Mythical Three Kingdoms

As the conversation unfolded, Juo Yi suddenly made a move, appearing directly in front of Liu Bei. A streak of blood-red Inner Qi manifested on his sword and slashed toward Liu Bei. Juo Yi, originating from the Northern Frontier, had always carried out tasks with this brutal simplicity. As a servant under Yuan Shao, he was willing to die for Yuan Shao's ambitions!

"Clang!" Zhao Yun arrived later but acted first; a silver-blue light flashed as he used Inner Qi Solidification to block Juo Yi's strike for Liu Bei. Then, with a reverse grip on the Yitian Sword, a massive wave of sword energy swept directly at Yuan Shao with enough force to eliminate both Yuan Shao and Juo Yi in one move!

"Clang!" Juo Yi immediately sidestepped, a dark red layer of Inner Qi enveloped his body as he shockingly resisted Zhao Yun's sword energy head-on.

"Time to send you on your way!" Chen Xi swiftly pulled out his repeating crossbow, his immense Spiritual Capacity spilling out unchecked. He raised it toward Yuan Shao's direction and unleashed a rapid volley. Enhanced by Zhao Yun's secret technique, the crossbow bolts practically transformed into silver streaks as they shot toward Yuan Shao.

In the blink of an eye, Juo Yi was held back by Zhao Yun, and Yann Liang leaped into the air to shield Yuan Shao. Of the ten bolts fired, he instantly deflected eight. It wasn't that the bolts were too fast—it was the attached Spiritual Capacity that posed a tremendous impact upon Yann Liang!

"Thud!" Yann Liang, exerting great effort to deflect the eighth bolt, felt something was amiss. His weapon was not well-suited for the task, and additionally, Chen Xi's immense Spiritual Capacity seemed to carry the possibility of erasing his thoughts entirely.

As Chen Xi acted, Jia Xu also retrieved his own repeating crossbow. Aiming at two military generals who had achieved Qi Refining to Gang Mastery, he fired two shots, rapidly imbuing his bolts with Spiritual Capacity, and then directed them toward Tian Feng.

Ordinary crossbow bolts, when used against civil officials face-to-face, did zero direct damage—civil officials' Spiritual Capacity could easily redirect them. However, Jia Xu's current intent was to use precision and habit to eliminate Tian Feng!

Of the eight bolts, five targeted Tian Feng, the greatest threat, while three aimed at Xin Ping standing beside him. If Ju Shou had been present, Jia Xu would have fired all eight at Ju Shou. However, Jia Xu's Spiritual Talent clearly analyzed that if five bolts couldn't kill Tian Feng, directing all would only wound him instead of ending him. Thus, maximizing effectiveness was a better choice.

"How dare you?" Wen Chou roared angrily and lunged toward Liu Bei, sword in hand. Meanwhile, Xuu Chu grabbed the hand halberd he typically used for meals and hurled it at Wen Chou with the clear intention of finishing him off.

Zhao Yun swung his sword at Yann Liang and Juo Yi, forcing them to defend. The last two bolts—one after another—flew toward Yuan Shao. If they struck, death was certain!

"Deflect them for me!" In that moment, Sheni Pei, seated closest to Yuan Shao, suddenly had his eyes burst with radiance of different hues. Using sheer Spiritual Capacity, he canceled out the Spiritual Capacity Chen Xi had attached to the bolts and pushed them aside!

"Press on! Ignore me, take Yuan Shao down!" Chen Xi shouted after his bolts missed. The explosion caused by the bolts resounded loudly, snapping Liu Bei back to full attention. Without hesitation, he stood up, grabbed a bronze wine vessel, and hurled it toward Yuan Shao. Wine splattered in all directions. Chen Xi unsheathed one of Liu Bei's double-edged swords from his waist and tossed it to Liu Bei. At once, a flash of swordlight erupted as Liu Bei charged at Yuan Shao!

"Clang!" Liu Bei aimed to kill Yuan Shao, but Yann Liang and Juo Yi naturally wouldn't allow it. Raising their weapons, they stabbed toward Liu Bei, only to be blocked by Zhao Yun. At this moment, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and others rushed forward with their swords, while the civil officials unleashed their full Spiritual Capacity, ready to fight to the death.

"Look, I've taken out three of them!" Jia Xu, gripping his sword, retreated alongside Chen Xi, sneering coldly. "Xin Ping, Zhou Ang, and Chen Fu—they're all dead by my arrows. Unfortunately, Tian Feng only suffered a graze. Otherwise, the explosion would have been enough to pulverize him!"

"Anguo, hold Zhang He back!" Chen Xi shouted at Wuu Anguo. As for the two oversized hammers, they weren't present at the moment. If they were, swinging them around would surely take down several civil officials in one blow.

"Zhongkang, finish off Wen Chou!" Chen Xi bellowed at Xuu Chu. Earlier, Xuu Chu had stormed forward with a roar and seized multiple hand halberds. Now, Wen Chou, unused to wielding a sword, had already suffered injuries.

"Zilong, eliminate Yuan Shao as well!" Chen Xi hollered fearlessly, his massive Spiritual Capacity becoming almost visible to the naked eye. Everyone banded together, locking Yuan Shao's civil officials tightly in place. This golden opportunity was meant to take Yuan Shao down first!

Zhao Yun smiled bitterly. He couldn't do it. This place was too cramped to fully wield his techniques. Even worse, Juo Yi wasn't even using Inner Qi Manifestation, yet his Military Spirit entering the body rendered its effect indistinguishable from Inner Qi Manifestation.

Adding insult to injury, Zhao Yun used to rely on his overwhelming Inner Qi reserves to dominate others. To his surprise, Juo Yi, despite not understanding the mechanics of Inner Qi Manifestation, recklessly unleashed his Inner Qi to compete in attrition with Zhao Yun. It was maddening. Anyone else facing this strategy besides Zhao Yun would surely be worn down to death!

Meanwhile, the Zhang Clan had already slipped away. Though both sides treated her courteously, with chaos raging and the likelihood of being caught in the crossfire high, she would never venture into such danger. She decisively backed out of the conflict, thinking that based on her assessment of Liu Bei and Yuan Shao's martial might, Liu Bei's chances of victory were quite high.

"Don't mind me; block the others for me—I'll kill him myself!" Liu Bei declared, swirling his longsword before lunging at Yuan Shao.

Liu Bei's sword sliced forward as Yuan Shao countered with a block. However, the overwhelming gap in strength caused Yuan Shao's armor to be split open by Liu Bei's downward force, leaving a gash across his chest. If Liu Bei had achieved Inner Qi Manifestation, one extension of the strike would have sliced Yuan Shao in half.

Struck heavily, Yuan Shao endured such a grievous wound, prompting Yann Liang, Wen Chou, and others to become enraged. Without hesitation, they lunged at their opponents with abandon!

"Die!" Wen Chou, overtaken by frenzy, ignored the sword thrust from Xuu Chu. The blade pierced him through, but he clamped down on Xuu Chu's sword with his muscles. As Xuu Chu stared in horror, Wen Chou fractured the sword and fiercely drove his own blade into Xuu Chu's chest.

"Thud!" Wen Chou's sword pierced through, and Xuu Chu's eyes turned blood-red. For the first time in his years, he had suffered such severe injuries. Enraged, he struck Wen Chou's chest with a powerful punch. As Wen Chou was sent flying backward, he detonated the Inner Qi embedded in his sword.

"Thud!" Blood sprayed as Xuu Chu spat mouthfuls of it, while Wen Chou, suffering fractured ribs, glared viciously at him.

As for Yuan Shao's subordinate generals, other than Chen Fu and Zhou Ang, who had been directly shot dead by Jia Xu, several others had arrived. However, the previous battle between Xuu Chu and Wen Chou had effectively blocked the main hall, preventing anyone from passing. Only after both Xuu Chu and Wen Chou were wounded did Yuan Shao's subordinates gain a chance to act. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian.com to vote with recommendation tickets or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile readers, please head to m.qidian.com for reading.)