Martial King's Retired Life

The soldiers felt something expel their energy and true qi against their will, depriving them of the foundations to stay on their feet. Even though they remembered how to move, they lacked the means of mobilising their limbs. They felt the sensation vividly, yet they were powerless to stop it once they heard his voice.

I invented the skill to use on fodder. More specifically, I saved it for those who’d likely die if I snapped my fingers, yet didn’t want to kill, but were too annoying to leave alone. I didn’t have any chances to use it since I joined Liu Shan Men not long after I completed it, and it was way too conspicuous to use. Although it’s one of Seven King Threads’ techniques, it’s not something that’d belong in an orthodox sect’s syllabus. I bet my head that if Shiyi learns about its existence…

Young Shiyi removed her hands over her mouth to tug at my sleeve: “What’s this?! Teach me! That’s wicked!”

Guess I don’t need to say any more on that topic.

I knew it’d be one of Young Shiyi’s favourite skills to have because she preferred Shifu’s Night Net Sacred Records over Grandmaster’s Daluo Five Divine Styles that would take ages to even come close to mastery. It’s erroneous to try and compare which of the two is better since they’re equally dangerous in combat, and a tool is only as good as the context it’s applied. Either way, learning either of them was better than what my disciple would learn because my disciple can only learn Night Net Manual…

“Yeah, but it’s hard to learn. It is not something you can learn.”

“Feizhenie,” Young Shiyi grabbed my ear and enthused, “so Mount Daluo’s patriarch hasn’t spent the last years cultivating his martial arts but cultivating godhood, huh? What sorcery is that? You have three days to make me master it. Otherwise, I’ll hurt you.”

“Hey, hey, it hurts! Stop going for my ear!”

I’m indifferent to taking blows, but having my ear tugged is torture. First, it’s embarrassing. Second, instead of going up on her toes to compensate for our height difference, Young Shiyi yanks me down to her level! You know how uncomfortable it would be to hang her from my ear? She doesn’t just hold onto my ear; she squeezes and wrenches it.

“What’s the point of hitting me? My skin is thicker than a city wall.”

“Hehehe, so you teaching me or not? I’ll beat your future son.”

“My son?”

Well, I guess there was no guarantee I wouldn’t have six sons or something in the future, and Young Shiyi might bully them. That being said, they weren’t even in this world yet. Plus, based on my appearance, you can tell how adorable they’d bel; she couldn’t bear to hurt them.

“Could you bear to hurt him?”

As if I read something she had on her mind, Young Shiyi had hot flushes. “Why wouldn’t I?!” she exclaimed as she twisted my ear.

While I didn’t make it obvious, I was checking on the limp soldiers occasionally. Therefore, I noticed the shock flitting across their faces when they heard it was a martial arts skill that robbed them of their control. Upon hearing Young Shiyi refer to me as Mount Daluo’s future patriarch, they looked ready to accept death. When they heard about a son, they reacted the same way single men would when their friend brags about their girl. We had an hour, if not more, to fool around, so I wasn’t in a rush to do anything to them.

Relying on Voice Transmission, I informed, “It’s a new concept I came up with as part of Ancient King Thread from Seven King Threads. I call it Dragon Bow.”

“Sounds terrible. Sounds like a man going flaccid.”

Subsequent to flattering Young Shiyi, I awkwardly said, “I actually have a backup name for it: Jade Supreme Sovereign Overpowered Revealing Single-Leg Horizon Turtle. What do you th-”

Young Shiyi’s lips gradually curled down to form neutral as she wagged her hand: “Dragon Bow it is. At least it sounds like a name. I can’t figure out how you did it. Unless you’re adept at formations, illusions and techniques that target one’s consciousness, how do you make so many people obey you?”

“It’s just a coincidence,” I replied as I massaged my red ear. “When one’s true qi and blood are expelled simultaneously, their body reverts to infancy transiently. As such, their consciousness will also evaporate during the window. Right at the moment their consciousness is crippled, whatever you say will become a command they can’t flout. I discovered the concept when I was researching how to win without fighting, then refined it into this.”

“The principle doesn’t sound so uncouth. Why do you say I can’t learn it?”

“… Because the method used to expel their internal energy comes from Spring Wind Rainy Night.”

Young Shiyi wore on a long face.

“It’s the only discipline that allows you to expel someone’s true qi from their qi and blood. Based on my experiments, only the first command that comes to mind works again. Besides ‘kneel’, I haven’t been able to create any other commands. There are lots of things that need a light shone on, but I’ve only started researching.”

Spring Wind Rainy Night Divine Art is dangerous to learn, and there are plenty of parts I still didn’t comprehend. I almost died when I suffered qi deviation in the process of learning it. Actually, I would be dead, if not a vegetable, had I not been lucky.

I once transferred my true qi from Spring Wind Rainy Night Divine Art to Young Shiyi as a security system in emergencies. Unexpectedly, the discipline rooted itself inside her. The same thing happened to Boss; I don’t know if it will turn out to benefit her or harm her. That was why I refused to let Young Shiyi learn it and never thoughtlessly shared it with others.

Young Shiyi chooses to learn things on whims. She’s the type to call it quits if it took longer than three days to learn. Most importantly, she hates Spring Wind Rainy Night Divine Art.

“Don’t mention it. I told you I don’t want to hear about anything pertaining to that discipline.”

I tried to drape my arm around Young Shiyi’s shoulder, but she stepped away. “Young Shiyi… you still have a grudge with it?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? The cursed style left you on the verge of death, and then it made you prone to kill. If it wasn’t for it, you wouldn’t have joined Demon Sect, became their Lord San Shen, and got dragged into the tussle between orthodox and unorthodox sects. If it wasn’t for it, you wouldn’t have secluded yourself in a bamboo forest when you were only twenty-five.

“I have yet to punish your shifu for teaching it to you. I clobbered him when you went missing back then. Had he not taken shelter inside our ancestral hall, you would be able to see through the other side of his body now.”

Only Grandmaster and Shifu were allowed into the hall that houses the tablets of our ancestors; even the patriarch is only allowed in on the day of worship – unless their legs regrow for them to enter on other days. The wild beasts on the mountain sure wouldn’t mind having an extra leg for dinner.

Young Shiyi’s version of the recount must’ve been the censored version because I remember she grabbed oil, a fire torch and fire to set the hall on fire. When my shiniangs tried to intervene, Young Shiyi had her guardians restrain them to use as hostages if setting the hall ablaze wasn’t enough to force Shifu out. Mount Daluo would likely be lost to history if Grandmaster didn’t step in and promise to locate me. Hong Jiu still shivers whenever he recounts the riot he witnessed that day.

Because Young Shiyi was flaring up by the second, I changed the subject. “It’s not as magical as you might think. It’s just one mental cultivation technique I have for dealing with fodder. The discipline it comes from is called Seven King Threads, a combination of seven methods of utilising all the skills in my arsenal. It’s my first complete, systemic discipline.”

“The celestial spider silk you obtained from Tianshan is used for it?”

“Yep. Celestial spider silk is sturdier than anything and impervious to water and fire; there’s nothing that can stop it.”

“I didn’t see you use celestial spider silk just now, though. Were you too fast for my eyes?”

“No. Unless I’m in Divine Realm, you’d catch my movements. You didn’t see anything because I use qi threads. Qi threads are the product of my research the last three years. Basically, I am now able to mould my qi into thin threads to replace celestial spider silk, allowing me to make up for a lack of celestial spider thread.”

The ability to wield true qi as a weapon outside of one’s body is a requisite to call yourself a first-rate adept. Another example would be turning qi into a sword. In the world of swordsmen, that would be Sword Spirit Realm. Martial artists have always tried to sharpen their qi or condense it to maximise damage. I’m quite certain I’m the first person to deliberately thin my true qi out deliberately.

“Qi threads can only travel a certain distance. Their shape is difficult to maintain, and they can’t store much internal energy. That’s why Dragon Bow is ineffective against people of a certain level and only good for dealing with a small group of fodder.”

“I see.”

We kept conversing until Heisina Duohua expressed, “Thank you!”

Upon looking over our shoulders, Heisina Duohua, leading the three others, was on her knees.

Young Shiyi knocked me on the head: “Why did you use Flaccid Dragon on them?”

“I didn’t!” I then told the four, “Stay there. If you get up too soon, it won’t be sincere enough.”

Young Shiyi, although amused, said, “Shush, you. Get up. He’s only joking.”

Heisina Duohua bowed her head to the ground: “Thank you for saving our lives!”

Bowing one’s head right to the ground and exercising silence for a while is Xiacang people’s highest form of expressing gratitude. Young Shiyi and I, therefore, accepted the gesture.

“I apologise for showing contempt before. Please forgive my behaviour.”

“No more blasting me?”

“I beg your pardon!”

“You can get up. My neck is getting tired from looking down.”

Heisina Duohua had a red line across her forehead when she got up.

“Why did they capture you? Who are you? You can tell us now, yeah?”

“Of course! No matter what you ask, I shall answer faithfully!”

“Let’s start with your identity.”

“Okay. My name is Heisina Duohua. I am eighteen years old this year. I am from Xiacang Anx-”

“Stop. We’re going to be here forever at this rate. Just tell me what your status is and why they want to capture ou.”

“Understood.” Heisina straightened up and met with my eyes: “I am the younger sister of Heisina Tribe’s chief. My brother is the chief of the insurgents defying Baimu’s tyranny at Nieyao City. I came to the Central Plain to find someone by the name of A-Lan.”

Glossary

Dragon Bow – The name derives from the term for “bow/salute” in the context of someone lower on the hierarchy saluting someone ranked higher. The “dragon” reference is a reference to Emperors as Emperors called themselves dragons.

Ming Suwen mistakes it for two completely different characters that translate to “Deaf scum”. I have no idea how you can recreate that misunderstanding in English, so I altered her response in order to keep the skit going. Hopefully, I still sold the skit.