Cao Cao frowned as he examined the intelligence in his hands. In his heart, Qingzhou’s Liu Bei had become the top enemy, so there could be no omission of information. But this report, what was it aiming at?
"Lord, Lyu Bu has come to challenge us, and we have been displaying the ’Do Not Disturb’ sign for several days now. If this continues, our morale will greatly suffer!" Le Jin knelt on one knee and warned.
"So it is, that guy Lyu Fengxian..." Cao Cao sighed helplessly. His martial strength wasn’t exactly outstanding, but even so, he clearly noticed Lyu Bu’s astonishing rise in power, surpassing his previous self at Hulao Pass by a good margin!
Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun were both severely injured by Lyu Bu on the first day of their challenge. Afterward, Cao Cao extinguished any thought of field battle with Lyu Bu—it was simply not something that humans could do!
"Humph~" Dian Wei began to grumble beside Cao Cao once again.
"Elai, are you confident?" Cao Cao asked without even turning his head.
"Only by fighting shall we know!" Dian Wei declared, unafraid.
"If that’s the case, then give it a try. Constantly putting up a ’Do Not Disturb’ sign is no solution," Cao Cao said as he stroked his unkempt beard.
Dian Wei was overjoyed. He pulled out two giant short halberds from beneath Cao Cao’s desk, stuffed his waist with a bunch of hand halberds, and he’d been itching to bash Lyu Bu for the past dozen days, seeing him swagger around.
"Wen Ruo, how are the arrangements coming along?" After Dian Wei left, Cao Cao turned to ask Xun Yu. The threat of Lyu Bu made Cao Cao could not help but want to eliminate him, naturally, if he could be subdued, that would be even better.
"Yuan Gonglu will soon have suspicions," Xun Yu said calmly.
"In that case, let us go see the battle between Lyu Fengxian and my Elai!" Cao Cao carelessly tossed aside the intelligence scroll, considering it worthless. For the sake of Shang Times and regaining his standing under Liu Bei, such youthful recklessness was to be expected!
When Cao Cao and the others reached the top of the wall, Dian Wei, already in his armored gear, stood above the gate. He casually slapped his muscles, then leaped directly from the wall.
"Boom!" A loud noise followed by billowing dust. Unlike Lyu Bu’s subtle force dispersion, Dian Wei simply smashed onto the ground, causing everything within tens of meters to crumble.
Shaking his head, Dian Wei drew out his Double Halberd, then stared blankly at Lyu Bu, scratching his head—he realized he didn’t have a horse to ride.
Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, covering their eyes, really didn’t want to say anything. The two knew that Dian Wei seemed somewhat stronger than them, but weren’t sure how much stronger exactly. However, judging by his landing technique, it was sorely lacking compared to Lyu Bu’s descent from hundreds of meters without leaving a mark...
As Dian Wei scratched his head, Lyu Bu was paying attention to him. Unlike with Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, Lyu Bu couldn’t sense any Inner Breath in Dian Wei, but he could feel the formidable aura emanating from him.
"Who are you!" Lyu Bu’s pressure bore down on Dian Wei head-on.
"Dian Wei of Chenliu! Lyu Bu, do you dare fight me on foot? I have no horse to match your Red Hare!" Dian Wei said in a deep and resonant voice.
Lyu Bu dismounted and hit the ground. At his level, he could walk on air. Even without Red Hare following Hulao, he was confident he wouldn’t lose to anyone. The glory of a War God allowed no challenges!
Dian Wei’s heart lifted when he saw Lyu Bu dismount. He was certain he wouldn’t lose to any living being in ground combat.
"Lyu Bu, take this!" Dian Wei roared and then suddenly stomped his foot, transforming into a dark streak of light as he charged towards Lyu Bu.
"Humph!" Lyu Bu bellowed furiously, the golden-red battle armor shining vividly on his body as Sky Piercer harshly slashed towards Dian Wei.
"Clang!" A deafening clang resonated as Lyu Bu’s Halberd fiercely struck Dian Wei’s short halberd, but it did not make Dian Wei retreat an inch. Instead, the rebounding force from the Sky Piercer made his right hand go numb!
"Die!" Dian Wei’s shout cleaved through the air. His right hand swung the short halberd down fiercely. Before the sound reached, the short halberd already slashed towards Lyu Bu’s chest.
"Thud!" Lyu Bu struggled to block Dian Wei’s short halberd with the Sky Piercer. The next moment, that terrifying force was transmitted along Sky Piercer to Lyu Bu’s body, flinging him away violently.
"Ha!" The moment Dian Wei sent Lyu Bu flying, he spun around in mid-air and stomped, instantly causing a thunderous roar as he chased after that ball of golden-red light. Meanwhile, the earth where he had launched himself showed a funnel-shaped pit more than ten meters wide, centered around Dian Wei’s footprint.
At this moment, if Lyu Bu didn’t realize he’d been outplayed by Dian Wei, that would have been strange. Dian Wei wasn’t devoid of Inner Qi; instead, he had infused all his Inner Qi into his body, a cultivation method with a fatality rate as high as 99%! A crazy technique forsaking Inner Qi Projection to solely refine the body! A method developed by Xiang Yu!
"Get lost!" Lyu Bu’s entire body shone bright as he forcefully halted his retreat, then took to the sky.
Dian Wei missed his strike, and as the smoke cleared, he looked up foolishly at Lyu Bu standing in the sky. He didn’t know how to fly! Why had nobody told him about Lyu Bu’s ability to fly?
"So it’s Dian Wei!" Lyu Bu stood aloft, his gaze coldly fixed on Dian Wei. Close combat with such a creature, even for someone named Lyu Bu, was an impossible victory. That strength, enough to snap a hill, was sufficient to overpower anyone, even without any ranged attack capabilities!
Though somewhat dumbfounded, Dian Wei instinctively reached for his waist. A hand halberd was thrown straight at Lyu Bu. With a slight tilt of his head, Lyu Bu let the halberd pass him at supersonic speed.
"Let me tell you the biggest drawback of your cultivation! Even if you now possess the force of Xiang Yu from years past!" Lyu Bu growled viciously, having nearly been caught off guard. If the previous strike had hit, he would have been gravely wounded, as that power was not of human origin!
As he spoke, the Sky Piercer in Lyu Bu’s hand in the sky kept extending, enwrapped in radiance and flame, forming a Sky Piercer over a hundred meters long, which he then ferociously swung at Dian Wei!
(To be continued. If you work, please vote for it at Qidian ), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)