Months ago I had a soldier that I let advance very slowly, he was making money, w/o gaining experience. He was biding his time to let towns and shops build up. he would strip down to gray rags, and ask to come shopping for a mule. Once in town he would go on a spending spree buying top weapons and gear. At level 10, which took along time to reach, he went soldier and premium character. Awesome level 16 weapon, the newly received Soldier medal, and with the proper specing he was quite unbeatable.
Dueling trips were a chore to plan for logistically because he would only fight the lowest level opponents that he could, and would plan at least 10-12 fights to get motivation low, and continue that way.
Another note about patience and timing. By the time this happens, the world is chock full of noobs who started a town right away, couldn't build their town w/ 3 members, and just quit the game with Bank at level 1 or 2, and these "dead" players holding lots of cash. PS dead players cannot change their dueling stance, so you can milk them for all the money.
This soldier of mine went 154-0 before RL got in my way and I had to let him die. I am the first to admit that he was not the "Best" dueler, but my interest was only about having an undefeated streak.