Chapter 21: The Heaven-Defying Lu Bu

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"Thud!" In about thirty-five moves, Lu Bu heavily wounded Wen Chou. Another super expert now lay dead on the ground, but this time, Lu Bu did not charge toward Yuan Shao. Instead, he frowned slightly and looked toward the west, sensing two staggering auras surging in his direction.

He smiled. Although these two auras were not as powerful as his own, they were rare enough to ignite the blood in his chest. [Come! These are the experts I have been waiting for. Defeating ants does not excite me; only slaying masters can make the blood in my veins burn!]

Guan Yu's azure light grew increasingly massive as he approached, even beginning to squeeze the dark light of Zhang Fei beside him.

"Lu Bu, take this!" Guan Yu uttered these four words with a majestic, calm expression, radiating pure arrogance.

Holding his Green Dragon Crescent Blade downward, Guan Yu could feel that he was losing control over his surging power. However, Lu Bu, standing there completely motionless, looked like an easy target from any angle!

"Come then!" A rare trace of wariness appeared in Lu Bu's eyes. Even though his strength allowed him to see through the essence of this move, he did not dodge. Because he was Lu Bu; he disdained dodging. In this world, warriors only dodged him; none could make him dodge.

"Clang!" With a deafening explosion, the strike containing all of Guan Yu's essence collided with Lu Bu's full-strength blow. The resulting shockwave was so powerful that it instantly killed most of the soldiers in the vicinity.

"Not bad!" As the dust settled, Lu Bu sat atop Red Hare, gripping his Sky Piercer halberd with both hands while staring at Guan Yu. "With a move like that, it's no wonder Hua Xiong died at your hands! However, to face me, you are still lacking a bit of refinement!"

Blood surged in Guan Yu's chest. He had never imagined anyone could directly halt his full-strength strike—no, more than that, someone had used only their own strength, without preparation, to force him back and even shatter the momentum he had gathered in a single blow.

"An unstoppable strike. A normal person might have been executed instantly because they couldn't withstand your first blow. Someone at Hua Xiong's level, even if they blocked it, wouldn't have been able to break your momentum and would have been killed by the subsequent strikes, which grow heavier with every hit. And if one were to dodge, it would only make your momentum even more formidable, eventually leading to being cut down from horseback!" Lu Bu looked at Guan Yu indifferently, describing the sheer power of Guan Yu's technique.

Guan Yu silently regulated his breathing, his expression remaining proud. He completely ignored Lu Bu's evaluation. No matter how much turmoil raged in his heart, it was masked by his red face and his half-lidded, arrogant gaze; even Lu Bu failed to notice the change in Guan Yu's inner state.

[Is this the number one warrior under heaven? He truly endured my strongest strike as if it were nothing!] Guan Yu gripped his reins, his slightly opened eyes staring at Lu Bu. Unconsciously, he had already acknowledged Lu Bu's greatness.

"Second Brother, let me help you!" An itching Zhang Fei, seeing Guan Yu forced back, clamored to charge forward and assist.

"You're not bad..." Lu Bu glanced at Zhang Fei and spoke.

Having charged alone into the enemy camp, Lu Bu felt no sense of danger from the soldiers surrounding him; the only ones capable of stopping him were the two before him.

"It seems there are only a few of you in this allied army." Lu Bu cast a contemptuous glance toward Yuan Shao, then looked toward the newly arrived Cao Cao and the Xiahou brothers behind him.

Lu Bu released his aura unrestrainedly. Guan Yu watched him with half-closed eyes without speaking. Even after exerting his maximum strength in a single strike, Guan Yu could not fathom the depths of Lu Bu's power; it was unfathomable—that was his own intuition.

"Whirr!" Following a sharp, piercing sound, a silver light-arrow streaked across the night sky before exploding into stardust. Frowning, Lu Bu turned his horse, preparing to leave.

"Cao Cao, Yuan Shao—your heads are still attached to your necks for now." Lu Bu sneered as he turned his mount.

Xiahou Yuan gripped his bow, staring fixedly at Lu Bu. That massive aura almost made it impossible for him to lift his hands. No matter how much he screamed internally, he simply could not raise his arms to fire the arrow he had prepared.

"Lu Bu, do not leave!" Biting his lower lip, Xiahou Yuan finally roared and released his prepared arrow. A streak of black light tinged with blood shot toward Lu Bu like a meteor.

After the arrow passed, Xiahou Yuan looked as if he had just been fished out of a river.

Lu Bu sneered and swung his halberd to knock the arrow away. He then pulled his precious bow from his saddle, laughing coldly. "Let me show you what real archery is!"

As his thumb pulled the string, a golden-red phantom slowly appeared on the otherwise empty bow. As the string was drawn, the arrow gradually solidified. He released it, and a golden-red streak of light sliced through the night sky, piercing a thousand-meter straight line without making a single sound.

"My hand slipped; it's been a long time since I used a bow." Lu Bu's loud laughter, laced with mockery, drifted over. When he turned his head again, the command flag had been struck into pieces.

Guan Yu turned to look at a sweating Xiahou Yuan. While Lu Bu's aura had completely suppressed them, a man who had only reached the stage of refining Qi into罡 (Aura/Gang) was actually able to fire an arrow.

"Congratulations." Guan Yu held his reins, controlling his half-dead Xiliang steed, and bowed to Cao Cao and the Xiahou brothers.

Once Lu Bu left, Xiahou Yuan's forced composure instantly collapsed. After Guan Yu approached and confirmed they were safe, Xiahou Yuan could no longer endure his exhaustion; his right hand released the reins, and he slowly slumped down.

"Miaocai!" Cao Cao sensed something was wrong the moment Xiahou Yuan's hand slipped. He reached out to support him, but Xiahou Yuan simply fell.

Fortunately, Xiahou Dun reached out from the side to catch him. "Elder Brother, Miaocai is fine. He just exhausted too much internal energy and fainted."

"Lord Cao, there is a high possibility that Xiahou Miaocai will break through his current level upon waking. If he does not, ask him how he managed to fire that arrow today." Guan Yu spoke more than usual, then turned his horse to depart.

"Oh, Lu Bu has left! I wanted to come see the excitement." Chen Xi arrived just as the fight had ended, much like a policeman arriving after the crime.

"Lu Bu is gone," Zhang Fei said with a dark face. Though, considering his own complexion was already dark, it was hard to tell.

"Oh, you didn't go to stop him?" Chen Xi raised an eyebrow, looking at him strangely.

"Couldn't stop him..." Zhang Fei's face grew even darker. He thought he was fierce enough, but today he had witnessed what a true powerhouse looked like.

He had cut through Yan Liang and Wen Chou like chopping vegetables, halted Guan Yu's strongest strike, and his massive aura had suppressed everyone present.

"Oh, right. I am Chen Xi, also known as Chen Zichuan of Yingchuan. Greetings, Alliance Leader, and greetings, Lord Cao." Chen Xi acted as if he had only just noticed Cao Cao, smiling as he cupped his hands. To be honest, this was the first time he had formally introduced himself in so long.

Cao Cao maintained his grace and returned the salute, but he was anxious about Xiahou Miaocai's condition. After greeting Yuan Shao, he hurried back to his camp. Meanwhile, Yuan Shao was in a state of total panic trying to treat Yan Liang and Wen Chou; he didn't even spare a glance for Cao Cao, let alone the unknown Chen Xi.

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*PS: What is Dian Niang trying to do? I've tried to upload several times, but it won't go through.*

*Speaking of which, if Lu Bu's combat power is magnified ten times and Guan Yu's is also magnified ten times, it seems Lu Bu could kill several Guan Yus. With proportional enhancement, the earlier characters gain more strength and the gap between them and those following grows larger. By this rule, Lu Bu is truly heaven-defying.*