The King of Urban Mercenaries

"Aren’t you afraid of being exposed?" Lin Fei asked.

Small Black paused for a moment upon hearing this, then chuckled, "As long as I don’t use my powers, what’s there to fear? I can control my aura, so my Dragon Power won’t be released. It’s been so long since I ventured out, and now that we’re at the outskirts of the Demon Beast Forest, the powerful beasts can’t detect my presence. Of course, I have to enjoy myself."

Lin Fei shrugged, not bothering with Small Black’s decision. You can play however you want, as long as you’re happy. Lin Fei didn’t care much, using his weapon—a knife he found nearby, very sharp, although it was engraved with the character "King."

Lin Fei didn’t care and directly chopped open the Green Bone Wolf, revealing the golden Golden Core inside.

The Golden Core was actually pulsing!

"What a gain, I didn’t expect to kill a demon beast about to attain the Nascent Soul Realm. This item is a great supplement for me!" Lin Fei said, preparing to swallow the soon-to-hatch Golden Core.

Suddenly, at that moment, Little Fire spoke in Lin Fei’s mind, "Master, can you give me the Golden Core?"

"Don’t you consume Nascent Souls?" Lin Fei asked doubtfully.

Upon hearing Lin Fei’s words, Little Fire retorted disdainfully, "Golden Cores also need to collect the essence, but can’t transform yet. Nascent Souls or those above it are better since they can transform."

"I see, in that case, it’s yours." Lin Fei summoned Little Fire, and the gray flame appeared, directly engulfing the dragon-eye-sized Golden Core into the flames. Moments later, the flames emitted a blue light, transforming into a small wolf, its body surrounded by strands of fire.

"Not bad, quite cute." Lin Fei said, petting the little wolf’s head, then continued, "Since that’s the case, you two follow me. Little Dragon, transform into a collar around Little Fire’s neck."

Small Black laughed and directly looped itself around Little Fire’s neck, though Little Fire seemed very unwilling, straining to shake off the little dragon.

However, Small Black shrank, squeezing the little blue wolf until its eyes started to roll, and with a "bang," the wolf turned back into a gray fire, glaring angrily at Small Black, "What do you want?!"

Small Black twisted its dragon form mid-air and said, "I can’t stand you. So what? Want to fight me? Come on!"

Hearing Small Black’s cocky words, Lin Fei was speechless, not expecting Small Black to have such a mischievous side.

What Lin Fei didn’t know was that Small Black had long felt stifled inside Lin Fei’s eyes, that tiny space has been oppressive. Despite this, Small Black practiced the Transformation Technique tirelessly, shrinking and expanding, now able to transform into a needle, effectively enlarging the space yet making it even more mundane.

With Little Fire now around, whose strength is lacking but has a fiery and proud temper, Small Black felt compelled to provoke him, annoy him even more.

Little Fire snorted, then turned back into a small wolf, ignoring Small Black.

Small Black, feeling bored, casually morphed into a dragon-shaped collar around Little Fire’s neck.

Lin Fei led them away, heading towards the distant city.

Lin Fei could already see the faint outline of the city not far away.

Of course, the so-called city merely consisted of structures reminiscent of ancient buildings. High-rise concrete buildings weren’t present here; instead, people cherished this architectural style, drawn from ancient building systems.

Journeying forward, Lin Fei reached the city ahead, carrying the large knife picked up earlier on his back, followed by a small wolf, very cute, only half a foot tall, yet with strange flames flickering on its body, making it seem quite extraordinary.

As they neared the city, the surrounding trees diminished significantly, which Lin Fei noticed were regrown after being cut down, creating a vast area intended to alert people to any approaching demon beasts. This way, people could detect the location of a demon beast at a glance.

Lin Fei arrived at the tall city, observing its grand structure marked by the passage of time. Despite some restorations, the massive claw marks on the wall and the bloodstained corners remained vividly visible.

Surrounding the city, there was no moat, but enormous pits lined by sharp trees interspersed with sharp spikes. Whether human or demon beast, anyone falling inside would likely face dire consequences.

Lin Fei reached the city’s gate, gazing at the entrance with ancient characters spelling "Royal City!"

"Royal City? In the Lower Realm, that’s a palace! But here, it’s probably just a regular city," Lin Fei thought to himself, as a middle-aged man clad in armor appeared on the city wall, his beard scruffy, holding a spear still stained with fresh blood, clearly indicating he had just been in battle.

From ancient texts, Lin Fei learned that the ordinary people of the Lower Realm or cultivators there weren’t as formidable as the ordinary people of the Upper Realm.

This understanding proved true, as any ordinary person venturing into the Lower Realm would find their strength surpassing that of Ancient Martial Artists in the Lower Realm. But!

In the Upper Realm’s harsh environment, constantly faced with the risk of being devoured by demon beasts, it’s known that demons are far more powerful than regular people.

Thus, even if ordinary people in the Upper Realm are stronger than Ancient Martial Artists in the Lower Realm, their living conditions aren’t as leisurely as those in the Lower Realm. They face enormous dangers.

And this man, evidently an ordinary person, at most at the Foundation Establishment Realm, with armor and a spear signifying his role akin to Lower Realm’s vanguard soldiers, tasked with leading charges and guarding gates—hard work with little reward.

"Who’s below? State your name!" The middle-aged man called out.

Lin Fei answered, "I’m a wandering cultivator hoping to rest here. Could you grant me entry?"

Hearing Lin Fei, the man turned his gaze towards Lin Fei’s rear, "Is that your Demon Pet?"

Demon Pet—a term for captured demon beasts by human cultivators, akin to household pets like cats and dogs in the Lower Realm.

"Yes!" Lin Fei replied.

With Lin Fei’s confirmation, the man nodded, then shouted to those below opening the gate, "Open the gate!"

Lin Fei watched as the huge, heavy iron gates slowly opened, stepping inside, finally entering Royal City!