Chapter 899: Ma Chao Arrives

Xiahou Yuan was fighting with all his might, his strength unexpectedly increasing. Meanwhile, Zhang Fei was dodging and hoping Xiahou Juan would call him off, but it was clear that Xiahou Yuan, now infuriated, wasn’t listening.

Zhang Fei, who had little to no dignity, was shouting nonsensical things while leaping around. Though Xiahou Yuan was undoubtedly a top-tier warrior, Zhang Fei, despite his burly physique, was incredibly agile. He didn’t fight Xiahou Yuan directly, only dodging. After some time, realizing he couldn’t avoid every attack, he started flying...

What happened next was astounding. Xiahou Yuan, likely blinded by rage, repeatedly stabbed at Zhang Fei, who was flying through the air. Naturally, none of the attacks connected. Completely enraged, Xiahou Yuan suddenly began flying as well. It’s worth noting that, up until this moment, Xiahou Yuan hadn’t known how to fly.

This revealed the limitless potential of human beings. Xiahou Yuan’s inability to fly was mainly due to a mental block—after all, even Cao Cao’s strongest warrior, Dian Wei, couldn’t fly. Xiahou Yuan had always assumed he couldn’t either. But after being driven to fury by Zhang Fei’s aerial antics, he managed to fly out of sheer anger.

When Zhang Fei saw Xiahou Yuan take to the air as well, he knew things were getting troublesome. Though he could defeat Xiahou Yuan, he couldn't do so without injuring him, and capturing Xiahou Yuan unharmed was impossible. Now that his best escape tactic was rendered useless, should he turn back to fight? But Xiahou Juan was right below, watching everything. After thinking for a moment, Zhang Fei made a decision: he’d just keep flying.

So, without any shame, Zhang Fei ascended higher into the sky, with Xiahou Yuan closely following. The two of them flew upward for about twenty li (6 miles), at which point Xiahou Yuan could no longer ascend any higher. Zhang Fei, also near his limit, hovered about 200 meters above Xiahou Yuan.

"Brother-in-law, give it a rest. You can't keep flying like this. Look, I can still go a bit higher!" Zhang Fei called out, ascending even further.

Xiahou Yuan glared up at Zhang Fei, who was leisurely floating above him, clearly still having energy to spare. Xiahou Yuan, on the other hand, was exhausting his internal energy too quickly, and further ascent was becoming increasingly difficult for him.

"Don't just stay quiet!" Zhang Fei, seeing Xiahou Yuan remain silent, turned upside down and flew headfirst downward, calling out. This particular trick he had learned from Lü Bu, whose flying abilities were even more remarkable.

"Hmph!" Xiahou Yuan snorted, just as he noticed Ma Chao appearing on the horizon. With a sudden release of his internal energy, he allowed himself to fall back to the ground. He had realized by now that he was no match for Zhang Fei, and Zhang Fei clearly wasn’t interested in hurting him. Still, Xiahou Yuan couldn’t swallow his pride in this situation.

"This is such a headache! What am I supposed to do now?" Zhang Fei muttered in frustration as he watched Xiahou Yuan plummet back to the ground. He too began to descend.

When Xiahou Yuan landed, he saw Xiahou Juan standing there, concern written all over her face. He had the urge to grab her and leave immediately, but after a moment, he sighed, glanced at her, and said nothing as he turned his horse back toward Puyang to prepare for Ma Teng’s arrival.

By the time Zhang Fei landed, Xiahou Yuan had already left. Zhang Fei had been watching carefully from above, ready to intervene if Xiahou Yuan had done something shameless. If that had happened, Zhang Fei wouldn't have held back next time.

Overall, Zhang Fei was satisfied. Though Cao Cao’s forces had changed a lot, Xiahou Yuan was still much like the hero from Hulao Pass—a valiant man. However, after today, it seemed unlikely that Xiahou Yuan would ever pour him a drink again.

"Let’s go, back to camp!" Zhang Fei said proudly to Xiahou Juan, who glanced back toward Puyang and let out a soft sigh.

As Xiahou Yuan and Guo Yuan escorted Ma Teng's army into the city, Ma Chao, seeing Xiahou Yuan slightly out of breath, couldn’t help but feel eager for a fight. After entering the Guanzhong region from Xiliang, Ma Chao had finally learned who the top warriors in the land were.

"General Xiahou, you seem like you’ve just had a warm-up. What’s the point of practicing alone? Why don’t we spar for a bit?" Ma Chao suggested, without a care that this could be seen as a provocation.

Ma Chao was a battle maniac. When he entered Chang’an, he had challenged all the warriors he could find. At the time, he wasn’t even a match for Hua Xiong. However, after challenging everyone he could, Ma Chao now felt confident that he could defeat Hua Xiong if they fought again.

"Why don’t you go challenge the guy from the other side?" Xiahou Yuan, despite being in a bad mood, knew Ma Chao’s character. Challenging people without knowing their strength was one thing, but even after knowing how strong Dian Wei was, Ma Chao had still insisted on a fight without any mercy from Dian Wei.

"Hm? Is there a master on the other side?" Ma Chao asked excitedly.

"A master among masters. You’ve heard of Zhang the Butcher, haven’t you?" Xiahou Yuan replied, too tired to even mention Zhang Fei’s name, but still respectful enough not to disparage Zhang Fei’s abilities.

"I’ll be back in no time!" Ma Chao eagerly spurred his horse, caring nothing about attending any banquets.

For Ma Chao, nothing was as satisfying as fighting a skilled opponent. Like Sun Ce, he was in a rapid phase of growth, and dueling with top warriors greatly benefited his progress. More importantly, he now had enough strength to protect himself.

After Ma Chao took off, Ma Teng turned to Xiahou Yuan and cupped his hands in greeting. "My son is rather unruly, General Xiahou, I hope you can forgive him."

"..." Xiahou Yuan rolled his eyes. Nineteen years old and already close to the pinnacle of Internal Qi Detachment, and you call him ‘my boy’? Even Lü Bu wasn’t this crazy.

As for Guo Yuan, he was utterly shocked. He had seen powerful warriors before, but he had never encountered someone so young and yet so formidable.

"To the warriors on the other side, listen up! Ma Chao of Xiliang challenges you!" Ma Chao’s voice echoed for miles around.

Fa Zheng, who had been about to take a bite of meat, froze mid-motion. Zhang Fei, upon hearing the challenge, grinned with excitement. Another strong opponent! He had been frustrated earlier, unable to fight back against Xiahou Yuan and only dodging attacks. Even his fight with Lü Bu hadn’t been this frustrating.

"I heard someone shouting that Ma Chao of Xiliang is here to challenge us," Fa Zheng muttered, rubbing his ears as his previously sleepy expression quickly became sharp. He stood up, his face now serious.

"Of course, how could you mishear that? With such a loud voice, I’ll be back in a moment!" Zhang Fei stood up, eager to grab his snake spear and head out for a fight. As a top warrior, going a day without fighting made him uncomfortable.

"Ma Chao, huh? Let’s go take a look, see what he’s like," Fa Zheng said, his grim expression suddenly replaced with a smile. He casually grabbed a piece of horse meat from the dish in front of him as he spoke. It was odd to see fresh vegetables in a military camp, but there they were, mixed with the meat.

"You’re going too?" Zhang Fei asked, confused. Fa Zheng had always avoided this kind of thing. Why was he suddenly interested in watching? Little did Zhang Fei know, he was unaware of the grudge between Fa Zheng and Ma Chao.

"Let’s go take a look. I’ve heard that Ma Chao is quite something. I’d like to see for myself and settle some personal matters," Fa Zheng replied, smiling.

Previous Chapter | | Next Chapter