After leaving the contestants' passage, the Soul Fighting lounge was to the left, where contestants with one-on-one Soul Fights could rest and wait. The other way led straight to the main hall.
Fang Lin rubbed his chest as he walked. The bow-wielding Soul Elder's Soul Skill had combined offensive power with the ability to control multiple targets. Fang Lin's body and Martial Soul were immune to ice, but his clothes weren't. In the brief time they had fought, they had frozen stiff.
The same went for Dugu Yan's qipao. Its collar and hem were covered in ice crystals. Neither of them was a fire-attribute Soul Master, so they could only rub the ice off by hand.
"Those two bastards! They'd better not let me run into them again in a one-on-one Soul Fight!" Dugu Yan grumbled indignantly as she rubbed the collar of her qipao.
In two-on-two Soul Fights, opponents they had already defeated wouldn't be matched against them again for a long time. If Dugu Yan wanted revenge, she could only hope to meet them in one-on-one Soul Fights.
Fang Lin smiled. "If you really do run into that female Soul Master, make sure you stand far away after releasing your poison."
The female Soul Elder's Soul Skill had covered nearly half the arena. If Dugu Yan couldn't withstand it head-on, she would have to retreat at least to the edge of the arena.
Dugu Yan gave a soft snort and said nothing more.
This Soul Fight had indeed served as a reminder that she needed to beware of opponents with long-range, wide-area Soul Skills.
The two had barely taken a couple of steps out of the exit when someone called out ahead of them. Yu Feng jogged over, his eyes shining. "Brother Lin, are you and Sister Yan going to fight your way up to Silver Soul Fighter in the two-on-two matches?"
Fang Lin nodded, slung an arm over Yu Feng's shoulders, and said with a grin, "Once we've cut a swath through the competition, we'll help you strike it rich."
For popular contestants on winning streaks, the Soul Fighting Arena took bets on individual matches or continued streaks. But contestants weren't allowed to bet on their own matches, so if Fang Lin wanted to make money off himself, he would have to get Yu Feng to do it for him.
"Where are Shi Mo and the others?" Dugu Yan asked, seeing no sign of either Shi Mo.
"I don't know. I didn't see them when I came out. Maybe they've already gone back to the academy," Yu Feng replied. He had seen Fang Lin and Dugu Yan enter the arena from the spectator seats, which was why he had waited until now. Otherwise, he would have left with the two Shi Mos.
The group walked out of the Soul Fighting Arena, and Dugu Yan lifted her chin toward the other side of the street. "I'm going to pick out a change of clothes. If you're in a hurry, go back to the academy first. Don't worry about me."
Yu Feng and Fang Lin exchanged a glance. In an instant, each could tell from the other's eyes that neither intended to pay for a carriage.
"No hurry. You go ahead and shop." The two shook their heads almost in unison, independently choosing to wait so they could hitch a ride.
Dugu Yan walked away, the hem of her qipao swaying gently with her steps.
Yu Feng scratched his head. Her clothes didn't look dirty to him, and he couldn't understand why Dugu Yan wanted to change.
"Brother Lin, have you noticed that Sister Yan's been different lately?"
There was a gossipy note in Yu Feng's voice. Fang Lin looked at him curiously. "How is she different?"
"Sister Yan used to love teasing people, whether she knew them or not..." Yu Feng muttered, carefully searching for the right words. "She hasn't done that lately. She used to like teasing Brother Tian, too..."
Fang Lin chuckled inwardly. By teasing, Yu Feng meant that Dugu Yan had always acted flirtatious and seductive. Seeing her again after half a year, she really had changed quite a bit.
"What's so strange about that? Girls change as they grow up. They say a girl changes eighteen times on her way to womanhood."
"Is that so?" Yu Feng scratched his head, seemingly mulling over whether Fang Lin's words were true. "Does the smell on a girl's body change when she grows up, too..."
"Maybe everyone's constitution is different." Fang Lin coughed. The smell Yu Feng mentioned was probably Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, which she hadn't been able to control before. After she got a Soul Bone to transfer the poison, it had naturally faded away.
After thinking for a moment, Yu Feng stopped dwelling on it. His gaze fell on the mouth of an alley, and he pulled Fang Lin along.
"Brother Lin, let's get something to eat. The chilled cakes there are especially good."
The place Yu Feng had mentioned was a small stall. It wasn't large, with a white cloth canopy and a few low tables and benches.
The owner was a middle-aged woman who worked briskly. Rows of small white porcelain bowls stood in front of her, filled with a translucent, milky-white food resembling frozen milk, topped with amber-colored syrup and a sprinkling of chopped dried fruit.
Surprisingly, Soul Power fluctuations came from the woman, and the milky-white frozen milk had also been created by her Soul Skill.
Food condensed from Soul Power by Food System Soul Masters was identical to real food in taste, texture, and smell, and also contained pure Soul Power. The higher a Food System Soul Master's level, the more delicious the food they made and the better its beneficial effects.
Fang Lin had only heard about it and had yet to try it.
After sitting down at the stall with him, Yu Feng called out to the owner with easy familiarity, "Two bowls of snow milk chilled cake, please! Extra syrup!"
The middle-aged woman answered and promptly brought two bowls of chilled cake to the table.
The porcelain bowl was cool to the touch, and the cake quivered. It was cool, soft, and pleasantly chewy in his mouth, with a faint milky fragrance. After two or three mouthfuls, Fang Lin felt a warm current spread from his stomach, accompanied by a faint stream of Soul Power. It lifted his spirits and gave him a slight, floating sensation.
"Ma'am, what effect does your Soul Skill have?" Fang Lin asked curiously.
The middle-aged woman looked over and smiled at the two of them. "This is my second Soul Skill, Clear Spirit Frozen Milk. It can relieve fatigue, restore vigor, and refresh the mind."
"It really makes me miss my spiritual sustenance," Fang Lin remarked. He scooped another spoonful into his mouth. "If only I could pack some up and put it in a Soul Tool."
The Soul Power effects of food made by Food System Soul Masters using Soul Skills only lasted for a limited time, generally one to two hours. After that, only the food's own flavor remained.
"Why do you have to pack it up? Can't you just eat it here? If you don't get enough this time, we can come again next time." Yu Feng scooped up his food at a furious pace, his words muffled. He didn't notice Fang Lin's expression suddenly freeze, or the spoon in his hand stop halfway to his mouth.
"Eat it here... eat it here..." Fang Lin repeated Yu Feng's words, murmuring softly to himself, "That's right. Can't I just eat them there? Those two herbs have to be balanced against each other before they can be taken, but why do I have to pick the others before eating them?"
As though a bolt of lightning had suddenly struck his brain, Fang Lin saw the light.
"A two-ring Soul Master, Yu Feng! You're a fucking genius!"
Excited, Fang Lin slapped Yu Feng on the shoulder, startling him so badly he nearly choked. "Cough, cough, Brother Lin, go easy! You almost split my shoulder open with that slap."
"Sorry, I was so happy I didn't watch my strength." Fang Lin grinned and took his hand away.
He could trade the methods for consuming the Immortal Herbs directly with Dugu Bo, without having to share the profits with a third party. The Immortal Herbs Fang Lin wanted would surely end up in his hands... er, in his mouth.
Fang Lin tried hard to recall how the Immortal Herbs had been consumed in the original book.
The cockscomb phoenix sunflower had to be swallowed whole. The aromatic silk beauty's stamen had to be sucked. For the narcissus jade muscle bone, the petals were eaten first, then the stamen was sucked. The nine-grade purple ganoderma's cap was gnawed on directly, he thought? What else was there...
Fang Lin scratched his ears and cheeks in frustration and gave his head two hard thumps...
"Ma'am, another serving of your second Soul Skill! You don't need to add anything. Quick, quick, quick..."
Hearing Fang Lin's shout, the middle-aged woman paused in surprise. Then light flashed over her hand, and a fresh serving of Clear Spirit Frozen Milk appeared in front of him.
Fang Lin swallowed it in a few mouthfuls and felt his mind clear considerably, his thoughts turning faster.
For the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, the dew on it was drunk directly. For the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, the stamen was eaten first, followed by the petals. The eight-petal immortal orchid was gnawed on directly, like the nine-grade purple ganoderma. The Lovesick Heartbreak Red could only be bitten into after it acknowledged a master, which was troublesome...
The names, effects, and methods of consuming the Immortal Herbs flashed through Fang Lin's mind one by one.
He could choose one or two to trade with Dugu Bo, and either consume the rest or exchange them for Soul Bones. There might also be some Immortal Herbs left that hadn't been mentioned in the original book, but he could leave those alone for now.