First Soul Skill: As-You-Will

Mo Hen instantly released his Martial Soul. An ink-black giant hand wreathed in black smoke appeared above his head.

At the same time, one white and one yellow Soul Ring emerged in succession.

"First Soul Skill, Ghost Hand Bind!"

Mo Hen shouted, and the Ghost Hand in his palm suddenly tripled in size before lunging straight at the eight-hundred-year Lone Bamboo!

Though the Lone Bamboo was eight hundred years old, it was ultimately a plant-type soul beast. Its strength was far inferior to that of an eight-hundred-year animal soul beast.

Therefore, Mo Hen had no fear at all. He launched a fierce assault right from the start, with no intention of probing it first.

Sensing danger, the Lone Bamboo immediately unleashed countless bamboo leaves, shooting them toward Mo Hen and Li Han.

The bamboo leaves were like blades!

With a sweep of his right hand, Mo Hen's massive Ghost Hand blocked every bamboo leaf. Then, the Ghost Hand accelerated again and seized the Lone Bamboo's main body.

"Got it! Go!"

Hearing this, Li Han hurried forward and drove his dagger into the Lone Bamboo's core.

The instant the dagger struck the Lone Bamboo, he felt as though he had cut into stubborn rock rather than bamboo.

Looking again, he saw that the Lone Bamboo had only suffered a tiny nick.

"So hard."

As Li Han inwardly reeled, the impact left both his hands slightly numb.

He had put all his strength into that strike, yet to the hundred-year Lone Bamboo, it was merely like a tear in the hem of its clothes.

"I refuse to believe this!"

Li Han gritted his teeth and struck repeatedly, every slash landing in the exact same spot.

Only after roughly a dozen strikes did he finally cut through the Lone Bamboo.

The Lone Bamboo let out a mournful cry and slowly toppled over. Then, a deep yellow Soul Ring rose from it.

"Use your own Soul Power to draw in the Soul Ring, then absorb it into your body."

Mo Hen reminded him.

"Alright."

Li Han immediately sat cross-legged and began absorbing the hundred-year Soul Ring.

The instant he established resonance with the Soul Ring, he felt a powerful force surge directly into his body!

Pfft!

He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale in an instant.

What an astonishing energy impact. This eight-hundred-year Lone Bamboo really has exceeded the limit of an ordinary first Soul Ring.

That burst of energy just now would have made me explode and die if I hadn't possessed the physique tempered by the Elephant Armor Skill.

But now that I've endured the first wave of energy, there shouldn't be any more problems.

Li Han fully circulated the Everlasting Spring Technique, rapidly integrating the energy brought by the hundred-year Soul Ring.

No matter how violent that energy became, he forcibly endured it with the sturdy body forged through the Elephant Armor Skill.

However, Mo Hen's expression suddenly changed.

"What powerful energy fluctuations! This Soul Ring is actually close to a thousand years old!"

"Under these circumstances, this brat still hasn't exploded to death?"

"What kind of fortuitous encounter did he receive?"

At that moment, the greed in Mo Hen's heart was completely stirred.

Originally, he had merely suspected it. Now, he was utterly certain.

He wanted to seize Li Han and interrogate him immediately, but after giving it some thought, he temporarily suppressed the urge.

If I act now, he might explode and die on the spot.

Even if he doesn't die, he'll be gravely injured and on the verge of death. What would I have left to ask?

I'll let him finish absorbing the Soul Ring first.

He's only a one-ring Soul Master. Wouldn't dealing with him be effortless for me?

With that thought, Mo Hen withdrew his Soul Power and waited quietly.

Time passed bit by bit. About fifteen minutes later, Li Han had completely absorbed the hundred-year Soul Ring, and the Soul Power within his body surged rapidly!

An eight-hundred-year Soul Ring truly is extraordinary. The increase is actually this enormous.

This increase in Soul Power must be at least six levels. The Everlasting Spring Technique is almost unable to bear the load.

Tang San had gained three levels after absorbing a Soul Ring of just over four hundred years, much less Li Han, who had absorbed an eight-hundred-year Soul Ring.

At that moment, Li Han felt his meridians swelling painfully. If this continued, he feared that he would explode and die.

Thinking of this, Li Han immediately activated the Azure Essence Sword Art in his mind and began cultivating.

The Azure Essence Sword Art was far stronger than the Everlasting Spring Technique. It was undoubtedly the most suitable method for digesting this excess Soul Power.

At once, Li Han used the Azure Essence Sword Art to refine all that Soul Power. A faint azure glow emerged from his body.

The Soul Power that had originally surged wildly gradually stabilized at that moment.

The Douluo version of the Azure Essence Sword Art he had obtained contained thirteen levels in total, with each level corresponding to ten levels of Soul Power.

Now that he possessed sixteen levels of Soul Power, he naturally broke through to the second level of the Azure Essence Sword Art without difficulty.

For a moment, Li Han felt several times stronger than before.

Li Han was delighted, but what concerned him most was still his first Soul Skill.

As he finished absorbing the Soul Ring, instructions for using his first Soul Skill also surfaced in his mind.

"First Soul Skill: As-You-Will. Through the output of Soul Power, it can freely control the length, weight, and thickness of Heavenly Thunder Bamboo."

"This..."

After reading the description of his first Soul Skill, Li Han was ecstatic.

Wasn't this the ability of the As-You-Will Golden-Hooped Staff?

It might not be particularly noticeable in the early stages, but as his Soul Power continued to grow, this first Soul Skill would only become increasingly useful.

Making it larger could suppress enemies, making it heavier could crush them, and if it could rapidly extend, it could become an attack method like a God Spear.

Moreover, being able to alter its size so freely would make it impossible for enemies to defend against in actual combat.

It could be said that how useful this Soul Skill was depended entirely on how Li Han used it.

If used well, it would be a divine skill.

It was worth breaking the limit to absorb this eight-hundred-year Soul Ring. This Soul Skill is far too useful.

Li Han was overjoyed and slowly opened his eyes.

"How was it? Did it go smoothly? What is your first Soul Skill like?"

Seeing that Li Han had actually absorbed it successfully, the flames of greed in Mo Hen's heart burned even hotter.

"My first Soul Skill is called As-You-Will. It can control my Martial Soul's length."

As Li Han spoke, he summoned Heavenly Thunder Bamboo.

The Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, originally only three centimeters long, had now grown considerably, reaching a full twenty centimeters in length.

The most obvious change was that a bamboo leaf had grown from it.

A faint white lightning coiled around the bamboo leaf, so subtle that it could not be noticed without close inspection.

Li Han was somewhat surprised by the sight as well.

He had not expected Heavenly Thunder Bamboo to change so much after devouring the Soul Ring. Even the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder had begun to gather.

Although it was only white lightning, it was already an excellent beginning.

However, now was not the time to study it. Li Han immediately circulated his Soul Power and used his first Soul Skill.

"First Soul Skill, As-You-Will!"

As Soul Power flowed out, the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, originally only twenty centimeters long, rapidly extended into a one-meter-long bamboo staff.

He did not reveal all the abilities of his first Soul Skill, choosing instead to hold something back.

In his view, telling others every detail of his abilities was simply foolish.

Yet even so, the skill he displayed was already superior to many first Soul Skills.

"Not bad, not bad. It's a very practical Soul Skill."

"The hundred-year Lone Bamboo has enhanced the toughness and defensive power of your Martial Soul. Once enlarged, its power won't be weaker than that of an ordinary staff Martial Soul."

"It has great combat potential."

"As expected of a Soul Ring with an age close to a thousand years."

As Mo Hen spoke, his expression changed, and the greed in his eyes was fully exposed.

"Teacher, what are you talking about?"

Li Han's heart sank as he sensed that something was wrong.

"Hehe, Li Han, let's speak plainly."

"You're a Work-Study Student with a useless Martial Soul. Even if your Innate Soul Power is at level six, how could you raise your Soul Power by four levels in a single year?"

"I know that you often cultivate alone beneath the waterfall."

"Tell me, what treasure did you obtain?"

"Was it a Soul Bone, or did you accidentally acquire a noble's meditation method?"

"Hand it over!"

"Teacher can spare your life."

"This sort of opportunity is not something you are qualified to covet."

"If you refuse to hand it over, don't even think about leaving here alive today!"

As Mo Hen spoke, he instantly released the Ghost Hand Martial Soul and pressed his Soul Power toward Li Han, creating an intimidating force.

Li Han's expression changed as he silently took half a step back.

Well, damn. He really has become Old Mo.

Damn it, I was careless. I never expected my cultivation to be too fast and draw someone's attention.

It looks like I'll have to keep an even lower profile from now on.