Dominating Martial King
Chapter 172 - 172 169 Retreat

172: Chapter 169 Retreat 172: Chapter 169 Retreat Please refresh after 6 AM for 2400+ content, and if you have already subscribed, no need to pay again.

“It seems I really have traveled through time——”

In the lavishly decorated carriage, Zong Shou expressionlessly observed the round mirror before him.

The reflection showed a young boy, not yet of age, about thirteen, with a pale complexion.

Yet his features were unusually handsome and exquisitely beautiful.

A pair of narrow, phoenix eyes sparkled brilliantly.

However, at this moment, they were filled with bitterness and helplessness.

He remembered that not long ago, he had been an utterly ordinary face in the crowd, one that absolutely could not be picked out.

Yet unexpectedly, upon waking from this dream, his body had transformed into that of such a handsome man.

Though slightly sickly and fragile, he was undoubtedly top-tier in handsomeness.

Even those top male stars known for their looks in his previous life couldn’t compare.

If there was anything lacking, it was merely his aura.

At this moment, however, Zong Shou felt not the slightest joy but was rather overwhelmed with confusion.

He felt like a fish that had been free to swim in the vast ocean but had suddenly come onto land.

In this world, apart from the suffocating strangeness, there was also a sense of fear and loneliness.

Unwilling to give up, Zong Shou pinched his face again, only to feel a burst of pain.

Naturally, he found no signs of plastic surgery on his face.

“There is pain, so could it be that I am not dreaming?

But what is my identity now?

And this place, where is it exactly?”

‘Zong Shou’ was the name in the memories of this body he possessed now.

In his previous life, he had another name, but placed in these circumstances, it was meaningless to him.

Muttering to himself, Zong Shou sighed and looked away.

His heart was filled with despair, having completely given up any hope of returning or ‘waking from this dream.’

He had been in this world for several days now.

Almost every time he awoke from sleep, he repeated the actions he’d just done.

Today was the seventh day.

The style of the carriage’s interior suggested ancient China, yet it was not quite right.

Parting the curtains, he saw endless prairies outside, expansive and lush, which brought a sense of refreshment and ease.

The air was also clean and crisp, nothing like the pollution of the modern world.

However, looking down, he noticed the carriage, despite having wheels, was suspended in mid-air, three feet above the ground.

The sixteen single-horned horses in front also tread through the air, capable of rising and falling.

Thus, though the carriage’s body was massive, with the cabin alone being about forty square meters, no matter the complexity of the terrain, it could traverse it as if it were flat ground.

Currently, there was no one steering in front, just rushing straight ahead at high speed.

The slashes and sword marks on both sides of the carriage were also highly concerning.

Zong Shou felt a wave of dizziness and collapsed onto the velvet-cushioned couch.

Then, with just a slight thought, a series of memory fragments appeared in his mind.

They were disjointed and incomplete.

Among them were many texts, numerous faces, and also, a towering giant mountain reaching into the clouds, and a school on the lake’s island, unimaginably large.

These memories felt both foreign and familiar, and somewhat tinged with fear.

His emotions were truly complex and bizarre to the extreme.

The last was in the deepest part of his mind, the only memory that remained intact.

It was filled with numerous mystical characters, grouped together to form a complete book.

These characters were unlike any language from his world.

Yet, they felt extremely familiar to him, as if he had mastered them in his previous life.

“Indeterminate Spirit Emperor Technique?

And this Demon Language.

Could it be that this place is indeed the Divine Emperor World?”

Zong Shou’s lips twitched slightly, his face full of confusion.

—— “Divine Emperor” was a global phenomenon that started in 2012 as an online game.

No one knew which game company had developed it; all associated gaming equipment also suddenly appeared on the market.

It seemed that overnight, the whole earth had moved from 2D and 3D online games into the era of virtual holographic illusions.

Whether it was that academy, that mountain peak, or these demon clan writings in his mind, he had seen them all within the Divine Emperor in his previous life.

Indeed, he remembered that during his previous life, his last conscious moment had been within the “Divine Emperor” game.

In the Cloud Realm, Seven Emperors vied for supremacy.

He, alone with his sword, fought against numerous foes.

But at the final moment, his body suddenly trembled with an electric current, and he lost all consciousness.

When he woke up, he was in a different body.

Everything before his eyes was no longer the familiar Earth.

So, at this moment, was he in a game or a real world?

Or perhaps, was this world connected to the “Divine Emperor” in some way?

His mind dizzied once again; Zong Shou simply let go of everything and stopped thinking.

Idle in this carriage, Zong Shou decided to take out his about three-foot-long Green Steel Sword and practice his swordsmanship in the relatively spacious carriage room.

He moved his feet forward, backward, and side to side in coordination with his body, making the sword light shine within the not too big nor too small carriage.

Just as in his previous life, every sword form, every step was precise to the utmost degree, nearly achieving perfection.

However, this Basic Swordsmanship, having been practiced for just half a moment, had Zong Shou gasping for breath, his entire body drenched in cold sweat.

The sword light and his figure inevitably became slightly distorted.

Only relying on his inherent, unyielding belief, he continued to endure, preventing himself from collapsing to the floor.

Not until all his strength was utterly depleted did Zong Shou stop the sword light and sat gasping for breath on the couch.

When his intensely focused attention finally dispersed, he instantly felt pain in every part of his body, in all his limbs and organs, as if they were being seared by flames.

This action was not merely out of boredom, but rather pure anxiety.

Both this world and his own situation made him feel a sense of crisis and urgency.

He was eager to gain some strength, at least enough to protect his own life.

In “Divine Emperor,” everything was close to reality.

Whether it was martial arts, languages, the five senses, combat, or even daily necessities, there was a complete system for everything.

Most players relied on the system’s default settings to play and fight, without seeking deeper understanding.

Yet, there were also those who would study all kinds of knowledge and languages within Divine Emperor, explore the principles of martial arts thoroughly, and deeply understand everything in this world.

They could even break free from the confines of the game and create new possibilities based on the original foundations.

And not only was Zong Shou one of them, he was also among the best.

Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Boxing, Basic Lightness, Basic Evasion, Basic Step Technique, Basic Guarding, Basic Internal Skill — he had thoroughly mastered almost all the basic skills of a martial artist to the level of returning to simplicity, reaching the rank of master.

Among all billions of players, there were only about a thousand who had achieved this.

In fact, Zong Shou had already mastered all the principles, variations, and derivations of Basic Swordsmanship.

What he needed to do now was simply make this body remember them firmly, to become his own instinct.

But his body was simply too weak.

Even ordinary levels of practice could only be sustained for the duration of a cup of tea, with physical strength not even half of an average person’s.

What was more frustrating was that he could not practice Basic Internal Skill at all.

It was not that Zong Shou’s body was really weak.

In fact, in terms of strength, flexibility, and agility, he could even surpass an average person by a notch.

Even his root bone and Five Elements Spirit Root should belong to the genius tier.

It was just that his stamina was unusually weak for some reason.

However, after exploring these seven days, Zong Shou had some clues.

It should be because of the bloodline he possessed.

Being a half-demon, a mix of human and fox, that gave him such a handsome face.

Moreover, if he was not mistaken, both his paternal and maternal sides should have extraordinary origins.