Cultivation in Progress

Lin Beiya's expression froze. So, she had been waiting for this?

If he recalled correctly, back when he told her that Whale Rubber could strengthen the physique, she probably wouldn't have believed a single word he said.

He turned back toward the bookshelf, pulled out the "Encyclopedia of Continental Curiosities" gifted by the little angel, and shook the cover at this young miss, signaling her to reflect on how she had viewed Whale Rubber at the time.

A blush climbed onto Qian Renxue's cheeks, and the fierce expression on her face could no longer be maintained. Her index fingers circled each other in front of her as she looked away, saying:

"Th-this... can you blame me? That thing was obviously just..."

Lin Beiya spread his hands, LeBron James.

"I'm not blaming you. Isn't it you who is blaming me?"

"Just tell me, if I had told you back then to eat this fishy, disgusting thing to strengthen your physique, wouldn't you have hit me with an Angel Charge right then and there!"

The little angel looked at the room's decor with little confidence, yet she still tried to defend herself.

"I... I don't think it would have come to that. I... I'm not that violent!"

"Heh."

Lin Beiya wore an expression that clearly said, do you really think I believe that? It nearly made the little angel bristle, but fortunately, he was tactful enough to change the subject.

"By the way, Xiao Xue, have you started taking the Whale Rubber?"

"I melted a small piece with my soul power and took it last night. My whole body felt hot after eating it, but it felt quite comfortable once I refined the medicinal power."

"Mm, that's the Whale Rubber subtly improving your constitution. Don't stop taking it in the future; it might be smelly and ugly, but the effects are quite good."

"Combined with our physical training, you can absorb a third soul ring of at least 2,000 years."

Hearing that she, too, could exceed the limits and absorb a higher-year soul ring, Qian Renxue immediately became interested, though a trace of defiance remained in her heart.

"Why can this young miss only absorb a 2,000-year third soul ring? I'll name a number: 3,000 years!"

Lin Beiya looked at Qian Renxue, who was calling out numbers, with a blank expression. A hint of disdain flashed in his heart; he believed that her body could withstand a 3,000-year soul ring, but it was also a fact that her grandfather would never let her take such a risk.

"Then go convince the Grand Pontiff first. In principle, I believe our Xiao Xue can absorb a 3,000-year soul ring."

"Ah!!!!"

As soon as Lin Beiya mentioned her grandfather, Qian Renxue immediately deflated. She understood in her heart that the elders would never allow her to risk absorbing a soul ring near her physical limit; the risk was simply too great.

Lin Beiya's emergence had put immense pressure on her. She wanted to maintain her soul power suppression over him, and a higher-year soul ring was the only hard solution.

"Unless your body's tolerance limit can reach nearly 4,000 years, you should stop thinking about a 3,000-year soul ring."

The little angel glared at Lin Beiya with a pained expression. 4,000 years? He was just spouting nonsense. She was only at level 28 soul power; breaking through to level 30 was a matter of half a year. Could she really raise her physical limits to that extent in just half a year?

"I heard a certain master say that one can continue to cultivate without absorbing a soul ring. Do you want to try that?"

"Pfft, stop reading those books that mislead people. Can a Soul Elder's cultivation speed be the same as a Soul Grand Master's? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

Lin Beiya rolled his eyes. He understood such a simple truth, of course, but wasn't it because there were no other ways to help her absorb a higher-year soul ring?

"In that case, we can only double the physical training."

"St-still doubling it?"

Hearing this, Qian Renxue widened her beautiful eyes and swallowed hard.

To avoid being left too far behind by Lin Beiya, she had already been gritting her teeth to keep up with his pace during training. If it doubled again, she didn't know if she would turn from an angel into a bird-person after the session.

"It's not a must. Wouldn't it be better to just honestly absorb a 2,000-year soul ring?"

"Grrr... click..."

Watching Lin Beiya's gloating expression, Qian Renxue gritted her teeth in hatred, but her inner pride wouldn't let her be looked down upon.

"Bring it on! This young miss will show you what true talent is!"

And so, on the training ground, Lei Ying watched the two running even more crazily than before with a blank stare, her heart full of confusion.

"What kind of stimulant did they take?"

Lin Beiya jogged while carrying weight, turning his head from time to time to clench his fists at the little angel.

"Keep it up, Xiao Xue!"

"Right, starting today, no laziness, no giving up, no 2,000-year soul ring!"

Several hours later, Lei Ying looked at the little angel lying on her back, looking like she had lost the will to live, and asked:

"It's so hot today, do you want a bowl of cold noodles to cool off?"

The little angel struggled to open her eyes, as if she had seen a savior.

"No green onions, no cilantro, thank you!"

Lin Beiya, who had just finished a lap and heard their conversation, immediately let out a mocking laugh.

"Tch, shameless!"

Qian Renxue directly ignored Lin Beiya's quiet muttering. Even if the training intensity increased, it should be gradual; there was no reason to jump up so much all at once. It was simply making things difficult for this young miss.

The appearance of Whale Rubber sparked another wave of exercise. Driven by Lin Beiya and Qian Renxue, Lei Ying dared not slack off.

When someone with better talent than her was working harder than her, how could she possibly sit still?

Driven by this comparison, the training intensity of the three increased significantly.

Lin Beiya did not know what level of physical fitness was required to ignite his Cosmo, but a powerful physique would only bring him more benefits, so he simply focused on training and left the rest to fate.

Within the academy, he also taught the sensory training methods to Shi Nuo; since his Martial Soul had deficiencies in agility, honing his senses would help him anticipate his opponent's movements in advance.

As for Fatty, he did not slack off in the slightest regarding the extra training his good brother had arranged for him; he feared no exhaustion if it meant finding a way to keep pace with his friend.

It must be said that the fact that one inherits the corresponding habits of a Martial Soul when awakening it has its merits; at least in terms of being hardworking and uncomplaining, Shi Nuo was as steady as an old ox.

Nine months passed quietly, and Lin Beiya had now been a Soul Master for two and a half years.

His soul power cultivation had reached level 25, and at the same time, his physical strength was approaching that of an Assault-type Battle Soul Ancestor.

The improvement in his five senses was even more terrifying; living with his eyes closed had become a daily routine, and he could even fight against the Little Angel and Lei Ying without opening his eyes.

The only pity was that he had yet to master the method of igniting his Cosmo, and he was also unable to unleash battle skills without wearing the Gold Cloth.

This forced him to conclude that the execution of battle skills required Cosmo, and the Gold Cloth served to convert soul power into Cosmo to facilitate their use.

Under a full year of high-intensity training, Fatty Shi's soul power cultivation had reached level 19, making him the second-strongest in the class, right behind Lin Beiya.

Even Yu Quan, who possessed innate level 9 soul power, had been left behind by him.

Three months ago, the Little Angel had obtained her third soul ring with an age reaching 2,900 years, which barely met the expectations she had set for herself.

This soul ring granted her a defensive soul skill called Angel Protection, which served to compensate for her shortcomings.

After returning, the Little Angel resumed her attempts to challenge Lin Beiya, but the result was, of course, failure; she could not break through the defenses of either the Aries Crystal Wall or the Taurus Iai Barrier.

Only when wearing the Aries Gold Cloth could she use Starlight Extinction to contend with Lin Beiya for a short while.