Mythical Three Kingdoms

General Xiahou Yuan lunged with deadly precision in every strike, his strength unexpectedly surging as he fought. Meanwhile, Zhang Fei, who was fleeing, anxiously hoped General Xiahou Juan could call Xiahou Yuan to a halt—though it was clear Xiahou Yuan, nearly exploding with rage, had completely tuned out any pleas.

Zhang Fei, known for having next to no integrity, shouted nonsense while hopping around incessantly. Though Xiahou Yuan could truly be considered a top-tier fighter, one shouldn’t misjudge Zhang Fei by his rugged, imposing appearance. His agility was remarkable. Without engaging Xiahou Yuan head-on, Zhang Fei simply dodged. But after a while, realizing he couldn’t evade forever, he began to fly…

Then, an astonishing spectacle unfolded. Seemingly blinded by fury, Xiahou Yuan started stabbing furiously at Zhang Fei, who was gliding through the sky, but to no avail. Enraged further, Xiahou Yuan unexpectedly took flight after him. Side note: up until this confrontation, Xiahou Yuan didn’t even know how to fly...

This is proof of the boundless potential of human ability. Speaking of which, Xiahou Yuan’s inability to fly earlier was mainly because his mind hadn’t yet ”clicked.” Even Dian Wei, the strongest warrior under Cao Cao, couldn’t fly either, and Xiahou Yuan instinctively thought he shared the same limitation. Yet, provoked to the breaking point by Zhang Fei’s skittish antics and unable to land a decisive blow, his rage drove him to rise into the air—thus unlocking the ability to fly.

Seeing Xiahou Yuan joining him in flight, Zhang Fei knew things had taken a turn for the worse. While he could defeat Xiahou Yuan, capturing him unharmed was out of the question. His best escape tactics were now futile. What was he supposed to do, turn back and fight? Especially with Xiahou Juan watching from below! Zhang Fei clenched his teeth, thinking, ”Fine, I’ll keep flying.”

And so, Zhang Fei shamelessly ascended higher, followed closely by Xiahou Yuan. The two soared to an altitude of nearly twenty miles. Xiahou Yuan could barely climb any higher, and Zhang Fei was about the same. However, Zhang Fei floated just above Xiahou Yuan’s head, maintaining a distance of less than two hundred meters...

”Brother-in-law, give it up! Don’t push yourself. Look, I can still go a bit higher,” Zhang Fei teased while flying higher.

Xiahou Yuan glared up with bulging eyes at Zhang Fei floating teasingly above him. It was evident Zhang Fei had energy to spare, while Xiahou Yuan’s Inner Qi had been depleting rapidly, making further ascension overwhelmingly difficult.

”Don’t go silent on me!” Zhang Fei, noticing Xiahou Yuan wasn’t responding, flipped upside down mid-flight and inquired. As a side note, this upside-down flight technique was something Zhang Fei had learned from Lyu Bu—truly, no one surpassed Lyu Bu when it came to flying skill.

”Hmph!” Xiahou Yuan snorted coldly. Just then, he caught sight of Ma Chao approaching on the horizon. Abruptly dispersing his Inner Qi, he plunged downward. He had come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t Zhang Fei’s match and that Zhang Fei didn’t intend to harm him—but he couldn’t quite stomach the humiliation.

”This is such a headache—what now?” Zhang Fei muttered helplessly as Xiahou Yuan plummeted. Without hesitation, Zhang Fei descended after him.

Once Xiahou Yuan landed, he noticed Xiahou Juan looking at him with concern. For a moment, he felt like abducting her and leaving, but he ultimately sighed, glanced at her briefly, and said nothing. Mounting his horse, he headed back to Puyang to prepare for Ma Teng’s arrival into the city.

By the time Zhang Fei landed, Xiahou Yuan had already departed. Zhang Fei had actually been watching from above the entire time. He thought to himself: if Xiahou Yuan had been shameless enough not to retreat, next time he’d certainly go all out without holding back.

As things turned out, Zhang Fei was quite satisfied. Although substantial changes had occurred within Cao Cao’s camp, Xiahou Yuan still retained some of that straightforward chivalry he’d shown at Hulao Pass. However, Zhang Fei couldn’t expect him to pour wine for him again anytime soon~

”Alright, back to camp!” Zhang Fei exclaimed jubilantly to Xiahou Juan. Xiahou Juan, however, glanced back toward Puyang and let out a wistful sigh.

Meanwhile, Xiahou Yuan and Guo Yuan welcomed Ma Teng’s army into the city. Watching the slightly out-of-breath Xiahou Yuan, Ma Chao couldn’t resist feeling an itch in his fist. Since his crossing from Xiliang into Guanzhong, Ma Chao had finally come to understand who ranked among the world’s top military generals.

”General Xiahou, judging by your condition, it seems you’ve recently warmed up. Training solo can’t be that interesting—why don’t we spar a bit?” Ma Chao proposed without the slightest concern that this might come across as provocative.

A true combat enthusiast, Ma Chao had challenged every military general he could after entering Chang’an. Back then, he hadn’t even been a match for Hua Xiong. But having faced every possible opponent, Ma Chao now felt confident that, were he to encounter Hua Xiong again, he’d emerge victorious.

”Go challenge that guy across the way,” Xiahou Yuan said bluntly. Although he was in a foul mood, he knew Ma Chao’s personality well. It was one thing to test an opponent without knowing their full strength—going up against Dian Wei like that was understandable. But knowing Dian Wei’s power and still insisting he not hold back? That level of recklessness was uniquely Ma Chao.

”Hmm? There’s a master on the other side?” Ma Chao asked inquisitively, excitement sparking in his eyes.

”A master among masters. You’ve heard of Butcher Zhang, haven’t you?” Xiahou Yuan said, though now even mentioning Zhang Fei’s name seemed to exhaust him. Still, he maintained some dignity by refraining from disparaging Zhang Fei’s abilities.

”I’ll be right back!” Ma Chao shouted, spurring his horse forward eagerly. Clearly, he had little interest in attending any banquet.

To Ma Chao, no banquet could match the thrill of sparring with a true master. Like Sun Ce, he was in the midst of rapid growth, and battling elite fighters was vital for his development. He now possessed considerable strength—enough to protect himself.

After Ma Chao rode off, Ma Teng offered Xiahou Yuan a humble bow. ”My son is unruly. I ask for your understanding, General Xiahou.”

”...” Xiahou Yuan rolled his eyes. At nineteen, Ma Chao was already nearing Inner Qi Manifestation Perfection, and yet Ma Teng referred to him as his unruly child. Even Lyu Bu wasn’t this monstrous.

As for Guo Yuan, he was utterly stunned. He’d encountered skilled fighters before, but never someone this young and this astonishingly powerful.

”Listen up, everyone across the field—Xiliang Brocade Ma Chao is here to challenge!” Very soon, this declaration reverberated across several miles.

Fa Zheng, who had just raised his chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat, froze mid-motion. Hearing Ma Chao’s shout, Zhang Fei visibly perked up. Another master—finally! He’d been thoroughly frustrated earlier by Xiahou Yuan’s relentless pursuit, unable to land an attack himself. Even fighting Lyu Bu hadn’t been this irritating.

”I think I heard Xiliang Ma Chao challenging us!” Fa Zheng said as he rubbed his ear in disbelief. His previously drowsy expression vanished, replaced by a dark and serious demeanor as he slowly stood up and asked grimly.

”What nonsense! How could you have misheard such a loud voice? I’ll be back soon,” Zhang Fei exclaimed eagerly, gripping his Serpent Spear as he prepared for a duel. As a top general, he couldn’t go a day without fighting—it was simply unbearable.

”Ma Chao, huh? Let’s go check him out. Let’s see what kind of character he is,” Fa Zheng said, his grim expression suddenly dissipating into a smile. He even casually picked out a piece of horse meat from a dish of stir-fried meat and vegetables on the table. Speaking of which, having fresh vegetables in the camp was rather odd.

”You’re coming, too?” Zhang Fei asked, puzzled by Fa Zheng’s sudden interest. This guy usually avoided situations like this—why the change today? As for the enmity between Fa Zheng and Ma Chao, someone like Zhang Fei wasn’t the type to dig too deeply into such matters.

”Let’s go take a look. Ma Chao’s supposed to be a figure of some renown. Let me meet him and settle a few matters,” Fa Zheng said with a smile on his face.