Martial King's Retired Life

“Haha, hahaha.” Miguo pulled himself out of the rubble.

“I’m amazed you can laugh.” Ming Feizhen’s face expressed, “I must’ve beaten your brain out of your skull.”

“Valley of Villains said, ‘If you can defeat him, it is tantamount to defeating the cream of the crop in the Central Plain.’ I brushed it off as an exaggeration, but I now see that it’s warranted. I’m impressed 50% of my full power isn’t enough to faze you.”

Regardless of how accommodating Vajra Realm and the relic were, it was impossible for Miguo to digest all of the new energy at once. By extension, the 50% he spoke of didn’t include the portion he had yet to convert into a fertiliser.

Ming Feizhen dug his finger into his nose. “Never heard bad guys die because they talk too much?”

“Hahaha, you and I both reached this realm through external means. Why not test out our mettle? For example, have you seen this before?” Miguo enveloped himself in a luminous golden energy. The golden energy pushed away rock chips that were in its way. “This is called ‘Enlightenment’. According to legends, not only does it multiply one’s true qi by several folds but grants a different attribute, too, allowing one to destroy another’s true qi.”

“Destroy” was the incorrect verb; the correct verb was “affect”. Given few lived to tell the tale after getting hit with Enlightenment, accounts of Enlightenment came from spectators who usually knew naught about the subject. Some people witnessed true qi vanish without a trace suddenly; some people witnessed true qi deflected back at the caster. Although Miguo’s version came from someone informed, it wasn’t absolute. In his case, being able to turn a fluctuating light into a steady one and then extend its reach was a sign that he had grasped how to utilise the energy.

“I’ve only just grasped how to utilise this energy, but I’m not proficient at wielding it.” Placing his hands together calmed the golden energy, though it continued to flicker similarly to flames. “I’m certain you possess the same energy. Howbeit, if you don’t use it now, you may never have another chance to use it.”

Ming Feizhen titled his head to one side. “We going to fight or not?”

“You’ll regret it.”

Miguo broke his personal record for vertical jumping, cloaking himself in golden energy. The immense energy empowered him with the confidence to destroy anything if he wished so; discovering something new about his powers every moment fed his ego further. He didn’t need long to realise that the golden energy was neither true qi nor internal energy, and it didn’t take long for him to realise the uniqueness of his own Enlightenment was sturdiness.

The golden energy could shrink and adjust thickness on top of acting as a robust weapon capable of offence as well as defence. However it was used, the opponent’s damage would wear off, and their balance would be ceded due to the impact. Used simultaneously, he could let his opponents bombard him with attacks while he continued musing.

Whatever Miguo’s Enlightenment sheltered was the safest haven in the world. Nothing could possibly penetrate…

“Pff!” Miguo went in the opposite direction of his flying saliva, smashing into the hole he just crawled out of. As the platform shook, the hole deepened.

Ming Feizhen retracted his arm to check out his fist.

What the heck is he spacing out for in the middle of a fight?

“You… You! Curse you!” Upon crawling out, Miguo generated golden balls on the ground, creating hemisphere shapes in the platform’s flat surface. Upon stretching his arms out, the eight iron-like balls levitated. “Die, brat!”

Ming Feizhen warped out of sight the moment Miguo intended to strike. “Oh, I get what ‘Abyss’ Theory meant now,” he remarked from Miguo’s left side. “I can move even faster, though,” he then said from Miguo’s right side.

Miguo could only figure out Ming Feizhen’s approximate location from his listening; his eyes couldn’t keep up at all.

“How about I slow down a tad.” Ming Feizhen returned to the front of Miguo.

Miguo reactively hurled his energy balls in Ming Feizhen’s direction. The eight balls swiftly fused. Notwithstanding his awareness that the attack was too slow, it was his last resort.

Ming Feizhen didn’t bother dodging, but the big ball just disappeared without a trace, much to Miguo’s bafflement. If Miguo wasn’t alarmed enough to change his position, then he was a fool; however, Ming Feizhen already had his back before he knew it and stung him in the face the moment he pivoted around.

The only difference between previous times Miguo was struck was that he didn’t go tumbling through the same hole again. He laid on the ground with a hand over his swollen spot, pondering what happened similarly to a seven year old confused as to why they were punished – seven because he knew better at eight years of age. He looked at his free golden hand.

Th-this is the power of a god. This is the peak of martial arts! This is the mightiest power! Why?! Why is this happening?! How am I inferior to him?!

Miguo churned his internal energy the way a man ready to put up one last fight would. Seldom did any Divine Realm adept ever do this for they could gain ten times their return on investment. Getting into a strength contest against someone who hadn’t reached Divine Realm could be considered lowering oneself – or even idiotic – as Enlightenment versus internal energy was the equivalent of comparing apples to oranges. There were precedent cases of people being able to use Enlightenment despite having expended all their internal energy. Consequently, the difference in internal energy between two individuals who had reached Divine Realm was irrelevant.

Once again, Miguo’s golden energy dissipated into nothing right before his eyes when it was time for him to strike, leaving him with nothing but bafflement and swelling internal energy.

“Can’t you see it?”

See what? What am I supposed to see?

Ming Feizhen’s question didn’t explain anything, yet it instilled clarity. The suspicion Miguo had tucked away and was afraid of facing wasn’t erroneous. Miguo didn’t misunderstand the application of his Enlightenment; Ming Feizhen just tampered with it. Miguo, nevertheless, refused to acknowledge it since, if Ming Feizhen could cancel another person’s Enlightenment, wouldn’t that mean he was without…

The fight devolved into one-way traffic, with Miguo even casting his Enlightenment despite being cognisant of the fact that it was futile. The so-called invincible power became nothing more than bragging rights against the teenager; he couldn’t even maintain it for more than a second against Ming Feizhen. Not even his newfound internal energy enhancement could save him from the lopsided beating.

He’s not using Enlightenment, though…

“Don’t get it?” Ming Feizhen disappeared, then reappeared in Miguo’s face no differently to a spirit. “In other words, you can’t see it.”

Subsequent to losing blood and chest bones to Ming Feizhen’s palm strike, Miguo had no choice but to accept he was finished as his awareness faded into the darkness.