As Mo Li felt a surge of delight, Liu Erlong recognized the Soul Beast too: the Black Flame Nether Sparrow.
After a brief moment of surprise, Liu Erlong sprang into action in the blink of an eye.
As a Soul Beast, the Black Flame Nether Sparrow reacted even faster than Liu Erlong, a Soul Saint. It beat its wings and shot toward the core area as a streak of black.
Beneath the deep night sky, its purplish-black feathers made perfect camouflage.
Though it fled at a good speed, moments later Liu Erlong emerged from the nearby woods and appeared in Mo Li's sight.
In her right hand, she carried a purplish-black bird. It looked badly wounded and had already passed out.
"I don't know whether to say we're lucky, or that it's unlucky."
Looking at the Black Flame Nether Sparrow in her hand, even Liu Erlong couldn't help smiling.
"Haha, maybe it's both," Mo Li replied with a laugh.
Mo Li and Liu Erlong had spent the whole day searching the core area for the Black Flame Nether Sparrow, but had found no trace of it. Who would have thought it would appear before them in such an unexpected way?
"Time to welcome my second Soul Ring."
Mo Li carefully examined the Black Flame Nether Sparrow and roughly gauged its age at nearly three thousand years.
That age was within what he could handle, though it was also close to his limit.
Mo Li could accept that. It seemed that tonight he would not only gain a Spirit Bone, but also smoothly break through to Soul Grandmaster.
After making a few quick plans, the two left the core area.
Sunset Forest, outskirts.
The two lit another bonfire on the outskirts of the forest, using its flames to drive back the surrounding darkness.
Soul Beasts could appear on the outskirts too, but Liu Erlong alone was more than capable of dealing with them.
It was now the latter half of the night, and two figures sat around the bonfire.
The flames danced, casting their light across Liu Erlong's face. Her gaze remained fixed on Mo Li, her expression shifting between anxiety and tension.
Mo Li, sitting opposite her, looked completely different.
At that moment, Mo Li sat with his eyes closed, utterly focused. A purple Soul Ring hovered above his palm!
The Soul Ring had naturally come from the Black Flame Nether Sparrow. At nearly three thousand years, it was also Mo Li's current limit.
Yet that limit would be enough to make most people in the Soul Master World's eyes pop out of their heads.
A three-thousand-year second Soul Ring?
What kind of joke was that?
Even Liu Erlong, with all her experience, would never have believed it before tonight. But now the truth was right before her eyes.
The bright yellow Soul Ring circling Mo Li's body pulsed continuously, as if desperately suppressing something.
Mo Li had chosen the Black Flame Nether Sparrow as his top choice mainly because of his own plans: the Soul Beast possessed both fire and dark attributes.
That was his strongest reason for choosing it first. Its attributes matched those of the Nine Nether Sparrow Martial Soul perfectly.
But in truth, as long as the Soul Beast had a fire attribute, absorbing this Soul Ring would have been perfectly suitable.
At the very least, it would steadily improve the fire attribute of his Soul Power. As for the dark attribute, Mo Li naturally hoped to improve that as well, but it was only an added bonus.
By the bonfire.
Ever since Mo Li began absorbing the Soul Ring, Liu Erlong hadn't been able to relax for even a moment. She was on tenterhooks the whole time.
Mo Li had told her before that, after absorbing the Whale Rubber, he could absorb a Soul Ring of around two thousand five hundred years.
Even Mo Li could recognize that this Soul Beast was nearly three thousand years old. How could she not know?
In the end, though, she couldn't talk Mo Li out of it. He always had a way of convincing her.
It wasn't that Mo Li had deceived her. He had factored his own willpower into the equation.
By that measure, three thousand years wasn't much of a challenge for him.
Though Liu Erlong hadn't stopped Mo Li from absorbing the Soul Ring, she couldn't help resenting his recklessness. He was always choosing such dangerous Soul Rings, without giving a thought to how she felt.
Liu Erlong sighed softly, her worried gaze falling once more on Mo Li, who remained seated cross-legged.
Though she had already experienced the heart-stopping danger of Mo Li's first Soul Ring absorption, this time was clearly far more dangerous.
She had even begun praying that Mo Li would come through safely.
Who she was praying to, she probably couldn't even say herself. She was simply seeking comfort in the vast, dark night.
Once Mo Li had made up his mind, it was usually difficult to persuade him to change it.
In that respect, he was much like her.
Liu Erlong didn't know whether to laugh or cry about it.
As time passed, the purple Soul Ring around Mo Li's hand gradually dimmed, while his Soul Power steadily grew stronger.
At last, amid Liu Erlong's eager hopes, he smoothly crossed the threshold into Soul Grandmaster. But the fluctuations in his Soul Power did not stop.
Only when his Soul Power Level had fully stabilized at level twenty-two did it slowly settle.
At the same time, Mo Li opened his eyes. He glanced dazedly at the bonfire before him, then shifted his gaze to the purple Soul Ring around his body. His face lit up with joy.
In Liu Erlong's eyes, absorbing this second Soul Ring had been far more difficult than absorbing the first.
But Mo Li felt this absorption had gone much more smoothly than the first. After all, his physical strength had already reached this level, and he wasn't afraid of a struggle of wills either.
He had done it: his second Soul Ring was a thousand-year one, far beyond the theoretical limit for a third Soul Ring.
Of course, he wasn't the only one excited. Liu Erlong, who had kept watch for half the night, was just as thrilled.
Her eyes shone with delight as she looked at the purple Soul Ring around Mo Li. She tried to keep her voice calm, but her pride and happiness still showed.
"A thousand-year second Soul Ring. If word got out, it'd scare the life out of a whole crowd."
Mo Li stood and stretched, then smiled. "Whatever they think, I'm satisfied."
After breaking through to Soul Grandmaster, Mo Li faintly sensed that the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Art was on the verge of a breakthrough.
His powerful spiritual force had also played an important role in allowing him to absorb a three-thousand-year Soul Ring so smoothly.
The impending breakthrough of the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Art was an unexpected delight.
Ever since Mo Li broke through to the first level two years ago, his progress had been slow.
But when he had searched for the Earth King's Spirit Bone earlier, Peering at Heaven and Earth had already shown signs of advancing further.
Then, when he broke through to Soul Grandmaster, he suddenly gained a new understanding of his cultivation art. It seemed he would soon be able to attempt a breakthrough to its second level.
"Do you have to choose something so dangerous every time? Are you trying to worry me to death?"
After confirming Mo Li was stable and unharmed, Liu Erlong snapped at him.
"I'm fine. Look, my wounds have almost healed," Mo Li replied.
Liu Erlong hurried over to examine Mo Li's injuries. When she saw that he was right, she finally let out a long breath.
If he hadn't mentioned it, she might have forgotten that Mo Li had absorbed the Soul Ring while injured!
This little rascal really was reckless.
Liu Erlong gave Mo Li a helpless look.
"Now that you've successfully broken through, it's about time for us to leave."
Liu Erlong glanced at the sky, which was growing pale in the distance.
After everything that had happened that night, it was nearly dawn. A faint mist was already rising in the forest.
Mo Li nodded. Their business here was done, and there was no reason to linger. It was time to return to the academy.
"So, what Soul Skill did you awaken this time?"
Liu Erlong tilted her head toward Mo Li, a trace of curiosity in her eyes.
A three-thousand-year second Soul Ring made her even more curious than the first had.
"Ahem, Sister Erlong, my second Soul Skill..."
Mo Li looked a little awkward. Seeing Liu Erlong's determined, probing expression, he could only explain, "My second Soul Skill is Soul Burn. While it's active, my Soul Power consumption speeds up, and the more Soul Power I use, the greater the boost. But once it ends, I'll enter a weakened state. How long it lasts depends on how much Soul Power I used."
Liu Erlong looked puzzled. After a moment's thought, she said, "Why does it have a negative effect? Is this really a three-thousand-year Soul Skill?"
"It feels like it doesn't quite live up to its age."
Liu Erlong felt frustrated on Mo Li's behalf.
This three-thousand-year Soul Skill didn't seem as good as his first one. At least Nether Flame's boost was reliable.
Liu Erlong suddenly came back to herself and continued, "What does it boost?"
"Um... all attributes."