With Ye Lingling knocked unconscious and Yu Tianheng seriously injured, Qin Ming could only suspend the rest of their team coordination training.
Yu Feng sidled up to Fang Lin. "Brother Lin, there's nothing going on this afternoon. Come to Heaven Dou City with us."
"Shopping again?" Fang Lin glanced at Dugu Yan, who stood nearby. After a moment's hesitation, he shook his head. "You go ahead. I need to find Teacher Qin and get my wages."
If Fang Lin hesitated a second longer between looking at legs and getting money, it would have been disrespectful to Gold Soul Coins.
"Not shopping." Yu Feng grabbed Fang Lin and lowered his voice. "Soul Fighting. We've all registered for Soul Fighting badges at the Great Soul Arena in Heaven Dou City. Brother Shi and his brother also registered as a two-person team, and they've won eight matches in a row lately. The arena's taking bets, and the odds on them reaching ten consecutive wins are three to one!"
By the time Yu Feng finished, his eyes were practically glowing. He seemed to have won quite a bit lately.
"The arena itself is taking bets?" Fang Lin rubbed his chin, rather tempted.
The arena heavily promoted fighters on winning streaks, first to attract large crowds to buy tickets, and second to take bets. There were two kinds of bets: on the outcome of a single match, and on a streak of consecutive wins, such as ten or twenty.
For fighters, the prize for each match doubled after ten consecutive wins, and doubled again at twenty and thirty wins, respectively. But the arena would not let an individual or team keep winning indefinitely. The best way to stop them was to pit spear against shield.
If the Shi Mo Brothers wanted to break through to ten consecutive wins, they would surely face opponents with ten, or even twenty consecutive wins. Betting on a winning streak was no small risk either.
The arena was highly experienced with its matching system, making money through its algorithm. Not every match was a sure thing, but overall, it was bound to turn a profit without fail.
Fang Lin considered it for a moment, then decided against it. He turned to Yu Feng, his face full of righteous indignation. "What I hate most in this life is gambling and poison. I advise you not to be a gambling bird either! I'd be ashamed to keep your company."
Yu Feng stared blankly for a moment. Scratching his head, he watched Fang Lin walk away and muttered, "What was Brother Lin talking about? Gambling, sure, but why did he say he hated poison too..."
Yu Tianheng's injuries were severe. His right arm was a bloody mess, and his internal organs had also suffered a powerful impact. Thanks to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's formidable physique, he was only injured and unconscious, and his breathing was fairly steady.
The female Healing System Soul Ancestor Qin Ming had summoned healed Yu Tianheng's injuries, but she could not wake him from his coma.
Only after the important business was done did Fang Lin sidle over and grin. "Teacher Qin, isn't it time you handed out my credits?"
Qin Ming's mouth twitched, his expression half amused and half helpless. "Just go to the academic affairs office. The academy's credit subsidies are recorded there, and you can redeem them directly. Take this as proof."
Qin Ming handed him a jade token the size of a palm. The back bore the Heaven Dou Academy emblem in relief, while the front was engraved with "Heaven Dou Grade" in neat, upright characters, with Fang Lin's name underneath.
Students who advanced to Soul Elder before twenty-five and continued attending Heaven Dou were promoted to Heaven Dou Grade. They received reductions in lodging, meals, tuition, and cultivation resource costs until graduation, funded by special subsidies from the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. Those who joined the team and fought for the academy or joined the empire's Black Armor Army early received additional credit and resource subsidies.
That reminded Fang Lin that he had yet to update his status at Spirit Hall. Two hundred plus one hundred-he too was living the good life on a monthly salary of three hundred Gold Soul Coins.
He made his way to the academic affairs office, where the same middle-aged Soul Master in gray robes was on duty.
Since the man "looked after the storeroom" for the academy, Fang Lin had assumed he was a Soul Elder at most. Only when the man introduced himself did Fang Lin learn that the middle-aged Soul Master was named Cheng Mo and was actually a level fifty-three Battle Soul King.
"Teacher Cheng, could the Iron Essence inner armor I redeemed before be melted down again and made heavier?"
Before absorbing his Third Soul Ring, Fang Lin's physique had nearly reached the Soul Ancestor level without the reinforcement of Soul Power. Now it could only be stronger. His old fifty-kilogram inner armor had long since fallen short of what he needed for weight training.
"Yes." The middle-aged Soul Master nodded. "It will cost an additional twenty credits or twenty Gold Soul Coins. Forging fees aren't covered by the resource discounts for Heaven Dou Grade students."
Heaven Dou Grade students received a ten percent discount when redeeming credits. Fang Lin redeemed one hundred kilograms of Iron Essence to be added to his old inner armor. Together with the original fifty kilograms, the new armor weighed three hundred jin in total. Fang Lin reckoned it would be enough to last him until he reached the Soul Ancestor realm.
Seven months of subsidies came to fourteen hundred credits. After redeeming the Iron Essence, he had exactly five hundred left. Together with the five hundred he had saved for emergencies, he had an even thousand.
Fang Lin looked at the information bar at the bottom of the octagonal silver plate. The option to redeem Soul Crystals was still there, and exactly two remained.
When the middle-aged Soul Master learned that Fang Lin wanted to redeem two more Soul Crystals, he frowned.
"You can use at most three Soul Crystals in the same realm. A fourth risks destroying all your meridians. Even heavenly treasures and Nine Heart Begonia couldn't save you then. You've already given two to an elder in your family. If he uses any more, you'll be harming him."
"Besides, three Soul Crystals are almost enough to raise a level twenty-one Soul Grandmaster to level twenty-nine. Is your father unwilling to spend even a little time cultivating? He's utterly lazy-even worse than the academy's spoiled young masters!"
Cheng Mo sounded quite indignant, and Fang Lin gave an awkward chuckle, feeling a little guilty.
"You've misunderstood, Teacher. My father only used two. He asked me to buy the rest for his good friends. They all retired from the army, and their foundations were damaged, so cultivation is quite difficult for them."
After hearing Fang Lin's explanation, Cheng Mo's expression softened somewhat.
"Your father must be quite close to them. See how many more they need, and I'll set some aside for you in the future."
Fang Lin lowered his head and considered it. Instead of answering, he first asked Cheng Mo, "Teacher Cheng, you just said three Soul Crystals are enough to raise a Soul Grandmaster from level twenty-one to level twenty-nine. What about a Soul Elder or a Soul Ancestor?"
Cheng Mo raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that Fang Lin's father, a Soul Grandmaster, had a close friend at the Soul Ancestor level.
"One Soul Crystal is roughly enough to raise a Soul Grandmaster three levels, a Soul Elder one and a half levels, and a Soul Ancestor half that again. It has no effect on anyone above that unless they use a higher-grade Soul Pill. I've only heard of those myself and never seen one. They're said to be inner pills that only emperors among Soul Beasts of the same species, or certain special Soul Beasts, can form."
After Cheng Mo's explanation, Fang Lin had a plan in mind.
Even though both Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma and Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum could cleanse his essence and marrow and remove the side effects of Soul Crystals, he could use at most six, and it was best to use them before taking an Immortal Herb. Otherwise, they would affect his daily Soul Power cultivation.
"Teacher Cheng, just set aside two more for me."
Thanks to the discount, Fang Lin had a hundred credits left after redeeming the two Soul Crystals. Once he collected four more months of subsidies, he could come back and redeem another.
After leaving the academic affairs office, Fang Lin hurried off without stopping to find Yu Feng. Fortunately, he managed to catch him in time.
Watching Fang Lin plop down across from him, Yu Feng gave him a long, searching look. His voice rose as he drew out his words.
"Brother Lin, didn't you say you hated gambling and poison, and that you'd be ashamed to keep company with gambling birds? Why are you hitching a ride in my carriage with Sister Yan?"
The moment Yu Feng finished speaking, Dugu Yan's eyes stabbed into Fang Lin like hostile knives. "What did you say you hated?"
Fang Lin sat there like a solid mountain, his face unflushed and his heart steady.
"What nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever say that? I clearly said I hated gamblers. You heard me wrong."