Hearing Yao Yue's curious question, Yao Ye didn't explain. Her mind was entirely elsewhere.
She was thinking about her strength. Why had it suddenly surged?
Yao Ye closed her eyes and sensed the Dou Qi within her again.
One-Star Dou Wang.
That was right. She really was a One-Star Dou Wang.
She remembered clearly that before yesterday, she had been a One-Star Dou Ling.
In just one night, she had broken through to the Dou Wang level.
Under normal circumstances, it would have taken at least several years, perhaps even decades.
But now, it had happened in a single night.
It was simply unbelievable!
Yao Ye opened her eyes, filled with shock and confusion.
What on earth was going on?
She looked at Yao Yue and saw that her younger sister was still worried about her.
"Yue'er, I'm really fine."
Yao Ye said.
Yao Yue looked at her, her eyes full of doubt.
"Sister, are you sure you're all right?"
Yao Yue asked. "Why do you look so strange?"
Yao Ye fell silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"My strength has increased."
Yao Ye said.
Yao Yue froze.
"Your strength has increased?"
Yao Ye didn't answer. She simply roused the Dou Qi within her.
The aura of a One-Star Dou Wang radiated from her.
Yao Yue felt that aura, and her expression changed at once.
"One-Star Dou Wang?"
Yao Yue's eyes widened.
"Sister, when did you break through to One-Star Dou Wang?"
Yao Ye shook her head.
"I don't know either."
Yao Ye said. "When I woke up last night, I realized I'd broken through."
Yao Yue was stunned.
She had gone from One-Star Dou Ling to One-Star Dou Wang in a single night?
How was that possible?
Her sister had cultivated for so many years just to reach One-Star Dou Ling.
How had she broken through overnight?
"Sister, did you take some kind of pill?"
Yao Yue asked.
"No."
Yao Ye shook her head.
"Then how did you suddenly break through?"
Yao Yue asked, her eyes full of disbelief.
"I'm not sure either."
Yao Ye said.
The two sisters fell silent.
Yao Yue looked at Yao Ye, her heart full of questions.
Her sister had married Xiao Chen, and in a single night, she had broken through to Dou Wang.
It was far too much of a coincidence.
Yao Ye was thinking about it too.
A suspicion had begun to take shape in her mind.
Could it have something to do with Xiao Chen?
But she immediately shook her head.
That couldn't be possible.
Could marrying a Snake-Person increase someone's strength?
There was no such thing in the world.
But if it wasn't because of Xiao Chen, what else could it be?
Yao Ye couldn't figure it out.
Seeing her sister lost in thought, Yao Yue didn't say anything more.
The two sisters sat in the room, each absorbed in her own thoughts.
After leaving Queen Medusa's palace, Xiao Chen walked through the tribe.
As he walked, he considered his options.
The system had issued a quest to marry Medusa.
Completing it would earn him an S-rank reward.
But Queen Medusa's current favorability toward him was only fifteen percent.
He was still a long way from being able to marry her.
He had to find a way to raise her favorability further.
How could he do that?
Xiao Chen thought it over and decided that the best way was to help Queen Medusa increase her strength.
Queen Medusa was stuck at her current level, and breaking through wouldn't be easy.
If he could refine a pill to boost her strength, her favorability would surely rise significantly.
With that thought, Xiao Chen immediately searched through the System Inventory.
The System Inventory held all sorts of rewards.
Medicinal ingredients, pills, Dou Techniques—just about everything.
After searching for a while, Xiao Chen found what he needed.
The ingredients for refining the Dragon-Tiger Pill.
The Dragon-Tiger Pill was a Sixth-Grade Pill.
It could help a Dou Zong expert increase their strength by one star.
Xiao Chen retrieved the ingredients from the System Inventory.
Several rare herbs appeared in his hand, giving off a rich medicinal fragrance.
Xiao Chen glanced around, then headed deeper into the tribe.
He found a quiet clearing where no members of the tribe would pass by.
Xiao Chen sat cross-legged and laid out the ingredients before him.
Refining the Dragon-Tiger Pill required exceptional alchemy skills.
As a Sixth-Grade Pill, it was beyond the abilities of ordinary alchemists.
But Xiao Chen had a Heavenly Flame granted by the system, as well as the alchemy experience it had bestowed upon him.
Refining a Sixth-Grade Pill wasn't difficult for him.
Xiao Chen raised his hand and channeled the Dou Qi within him.
A ball of flame gathered in his palm.
It burned quietly in his hand, and the air around him grew scorching hot.
Xiao Chen tossed one of the herbs into the flame.
Under the heat, the herb slowly melted into a pool of liquid.
Xiao Chen focused completely, controlling the flame's temperature.
There was no room for the slightest mistake when refining a Sixth-Grade Pill.
One small error could ruin the pill and waste every ingredient.
Once he had extracted the essence from one herb, Xiao Chen added the second.
Each herb required a different amount of time and a different temperature to extract.
Drawing on the alchemy experience in his mind, Xiao Chen worked methodically.
Who knew how much time passed before he had extracted every ingredient?
The flame in Xiao Chen's hand suddenly drew inward.
The medicinal liquid slowly melded together in the fire, gradually solidifying.
The outline of a pill began to take shape.
Xiao Chen continued to channel the flame, beginning the final step of forming the pill.
Just then, a figure approached from the distance.
Yao Yue.
After leaving Yao Ye's room, she had been seething with anger.
Xiao Chen had bullied her sister. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
She decided to go confront Xiao Chen.
Even if she couldn't beat him, she could at least give him a piece of her mind.
Yao Yue searched the tribe and finally spotted Xiao Chen in the clearing.
She was about to rush over, but abruptly stopped.
Xiao Chen was refining a pill.
Yao Yue stared at the flame in his palm and froze.
Was that a Heavenly Flame?
Although Yao Yue was a princess of the Imperial Family, she had heard the stories about Heavenly Flames.
Heavenly Flames were the most precious flames in the world, treasures every alchemist dreamed of possessing.
No one in the entire Jia Ma Empire had a Heavenly Flame.
And yet Xiao Chen had one in his hands?
Seeing how skillfully Xiao Chen worked, Yao Yue was even more astonished.
He was an alchemist too?
And judging by his technique, he was no low-level alchemist.
He had to be at least a Fifth-Grade Alchemist.
Fifth-Grade Alchemists were exceedingly rare in the Jia Ma Empire.
Aside from Pill King Gu He, the only other Fifth-Grade Alchemist in the entire empire was Fa Ma, president of the Alchemist Guild.
But Xiao Chen looked far younger than Fa Ma.
A Fifth-Grade Alchemist this young?
Yao Yue stood there, watching Xiao Chen refine the pill.
She had come to confront him.
But now, she couldn't bring herself to take another step.
A Dou Zong expert.
A Heavenly Flame.
An alchemist of at least Fifth Grade.
Yao Yue was stunned.
Suddenly, she remembered what her sister had just told her.
After marrying Xiao Chen, her sister had gone from One-Star Dou Ling to One-Star Dou Wang in a single night.
Could it be...
An absurd thought rose in Yao Yue's mind.
Could Xiao Chen have something to do with her sister's increased strength?
Yao Yue shook her head, forcing the thought away.
Impossible.
But if it wasn't because of Xiao Chen, why had her sister's strength suddenly surged?
Yao Yue stood there watching Xiao Chen refine the pill, her thoughts in turmoil.
Xiao Chen was entirely focused on refining the pill and didn't notice Yao Yue in the distance.
The flame in his hand kept changing, growing larger and smaller, stronger and weaker.
The medicinal liquid slowly solidified in the flame, and the shape of the pill grew clearer.
Some time later.
The flame in Xiao Chen's hand suddenly drew inward.
A pill floated in midair, perfectly round and giving off a faint golden glow.
The Dragon-Tiger Pill had been successfully refined!
A few markings crossed the surface of the pill. They were Pill Patterns unique to Sixth-Grade Pills.
Xiao Chen reached out and grabbed the pill.
Looking at the Dragon-Tiger Pill in his palm, he raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
With this Dragon-Tiger Pill, Queen Medusa's strength could rise by one star.
By then, her affection for him would surely increase.
Xiao Chen put the pill away and stood up.
He was about to leave when he caught sight of Yao Yue standing not far away.
Before you continue