Chapter Fifty-Four: Inhuman Power

Some people said this chapter was swallowed by the starting point website. I can see it on my computer, but since I noticed I wasn't the only one experiencing this issue, I posted it again. Please forgive me, those of you who have already read it...

Zhao Yun's hand wiping his weapon paused. Guan Yu's hand stroking his beard also paused, remaining frozen as he clutched his own beard. Hua Xiong felt as though his eyes were about to be blinded by that high-speed flying boulder—this was truly the power of a human being.

From seeing that tiny dot to that tiny dot landing on the ground and gouging out a small crater, it all happened in the blink of an eye. If his spiritual energy hadn't been enhanced and his dynamic vision vastly improved, Chen Xi felt he wouldn't have been able to see it clearly at all.

[This strength is definitely not normal! That's a boulder weighing hundreds of catties, hurled at supersonic speeds. If this were back in my previous world, shooting down an airplane with a brick probably wouldn't even be a problem.] Chen Xi felt his worldview needed to be reconstructed once more. If that thing scored a direct hit, probably only masters at the Qi-Refinement-Out-of-Body level could survive it.

"Boom!" With a deafening crash, the earth trembled. Xu Chu scratched his head. Not hearing any more shouting from outside, he figured the other person must be dead, so he turned around and walked back, dragging his massive broadsword. After all, in his memory, a single blow like that was always enough to chase off those bands of mountain bandits and outlaws.

"Xu Chu, come out and face me!" Zhang Fei was also startled after dodging that massive boulder. He now understood that Chen Xi hadn't been joking; the opponent's strength was truly top-tier. Instantly, the blood in his chest surged. He gripped his serpent spear tightly and licked his lips—only formidable opponents could get his blood boiling.

"Not dead?" That was Xu Chu's first reaction upon hearing those words. Then, rage flared within him—the guy who had ruined his lunch hadn't even been killed by him? Clutching his broadsword, he broke into a trot and sallied forth from the main gates of the Xu family estate.

"Hey you brigand, state your name! Uncle Xu does not slaughter the unknown under his blade," Xu Chu roared arrogantly. To be honest, he still hadn't figured out what was going on. As for Liu Bei and his entourage standing a short distance behind Zhang Fei, he didn't pay them any mind at all, supremely confident in his own martial might.

His voice arrived before his person. When Guan Yu and Zhang Fei saw a hulking mass of muscle practically the size of a city wall riding toward them on a lean, scrawny horse, their expressions turned solemn. Truly, this was a fierce general.

Chen Xi, however, wasn't focusing on Xu Chu's appearance. He knew Xu Chu's strength better than anyone, and his attention was entirely fixed on what Xu Chu had just shouted. Hearing the arrogant bellow, Chen Xi burst into laughter and buried his head directly into his horse's mane, his body shaking uncontrollably. One could easily imagine that this single line had instantly made Zhang Fei burn with rage—after all, even Lü Bu had never dared act that arrogant in front of Zhang Fei.

"You're the brigand! Zhang Yide of Yan is here!" Zhang Fei roared back, thrusting his serpent spear straight at Xu Chu, looking as though he genuinely wanted to poke a few dozen holes in him.

"Clang!" Metal struck metal. The moment they crossed blows, Xu Chu realized that Zhang Fei was the strongest opponent he had ever encountered. With a sudden burst of strength, he batted Zhang Fei's weapon away, then licked his lips and tightened his grip on his broadsword. The surging blood in his chest made him forget his previous anger; he craved a real battle, rather than rotting at home reading those Han Books and The Doctrine of the Mean. What on earth was written in those pieces of junk anyway?

Every time mountain bandits came calling was the happiest time for Xu Chu. He could wield his broadsword, ride his scrawny horse, and chase those people off, though he had never gone all out to slaughter every last bandit and outlaw. Afterward, he would relapse into the state of reading "heavenly books," which inevitably led to his father beating him mercilessly with a club for failing to study. However, to someone with skin as thick as Xu Chu's, his father's corporal punishment was no different from a mosquito bite, so eventually, his father gave up and left him alone when he refused to study.

Xu Chu swung his broadsword, completely ignoring Zhang Fei's attacks. He couldn't match Zhang Fei's speed, so he didn't bother trying. Besides, the serpent spear was long; if he struck the shaft, the spear would be deflected. Xu Chu possessed an innate and intense confidence in his own strength: whenever he couldn't figure something out, he would just charge in and smash it fiercely, and then everything would become clear.

Zhang Fei was starting to feel deeply frustrated. Although Xu Chu hadn't landed a single effective blow on him so far, every single one of those unnatural brute-force strikes left Zhang Fei's hands burning and tingly. Zhang Fei remembered that he was supposed to be the king of brute strength—he possessed a terrifying might that even Lü Bu had found startling, yet now he was being suppressed by a mere savage.

Once again, Xu Chu failed to track Zhang Fei's movements, so the broadsword in his hands erupted with a fierce black light once more, hacking fiercely toward the front where Zhang Fei was.

[This savage!] Zhang Fei grew furious. Taking a deep breath, the muscles across his entire body bulged. He whipped the tip of his spear around and thrust it viciously toward Xu Chu's broadsword. He finally understood: this savage didn't know any technique whatsoever, and his speed was quite slow, but his strength was simply too monstrous. To win, he had to overpower the opponent's strength with a single blow first, and then defeat him before he could react.

Executing the heavy-sword technique that Zhao Yun had taught him, Zhang Fei unleashed a piercing sonic boom. The serpent spear seemed to multiply in weight by several times as it slammed against the tip of Xu Chu's blade, his objective being to knock Xu Chu's broadsword right out of his hands.

Well, Zhang Fei's heavy-sword technique was only half-baked—its speed was slow and its power limited—but it helped that Xu Chu's speed was even slower, and Zhang Fei's own raw strength was formidable enough.

With high hopes, Zhang Fei's strike finally connected with Xu Chu's blade tip. The moment the weapons met, the impact felt heavy, and Xu Chu instantly knew something was terribly wrong. Pumping the immense strength of both arms, he gripped his broadsword for dear life, taking the full brunt of Zhang Fei's heavy-sword technique head-on.

The two horses galloped past each other. When they wheeled their mounts around again, Zhang Fei clearly saw wisps of steam rising from Xu Chu's body. Staring with eyes as large as a bull's, Zhang Fei glared fixedly at him. That massive rebound force from a moment ago had almost shaken the serpent spear right out of his hands—half-baked techniques were truly unreliable!

"Again!" Xu Chu roared excitedly. He felt as though he were burning up. For all these years, this was the first time he had ever experienced such a sensation. The intrusion of danger brought an instinctive, soul-deep comfort. This feeling stimulated his mind and energized his body, causing the power buried deep within him to continuously gush forth!

[I belong on the battlefield, not cooped up at home reading books! Slashing enemy generals in the thick of battle is what I was meant to do. Studying hard is simply not something I'm capable of!] For the first time, Xu Chu harbored thoughts that completely contradicted the ideology his old man had drilled into him all his life.

Zhang Fei had already realized that he must never again try to match strength with Xu Chu. This savage's build truly reflected his power; he was one and a half times wider than Zhang Fei, and somehow he actually packed one and a half times Zhang Fei's strength. Fortunately, the fellow wasn't fast; otherwise, there would be no point in fighting at all. Even without any technique whatsoever, no one could defeat him, because that kind of strength was enough to ignore the vast majority of martial arts techniques.

Just as Zhang Fei was preparing to change his fighting style and suppress Xu Chu with speed, he saw the broadsword Xu Chu was wielding shatter directly. Only half the blade remained; the rest had broken into countless flying fragments the moment Xu Chu swung it.

Zhang Fei was dumbfounded, and Xu Chu was equally stunned.

A gust of wind blew past, kicking up dust and sand. Xu Chu finally recovered his wits and called out, "Hey you, hold on a second! Let me go grab another blade, eat some lunch, and then we'll resume the fight!"

"I'll wait for you. Fighting you has made me hungry too," Zhang Fei replied, waving his hand to indicate he had no habit of bullying someone without a weapon.

Xu Chu spurred his horse into the Xu family estate, and Zhang Fei returned to Liu Bei's side.

"How does the Third Brother feel? Are your hands numb? I saw you trading blows with him for dear life—was it thrilling?" Chen Xi asked with a teasing smile.

"That black savage is still pretty formidable, but your Third Brother is definitely going to win," Zhang Fei said, patting his chest in assurance.

Chen Xi rolled his eyes, then looked over at Liu Bei. He saw Liu Bei gazing at the Xu family estate with a delighted expression. Liu Bei had an extraordinary fondness for fierce generals, and a savage like Xu Chu fit his preferences in every conceivable way.