A Sense of Urgency

After swallowing a pastry, Lin Beiya took a sip of his drink and shook his head.

"Although I have some techniques for using strength, I'm not a strength-type Soul Master."

"And I don't train my body solely to improve my combat ability."

Hu Liena rested her chin in her hands and stared intently at Lin Beiya, her peach-blossom eyes brimming with interest.

Lin Beiya sighed helplessly to himself. Explaining this was far too much trouble. But she'd kindly brought him pastries, so he couldn't just eat them and then send her away.

He summoned the Athena Statue. A yellow Soul Ring and a purple Soul Ring appeared before Little Fox's eyes.

The girl immediately covered her mouth and gasped.

"Oh my goodness!"

Her parents were Soul Masters, as were Xie Yue's, so they naturally knew about their parents' Soul Ring Configurations. A Thousand-Year Soul Ring as the Second Soul Ring was practically unheard of.

"Soul Power is like warm water, while a person's body and spiritual power are like a cup. How much water it can hold depends on the size of the cup."

"So, you should understand how important physical conditioning is, right?"

Hu Liena nodded, admiration on her face.

"I understand, Senior Brother. I'll work hard to train my body too. Could you teach me more about it?"

"Uh..."

Lin Beiya had only meant to explain why he trained his body as quickly as possible. Whether Little Fox wanted to follow his example was up to her. He hadn't expected her to turn the conversation right back around to him.

"It's not that I can't. Just follow along when I train, and stop when your body can't take any more. But please don't interfere with my training schedule."

"Wonderful! Thank you, Senior Brother."

Having achieved her goal, Hu Liena looked delighted. She quickly gathered the leftover pastries from the stone table and playfully winked at Lin Beiya.

"Then I'll come find you again tomorrow, Senior Brother."

"Ah..."

Watching Little Fox skip away, Lin Beiya felt utterly helpless.

He'd wanted to keep his distance from that ungrateful master and disciple pair. In the end, Bibi Dong had taken him as her disciple, and now Little Fox was going to train with him every day.

Over the next few days, whenever Lin Beiya began training on Back Mountain, a little tail would appear behind him.

He wore a Weighted Suit custom-made by a craftsman, while Hu Liena trained without any extra weight. Even so, the girl would end up sprawled on the ground halfway through, too exhausted to move.

Little Fox could only gaze at Lin Beiya with watery eyes, hoping her senior brother would stop and let her rest for a while.

But, as luck would have it, Lin Beiya trained with his eyes tightly shut. Though he sensed Hu Liena's movements, he pretended not to notice and kept going.

The girl grumbled to herself, but there was nothing she could do. After all, she was the one who'd asked to train with him.

Just as proud as he was, she couldn't allow her senior brother to look down on her. After resting for a while, she gritted her teeth and started running again, hoping to keep up with Lin Beiya.

"Se...Senior Brother, you're not human."

"Hey, who are you calling that? How am I not human?"

After a morning of training, Little Fox lay flat on the ground, gasping like a bellows. Her eyes were half-lidded as she voiced her thoughts.

Lin Beiya felt deeply insulted. You're not human! Your whole family isn't human!

Realizing she'd misspoken, Hu Liena hurried to her feet and stared at Lin Beiya in alarm, waving her little hands frantically.

"N-no...That's not...That's not what I meant."

It was her first time training, and running ten kilometers without any extra weight had already been her limit. But Lin Beiya had run twenty kilometers wearing a Weighted Suit weighing a hundred kilograms and looked completely fine. Then he'd moved on to weighted push-ups, frog jumps, squats, and a series of other high-intensity exercises. Little Fox had been dumbfounded, and a deep sense of admiration had risen in her heart.

A Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring really wasn't easy to obtain. Lin Beiya had clearly kept up this high-intensity training for a long time to make it look so effortless.

"Running this far on your first try is already pretty good. You know, she..."

Thinking of Qian Renxue, who had left months ago, Lin Beiya felt a faint pang of longing. He wondered how she was doing in Heaven Dou.

When Lin Beiya suddenly stopped speaking, Hu Liena asked curiously,

"Who is she?"

"Nothing. You did well. Just increase your training gradually. Sweat won't let you down."

With that, Lin Beiya stopped paying attention to her and headed back to his residence, leaving Little Fox to shake a fist at his retreating back.

"If you won't tell me, fine! I don't want to know anyway. Hmph!"

When he returned to his residence, a maid brought him word that Shi Nuo had returned.

The brothers immediately arranged to meet at a restaurant in Spirit City.

"Bei Ya, over here!"

"Oh, you look pretty happy. Did you get the Soul Ring you wanted?"

"Heh...Hehehe!"

Shi Nuo scratched his head. Since Lin Beiya had urged him early on to focus on physical conditioning, and he'd also been given some Whale Rubber, his physique was far superior to that of other Soul Masters his age.

During this Soul Hunt, he'd obtained a Soul Ring that was nearly nine hundred years old. Although he hadn't gained a Thousand-Year Soul Ring like his brother had, he was already very satisfied.

"It was a Vajra Bear that was almost nine hundred years old. It gave me the Vajra Transformation Soul Skill."

"For ten minutes, it increases both my Strength and defense by fifty percent."

"Mm, not bad. With the two Soul Rings boosting you at the same time, your Strength is already among the best at the Soul Grandmaster level."

Lin Beiya nodded, genuinely happy for his brother. His advice had really helped him. If Lin Beiya hadn't warned him, Shi Nuo might have been foolish enough to choose a speed-type Soul Ring for his Second Soul Ring.

"By the way, Bei Ya, are you still entering the Academy Grand Tournament when school starts?"

"Hm? I don't think I'll enter. It'd feel like bullying them."

"I see. Then the Taurus Gold Cloth..."

"Sure. Wear it for the competition. I don't mind."

There were no Soul Elders at the Martial Soul Primary Academy yet. If Lin Beiya entered, it really would seem like he was bullying the others. Besides, he wasn't particularly interested in the final prize, so he might as well sit this one out.

The chubby kid could still easily claim first place wearing the Taurus Gold Cloth. That would also draw more attention from the higher-ups in Spirit Hall, which could benefit his friend's future.

"Then thank you, Bei Ya."

"Don't mention it. Why be so formal with me? Since you're back, starting tomorrow, go to Pope Hall every morning and ask someone to notify me. I'll come out and bring you the Sacred Cloth."

"Okay."

Hearing that, Shi Nuo didn't offer any more thanks. He already owed Lin Beiya plenty; there was no need to say it aloud. If trouble came, he'd be the first to charge forward and stand between it and his brother.

Honestly, watching his good friend break through to the Soul Grandmaster level stirred a sense of urgency in Lin Beiya, as if someone were closing in on him.

After months of cultivation, his Soul Power had nearly reached level twenty-seven. But his training in the Five Senses and his physique had both hit bottlenecks, and progress had slowed considerably.

Most importantly, Lin Beiya still couldn't touch the threshold of Cosmo.

His repeated attempts had already proved that without Cosmo, he couldn't even reach the threshold of the Sacred Cloth's ultimate finishing move. What was the difference between that and staring at gorgeous jewelry in a display case that you couldn't afford?