The martial soul was sufficient for now, so all points were used for leveling up.
Without rushing to Level 28 immediately, Fang Ling planned to maintain a steady pace of one level per month and slow down afterward.
He hadn't participated in many life-or-death battles lately, mainly because he was focusing on upgrading his scythe technique.
It wasn't about reaching Level 4 yet.
Although he believed his strong reflexes made his Level 3 scythe technique comparable to Level 4, in truth, he had no idea how powerful Level 4 actually was.
It was a new stage, much like a martial soul evolution, and Fang Ling felt it would bring a significant boost.
But naturally, the difficulty would spike too.
Over the past three months, most of his effort had been spent on adapting to the scythe and refining his technique.
He realized that using a polearm-style scythe with a Level 3 technique still had plenty of room for improvement.
So, he chose to train combat skills more through betting matches.
Thanks to a previous seven-win streak, he easily reached the Bronze Duelist rank in just three days.
Then, over the course of a little more than a month, with only a few losses, he smoothly climbed to Silver Duelist.
The cursed blade, combined with his reflexes, truly was overpowered, very few opponents could handle it.
Even those at Level 30 who hadn't yet obtained their third spirit ring (thus still not technically Soul Elders) struggled against him.
Spirit power wasn't everything. The right combination of spirit skills could create a synergy that made one plus one greater than two.
Take, for example, Star Mole Shift and the Cursed Blade. Under the catalyst of battle intent, they produced a magical chemical reaction together.
Fang Ling had even gone easy and spared many of his opponents.
Another match had just ended.
The host, looking amazed, loudly announced the result:
"Two-on-two, fifth match of the afternoon, the winners are the Ling-Ling duo from Heaven Dou Imperial Academy!"
Yes, they were called the "Ling-Ling duo."
Fang Ling's "Ling" and Ye Lingling's "Ling."
Ye Lingling gave Fang Ling a disdainful look for coming up with such a terrible name.
The story went back three months.
After agreeing to be friends with Fang Ling, Ye Lingling happily spent two days with him in Heaven Dou City, only to be dragged to the Great Spirit Arena afterward.
She watched Fang Ling fight in life-or-death matches, and then in betting matches.
Along the way, they made a decent profit by placing bets.
But Ye Lingling was never one to enjoy combat. She didn't want to keep hanging around the arena just to watch Fang Ling and make some cold, hard money.
When she mentioned wanting to leave, Fang Ling made her an offer she couldn't resist,
He would help her become a Silver Duelist.
Ye Lingling wasn't interested in the title itself, but she _was_ interested in flaunting it in front of her teammates.
Because of her aloof personality, she rarely joined spirit battles.
It was impossible not to envy those flashy titles.
However, as a support-type spirit master, she couldn't participate in one-on-one matches. And since she disliked teaming up with others, she never entered duo matches either.
Until Fang Ling arrived.
Fang Ling brought her into two-on-two betting matches.
Ye Lingling's job was simple:
Just stay near the edge of the arena, heal Fang Ling, and let him handle the two opponents on his own.
It didn't even count as a burden.
Fang Ling would make a half-hearted attempt to block enemies. If they got past him, he'd just let them go.
Ye Lingling would then forfeit and jump off the platform, leaving Fang Ling to fight two opponents by himself.
Most opponents weren't too troublesome, and they won smoothly most of the time.
After this match, Ye Lingling had earned enough points to upgrade her badge.
She held up her Silver Duelist badge to show Fang Ling and, overjoyed, threw her arms around him with a squeal:
"Ahhh, Fang Ling, you're amazing!"
Her usual cold and aloof demeanor vanished.
The confusion and emptiness once in her eyes were replaced with clarity and spirit.
Though still a bit shy around others, in front of Fang Ling, she finally behaved like a normal teenage girl.
Caught in her hug, Fang Ling didn't have time to be surprised, it had been just another regular match.
His scythe technique, after improving quickly over the first two months, had slowed down during the third.
Apparently, the opponents weren't strong enough and the pressure wasn't high, so progress had stalled.
Fang Ling planned to aim for the Gold Duelist rank and see if the quality of his opponents would improve.
Otherwise, he might try challenging higher-ranked opponents.
He wanted to experience the strength of real Soul Elders.
As long as he didn't face someone like Yu Tianheng, whose lightning attribute countered metal weapons, he figured he had a fair shot.
And if it wasn't a life-or-death match, he could afford to take risks with Ye Lingling around as a powerful healer.
The problem now was, Ye Lingling was hugging him way too tightly!
They were both dressed lightly. With the tight hug, their bodies were pressed close.
The soft, warm sensation made his heart skip a beat.
Her delicate, snow-white neck was right under his nose.
A sweet, intoxicating fragrance lingered at his nostrils, making it almost impossible not to lean in and kiss her.
But Fang Ling didn't dare.
Instead, he felt awkward. His arms flailed uselessly in the air, unsure whether he should hug her back.
"Lingling, I can't breathe…" he said, face stiff, trying to break free.
Ye Lingling suddenly realized what she was doing and quickly let go.
A blush spread across her cheeks.
Her heart pounded wildly, her movements tinged with panic.
An awkward, silent tension settled between them.
She looked up and saw how stiff Fang Ling's expression was, then couldn't help laughing and teasing:
"Already getting shy? You seem so calm, strong in battle, and determined… but in the end, you're still just a little boy."
Fang Ling noticed the playful glint in her eyes and fired back immediately:
"And you're not much better, Ling-jie. Aren't you just as inexperienced as I am?"
"You're five years older, yet you can't handle relationships or emotional stress. You even need me to look after you."
"I don't need you to look after me! I'm great at relationships!" Ye Lingling argued.
Fang Ling snorted and mimicked her tone mockingly:
"I wonder who it was, crying alone in the woods three months ago, who stopped only after being comforted by a guy she barely knew?"
Ye Lingling's eyes widened in alarm. "That was different. Doesn't count."
"How does it not count? It was still you. It's only been three months, you're still the same person."
She had no reply and resorted to shamelessness:
"Doesn't matter. I say it doesn't count, so it doesn't count."
"The one living in this world now is a brand-new Ye Lingling."
Fang Ling deliberately said, "Same difference. Still Ye Lingling."
"Doesn't count!"
"It counts!"
The two walked along, playfully bickering, until Ye Lingling suddenly stopped and said,
"Eh? Sister Yanyan?"
Fang Ling followed her gaze.
A beautiful girl with purple hair and green eyes was wandering the streets alone, clearly bored.
Fang Ling noticed something sharp, she popped a pill or something similar into her mouth.
A pill?
He had a vague suspicion.
Could it be something Dugu Bo gave her to suppress her poison?
After three months together, he hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Dugu Yan seemed perfectly normal.
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