Relax, Ambush on the Road

He only had a little over ten years left before God King Tang would begin his path of "cheating" his way to the top.

If he did not possess formidable strength by then, he would still likely sink alongside the great ship that was Martial Soul Hall, and Qian Renxue might also fall into the tragic plight of having her Martial Soul shattered.

This was not a future he wanted to see, which was why a faint sense of urgency constantly lingered in his heart.

According to the lore of the Saints, once one awakens the Sixth Sense of the Cosmo, it is theoretically possible to throw punches at the speed of sound; currently, he could achieve this feat only by relying on the power of the Sacred Cloth.

However, without wearing the Sacred Cloth, he could not yet manage it.

His punch speed was always a fraction too slow, unable to break through that barrier.

As for his senses, he was also unable to smoothly perceive the sixth sense beyond the standard five.

How exactly can I break through? Or is it that in the world of Douluo, the concept of Cosmo simply does not exist?

Cosmo energy exists within the soul; by detonating the Cosmo within one's body, one can destroy matter at the atomic level, possessing the power to split the heavens and shatter the stars.

He understood the theory, but how was he supposed to ignite his Cosmo?

This highlighted the importance of having a guide on the path of cultivation. If any Gold Saint were here to serve as his teacher, Lin Beiya believed he would have grasped the Cosmo long ago.

But this was Douluo Continent, and he had to grope his way forward entirely on his own.

Feeling stifled, Lin Beiya became increasingly irritable during his training, treating Hu Liena with growing perfunctoriness and even displaying impatience on several occasions.

This left the young girl, who was trying her best to please her senior brother, secretly heartbroken, as she assumed her senior brother disliked her.

These obvious emotional shifts were easily detected by Bibi Dong, who checked on the progress of her disciples from time to time, and that evening, she summoned Lin Beiya to the back mountain.

"Your mood has been off lately."

"Hmm?"

Upon receiving Bibi Dong's summons, Lin Beiya had been wondering why she wanted to see him, never expecting it to be because of his recent irritable behavior.

"I have worried you, Teacher. I have encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation, which is why I have been a bit restless lately."

"Oh?"

Sensing that Lin Beiya had successfully broken through to level 27, Bibi Dong looked somewhat puzzled.

"It isn't a bottleneck in your spirit power, is it?"

"That is correct. My spirit power cultivation is progressing naturally, and there is no bottleneck there, but there has been almost no progress regarding my senses and physical constitution."

He could not yet explain the matter of the Cosmo to Bibi Dong, so he could only state the difficulties he had encountered in his other training.

Hearing this, Bibi Dong looked at her disciple with amusement. No matter how mature and steady he was, he was, after all, still a child under nine years old.

"Beiya, is it possible that, given your current stage of physical development, your constitution and senses have already reached their limit?"

"Is that so? It seems I have fallen into a misconception. Thank you for your guidance, Teacher."

It was indeed as Bibi Dong said; at nine years old, his body was still in a phase of rapid development. As long as he waited for his age to increase, the problems plaguing Lin Beiya would likely resolve themselves.

His constitution and senses were indeed at a limit, but Lin Beiya knew that among the generations of Gold Saints, there were those who had touched the Eighth Sense while still in their teens. By his calculations, he was certain those individuals had awakened their Cosmo by the age of nine.

"No matter. One must not be overly hasty on the path of cultivation; advancing gradually is the right way. Besides, your current state of mind is not suitable for continuous training. Go out and clear your head."

"Yes, Teacher. I will try to adjust my mindset."

Lin Beiya accepted Bibi Dong's suggestion. After returning to his quarters, he cleared his mind of all thoughts and simply rested.

The next day, he invited Shi Nuo to go for a stroll around Martial Soul City. If Qian Renxue were here, she would have been the best companion.

But with her currently far away in Heaven Dou City, Lin Beiya had no choice but to bring his good brother along.

"Sigh, finally some time to come out and wander. The pressure you put on me, Beiya, is so great that I never dared to rest for even a moment."

Hearing Shi Nuo's lament, Lin Beiya was slightly stunned. It turned out that he had been putting pressure on others without realizing it; he had never thought about that before.

"Is that so? Then let's agree that from now on, we won't train at the end of every month and will take two days to properly relax. A string pulled too tight is prone to snapping."

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

The two brothers spent the day wandering through the markets, auction houses, and even the casinos.

It had to be said that putting cultivation to the back of his mind truly helped him relax.

Lin Beiya felt that the irritability accumulated from days of training had dissipated. Regardless of whether he could awaken his Cosmo or not, he would be able to better commit himself to the next stage of training upon his return.

After finishing dinner, the two decided to head home. Since school hadn't started yet, Lin Beiya and Shi Nuo had no class schedule, so they didn't plan on waking up early the next day; they agreed to sleep in.

The path from the restaurant back to Martial Soul Hall required passing through a commercial district. Since it was late, many shops had already closed, and the street, which was bustling during the day, now appeared somewhat desolate.

A breeze blew by, sweeping away the heat of the summer day. Shi Nuo spread his arms, comfortably feeling the wind against his face, but Lin Beiya stopped him in the next second.

Turning to look at his good brother, who had his eyes tightly shut, Shi Nuo looked puzzled.

"What is it, Beiya?"

"Put on your Sacred Cloth. Trouble is coming."

"Ah?"

Shi Nuo's limited brain capacity couldn't fathom who would dare to make a move against Lin Beiya, the Pope's disciple, within Martial Soul City. But since his good brother had said so, he didn't intend to doubt him, though he still hesitated.

"How about you wear the Sacred Cloth, Beiya? I'll hold off the enemy."

It was clear that anyone capable of making Lin Beiya this wary was no ordinary foe; his first instinct was to cover his brother's retreat and then return to Martial Soul Hall to call for reinforcements.

Lin Beiya did not speak, instead summoning the Athena Statue with his right hand. High above Martial Soul City in the night sky, several stars aligned into the shape of a bighorn sheep, erupting with astonishing radiance before shooting straight down toward the ground.

Within moments, the Aries Gold Cloth had been recalled by Lin Beiya from Qian Renxue, who was far away in Heaven Dou City, and it attached itself to his body.

"I have the Aries Gold Cloth, have you forgotten?"

"That's great."

Seeing Lin Beiya clad in brilliant gold, Shi Nuo let out a sigh of relief. He hurriedly tore the gold medal hanging around his neck and injected his soul power into it, and the Taurus Gold Cloth completed its manifestation in an instant.

"Hehehe, it seems we've been discovered. You two little brats, someone has paid for your lives, so don't blame us for being ruthless!"

Following the gloomy voice, the sound of footsteps emerged from behind a nearby shop.

Several figures appeared, and Lin Beiya confirmed the accuracy of his senses once more: the group was indeed targeting him.

According to his deductions, various factions across the continent had motives to strike at him, a rising star of Martial Soul Hall, but such a thing should never happen within Martial Soul City. Now, only one person came to mind: Demon Bear Douluo, whose grandson had been injured by his own hand.