Putting away Splendor of Tranquil Waters, Lin Xing patted the nonexistent dust off himself and quietly stood to one side.
For some reason, Fufu was especially quiet today.
Lin Xing was happy to enjoy the peace.
Over there, Chen Xin and Ning Rongrong were still chatting.
Five minutes passed...
Ten minutes passed...
Fifteen minutes passed...
Half an hour passed...
The two were still chatting.
Lin Xing was starting to find it unbearable.
"Teacher, it's getting late. Didn't you say we still needed to hunt a Soul Beast for Miss Rongrong?"
Chen Xin finally stopped chatting, gently set Ning Rongrong down, and reached out to stroke her head.
"Yes, it's about time. Rongrong, we've been out for more than five days. If we don't head back soon, your father will start worrying."
"All right, all right. I'll listen to Grandpa Sword, then."
Although Ning Rongrong still wanted to keep playing outside, with Grandpa Sword saying that, she could hardly argue.
Besides, she really did miss her father and Grandpa Bone.
Only after soothing Ning Rongrong did Chen Xin turn his gaze toward Lin Xing.
"Let's go. I found the Soul Beast a while ago. Now we just need to follow the Soul Power mark."
Reaching out to pick Ning Rongrong up again, Chen Xin summoned the Seven Kill Sword beneath his feet.
"Keep up."
Leaving only those words behind, he flew straight off.
"This old man..."
Lin Xing called forth Splendor of Tranquil Waters again, summoned the little trio, and hurried after Chen Xin.
The Soul Beast Chen Xin had marked was not particularly close to camp. At least, it took a full ten minutes of the little trio dragging Lin Xing through the air before he reached the spot.
Chen Xin was already prepared and waiting there.
Before them stood a cave, with a faint stench wafting out from within.
"Inside is a Scaled Beast over six hundred years old. It doesn't have any special abilities. Its greatest trait is its exceptionally strong defense, which makes it just right for you to use as a whetstone."
"Because it really can take a beating."
"Mm."
Lin Xing nodded and gave Splendor of Tranquil Waters a light flourish.
A stream of blue water flew straight into the cave.
With an angry roar, the ground began trembling ever so slightly. Finally, a Soul Beast five meters tall, covered in silvery-white scales and sporting a pair of enormous horns on its head, emerged.
Chen Xin had already flown high into the air with Ning Rongrong in his arms. Seeing this, Lin Xing immediately dismissed the little trio.
There was no helping it. Obtaining Soul Rings was rather bizarre: only the person who actually killed the Soul Beast could obtain its Soul Ring.
With the little trio, Lin Xing really was afraid they would ram this Scaled Beast to death like some random roadside nobody.
"Roar!"
The Scaled Beast was furious at having its rest disturbed, so he directed his rage at the first living creature he saw.
Its bloody maw opened, and a foul stench hit Lin Xing in the face. The Scaled Beast charged straight at him, and everything was exactly as Chen Xin had said.
This thing had no other traits. Its greatest strength was its extremely high defense, and with that enormous body, its physical strength was correspondingly immense.
Still, no Soul Beast was truly a hexagonal all-rounder, and this Soul Beast was relatively slow.
Lin Xing wanted to test just how strong this Scaled Beast was, so he made no move to dodge as it charged toward him.
He reached out and summoned the Oceanid beside him to heal him.
Lin Xing simply raised Splendor of Tranquil Waters calmly.
Shhk!
The result was beyond doubt. Before this genuine five-star divine weapon, the Scaled Beast's armored scales still fell somewhat short.
Its scales were easily pierced, and the sound of a sword sinking into flesh rang out. The pain made the already irritable Scaled Beast even more violent.
Its forward momentum did not diminish in the slightest.
Bang!
The tremendous force knocked Lin Xing back more than a dozen steps. He felt as though the bones in his body had cracked, but the Oceanid beside him merely flashed once, and his injured body instantly returned to its original state.
The Scaled Beast continued lunging at Lin Xing.
Having tested its strength, Lin Xing did not keep meeting it head-on. Instead, he easily sidestepped it, then lightly pointed Splendor of Tranquil Waters.
An aqua-blue mark appeared on the Scaled Beast.
At the same time, a ring of water had already flown out. Almost the instant the mark appeared, the water ring slipped around the Scaled Beast.
Lin Xing clenched one hand, and water spikes burst from the ring. According to his original plan, these water needles should have pierced the Scaled Beast's body, but he had clearly underestimated its defense.
Or rather, he had underestimated Splendor of Tranquil Waters too much.
Just because Splendor of Tranquil Waters could easily pierce its defenses did not mean the water needles could.
After all, setting aside strength-type Soul Masters, even Titled Douluo like Sword Douluo only had so much physical defense. Without using Soul Power and Soul Skills to protect themselves, even his water needles could easily break through their defenses.
But in the Scaled Beast's case, this was purely an innate advantage. Its body was far too tough. No wonder a Soul Beast with such a one-dimensional set of attributes could live here so peacefully.
With that thought, Lin Xing decisively detonated the water ring.
Bang!
The needles formed from water scattered in all directions. The blast shook the Scaled Beast's entire body, but it merely shook its head, showing no sign of falling.
The Scaled Beast lunged at Lin Xing again. This time, Lin Xing deliberately planted Splendor of Tranquil Waters in the ground. This thing was far too overpowered.
Using Splendor of Tranquil Waters against the Scaled Beast was fundamentally no different from Tang San using the Sea Cucumber Trident against a Soul Elder. If he really fought with it, he could finish this Scaled Beast in two strikes.
So he chose to go without a weapon for now.
Combat was the quickest way to push beyond his limits. Wasn't it just a bit of Intent? He refused to believe he couldn't do it.
With that, Lin Xing copied the opening combat stance from a movie he had seen long ago.
"Huh?"
Facing the Scaled Beast's renewed charge, Lin Xing decisively sidestepped it while doing his best to sense the changes within himself, then drove a punch into its body.
Bang!
The impact left Lin Xing's arm numb.
He had used no power to enhance that blow, striking with nothing but his physical body while trying his best to mobilize his will.
This was the best method he could think of.
"Huh?"
"Grandpa Sword, why isn't he using his Martial Soul anymore?"
Of course, Chen Xin could see what Lin Xing was thinking, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"He wants to develop a Self-Created Soul Skill, so he chose to forgo using his Martial Soul and improve himself through the purest form of combat."
"Is that so... but didn't that punch really hurt?"
Just watching made Ning Rongrong feel the pain. The Scaled Beast's armored scales were like a huge iron door. Punching them had to hurt terribly!
"It hurts. Of course it hurts."
"But to someone who wants to become stronger, that pain is nothing."