Chapter 64: Chapter 62: Special Gift
After Zhang Meng and the others left, an awkward silence fell between Feng Hao and Xi Yueyao. They looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
After a long moment, Xi Yueyao couldn’t help but look down shyly. Composing herself, she reverted to her usual feisty and pampered attitude. "What are you looking at? Didn’t you say you had a special gift for me? Out with it!"
"Ahem..." Feng Hao cleared his throat. "Are you sure you want it right now?"
"Of course! I hate it when people drag their feet," Xi Yueyao huffed.
Feng Hao smiled. ’This girl is so impatient. If she weren’t, she never would have snuck into the Miao Medicine Tower to demand Experience Pills from me.’ He couldn’t help but want to laugh just thinking about their first meeting.
"Do you remember that drop of blood I borrowed from you?" Feng Hao asked, his expression turning serious.
Seeing his serious expression, Xi Yueyao dropped her playful mood and nodded obediently. "I remember. You said you were researching a pill to increase strength, but you just ended up tricking me."
Feng Hao said grimly, "A debt must be repaid. I’m now returning a drop of fresh blood to you."
With that, he took out a dagger and made a small cut on the pad of his finger. A bead of crimson blood instantly welled up.
"Hey, what are you doing? Who asked you to pay me back?!" Xi Yueyao’s eyes filled with distress and anger as she glared at him.
"It’s fine," Feng Hao chuckled. "Close your eyes and let your consciousness sink into your sea of consciousness. Don’t have a single thought of resistance."
"What are you doing?" Xi Yueyao asked in confusion.
"Just listen to me," Feng Hao said earnestly.
"Okay, fine."
Pouting, Xi Yueyao reluctantly closed her eyes and sat cross-legged, following Feng Hao’s instructions and sinking her consciousness into her sea of consciousness.
Feng Hao wasted no time. As his Black Pupils activated, his eyes turned completely black. He pressed his bleeding finger against the spot between Xi Yueyao’s eyebrows and carefully channeled his Bloodline Power into her.
His Divine Sense followed, surging in and giving him an unobstructed view of Xi Yueyao’s entire sea of consciousness.
A luminescent green Genetic Tree grew there placidly, its two newly sprouted branches swaying gently. Perhaps sensing the foreign power, the once-relaxed Genetic Tree instantly tensed up.
"Relax. Don’t resist," Feng Hao conveyed mentally.
"Mm." Xi Yueyao was surprisingly obedient. Her face flushed red as she relaxed, and her Genetic Tree returned to its previous state.
Feng Hao took a deep breath. He rapidly circulated his Bloodline Power, and as his blood seeped into her sea of consciousness, it explosively transformed into the phantom image of a Genetic Tree—his own.
’According to the description on the game-like panel, this should be possible,’ Feng Hao thought, his heart pounding with uncertainty.
The description for his Mutated Black Pupils never said he *couldn’t* graft talents onto others. So, what Feng Hao intended to do now was graft his own talent—the one that doubled Dark Force damage—onto Xi Yueyao.
If this graft succeeded, the power of his Black Pupils would become immeasurably more heaven-defying!
"What’s happening? Is that your Genetic Tree?" Xi Yueyao asked curiously with her Divine Sense.
"Don’t speak. Try to remain calm. You might feel a wave of dizziness soon. You have to endure it," Feng Hao reminded her mentally.
"Okay," Xi Yueyao responded with determination. Though she didn’t know what Feng Hao was doing, she chose to trust him.
With everything in place, Feng Hao didn’t dare waste any more time, lest something unexpected happen.
Drawing on the experience from grafting his own talent, he carefully severed a section of Xi Yueyao’s first-tier Talent Branch. Then, he cut a branch from his own phantom Genetic Tree and slowly grafted it in its place.
As her Genetic Tree was damaged, Xi Yueyao’s body trembled. She let out a muffled groan but gritted her teeth and held on.
The grafting began. Feng Hao pushed his Bloodline Power to its limit, nourishing the connection point. Beads of sweat rolled down his face; this was clearly far more strenuous than when he’d performed the graft on himself. He felt his strength about to give out.
Time passed, second by second, but to Feng Hao, it felt like an eternity.
Finally, the connection point healed perfectly, leaving no trace of the graft. At the same moment, Feng Hao’s phantom Genetic Tree abruptly vanished.
"Success!" Feng Hao slumped to the ground, completely spent, but his eyes danced with joyous excitement.
’It’s just as I thought,’ he mused. ’The grafting ability of the Black Pupils really can be used on others. It just seems to weaken me a little.’
He quickly inspected his own stats and found the problem:
Qi Blood: 8750 (2650)
Vitality: 38 (18)
Magic Power: 1000
Strength: 294 (154)
Dark Force: 1040
Magic Damage: 140
Defense: 252 (32)
Gang Qi: 600
Speed: 529 (120)
Attack Speed: 248 (128)
Divine Sense: 240
Breath Control: 278
Divine Sense Strength: 40
Weak Point Enhancement: 40
’After grafting for Yao Girl, my Basic Qi Blood seems to have dropped from 2750 to 2650. Is this the price for grafting a talent onto someone else?’
’A hundred points is acceptable. Besides, I can raise my Basic Qi Blood,’ Feng Hao thought with a relieved smile. He stopped worrying about the loss. Compared to the value created by the graft, it was nothing.
As Feng Hao gasped for breath, Xi Yueyao’s eyes fluttered open. She blinked, her expression one of utter disbelief.
"Mwahahaha, I think I’m going to be invincible!" the girl crowed, back to her usual smug self.
Feng Hao wiped the sweat from his brow and said wearily, "So? How do you like your special gift?"
"How did you do that?" Xi Yueyao pounced, grabbing Feng Hao’s arm excitedly. "Quick, give me more talents! I want to be invincible! Invincible!"
"..." Feng Hao was speechless. "You silly girl, you really know how to dream."
"So you can’t?" Xi Yueyao pouted, disappointed.
Feng Hao said, exasperated, "This ability of mine can only graft talents of the same origin, and only once per tier. Besides, grafting for someone else consumes a drop of my own Essence Blood."
Hearing this, Xi Yueyao immediately grew flustered. She began to gently and somewhat awkwardly wipe the sweat from his brow. "Then let’s forget it. Essence Blood is very precious."
"It’s not that big a deal. My constitution is poor, so one drop of my Essence Blood is only worth 100 points of Qi Blood," Feng Hao said, trying to reassure her.
"That’s still very precious!" Xi Yueyao’s face was filled with guilt.
Feng Hao gave a casual smile and patted her on the head. "This business about grafting talents," he warned seriously, "you must not tell anyone. Not even your family. Understand?"
"Uh-huh! I’m the most trustworthy person you’ll ever meet!" Xi Yueyao nodded obediently, her eyes full of resolve.
Feng Hao nodded with a smile. "Alright, let’s rest for a bit. Then I’ll pay a visit to your home."
"Don’t worry! With me leading the way, I guarantee you’ll have the run of the place," Xi Yueyao said, puffing out her chest proudly.
...
Outside the Xiyue Mansion in Rongcheng. The streets were familiar, the main gate was familiar, but the atmosphere had changed significantly.
Ever since the Beixing Clan went into decline, the other three great families had risen swiftly. The return of Xiyue Luan, in particular, had elevated the Xiyue Mansion’s status immensely, making it the de facto leader of the new four great families.
Arriving at the Xiyue Mansion again after a year, Feng Hao felt a wave of nostalgia. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he recalled the time his big brother, Lin Luo, had dragged him out of this very place.
Xi Yueyao hadn’t been idle on the way there. She peppered Feng Hao with questions, seemingly having an endless list of topics. She was especially curious about the talent, asking about it over and over.
"Hey, Pill Boy, do you think I could kill Zhou Chen with a single lash of my whip now?" Xi Yueyao asked, her confidence swelling to new heights.
"If you practice your skills and aim for his vitals, you can definitely do it," Feng Hao said offhandedly.
"Hee hee, I’m getting more and more amazing!" Xi Yueyao muttered to herself, pleased.
Feng Hao was long used to the girl’s tendency to get a big head from the slightest compliment, so he didn’t bother responding, letting her enjoy her moment of self-admiration.
Before he knew it, they were at the gates of the Xiyue Mansion. Seeing Xi Yueyao return with a young man, the old gatekeeper looked surprised and suspicious, but he didn’t dare say much. "Second Miss, you’ve returned."
"Mm." Xi Yueyao immediately put on the airs of a high-and-mighty young lady. "I brought my little bro home to hang out," she said with a swagger. "You can go back to what you were doing."
"Yes, Miss." The old gatekeeper bowed respectfully and hurried away.
Feng Hao followed, his expression darkening. Once the gatekeeper was out of earshot, he said irritably, "You silly girl, since when am I your ’little bro’?"
"Can’t you just let me be smug for a minute? I have a lot of authority at home, you know!" Xi Yueyao said with a pout.
"You’ve got to be kidding. Someone like you has authority?" Feng Hao looked her up and down, then smirked.
"Hmph! I’m not talking to you anymore." Xi Yueyao’s confidence faltered, and she wrinkled her nose. "Hurry up," she said, her voice soft again. "I’ll take you to see my dad."
