Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chen Xi did not tell others that he would be taking his wife with him, as it wasn’t something commendable to bring one’s family to war, few had ever earned a good reputation for it.

In Yanzhou, after Guo Jia stabilized the situation, he no longer confronted Lyu Bu directly but instead harassed Chen Gong by laying ambushes, striking one day and tormenting the next, each time only slaying fifty or so men. Yet, over time, Lyu Bu’s Army, which initially had high morale, found it gradually undermined.

However, Chen Gong was not someone who could be easily dealt with. After being outwitted by Guo Jia, he managed to hit back with two counter-ambushes. Eventually, both sides became more restrained.

”This situation is rather troubling,” Guo Jia muttered under his breath, watching Yuan Shao’s Army encamped across the river with a sense of resignation. It was clear that a tacit understanding had formed between Yuan Shao’s Army and Lyu Bu’s Army.

”Does Military Advisor Guo remember the words Marquis Chen once said? The weak need alliances, but the path of an overlord can never be shared with others; one must face it alone,” Chen Chi also felt helpless. He was not a fool; it was obvious that there had been exchanges between Lyu Bu’s Army and Yuan Shao’s Army, but now was definitely not the time to show weakness.

”True, while it may seem inappropriate, war is all about what benefits oneself. It seems the envoy from the other side has been granted considerable autonomous power,” Guo Jia shrugged, saying that even if Yuan Shao and Lyu Bu joined forces, he wasn’t worried about being defeated. It might be possible to lose a battle, but holding them off wouldn’t be difficult.

The reality was almost as Guo Jia had speculated. Led by Tian Feng, an army of over 20,000 men made a renewed advance, but this time, Yuan Tan was the commanding officer. However, Yuan Tan’s role was more akin to a mascot, and unlike Chen Xi, he had no decision-making authority. Yuan Shao had made it clear upon Yuan Tan’s arrival that he was to follow Tian Feng’s orders.

In essence, Yuan Shao sent Yuan Tan to gain experience and gild his credentials. As for entrusting Yuan Tan with command, Yuan Shao was not so foolish. Neither Chen Gong and Lyu Bu, nor Guan Yu and Guo Jia, were suitable as whetstones to sharpen someone’s skills, and Yuan Tan was certainly not a prodigy who could use such individuals for that purpose—the birth of such a prodigy was yet to be seen.

Originally, the plans devised by Yuan Shao’s side barely differed from Liu Bei’s. But upon arriving in Yanzhou and finding the situation not conducive to their plans, Tian Feng decisively chose to negotiate with Chen Gong. Naturally, he reported the situation to Yuan Shao, who after some thought entrusted full authority to Tian Feng.

”General Yann, what do you feel upon seeing Lyu Bu this time?” After another in-depth interaction with Chen Gong, Tian Feng couldn’t help asking Yann Liang upon returning to camp.

”Horrifying!” Yann Liang pondered for a moment before speaking. Years had passed since his last encounter with Lyu Bu at Tian Feng and Chen Gong’s negotiation meeting. This time, Yann Liang was able to barely sense Lyu Bu’s fearsomeness, a significant improvement from the previous meeting where he couldn’t even discern Lyu Bu’s strength.

Lyu Bu, for his part, had accompanied Chen Gong to the negotiations. However, he showed no interest in Tian Feng’s side or in the negotiations themselves.

While he had heard from Chen Gong that a noted scholar from Liu Bei’s side had come for negotiations, Lyu Bu did not meet the man, nor was he aware of the content of the discussions. Mainly, Lyu Bu had no interest in understanding these matters.

Lyu Bu’s brief glance at Yann Liang captured the latter’s attention; Lyu Bu didn’t find him particularly interesting—just another military general on the level of Zhang Fei. If it had been Guan Yu, Lyu Bu might have desired a fight, for although Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were similar in raw strength, Guan Yu was capable of superhuman feats given enough confidence.

That single glance from Lyu Bu had sent a shiver of fear through Yann Liang. Lyu Bu had become stronger than when he once fought three opponents single-handedly. Now, having just reached Inner Qi Manifestation Perfection, Yann Liang was acutely aware of Lyu Bu’s horrifying aura.

”Horrifying?” Tian Feng asked, puzzled. How could it be described as horrifying? He couldn’t help but look sideways at Yan Liang.

Yan Liang gave a bitter laugh, ”It truly is horrifying. I’m afraid that going all out, I wouldn’t last thirty moves against him, and I’d be left with nowhere to bury my body. That’s even without him using the Red Hare Horse and with me having the chance to run away.”

”Hiss…” Tian Feng felt a chill run through him.

”In that case, I reckon that those under Hulao Pass have made no small progress. I’d guess that my current ability is about on par with Guan and Zhang’s,” Yan Liang said helplessly. He indeed had made rapid progress, but Lyu Bu was advancing even more swiftly; that man was simply monstrous.

”Guan and Zhang, huh? Then how would you size up Zhao Zilong’s capabilities?” Tian Feng calmed himself and thought, [It seems Lyu Bu must be taken down at all costs. We absolutely cannot let him fall into the hands of Liu Xuande.]

”Zhao Zilong? Not very strong, but I’m not certain of his strength. Perhaps the next time we encounter Zhao Zilong, he’ll be terrifyingly powerful. Or maybe he hasn’t changed much at all,” Yan Liang shook his head.

Now that his own strength had increased considerably, Yan Liang could feel that Zhao Yun, under Hulao Pass, wasn’t very strong. He definitely lacked the strength to clash head-on with Lyu Bu, meaning that although his Inner Qi Condensation, skills, and speed were excellent, his foundation wasn’t robust. But for a military general, all aspects of their strength ultimately came down to their Inner Qi foundation.

In Yan Liang’s memory, being able to condense Inner Qi but having scant amounts only pointed to one possibility: a general, incapable of progressing further, would continuously condense Inner Qi to improve its quality.

Yan Liang wasn’t mistaken; Zhao Yun’s Inner Qi had been lacking since the time at Hulao. He hadn’t progressed far in his sixth cultivation overhaul. However, due to the elusive nature of his Inner Qi, coupled with his formidable skills and astonishing speed, even Lyu Bu had been fooled.

Of course, after Hulao Pass, Lyu Bu quickly found out about Zhao Yun’s issue with his astounding might. Nevertheless, he didn’t underestimate Zhao Yun like the others; on the contrary, he understood his strength even better than they did.

Although Lyu Bu didn’t understand why Zhao Yun’s Inner Qi was evidently well-honed and yet only at the level of a beginner of Out-of-Body Inner Qi, he wouldn’t simply conclude that Zhao Yun couldn’t progress. Instead, there was another possibility: the Divine Stone!

Compared to animals that could only absorb a Divine Stone through instinct, a military general would utilize it efficiently and strategically if obtained. It could even be said that, given the same piece of Divine Stone, an animal might only exploit one-fifth of its power, while humans could harness several times that effect.

However, animals’ instincts allowed them to discover Divine Stones, while humans did not possess such instinct, a sort of balance. Precisely because it was so rare and precious, if humans obtained a fragment of a Divine Stone, the enhancement to their combat power could be terrifying.

Unfortunately for those facing him, Lyu Bu, on top of his innate talents, had reached his current peerless level, able to normally take on three at once, because he had also ingested a Divine Stone, and not just any piece, but the core of a Divine Stone.

Having consumed it, he knew more about the power of a Divine Stone than others. What he had drawn from the Divine Stone included extraordinary might and a recovery speed almost inhuman. Of course, such recovery wasn’t limited to physical strength; it included Spiritual Will and conviction, and that is why Lyu Bu was invincible head-on. (To be continued. If you like this work, I welcome you to vote for it, recommend monthly passes at Qidian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)