Training in Progress

Lin Beiya's expression froze. So she'd been waiting for him to bring it up?

Thinking back, when he'd told her that Whale Rubber could strengthen her body, she probably hadn't believed a word he said.

He turned back to the bookshelf, took down the Encyclopedia of Continental Curiosities Little Angel had given him, and waved the cover at the young lady, reminding her to think about what she'd thought of Whale Rubber back then.

A blush crept over Qian Renxue's cheeks. She could no longer keep up her fierce expression, and her index fingers circled nervously in front of her as she said, eyes wandering:

"Th-this is my fault? That stuff used to be..."

Lin Beiya spread his hands. LeBron James.

"I'm not blaming you. You're the one blaming me, aren't you?"

"Just tell me this: if I'd asked you to eat that fishy, smelly stuff and said it would strengthen your body, wouldn't you have hit me with Angel Charge on the spot?"

Little Angel glanced at the furnishings in the room, trying to sound more confident than she felt as she continued to argue.

"I-it probably wouldn't have come to that. I... I'm not that violent!"

"Heh."

Lin Beiya's expression said, You think I believe that? It almost made Little Angel bristle, but luckily he knew better than to push it and quickly changed the subject.

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

"I melted a small piece with Soul Power last night and took it. My whole body felt hot afterward, but once I'd absorbed its medicinal power, I felt pretty good."

"Mm. The Whale Rubber is gradually improving your constitution. Don't stop taking it. It may be ugly and smelly, but it works pretty well."

"With our body-conditioning training on top of that, you should be able to absorb a Soul Ring of at least two thousand years for your third one."

Hearing that she, too, could absorb a Soul Ring beyond the limit, Qian Renxue grew interested, though a hint of defiance stirred in her heart.

"Why can I only absorb a two-thousand-year Soul Ring for my third one? I'll tell you what: three thousand years!"

Lin Beiya stared expressionlessly at Qian Renxue as she named her price, a flicker of disdain passing through his mind. I believe your body can handle a three-thousand-year Soul Ring, but there's no way your grandfather will let you take that kind of risk.

"Then go convince the Grand Pontiff first. In principle, I believe our Xiao Xue can absorb a three-thousand-year Soul Ring."

"Ah!!!!"

The moment Lin Beiya mentioned her grandfather, Qian Renxue wilted. She knew her elders would never let her risk absorbing a Soul Ring that pushed her body close to its limit. The danger was simply too great.

Lin Beiya's presence put her under immense pressure. She wanted to keep her Soul Power advantage over him, and a higher-year Soul Ring was the surest way to do that.

"Unless your body's limit gets close to four thousand years, you can forget about a three-thousand-year Soul Ring."

Little Angel glared at Lin Beiya, looking miserable. Four thousand years? He sure knew how to throw out big numbers. She was already at Soul Power level 28, and reaching level 30 would only take half a year or so. Could she raise her body's limit that much in half a year?

"I heard a certain Grandmaster say you could keep cultivating without absorbing a Soul Ring. Want to give that a try?"

"Pah! Stop reading those books that lead people astray. Can a Soul Elder cultivate as fast as a Soul Grandmaster? That's putting the cart before the horse!"

Lin Beiya rolled his eyes. Of course he understood something that obvious, but wasn't it just that there was no other way to help her absorb a higher-year Soul Ring?

"Then the only option is to double your body-conditioning training."

"Y-you're doubling it again?"

At that, Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes widened, and she swallowed hard.

To avoid falling too far behind Lin Beiya, she had already gritted her teeth and kept up with his pace during training. If they doubled it again, she wondered whether she'd turn from an angel into a bird after the workout.

"It's not like you have to. Just absorb a two-thousand-year Soul Ring like a good girl."

"Grr...!"

Seeing Lin Beiya's gloating expression, Qian Renxue ground her teeth in anger. But with her pride, she wouldn't let anyone look down on her.

"Bring it on! I'll show you what a true natural talent looks like!"

And so, on the Training Ground, Lei Ying stared blankly at the two of them running even more frantically than before, utterly puzzled.

"What got into them?"

Lin Beiya jogged along with weights strapped to him, glancing back now and then to pump his fist at Little Angel.

"Keep it up, Xiao Xue!"

"Fine! Starting today, no slacking, no giving up, and no two-thousand-year Soul Ring!"

Several hours later, Lei Ying looked at Little Angel, lying flat on the ground with a look of utter despair, and asked:

"It's so hot out. Want a bowl of cold noodles to cool off?"

Little Angel struggled to open her eyes, as if she'd just spotted her savior.

"No scallions, no cilantro, please!"

Lin Beiya had just finished a lap and overheard them talking. He immediately scoffed.

"Tch. Shameless!"

Qian Renxue ignored Lin Beiya's muttered insult. Training intensity had to increase gradually. Who cranked it up that much all at once? He was making things impossible for her.

The arrival of Whale Rubber kicked off another wave of training. Inspired by Lin Beiya and Qian Renxue, Lei Ying didn't dare slack off anymore.

When people with better talent than you worked harder than you did, how could you sit still?

Spurred by their rivalry, all three greatly increased their training loads.

Lin Beiya had no idea how strong his body needed to become to awaken his Cosmo, but a powerful physique could only bring him more benefits. So he focused on training and left the rest to fate.

At the academy, he also taught Shi Nuo how to train his Five Senses. His Martial Soul was lacking in agility, and sharpening his senses would help him anticipate his opponents' moves.

Little Fatty didn't slack off on the extra training his good buddy had assigned him, either. He wasn't afraid of hard work if it could help him catch up.

There was something to be said for inheriting a Martial Soul's habits along with the Martial Soul itself. At least Shi Nuo was as tireless and dependable as an old ox.

Nine months passed in the blink of an eye, and Lin Beiya had become a Soul Master with two and a half years of cultivation under his belt.

His Soul Power had reached level 25, and his physical strength was nearly on par with that of a Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor.

His Five Senses had improved even more dramatically. Living with his eyes closed had become part of his daily routine, and he could even fight Little Angel and Lei Ying without opening his eyes.

The only disappointment was that he still hadn't mastered how to awaken his Cosmo, and he couldn't unleash his battle techniques without wearing his Sacred Cloth.

He had no choice but to conclude that using battle techniques required Cosmo, while the Sacred Cloth could convert Soul Power into Cosmo for him to use them.

After a full year of high-intensity training, Little Fatty Shi had also reached level 19 in Soul Power, becoming the strongest in the class after Lin Beiya.

Even Yu Quan, who had been born with level-nine Soul Power, had fallen behind him.

Three months earlier, Little Angel had obtained her third Soul Ring, which was 2,900 years old. It had just barely met her expectations.

The Soul Ring had given her a defensive Soul Skill called Angel Protection, making up for one of her weaknesses.

After returning, Little Angel started challenging Lin Beiya again. The result, of course, was still failure. She couldn't break through the defenses of either Aries' Crystal Wall or Taurus' Iai Barrier.

Only when she wore the Aries Gold Cloth could she use Starlight Extinction to hold her own against Lin Beiya for a little while.