"All attributes!"
Liu Erlong's voice suddenly rose in pitch, startling Mo Li. Even some small Soul Beasts passing by were frightened off.
As Mo Li instinctively looked toward the place where the harmless Soul Beasts had fled, a pair of hands suddenly pressed down on his shoulders.
Before Mo Li could recover, Liu Erlong hurried over. Shaking him as she spoke, she asked, "It really boosts all attributes? It really boosts all attributes!"
"Really, really."
Mo Li was so thoroughly shaken that he felt a little dizzy. Only then did he react, hastily answering her.
That was right. Mo Li's Second Soul Skill was still a boosting skill, raising his attributes by consuming Soul Power.
The boost covered attack, defense, speed, resistance, fire attributes... and many other aspects.
A Soul Skill that powerful naturally came with limitations. First, it consumed Soul Power rapidly; second, it left him weakened after the skill ended.
Once his Soul Power had fallen to sixty percent, the rate of consumption would increase further. At that point, the boost to all his attributes might exceed double their original levels—a truly terrifying improvement.
But that didn't mean the drawbacks of this Soul Skill itself could be ignored.
Aside from the unavoidable flaw of rapidly consuming Soul Power, the weakened state after the skill ended was an even more obvious drawback.
While weakened, Mo Li could use at most sixty percent of his Soul Power. This could be understood as a restriction that prevented him from releasing a Soul Skill, recovering his Soul Power, then releasing it again—a way to keep burning and boosting himself without limit.
Even so, this Soul Skill still offered a remarkable increase in combat power. Its benefits clearly outweighed its drawbacks.
With such a terrifying increase in his attributes, these flaws were still acceptable. The skill was limited by Soul Power, but it had no restrictions in any other area.
Mo Li could still use his other Soul Skills.
After explaining the skill's effects and drawbacks to Liu Erlong in detail, her emotions finally settled down considerably.
She had lost her composure earlier because she'd heard that it boosted all attributes. Now that Mo Li had explained the details, she understood the skill's limitations.
Still, she and Mo Li clearly saw eye to eye on it: its advantages far outweighed its drawbacks.
"It's a pity, but without this restriction or that one, this Soul Skill would be far too terrifying."
Liu Erlong felt a little regretful. In her view, if Mo Li weren't restricted by the weakened state, he could pair up with a support-type Soul Master and make the effects of Soul Burn last much longer.
By then, the boost to every attribute would be enough to make any opponent of the same rank despair.
But with the weakened state in the way, she could only put those thoughts aside. If Mo Li forcibly used Soul Burn while weakened,
he would soon find himself unable to use any Soul Power. And once his Soul Power ran dry, his boosted attributes would naturally disappear as well.
At that point, with his Soul Power exhausted and his attribute boost gone, wouldn't he be at the mercy of anyone?
Thinking it over, Liu Erlong still felt a little regretful, but she was also incredibly excited.
Mo Li had no idea what Liu Erlong was thinking. Ever since he obtained the skill, he'd understood both the strengths and weaknesses of Soul Burn.
"Let's go, let's go. Home we go."
Dawn was breaking. Mo Li stretched, called to Liu Erlong, and headed out of the forest.
Liu Erlong waved her hand to bury the campfire, then turned and left as well.
As soon as the two stepped through the academy gates, they ran into Yin Shu and several other teachers.
Aside from Yin Shu, the others were all teachers in the academy's advanced classes, and Mo Li knew them too.
When they saw Liu Erlong and Mo Li, the teachers came over to greet them.
"Dean, you're back."
"Mm. I took him to get a Soul Ring."
Liu Erlong glanced at Mo Li beside her. While she chatted with Yin Shu, Mo Li smiled and greeted the other teachers.
"Oh? Our academy's little troublemaker has already become a Soul Master."
"Haha, not bad, not bad."
"I knew this kid had what it took back then. He was just too mischievous when he was little."
Hearing Liu Erlong's words, the other teachers began discussing Mo Li's childhood exploits, one after another. They also gave him approving looks.
They were clearly pleased that Mo Li hadn't come out to cause trouble for them in the past two years, and had instead trained diligently and become a Soul Master.
Of all the teachers, only Yin Shu seemed a little strange.
There was an obvious reason for Yin Shu's reaction: he'd been right beside Mo Li when he awakened.
Innate Full Soul Power!
By all rights, Mo Li had already obtained his First Soul Ring back then and become a Soul Master long ago.
Nearly two and a half years had passed since then, and Dean Liu's words just now clearly hadn't been a joke.
He also knew that Liu Erlong never joked about things like this. In other words, was Mo Li standing before him now already a genuine Soul Grandmaster?
Yin Shu glanced at Liu Erlong, who remained calm and composed. She clearly had no intention of explaining anything to the other teachers. That, too, was to protect Mo Li.
His gaze turned back to Mo Li, a little dazed. Mo Li noticed him looking and smiled at him.
A Soul Grandmaster!
He was definitely a Soul Grandmaster!
Yin Shu fought down the urge to take a look at Mo Li's Soul Rings. After all, when Mo Li awakened his Martial Soul, Liu Erlong had already asked him to keep it a secret.
No matter how curious he was now, he wasn't foolish enough to make Mo Li reveal himself too soon.
"By the way, Dean, there are some matters about the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament six months from now that we still need to discuss with you."
One of the teachers, who'd been talking with the others, spoke up. They hadn't come to see Mo Li this time; they needed to settle the participants and schedule for the Soul Master Tournament together.
Liu Erlong nodded, then headed toward the teaching building. Mo Li saw that he didn't seem to have anything to do there and was about to slip away when Liu Erlong grabbed him and pulled him to her side.
"Mm, Mo Li will represent our academy in the next Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament."
"Oh, really? Then little Mo Li had better do his best!"
"Hehe, once you move up to the advanced class, the few of us will be keeping a close eye on you."
"I'm already starting to look forward to that day."
The teachers began looking ahead to the future again.
They couldn't wait for Mo Li to join the advanced class so they could give him some "special attention"—the little troublemaker who'd caused them so much grief when he was young.
"Ahem, let's talk this out."
Mo Li gave an awkward little cough.
"Sister Erlong, if there's nothing else, I'll head back and train," Mo Li said.
"Mm, go ahead."
Liu Erlong answered. Mo Li said goodbye to the teachers and headed back first.
Liu Erlong led the teachers toward the teaching building. Just then, Yin Shu quietly stepped out from behind her and fell half a pace behind.
He asked in a low voice, "Dean, is Mo Li already a Soul Grandmaster?"
"Mm."
Liu Erlong's expression remained calm.
They kept their voices low enough that the other teachers behind them couldn't hear.
When Yin Shu heard the news, excitement surged through his heart.