ll have to pay more attention to the Defensive Mages around me, or students with good physique aptitude. They have a higher chance of awakening Qi Blood-type Talent Branches.’
’Hoo... Grafting can’t be rushed. First, I need to figure out how to learn a new Secret Technique!’
Feng Hao reined in his thoughts and started to ponder the issue of a new Secret Technique.
’Right now, there are two ways to get a new Secret Technique. One is to go to the Secret Technique Pavilion and copy someone else’s[Secret Technique Mark]. The other is to piece one together myself and create my own[Secret Technique Mark].’
’Generally speaking, creating my own Secret Technique is obviously better than copying someone else’s. After all, even with the same[Demon Patterns]and the same method of assembly, the marks created by different Mages will vary.’
’It’s like my Basic Secret Skill,[Dark Moon Slaughter]. It had 20 proficiency points the moment the mark was formed. If I had just copied someone else’s Demon Pattern combination, I would’ve had to start from zero.’
’Still, I should go to the Secret Technique Pavilion first to take a look. At the very least, I can use other people’s Dark Energy Secret Techniques as a reference for how to form the seals.’
It was already late, so the Secret Technique Pavilion was obviously closed. He would have to go tomorrow. With that thought, Feng Hao stopped wrestling with the issue, calmed his mind, and began to focus on his training.
Half an hour later, Xi Yueyao’s voice shouted from outside the training pod, "Hey, medicine boy, get out here!"
"What’s up? Did you forget your access card?" Feng Hao got up, exasperated. But when he opened the pod door, the sight before him left him stunned.
A gigantic black cat’s head was blocking the doorway, its vertical, emerald-green eyes fixed on him. It was West Moon Ridge’s pet magical beast, the Midnight Cat named Miaomiao.
"What’s going on?" Feng Hao asked, completely dumbfounded.
Xi Yueyao giggled as she slid off the cat’s back. Stroking the black cat’s neck, she said, "I went home today and saw that my aunt is busy with my sister’s special training, so no one was around to play with Miaomiao. I decided to bring him here."
Hearing this, Feng Hao nodded in understanding. He began to circle the black cat curiously, sizing it up. To be honest, he was quite interested in this cat.
Unfortunately, no matter how his Crystal Eye scanned it, he couldn’t glean a single shred of information—not even its gene level.
"Yao Girl, what level magical beast is he?" Feng Hao had no choice but to ask Xi Yueyao.
Xi Yueyao grinned smugly, her eyes filled with pride. "Miaomiao is already a Tier Six Magical Beast. Impressive, huh?"
"A Tier Six Magical Beast?" Feng Hao exclaimed in surprise. He couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke the black cat’s fur. It was smooth and soft, with a slight coolness to it that made him not want to stop petting it.
Since it had met Feng Hao before, the black cat didn’t seem to mind his touch. It even lowered its head and nuzzled against his.
The nuzzle sent a wave of pleasure through Feng Hao, and his affection for the creature swelled. "Tsk, tsk. This build, this presence... he’s just too cool. I say we call him Chief Black Cat from now on. The name Miaomiao isn’t the least bit intimidating."
"Hmph, you have no taste. Miaomiao sounds much better," Xi Yueyao said with a pout, stroking the black cat affectionately. "Isn’t that right, Miaomiao?"
"MRROWL~!" The black cat let out a cry, seemingly in agreement with Xi Yueyao.
Feng Hao was miffed. ’How can he not like a badass name like Chief Black Cat?’ His stubborn streak flared up. ’I don’t care if he likes it or not. From now on, I’m calling him Chief Black Cat.’
"Chief Black Cat, I don’t think you’ll fit into the training pod with that size of yours. You can just sleep outside tonight," Feng Hao said resignedly, glancing from the pod door to the cat’s enormous frame.
The black cat clearly understood him. With an arrogant flick of its tail, it zipped into the training pod in a few swift movements.
Feng Hao was dumbfounded. ’Is its freaking body made of sponge?’
"What are you spacing out for? Get back in the pod!" Xi Yueyao said with a wicked grin, swaggering inside. "Heh heh, I’m going to sleep on Miaomiao tonight."
"..." Feng Hao was left speechless and followed her in resignedly.
As soon as he entered, he saw the black cat sprawled out inside like it owned the place, leisurely licking its paws. It took up more than half the space in the pod. Fortunately, there was just enough room left for the two of them to train; otherwise, Feng Hao would have been squeezed right out.
After closing the pod door, Xi Yueyao threw herself onto the black cat and started rolling around on its furry body, having the time of her life.
"Miaomiao’s hungry. Quick, get something for him to eat," Xi Yueyao suddenly said after roughhousing for a while.
Feng Hao blinked. "What does he eat?"
"Miaomiao’s not picky at all. Crystal Cores, pills, Magic Crystals... anything like that works," Xi Yueyao said, smacking her lips.
Feng Hao broke out in a cold sweat. ’And you call *that* not picky?’
After some deliberation, Feng Hao took out a few of the lowest-value common Magic Crystals. "Here, try a few of these."
The imperious cat glanced at the Magic Crystals, shot Feng Hao a look filled with disdain from its vertical pupils, and arrogantly turned its head away.
’What the hell, it’s too good for common Magic Crystals?’ Being scorned by a cat was a serious blow to Feng Hao’s pride. Gritting his teeth, he tossed out a small pile of Level 1 Magic Crystals.
Seeing the Level 1 Magic Crystals, the master cat finally turned its head back. It sniffed them, then began to eat with extreme reluctance. Its picky eating nearly drove Feng Hao mad with frustration.
Xi Yueyao fanned the flames from the sidelines. "You’re so cheap. My aunt always feeds Miaomiao Tier Two Magic Crystals."
"Then why don’t you feed him?" Feng Hao retorted.
"My allowance isn’t that big. I’m not rich like you," Xi Yueyao said with a pout.
While they spoke, the black cat had already finished the Magic Crystals, and from the look on its face, it clearly wasn’t full yet.
Feng Hao shook his head with a wry smile, resigned to taking out more Level 1 Magic Crystals. But as he probed his Spatial Ring with his Divine Sense, he suddenly noticed a large pile of Tier Five Qi Recovery Pills in a corner, left over from when he was grinding skill proficiency.
In his eyes, the pills were even less valuable than Magic Crystals, so he took out over fifty Qi Recovery Pills at once and offered them to the cat. "Chief Black Cat, how about these?"
He hadn’t even finished speaking before the Qi Recovery Pills in his hand vanished.
After gulping down the fifty-plus Qi Recovery Pills in one go, the black cat finally looked satisfied. It licked its paws, washed its face, and then plopped down and fell fast asleep.
’Using Tier Five Qi Recovery Pills as cat food... I’m probably the only one who’d dare to be so extravagant,’ Feng Hao thought, feeling quite pleased with himself.
...
