Taurus Gold Cloth

To say he wasn't nervous at all would be a lie, but Lin Beiya had confidence in the results of his training over the past year.

The moment the pale purple soul ring made contact with the Statue of the War Goddess, a violent surge of energy instantly swept through Lin Beiya's entire body.

"Ugh!"

Caught off guard, Lin Beiya was blindsided by this sudden influx of energy, an involuntary cry of pain escaping his lips.

But he quickly regained his focus, gritting his teeth to hold on.

Pain!

Lin Beiya felt as though every inch of his skin was stimulating his pain receptors; the energy felt as if it were about to burst out of his body at any moment.

Yet, bolstered by the recovery rate of the Aries Gold Cloth, Lin Beiya never allowed this energy to cross the critical threshold.

Clenching his molars, Lin Beiya's expression became incredibly ferocious.

Slowly, blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth.

Standing to the side, Falling Devil was uncharacteristically nervous; he understood that this was the most critical moment, but all he could do was cheer Lin Beiya on in his heart.

Time ticked by slowly, and unlike the beginning, blood began to seep from the pores all over Lin Beiya's skin.

Falling Devil wanted to intervene several times, but he held back; he could feel Lin Beiya's willpower, and the little guy was still fighting hard.

"Honestly, he could have become a talent by following the standard path, so why take such a risk?"

Lin Beiya could not hear Falling Devil's grumbling. At this moment, he felt a warmth slowly replacing the pain, surging through his body, which greatly boosted his confidence—he knew the most dangerous phase of absorbing the soul ring had passed.

In other words, his absorption of the thousand-year soul ring was a success.

Seeing Lin Beiya's expression settle, Falling Devil breathed a sigh of relief; now, all that remained was to wait patiently.

"Heh, what an amazing kid."

Several hours later, the purple soul ring slowly solidified upon the Statue of the War Goddess.

At the same time, Lin Beiya opened his eyes.

"You actually pulled it off, kid. Let's see how the soul skill is."

Too busy to celebrate, Lin Beiya nodded at Falling Devil and released his martial soul once more.

One yellow and one purple soul ring rose slowly.

As the purple soul ring lit up, the heavy snorting of a wild ox echoed throughout the forest.

After a golden pillar of light connected heaven and earth, the hollow Golden Rock Ox appeared on the ground.

Having witnessed the appearance of the Aries Gold Cloth, Falling Devil was not surprised, though he felt a bit of confusion in his heart.

"Another set of armor?"

In his view, one set of armor was enough; wouldn't the effects of having more just overlap?

Lin Beiya ignored him and directly summoned the Taurus Gold Cloth to possess him. The Golden Rock Ox scattered in mid-air, successfully wrapping around him from head to toe.

The sacred cloth was modeled after a wild ox, with heavy plating and large metal components covering his body, featuring a pair of horns on the shoulders and head.

Unlike the elegance of the Aries Gold Cloth, every inch of the Taurus Gold Cloth exuded a violent aesthetic.

After sensing it for a moment, Lin Beiya was pleasantly surprised to find that the Taurus Gold Cloth provided a twenty percent boost to all his attributes.

At the same time, after obtaining his second soul ring, the various boosts provided by the Aries Gold Cloth had also reached twenty percent.

This meant that for every additional soul ring he obtained in the future, the boost from the sacred cloth would increase by ten percent—a truly terrifying prospect.

"How is it? Did you gain any other amazing combat skills?"

Falling Devil had some understanding of Crystal Wall and Starlight Extinction, so he was curious if Lin Beiya's brand-new armor could bring forth new abilities.

As Lin Beiya nodded, Falling Devil Douluo immediately became interested.

"Is that so? Show me."

Lin Beiya did not refuse; he crossed his arms in a iaido-style stance, and a massive phantom of a wild ox appeared behind him.

Following a violent flash of golden light, the massive golden wild ox charged out instantly, its sharp horns pointed directly at Falling Devil.

"Great Horn!"

"Moo~~~~"

Falling Devil Douluo's gaze narrowed. The current attack power of Great Horn was certainly not enough to shake this Super Douluo, but the momentum it displayed was enough to startle him. One had to remember that the child before him had only just broken through the boundary of a Soul Grand Master.

Watching Falling Devil use his Coiling Dragon Staff to block the charge of the golden wild ox, Lin Beiya felt no disappointment, waiting instead for the other's assessment.

After a long while, the golden wild ox vanished. Falling Devil put away his Coiling Dragon Staff and took a deep look at the ground, where his own footprints were left behind.

"Very good. A preliminary estimate suggests you already possess the strength of a battle soul master near the Soul Ancestor level."

"Yes, that is indeed the case."

Lin Beiya nodded in satisfaction. Falling Devil's assessment did not exceed his expectations; as the initiator of the attack, he understood his own limits better than anyone.

After a moment of contemplation, Falling Devil asked again:

"Are there any other combat skills?"

"Yes, just like the Aries Sacred Cloth, the Taurus Gold Cloth currently possesses one offensive and one defensive ability."

The word "currently" made Falling Devil pause for a moment. He thought to himself that the uniqueness of this Martial Soul went far beyond what was displayed, but since Lin Beiya did not elaborate, he found it difficult to press for more.

"Since it is a defensive Soul Skill, then let's try this."

As his words fell, Falling Devil Douluo directly summoned his Coiling Dragon Staff and hurled it toward Lin Beiya.

Do not be fooled by the seemingly soft and powerless appearance of this strike; as a Tool Martial Soul comparable to the Clear Sky Hammer, its own weight alone was enough to give any other Soul Master a hard time.

With a gaze more solemn than ever, Lin Beiya hurriedly crossed his arms over his chest, aiming them at the descending Coiling Dragon Staff.

"Iai Barrier."

This move was not flashy; it was purely a matter of throwing punches at extreme speed to form a barrier of wind before him. If one's eyesight was not sharp enough, they would only perceive the attack as failing to touch Lin Beiya's body, sliding off to the side instead.

However, with Falling Devil Douluo's level of cultivation, he naturally saw through the mystery of this move at a glance, feeling quite shocked that Lin Beiya could exert such speed while only at the Soul Grand Master level.

Things developed exactly as Falling Devil had anticipated; the moment the thousands-of-pounds-heavy Coiling Dragon Staff made contact with the Iai Barrier, it suddenly lost its momentum and tumbled off to the side.

Following the dull thud of a heavy object hitting the ground, the Coiling Dragon Staff smashed a deep crater into the floor.

"A decent Soul Skill, and one that is highly effective against melee-type Soul Masters."

He already knew that the Crystal Wall brought by the Aries Sacred Cloth could counter long-range energy attacks. Now, with the Iai Barrier, Lin Beiya's defensive repertoire had seen significant improvement.

After absorbing the thousand-year Soul Ring, Lin Beiya's cultivation had reached level 22, and he was not far from level 23. This left him quite satisfied; at the very least, the gap between him and Qian Renxue was being steadily bridged.

"You brat really are a freak, your body actually managed to withstand the impact of a thousand-year Soul Ring."

Lin Beiya smiled, knowing it was time to reveal the secret of the Whale Rubber. He would need to rely on the power of the Douluo Hall to help him acquire high-grade Whale Rubber later; relying on himself to travel back and forth to the ocean was unrealistic.

"Senior, aside from daily training, my physique relies most importantly on Whale Rubber."

"Whale Rubber?"

Falling Devil's eyes widened. He thought he had misheard, but after exchanging glances with Lin Beiya, he confirmed that the other party was indeed talking about the item he was familiar with.

"Isn't that stuff used to enhance intimacy? What does it have to do with strengthening the physique?"

"Uh... simple consumption does indeed have that effect, but if one refines and absorbs its medicinal power, it can gradually strengthen one's own physique."