Martial King's Retired Life

Book 14: Chapter 71

Slimeball Among Slimeballs Among Slimeballs (Part 7)

Xun Feng couldn’t shake off the unease and urge to dig into how Su Xiao’s attack worked, but he still told Bai Yumo, “We need to take first place. Continue heading to the finish line; I’ll head back to check.” Without waiting for a response, he turned his steed around and yelled, “I’ll stall Tang Ye for a while. Go!”

Bai Yumo indicated she heard him loud and clear with her head, then continued on as fast as she could.

Xun Feng stretched out his two arms. Notwithstanding his speed as he advanced towards Tang Ye, his sleeves billowed as if there was mud in them, making them look as though they were distortedly long. Cold Mountain Temple called the skill “Iron Sleeves”. With one flick, they could send a breeze through a forest without budging a leave, or they could splinter rocks and gold.

Tang Ye knew he was inferior to Xun Feng, but his specialty was no longer a strong thirst for battle as prior to Huzhou. He calmly vaulted and blasted energy to either side through both hands, sending the horse underneath several metres away. He launched himself in the opposite direction using the reciprocal force. The horse continued galloping forwards once its feet hit the ground, while Tang Ye mustered up all the strength he had to bolt. He and his horse circled around Xun Feng and then rendezvoused behind Xun Feng.

Although Xun Feng was ready to whip, Tang Ye’s change in position required Xun Feng to go through more steps. Once again, Tang Ye outmanoeuvred Xun Feng. The constant losses to Tang Ye ignited Xun Feng’s competitive spirit, but Su Xiao was still the most important to him. More precisely, Su Xiao’s attack was the most important. Having said that, Tang Ye wasn’t going to be let off the hook so easily.

“You won’t get away from this one!”

Xun Feng whipped his sleeves behind him, ripping them off from the shoulders. One sleeve targeted Tang Ye’s horse, while the one following behind targeted Tang Ye. Based on Tang Ye’s qinggong prowess and his timing, Xun Feng would’ve caught Tang Ye in the back the moment Tang Ye mounted the horse. Xun Feng had practiced the technique hundreds and thousands of times, and he was calculated in his execution.

Instead of mounting his horse, Tang Ye tugged the rein from below, pulling himself up to its side. Additionally, he managed to lower the horse’s height, resulting in Xun Feng’s sleeves flying overhead.

Xun Feng made haste for the location where Su Xiao broke his barrier, where he eventually saw Ling Shaoxuan and Su Xiao fighting.

Following every big swing, the frigid qi emitted from Su Xiao’s Ancient Cold intensified as he increased his internal energy output. Even though Xun Feng was still some distance away, even he felt his qi and blood flow interrupted due to the cold; he had to mould energy to protect himself and his steed.

Ling Shaoxuan was the one who first developed an interest in Su Xiao after hearing Ming Feizhen mention Su Xiao was a guy (when Su Xiao posed as Ming Feizhen’s concubine the first time they met), but after learning Su Xiao was under government employment, assaulted a Prince and was known as “Deadly and Brutal Young Girl” in the capital, he found Su Xiao distasteful. After all, wasn’t that basically Shen Yiren 2.0?

Ling Shaoxuan was under the impression that only unreasonable women came out of Liu Shan Men until he met Shen Kuang, which made him back track on that evaluation. He had lost interest in Su Xiao by that point, nevertheless. He couldn’t understand why Su Xiao clung to him; Su Xiao literally pounced on him before they started fighting in the midst of the race.

Though Su Xiao’s skill with a broadsword wasn’t enough to impress, Ling Shaoxuan found Ancient Cold to be comparable to Mount Lu’s treasure – Five Elders – in terms of sharpness. However, the cold energy was incomprehensible. Never had he heard of iron being able to emit frigid energy. Of course, he didn’t discount Su Xiao’s internal energy.

Say what you wanted about Ling Shaoxuan’s character, but it was a fact that he was a direct disciple of Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary and had Flying Thrust committed to memory. Accordingly, he managed to avoid being cornered when Su Xiao attempt to corner him. In saying that, it wasn’t enough to defeat Su Xiao. While Su Xiao lacked the skill to definitively win, his internal energy proved troublesome for Ling Shaoxuan.

In an attempt to find a win via close-quarters combat, Ling Shaoxuan jumped up, drew his sword and swung. Not only did his sword snap upon impact, but the force produced from the collision of blades sent the chill into his body. Consequently, he swung his sword frantically to defend the incoming thirty attacks before he could expel the cold.

Another thing Ling Shaoxuan couldn’t understand was how come he was feeling increasingly tired, yet Su Xiao appeared increasingly energetic. The combination of Ancient Cold and Su Xiao’s internal energy permeated the chilly energy that was challenging to defend against. On top of slowing down Ling Shaoxuan, he had to constantly mould internal energy to protect his organs from the cold. Since he carried an ordinary sword on him today, his sword was unable to hold up against Ancient Cold, as well. A protracted contest, therefore, would inevitably result in Ling Shaoxuan’s loss.

For the reason that Ling Shaoxuan’s only chance of winning was to make use of his superior combat skill, Ling Shaoxuan gathered all his strength to execute Flying Thrust. To both his and Xun Feng’s astonishment, instead of clumsily blocking as he had been doing, Su Xiao started moving akin to water flowing artistically, very much the same way Bai Clan’s Yearning Broadswordplay flowed.