After Wang Ming stored the vial, he retraced his steps toward the exit and saw Chu Jingling also emerging from the other altar.

'Looks like she took the blood essence in time,' Wang Ming raised an eyebrow and sighed in relief when he saw that her transformed arm and leg had returned to normal. She no longer looked like a creature straight out of a Lovecraft story like she did before she went inside.

"Hmm?" Wang Ming then frowned when he sensed something off about her. She seemed to have become very weak, her strength resembling that of a mortal who had never cultivated in their entire life.

Wang Ming quickly used his senses to check her cultivation, and his eyes widened in shock. 'What the hell happened to her cultivation?'

He could feel that she didn't have an ounce of spiritual energy left in her body. His expression turned grim as a certain possibility formed in his mind. 'Could her dantian have been destroyed by backlash?'

That was the most logical explanation—since the only way a cultivator would lose all spiritual energy was if their dantian, which stores it, was destroyed. And if that happened, in cultivation terms, they would be known as a cripple.

'Soul Eyes.' Wang Ming hurriedly used his technique to scan her, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

[Name: Chu Jingling]

[Age: 28]

[Cultivation: 1st Stage of the Golden Core Realm] (suppressed)

[Occupation: Princess of the Flowing Petal Kingdom]

[Physiques: Empty Bloodline Physique]

[Bloodline: White Tiger Bloodline] (Integrating – 5%)

'White Tiger!!' Wang Ming exclaimed. He knew about the White Tiger. The White Tiger, along with the Dragon, Phoenix, and Black Tortoise, were well-known divine beasts in the lore of many countries and often adapted into novels and anime in his past life.

Honestly, he hadn't expected her to get the White Tiger bloodline—he thought it would be the Phoenix bloodline, as most female characters in novels obtained that one.

He shook his head and then narrowed his eyes at the "suppressed" status.

'System, what does this mean?' Wang Ming asked.

[System: Due to her physique merging with her bloodline and changing her race, her cultivation is being suppressed so that there is no interference during the process. After evolution is complete, her cultivation will not only return but also increase greatly.]

"Wang Ming, you still have your cultivation. You didn't consume the blood essence," Chu Jingling said as she walked toward him, crossing her arms over her ample chest as she eyed Wang Ming.

"I do not have a physique like you," Wang Ming replied, which caused her to raise an eyebrow.

"You can still consume the blood essence to increase your cultivation, you know—unless you also want to change your race," Chu Jingling said, to which Wang Ming blinked and then nodded.

'So it can also be used to increase cultivation, but which idiot would do this and waste their chance to turn into a dragon to just increase cultivation which they can in normal ways?' Wang Ming shook his head. What he didn't know was that many people would, in fact, choose to increase their cultivation rather than wait to obtain a proper physique to change their race. In fact, most would prioritize increasing their cultivation since acquiring a physique was nearly impossible if they were not born with it or without some kind of heaven defying treasure to gain one.

"Getting a suitable physiq—" Chu Jingling, who was talking, suddenly paused, and then her eyes went bloodshot as she looked into the distance. "Die, for killing my parents!"

Chu Jingling, who saw the leader of the Black Church emerge from the altar, rushed toward him brimming with immense killing intent, but the leader of the Black Church merely looked at her without a change in expression.

Wang Ming's expression shifted when he heard her words. 'So the royal family that was killed by the Black Church I heard about was her parents, huh?'

Wang Ming now understood her anger. Honestly, he hadn't expected that the king and queen he'd been curious about—the ones murdered by the Black Church—were her parents.

"Niece, you are very reckless. It seems you consumed the White Tiger blood essence, and your cultivation is suppressed temporarily," the leader said in a calm voice, as he did not see her as a threat at all. He activated a teleportation array, and white light covered his body.

"Chu Feng, you coward! Stay and fight me!" Chu Jingling roared in anger as she saw he was about to teleport away.

"We will meet again, niece," Chu Feng smiled and vanished from the place, causing her to halt. Her chest heaved in anger as she clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms causing it to bleed.

'Fuck, I didn't expect it to be a royal drama,' Wang Ming exclaimed inwardly but didn't dare say it aloud, certain the woman would murder him if he did.

"Huh?" Suddenly, Chu Jingling, who was grinding her teeth in anger, went completely still as a white glow enveloped her body. In her place, a white cocoon appeared enveloped her.

"What the…" Wang Ming said as he activated his technique.

[Details Unaccessible]

[Target is undergoing race change]

"It's happening," Wang Ming said in an excited voice as he eagerly looked at the cocoon.

An hour later

Crack

Roar

The entire cocoon shattered with a crack, and the phantom of a white tiger let out an ear-deafening roar as Chu Jingling emerged.

Her appearance had changed drastically — if she was a 10/10 before, now she was a 12/10 in beauty. Her hair had turned completely white, her skin became even milkier, and her body grew a bit leaner and muscular yet more voluptuous.

"What's wrong with her?" Wang Ming raised an eyebrow when he saw her strange state. She was panting heavily with a flushed face, and her entire body was covered in sweat.

Wang Ming's eyes widened when he saw Chu Jingling leap toward him, and before he could react, she bit his neck.

[You have been marked as the Soul Master of a White Tiger]