Prelude to Soul Hunting

Over these four-plus months, the Life and Death Battles had taken place fewer times than expected.

"Throat Cutting Ling" had made a name for himself, with astonishing combat prowess.

Even after Fang Ling chose to add money and open Gambling Battles, under the relentless advance of soul masters who wanted money but not their lives, he had fought only twenty-three battles in total.

At first, there were eleven two-on-two Life and Death Battles, with him fighting two opponents alone.

Two-on-two battles were not as difficult as he had imagined. They were far simpler than expected.

Fang Ling's Lv3 Scythe Technique and Body Technique, bolstered by his lightning-fast Nerve Reflex, could almost rival the next stage.

His keen battle sense let him effortlessly find room to turn things around amid movements that seemed coordinated but occasionally contained flaws.

As long as he positioned himself properly, he could create a one-on-one situation or make the enemies attack each other.

Making effective use of this, he won ten battles in a row.

Only then did he lose to an extremely well-coordinated married couple at Level 18.

That battle let Fang Ling truly understand what coordinated combat meant.

One person's mistake was patched by the other, forming a seamless whole that gave him no opportunity whatsoever.

Even Fang Ling, whose Scythe Technique far surpassed his level, was beaten without the slightest ability to fight back and could only leap from the arena.

In the two-on-one Life and Death Battles, he killed nineteen people, while one escaped, earning nineteen points.

He had originally possessed 185 points and a Bronze Soul Fighter badge. He gained another 540, bringing his total to 725 points.

After that, no one was willing to fight him in such a certain-death battle.

After consulting the Great Soul Arena's staff, the Principal, and his teachers, Fang Ling refused to fight above his level and chose Gambling Battles instead.

In theory, Gambling Battles should have required staking one's entire fortune or something similar, but the Great Soul Arena did not care about that.

They never checked how much money you actually had. They only cared about what you handed over and what you had on you.

Thus, Fang Ling never carried the Frost Snow Ring. He only had his master wear the ring and help him put up one thousand Gold Soul Coins as bait.

This type of Gambling Battle was purely meant to attract people, so it did not earn much.

At first, there were five one-on-one Gambling Battles.

He won four in a row, then lost the final battle, throwing away one thousand Gold Soul Coins.

The people attracted by money varied greatly in skill. Most were strong, but still unable to defeat Fang Ling, who had no major weaknesses in any area.

The opponent who defeated him in the final battle, however, was a tough one.

He also possessed a sword Martial Soul, but unlike the City Lord's sturdy Black Gold Sword, Fang Ling had encountered a mid-to-high-grade sword Martial Soul focused on Sharpness.

The Martial Soul itself was sharp, and after using a Soul Ring, its edge had been greatly enhanced. One slash drove straight through a third of Fang Ling's Lv2 Sickle.

If he had put in a little more strength, no one would have doubted that he could have cut the Sickle in half with one strike.

This was the kind his teacher had told Fang Ling he absolutely could not defeat.

With inadequate hardware and a Martial Soul that was too weak, what could he do?

Warrior's Will played a crucial role.

Ignoring the effects of pain, he ran at full speed and leaped straight off the arena.

Losing one thousand Gold Soul Coins hurt badly, but it was still less important than his life.

The one-on-one Gambling Battles only earned four points. As with the one-on-one Life and Death Battles, this was counted as eighteen consecutive victories, with the loss coming in the nineteenth battle, earning him 390 points.

At this point, he had 1,115 points in total, and his Bronze Soul Fighter badge successfully upgraded to Silver Soul Fighter.

At this time, Fang Ling raised the Sickle to Lv3.

There were still Bronze Soul Fighters in the Life and Death Battles, but Silver Soul Fighters were exceedingly rare.

Fortunately, Gambling Battles opened by adding money did not check one's Soul Fighter badge.

The repeated battles made Fang Ling stronger and stronger. He later fought seven two-on-two Gambling Battles and won all seven, though one opponent escaped, earning only thirteen points.

The married couple who had defeated him in the earlier two-on-one Life and Death Battle came as well, but this time, they lost.

Fang Ling's Martial Soul evolved to Lv3, with Sharpness and Endurance moderately increased. Warrior's Will evolved to Lv2, making his Soul Power circulate faster and allowing him to become just a little quicker.

He found an opportunity and won the battle.

A Silver Soul Fighter earned 100 points per victory, and after five consecutive wins, each additional victory earned 1,000 points. In the end, he had 3,515 points in total.

Across twenty-three Soul Fighting battles, he killed thirty-six people, earning thirty-six points in all.

The Progress Bar's natural growth accelerated after Fang Ling became a soul master, increasing by one point every six months.

He obtained thirty-seven points in total.

He used eight of them on Soul Power, reaching Level 19.

He tried using one point on his Soul Ring, adding more than a century to it and raising it to 231 years.

Neither his Reflection nor Digestion specialties upgraded. They should only change after reaching a thousand years.

He left the remaining twenty-eight points for the Martial Soul's morphological transformation.

Once he obtained a Soul Ring from a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, he would gain two points, making the total exactly right.

He had asked about it. This time, the soul hunt would take place in the Star Dou Great Forest.

With the teachers providing protection, he could take the opportunity to kill a few more soul beasts and gather some additional points for his Martial Soul's evolution.

His Martial Soul was too short, putting Fang Ling at a great disadvantage in battle.

He had to change its form and turn the Agricultural Scythe into a Long-Handled Battle Scythe.

Although he would lose some flexibility in close-quarters combat, the longer Martial Soul would give Fang Ling more room to maneuver and dodge.

He would no longer need to fight the same thrilling close-quarters battles every time.

His combat methods would need corresponding adjustments, but with his talent, he naturally had little to worry about.

Seven days after the final two-on-two Gambling Battle ended, Fang Ling successfully broke through to Level 20.

He was included in the academy's soul-hunting team roster.

Four days later, the soul hunt officially began.

The Principal, Flowing Wind Blade Soul Emperor Lin Yuehua, personally led one team of thirteen, accompanied by five Soul Ancestor teachers.

The Combat Director, Long-Haired Wild Boar Soul King Liu Yueban, led another team of ten, accompanied by four Soul Ancestor teachers.

War King Academy had none of the convoluted schemes Notting Academy had.

The Principal directly summoned all the graduates capable of graduating smoothly to the academy square. There were not many of them, only twenty-three.

That's right, only twenty-three.

War King Academy was considered a decent Intermediate Spirit Master Academy, with roughly two hundred students in each grade.

The requirement of having participated in ten Great Soul Arena Gambit Battles was not particularly difficult. At worst, one could simply take ten beatings.

Yet in the end, only twenty-three people could graduate successfully.

The reason was simple: their talent was insufficient, and their cultivation was too slow.

Normally, Intermediate Spirit Master Academies, like Primary Spirit Master Academies, had six grades.

One-Ring junior soul masters needed to advance from a Primary Spirit Master Academy and reach Level 20 within six years to graduate successfully.

They awakened their Martial Souls and entered a Primary Spirit Master Academy at age six, graduated at twelve, entered an Intermediate Spirit Master Academy that same year, and had to become two-ring soul masters by eighteen at the latest to graduate successfully.

The vast majority of those unable to graduate early could not become two-ring soul masters.

Most of the graduates here were fifteen or sixteen years old. They had all entered the academy early, and few were eighteen.

There were both men and women: some were tall, handsome, mighty, and sunny, while others were beautiful, captivating, valiant, and spirited.

Yet no matter what, Fang Ling stood out the most. He was the shortest, his expression indifferent, standing alone at the very center with no one daring to approach him.

He was a new student who had only just enrolled a year ago and was now merely ten years old!

With an Innate Level One talent, he had nevertheless broken through to Level 20 within a year.

At first, everyone was astonished and envious. After learning more about him, they felt genuine admiration.

There was no way to imitate this.

Although Fang Ling was lame, his combat talent was exceptional. He was a truly ruthless person.

He was ruthless toward others. The number of people he had killed in Life and Death Battles exceeded the number they had even seen in Gambit Battles.

He was ruthless toward himself. He could endure pain severe enough to bring someone to the brink of death, think calmly and swiftly, and then decisively launch a Counter-Kill.

No matter how many people he killed, his expression never changed, and it did not affect the occasional smile that appeared on his face.

His mentality was practically abnormal.

The name "Throat Cutting Ling" resounded throughout the entire Great Soul Arena.

Could they imitate him?

Only death awaited them!