Martial King's Retired Life

Book 14: Chapter 98

Sonorous Roar

Bai Ju’s constant attacks enlaced the entire ring in a barrage of whip afterimages instead of using big techniques, such as “Dragon Emerges from the Clouds”. Tang Ye was too damaged to stop more big blows head on, so he had to evade attacks. What intrigued Bai Ju was how Tang Ye was able to evade his attacks effortlessly when Ling Shaoxuan and Su Xiao went down without even seeing how. Tang Ye demonstrated he could time breathing and true qi to block an attack using a method he was still amateurish with, but he was now able to continue evading using an unfamiliar discipline whilst injured. Despite Bai Ju’s speed and the complexity of his discipline, Tang Ye improved as the fight dragged on.

Since Tang Ye had learnt to wield whips in the past, he was aware just how difficult it was to reach Bai Ju’s level. Personally, he could tell how humungous the gap between them was with a whip.

As the whip came within three inches of killing him, Tang Ye could see its trajectory clearer than ever before. The surreal experience had continued to happen multiple times since he woke up from his last injury. This time, though, he chose to trust what he saw – not that he had another option. Following what he saw in his mind, he dodged the whip time and time again, but the ease of dodging it was even more unbelievable to him.

While it wasn’t something for Bai Ju to smile about, it wasn’t his first his first time facing a similar situation. There was nothing voodoo or sinister about Tang Ye’s style; however, it was a difficult style to master. The style required one to develop their true qi into another sensory organ. Though it wasn’t possible to tell where Tang Ye learnt it from, it was safe to assume Tang Ye expended a copious amount of internal energy in order to sustain it. Talent alone wasn’t enough to adopt the style. If nothing else, considering Tang Ye’s age and internal energy, something unordinary must’ve happened for Tang Ye to still be able to run it at this point.

Bai Ju felt sorry for the youth trying so hard because he could see that he wasn’t even taught it properly; more than anything, something probably clicked for Tang Ye, and he was just going along with it. Moreover, there was no turning back once one chose to pick up the style.

One couldn’t just change their internal style whenever they wanted; it only became exponentially more challenging once one progressed further in their internal discipline. Thus, there were only two possible outcomes for Tang Ye. He would collapse as he did during the chariotry contest due to not meeting the internal energy requirement, and he’d struggle to build himself into a fighter. To put it more bluntly, he’d be a cripple. Or, he’d meet the requirements of the discipline and gain internal energy that had martial artists green with envy. There was no third option.

Tang Ye wasn’t the only rising star who would keep the martial world interesting. Just as Tang Ye successfully read the flow of true qi to decide how to dodge, Bai Yumo had also remained untouched. Unlike Tang Ye, Bai Yumo never focused on dodging. To the untrained eye, her dodges seemed to be mindless, but that was the opposite of the truth. She never jumped in big angles, but she was as mobile as though she was riding the winds rather than using raw power to launch herself away. If anything, her evasion skills surpassed Tang Ye’s.

Were the two able to survive without using their specialties because Bai Ju was regressing, or was the next generation just getting better? It didn’t matter to him.

Growing tired of the lack of engagement, Bai Ju chuckled and sped up even more. Since the duo based their actions depending on their opponent, or the whip in Tang Ye’s case, they stopped in their tracks when Bai Ju stopped advancing.

Because Bai Yumo stopped, she lost the feeling of drifting freely through the air and couldn’t enter that mode again as it was a zone she entered by happenstance. Waking up from her dream-like state, she could no longer comprehend what she saw in her glance. However, she recognised the danger she was in thanks to the cold tickle down her spine.

Tang Ye nearly failed to decelerate in time and would’ve tripped out of the ring. Luckily for him, the bits and pieces of the damaged ring provided a spot for him to decelerate himself. Upon stopping, he discovered he was drenched in sweat, had smoke coming from his dome and a face of the same colour as the smoke. Bai Ju was correct in his assessment that Tang Ye’s method of evasion costed him an exorbitant amount of internal energy. This time, he was certain that the method of evasion drained his internal energy dramatically to enhance his detection of true qi and breathing. Thankfully, by whatever magic of the celestial spider silk sash, it replaced his expenditure to an extent. At the end of the day, even with the sash providing extra fuel, he was expending his own to sustain the ability and could only absorb so much at the same time.

Tang Ye’s respect for Ming Feizhen grew to a new level with the knowledge. After all, Ming Feizhen had the internal energy and physical ability to wear entire garments of celestial spider silk without suffering any burden or anyone noticing anything odd. Tang Ye had trained both, yet he had trouble wearing just the sash in isolation.

Bai Yumo lacked experience and proficiency. Tang Ye lacked stamina and internal energy. Now that they were no longer mobile, they had to use their own strength to move and fight head on. That was when Bai Ju would seize victory.

Bai Ju somehow increased the girth of his whip before taking to the air. He created an enclosure around the two with his whip, then promptly shrunk it. The moment his whip shrunk enough to make contact, they would suffer utter defeat. Alas, he ended up having to widen his eyes for a double check.

Bai Ju had reduced their movement capacity to a level he could control, but Tang Ye suddenly did the unthinkable. Tang Ye picked up Bai Yumo and somehow escaped the enclosure without even letting Bai Ju see how.

Bai Ju tugged up a corner of his lips. He thought he could see a second silhouette – the silhouette of Tang Ye’s teacher – behind the young man who just threw Bai Yumo out of the encirclement and was breathing heavily. Though Tang Ye was too weak for him, he had to admit whoever taught Tang Ye was an elite among the elites, rousing Bai Ju’s competitive spirit that he thought he had lost.

“The new generation has proven its greatness. You impress one after another.” Bai Ju told himself he wouldn’t use 80% of his full power today, but life was full of surprises.

This is all because you deceived my nephew.

Bai Ju laughed in a thunderous voice subsequently to inserting a self-made excuse. “Let’s see if you two can dodge this.”

Bai Ju straightened out his whip into the shape of a cudgel and smiled. “If you can’t, die.”

Bai Ju added sky-blue energy to his whip.