Lei Ying

Lin Beiya curled his lip. He wanted to tell Qian Renxue that this had absolutely nothing to do with how hard she trained, but that would undoubtedly crush her motivation; it was better to let her maintain her current enthusiasm.

In the days that followed, Lin Beiya went to the academy to report in the mornings, and in the afternoons, he returned to Douluo Hall to train his physique and hone his combat skills with Qian Renxue.

Some time later, Shi Nuo's Soul Power Level reached the 10-level bottleneck.

It was unclear if Qian Daoliu had given the order, but the vice-dean personally led the team to help him hunt his soul ring. Fatty also successfully obtained his desired Black Stone Demon Ox soul ring, gaining the Petrified Skin soul skill.

In this state, both Shi Nuo's strength and defense were significantly enhanced, a result that left the little fatty very satisfied.

With the aid of Whale Rubber and uninterrupted daily training, Lin Beiya's physique continued to improve steadily.

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, a year passed quietly.

Through a full year of cultivation, Lin Beiya's soul power reached level 16, and he was not far from level 17; the contribution of the Sacred Cloth could not be ignored.

A year of daily training while blindfolded had elevated his hearing, smell, and touch to a terrifying degree.

Likewise, the improvement of these three senses had now become very slow, so Lin Beiya had no choice but to turn his attention to honing his sight and taste.

For visual training, Lin Beiya planned to first use a tracking method, letting his gaze follow the tip of a spinning pencil until he could capture the trajectory of the tip even when it reached its maximum rotation speed.

Once this step was completed, his eyesight would gain a certain level of growth. Next, he would go to the back mountain of Martial Soul Hall to observe eagles hunting from several kilometers away to train his long-distance vision, and finally, observe the flight path of "Night Moths" at night to train his night vision.

As for his sense of taste, he could only use the most tedious method: identifying food and drinks while blindfolded to let his tongue form a memory.

According to the records of the Saints, all things possess a Cosmo, some pushed to the limit, while others remain untapped.

To awaken one's Cosmo, a formidable physique and the perfection of the five senses are indispensable. This would be a long-term process that could not be achieved overnight.

However, the training that seemed quite ordinary in Lin Beiya's eyes was not viewed the same way by outsiders.

Take Qian Renxue, for example; she was currently staring at Lin Beiya in confusion as he fixed his gaze on the pencil spinning between his fingers, having no idea what his intention was.

"You trained blindfolded before to sharpen your senses, but what is this for now?"

A year older, the childishness on the little angel's face was slowly fading, especially the adorable baby fat that was gradually beginning to lean toward a more mature look.

Without shifting his gaze, Lin Beiya continued to stare intently at the spinning pencil tip, but he explained:

"Vision is also a type of sense. I intend to hone my sight to the limit as well."

"This... does this help with combat too?"

Seeing that Qian Renxue was clearly skeptical, Lin Beiya gave an example:

"Nonsense, how does your second soul skill, Holy Light Illumination, launch its attacks?"

"To dodge them all, aren't both superior stamina and a powerful physique indispensable?"

Hearing this, the little angel froze for a moment, then looked at Lin Beiya with a face full of rage.

"Fine! Did you specifically go to train your vision just to target this lady?"

"Huh?"

This time it was Lin Beiya's turn to stand there stunned. He really wanted to crack open her head to see what kind of circuitry was inside; why was it so eccentric?

"I was just giving an example. I can perfectly resolve your lousy soul skill with a Crystal Wall, so why would I waste that effort?"

"I am preparing for dense attacks that a Crystal Wall cannot resolve in the future."

Whether his Cosmo could be awakened was still an unknown, and before that, Lin Beiya did not intend to reveal too much.

When Qian Renxue heard this, she swallowed her subsequent self-reproach, her pretty face flushed red, feeling uncomfortable to the extreme.

Although you are telling the truth, is it really okay to belittle this lady's soul skill like that?

"Hmph!"

Watching Qian Renxue stomp her feet and present him with a golden back of her head, Lin Beiya was completely at a loss, and could only sigh to himself that women were truly unfathomable.

After a long while, when she looked back and found that Lin Beiya was still staring at the pencil in his hand without the slightest intention of coaxing her, the little angel became even angrier. Her little tiger teeth ground together with a clicking sound, and she thought to herself that she must make him give up his combat techniques and spar with her again.

Just as Qian Renxue was secretly stewing, a lively female voice drifted into their ears.

"Xiao Xue, I've finished my seclusion."

"Sister Yingying!"

This voice successfully attracted Lin Beiya's attention. He stopped his movements and cast his gaze toward the figure walking over quickly.

The newcomer had the same hair color as Qian Renxue, but she wore her hair in a short cut that didn't reach her ears. Her appearance was not as delicate and cute as Qian Renxue's; instead, it possessed a trace of masculine fortitude.

This must be the sister from the Third Grandfather's house that Qian Renxue had mentioned.

Lei Ying, the granddaughter of the Third Elder of Douluo Hall, the Mighty Lion Douluo.

Over the past year, Lin Beiya had heard Qian Renxue mention her several times in their conversations. Her martial soul was also a Blazing Lion, possessing terrifying destructive power.

The only thing that puzzled him was, logically speaking, shouldn't a girl inheriting a lion-type martial soul mutate into a Blazing Lioness? Why was it still a male lion martial soul?

However, Douluo martial souls were strange and varied, so Lin Beiya didn't dwell on it too much and stood up, waiting for Qian Renxue's introduction.

But to his dismay, after the two girls embraced, they spent nearly half an hour catching up, completely forgetting that Lin Beiya was still standing behind them.

Helpless, he had to sit back down and start spinning the pencil again, waiting for the two women to finish their chatter.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Lei Ying's peripheral vision happened to catch sight of Lin Beiya, and her expression immediately revealed a trace of confusion.

"Xiao Xue, who is this?"

"Ah?"

Following Lei Ying's gaze, Qian Renxue turned her head and finally remembered that Lin Beiya was still by her side!

With an awkward smile, the little angel hurriedly introduced him to her close friend:

"Sister Lei Ying, this is Lin Beiya, who joined Douluo Hall last year at Grandfather's invitation. He is a genius with Innate Full Soul Power."

"Oh?"

The corners of Lei Ying's mouth curled into a smile; Qian Renxue's brief introduction had already piqued her interest.

"Beiya, this is the granddaughter of the Third Grandfather I mentioned to you, Lei Ying. She is five years our senior and was already at the Soul Elder rank before she went into seclusion."

Stopping the spinning pencil once more, Lin Beiya stood up and nodded toward Lei Ying.

"Lin Beiya, greetings, Miss Lei Ying."

"What a pity, he's still a bit too young. Otherwise, having an extra opponent in daily life would have been quite a fine thing."

Lei Ying had also inherited the competitive spirit brought about by her Martial Soul; the first thing she thought of upon meeting Lin Beiya was finding a worthy rival.

Hearing this, the big eyes of Qian Renxue beside her darted around a few times; she hadn't forgotten how Lin Beiya had just annoyed her.

"Sister Yingying, you shouldn't underestimate Beiya. In terms of soul duels alone, I have never won against him once."

"Ah?"

Lei Ying, who had been staring at Lin Beiya, instantly pulled her gaze back upon hearing this, her eyes filled with disbelief. She had heard her own grandfather mention Qian Renxue's strength while she was in seclusion—a genius with Innate Soul Power of level twenty who became a Soul Grand Master at the age of six. Could the little boy before her be the same?