Chapter 900: An Attack on the Mind

"I feel like something’s off," Zhang Fei muttered, still not fully understanding the situation but not refusing either.

The two of them left the camp together. A few hundred paces away, a young man sat astride a magnificent steed, clad in golden armor, with the setting sun behind him. He looked like a deity, exuding an air of unmatched handsomeness.

Is this guy Ma Chao? Fa Zheng thought as he stepped out and saw Ma Chao. His immediate reaction was that the man was incredibly handsome, his horse equally magnificent, and his golden armor only enhanced his appearance. Compared to himself, Fa Zheng felt like Ma Chao's aura of valor outshined him by far.

"Yide, take him down," Fa Zheng’s dark thoughts surfaced instantly. How could the man vying for his potential love interest be so good-looking? It was a blow to his confidence. And to make things worse, Ma Chao was not even twenty years old and already at the level of an Internal Qi Detached cultivator. Was he born with innate Qi? How is that even possible? Fa Zheng felt utterly disheartened.

"Oh, sure," Zhang Fei responded. The handsome men he had seen before in the Central Plains paled in comparison to Ma Chao, who had a striking, exotic look. But once Fa Zheng gave the order, Zhang Fei quickly regained his composure. What difference did it make if the guy was good-looking? On the battlefield, it wasn't about appearances but strength!

As Zhang Fei rode forward, Ma Chao saw a black-faced brute atop a majestic warhorse. The sheer aura of ferocity from Zhang Fei told Ma Chao that this was likely the man he was seeking.

"You must be Zhang Fei!" Ma Chao shouted arrogantly, likely due to his youth, calling him directly by name.

"Hmph, you don’t even know your Uncle Zhang, and you dare come here to die?" Zhang Fei, quick-tempered as always, snapped back at Ma Chao’s rudeness, throwing politeness aside.

"My family has been nobles for generations! Why would we recognize a butcher from the mountains like you?" Ma Chao taunted, sensing the pressure from Zhang Fei, but still feeling confident, possibly more so than when he faced Zhang Xiu.

"You're asking for death!" Zhang Fei roared in fury and was about to charge forward, but Fa Zheng stopped him. Zhang Fei’s eyes widened as he glared at Fa Zheng.

In truth, Ma Chao wasn’t entirely wrong. The Ma family had indeed been noble for generations, and though they had declined, they remained a powerful family in Fufeng, thanks to the many marquises in their ancestry.

"Heh, so a family of noble lineage, huh? I never expected Fufeng’s Ma family to produce such a character," Fa Zheng sneered, stepping forward to deliver his verbal blows first. Time to crush him mentally, then let Zhang Fei finish him off physically. A double blow to both mind and body.

"And who are you?" Ma Chao asked, a bit wary of Fa Zheng. To Fa Zheng, Ma Chao was full of youthful vigor, but to Ma Chao, Fa Zheng appeared aloof and refined, exuding an air of supreme elegance.

After all, Fa Zheng had already proven himself on the battlefield before he was twenty. He had earned his title through military accomplishments, and his confidence and demeanor, now that he had achieved greatness, naturally commanded attention.

"I suppose you could call me a nobody," Fa Zheng replied with a casual smile, not even bothering to introduce himself. Why give his name when he could attack from the shadows and leave Ma Chao wondering who had bested him? That suited his current dark mood perfectly. "It doesn’t matter. You may not know me, but I know you, and that’s all that matters."

Ma Chao was unsure how to respond to Fa Zheng’s words, so he merely snorted arrogantly, his expression showing his pride, which only irritated Fa Zheng more.

"Let’s not talk about whether the Ma family ever produced a duke. Let’s just say this: there’s a huge difference between inheriting a title through ancestral merits and earning it through your own military achievements. When did someone who relied on the glory of his ancestors gain the right to mock those of us who earned our titles through battle?" Fa Zheng started calmly but quickly raised his voice with righteous indignation.

Ma Chao was momentarily stunned, and Zhang Fei burst into laughter. "Exactly! You brat, relying on your ancestors’ name and yet daring to provoke warriors like us, who earned our titles through merit in battle? And you call yourselves nobles for generations? Has your family’s honor been eaten by dogs? I heard the Ma family intermarried with the Qiang and Hu barbarians, so it’s no wonder you’ve forgotten the principles of loyalty, filial piety, and virtue that we Han people uphold!"

Zhang Fei’s words were cutting, harshly attacking not only Ma Chao but his entire family lineage. In ancient times, noble families took pride in their moral traditions, and Zhang Fei’s remarks directly insulted the Ma family’s integrity.

This sentiment wasn’t just personal; it was a prevailing belief of the time. If a Han Chinese adopted the virtues of loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness, they were considered Han, regardless of their heritage. But if someone with Han blood disregarded those values, they were no better than barbarians.

Zhang Fei’s comment was essentially calling Ma Chao a fraud, someone unworthy of claiming to be Han or noble, despite his family’s lineage.

"That makes sense! No wonder he’s different from us," Fa Zheng added with a smirk, clapping his hands as if he had just solved a puzzle.

Ma Chao turned pale, then blue, then red with rage. Finally, he let out a furious shout and charged at Zhang Fei. His horse, Li Feisha (previously misidentified, apologies for the mistake), seemed to sense his anger and instantly bolted toward Zhang Fei like a streak of lightning.

Zhang Fei had been keeping an eye on Ma Chao, and as soon as Ma Chao charged, Zhang Fei spurred his own horse forward.

In just a few moments, the two men collided. Though Zhang Fei hadn’t fully powered up, he unleashed the full strength of his arms, bracing against the combined force of Ma Chao’s horse and his own might. Zhang Fei stood his ground without budging an inch!

"Is that all the strength you’ve got?" Zhang Fei grinned viciously. In truth, his arms were slightly numb from the impact, as he had underestimated Ma Chao’s strength, which was approaching the level of Zhao Yun.

"How is this possible?" Ma Chao was shocked. Before this, only one person had ever blocked his full-strength strike so easily—Dian Wei, who had stopped him with a single halberd blow, overpowering him with sheer force.

"General Zhang, barbarians don’t follow our customs. You must be careful," Fa Zheng's voice came from behind, reminding Ma Chao of his previous impulsive behavior...

"Aaaah!" Ma Chao roared, his shame and fury overwhelming him as he realized how reckless he had been.

"Hah, I knew it. What a joke! You call yourselves noble, but you don’t even know the basic manners that even a ‘mountain butcher’ like me understands. Don’t be so surprised!" Zhang Fei bellowed. Then, with a great surge of power from his arms, he lifted Ma Chao and his horse into the air, throwing them aside.

"You’re just another ignorant barbarian who’s never seen real Han warriors. Did you really think you were something special? Bah! I was hoping for a worthy opponent, but this is all you’ve got?" Zhang Fei scoffed as he turned his horse and rode away, his back to Ma Chao, who was still in mid-air on Li Feisha, completely disregarding him.

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