Hidden genius: Black belly snake

Tang Yue was unclear as to when she finally fell asleep, but when she woke up the next morning, she felt extremely light and well-rested.

A series of notifications as well promptly appeared.

Ding. 30% Bristle wolf bloodline absorbed

Ding. 1% Wild wolf bloodline absorbed

Ding. 5% Rabid dog bloodline absorbed

"Rabid dog??" Tang Yue chuckled, but thankfully it was only 5% and she didn't have to worry about any unexpected surprises just yet.

"Hmm… 30% done. Good, now I need to eat 3 more of these wolves to completely absorb the full bloodline." 

She nodded and busied herself, throwing the next one into her stomach.

Since she was already well rested, Tang Yue retrieved her alchemy study materials and focused on learning more about the herbs and pills in the meantime.

She might have a couple of short cuts up her sleeve when it came to upgrading her strength, but there was no such thing in the vast arcane study of alchemy.

The knowledge has to be completely understood and painfully assimilated through the brute method of hard work and concentration. There was no escaping it!

The pup was also still recovering from the injury, so she was not in a particular hurry to slap Marvin and obtain the beast contract technique.

So Tang Yue comfortably settled in for the next few hours and busied herself with work.

While she spiritedly continued studying the herbs, the notifications chimed in automatically at regular intervals, as and when the meat was digested.

Ding. 30% Bristle wolf bloodline absorbed

Ding. 4% Spotted dear bloodline absorbed

…

Ding. 30% Bristle wolf bloodline absorbed

Ding. 5% Grizzly fox bloodline absorbed

…

Ding. 30% Bristle wolf bloodline absorbed

Ding. 1% Fluffy bunny bloodline absorbed

Ding. 1% Ding bat bloodline absorbed

And soon, the bloodline was quickly completed.

Ding. 100% Bristle wolf bloodline absorbed

Ding. Bloodline Evolution has been initiated

A familiar sensation assaulted her body and the serpentine figure started to twist and turn.

A slight pain surfaced laced with an electrifying tingling sensation and a bright beam of light enveloped her body.

Wave after wave of mystical energy enriched her small figure and finally, after a few minutes, the next series of notifications started ringing.

Ding. Congratulations. Bloodline Evolution completed.

Ding. Congratulations. 100 Experience points have been rewarded.

Ding. Congratulations. Strength has been upgraded.

Ding. Congratulations. Cold resistance has been upgraded.

Tang Yue gazed at the notifications, slightly disappointed. 

Though there were a couple of minor upgrades, it looked like common grade beasts were not giving her too much of a boost any longer.

Bristle wolves were very agile beasts but since Tang Yue had already evolved her bloodline using the Fire twin-tailed birds, which possessed even higher agility, she no longer saw any improvement in that attribute.

"Hai Hai. I should just focus on low-grade beasts from now on. These common grade beasts are not too useful." She hissed and slithered towards the space pearl on her nightstand.

She then shifted to her human form and called for Lotte.

"How is Little Blue doing?" Tang Yue lazily asked. 

She was really starting to enjoy the Zither palace. No angry elves were around to barge into her private chambers every now and then.

"The little fellow is happily dozing off, your highness." Lotte excitedly gabbed.

"Good. Good." Tang Yue nodded. "Let's take a trip to the beast market and buy some food for our new guest."

"Yes, your highness." Lotte bowed and followed Tang Yue, as the duo headed outside.

The snake happily tossed her big bag of sparkling gems up and down as she walked towards the market square.

With her improved agility and strength, even a nimble elf-like Lotte was finding it hard to keep up with her speed.

Tang Yue grinned and slowed down for the sake of her aide.

"Lotte, say, where can I find detailed records of the various beasts in our world?"

"Is there any such compilation available?" She curiously asked.

Tang Yue didn't want to spend any more of her time on the common grade beasts but at the same time, there were a few peculiar and useful common grade beasts as well.

It would be unwise of her to look down on all the common grade beasts and ignore them. 

In fact, thanks to the common grade salamander, she was able to gain an amazing ability like the regeneration ability.

So Tang Yue was quite curious if she could find detailed records of different beasts known to the different races and access them for making a list of sorts.

"Ah! Your highness, I am not very sure about this, but I think top tier hunter guilds might have something like that at their disposal."

"Ok. Perfect. We can check in with one of those on our way back." Tang Yue smiled and gave Lotte a big thumbs up.

Lotte scratched his head in embarrassment and bowed awkwardly. 

The princess was in a great mood today and he couldn't help but wonder if it was due to the recent rumors that were spreading faster than wild fire.

The Crown Prince had apparently kissed his master in public! What huge news! Truly a cause for celebration!

Lotte would have rejoiced even more on hearing this amazing news, if not for the other devious rumor that was also currently spreading, in fact, faster than the first one.

Nobody knows who started it but almost everyone in the capital city by now had heard about this weird rumor.

Apparently, his master and the General's daughter, Charlotte were in some sort of illicit relationship.

Lotte didn't even bother registering this piece of gossip at first, but later when he recollected several events and thought about how his Master and lady Charlotte were always fighting with each other for one reason or the other, his mind started to waver.

The line between love and hatred was a very fine one and love often stemmed from hatred! 

And so a small seed of doubt sprouted in Lotte's heart.

After all, this piece of gossip, no matter how unbelievable it was, it was still far more believable than the first one!