It Wasn’t a Martial Arts World, but the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 87. Qi Deviation (3)

A peculiar energy spreads throughout the world.

It emanated from the blue qi bursting out of the man.

Sun Jian momentarily stopped and stared blankly at the scene.

“…!”

Soon, the blue qi began to change color.

The once clear blue light turned murky and transformed into a dark red hue, and the ground beneath the man’s feet was trembling.

Was it fear of the unknown?

No.

This was discomfort.

Though he didn’t fully understand what the dark red qi meant, one thing was certain: it was clearly different from what had been before.

Crack!

Unryong twisted his neck from side to side and slowly walked forward.

Sun Jian and the rest of his army swallowed hard and pointed their swords.

Qi deviation could take many forms.

Reversal, or rampage.

In short, it was when one lost control of their body, driven solely by the direction the qi led them, becoming a so-called specter.

“What are you?”

Sun Jian asked.

He was convinced.

This man was clearly different from just moments ago.

The man’s eyes, full of murderous intent, and his blood-soaked figure, staggering forward, could hardly be seen as the same person.

“…”

When the man gave no response, Sun Jian gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.

Now was the perfect opportunity to kill him. If he missed this, who knew when such luck would come again?

Yet his body screamed for him to run.

Sun Jian, who had experienced countless battlefields, had never felt such a sensation before.

Not even when the man displayed his bizarre skills did he feel this way.

Then, it happened.

– Thud.

The man took a big step forward.

Sun Jian widened his eyes.

He was gone.

Nowhere to be seen.

– Slash!

Then came the sound of cutting flesh.

The soldier next to him collapsed helplessly.

The man who had been right in front of him vanished, and the subordinate at his side was neatly bisected.

It was as if a part of his memory had been erased.

– Swish!

“…Ugh!”

It was the same this time.

He had only blinked.

Yet, Sun Jian’s right arm was already lying on the ground.

Fortunately, he had instinctively retreated, avoiding having his neck sliced.

“Father!”

Sun Ce was shocked.

Looking at Unryong, he noticed that the man was still observing with the same emotionless expression.

Sun Ce quickly tried to block his sword.

This time, there was no sword qi enveloping the blade as before.

Even so…

– Clang!

With just one exchange, his sword was knocked away.

And then, the figure vanished again.

Sun Ce, known as the Little Conqueror.

Precisely because he bore such a title, he could understand.

This was not a creature that could be cut.

As soon as he realized this, he grabbed Sun Jian, who was clutching his severed arm.

“Father, we need to retreat.”

“…”

Sun Jian looked around.

Their reinforcements were approaching. There wasn’t much time left.

But could he cut down this man as he was now?

That was a truly foolish question.

Sun Jian slowly nodded.

“Retreat.”

As soon as he heard his father’s words, Sun Ce hastily mounted his horse and prepared to withdraw.

Screams echoed from all directions, but that wasn’t important now.

They had to survive.

The instinct to live filled his mind.

He gripped the reins and charged forward.

A powerful wind stung his cheeks.

The remaining generals followed suit, grabbing their reins and spurring their horses to run.

As Sun Jian’s forces began to retreat one by one, Unryong’s cavalry sighed in relief, while Zhao Yun desperately searched for Unryong’s whereabouts, gasping for breath.

“Master!”

She called out, but there was no response.

The last time she saw him, he seemed to be pushing himself excessively.

Where had he gone?

She had no way of knowing.

Zhao Yun clenched her teeth and trembled in frustration when she heard a voice filled with shock.

“Brother?!”

When she looked up, she saw a dark shadow gradually closing in on the retreating Sun Jian troops.

It was undoubtedly her master.

Yet, it also didn’t seem like him.

For one, his atmosphere was different.

He seemed to be chasing them purely for slaughter.

So Zhao Yun mounted her horse.

But soon, the reinforcements arrived and stopped her.

“Captain, what are you doing?!”

“M-My master went after them alone!”

“What?”

Unsam tilted his head in disbelief.

His brother, though often reckless, could also be the most composed of men.

Thus, there was no reason to chase after the enemy in a battle they could win simply by holding out until reinforcements arrived.

Yet, Unryong was indeed pursuing them.

Sun Jian’s troops fell from their horses, rolling to the ground as he cut them down one by one.

Phantom Soul.

Unryong repeatedly appeared and disappeared, mercilessly slashing at the Sun Jian troops.

Linked Illusion Sword.

His unpredictable sword strikes continuously shot out.

Six Linked Illusion Slashes.

In an instant, he cut down six soldiers and continued his pursuit.

Eventually, the dark red qi mixed with the blue sky.

The Sun Jian army, Unryong’s forces, and even Cao Cao’s army, who were watching, were all stunned.

Even Lü Bu, who watched with rage boiling to the point of drawing blood from her lips, stood frozen.

The clear blue sky turned to ash-gray in an instant.

“…Father, look at him.”

Without turning around, Sun Jian, who was clutching his wounded shoulder, furrowed his brows at Sun Ce’s words.

He turned to see Unryong, gasping for breath, looking as if he might collapse at any moment.

And behind him lay a mountain of corpses.

“…Is he at his limit?”

If so, they could retreat safely.

It could even become an opportunity to surround Unryong, who had pushed too far into their territory.

At that moment, Unryong aimed his sword at them.

Then, he gripped the hilt with both hands.

He swung his sword through the air.

It was an action impossible to understand.

– Slash!

In a split second, blood sprayed out.

A large gash appeared on Sun Jian’s chest.

The sword should never have reached him from that distance.

Yet, it had.

How could they possibly comprehend what had happened?

Only Unryong, the creator of the Heavenly Extreme Linked Illusion Sword Technique, could perform such martial arts.

His personal technique, the Phantom Sword of a Thousand Li.

A state that could only be reached by understanding the void of the heavens.

It was an impossible martial art for him to perform, but Unryong, unable to control his qi, was forcing it out, damaging his own body.

“General!”

Sun Xiang quickly supported Sun Jian, who was about to fall off his horse.

“What… what is this…?!”

“We must flee. We have to run.”

For the first time, Sun Jian, who had never trembled in fear, grasped the situation.

This was not a battle.

It was nothing but a massacre.

Had he been hiding his power? Was he mocking us?

No, that wasn’t it.

Even a cursory glance showed that the man’s condition was far from normal.

His focus wavered, and his skin was bursting apart in places due to the dark red qi.

Sun Jian stopped thinking.

This wasn’t the time for such thoughts; only by grabbing the reins and pressing forward could they survive.

They continued to flee.

From that monster.

***

My mind was in a daze.

Where was I?

I was sure I had fallen into qi deviation, so why were my legs moving on their own?

An unbearable pain spread throughout my body.

I couldn’t lose myself here.

I couldn’t forget why I was standing in this place.

Yet, my brain, enveloped in internal energy, kept whispering something else.

– Kill them.

No. I wasn’t alone.

My brothers told me to trust them. I didn’t have to shoulder everything alone. Just as they trusted me, I could trust them too.

– Move. Kill them, and this war will end.

Still, enemies remained. I couldn’t die before restoring the order of Jianghu. I was alone. There was no one around.

– I must do it.

Must I do it?

Was this the only way to save the world?

So that I could finally build a world where I, Unsam, Baekrang, and Haryeong could laugh and talk freely?

– Lift your sword.

My feet moved.

Not by my will.

I was simply moving out of instinct.

I swung my sword.

Blood splattered in my vision.

Yet, every time I swung my sword, a pain I had never experienced before wracked my entire body.

Yes, I would do it.

With these hands.

Not just them.

I would cut down everything that blocked my path, and someday fulfill the peaceful era my people dreamed of.

Even if it meant breaking this body, I would keep moving forward.

Even if I died, I would become the foundation for them.

“Hah… Hah…”

Though my body screamed, my qi overflowed.

Had I opened the fourth gate?

I didn’t know.

But what was certain was that I now had the power to cut them down.

When I finally came to my senses, I felt a searing heat.

I saw flames blazing.

It was the enemy fortress, burning from the fire attack.

I had no way of knowing how I got here.

“Huff…!”

In front of me were people trembling in fear as they looked at me.

Were they Sun Jian’s troops? Most likely.

Sun Jian himself looked as though he was on the brink of death, battered by someone.

But that didn’t matter.

I took a step forward.

Through the towering pillars of flame.

To kill them all.