Taurus Gold Cloth

It was impossible not to feel nervous, but Lin Beiya had confidence in the results of his year-plus of cultivation.

The moment the pale purple Soul Ring touched the Divine Statue, a torrent of violent energy swept through Lin Beiya's entire body.

"Ugh!"

Caught off guard, Lin Beiya was struck by the sudden surge of energy, and a cry of pain escaped him.

But he quickly gathered his wits again and gritted his teeth, forcing himself to endure.

Pain!

Lin Beiya felt every inch of skin in his body set off his pain nerves. The energy seemed ready to burst out of him at any moment.

But bolstered by the recovery rate of the Aries Gold Cloth, Lin Beiya never let the energy break through the critical threshold.

Clenching his back teeth, Lin Beiya's expression twisted into a grimace.

Slowly, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Even Falling Devil Douluo, standing nearby, was unusually tense. He knew this was the most crucial moment, but all he could do was cheer Lin Beiya on in his heart.

Time trickled by. Unlike at the beginning, blood began to seep slowly from the skin all over Lin Beiya's body.

Falling Devil Douluo nearly intervened several times, but each time he pulled back. He could sense Lin Beiya's resolve—the little fellow was still doing his best to hold on.

"Honestly, he could've become a fine talent by taking things one step at a time. Why risk something like this?"

Lin Beiya couldn't hear Falling Devil Douluo's grumbling. At that moment, he felt warmth slowly spreading through his body, replacing the pain. It boosted his confidence, and he knew he had passed the most dangerous stage of absorbing a Soul Ring.

In other words, he had successfully absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Seeing Lin Beiya's expression grow calm, Falling Devil Douluo also breathed a sigh of relief. All that remained was to wait patiently.

"Heh, what a remarkable kid."

Several hours later, the purple Soul Ring slowly solidified around the Statue of the War Goddess.

At the same time, Lin Beiya opened his eyes.

"You really pulled it off, kid. Let's see what your Soul Skill is like."

There was no time to celebrate. Lin Beiya nodded to Falling Devil Douluo, then released his Martial Soul once more.

One yellow and one purple Soul Ring rose slowly.

As the purple Soul Ring lit up, the deep snorting of a Savage Bull rang across the entire forest.

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

Falling Devil Douluo had already witnessed the Aries Gold Cloth's entrance, so he wasn't surprised. He was only a little puzzled.

"Another suit of armor?"

In his view, one suit of armor was enough. Wouldn't any extra effects just overlap?

Lin Beiya paid him no mind and summoned the Taurus Gold Cloth to cover his body. The Golden Rock Ox shattered in midair, its pieces fitting together smoothly from head to toe around him.

Modeled after a wild ox, the Sacred Cloth had heavy armor and broad metal plating, with a pair of horns on its head and shoulders.

Unlike the elegance of the Aries Sacred Cloth, every part of the Taurus Gold Cloth exuded the brutal beauty of violence.

After testing it, Lin Beiya was delighted to discover that the Taurus Gold Cloth boosted all his attributes by twenty percent.

At the same time, after he acquired his second Soul Ring, the various boosts granted by the Aries Gold Cloth had also reached twenty percent.

That meant every additional Soul Ring he gained would raise the Cloth's boost by ten percent. That was downright terrifying.

"How is it? Did you gain any other remarkable combat techniques?"

Falling Devil Douluo knew a little about the Crystal Wall and Starlight Extinction, so he was curious whether Lin Beiya's new armor could grant him new abilities.

Lin Beiya nodded, and Falling Devil Douluo immediately grew interested.

"Is that so? Show me."

Lin Beiya didn't refuse. He crossed his arms in an iaijutsu stance, and the phantom of a massive wild ox appeared behind him.

A brilliant golden flash erupted, and a huge Golden Bull charged forward in an instant, its sharp horns aimed straight at Falling Devil Douluo.

"Great Horn!"

"Moo——!"

Falling Devil Douluo's eyes narrowed slightly. Great Horn's attack power wasn't enough to threaten a Super Douluo like him, but the might it displayed was enough to astonish him. After all, the child before him had only just broken through the Soul Grandmaster threshold.

Lin Beiya watched Falling Devil Douluo brace himself against the Golden Bull's charge with the Coiling Dragon Staff. He felt no disappointment at all, simply waiting for the other man's assessment.

A moment later, the Golden Bull vanished. Falling Devil Douluo put away the Coiling Dragon Staff and looked down at the ground. There were footprints there, left by him.

"Not bad. By my initial estimate, it already has the force of a Battle Soul Master near the Soul Ancestor level."

"Mm, exactly."

Lin Beiya nodded with satisfaction. Falling Devil Douluo's assessment hadn't surprised him. As the one who launched the attack, he understood his own limits better than anyone.

After a moment's thought, Falling Devil Douluo asked again,

"Any other combat techniques?"

"Yes. Just like the Aries Sacred Cloth, the Taurus Gold Cloth currently has one offensive technique and one defensive technique."

The word "currently" made Falling Devil Douluo pause. He realized the Martial Soul had more peculiarities than it had shown so far. But Lin Beiya hadn't explained further, and he didn't want to press him.

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

As he spoke, Falling Devil Douluo summoned the Coiling Dragon Staff and tossed it toward Lin Beiya.

The strike looked gentle and powerless, but the Coiling Dragon Staff was a tool Martial Soul on par with the Clear Sky Hammer. Its sheer weight alone was enough to give most Soul Masters a hard time.

With an unusually solemn expression, Lin Beiya hurriedly crossed his arms and aimed them at the descending Coiling Dragon Staff.

"Iai Barrier."

The move was simple, nothing fancy. He threw punches at incredible speed, creating a barrier of punching winds in front of him. Anyone with poor eyesight would only feel their attacks slide aside without ever touching Lin Beiya.

But with Falling Devil Douluo's cultivation, he saw the move's intricacies at a glance. He was astonished that Lin Beiya could move so fast at the Soul Grandmaster level.

Things unfolded just as Falling Devil Douluo had expected. The Coiling Dragon Staff, weighing several thousand jin, suddenly lost its momentum upon touching the Iai Barrier and dropped off to one side.

A muffled thud rang out as the heavy object hit the ground, leaving a deep crater.

"Not a bad Soul Skill. It's also a strong counter to close-combat Soul Masters."

He already knew that the Crystal Wall granted by the Aries Gold Cloth countered ranged energy attacks. Now, with the Iai Barrier, Lin Beiya's defensive abilities had made great strides.

After absorbing the Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Lin Beiya's cultivation reached level 22, and he wasn't far from level 23. He was quite satisfied. At least, the gap between him and Qian Renxue was steadily narrowing.

"You really are a freak, kid. Your body actually withstood the impact of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

Lin Beiya smiled. He knew it was time to reveal the secret of Whale Rubber. He would need the Douluo Hall's help to get his hands on high-quality Whale Rubber later on; making repeated trips to the sea himself wasn't realistic.

"Senior, aside from my daily training, the most important thing that strengthened my physique was Whale Rubber."

"Whale Rubber?"

Falling Devil Douluo's eyes widened. He thought he must have misheard, but after exchanging glances with Lin Beiya several times, he confirmed that the other man really meant the substance he knew so well.

"Isn't that stuff used to spice things up? What does it have to do with strengthening your physique?"

"Uh... Taken normally, it does have that effect. But if you refine it and absorb its medicinal properties, it can gradually strengthen your physique."