Combat Training

A month passed in the blink of an eye. While Lin Beiya focused on training his five senses, he did not neglect his soul power cultivation. Relying on the accelerated cultivation speed provided by the Aries Gold Cloth during the nights, his soul power had successfully reached level 13.

At the same time, Lin Beiya made significant progress in training his five senses.

He was now able to walk through the entire Douluo Hall with his eyes closed without stumbling over a single stone or blade of grass, and he could even hear the flapping of insect wings from hundreds of meters away.

As for his sense of smell, he could detect the unique fragrance of the little angel from hundreds of meters away.

This left Qian Renxue clicking her tongue in wonder. During this month, she had often tried to amuse herself by suddenly appearing behind Lin Beiya to startle him, but as his senses sharpened, she seemed unable to catch him off guard anymore.

Lin Beiya could always detect her arrival from any angle.

The bandages that once obscured his vision had long since vanished without a trace. Initially, he had used them to assist himself because he wasn't accustomed to walking with his eyes closed, but now he could go about his daily life with his eyes shut, much like Shaka.

It was certainly not because he thought it looked cool; it was purely to train his five senses.

Lin Beiya had achieved excellent results in training his hearing, smell, taste, and touch, yet his vision—the sense humans rely on most—was progressing slowly.

This was related to his month of living with his eyes closed, but Lin Beiya was not overly worried; it would not be too late to train his vision once he had pushed the other four senses to their limits.

Regarding his physique, setting aside the enhancements from the Gold Cloth, Lin Beiya had also seen significant improvement. In the Saint Seiya anime, no one—with or without a Cloth—had a weak body; being able to throw punches that exceeded the speed of sound or even the speed of light was no laughing matter.

Frog jumps, running laps, push-ups... he had experimented with every training method he knew from his past life this month, eventually selecting those suitable for his current age group.

As the training intensified, so did his appetite. Now, whenever they had dinner together, the little angel would look at him as if he were a bottomless pit.

But Lin Beiya felt no shame, for he could clearly feel his body growing stronger. Whether for awakening his Cosmo or absorbing higher-aged soul rings in the future, a strong physique was essential.

During this period, Qian Renxue, who possessed the cultivation of a level 25 Soul Grand Master, had challenged Lin Beiya—while he wore the Aries Gold Cloth—multiple times. The result was obvious: this slight increase in her power was nowhere near enough to shatter the defense of the Crystal Wall.

What made this proud daughter of heaven feel even more discouraged was that after so much time, she still could not use those battle techniques without the Cloth.

"Beiya, am I very stupid? It's been so long and I can't even touch the threshold of the Crystal Wall. I'm starting to feel like I'm not cut out to be a soul master."

Hearing Qian Renxue's dejected words, Lin Beiya's heart skipped a beat. This is going to be a disaster, he thought.

If Qian Daoliu found out that he had discouraged his granddaughter to the point where she didn't want to be a soul master, wouldn't the old man pull out his 50-meter Angel Sacred Sword and make him run 49 meters first?

He couldn't let this continue; he had to rebuild Qian Renxue's confidence.

"You're thinking about this all wrong. Forget about you; even I, the master, can't use those Gold Battle Techniques without the Cloth's enhancement. Does that mean I'm not cut out to be a soul master either?"

"Uh..."

Lin Beiya's self-deprecating approach truly made Qian Renxue feel a bit better. Seeing this, he quickly struck while the iron was hot.

"Maybe those battle techniques simply cannot be performed without the Cloth's enhancement?"

"Is that so? But I still can't beat you, even though you're just a soul master!"

Ever since she was defeated by him for the first time, this little girl had been holding her breath, working hard on both her soul power and soul skills. Lin Beiya didn't know whether to be happy or helpless.

"Isn't it only because of the unique properties of the Cloth that I can hold my own against you? That doesn't count."

Hearing this, Qian Renxue immediately cast aside her frustration and revealed a cunning smile.

"Is that so? Then let's have a match without you using those battle techniques!"

"..."

Well, well, so you just wanted to beat me up? Why be so roundabout? Why not just say it? If I don't use the techniques, I have no tricks—I'll just have to stand there and let you hit me!

That said, Lin Beiya had no intention of refusing. Training his five senses couldn't be done by just closing himself off; he needed actual combat to integrate his progress.

"Fine, I won't use the battle techniques to fight you, but let's agree that it's just a friendly spar. No hitting the face, or I won't lend you the Cloth for a month."

"Ah!"

Seemingly surprised that Lin Beiya had agreed so readily, the little angel looked startled. Once she heard she couldn't hit that handsome face of his, she felt half the fun had vanished.

Seeing Qian Renxue's disappointed expression, Lin Beiya's mouth twitched. Thank goodness I set the rule in advance. Was this brat really planning to aim for my face?

"Are we doing this or not? If not, I'm going back to training."

"I'm coming, why wouldn't I?"

If she couldn't hit his face, she couldn't hit his face. Qian Renxue thought that kicking Lin Beiya's backside wouldn't be so bad, so she quickly agreed.

The two little ones stood on opposite sides of the training ground again. This was the first time since obtaining his soul ring that Lin Beiya would engage in a soul battle while wearing the Cloth but without using any battle techniques. He had to apply the fruits of this month's training.

As Lin Beiya, clad in the Aries Gold Cloth, closed his eyes, the little angel's face darkened instantly.

Just how much do you look down on this young lady to fight me with your eyes closed?

"Hmph, I'll show you for being arrogant. Watch as I give you a good kick to the backside."

Throwing all thoughts of holding back to the wind, Qian Renxue entered her Martial Soul Possession state, flashed at high speed behind Lin Beiya, and aimed a kick at his rear.

But the scene she imagined—Lin Beiya clutching his backside in pain—did not occur. The man before her, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, tilted slightly to avoid her flying kick.

With her attack missing, Qian Renxue turned back to look at Lin Beiya, who still kept his eyes tightly shut, as if she had seen a ghost.

"You..."

"Shh, no need to be surprised. I've already told you: only those with enlightened five senses can stand on invincible ground."

Qian Renxue, her spell interrupted, felt veins pop on her forehead, her anger ignited by Lin Beiya's arrogant words.

"Invincible ground, is it? I'll show you for being so smug!"

"Heh, ignorant!"

Facing the soul skill unleashed by Qian Renxue, Lin Beiya curled his lips into a confident smile. His perception had already mapped out every angle of her attack in his mind; in other words, the little angel's assault would have nowhere to hide.

Dozens of minutes later, Lin Beiya clutched his bruised, purple-black eye socket and glared indignantly at the little angel opposite him, who was clutching her stomach in fits of laughter.

"Wasn't it agreed that you wouldn't hit the face?"

"Blehh, who told you to be so arrogant? This young lady has undergone professional training; I generally don't aim for people's faces, unless I can't help myself!"

"Tch, the prettier the woman, the better she is at lying. Old Jin was right; he did not deceive me."

Muttering to himself, Lin Beiya also cursed his own overconfidence.

It was the same lesson from his spar with Feng De: having powerful senses that could perceive an enemy's attack did not mean one could dodge them all. His physique still needed strengthening.

In other words, his current physique was no longer a match for his extraordinary senses.