Mythical Three Kingdoms

While Chen Xi and his companions were deliberating how to deal with the impending trouble, outside Fenggao City, the brawl between Xu Chu and Dian Wei had reached a feverish peak.

Xu Chu’s body erupted with jet-black Inner Qi, every muscle tensing as he engaged in a no-holds-barred fight with Dian Wei. When Dian Wei threw a punch, Xu Chu responded with a kick, and when Dian Wei gave him a kick, Xu Chu headbutted him in return.

Suffering just as much, Dian Wei found the fight with Xu Chu’s massive strength anything but easy. Up close and personal, the unrelenting blows produced dull thuds, making things hard on Dian Wei too.

Neither man dodged or used weapons, they were purely pummeling each other, which limited the extent of damage—only compacting the ground within a hundred meters or so, causing it to sink two to three zhang lower than the surrounding area.

By now, Dian Wei’s physical advantage had become apparent. But Xu Chu was stubborn, biting down on his teeth and colliding with Dian Wei without uttering a sound. The battle between these two humanoid beasts showed no signs of abating, the kind of punches that could reduce a normal person to dust continually being thrown at each other.

”Thump!” A punch from Dian Wei landed on Xu Chu’s face, and as Xu Chu’s head jerked back, he swung his own fist towards Dian Wei’s head. Both men staggered, then without as much as a grunt, they leapt up and charged at each other once more.

”Gulp~” Dian Wei’s forceful punch struck Xu Chu’s chest, while Xu Chu’s headbutt landed firmly on Dian Wei’s skull. Both men’s foreheads shone with a slick sheen. Following this exchange, they took a couple of steps back, then a loud rumbling emanated from Xu Chu’s stomach.

Xu Chu, looking somewhat embarrassed, said, ”Dian Barbarian, if you’ve got the guts, wait for me to have lunch. We’ll continue in the afternoon. I swear I’ll knock you down today.”

The moment he spoke, his strength seemed to leave him, and Xu Chu felt soreness all over his body. It was the first time he’d engaged in such intense hand-to-hand combat. Even with Zhang Fei, he had never been at such a disadvantage. He and Zhang Fei had traded blows, but he was confident he could outlast Zhang Fei.

However, he had met a freak today. Though the morning brawl with Dian Wei hadn’t damaged his bones, Xu Chu was sure his muscles had taken a hit. Holding his breath and fighting on sheer willpower, he knew continuing would mean certain defeat. The other man’s muscles were like steel plates, showing little sign of weakening after so long; his strength and speed had barely decreased. Was this even human? And most importantly, the other man hadn’t used any Inner Qi since the beginning.

”Hmph, I’m hungry too. Let’s continue after lunch. If I don’t knock you down, then I’m not Dian Wei!” Dian Wei said menacingly to Xu Chu.

Dian Wei too was surprised to find someone so resilient to beatings. They’d exchanged blows all morning without any sign of yielding, engaging in relentless combat. It seemed the other side was also intent on having a meal before continuing.

”I’ll beat you down later!” Xu Chu said stubbornly, already aware that he probably couldn’t win. But he figured they could eat and resume the fight, which might not last as long as the morning bout since it was already November and the days were short. So, on the surface, he refused to concede defeat.

After taking a few steps, Xu Chu turned back and said, ”Dian Barbarian, I won’t take advantage of you. So that you can’t say you lost because you were hungry in the afternoon, I’ll take you for the meal and tonic especially prepared for us military generals.”

Dian Wei scratched his head, realizing that Xu Chu wasn’t half bad. After fighting all morning, he was hungry too, and he was pretty satisfied with Xu Chu’s durability. Seeing the invitation, the straightforward Dian Wei had no misgivings; he liked this kind of generous spirit.

”Got any alcohol?” asked Dian Wei.

”Sure, and only the best! We’ll fight again after the meal!” Xu Chu retorted indignantly, clearly dissatisfied with the prospect of being overpowered in terms of strength.

Upon arriving at the restaurant opened by the Mi Family for the voracious appetites of the military generals, Xu Chu with Dian Wei in tow, found an elongated table and sat down. ”Shop Assistant, bring us twenty roast chickens, two baskets of steamed buns, two sheep, and a jar of wine, quick!”

”Alright!” The restaurant itself was geared towards those food-devouring military generals, operating non-stop for twelve hours a day, with a massive stockpile of food, considering people like Zhang Fei could eat an entire bucket of rice with no trouble at all.

Food was served promptly, and then Xuu Chu and Dian Wei devoured everything as swiftly as a whirlwind.

”Refreshing, bring me another bowl!” After gulping down a few bowls of distilled liquor created by Chen Xi, Dian Wei suddenly found Xuu Chu much more amiable; his previous desire to punch him definitely must have been a misconception.

”Shop Assistant, another jar! Today’s my day off; it won’t affect any official duties,” Xuu Chu said as he tore chicken bones into strips, handing one to Dian Wei while picking his teeth and shouting inside.

”That’s the spirit.” Dian Wei’s dark complexion was tinged with red, hardly remembering when he last felt so tipsy and cozy, ”Good liquor, let’s keep it going!”

Once the Shop Assistant confirmed that Xuu Chu was indeed off duty, he carried over a jar of wine, ”General, please enjoy at your leisure.”

”The food and drink are definitely good but a bit too motherly—just serve the wine without such a long wait.” Dian Wei said, picking at his teeth with a chicken bone.

”Well, you can’t say that. We are Chief Personal Guards. How can we get drunk when we need to protect our Lord? I can use Inner Qi to evaporate the drunkenness and become sober, but my strength would still greatly diminish,” Xuu Chu voiced a different opinion in response to Dian Wei’s comment.

”…” Dian Wei fell silent for a long time, ”Right, we can’t get drunk when protecting the Lord. We are Chief Personal Guards; it’s our duty to protect our Lord.”

”By the way, why didn’t you use Inner Qi this morning?” Xuu Chu and Dian Wei had obviously become friends through their fights, opening their hearts to each other after trading punches.

”I’ve infused my Inner Qi into my muscles.” As he spoke, Dian Wei flexed his muscles, ”I don’t have a problem with Inner Qi recovery anymore, heh heh heh.” With a smug laugh, Dian Wei added, ”Using fists is much better than using Inner Qi.”

”Is that even possible?” Xuu Chu was astonished, knowing muscle strength recovery was much faster than Inner Qi, no wonder Dian Wei’s punches stayed just as heavy all morning.

”Before, I didn’t have the strength I have now. After killing someone, I had to flee. I achieved the Qi Refining to Gang level while being pursued, and that’s when I became safe. But then, deep in the forest, I encountered a flying tiger and almost got eaten by that creature,” Dian Wei recounted past events with a hint of apprehension.

”What happened next?” Xuu Chu asked curiously.

”I killed that tiger,” Dian Wei declared proudly.

”…” Xuu Chu’s thoughts struggled to keep up with Dian Wei’s rapid progression, and he was momentarily stumped.

Seeing Xuu Chu’s expression, Dian Wei knew what was up and laughed heartily, ”That tiger wasn’t so tough. I could beat it when my Inner Qi was full, but it seemed to have a lot of Inner Qi too. After a while, I couldn’t overcome it, and it chased me around for a good long time.”

”That beast was also very cunning and difficult to deal with. I didn’t have much Inner Qi, and couldn’t outlast it. So, after some thought, I infused all my Inner Qi into my body. Then I chased that tiger for three days and nights, and eventually killed it by a river. After that, I cooked it into a soup and ate it—the taste of that meat…” Dian Wei drooled a little, while Xuu Chu seemed to relive Dian Wei’s memories, also savoring the taste of the meat. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian ) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)