Mythical Three Kingdoms

”Why do I feel something’s not quite right?” Zhang Fei’s brain hadn’t quite caught up yet, but he didn’t refuse.

The two of them left the camp together. Just a few hundred paces beyond the camp, a young man sat astride a fine steed, clad in golden armor, with the setting sun behind him, looking as if he were a celestial god—devastatingly handsome!

[So this guy is Ma Chao?] Fa Zheng stepped out and saw Ma Chao, his first reaction was that the man was ridiculously good-looking, the horse was ridiculously majestic, and that suit of golden armor... Then he glanced at himself. The aura of martial grandeur emanating from this guy left Fa Zheng utterly overshadowed!

”Yide, take him down for me.” Fa Zheng’s dark side instantly surfaced. The guy competing with him for a wife turned out to be this unbearably good-looking? It was too much of a blow! Not to mention, barely twenty years old and already capable of Inner Qi Manifestation—was this guy born cultivating Inner Qi? Was it really necessary to humiliate others like this?

”Oh, got it.” Zhang Fei had lived in the Central Plains long enough to have seen his share of handsome men, but this dashing, mixed-heritage pretty boy like Ma Chao was on another level altogether. He was a bit startled at first glance, but as soon as Fa Zheng spoke, he snapped to. Who cares if he’s handsome or ugly? This is the battlefield; it’s about skill, not appearances!

Zhang Fei urged his horse forward. Ma Chao, seeing a burly, black-faced man riding a Black Snow Steed toward him, immediately felt an overwhelming aura of ferocity. He instantly deduced that this must be Zhang Fei, the man he had come looking for.

”Are you Zhang Fei?” Ma Chao shouted out directly without any courtesy, perhaps due to his youth and brashness.

”Hmph! Coming to meet Zhang Sanye without even knowing who he is? You’re here to die!” Zhang Fei, with his quick temper, naturally wouldn’t respond politely to such a disrespectful address.

”My family has been Dukes and Marquises for generations. Why would I recognize a backwoods butcher like you?” Ma Chao sneered. He could sense the pressure emanating from Zhang Fei’s direction, which might even surpass Zhang Xiu. But so what?

”You dare court death!” Zhang Fei roared in anger and was about to charge forward, but Fa Zheng stopped him, prompting Zhang Fei to glare at him with wide eyes.

To be fair, Ma Chao wasn’t entirely wrong. The Ma Clan indeed had a history of generations of Dukes and Marquises. Although they had declined, they were still a prominent family in Fufeng, precisely because their ancestors had produced numerous marquises!

”Heh, what a lineage of Dukes and Marquises. Who would have thought the Ma Family of Fufeng would produce such a figure?” Fa Zheng chuckled as he stepped forward. First, enjoy stomping someone down; then let Zhang Fei do it again. Mental and physical blows combined—how satisfying!

”And who are you?” Ma Chao eyed Fa Zheng with some wariness. If, in Fa Zheng’s eyes, Ma Chao was brimming with heroic spirit, then in Ma Chao’s view, Fa Zheng—appearing now—seemed serenely elegant and utterly extraordinary.

After all, Fa Zheng was someone who, before the age of twenty, had already proven himself on the battlefield and been ennobled through military achievement. His aura of accomplishment and self-confidence was more than enough to draw attention.

”I suppose you could call me a nobody.” Fa Zheng smiled and said, unwilling even to share his name with Ma Chao. Secretly sabotaging someone and making sure they didn’t know who did it—that fit Fa Zheng’s current dark mood perfectly. ”But it doesn’t matter; you don’t need to know me. It’s enough that I know you.”

Ma Chao stared at Fa Zheng, unsure how to respond. He let out a cold snort, his expression proud and haughty, which only made Fa Zheng even more annoyed.

”Let’s not talk about your Ma Clan ever producing a Duke. Just on the matter of marquises—there’s a world of difference between those ennobled through ancestral privilege and those ennobled through military merit. Since when does someone riding on ancestral coattails qualify to ridicule those of us marquises who earned it on the battlefield?” Fa Zheng started speaking slowly, then suddenly raised his voice to ask sharply.

Ma Chao was stunned. Zhang Fei, meanwhile, burst into laughter. ”Exactly, exactly! You little brat, relying on ancestral leftovers, yet you dare call out generals like us who earned our status through hard work? And talking about generations of Dukes and Marquises? Looks like the education and morals of the Ma Clan have been eaten by dogs! I heard the Ma Clan intermarried with the Qiang and Hu. Now it seems you’ve completely forgotten the loyalty, integrity, and all the values Han people hold sacred!”

Zhang Fei’s words were ferocious—he criticized not only Ma Chao but the entire lineage of the Ma Clan. In ancient times, aristocratic families prided themselves on their reputation, and Zhang Fei’s remark outright disgraced the Ma Clan’s name.

In fact, this was a prevalent viewpoint at the time. Han people with Hu ancestry could be considered Han if they adopted the loyalty, integrity, and cultural values of the Han Dynasty. However, those with Han blood who did not adhere to these principles were seen as barbarians.

What Zhang Fei implied was simple: Ma Chao, stop pretending. If you don’t even understand the basic etiquette of a Han person, you’re unworthy of claiming Han identity, let alone boasting about generations of Dukes and Marquises. What thick skin you must have!

Frankly, only someone like Fa Zheng would seize on this point. Normally, Ma Chao would use provocations like these to goad others into a fiery rage and a reckless charge. But after Fa Zheng’s remarks, forget about being a descendant of Fubo, there was now even a question of whether the Ma Clan could still call themselves Han!

”Makes sense! No wonder they’re so different from us,” Fa Zheng clapped his hands in mock realization.

Ma Chao exploded, his face shifting from pale to green, then to red. Finally, with a furious roar, he charged forward. His mount, Lifeisha (previously mislabeled—my apologies to the readers), seemed to sense Ma Chao’s rage and became a streak of light and shadow as it shot toward Zhang Fei like an arrow.

Zhang Fei, already keeping an eye on Ma Chao, noticed his aggressive approach and immediately charged to meet him.

The two, separated by a hundred paces, collided in an instant. Though Zhang Fei hadn’t built up his horse’s momentum beforehand, he unleashed the full might of his arms’ brute force. With a single spear thrust, he held off Ma Chao and his horse, both at peak power, without taking a single step back!

”Is that all the strength you’ve got?” Zhang Fei’s face twisted into a menacing grin. In truth, his hands felt a little numb—he had underestimated Ma Chao’s strength, which was nearly on par with Zhao Yun’s.

”How is this possible?” Ma Chao looked at Zhang Fei in shock. Until now, only one person had ever withstood his attack like this—Dian Wei, who blocked him with an unstoppable force from a single halberd strike.

”General Zhang, Hu people don’t follow etiquette, so they definitely won’t announce their names. Be careful,” Fa Zheng called out just as Ma Chao, whose attack was already neutralized by Zhang Fei, realized what he had just done in a fit of rage...

”Ah!” Ma Chao’s entire body felt like it was combusting. His earlier actions now filled him with unbearable shame, but he had no room to argue.

”Tch! I knew you’d behave like this. Generations of Dukes and Marquises, eh? Yet you don’t even grasp the basic etiquette that a so-called backwoods butcher like me knows. Stop embarrassing yourself!” As Zhang Fei continued to grapple with Ma Chao, he roared, unleashing the mountain-moving strength of his arms, flipping Ma Chao, along with his horse, into the air.

”Hah! Typical barbarian. Having never faced men from the Central Plains, you think you’re something special. Pah! And to think I expected a worthy opponent—turns out you’re just another weakling.” Zhang Fei turned his horse and rode off, showing his back to Ma Chao, who was still airborne with Lifeisha, his tone dripping with disdain. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users should visit m.qidian.com to read.)