The next morning arrived with the soft light of dawn filtering through the windows.
After an entire night spent adapting to her new power system, Medusa finally withdrew from her cultivation session.
When she opened her eyes, she found Victor still deep in his pill refinement, completely absorbed in his work.
More than twenty small jade bottles sat arranged around him, each filled with various high-grade pills. The entire training room was saturated with the tempting fragrance of medicinal essence, so potent that even the air itself seemed enriched.
She could feel the spiritual energy within her body stirring restlessly just from breathing in the scent.
Is this what high-level pills do to lower-stage cultivators?
If she stayed here any longer, she was genuinely afraid she wouldn't be able to resist sneaking a taste.
With that thought spurring her on, Medusa hurriedly left the training room.
As she emerged, a woman from the Snake Tribe approached and bowed respectfully. "Your Majesty, Elder Yao and Master Feng are waiting for you in the main hall. They say they wish to discuss something important with you."
Medusa's eyes narrowed slightly.
Those two haven't left yet?
"I understand. I'll head there immediately."
With those words, she vanished in an instant, using spatial teleportation.
The snake woman's pupils dilated sharply.
Space teleportation?
Could it be that Her Majesty has broken through to the legendary Dou Zun realm?
When Medusa materialized in the main hall, she found Yao Chen and Feng Xian sitting together in quiet conversation.
They turned their attention to her the moment they sensed her arrival.
Both men's eyes widened in astonishment.
The Snake Queen seemed somehow... stronger than before.
An invisible pressure radiated from Medusa's presence, and even Feng Xian, a powerful expert in his own right, felt a subtle hint of threat emanating from her.
And that sudden appearance just now...
Has this queen actually broken through to the Dou Zun realm?
The thought struck them simultaneously, and both men drew in sharp breaths.
To push someone from peak Dou Huang directly to Dou Zun in such a short time!
Victor's methods were truly extraordinary.
"I wonder what brings you two esteemed seniors to seek me out?"
Medusa ascended the throne with practiced grace and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. Her long, pale legs were exposed beneath her skirt, gleaming with an almost luminescent allure.
However, despite the captivating sight, neither Yao Chen nor Feng Xian dared to let their gazes linger too long.
Although she was merely a junior in their eyes in terms of age, there was someone backing her that neither of them could afford to offend.
"Your Majesty, we've come to say our farewells," Yao Chen said, stepping forward and cupping his fists respectfully.
"But before we depart, I was hoping the Queen could trouble her people to help me collect some medicinal herbs."
"Of course, these aren't particularly precious materials."
As he spoke, he handed over a list.
Medusa's gaze swept over the parchment with mild confusion.
Just as he'd said, the herbs recorded here were all extremely low-level varieties. The type that were stockpiled in her clan's treasury like common weeds, gathering dust in forgotten corners.
"Very well. I'll have someone retrieve some from the treasury for you. But I'm curious, what do you need such low-grade herbs for?"
Yao Chen smiled slightly. "I'm planning to return to Wutan City to take Xiao Yan under my wing. These herbs are what I'm preparing for my future disciple."
That's right, after everything he'd witnessed and experienced, Yao Chen had finally decided to accept Xiao Yan as his student.
After all, he'd been absorbing the boy's fighting spirit for all these years, turning a genius into a supposed waste and subjecting him to endless contempt and humiliation. That was rather unfair to the young man.
To make amends, Yao Chen had decided to formally take him as a disciple.
Besides, this had always been part of his original plan anyway.
Moreover, he'd been observing the boy for years now and understood Xiao Yan's character intimately. This young man would definitely achieve great things in the future.
"I see."
Medusa nodded, asking nothing further.
Another two weeks slipped by in the blink of an eye.
Victor had finally exhausted all the spiritual herbs and medicines he'd obtained from Yao Chen and Feng Xian, forcing him to temporarily halt his pill refinement.
"Are you planning to return home?" Medusa asked, watching him emerge from the training room.
Victor nodded. "That's right. I've been away for quite some time now. It's time to go back and enter seclusion for a while. I'll return after my cultivation advances."
After all, he would never forget his plans to visit the eight ancient clans.
"Alright then. Take care."
With a casual wave of his hand, Victor activated the time-travel talisman and vanished, returning to his own world.
After being away for more than half a month, the first thing Victor did upon returning home wasn't to immediately enter seclusion.
Instead, he gathered all the girls together for some well-deserved... quality time.
It wasn't until three full days later that Victor finally emerged from his room, looking refreshed and radiant.
Behind him, the girls lay collapsed across the bed in various states of exhaustion, each one rolling their eyes back in total unconsciousness.
They probably wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
With that matter settled, Victor opened the chat group.
[Victor: Ladies, how have you all been doing recently?]
[Belle: Great! Absolutely great!]
[Stelle: So amazing!]
[Kiana: In just half a month, I broke through from early Nascent Soul to peak mid-Nascent Soul! I'm only one step away from late Nascent Soul now!]
[Kurumi: I've already reached Golden Core!]
[Shinoa: My sister and I are both at mid-stage Golden Core now!]
[Krul: Thanks to Victor's pills.]
[Victor: Very good. It seems everyone has made significant progress. The effort I put into refining all those pills was worthwhile.]
[Jibril: Lord Victor, do you still have any pills available?]
[Victor: What, you don't have enough?]
[Jibril: It's not me, it's that idiot Azrael. She keeps wailing in my ear, demanding pills.]
[Jibril, "Oh, Victor is so biased! Why does Xiaoji get pills but I don't?" She says things like that constantly.]
Well... I forgot about Azrael.
When Victor had been sending red envelopes to Lumine, Shinoa, and Tsunade, he'd always remembered to give them a few extra to distribute.
But somehow, when it came to Azrael, he'd completely blanked.
Could it be because idiots are just... naturally easy to overlook?
[Victor has sent Jibril an exclusive red envelope!]
[Jibril received the red envelope!]
[Jibril: Ah, finally, peace and quiet.]
[Tsunade: Victor, do you have any more pills available?]
[Victor: What? I remember giving Shizune's share to you already. Does your brother need some too?]
[Victor: But I recall your brother's cultivation is still quite low, he hasn't even reached Foundation Establishment yet, right? He's not really suitable for high-level pills.]
For cultivators still in the Qi Refining stage, pills that were too powerful would be completely useless.
In fact, if the medicinal potency was too strong, it could cause their meridians to rupture and their body to explode, leading to death.
[Tsunade: It's not for my brother, it's for Sakura. She established her foundation yesterday.]
[Victor: Oh? She actually built her foundation? Interesting.]
Although Victor didn't have any particular feelings about Haruno Sakura personally, she was his wife's apprentice after all, one of their own people. Naturally, he wouldn't be stingy with her.
Moreover, Sakura's cultivation talent was genuinely quite impressive. Investing in her now might yield a capable assistant in the future.
Without hesitation, he immediately sent Tsunade several high-level pills suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators.