Herman paced back and forth patiently waiting for Tang Yue to step out of the alchemy association practice chamber.

It had almost been an entire day but the snake was not budging from her seclusion.

After waiting for so long, he started to get nervous and crushed a jade slip to summon someone else over to replace him.

And as soon as his replacement arrived, Herman hurriedly rushed over to the royal palace.

"Your highness. Your highness." Herman whispered and materialized right next to Xander, standing on his side.

The personal guards had the sole permission to be able to stand so close to the Crown Prince.

"Hmm?" Xander raised his eyebrows and turned.

"Consort Yue has been holed up in the alchemy association practice chambers for the entire day."

"What should I do now?" Herman asked. He also filled Xander in about the other details of her trip to the alchemy association.

Xander couldn't help but chuckle wryly every time he heard the news of another tab being opened up under his name.

His good name was being dragged through the mud.

Being cold and ruthless is one thing but abusing authority and position is another thing.

At least he had always paid for the purchases he made so far, but this snake was running wild!

"Heh. Leave her be. Just observe her from a distance. I know what she is doing." Xander chuckled and dismissed him.

The other elves in the courtroom looked at their Crown's amused expression with shock and surprise.

They all slightly shivered in fear. This madman smiling was not a good thing!

…..

Meanwhile…

Achoo… Tang Yue sneezed. She had so many fans these days that she didn't even bother to guess who might be thinking of her.

The snake rubbed her nose and grinned happily eying the notifications flashing in front of her.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul tempering successful.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul Strength has been upgraded to Bronze-tier Mortal Soul

Ding. 200 Experience Points have been rewarded.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul tempering successful.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul Strength has been upgraded to Silver-tier Mortal Soul

Ding. 200 Experience Points have been rewarded.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul tempering successful.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul Strength has been upgraded to Gold-tier Mortal Soul

Ding. 1000 Experience Points have been rewarded.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul tempering successful.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul Strength has been upgraded to Diamond-tier Mortal Soul

Ding. 1000 Experience Points have been rewarded.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul tempering successful.

Ding. Congratulations. Soul Strength has been upgraded to Bronze-tier Martial Soul

Ding. 2000 Experience Points have been rewarded.

In a single sitting, Tang Yue's soul strength was easily boosted all the way from the Mortal realm to the Martial realm!

And all she had to do was pop in 10 Soul Searing pills.

How easy!

But at the same time… she was able to accomplish even something so easy only now!

"Mmm. Let's not dwell too much on the past."

She shook her head and closed her eyes to sense any changes in her body due to the new and improved soul strength.

But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't identify anything new.

Even the swirls of energy that had gathered in her body had completely dissipated as if they never existed in the first place.

"I guess this is to be expected." Tang Yue hissed.

Soul strength was typically intangible.

Unless one unleashed a soul-based attack or defense move, the thing might not even exist and none would be the wiser.

The only telltale sign of a breakthrough in the soul strength was a small burp of white mist-like vapors from the mouth.

And Tang Yue had already experienced this.

Out of curiosity, she also tried to taste the mist by sticking her tongue out but it was absolutely tasteless.

Besides, she had already received the notifications from the system.

So Tang Yue stopped dwelling on her soul strength for the time being and decided to focus on her body tempering next.

After all, only crossing the first realm was this simple.

Higher realms required much more than popping in a few Soul Searing pills and she didn't have the time or the materials for that now.

Tang Yue quickly retrieved the vials containing the body tempering pills from her space pearl.

Time was moving fast and she was not sure how much more alone time she had left. She still had a lot left to accomplish.

And for all she knew, that mad man could burst in through her chamber doors at any given time even if she was using the supposedly private alchemy practice chambers.

"Hai. Let's not think about that hateful guy."

She emptied out her mind and adjusted her posture to again enter a meditative state.

This time she opened one of the vials and took out a body tempering pill, slowly placing it on her tongue.

She sucked on it for a while before swallowing and then started doing the set of basic sword moves that she had mastered.

[Tch. Tch. How pathetic!] The system smugly remarked.

Tang Yue rolled her eyes but she ignored it and continued to focus on practicing the basic sword moves that she knew.

Just like the Soul Searing pill, the Body Tempering pill was also a shortcut, but unlike the Soul Searing pill, the body tempering pill required one to push their body to the extreme whilst ingesting the pills.

Otherwise, the beneficial things won't be completely absorbed and the method won't be as effective.

[You know I have in my possession certain top-tier sword art manuals.] The old man's nasally voice sounded again.

Tang Yue snorted and continued exercising her body.

The geezer had been silent recently because of her new living arrangements and it was only today that he was letting his mouth run.

[Superb! Marvelous! Top-tier Sword techniques, I say!] The system chimed in again.

"So what? Are you going to give me any?" Tang Yue bitterly hissed.

[Of course. You know what, I will even let you in on a secret.] The system smugly announced.