NOVPUB"Alright, we shall certainly abide by the Great Commander’s words!" A group of canal commandants, both great and small, said respectfully, not wishing to leave a poor impression on Mount Tai in these final moments. Furthermore, since Guan Hai had indeed expedited their joining with Mount Tai, they were happy to recognize Guan Hai as their boss for the last stretch of time.
"Then, my brothers, we have an agreement. We’ll surround them without attacking, sitting in wait for Mount Tai to come and besiege us. Once the enemy approaches, we’ll all go and surrender together!" Guan Hai bellowed.
"Alright, we are willing to obey the Great Commander’s orders!" The canal commandants roared with excitement, as a promising future beckoned to them. As to whether Mount Tai would execute them, after long observation they noted that Zhou Cang, Pei Yuanshao, Liaoo Hua, and others lived well, so they felt that as long as they surrendered, all would be fine...
When Chen Xi received this intelligence, he was simply speechless. Guan Hai was courting death; what’s the hurry? Wait a month or two, and we’ll come to deal with you. Previously, he had intended to recruit Guan Hai, who after all was an expert that Guan Yu had to strike down after more than thirty exchanges. In this world, given the current state of Guan Yu, without Inner Qi Manifestation, Guan Hai couldn’t last a single exchange.
"Alas, what a waste. Guan Hai is certainly doomed," said Chen Xi with a sigh, "A brave warrior who charges into combat formations, loses his head to folly and then is gone."
"Just a remnant of the Yellow Turbans," Jia Xu said with a sniff.
"As a Yellow Turbans’ remnant with Inner Qi Manifestation rank, it’s a pity he would die," Chen Xi said, shaking his head.
"Inner Qi Manifestation?" Jia Xu was taken aback, "When did experts of Inner Qi Manifestation become so common that even among the Yellow Turbans there are such individuals?"
"This is an era thriving with martial artists; it can’t be helped. The future will see even more individuals with Inner Qi Manifestation," Chen Xi said with a shrug. He wondered if he should mention how someone like Cao Hong could, in the future, trade blows with Ma Chao for fifty to sixty rounds and emerge unscathed. Logically, the later stages would likely see no shortage of individuals achieving Inner Qi Manifestation.
"This just shouldn’t be!" Jia Xu frowned, "You might not be aware of some things. Having come across records concerning warriors from past dynasties within the imperial palace, Inner Qi Manifestation is considered the pinnacle for martial artists. In fact, there shouldn’t be so many. To be precise, discounting this era, just King Xiang was known to have achieved Inner Qi Manifestation over the last few centuries since the Qin and Han."
Chen Xi was startled, "That doesn’t make sense, how could there not have been a single Inner Qi Manifestation in hundreds of years?"
"The court histories record it thus. This is also why Wang Yue, being an independent hero, became the Imperial Tutor; because he was the first to achieve Inner Qi Separation through swordsmanship since King Xiang. After him came Tong Yuan, and then likely Huang Hansheng," explained Jia Xu, as he patiently shared with Chen Xi the secret information he uncovered from the imperial archives.
"It just shouldn’t be. There have already been so many experts achieving Inner Qi Manifestation. That’s impossible," Chen Xi said, furrowing his brow. Based on what he knew, although Inner Qi Manifestation was indeed difficult, could there really have not been a single case in four hundred years?
"This is the truth. To be exact, those people may only have taken the first step towards Inner Qi Perfection like Lyu Fengxian; others, including Wang Yue and Tong Yuan, as recorded in the Inner Treasury documents, appear to be just at the stage of Perfection. However, according to the documents, after reaching Perfection, they developed many secret techniques, ultimate knowledge, and forbidden techniques to enhance their own strength," said Jia Xu, combining what he had learned from the documents with what he heard from Lyu Bu.
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"So you’re saying Tong Yuan and Wang Yue might be able to defeat Lyu Fengxian in combat, but in terms of actual realms, they’re still not as good as Lyu Bu?" Chen Xi was stunned by this conclusion—it simply defied science!
"Yes, that’s exactly the situation. Lyu Fengxian disdains the study of secret techniques; his goal is to break the forbidden and reach higher levels. For him, secret techniques are nothing but crooked paths. He desires stable and balanced combat power, not temporary bursts of strength," Jia Xu solemnly stated.
[From this aspect, Lyu Bu is indeed a determined and persistent figure. Should I say he truly is the best in the world? Without such a temperament, he never could have come this far. However, it’s a pity his character doesn’t suit the Central Plains. If he had stayed in Bingzhou Jiuyuan, defending the frontier and not looking south for thirty years, his line would never have died out, even in death.] Chen Xi reflected silently.
"What about the past several hundred years then? How could so many valiant generals and historical figures not have made a breakthrough?" Chen Xi wondered with a frown. Not to mention anyone else, but shouldn’t a few of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai under "Son of the Plane" Liu Xiu have reached Inner Qi Manifestation?
"There’s not a single such record in the Han Dynasty archives, which is to say, not a single one reached it, and it could even be said that the vast majority of valiant generals from the Former Han only just managed to refine their Qi to Gang," Jia Xu said with an extremely strange expression.
"Eh? What about afterward? If you put it that way, wouldn’t King Xiang’s situation be extremely unreasonable? And isn’t our current situation even more illogical?" asked Chen Xi curiously.
"The Divine Stone appeared twice, not just once. Zichuan, there’s a record in the Annals of Emperor Guangwu that goes, ’At night, a meteor fell into the camp, and during the day, clouds shaped like rings surrounded the mountains. It fell over the camp and disintegrated within a foot from the ground, causing all the officials and soldiers to cower in terror’," Jia Xu revealed a fact that Chen Xi was completely unaware of.
"Isn’t that the record of the Battle of Kunyang?" Chen Xi murmured. He remembered that it was a battle where ten thousand miscellaneous soldiers faced off against four hundred thousand elite troops, a battle that was entirely unwinnable. In the end, the forbidden mage Liu Xiu dropped a meteorite combined with a meteor shower of fire, and summoned a great flood to destroy the four hundred thousand elite troops…
"Uh, you mean that one also had an effect?" Chen Xi suddenly realized what Jia Xu was referring to.
"Yes, that one also had an effect. The energy that radiated from the half-melted Divine Stone upon impact allowed all the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai to reach the pinnacle of Qi Refining to Gang, and it also endowed all of Emperor Guangwu’s mere ten thousand troops with Inner Qi. Unfortunately, the Divine Stone did not dissolve slowly like the first; it formed an outer shell," Jia Xu detailed the contents of the archive to Chen Xi.
"What happened to the Divine Stone afterward?" Chen Xi asked curiously.
"Don’t know, it wasn’t in the Imperial Palace, and there were no records in the archive," Jia Xu sighed, mentioning that the forbidden areas of the palace had already been thoroughly searched.
"Assuming that the current Divine Stone has disappeared like the previous one, that could explain the current situation. Obviously, the second one had a far stronger effect than the first. Should we put this down to size?" Chen Xi tried to speak calmly, but his thoughts were now flying in all directions. It seemed the issue was rather serious… (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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