Inside the smithy, Grandmaster Hiru gazed at Miller's newly sober and clean-shaven appearance with visible surprise in his eyes.
He hadn't expected the dwarf to have changed so much in just a few weeks.
In fact, he had come here worrying about this exact same thing.
Complaints about Tang Yue's hogging of the cultivation stone chamber had obviously reached Grandmaster Hiru's ears.
And the man had immediately jumped to the conclusion that the lazy drunkard had probably given her his entire time just to keep her from nagging him.
So as soon as Tang Yue had exited the cultivation chamber, he quickly visited the smithy along with her in order to have a word with the damned drunkard.
But now that he was here, an entirely unexpected scene was unfolding in front of him.
His senior brother looked a thousand years younger and the man was exuding a pressure and aura akin to his former indomitable self.
So much so that Grandmaster Hiru couldn't help but hesitate a bit before addressing his senior brother.
"This… This… Senior brother, why are you wasting your resources like this?"
"What do you mean?" Miller calmly asked him.
The dwarf Hiru cast a sideways glance at Tang Yue and then continued without minding her presence.
"I don't understand our master's actions but surely you cannot do this."
"This is just simply wasteful. She is not even a dwarf."
Hiru had first seen some of the weapons personally forged by Tang Yue when she had submitted a few to the merchants association.
He even had good opinions about the young girl and had thought that she had a promising future.
However, all that changed when he came to know about Tang Yue's true identity.
Not only was she here to spy on the dwarven citizens but she was also rumored to be the queen consort of the elven crown prince, a character every dwarf despised.
So no matter how much Hiru tried, he simply couldn't understand why his Master had decided to sell out their most safeguarded secret, spirit smithing.
With this, the elves would be able to openly and completely dominate them.
The dwarves would have no trump cards left and their strength would significantly be affected.
While Hiru was still unable to digest this fact and accept this decision, the news about Tang Yue using the stone chamber reached his ears and he was utterly appalled.
So he had rushed over her to berate some sense into the drunkard.
But Miller clearly didn't share his same concerns.
"You should trust our Master more."
He answered in a few words without any further explanation and unnecessary argument.
"Fine. Leave that matter aside. Can't you at least monitor her actions properly?"
"Because of her, so many younger disciples have been inconvenienced."
"If there was some method behind this madness then I can understand, but what could she even have possibly accomplished by simply standing in the outer areas of the stone chamber?"
"Or are you telling me that she actually gained benefits from this reckless waste of resources?"
Miller shook his head and sighed. "Don't let racial bias cloud your judgment, junior brother."
"First take a look at the results and then we can continue this conversation."
Miller then turned towards Tang Yue and mumbled. "Why don't you undo your disguise? Let me also take a look at your progress."
Tang Yue nodded and quickly shifted to her human form.
Since both these dwarves already knew her identity, she didn't have any qualms about doing so.
Her brown dark-skinned figure slowly disappeared, and a slender seductive blue-skinned woman stood in front of them.
She had perfect flawless skin, and a well-endowed but toned figure.
More importantly, she seemed to be exuding a divine purity akin to a freshly bloomed nether lotus.
Her features had a sharpness to them and her eyes had an unfathomable clarity and resolution.
Hiru opened and closed his mouth wordlessly.
He could tell that Tang Yue had already reached the Saint realm, not just in her cultivation core but also in her physical form.
And perhaps she had even reached the Saint realm in her soul and mental strength.
But he had no way of knowing this. So he couldn't confirm his suspicions.
Irrespectively, the dwarf was still completely shaken.
The last he had seen her the young girl was clearly in the Emperor realm and in less than two months, she had already crossed that bottleneck.
Something that took years for other people to accomplish was simply achieved by this seemingly normal spirit beast in just took 2 months?
And his Master wanted to hand over their clan secrets to such a monster?
What the hell was going on here? Hiru was completely dumbstruck.
Earlier he had spoken keeping Xander in mind, but now for some reason, he feared Tang Yue more.
Standing next to him, Miller's entire body trembled silently and the man had a melancholic look on his face.
He also looked shocked but for other reasons.
The woman's face and the fierceness in her eyes had reminded him of someone else.
Tang Yue awkwardly swallowed her saliva. She could sense the dwarf's uneasiness and decided to put her disguise back on.
But Miller slowly raised his hand, signaling her to stop. He needed to face the truth sooner or later.
Tang Yue might look like her mother but this didn't make him sad. Rather he cherished this rare opportunity to at least help that woman's daughter.
After a while, Grandmaster Hiru loudly cleared his throat and broke the awkward silence.
"You. Do you have a dual affinity?" He asked Tang Yue.
"Yes, Master Hiru. I indeed have a dual affinity for the fire and earth elementals."
"Alright then." The dwarf now somewhat understood why Tang Yue had gained so many benefits from the stone chamber.
Seeing that he had nothing left to say, the man flicked his robe and silently left.
After all, just like Miller had pointed out, he really had no other option but to trust the wisdom of their Master (old man in the hut).