Sense of Urgency

Swallowing a pastry, Lin Beiya took a gulp of his drink, shook his head, and said:

"Although I possess techniques for utilizing strength, I am not a Strength Clan soul master."

"Training my physique is not entirely for the purpose of enhancing combat capability."

Hu Liena rested her chin on her hands, staring straight at Lin Beiya, her peach-blossom eyes filled with intense interest.

Lin Beiya sighed helplessly to himself; this was too tedious to explain, but since she had kindly brought him pastries, he couldn't very well drive her away the moment he finished eating.

He summoned the Athena Statue, and one yellow and one purple soul ring instantly reflected in the little fox's eyes.

The young girl immediately covered her mouth and gasped.

"Heavens!"

She and Xie Yue's parents were also soul masters, so she naturally understood their soul ring configurations; having a thousand-year soul ring as a second ring was simply unheard of.

"Soul power is like warm water, while a person's body and mental strength are the cup; how much water you can hold is determined by the size of the cup."

"Having said that, you should be able to clearly understand the importance of physique now, right?"

Hu Liena nodded with a look of admiration on her face.

"I understand, Senior Brother. I will also work hard to train my physique in the future. Can you teach me more about this?"

"Uh..."

Lin Beiya's original intention was just to quickly explain why he trained his physique; as for whether the little fox wanted to imitate him, that was her own business. He hadn't expected her to circle the conversation right back to him.

"It's not impossible. Just follow along when I train. Stop when your body can no longer take it, but please do not disturb my training progress."

"That's great! Thank you, Senior Brother."

Having achieved her goal, Hu Liena appeared extremely happy. She quickly tidied up the pastry crumbs on the stone table and gave Lin Beiya a playful wink.

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

"Hey..."

Watching the little fox skip away, Lin Beiya felt nothing but helplessness in his heart.

He had clearly wanted to stay far away from this pair of ungrateful master and disciple, but in the end, not only had he been taken in as a disciple by Bibi Dong, but now this little fox would be following him for training every day.

In the days that followed, whenever Lin Beiya began his training in the back mountain, a little tail would appear behind him.

He wore a custom-made Weighted Suit, while Hu Liena traveled light, yet the end result was always the little girl collapsing halfway, unable to move another step.

The little fox could only stare at Lin Beiya in front of her with watery eyes, hoping her Senior Brother would stop and let her rest for a while.

But as luck would have it, Lin Beiya kept his eyes closed during his training; although he sensed Hu Liena's movements, he pretended not to see them and continued forward.

This caused the little girl to grumble in her heart, yet she was helpless, as it was she who had asked to follow the training.

Possessing a prideful heart, she would not allow her Senior Brother to look down on her, so after resting for a moment, she would grit her teeth and start running again, hoping to keep up with Lin Beiya's pace.

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

"Hey, hey, hey, who are you cursing? How am I not human?"

After a morning of training, the little fox, lying on her back and panting like a bellows, squinted her eyes and voiced her lament.

This made Lin Beiya feel deeply offended. You're the one who isn't human! Your whole family isn't human!

Realizing she had misspoken, Hu Liena hurriedly got up, looking at Lin Beiya with a panicked expression, her small hands waving frantically.

"No... no... that's not what I meant."

As someone undergoing this training for the first time, running 10 kilometers without weight was already her limit, but Lin Beiya, carrying a 100-kilogram Weighted Suit, finished 20 kilometers as if nothing had happened. Following that were weighted push-ups, frog jumps, and squats; the series of high-intensity training left the little fox stunned, while a deep sense of admiration grew in her heart.

As expected, a thousand-year second soul ring was not so easily obtained; one had to realize that Lin Beiya was clearly maintaining such high-intensity training long-term to be able to do this with such ease.

"Running this far on your first time is already quite good. You have to know that she..."

Thinking of Qian Renxue, who had been gone for several months, Lin Beiya felt a faint sense of longing; he wondered if she was doing well in Heaven Dou.

Seeing Lin Beiya suddenly stop mid-sentence, Hu Liena asked curiously:

"Who is she?"

"It's nothing. You've done well enough. Just increase the training volume slowly; sweat will not betray you."

After saying this, Lin Beiya ignored her and walked toward his residence, leaving only the little fox behind to shake her fist at his back.

"Fine, don't tell me then! This young lady didn't want to know anyway, hmph!"

Returning to his residence, a maid delivered the news of Shi Nuo's return.

The two brothers immediately arranged to meet at a restaurant in Martial Soul City.

"Beiya, over here!"

"Oh, looking at how happy you are, did you obtain your desired soul ring?"

"Heh... hehe!"

Shi Nuo scratched his head. Because Lin Beiya had urged him to prioritize physical training early on, combined with the supply of Whale Rubber, his physique was also far superior to other soul masters of his age.

For this soul-hunting expedition, he had obtained a soul ring nearing 900 years. Although he hadn't attached a thousand-year soul ring like his brother, he was already very satisfied.

"It was a Vajra Bear nearing 900 years, granting me the soul skill Vajra Transformation."

"It can simultaneously increase both strength and defense by 50 percent for ten minutes."

"Hmm, not bad. Counting the simultaneous amplification of both soul rings, your strength is already in the top tier for the Soul Grand Master stage."

Lin Beiya nodded, feeling genuinely happy for his brother from the bottom of his heart. After all, his advice had truly helped the other party; if not for his counsel, the guy might have been foolish enough to attach a speed-type soul ring as his second one.

"By the way, Beiya, are you still going to participate in the academy's grand competition when school starts?"

"Hmm? I think I'll skip it; it feels a bit like bullying."

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

"It's fine. You can wear it to the competition when the time comes. I have no objections."

Within the Martial Soul Primary Academy, there were currently no powerhouses at the Soul Elder level. If Lin Beiya were to participate, it would indeed be a bit like bullying, and besides, he didn't care much for the final prize, so he simply chose not to get involved.

However, if the little fatty wore the Taurus Gold Cloth, he could easily take the top spot. This would also garner more attention from the higher-ups in the Martial Soul Hall, which would be beneficial for his friend's future development.

"Then thank you, Beiya."

"It's nothing. Why be so polite with me? Since you're back, starting tomorrow, just go to the Pope Hall every morning and have someone notify me. I'll come out and bring you the Gold Cloth."

"Alright."

Hearing this, Shi Nuo didn't say any more words of thanks. He already owed Lin Beiya enough; keeping it in his heart was enough. If trouble arose, he would be the first to rush out and stand in front of his brother.

To be honest, watching his good brother break through to the Soul Grand Master stage, Lin Beiya felt a sense of urgency from being chased.

Months of cultivation had brought his power level close to level 27, but his progress in training his five senses and physique had hit a bottleneck, moving quite slowly.

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

Multiple attempts had already proven that without the Cosmo, it was impossible to reach the threshold of the Gold Cloth's ultimate killing moves. How was this any different from looking at gorgeous jewelry in a display case but being unable to afford it?