Martial King's Retired Life

Gongsun Chu caressed the coffin the same way he gently held his late wife’s hand for the first time, as if he was afraid using too much force would disturb her peace. Had it not been for the subtle eye twitches, anyone would’ve thought he was emotionless from his facial expression.

In that short time frame, Gongsun Chu once again saw his young wife smiling whilst waiting for him to cross her path in an opulent palace. She used to pretend running into him when he entered the palace was pure coincidence, and she believed she had the greatest swordsman of the time fooled, ignorant to the fact that her eyes had betrayed her. The first time they met, the first time she smiled, he discerned exactly how she felt about him. He always believed he was blessed for he couldn’t perceive how he was worthy of her.

“… Pingan… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for letting the misfit disturb your rest.”

Needless to say, Gongsun Chu didn’t intend for his late wife to hear that; he’d never let a third person hear his conversation with her.

Rage quickly replaced the joy of reunion. It was as though a big fire had started in the atmosphere.

“I will make him pay. She won’t be angry over something so trivial.”

Staring at the coffin, Ming Feizhen re-imagined the life Gongsun Chu and his wife shared, putting a smile on his face. “She must’ve had a really big heart.”

“You…” Gongsun Chu felt confused.

“Just guessing. Am I wrong?”

“… Hmph, that’s not going to stop me from killing you.”

Gongsun Chu’s pain disappeared from his face as fast as it surfaced, showing the pill he took was too strong for even him to keep a straight face. How could a drug be without side effects when it forcibly refined essence in someone severely hurt? His attempt to hide his reaction didn’t escape Ming Feizhen’s eyes. Knowing Gongsun Chu wouldn’t have the power for long, Ming Feizhen jogged toward the exit.

“Don’t look at me like that. If you’re tough, fight me one on one!”

“That’s what I was hoping for.” Gongsun Chu followed Ming Feizhen out.

Neither of them wanted to fight inside the bronze palace.

Ming Feizhen wasn’t waiting for a handicapped Gongsun Chu who needed performance enhancing drugs. He was ready for the best Gongsun Chu, but the preparations weren’t in the bronze palace. However, he gravely underestimated Gongsun Chu.

Just after reaching the big platform on the way out of the palace, Gongsun Chu stopped and asked, “What’s underground?”

Ming Feizhen subconsciously scratched his head. “What do you mean?”

“You think you could fool me?”

Gongsun Chu performed a whipping motion with his sword, blowing away a cover on the ground that concealed holes. Ming Feizhen sacrificed last night’s sleep time to dig the holes and was in the middle of eating when Gongsun Chu returned. Had he not used the coffin as a shield, he would’ve perished already, and all the digging would’ve been for naught – not that they now served their intended purpose.

Instead of trying to leap over the formation as Lang Qing did, Gongsun Chu walked straight into the formation, stupefying the man who had a needlerain tucked away in his sleeve. Gongsun Chu sauntered through the formation as if he was in his own room, only stopping occasionally to run calculations prior to moving again. It hardly took him any time to clear half of the formation.

“Not even this can get you?”

Gongsun Chu angled his face and added a condescending smirk. “A mere formation is no obstacle to me.”

How the hell does he look cool even when he’s being a jerk?! I hate cool guys who are smart, too! But enough of that. Time to bolt.

While Ming Feizhen started running, Gongsun Chu remained indifferent as he climbed out and ambled towards his prey. “This is an improvised version of Ming Shiyue’s formation. While his version is respectfully sophisticated, you have no idea how to employ it. What can you do with this childish version? You didn’t even prepare a helper when you have to beat me? Are you stupid or confident? I’m truly curious how Ming Huayu raised such an incompetent disciple.”

Arriving at the exit of the dark path, where water came up to his ankles, Ming Feizhen turned around to question, “You think I can’t beat you?”

“You seem to think you’re the only one with good ears.”

Like Ming Feizhen, despite not entering Divine Realm, Gongsun Chu could hear his surroundings well enough to determine how many enemies were lying in ambush. He wouldn’t have chosen this location to fight Ming Feizhen had he detected strong enemies lying in wait.

“You may possess unimaginable internal energy, but your combat skills are as ridiculous as a child’s. Your death is inevitable today.”

Ming Feizhen took out several items he had stashed away in his bag and started throwing them mindlessly. Gongsun Chu continued advancing whilst chopping apart the balls hurled his away. Several times, he’d skewer several airbone balls simultaneously. Each time Gongsun Chu busted one open, the smoke within would disperse in the air.

The smoke might’ve been enough cover against someone else, but it wasn’t sufficient to inhibit Gongsun’s vision. After all, not even Mount Daluo’s notorious formation challenged him in the slightest. He scoffed as he precisely tracked down Ming Feizhen in the smoke and stabbed diagonally. When all that was left was to pass a fraction of an inch and pierce Ming Feizhen’s forehead, he aborted his attack to yank his entire body back, then started twirling his sword in circular motions. Sparks appeared left, right and centre in the air as metal clanged against metal so fast it sounded almost as if it was a single clang.

“Tsk.” Ming Feizhen’s projectiles found the right spot; they just couldn’t reach their intended target.

Compared to Gongsun Chu’s swordplay, Tiangou’s broadswordplay was virtually useless. Holding his sword by his side, Gongsun Chu proudly proclaimed, “If that’s how you’re going to use needlerain, you’re just wasting metal.”

Despite Elder Lianhua’s efforts to restore the needlerain, it was only half as dangerous as it once was. In saying that, since it was fired at close range, the impact of the shots was enough to induce numbness in Gongsun Chu’s limbs and nearly make him lose his grip.

Once the smoke settled, Ming Feizhen was standing opposite Gongsun Chu, assuming Mount Daluo’s swordplay stance.

“Are you joking right now?” Gongsun Chu pulled his brows together in disgust. If his disciple was still making so many amateurish mistakes at Ming Feizhen’s age age, he’d have amputated his disciples hands for his own reputation and disciple’s sake. “You want to compete against me in swordplay? You’re begging to die.”

“Never say never. You scared to lose or something?” Ming Feizhen showed no signs of self-doubt.

Gongsun Chu snorted. “You’re an insult to swordplay!”

Gongsun Chu bound forward. Following just one brief exchange, the match was settled. If there was an audience, they’d be scratching their heads. The two came in close, then separated instantly. Ming Feizhen dropped. Gongsun Chu remained standing.

It took the bloodied Ming Feizhen a lot of energy to sit up and equally as much energy to resist the pain. “You’re ruthless.”

Ming Feizhen pulled out the sword in his shoulder that felt painfully heavy and threw it to the ground. When he saw the sword leave Gongsun Chu’s hand, he thought it was possessed for a second, but it reversed and would’ve put a hole in his heart if he didn’t dodge in time.

“I didn’t know you could fly swords… I don’t even have bloody internal energy, yet you still fight dirty? You’re a cheat!”

“…” Gongsun Chu coughed more than ten times to get all the dust out of his mouth from the balls he burst. Compared to Ming Feizhen, he was far more composed, except he looked baffled. “… Your sword… can explode?” Immediately after he posed the question, Gongsun Chu covered a section of the ground in a mouthful of his own blood.