Over the past four months, the number of life-and-death battles was fewer than expected.
"Throat-Slashing Ling" had made a name for himself, known for his formidable combat power.
Even when Fang Ling later opted to offer more money to initiate wagered duels, he still only fought in 23 matches, despite many reckless soul masters being drawn by the reward.
It began with eleven 2-on-2 life-and-death battles, where Fang Ling fought alone against two opponents.
He had expected these dual battles to be difficult, but they turned out to be surprisingly easy.
Fang Ling's Level 3 scythe technique and movement skills, combined with his lightning-fast reflexes, made him comparable to those in the next tier.
His sharp combat intuition allowed him to exploit flaws in opponents' seemingly coordinated actions, turning the tide in his favor.
By positioning himself strategically, he could either isolate one opponent or cause the enemies to accidentally attack each other.
Using this approach, he secured ten consecutive victories.
He only lost in the eleventh match against a highly synchronized married couple, both at level 18.
That battle showed Fang Ling what true coordinated combat looked like.
One partner's mistakes were flawlessly covered by the other, leaving no opportunity for a counterattack.
Despite Fang Ling's scythe skills exceeding his current level, he stood no chance and had to retreat from the arena.
In these 2-on-2 battles, he killed 19 people and one opponent escaped, earning him 19 points.
He originally had 185 points and a bronze-level Soul Battle badge. With an additional 540 points, his total reached 725.
After that, no one was willing to face him in such deadly fights.
After consulting with the Great Soul Battle Arena's staff, the dean, and his teachers, Fang Ling declined challenges beyond his level and chose wagered duels instead.
In theory, wagered duels required betting one's entire fortune, but the arena didn't actually verify this.
They only cared about what you submitted and carried.
So each time, Fang Ling left his Frost Snow Ring behind and had his master submit 1,000 gold soul coins as a lure for challengers.
These types of duels weren't very profitable, just meant to attract opponents.
He started with five solo wagered duels.
He won four in a row, then lost the fifth and lost 1,000 gold soul coins.
The money brought in fighters of varied skill levels. Most were strong, but still couldn't overcome Fang Ling, who had few weaknesses.
His loss came against a particularly tough opponent.
This one also used a sword martial soul, but unlike the city lord's solid black gold sword, this was a sharp, mid-to-high-tier sword soul focused on piercing.
The weapon was already sharp by nature, and with the enhancement of soul rings, its sharpness increased greatly. One strike pierced a third of Fang Ling's Level 2 scythe.
With just a bit more force, it could've broken the scythe completely.
This was exactly the kind of matchup his teacher warned was unwinnable.
His gear was inferior, and his martial soul too weak, what could he do?
In this case, his warrior's willpower made the difference.
Ignoring the pain, he ran at full speed and leapt off the arena.
Losing 1,000 coins hurt, but not as much as dying.
Solo wagered duels earned him only four points. Since it counted as a one-on-one life-and-death battle streak, he had 18 consecutive wins before the loss in the 19th match, which granted him 390 points.
Now at a total of 1,115 points, Fang Ling's bronze Soul Battle badge was upgraded to silver.
It was at this point that Fang Ling upgraded his scythe technique to Level 3.
Life-and-death battles at the bronze level were still common, but silver badge battles were exceedingly rare.
Fortunately, wagered duels didn't factor in badge level.
After a series of battles, Fang Ling became even stronger. He then participated in seven two-man wagered duels and won all of them, though one opponent escaped, earning him 13 points.
Even the married couple who had previously defeated him in a life-and-death battle showed up again, but this time they lost.
Fang Ling's martial soul had evolved to Level 3, improving both sharpness and resilience. His battle will advanced to Level 2, speeding up his soul power circulation, just enough to make a difference.
He found an opportunity and seized victory.
Each win with a silver badge granted 100 points. After five consecutive victories, each subsequent win awarded 1,000 points. By the end, he had 3,515 points.
Across 23 matches, he killed 36 people, earning 36 points.
Since becoming a soul master, his natural progression bar advanced faster, gaining one point in half a year.
In total, he had earned 37 points.
Eight points were used to raise his soul power to level 19.
He used one point to enhance his soul ring, increasing its age by over 100 years to 231 years.
His reflex and digestion specializations hadn't improved, likely needing a 1,000-year ring for change.
The remaining 28 points were saved for altering his martial soul's form.
When he acquires a soul ring from a 100-year-old soul beast, he'll get two points, just enough.
He had confirmed that this soul hunt would take place in the Star Dou Forest.
With teachers ensuring safety, he planned to take the opportunity to hunt more soul beasts and gather points for his martial soul's evolution.
Fang Ling's current weapon was too short, putting him at a disadvantage.
He needed to change its form from a farming scythe to a long-handled war scythe.
Though he would lose some agility in close combat, a longer weapon would give him more room to maneuver and dodge.
This would mean fewer desperate, close-range fights like before.
His battle strategy would need adjusting, but with his talent, that wasn't a major concern.
Seven days after the last 2-on-1 wagered duel, Fang Ling successfully broke through to level 20.
He was added to the academy's official soul hunt team.
Four days later, the soul hunt officially began.
Dean Lin Yuehua, an Emperor-ranked Wind Blade Soul Master, led one team of thirteen, accompanied by five Soul Sect teachers.
Combat Director Liu Yueban, a Wild Boar Soul King, led another team of ten, accompanied by four Soul Sect teachers.
Unlike the complicated politics at Nuoding Academy, War King Academy was straightforward.
The dean gathered all the graduating students on the academy's main square. There weren't many, only 23.
Yes, just 23.
War King Academy was a decent mid-tier school, with about 200 students per grade.
Participating in 10 Great Soul Arena matches wasn't hard, worst case, you just took ten beatings.
But in the end, only 23 managed to graduate.
The reason was simple: lack of talent and slow progress.
Like elementary academies, intermediate soul master academies also had six grades.
A student had to go from one ring to two within six years after graduating from an elementary academy to graduate.
Normally, students awakened their martial souls at age six, graduated elementary school at 12, then entered intermediate school, graduating no later than 18 by reaching level 20.
Most who failed to graduate on time never became two-ring soul masters.
Most current graduates were 15 or 16, having graduated early, only a few were 18.
There were both men and women: tall, handsome, brave, radiant, beautiful, or valiant.
But the most eye-catching was Fang Ling, shortest in stature, expressionless, standing alone at the center with no one daring to approach.
He had only been enrolled for a year and was just ten years old.
Yet with a first-level innate talent, he reached level 20 within a year.
At first, others were skeptical and envious, but after learning more, they came to deeply respect him.
This wasn't something that could be imitated.
Though he had a lame leg, Fang Ling had extraordinary combat talent, truly ruthless.
He was ruthless to others, having killed more people in life-and-death battles than most of them had even seen in tournaments.
He was ruthless to himself, able to endure pain near death, think calmly, and counterattack decisively.
He could kill many without batting an eye, his face still occasionally flashing a smile.
His mental strength was practically abnormal.
The title "Throat-Slashing Ling" had spread across the entire Great Soul Arena.
Could others imitate him?
Only if they wanted to die.
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