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Martial King’s Retired Life
Type
Web Novel (CN)
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Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 479 votes)
5    58% (280 votes)
4    10% (50 votes)
3    11% (52 votes)
2    8% (37 votes)
1    13% (60 votes)
Language
Support Book (#ad)
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One entry per line
Artist(s)
One entry per line
N/A
Year
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2016
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
24 Volumes / 2760 Chapters (Ongoing):
-Main story: 22 volumes / 2650 Chapters (Ongoing)
-Extra: 2 volumes / 110 Chapters (Ongoing)
Licensed
No
Completely Translated
No
Original Publisher
One entry per line
English Publisher
One entry per line
N/A
Release Frequency
Every 7.1 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #5228
Monthly Rank: #4597
All Time Rank: #248
Reading List
[Graph]
On 7150 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #7460
All Time Rank: #821

Description

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Starting from today, I am retired. But what should I be doing? I neither have the skills, nor the mind to do business, my only advantage is this pair of hands which have taken this world. What a headache…

Note: The usage of the term “retired” here doesn’t mean retiring from old age, work etc. It’s a specific term to refer to not involving oneself in the affairs of a certain society.

Associated Names
One entry per line
MKRL
武林之王的退隐生活
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Rebirth of The Heavenly Demon (Jang Young Hun) (3)
Cultivation Chat Group (3)
A Will Eternal (3)
The Experimental Log of the Crazy Lich (3)
Jiang Hu’s Road is Curved (2)
The Ancestor of our Sect Isn’t Acting like an Elder (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. What I have read
  2. For the Fellow Freedom-seekers
  3. My Favorite Korean Action Adventure Fantasy Novels...
  4. ALLCN+
  5. Things I've Read pt 2

Latest Release

Date Group Release
06/08/25 Wu Jizun v16c3
06/01/25 Wu Jizun v16c2
05/25/25 Wu Jizun v16c1
05/18/25 Wu Jizun v16c0
05/12/25 Wu Jizun v15c121
04/27/25 Wu Jizun v15c119
04/20/25 Wu Jizun v15c118
04/13/25 Wu Jizun v15c117
04/06/25 Wu Jizun v15c116
03/30/25 Wu Jizun v15c115
03/23/25 Wu Jizun v15c114
03/16/25 Wu Jizun v15c113
03/09/25 Wu Jizun v15c112
03/02/25 Wu Jizun v15c111
02/23/25 Wu Jizun v15c110
123…113
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74 Reviews sorted by


Qian8
Qian8 rated it
November 29, 2021
Status: c142
My god what a waste of time, what even is this novel, how is this thing even rated so highly? What's up with this recent trend of having dumpster-fire novels being highly rated? Does the rating system even mean a thing anymore? Is novelupdates suffering from a review botting wave?

The first thought that crossed my mind after reading 142 chapters was "this novel reads as if a japanese author tried to write his first cultivation novel and failed horribly"

The novel is all over the place so at times you won't... more>> even know who is talking, because most chapters are filled with meaningless conversations between two or three people and some of them are chapter-long! Imagine reading hundreds of chapters worth of random yapping and childish jokes.. By the end of the novel you will be eating crayons and drinking glue because of the lack of braincells.

I started reading thanks to the synopsis but the synopsis is a huge bait, because the dumb, braindead, beta-like MC literally goes to enlist as a guard to make money on the third chapter.. No, you didn't misread, the author does some cringeworthy mental gymnastics trying to justify how good of an idea joining the guards to make money is.

I'm convinced that this is a japanese novel disguised as a cultivation novel because it has the isekai novel starter pack, which includes: beta MC, author being obsessed with femenine men, idle chatter, forgettable characters, s**tty generic female companion, MC being dumbed down just for the sake of annoying the reader, nonsense blushing.

If you consume and enjoy isekaitr*sh, then you'll love this turd, if you don't, stay away from this thing, as far as possible.

Oh wait wait wait, almost forgot about the translator, my god the translator..

The dude won't shut up, you'll see infodump-like notes irrelevant to the novel all the time, also the classic please give me money comment, overall a terrible reading experience <<less
6 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Mr.Mochi
Mr.Mochi rated it
May 17, 2023
Status: --
After volume 5, the story becomes filler- a lot of info dumping, focusing on linear characters and just tedious to read.

The context is that you have this super soldier warrior who wants to retire to an easy life instead of running his sect at age 28. Long story short he works for the police and finds out a lot of his past actions are coming back to haunt him. Normally that would be a good story, but it gets s*upid- apparently he is married the princess of this empire, was... more>> the head of a crazy sect, blah blah blah.

Point is, this story is him acting a fool and running around in a disguise beating people up. That’s it. Everything else is filler. Here’s a preview of the latest plot: Breaking up the seven regional rulers one by one, in order to consolidate power in the empire.

The actual big picture plot? Preventing the seven princes from destroying the empire according to the prophecy, and befriending the prince who will become heir, in order to keep his prior sect happy.

As for the romance, it’s not worth it. One is a super powered girl who chases him across the world doing the disguise thing. She appears back in the story in vol4/5. The boss chick who he flirts with and saves in vol1-5, we’ll you have to wait till volume 10 or so. His princess wife doesn’t care for him and has plans for the prophecy- she’s kinda a villain.

Theres plenty of drama and interesting stuff, but it’s very slow, and you have to be willing to learn every ones back storylines etc, and each volume dumps another 10-20 characters you probably don’t care about and will irrelevant my the middle of the next volume.

The story starts strong but gets painfully bloated and uninteresting. The same jokes and gay gags get tedious. The whole disguise element is pointless because more and more people become informed. You even start to skip volumes to find out nothing really has changed. I can’t recommend this if you value your time.

You will be disappointed and dissatisfied. <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
avinashvamshi180
avinashvamshi180 rated it
January 5, 2022
Status: v6
Well, as many people have said, I have no idea why it's rated so high.

The first 4 volumes are good and after that it goes downhill, atleast for me. MC is so inconsistent and has weak values and morals however the author spouts bullsh*t reasoning and logic for everything MC does.

The relationships of female leads with the MC is pretty messy and confusing (cheats, seduces, flirts and does everything he isn't supposed to do) all the while author supports his actions as great love/sacrifice. MC is the reason I dropped... more>> this novel and I can't stomach his character.

At the beginning its shown he is owning up to his actions to take responsibility for what he had done. But in the later volumes I don't see how he is taking responsibility.

The other thing about the androgynous characters, it was comedic initially but became repetitive later on.

Atleast I wouldn't recommend reading it if you don't have time. If you can spare, I can tell atleast till 4 volume it's good. <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Hikiro
Hikiro rated it
December 5, 2021
Status: v11c115
If you are gonna try it out you need context. Think of it as a very slow novel, like "old man and the sea"or "war and peace". I am comparing the pacing not the quality. Not saying the writing quality is bad. It's one of the best I have read in wuxia. However, you're not going to enjoy it if you don't like intricate world building or you simply lack patience. You can read something like "against the gods" if you are into fast paced stuff that talks about... more>> slapping the face and how dare you junior. But if you enjoyed something slow like the way of choices (forgot the Chinese name) you might enjoy it. It does not have crazy power ups, this novel is more focused on the story and the world than forcing power ups to stay exciting.

Now let's talk about the novel itself. The story stars of like a comedy and rathe boring, the writer finds his grove around volume 4-5 and from volume 8 it just keeps getting better. And you start seeing proper character development. A lot of the things from earlier volumes start to make sense and lot of them don't. There is a supernatural aspect to this story but its that prominent till the later volumes. And I'm not gonna lie, I liked the big reveal they did of the supernatural aspect of this world. I am enjoying it. The translation is very well done, I feel like any information is lost in translation. The recent chapters seem a bit short and low effort but that just could be the chapters itself.

Anyways, if you can appreciate a story, you'll enjoy it. <<less
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WasteofLife
WasteofLife rated it
March 18, 2021
Status: v9c115
The translation is good! The story is interesting, the start is a bit confusing but carry on it is worth it. The comedy in the story is mostly done well and you will get laughs from time to time. The plot is intriguing and you will want to read more. The OPness is controlled and the characters are 2.5D.

It is not perfect tho, the comedy is sometimes overshadows serious moments which ruins the build up and mostly a hindrance to the story (annoying at around V7-V8). The cross dressing of... more>> one of the characters is used as a running joke which can become annoying. And for a shameless/pe*verted MC he is too bound with tradition and values causes inconsistency but for sake of drama can be accepted. He is slowly opening up to harem and romance but it gets someone draggy at times.

Overall, the series has some key stuff missing but it also has many positives that I am willing to ignore most of the negative. This is not the typical cultivation novel but a somewhat more grounded version that works (Read it and you will understand.) The story is worth a read, specially for those that are bored with "normal" Cultivation stories and normally can guess most of the plot of novel based on few chapters. It deserves more then 4 starts so actual ranking should be (4.1)

Spoiler

PS I hate the emperor I find him annoying and unworthy, he meddles in everything and I think that Capitan Shen is forced to become that idiot's Fiancé so the emperor doesn't force a marriage on her. Most of the time his good deed ruins something important and he is a giant hypocrite considering how much he can turn a blind eye to his sons and daughters. He is useless but for some reason he is written and praised to be best emperor ever.

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Simple Fool
Simple Fool rated it
January 23, 2023
Status: --
I don't usually write reviews but these low stars reviews are just bullying this novel too much. Comedy is gold as long as you have a taste. You will only feel MC is getting pushed around only if you feel insecure. Enemies have brains and reasons which they conveniently overlook in plus point, what a surprise. Every major characters have backstory that flow well with current volume story. I give that they read for a while (in status) before throwing out low stars but they should have already figured out... more>> MC isn't ambitionless if they have at least enemies brain in this novel! All is all these low stars reviews are just bullying this novel too much. <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Temp950
Temp950 rated it
January 7, 2023
Status: v3
Seemed like an interesting story at first, but the MC is just so useless that its hard to stomach. He does almost nothing, avoiding all the conflict in which he could intervene and basically letting his 'friends' and love interests fight on their own, only to somehow have secretly helped them without revealing his true power. It was ok for a while, but it gets tiresome. Plus many of the chapters are about other characters while he is off somewhere else doing nothing.
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
youngmaster0
youngmaster0 rated it
November 17, 2020
Status: v13c1
Update 10/2022 - Reading the low reviews here is honestly mind-boggling. I'm updating my original review to emphasize some key points, because it seems like a lot of people didn't actually read the story.

  1. Take the "unreliable narrator" tag seriously. Feizhen, in his POV, treats the reader exactly as he treats everyone around him - that is, he constantly obfuscates who he is, what he thinks, and what he can do. As part of this obfuscation, he really plays up the s*upid lecher role. It's a deliberately constructed persona, which becomes clearer as the story progresses.
  2. Like Feizhen himself, the story presents itself as simple in the beginning and you don't really start to unravel the plot until around volume 6 - and it's still slow going from there. If you want a straightforward story, this is not for you.
  3. This story greatly benefits from rereading because of how the plot is set up. You'll find new things and make connections you won't get on the initial read.
I could go on, but I'll sum up my two-years-later edit by saying that TMKRL is one of the most well-executed and cleverly written stories I've ever read. I still wish I could somehow become instantly fluent so that I could get all of its jokes and read ahead further than I have. 19 volumes... I'm... more>> so excited to see what's in store. 5/5 stars, I wish I could buy physical copies.

Old review:

After lurking NU for more than a year, I actually made an account to review this story. Partly because I like it, partly because of the reviews saying things that either aren't accurate or rating low because the story isn't a generic wuxia power fantasy. Nothing against those, because I love them too - but this is not that.

This is more comedy and politics and sometimes casefic with an MC that happens to be OP. His OPness gets brought up throughout and effects the story in various different ways, but usually not with him smashing through everything while everyone looks on in awe. If you love OP characters running around hiding their abilities and true identities in a completely pointless attempt to live a normal life (you're trying, MFZ. you're trying.) and causing all sorts of chaos and misunderstandings in the process, you will love this. There aren't many out there that scratch that exact itch and are actually good.

This one is great. It's hilarious. The wordplay that manages to get across even through the translation makes this the one novel I've encountered that makes me regret not knowing Chinese. That's not to say the translation is bad - it's excellent - but because of the differences in language structure some of the jokes can't make it over. I really love that the translator explains them at the end of the chapters, though - I love getting that insight into Chinese lit. Really great translation and really great translator's notes. <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
slepnirson
slepnirson rated it
May 18, 2019
Status: v1c40
This novel is a bit of a mixed bag for me. The writing is good, story is good, character design is alright at best (not sure why everyone is constantly gender-confused, its kinda funny now and again but crazily overused here, also I thought robes/wuxia outfits/etc. Were pretty clear on gender), but the motivation and behavior of the MC and other characters is so erratic and odd it made reading this get frustrating after a while.

Litany of grievances below:

MC is crazily OP, but hides it at every opportunity, has a... more>> demonstrably bad master/sect who/that he is nevertheless fairly loyal to, is really smart, but behaves as though he's half his age, he apparently cultivated super-dilligently for decades, yet half-asses everything for at least 40 chapters, plus the whole premise of his leaving is to 'retire', and yet he doesn't renounce his position in the sect or leave far enough to be remote, it's just a bundle of obvious contradictions, which don't shake out to a realistic personality. (Which I feel to be the same for the other characters to a lesser degree)

Spoiler

and chooses to serve the emperor for a easy 'retirement', but can't be bothered to do his job competently which jeopardizes retirement in any position

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dreminh
dreminh rated it
December 29, 2018
Status: v4
it really fun to read but dont bother think about the plot, it pure comedy and lack of lore or back ground. Many character are dumb down s*upid, tr*sh, gay and useless, lazy for the sake of comedy. World setting is plain and simple
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Warlock Of The Void
Warlock Of The Void rated it
March 21, 2018
Status: v3c49
Great novel

A real OP MC great story funny, has action but is not baseless MC is a riot translater does the story justice all in all one of best novel I have read on this site so far
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Ikan
Ikan rated it
October 1, 2017
Status: v2c22
Hilarious novels with good plot. Although sometimes the jokes doesn't get to me but nevertheless it's worth to read. What's more, this is not your as usual face slapping, arrogant mob, s*upid ass arrogant MC novels.
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker rated it
August 13, 2017
Status: v2c1
So far the story is about our MC trying to retire/escape the martial life. We aren't very clear on his strength but so far he's just as described in the title.

For me, the best way to describe the MC is a cunning old fox which is a bit pe*verted and doesn't want to shoulder any more responsibilities. He likes money too...

He is underestimated and doesn't want his leisure life to be interrupted so he can act very humble for the sake of his tranquility and cleverly solve situations instead of... more>> just slaying everyone like he could do.

For the romance well, he acts pe*verted and all but it's hard to really know what is in his head and his relationships aren't totally clear either so for me it isn't totally cliché.

The comic undertone is very likable and I don't mind the pace of the story, instead, it would be boring if the MC just revolve everything instantly and flawlessly (which would probably impact his retired life).

I recommend the story to refresh your mind when you are exposed to ultra prideful MC h24, the MC isn't a mindless slaughterer but this doesn't mean that he can't act tough though. <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Yandere Mania
Yandere Mania rated it
August 13, 2017
Status: v2c1
pretty hilarious and having a quite captivating illustration style (on its arts)

the series is about an OP hero who has now achieved the pinnacle of martial arts albeit through extreme past hardships and injustice treatments from his "jerk" and egotistical shifu (master)

he is a laid-back and a bit pe*verted (alright~ QUITE pe*verted... LOL) and also a cynical person, plus could also be a jerk who loves being a "bootlicker" while also, in a rare occasion, acting chivalrous when the situation demands, but more importantly he also loves to... more>> give hilarious opinions or "comebacks" (tsukkomi) about the beauties and friends around him

yeah, I wrote about beauties (plural... LOL) and a top-notch art-styles so you can definitely expect some "treats" from the author

Martial King's Retired Life could be rated as an adult read due to its fighting and brawling scene (which can be quite gory in some instances), but this lack any explicit "bed-scenes" (you can expect some "fan-services" from its arts and the MC's pe*verted tendencies, however, so don't worry too much, in case you came for the "plot")

overall, I find this series as an enjoyable seinen, male youth around age 17/18 and above, series (it is mainly targeted for male audiences, but this should not stop you, female readers, from enjoying this revolved-around-OP-character-series) which offers comedic ambience and the carefree-yet-still-powerful-and-OP hero

please note, however, that this is not a harem series (so far I'm reading the first chapter of the 2nd Volume) where the heroines fall in love with our MC "out of nowhere" and IN FACT, the heroines consider our MC as just an average man who has no worth and no ability as a "Martial World's Top Fighter" (while he is actually one of the "godfather") whatsoever (although this judgment partially comes from MC's decision to "stay-low" and to just enjoy his "retired" life)

in conclusion, do give Ming Feizhen (the MC's name) a chance to prove his (and also the author's) worth!

happy reading! <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
ryzesalvatore
ryzesalvatore rated it
September 7, 2022
Status: v5
The author describes how curvaceous, voluptuous, and sexually attractive a woman is every single time a woman appears. Even a 13 year old girl wasn't left unscathed. It makes sense in some way considering how pe*verted the MC is, but you don't have to do it every single time, do you? It makes the MC looks like a moron that can only think with his d*ck. Imagine staring at your superior's chest and describing how big and soft those twin peaks are in the middle of an urgent meeting.
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
fear80
fear80 rated it
August 26, 2022
Status: v10
Hiding True abilities- this novel is one of the best in this genre/ tag.

Start was bit confusing even till chapter 20 or so.

But it was really easy to read once I got a hang of it.

Story is mainly focused misunderstanding/ comedy with fluff and action.

Only criticism is that you might not see the protag for few chapter at some points in the story, which is not fun for me but it is some what required to get the proper narrative.
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
agentniner
agentniner rated it
June 29, 2021
Status: v8c50
Initially I liked the novel, but after making no real development, the biggest thing in the novel is backstory and world building.

a few things urk and piss the living sh*t out of me some things I understand but many of it is there for the giggles that aren’t there anymore.

... more>>
Spoiler

characters are okay, but one that does kinda piss me off is su xiao instead of trying to act like a guy, he does a bunch of girl sh*t and keeps saying he’s a guy, plus whenever MC gets close to a girl he’s always jealous like what the f*ck is going on

MC isn’t dense but a coward, his shiyi offer her v*rginity to someone else and he flips out but doesn’t say he like her, like she is one the author is trying to set up with MC but MC is constantly going after other girls

in chapter 8 he gets angry at himself for not being able to save boss shen because she’s been kidnapped but half the time he was trying to maintain his secret identity but there’s no point to it. He could have easily gone to her location beat up everyone and carried her to safety but instead he spends 30+ chapters making sure no one knows he is master ming

im overall disappointed with the direction this story took and I’ll be ending it if there is no real plot that the MC is involved in, the romance is literally snails pace the main girl (shi Yi) only shows up for an entire 30 chapters out of the 8 volumes

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dwaram31
dwaram31 rated it
November 26, 2020
Status: --
Start off really good and funny on the first and second volume and then it went unbearable. The protagonist is soo frustrating, just because he failed once in past (which past is actually still enshrouded in mystery) he decide to not pursue martial world anymore and become a constable. That's fine and all I guess, a little acceptable.

What I don't like and perhaps hate the most about this novel is after the 2nd volume the author started to write more and more filler which I think was put there by... more>> the author so that the protagonist have some kind of reasoning to hide his power and continue his retirement from martial world.

The novel start to tell the story in perspective of other people but done in such bad way that make the protagonist scene time reducted so much that you might as well think that he is no longer the protagonist. Other characters pov didn't give any added value at all, since it didn't help in world or character building. Then the story become unfocused from the protagonist view and it become worse from there. His character become unclear and you will start wondering what is his disposition. Is he decisive, clever, traumatic, wimpy, or or indolent. Who the f*ck know??? This is why I hate reading novel about protagonists that hid his strength, since the author would make some kind of plot armor or roundabout plot so that his impossible to hidden strength kept being hidden while also destroy the protagonist itself.

Don't read it if you don't want to hate it. <<less
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potanx
potanx
May 18, 2020
Status: c813
start good. many scheme. some bittersweet banter. showing off power.

but later too many narration.

slow romance and romantic subplot is an exasegaration, for me it is non-existent... even that novel that I hate atart it at 4xx but this after 600++ it barely showing romance and that is only on the Boss Shen case as for other, Bah! it remind me of that novel where real romance start at 1300++

in the later chapter the MC still our lovely MC there is nothing wrong, he keep growing in all aspect but it... more>> is sad other character seems like become a blank slate, there is no correlation with how they described at the start, it doesn't mean they are growing, NO! it more apt the other way. <<less
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i am born for relax
i am born for relax
February 1, 2020
Status: v4c58
It was interesting at beginning because of the comedy and misunderstanding but it getting bored as the chapters go on as it back to basic cn novel where you beat someone and he call for his brothers, you beat them they call for their old men, you beat them and they call for their family/clan and you beat the clan as f*ck and you know that it iz just small/branch from another bigger clan and you can imagine the rest
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