The Disliked Taurus Gold Cloth

"Is that really a thing?"

Falling Devil wore an expression of disbelief, clearly skeptical about the truth of such a claim. Yet, upon deeper reflection, he realized that if this weren't the case, Lin Beiya's physique could not have strengthened so rapidly.

After a moment of contemplation, Falling Devil said solemnly:

"I will report this to the Grand Pontiff when I return. We shall send someone to the coast to retrieve some Whale Rubber and test its effects."

"But you, kid, you really are daring enough to try anything!"

Falling Devil raised an eyebrow, looking at Lin Beiya with a teasing expression. That gaze made him feel uneasy, yet he could do nothing about it; after all, he would still need them to provide the Whale Rubber he required later on.

"Haha, young people should always be willing to try new things."

"That is true enough."

With the soul hunt completed, there was no need for the two to remain here. They activated their staff-flight technique once more and immediately set off on the return journey toward Martial Soul Hall.

In the garden, Qian Renxue and Lei Ying were eating dinner after finishing their afternoon training.

Watching the little angel before her prop her chin up with one hand while using the other to poke aimlessly at the food on her plate, Lei Ying rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I'm telling you, stop worrying about Beiya. He wouldn't do anything he wasn't confident about."

"Even accepting my challenge—he only agreed after calculating his own strength."

Qian Renxue lifted her eyelids listlessly. She understood the logic, but just thinking about someone attempting to attach a thousand-year soul ring while still a Soul Grand Master made her heart tremble with fear.

If something were to happen to Lin Beiya, where... where would she find such a good punching bag?

"I hope so. At this rate, I suspect neither of us will be a match for him for much longer."

"Uh..."

At the mention of this, the smile on Lei Ying's face vanished instantly. She had no way to deal with Lin Beiya even when he was just a soul master; if he became a Soul Grand Master, he would surely become even stronger, and she would be even less of a match for him.

Just as the two girls were talking, the protagonist of their conversation turned into a black shadow and rushed toward the dining table, immediately devouring the food like a whirlwind.

For the past two and a half days, he had only been gnawing on dry rations while up in the trees, and he was so hungry his stomach was practically touching his spine.

"Beiya!"

The little angel, having snapped out of her daze, realized it was Lin Beiya and her eyes instantly filled with pleasant surprise. Meanwhile, Lei Ying, who had yet to get used to Lin Beiya's eating habits, once again wore an expression of disgust.

"Seriously, how many days has it been since you last ate? Can you please watch your manners?"

"Beiya, did your soul ring absorption succeed?"

Lin Beiya nodded slightly, his eating not stopping for even a second. The two girls had no choice but to wait for him to finish his meal.

Dozens of minutes later, Lin Beiya leaned back in his chair, gently patting his stomach with a look of pure satisfaction on his face.

"So full!"

"Tsk, someone is only concerned with eating, while my little princess here has been so worried she hasn't even been able to think about tea or rice!"

"Hm?"

Hearing Lei Ying's words, Lin Beiya squinted at the little angel beside him. He saw that the girl's cheeks were now bright red, and she was glaring fiercely at Lei Ying across from her.

"Thanks for the concern, Xiao Xue!"

"It... it's nothing. How did the soul hunt go?"

Without saying much, Lin Beiya directly summoned his statue, and two soul rings—one yellow and one purple—rose quietly.

Although they had been mentally prepared, when the scene actually appeared before their eyes, both Qian Renxue and Lei Ying were plunged into deep shock.

"Heavens, it really succeeded."

"Beiya, you kid really are a monster."

Hearing this, Lin Beiya rolled his eyes. I'll just take that as a compliment.

After a brief moment of astonishment, Qian Renxue immediately wore an expectant expression.

"Beiya, does that mean there is a new Cloth you can wear?"

"That's right, a new Cloth has indeed been born."

"Quick, quick, let me see!"

There is nothing girls love more than new clothes, and the Gold Cloths were certainly no exception.

Lin Beiya did not hold back at all. As the purple soul ring lit up, a pillar of light shot into the sky, and the Golden Bull slowly manifested before the three of them.

"This... is this a bull?"

The little angel asked Lin Beiya with some uncertainty, while Lei Ying, on the other hand, had eyes shining with excitement.

Nodding to confirm Qian Renxue's guess, Lin Beiya entered the state of Cloth manifestation. Under the enhancement of the Taurus Gold Cloth, his entire figure appeared significantly more robust.

"That's right, this is the Taurus Gold Cloth, the embodiment of pure power."

After a brief demonstration, Lin Beiya transformed the Cloth into a golden card and tossed it to Qian Renxue.

"Come on, you give it a try."

"Okay!"

Qian Renxue took the gold plate embossed with the Taurus emblem and immediately channeled her soul power into it.

Just like the Aries Sacred Cloth, the Taurus Gold Cloth transformed the waist and hip sections into a skirt-like structure when it attached to Qian Renxue's body, making it much better suited for a woman to wear.

Lin Beiya had imagined that Qian Renxue would be just as fond of this new Sacred Cloth, but after observing it for a moment, the girl pouted and said, "Beiya, this Sacred Cloth is so ugly!"

Hearing this, Lin Beiya stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

While the Taurus Gold Cloth might not possess the same aesthetic appeal as the Aries Sacred Cloth, it certainly didn't deserve to be called ugly, did it?

Besides, hadn't she felt the twenty percent boost to all her attributes? Hadn't she felt the powerful combat skills it provided? Was she really going to focus solely on the appearance?

Qian Renxue was extremely dissatisfied with the two pairs of horns on the helmet and shoulder guards, and the chest plate gave off a bulky, ferocious vibe that was truly hard for a girl to like.

"How about this, why don't you try out the combat skill before deciding?"

"Fine, I'll give it a try."

The three of them quickly arrived at the training grounds, and Lei Ying, who was very interested in the new combat skill, naturally became the sparring partner, standing opposite the little angel.

Qian Renxue immediately closed her eyes to sense the combat skill granted to her by the Taurus Gold Cloth, then crossed her arms in a stance similar to a iaido draw.

"Great Horn!"

A golden phantom of a wild bull surged forth, charging toward Lei Ying with violent momentum.

Feeling the force of this aura, Lei Ying didn't dare to be careless in the slightest and hurriedly activated her second soul skill, entering the Explosive Flame Possession state.

"Bang."

The golden bull phantom slammed heavily into Lei Ying, who had crossed her arms in front of her to block. The woman was sent flying backward like she had been hit by a truck, sliding for several dozen meters across the ground before finally coming to a stop.

"Pah!"

Spitting out the dust from her mouth, Lei Ying cast a lingering, fearful glance at Qian Renxue, who was still standing with her arms crossed, her eyes filled with pleasant surprise. The power of this soul skill left her feeling shaken.

The arms that had just withstood the immense force were now trembling uncontrollably, and the webbing between her thumbs and forefingers had split open, blood trickling out.

"What incredible power!"

Seeing that Lei Ying was injured, Qian Renxue lost her sense of delight and hurried to her side in two or three steps, asking anxiously, "Sister Yingying, are you alright?"

"I... I'm fine, just some blunt force trauma. I'll go find a healing soul master in a bit."

"Phew."

The little angel let out a sigh of relief, then looked at the Taurus Gold Cloth on her body with lingering fear.

"I didn't expect this ugly outfit to be so strong."

As soon as these words left her lips, Lin Beiya and Lei Ying rolled their eyes in unison. How could a soul master be so concerned with beauty over function?

"Forget about whether it's ugly or not, just tell me if it's strong or not? If you really can't stand it, you don't have to wear it."

"Uh..."

At these words, a flicker of hesitation crossed Qian Renxue's face. After a long while, she looked timidly at Lin Beiya and asked, "How about this, can you wear the Taurus and I wear the Aries?"