Hidden genius: Black belly snake

Tang Yue immediately flipped open her status screen and confirmed that her mana stats had completely recovered.

Not only that, but her illusion magic was also unlocked now. All of this proved that her meridians were fully healed.

"Hmm... Maybe because the salamander could regenerate its body from scratch, my crippled meridians were easily resolved." Tang Yue sighed in relief.

She couldn't help but respect the fact that even a low-level common grade beast possessed a godly ability like this!

Tang Yue slithered from the damp corner of the cave and decided to head out for a bit.

After being stuck in the small cave for days together, Tang Yue wanted to shift to her human form and stretch out her limbs a bit.

Now that her meridians were finally repaired, she had a long list of things to do and people to payback.

Tang Yue greedily absorbed the heaven and earth's energy around her as she peeked out of the cave.

"Huh??"

Suddenly, something felt weird. Her body was stuck between the creepers as she tried to get out of the cave.

"What is happening?"

The confused woman looked left and right. She didn't have any problems before getting in and out of the cave, so what happened now?

Just when she was pondering, her pensive eyes slowly fell on her lower body.

Huh? Ugh? Why did she look so fat?

And the next instant...

Ahhhhhhhh...

A loud scream echoed inside her brain. Well, she was currently in the middle of a forest, otherwise, she would have screamed out aloud.

The snake-woman twisted and turned and looked at herself up and down, her eyes widening with every look.

Her previously sensual, seductive, and alluring body was now replaced with a thick torso, without any indication of any sort of a curve.

As she gazed at her fattened body, she couldn't help but think back to the chubby little reptile that she had gulped down, one after the other.

"Damn it all !!! How is this even evolving?? Isn't it more like devolving???"

"Damn it!! Is this the fucking Armor skill??? Is this the protective layer???"

"I don't need any protection! Thank you!"

She would literally be a humongous walking target in this godforsaken forest!

What use were her repaired meridians, if she was going to die the very same day???!

This is exactly why the orcs who also had a thick body like the new her never ever traveled alone.

They always moved together in groups, so that they could fend off their enemies with sheer numbers.

But she was a single party!!! How was she supposed to survive this death sentence???

Tang Yue then quickly changed into her serpentine form, holding on to the last bit of hope that at least in her serpentine form she might not be as thick...

But unfortunately, her snake body as well looked thick and rigid.

Even if she was lucky enough to survive in this deadly forest, what would happen when she actually returned to the palace??!!!

Among the beautiful and mesmerizing noble elf consorts, she would look like a pig. She would literally be the laughing stock of the entire elven establishment.

Arghhh... Tang Yue was going crazy with anger.

"This fucking system is an absolute scam!!! How is a warrior like me supposed to fight with this thick fat body??"

The system which had been playing dead until now finally responded.

[Ahem. Don't blame the system. Your current body is the strongest possible outcome for that evolution.]

"How is that possible?" Tang Yue angrily retorted. Speed and agility should be more important than a stupid non-specific weak ass fat defense like this!!

But she was just shouting at air. She didn't get any other response from the system.

Tang Yue flopped back onto the cave's rough surface and sighed out in exasperation.

She then calmed herself down and racked her brain to think of a strategy.

"If even my damaged meridians could be cured, then surely this fat shouldn't be a big deal!"

"Fu Fu Fu. Let's calm down."

She had gained so much, both literally and figuratively, just by absorbing the salamander's bloodline.

What would happen if she gathers certain other common-grade or even low-grade beast bloodlines?

Particularly the thin and agile ones?

And this forest should be chocked full of them!

"I can do this." She took a few deep breaths in and calmed herself down.

Surely, this problem should be simple enough to overcome.

Tang Yue patted her chest and consoled herself. The important thing was that she was able to cultivate again.

Right now her strength was too low and her body was too weak. Maybe that's why the physical defense was given such high importance during evolution.

If she actually became stronger, then this stupid protective layer should automatically be disabled. Right?

Tang Yue cursed her bad luck and stepped out of the cave after a few irritating jiggling and wiggling actions.

She shifted to her human form and quickly took out her powerful long sword. "For now, relying on this over-powered weapon should be my safest option."

Earlier, Tang Yue had spotted a few bristle wolves back at the lemongrass pasture.

And she was afraid to go further deep into the forest in her current defenseless state.

So she decided to retrace her steps back to the wolves.

As she cautiously maneuvered through the forest, she couldn't help but think of the exceedingly hairy bristle wolves.

A vivid image surfaced in her already troubled mind, her silky smooth skin covered by coarse thick hairs.

"Oh damn. If I absorb this stupid bloodline, am I going to look like a hairy vixen now???"

Tang Yue's entire body broke out into goosebumps as she shook her head and shoved that image off of her mind.

"Fuck it. Safety is more important."

She gritted her teeth and dashed towards the lemongrass pasture.