The King of Urban Mercenaries

"I’m a monkey." The ape said.

Lin Fei sighed. "’Ape’ also means ’monkey.’"

"I’m a monkey!" The ape snapped.

Lin Fei: "..."

At this moment, Little Black spoke up. "Then tell us, what do you want? What will make you trust us?"

Hearing this, the ape looked at Little Black and smiled. "Sure enough, you’re the smart one. I hate dealing with humans, those stupid, treacherous creatures!"

Lin Fei: "..."

"Alright, just say it. How do we solve this?" Little Black asked, not wanting to listen to the ape spout more nonsense.

The ape stated his demand. "I want your souls."

"What? Are you kidding me?" Little Black immediately shouted.

"I’m not joking. If you each give me a strand of your soul, then I’ll agree. Otherwise we sign a contract, but I doubt you’re willing to sign one, are you?" the ape said.

"There’s no other way? If we give you our souls, even just a little, it’s irreparable. It’s basically gambling our future with you, putting our future in your hands!" Little Black said.

The ape chuckled. "No helping it. You don’t have the right to choose right now. Besides, for most people the soul is practically useless. Even if a chunk goes missing, nothing really happens. And by the time you reach a higher level of strength, who knows what year that’ll be. So don’t look too far ahead. Just say yes now."

After Lin Fei and Little Black discussed it, they decided to accept his terms. After all, this was the only way at the moment. Even though they knew what losing a piece of soul would mean, they still had to go through with it; otherwise death was inevitable. And compared to the alternative, this demand didn’t actually cause Lin Fei that much loss.

Ultimately, the integrity of the soul becomes the yardstick of a Cultivator’s future. If someone loses a piece of their soul, even a tiny bit, it has an enormous impact on their future. That’s why the soul is indispensable.

But right now, Lin Fei and the others had no choice. In the end, Lin Fei spoke directly. "Fine, we accept. We’ll do it your way. My soul goes to you."

Hearing Lin Fei say that, the ape was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected Lin Fei to volunteer himself; it actually made him feel a bit of goodwill toward Lin Fei.

"Lin Fei, this is my problem. Besides, that guy doesn’t necessarily trust you, so let me do it," Little Black said.

Lin Fei shook his head. "Your identity and strength are both greater than mine, so just do as I say."

"No, Lin Fei. You’re my master. My duty is to protect you, so..."

"Since you know I’m your master, don’t defy my orders!" Lin Fei said.

Hearing this, Little Black fell silent.

"Don’t get ahead of yourselves. Both of you have to give me a share of your soul, otherwise I won’t feel at ease," the ape said.

"Damn monkey, I advise you not to push your luck!" Lin Fei suddenly said coldly to the ape.

Hearing Lin Fei talk to him like that, the ape was enraged. He lunged forward and appeared before Lin Fei in an instant, his two huge eyes staring at Lin Fei as he said, "Say that again!"

"I said don’t push your luck! Otherwise it won’t end well for anyone!" Lin Fei’s tone was exceptionally hard. Did this guy really think they were just going to dance to his tune?

The ape and Lin Fei confronted each other. Their sizes were vastly different: one was like a small mountain, the other minute and tiny. Lin Fei wasn’t even as big as the ape’s eyes, yet he didn’t back down at all. This was his bottom line; he couldn’t let Little Black suffer any harm. After all, this whole mess had basically started because of him.

"Fine then! We’ll do it your way. Give me your soul!" The ape finally yielded to Lin Fei and directly demanded Lin Fei’s soul.

Lin Fei’s brow furrowed tightly at that. The soul was the foundation of life. After a moment of thought, he finally decided to take a small piece of his soul from under his feet and give it to the ape in front of him.

At the instant his soul was torn, Lin Fei blacked out on the spot. When he woke up again, he was already outside. He immediately stood up and felt that place where his soul had been torn; it was completely numb, with no sensation at all. This was one of the feelings of losing soul, as if the place that had lost soul had become like a puppet’s limb.

And that wasn’t all. As his strength increased, there would be many more drawbacks. But even so, what else could he do? Right now he needed to see how Little Black was doing.

Looking down, Lin Fei leapt in, diving straight to the bottom of the lake. Reaching the lake bed, Lin Fei saw, beside the ape, a gigantic Dragon Ball. Little Black was coiled around the Dragon Ball, quietly stirring the Dragon Essence within his body.

"You’re awake."

Lin Fei nodded. "How’s Little Black? Is he okay?"

"Who knows? I’ve been here for over five hundred years and still haven’t been able to peer into the secrets of the Dragon Ball. Maybe it’s because I’m not of the Dragon Clan," the ape said.

Lin Fei rolled his eyes at him and said, "You’re a monkey!"

"..."

"You said you’re a monkey. Did you forget?" Lin Fei asked. Damn it, didn’t this guy say he was a monkey at the start? Now he doesn’t want to admit it?

The ape gave an awkward laugh. "Alright, I’m a monkey. I know I’m a monkey. I don’t need you to remind me."

Lin Fei looked over at Little Black.

At that moment, Little Black finally changed.

Right now, Little Black’s body was radiating black light, and then that Dragon Ball lit up like a light bulb being switched on, suddenly blazing with brightness.

"This is really marvelous. When I used the Dragon Ball before, this kind of phenomenon never happened. I didn’t expect someone of the Dragon Clan to have such a wondrous power," the ape said.

"How do you know your own clan doesn’t have some wondrous power? Maybe you just haven’t discovered it yet," Lin Fei said.

"Maybe. But I’m already in too deep. I’ve been studying this thing for five hundred years. I’m only a thousand years old, and half of that has been spent on this. I’ve gained a lot from it, but it’s still not what I truly want. I want too many things!" the ape said.

"What’s the point of wanting so much?" Lin Fei countered.

Hearing Lin Fei’s question, the ape froze for a moment. He looked at the pitch-black tunnel entrance, where that streak of light was particularly dazzling, and said, "Maybe it’s because I want..."

The ape spoke, then didn’t know what to say next. He suddenly realized a problem: he didn’t know what it was that he needed. Lin Fei’s single question had thrown him into deep thought, and he didn’t know how to answer Lin Fei anymore.