Pushing His Luck

"When's your next match?" Nan Feng asked.

Bibi Dong opened her eyes. "Seven days from now."

The further she advanced in the Hell Slaughter Arena, the stronger the opponents she was assigned. Since she was on a winning streak, especially, after fifty matches she'd basically be fighting nine opponents at once.

At first, she'd struggled. After every match, she needed time to recover and calm the Killing Intent inside her.

But with Nan Feng's help, she could recover quickly after each match, and the Killing Intent affected her far less.

However, the dream she kept having made it impossible for her to focus on the matches. As a result, she'd been stuck in Slaughter City for nearly three years.

"So this is our last seven days together?" Nan Feng fiddled with the Rubik's Cube in his hands. He'd made it himself to pass the time; it was also his only form of entertainment in this hellhole.

"Mm." Bibi Dong answered softly without looking at him.

While she was here, this place was her territory. The nearby Fallen Ones wouldn't come looking for trouble, but once she left, others would soon take over.

Nan Feng was only a Healing-type Soul Master. Though he was strong in that strange dream, right now he was still just a child—a child who had to sleep with one eye open...

"What are you doing?"

Bibi Dong froze as Nan Feng threw himself into her arms.

"Go ahead and stab me if you want. I won't last long after you leave anyway," Nan Feng said with his eyes closed.

"Getting stabbed a few days early won't make much difference."

Bibi Dong had kept him by her side for so long that the Fallen Ones in the Inner City of Slaughter City had noticed him ages ago. They just didn't dare try to take him because of Bibi Dong's strength.

Once Bibi Dong left, those bastards would surely take all the pent-up frustration they'd built up over her out on him.

Of course, they probably wouldn't kill him, but he'd likely end up right back in the life he'd had before: being passed around as a tool.

"..."

Bibi Dong gazed at Nan Feng in her arms, her expression complicated. The child had been with her and helped her for three years. She'd watched him grow up, too. If she could, she would take him with her, but even she wasn't absolutely sure she could make it through the legendary Hell Road under Slaughter City's rules. Taking Nan Feng with her was out of the question.

For three years, they'd depended on each other in this sunless hellhole. She'd watched Nan Feng grow from a tiny little thing into the boy he was now. Whenever she was injured or upset, this child had stayed by her side. And now...

A second at a time passed. Having sensed not the slightest hint of killing intent, Nan Feng lifted his head in confusion. "You're not going to stab me?"

Bibi Dong turned her head away. "Do you want me to?"

"Oh..." Seeing that she wasn't resisting, Nan Feng threw caution to the wind and dove into the ravine.

Bibi Dong turned back, the corner of her eye twitching violently.

You little rascal, you're really pushing your luck!

"I'll give you three seconds," Bibi Dong said faintly.

"Three."

"Two."

"..."

Nan Feng didn't move. He looked like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water.

Seeing this, Bibi Dong raised her right hand and was about to smack Nan Feng away, but found that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to do it. In the end, she only rested her hand lightly on the back of his head.

"Hmm?" Nan Feng looked up in confusion.

What was going on?

He'd been planning to play the sympathy card. Why wasn't she hitting him?

Could it be that she'd gotten so used to his surprise attacks in their dreams that they didn't faze her anymore?

"Tell me. What do you want?" Bibi Dong asked.

"Whatever I can do before I leave, I'll do my best."

"Really?" Nan Feng slowly lowered his head.

Bibi Dong's face darkened. "My patience has its limits!"

"Oh." Nan Feng sat up obediently.

If he could get things done without playing the sympathy card, he wasn't stupid enough to go looking for a beating.

"I want you to use that big, green spider form of yours to help me..."

"It's the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor!" Bibi Dong said, exasperated.

"Oh. I want you to use your big, green Soul-Eater Spider Emperor to help me absorb something," Nan Feng said.

The corner of Bibi Dong's eye twitched. "I'll say this one last time: don't call it 'green'!"

"Oh, I'll remember that." Nan Feng nodded.

Bibi Dong felt a headache coming on.

You'd better actually remember!

"Absorb what?" Bibi Dong asked.

"The people outside," Nan Feng said.

"Then take what you absorb from them and put it into me..."

"Stop!" Bibi Dong cut him off with a raised hand.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

The Soul-Eater Spider Emperor did have the Devour Attribute, but she'd never used it before entering Slaughter City. If she let that ability become known, she'd be branded a Fallen One without a doubt.

Besides, devouring had troublesome side effects. It wasn't worth it.

"What's wrong?" Nan Feng asked, puzzled.

Bibi Dong took a deep breath and explained, "Different types of Martial Souls cultivate different kinds of Soul Power. Soul Masters of different ranks also have different qualities of Soul Power. If a high-ranked Soul Master's Soul Power enters a low-ranked Soul Master's body without being converted, the low-ranked Soul Master will explode. And that's without even considering the conflict between Soul Power with different attributes."

"Even for me, the energy devoured by the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor is hard to absorb. There's no way I can pour that energy into your body."

Ever since that day, she'd wanted nothing more than to grow stronger and take revenge. But she'd never considered devouring others with the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor's ability. Not because she was merciful, but because the ability was practically useless!

If the energy she devoured had incompatible attributes, it would clash with her own energy. One wrong move, and she could explode!

The risk was too great. It simply wasn't worth it!

"Oh, I see." Nan Feng nodded.

"So, will you help me?"

Bibi Dong stared at him. "Did you even listen to what I said?"

"I did, but I don't have any other options right now." Nan Feng shrugged.

Before Bibi Dong arrived, those bastard Fallen Ones had passed him around so much that he barely had any time to cultivate. After she arrived, he spent most of his time creating dreams.

So even though he'd been blessed with nearly double the cultivation speed in this hellhole, he hadn't had much time to cultivate. He was only at level twenty-eight now.

He was still a long way from reaching level thirty and unlocking his next Talisman. If he wanted to unlock it before Bibi Dong entered the Hell Road after her next match, his only option was to use her Devour Attribute to speed things up.

"What do you mean?" Bibi Dong asked, puzzled.

After spending so much time together, she'd discovered that Nan Feng had the strange ability to cultivate normally without being suppressed by Slaughter City's domain. But that wasn't a good thing for him.

If the King of Slaughter found out, he'd be done for!

"If I can reach level thirty before your next match, maybe I can get out with you," Nan Feng said.

"Get out with me?" Bibi Dong froze.

"How?"

"Help me reach level thirty first, and then I can show you," Nan Feng said.

"No!" Bibi Dong refused.

"What you're suggesting is too dangerous. You'll die."

She'd never tried transferring the power absorbed by the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor into someone else. Even she needed a great deal of time to slowly digest that energy with her own Devour Attribute. Nan Feng didn't have the Devour Attribute. If energy of different attributes and qualities entered his body, he'd die!

"But if I don't do this, I'll be as good as dead once you leave," Nan Feng said with a shrug.

"So, will you help me?"