"So, why did you hide it from me back then, hmm?"
Medusa's gaze flickered, but Xiao Xue refused to yield, pressing her at every step.
Medusa subconsciously took a step back, and Xiao Xue immediately moved forward.
Instead of widening, the distance between the two grew even closer.
Medusa could even feel Xiao Xue's breath, which carried a trace of coldness.
Although Medusa was more than half a head taller than Xiao Xue.
In terms of Aura, she was actually suppressed by Xiao Xue.
"...Be... Because back then, we weren't certain yet..."
Medusa stammered her explanation, but she clearly lacked confidence, her voice growing smaller and smaller.
She had indeed thought about how she should respond if Xiao Xue discovered she was expecting... was shocked.
But now it was far too sudden, and Xiao Xue's assertiveness caused Medusa to lose her composure in an instant.
The Grand Elder had said it would take at least another year or two.
Medusa felt that even if it were discovered, it would take at least half a year.
Since she knew nothing about Souls and couldn't find any other suitable solution, she naturally could only pin her hopes on the soul fusing pill.
At that time, it was less than half a year away from the Alchemist Convention.
Logically speaking, there should have been enough time.
By then, no matter which faction obtained the soul fusing pill, there would be room to maneuver.
As long as things were handled properly, perhaps it could be resolved.
As it turned out, only three months had passed before the Soul of the Heaven Swallowing Python was discovered.
Regarding this, Medusa also had her own grievances that were hard to voice.
No matter what explanation she gave now, it would sound like an excuse.
Medusa even felt some regret now for not informing Xiao Xue the moment she discovered it.
However, no matter how she handled it, there didn't seem to be a "perfect" solution.
Therefore, Medusa eventually chose to remain silent, dragging it out day by day.
Dragging it out until it was discovered or until a solution was found.
Now, it was clear that she could no longer hide it.
Xiao Xue was amused by Medusa's explanation and her quail-like manner.
She raised her hand and lightly pressed Medusa's shoulder, signaling her to crouch down a bit.
Then, Xiao Xue reached out and pinched Medusa's chin, making her look up at her:
"So now, have you confirmed it?"
Xiao Xue's expression suddenly turned cold, and her eyes surged with a frigid gold, as if a thousand swords were unsheathed at once.
Meeting Xiao Xue's dark gold eyes, Medusa subconsciously shuddered.
The young girl before her eyes suddenly seemed to have transformed into a young female emperor.
Even she could not muster any resistance in front of Xiao Xue.
Letting an ordinary person be a king for a day would leave a profound impact on their life.
And in her past life, Xiao Xue was one of those people standing at the tip of the pyramid.
Although some things were beyond her control, most of the time, she could easily decide the fate of many people.
Have you seen X-Change? How long does it take for a child from a mountain gully to go to the city before their personality changes drastically?
The environment one grows up in can truly influence a person.
Moreover, Xiao Xue had grown up in such an environment since childhood; she was born an emperor.
She was first a wealthy Young Miss on the Blue Planet, and only then was she the Xiao Xue of the Fighting Qi Continent.
After arriving on the Fighting Qi Continent, during all those years in the Xiao Family, Xiao Xue had been intentionally restraining her mindset from her past life.
After all, at least back then, she did not have the capital to be boundlessly arrogant.
So what if she had a System? Without strength, if she acted too flashy, she would still die.
Furthermore, as a young girl, if her talent was merely outstanding, it wouldn't really matter.
But if she performed too abnormally in certain aspects, it would inevitably cause trouble.
Being half a step ahead makes one a Genius; being a full step ahead makes one a demon.
So over the years, although Xiao Xue acted in a high-profile manner externally.
But upon closer inspection, she had always acted very steadily, almost always having a backup plan prepared.
But the current Xiao Xue had some capital to be arrogant.
In terms of talent, she was now considered top-tier in the entire continent;
In terms of background, she held a jade tablet that could directly contact Gu Yuan and had gained Gu Yuan's favor.
Except for a few specific privileged elites, if it came down to background, no one could compare to her.
In terms of identity, she was now the leader of the Alliance and the Young Lord of the Xiao Clan, holding a venerable status.
After meeting with Gu Yuan, Xiao Xue had, to a certain extent, stopped suppressing herself.
At this moment, Xiao Xue no longer held back, and an indescribable Aura rose from her body.
Just from a single glance, Medusa subconsciously fell silent, unable to even open her mouth to defend herself.
Although Medusa was the empress of the Snake-People Empire and had lived for hundreds of years.
In terms of horizons, having been trapped in the desert since childhood, she could not compare to Xiao Xue, who possessed memories of the Blue Planet.
Moreover, in this confrontation between the two, Medusa's mindset had been at a disadvantage from the start.
That was why she was so easily suppressed by Xiao Xue.
Xiao Xue looked down at Medusa—this time, it was truly looking down.
The Aura she had cultivated over decades in her past life was fully displayed at this moment, as if she were a young monarch.
Although her height was still quite a bit shorter than Medusa's, Medusa was already stooping under her suppression.
Xiao Xue released Medusa's chin, patted her face, and whispered:
"Medusa, I don't care if you're straight as a rod or bent as a coil."
"But if you dare to scheme against me, then you've miscalculated."
"You should be glad that nothing has happened to my Soul yet, otherwise... you know the consequences."
Medusa felt bitter in her heart, but she could only grit her teeth and nod.
Xiao Xue wanted to say something more, but suddenly, she felt it was a bit boring and that there was no need to continue wasting her breath on Medusa.
Thus, Xiao Xue withdrew her hand listlessly, "Let's go, back to the Snake-People Clan."
Before, the Soul of the Heaven Swallowing Python was unobservable, but now it was different.
Perhaps there was some Secret Technique within the Snake-People Clan that could solve her problem.
Although she knew this was likely self-deception.
The reason Medusa had kept it from her was probably because the Snake-People Clan couldn't solve this kind of problem at all.
However, she still held onto that tiny sliver of hope.
Now that things had come to this, Medusa naturally didn't say much and quickly took Xiao Xue back to the Snake-People Clan's territory.
A few days later, in the Jia Ma Empire.
This time, Xiao Xue did not ride a flying Demonic Beast but directly had Medusa take her back.
After all, the speed of a flying Demonic Beast was completely incomparable to an Eight-Star Dou Zong.
And Jia Nan Academy wasn't actually that far from the Jia Ma Empire—Xiao Yu could even return to the Xiao Family during holidays.
So, it only took a few days for Medusa to bring Xiao Xue back to the Jia Ma Empire.
The Elders of the Snake-People Clan were already waiting.
The Alchemist Guild had also sent the items Xiao Xue needed—the Pill Formula for the soul fusing pill.
Since discovering the problem lay with the Soul and that it was likely difficult to strip away the Soul of the Little Heaven Swallowing Python.
Xiao Xue thought of the soul fusing pill that had appeared in the original work.
She had contacted the Alliance's Alchemist Guild in advance via communication jade token to request the Pill Formula for the soul fusing pill.
If it couldn't be stripped, she would try to fuse it; if Fusion really wasn't possible, she would make other plans.
The soul fusing pill was ranked as a sixth-grade pill, and its effect was to allow a Soul body to fuse with a physical body more easily.
For a Soul body, it was an excellent holy medicine.
It could not only allow Soul Power to recover quickly but also completely repair any wounds the Soul had previously suffered.
Of course, there was an element of exaggeration in that.
For instance, if the current Ahri ate a soul fusing pill, it would be impossible for her to fully recover her memories.
This medicinal effect was somewhat niche, being for the Fusion of a Soul and a body.
Xiao Xue didn't know if it would be useful for the Fusion of a Soul with another Soul.
However, having it was better than nothing.
The current Xiao Xue was somewhat seeking help indiscriminately in a panic.
Although this soul fusing pill Pill Formula was the pre-determined prize for the Alchemist Competition champion, if Xiao Xue wanted it, she could naturally get it in advance.
At worst, they could just change the champion's prize; would a seventh-grade pill be enough?
After obtaining the Pill Formula, Xiao Xue went to the Snake-People Clan for secluded cultivation.
[Hmm... how should I put it, next the crematorium drama will begin, and Xue'er will start to become assertive; of course, this requires a process of transformation.]
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