Martial King's Retired Life

Kuanggu Sheng chuckled as though he was oblivious to the hostile gaze on him. “Tiangou, how long has it been since we had a conversation?”

Tiangou’s gaze remained unshaken, indicating he still sought a proper answer to his question.

“Perhaps you don’t understand. What I’m saying is… ever since our master was gone, how long has it been since we’ve had a conversation?”

Tiangou was taken aback before he lowered his weapon just a tad.

Although they were part of the same group, not everyone in Fiends’ Genesis considered each other friends. Everyone was rather nice to Nine-Lives Cat Fiend, so she was okay with everyone. Drought Demon was easy to get along with since he was laid back. The others weren’t so buddy-buddy with each other. Furthermore, there was the fact that the current Seven Stars wasn’t the same Seven Stars from twenty years ago. Shitou and Kuanggu Sheng were only instated as one of the seven post-war twenty years ago.

While Shang Bieshi was still around, they were comrades under the pretext of serving the same master, sharing the same purpose on the battlefield, and they shared a mutual respect for Shang Bieshi. Without Shang Bieshi, there was nothing to really connect them.

While Jiang Chen had the ability to keep everyone united, he never had any desire to unite them. If it wasn’t for Shang Bieshi’s existence, nobody could say for certain if Jiang Chen would’ve even stayed with Fiends’ Genesis. Had he not gathered the remnants of Fiends’ Genesis to kill time, there wouldn’t be any Fiends’ Genesis in this era. That being said, the current Fiends’ Genesis was just a fragile entity held together with lousy glue. Unless they were on the verge of annihilation, it was nigh impossible for any of the Seven Stars to have an audience with him. If there was any purpose they served to him, it was merely credit to tell Shang Bieshi – if he ever returned – hey, I kept your team for you.

“Those of us who stayed behind after our master left thought that we could accomplish something big. It’s been twenty years since, and all we’ve done is continued acting as guard dogs,” Kuanggu Sheng said.

“What’s the matter with you?” questioned Tiangou.

Tiangou and Kuanggu Sheng could hold a conversation with each other, but there was no chance they’d converse with the other five of Seven Stars. Though they were too independent and aloof to be friends, they would, at least, greet each other. That said, it was the first time Kuanggu Sheng brought up the topic they were on in the twenty years they’d been part of the Seven Stars.

Tiangou joined the unorthodox faction to avenge his father. Sure, he did crazy things, such as violently gashing people over minor offences, drinking their blood and digging people’s nerves out. However, those wild behaviours were merely intended to shock his opponents, expanding his range of options in combat. He didn’t have some sick fetish for them. He couldn’t have just been reckless when it only took him a year to avenge his father. The entire revenge procedure was meticulously planned out beforehand –something very Jiang-Chen-esque. Even with his knowledge and genius, nevertheless, he couldn’t understand why Kuanggu Sheng suddenly broached the topic, not to mention now of all times.

Kuanggu Sheng opened up the door and said, “Come with me.” Before exiting, he added, “I have something to tell you about our master.”

Despite his unease, Tiangou went along.

Kuanggu Sheng went straight to a secluded building. Tiangou was a loner and didn’t enjoy aimless wanderings, so this was the first time he had gone to the building. Tiangou’s keen sense of smell was disabled in the room due to the strong smell of medicine. As a matter of fact, he had to pinch his nose in order to prevent harm to himself. Two days had yet to pass since Ming Feizhen brewed the medicines. Plus, the room lacked ventilation.

“What did you bring me here for?”

“To persuade you.” Kuanggu Sheng spun around. “What I’m about to say must never reach a third pair of ears. Elder Lianhua is unconscious, so she can’t hear, and nobody will come by to overhear our conversation.”

Tiangou’s knitted brows came apart. “… If you’re about to mention betraying Fiends’ Genesis, it’d be in your best interests to stop while you’re ahead.”

“Why?! We’ve wasted twenty years here. Twenty. Years. We haven’t achieved a single thing in twenty years. You think we’re here to take revenge? Wake up! We’re not here to avenge our master or restore Fiends’ Genesis. We aren’t flipping nobly biding our time for a bigger goal. We’re only here because Jiang Chen wants us here!

“We all fear him deep, deep down to the point that we even forget who we are. Truth be told, I’m scared witless even as I speak to you now. I can’t help feeling paranoid that he might overhear me. So what, though? Why does fearing him stop me from betraying him? Tiangou, an opportunity has fallen into our lap.

“This is our chance. I have connections. If you help me, I’ll put in a word for you. The two of us can be so much more than we are right now. Jiang Chen won’t help us. A man has to find and seize opportunities himself!

“I know you want to find our master and revive Fiends’ Genesis. We can achieve both of those goals if we can grow stronger and wield more power. We don’t need Jiang Chen’s help. We can find our master ourselves!”

Kuanggu Sheng’s eyes were so bright that he could almost illuminate the room. It was as if he was speaking from the heart whilst blowing off all the steam that had been building for twenty years.

“I owe Jiang Chen, as well.”

“My bad. I forgot you’re a loyal lapdog. Indeed, a dog without its master is one without fangs.”

Tiangou disapproved with head motions. “I am Fiends’ Genesis’ guard dog. I’ll bite whoever tries to harm Fiends’ Genesis, be it you or Jiang Chen. He hasn’t done anything to ruin Fiends’ Geneis, but you have.”

“To sum up, you don’t want to join me, I take it?”

Tiangou’s gaze gradually turned frigid. “You wish to kill me?”