Martial King's Retired Life

In order for a lie to be convincing, it needed to be layered with truths beforehand. Feng Jiutian lied to Ming Feizhen about plenty of things in hopes of capturing him. Feng Jiutian spared no efforts in his attempts from before they even met. One section, however, was true. Although some of the points he made regarding Nirvana’s bloodmarrow didn’t corroborate with Ming Feizhen’s knowledge, it was all true, and his wrong knowledge served to persuade Ming Feizhen that he was telling the truth.

Ming Feizhen did buy in, except Feng Jiutian didn’t account for the appetite of Mount Daluo’s “Ming” surname bearers. He needed a hole deep enough to trap a lion, yet he only prepared one big enough for a pussy.

Nirvana’s bloodmarrow was indeed one of the currently-existing traces of evidence of Nirvana’s existence, and it was something that Feng Jiutian actually had his hands on unlike some of the outrageous claims that others had made in the past. Connections to the bloodmarrow could have been traced back to the mystical era. Besides “fallen phoenix crown”, all other traces of Nirvana’s existence were essentially specks of grains on some items. The bloodmarrow that Feng Clan was able to convert into something tangible would have triggered a war if people found out of its existence. If they leveraged it well, they had the power to start a sect.

All that said, “leveraging it well” was the hardest part. After all, Feng Clan had plenty of advantages other clans did not, yet they were unable to maximise its benefits and, instead, invested enough to start a new big clan for virtually nothing.

Although Nirvana’s highly-toxic bloodmarrow had been condensed into a piece of jade, its negative impact on the human body could not be contained – and that was in spite of it just being a fragment of Nirvana’s bloodmarrow. While there were individual differences, it was only a question of how fast it took over someone’s mind. In time, the consumer would gradually lose the capacity to speak and their mobility before eventually perishing without doctors being able to identify the cause of death. Since Tang Ni never let the piece of jade leave his side, it was only natural that he was affected.

The last time Night Sparrow encountered Tang Ni, the latter’s skin colour looked white and smooth enough to have girls jealous, but he was now as white as a sheet. He usually kept his sinister qi concealed, but Nirvana’s bloodmarrow had affected his control of it.

“The fact that you’re still alive after meddling with Nirvana’s bloodmarrow for so long is admirable. We wouldn’t be your match if you were still in control of yourself, but are you sure you still have a chance?”

Tang Ni stretched his arms overhead and performed big hip circles as if to show he was perfectly fine. “That’s what you’re betting on to beat me? I don’t know if you know this or not, but the last thing we Tang Clan members are short on is methods to kill people without utilising martial arts.”

“We are in the capital.” Night Sparrow assumed a confrontational stance to boost her group’s morale. “There’s no place for you. You should understand what I mean.”

“Ah?” Tang Ni, cheeks red, cupped his ears with his hands. “You don’t mean to dismiss me, do you? I’m adorable. You can’t let me go in front of your subordinates, either, can you?”

Since Tang Ni showed no signs of surrender, Night Sparrow mentally prepared herself to make sacrifices and tightened her grip.

“Night Sparrow, do you seriously have the hots for him?” Ghost Cart griped. “That’s why you’ve been holding back all this time? I had no idea you were into br-”

Night Sparrow whacked Ghost Cart over the head with her spear to shut him up, but her flush cheeks were visible.

“If you’re ready, come on over, or I will be gone.” Tang Ni chuckled and stretched his arms out to his sides despite knowing he did not have much time based on the sounds of footsteps in the distance.

Stalling for time did Tang Ni no favours, so they were unsure what he was playing at. Why would he not fear the arrival of government troops? Before they had an answer, a vivid image of the smirking youth standing in a floor of running blood and dismembered bodies manifested in their minds.

“Don’t fall for it! Do not attack rashly!”

It was a futile cry for the reason that all of them were convinced that Tang Ni would be the last man standing. The terror tore down their rationality. Despite knowing they outnumbered him, despite knowing he was poisoned, despite knowing he had lost most of his fighting power, all of them were convinced that they were in peril.

“Who shall I start with?” Tang Ni cheerfully swept his gaze over them. “You know, death will take you away eventually. It’s fated from birth. I’ve never killed, but I don’t have a choice now. So, who’s first? You? Or you?”

They could hear their own heartbeats whenever they locked eyes with Tang Ni.

“It makes no difference to me who you are. Are you willing to be someone else’s stepping stone, though?”

Night Sparrow shouted, “You think your provocations will work on us? Nobody here is afraid of death.”

“Is courage a reason to die for?”

The question stumped Night Sparrow.

“What’s most important to all of you? Money? Nirvana’s bloodmarrow? What is your purpose in killing me? Is it worth exchanging your life for?”

Night Sparrow’s squad was a team she personally trained and had followed her for years. Though they were not elites among elites, they were definitely not afraid to sacrifice their lives, yet there they were going pallor in the face. Once doubt broke a warrior, it was hard to rebuild his courage.

Ghost Cart thundered, “Just try and walk away, you pussies. If you walk off after all Night Sparrow has done for you, I’ll take your legs.”

“Why are you butting in when our master hasn’t spoken up?”

Ghost Cart spun around to try identify who argued with him. The others had no tolerance for him, either, after witnessing his behaviour.

Night Sparrow had goosebumps in response to Tang Ni’s innocent smile. She could feel violence emanating him without him even budging.

Captain Yingfeng, you sure like to challenge me.

“Shut up!” Night Sparrow roared, stopping the argument between her allies. She took two steps forward and then stopped. “If you want to leave, go now. With me protecting you, he won’t be able to hurt you in ten exchanges. Leave now if you’re scared. I won’t hold it against you, but if you decide to stay, lock in because we’re on a battlefield.”

Night Sparrow lifted her spear from the ground and adopted her fighting stance. “I’m going to kill any deserters once we start!”

Night Sparrow’s words were akin to rays of sunlight parting the dark clouds in their minds.

“I thought you were starting? What’s the hold up?” questioned Night Sparrow.

Tang Ni caressed his chin. “Impressive. Yingfeng was able to raise a female general out of a bandit, huh? Is he recruiting talent for the country? Tsk, tsk, I’m going to be really bored if you’re not going to feature in my future fights.”

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