Mythical Three Kingdoms

We must know that Ma Chao is Ma Teng's most favored son, capable of fighting, commanding troops, with outstanding strength, basically invincible, and even became the King of Qiang. Though Ma Teng does not say it, he naturally feels that the Ma Clan's rise depends on Ma Chao, but then his son ended up in a vegetative state...

An angry Ma Teng gathered all his troops and was ready to fight to the death with Lyu Bu. Before engaging Lyu Bu, he took Zhong Yao's advice to inform Cao Ren. Regardless of whether Cao Ren sent troops or not, Ma Teng had already planned to fight external and internal battles!

At this point, Cao Ren naturally wouldn't refuse. Ma Teng's proposal was exactly what he wanted; Cao Cao originally had the idea of using the Xianbei tribe to weaken Lyu Bu and then absorbing Lyu Bu's forces strongly.

Previously, Lyu Bu was so overwhelmingly strong that he directly scared the Xianbei away, and now they were again pushed towards Lyu Bu, bringing the previously failed plan back onto the original path. With this new incident adding to it, Cao Ren almost wanted to laugh out loud to the sky.

However, Cao Ren was not foolish. At such a time, he wouldn't do such a thing; instead, he advised Ma Teng not to be impulsive, suggesting he should start with diplomacy before using force to avoid becoming a laughingstock. Finally, after Ma Teng's repeated urging, Cao Ren reluctantly agreed to Ma Teng's request.

Zhang He held a completely mediating stance on this matter since he had witnessed Lyu Bu's exaggerated strength. Unlike Cao Ren and others who estimated Lyu Bu leading a small elite force to defeat the Foreign Department, what Zhang He saw was truly a single man breaking an army.

Therefore, Zhang He finally expressed that he did not intend to get involved in this matter. Cao Ren did not have excessive demands on this point either, as Zhang He was part of the Allied Army and had made significant contributions in previous battles, proving the depth of the alliance with them.

As for the battle against Lyu Bu, Cao Ren hadn't considered letting Yuan Tan's side assist either. Zhang He staying out of it was already a huge support for Cao Ren, so he didn't ask for more. On the contrary, he sent Zhang He a large pile of gifts.

Of course, this wasn't some sort of recruitment, just building a good rapport. Regarding the Four Pillars of Hebei, given the circumstances of the Yuan Liu War spreading throughout the land, most people held great respect for the loyalty and righteousness of Yann Wen. Thus, they held Zhang He and Gao Lan, who were ranked alongside him, in high regard as well.

After all, Zhang He and Gao Lan were the first wave of generals to charge out and fight to the death, with no moral defects. The people of the world aren't blind, so they naturally wouldn't see them the same way as they see Yuan Tan.

Furthermore, Zhang He's demonstrated high-level commanding and combat skills along with a glimpse of his Legion Talent in this battle proved to everyone on the side of the Cao Army that Zhang He not only lived up to the name of one of the Four Pillars in terms of loyalty and righteousness, but his abilities were also exceptionally excellent.

Thus, Cao Ren sent a substantial gift to ally Zhang He with a view to forming a connection, which made Zhang He's desire for revenge even more determined, at least to kill Huang Zhong and Guan Yu, even if it meant sacrificing his own life!

Time shifted back to the outskirts of Jiuyuan City, where Lyu Bu, with eyes full of icy killing intent and hatred, wielded his Sky Piercer. At that moment, it seemed as if even heaven and earth responded to Lyu Bu's attack. Everyone facing Lyu Bu felt a heavy pressure restricting them.

Before that power could hold him, Zhang Xiu, without hesitation, detonated the two streams of Inner Qi within his body. Dazzling Purple Radiance mixed with countless blood-red streaks, and Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix stabbed directly toward Lyu Bu!

"Ding!" A light sound echoed as Zhang Xiu was blasted backward, and Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix was shattered before it could unfold.

"Your spear is far behind Zhao Zilong's!" After knocking Zhang Xiu back, Lyu Bu, transformed into a golden light mass, charged towards Zhang Xiu's direction.

Lyu Bu attacked with full force. A booming sound erupted from the sky, and the golden light mass instantly twisted into a fireball, tracing a fiery path across the sky with its high-speed maneuver.

As Lyu Bu caught up to the flying-backward Zhang Xiu, he swung the Sky Piercer again, and this time Zhang Xiu, unable to resist, was directly smashed into the mountainside.

No mushroom clouds, no terrifying aura, the eyes of Xiahou Dun and others only saw a streak of purple light getting embedded into the mountain, and then it was over.

As Lyu Bu gazed at Zhang Xiu, likely hammered into the mountain and pierced a hundred feet underground, he slowly turned his head to look at Xiahou Dun and others, brimming with killing intent, "You have severely underestimated me. In this world, only a handful can challenge me now!"

"Boom!" While Lyu Bu spoke, the small mountain where Zhang Xiu was smashed explodes, and Zhang Xiu, cloaked in purple light, his armor nearly shattered, stood in the sky.

"Virtually unscathed, how is that possible..." Pang De said in disbelief.

"Open for me!" Zhang Xiu roared frantically as countless streams of Inner Qi rushed out of his body, and his body resembled a shattered porcelain, with endless filthy blood and fresh blood bursting out, a ray of purple light piercing the Sky Dome!

In distant Jizhou, Tong Yuan gazed west and muttered dismally, "This child, doesn't he want to live?"

As Tong Yuan stood up and flew directly westward, at the same time, top warriors across the land sensed the overwhelming yet mixed feeling of twilight and vitality.

"Is this Zhang Boyuan's Inner Qi?" Having rushed to Bingzhou, Dian Wei narrowed his eyes towards the east, "Really want to fight a battle!"

After saying it, Dian Wei roared and ran in the direction of that Inner Qi, his large steps although not fast as flying warriors, spanning dozens of feet with each step nonetheless.

"Come fight!" Zhang Xiu shouted angrily, disregarding the gazes from Xiahou Brothers and others. Since the Dong Zhuo era, he's been wanting a duel with Lyu Bu!

"Haha, I didn't expect you to reach this level, although it has external influences," Lyu Bu suddenly laughed. He now saw hope of breaking free.

Zhang Xiu stepped into the void, almost as if he was stepping on solid ground, fighting at super high speed like Lyu Bu, while Lyu Bu extracted the power of millennia-old grudges with one side, suppressing the negatives with the other, engaging in battle with Zhang Xiu while minimizing his energy expenditure.

"Boom boom boom, rumble rumble!" Like thunder, countless explosive sounds boomed in the sky. With the final explosion, the purple light representing Zhang Xiu was directly pressed down from the sky by Lyu Bu, hurled toward Xiahou Yuan and others.

"Cough cough!" Zhang Xiu kneeled with one knee on the ground, with cracks resembling those on porcelain appearing all over his body. If not for the Purple Qi tenaciously holding him together, Zhang Xiu might have crumbled into pieces.

"Again!" Zhang Xiu roared, but just as he rushed forth, Lyu Bu pounded him back into the ground, no longer cold but somewhat urgent this time.

"Everyone, attack!" As Zhang Xiu attempted to charge again, suddenly Xiahou Dun shouted loudly, and then Xiahou Yuan and others all charged toward Lyu Bu in the sky. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)