Chapter 31: Peerless Techniques and Their Drawbacks

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"Not bad, you guys are not bad. Since I mastered my martial arts, you are the first to make me bleed. Since you've let me know that there are still people in this world capable of harming me, I shall let you witness my true strength!" The aura emanating from Lu Bu surged continuously. During the time he spoke, a layer of physical, golden-red flowing armor had forcibly formed around him, with tiger and leopard cloud patterns clearly visible, as if Lu Bu had truly donned a suit of armor.

Seeing this, anyone who wasn't a fool understood that Lu Bu had absolutely not been going all out before. Watching Lu Bu stride through the air, someone among the soldiers of Hulao Pass shouted, "The General is mighty!" followed by a rising tide of cheers. Lu Bu's presence, just as the coalition had estimated, provided a terrifying boost to the morale of the Dong Zhuo army.

A visible trace of worry appeared on Liu Bei's face. He had always believed his second and third brothers were enough to traverse the world, but now, anyone without eyes could see that the world was vast! At the very least, Lu Bu was currently venting his strength frantically; relying on his peak power to suppress all the martial artists in the world, he could only be looked up to in awe.

Relying on his super-powerful offensive capabilities, Lu Bu deadlocked Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Guan Yu had also realized that his previous strike hadn't lacked power, but had simply missed its mark. He didn't know what technique Lu Bu had used to deflect his slash, and the blood on his body had been splattered back by the recoil when he tried to deflect that fatal blow.

Knowing this, Guan Yu regained his confidence once more. Lu Bu was not strong beyond imagination; although extremely powerful, he had not reached a level where he could treat the two of them as nothing.

Having confidence was a good thing, but Guan Yu had clearly miscalculated one thing: Lu Bu had not used some technique or maneuver to deflect his attack, but had instead used sheer force to smash the strike aside. Guan Yu's strongest strike had not yet reached the level that forced Lu Bu to yield.

The Sky Piercer halberd danced in a continuous flurry of up and down movements. At a glance, the area around the three men was filled with the shadows of the halberd, occasionally punctuated by flashes of green or black light. It was obvious that even in a two-on-one, the younger Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were not yet matches for Lu Bu in his prime. The powerful and flamboyant Lu Bu, relying on his superior strength, had completely taken control of the situation.

While enduring Lu Bu's attacks, Guan Yu cursed inwardly. He had made up his mind: in the future, unless he could kill his opponent in a single blow, he would absolutely not use the ultimate technique he had developed himself. Especially against top-tier experts, if such a move failed to kill the opponent, he would be a dead man!

Lu Bu alternated between light and heavy strikes. He could guarantee that the black-faced Zhang Yide was definitely suffering internal injuries, and the red-faced Guan Yu with the great saber was not faring any better.

Zhang Fei swore that if he ever had the chance, he would definitely learn this technique of alternating light and heavy strikes. After several instances where he thought Lu Bu was going to clash head-on in a brute-force struggle, only to find himself hitting Lu Bu's halberd—which felt as if it had no weight, using Zhang Fei's own momentum to slash toward his second brother at super-high speeds—the visible thickening of the air and the sonic booms made Zhang Fei realize that such a strike could deal tons of damage.

Guan Yu already wanted to curse, but his red face made it impossible for Lu Bu to read his thoughts. However, he truly could not hold back any longer; he had taken one of Lu Bu's super-heavy strikes, and after his Green Dragon Crescent Blade nearly slipped from his hands, he realized he had to keep his eyes wide open. If he took another one head-on, he would definitely be heavily wounded.

Lu Bu grew more relaxed as the fight progressed. Having won a bet against an old man, he had gained a feel for the alternating light and heavy strikes and was even beginning to incorporate techniques. It could be said that if he wished, he was confident he could defeat these two in fifty moves—just fifty. However, what gave him pause was that he could sense at least two experts at the "Internal Qi Projection" level aiming bows and arrows at him; if he went for a killing blow, the opponents would surely abandon all sense of honor.

"Brother Yun, why haven't you moved yet!" Chen Xi was no fool. It was obvious that the golden-red light had now squeezed the cyan-black light into a ring, looking as if it could swallow it at any moment. He wanted to curse; Lu Bu was simply too brutal!

"Wait a little longer. General Guan and General Zhang's strength is constantly rising. This is likely the first time they have encountered such a situation—being suppressed like this. If they fight desperately to break through, their own strength will grow rapidly. The years before forty are the best time to strive!" Zhao Yun gripped his bright silver spear, ready to rush in for rescue at any moment. He could already see that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were falling into a disadvantage.

Zhang Fei's mind had gone blank, much like the "State of Selflessness" described in certain cultivation manuals. Of course, that was a joke; Zhang Fei currently thought of nothing, his eyes fixed solely on Lu Bu's halberd.

Guan Yu was doing slightly better. Although his strength had dropped to ninety percent of his usual level due to that supreme strike, and he had struggled to hold off Lu Bu earlier, he didn't know if Lu Bu had suddenly changed his temperament or what, but currently, seventy percent of Lu Bu's attacks were being directed at Zhang Fei.

Guan Yu didn't know why, but Lu Bu did. Lu Bu also wanted to curse. To say he was stronger than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei combined was true, but not by much. Fortunately, Guan Yu had unleashed a massive move right at the start and then entered a weakened state, which was the reason Lu Bu was able to pin them down so effectively.

In a battle between experts, a ninety-percent-strength Guan Yu was at most a distraction for Lu Bu, and when necessary, Zhang Fei would have to step in to block for his brother. This gave Lu Bu opportunities to strike. Once Guan Yu caught his breath, Lu Bu would strike without hesitation to knock the breath out of him again, followed by several more slashes, forcing Zhang Fei and Guan Yu into a defensive stance. As a result, a battle that might have taken hundreds of moves to decide was forcibly compressed by Lu Bu into fifty.

Now, Lu Bu could no longer afford to ignore Guan Yu. Zhang Fei's serpent spear was becoming heavier and heavier. Most importantly, Lu Bu knew clearly that this wasn't some technique like the "Heavy Sword Art," but rather that the charcoal-faced man's brute strength was continuously increasing.

Thinking of this, Lu Bu wanted to curse. He had seen many people undergo breakthroughs during battle, but a continuous increase in strength during a fight was simply abnormal!

Most importantly, Zhang Fei's strength was becoming increasingly unnatural. Lu Bu was clashing with Zhang Fei using the heavy strike technique; at first, he could push Zhang Fei back, but now, even with the heavy strikes active, Zhang Fei could strike back. Was this truly human strength? Lu Bu's heart was already roaring in protest.

Lu Bu had no interest in using tricks to kill Zhang Fei; he had confidence in himself. More importantly, he desperately wanted to know just how much strength this brute possessed; he was truly curious.

As for Guan Yu, let him recover his breath. Lu Bu had basically figured out Guan Yu's limits; aside from that one super-strong strike, there wasn't much else. Even if he recovered and tried to flank him, it wouldn't matter; by then, Lu Bu would have already beaten this charcoal-faced man into having little combat effectiveness left. Turning back to deal with Guan Yu would only take another fifty or sixty moves.

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*PS: I've been hanging around the Hulao Pass chapter for two days and it still hasn't ended. So there should be another update this afternoon. As for those requesting extra updates, I can only pass by silently...*

(End of Chapter)