It Wasn’t a Martial Arts World, but the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 64. Peerless Warrior of the World and The Greatest Under Heaven (3)

Yeo, I’ve finally met you.

My grip tightened.

My toes stiffened, and my body felt like it was about to burst forward at any moment.

A blue aura emanated from my sword. It wasn’t intentional. But my instincts were screaming.

The woman before me was a formidable opponent. If I didn’t give it my all, the one who would die would be me.

Finally, I kicked off the ground. Lü Bu did the same.

– Kaang!

The sword and halberd clashed.

– Kaga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak!

The gap between one who can wield sword qi and one who cannot is as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

In martial arts novels, those who cannot wield sword qi are often treated as trash.

In other words, mastering sword qi alone allows you to effortlessly cut down ordinary people.

Thus, the outcome is usually decided by the presence or absence of sword qi.

Lü Bu’s Fangtian Huaji tilted diagonally. The trajectory of my sword, which was cutting through the blade of the Fangtian Huaji, was disrupted.

In the split second that a gap formed, Lü Bu’s kick came rushing toward my side.

Fast. I couldn’t avoid it.

Smack.

I took the hit directly and staggered back several steps.

I couldn’t maintain the sword qi for long. I had to finish this quickly.

I jumped in place a couple of times and then kicked off the ground again.

Hwaak! As my sword surged forward, Lü Bu rotated her body using her right foot as a pivot. I reacted by spinning in the opposite direction.

Once again, steel collided with steel. Lü Bu planted the shaft of her Fangtian Huaji into the ground and leaped upward.

In an instant, Lü Bu’s figure flipped to the opposite side, and then she immediately charged.

A thrust.

I tilted my head lightly to the side.

She then pulled back the halberd.

The crescent-shaped blade targeted my back.

I couldn’t dodge this.

I immediately lowered my stance and took a step forward.

Then, I spread my palm toward Lü Bu’s abdomen.

Exploding Palm..

– Pah-ang!

With the sound of air bursting, Lü Bu’s body was pushed back.

“A cheap trick…”

To think she could remain so unscathed after taking a Exploding Palm..

With a calm expression, Lü Bu spat blood-tinged saliva onto the ground and slung her Fangtian Huaji over her shoulder.

“That blue glow is certainly intimidating. But was this all? It’s easier than I expected.”

“You say that, but you’re out of breath.”

“Nonsense.”

Lü Bu bared her teeth fiercely.

With her combat sense, speed, and strength, she had every reason to be confident.

Despite using sword qi and releasing the Gate of Opening, I hadn’t landed a decisive blow.

I was aware.

Lü Bu’s external martial arts completely overwhelmed mine.

In our previous life-or-death battle, it was only because Lü Bu had held back that I survived; otherwise, the outcome would have been her victory.

But I have internal energy and martial arts techniques.

“Don’t disappoint me, Unryong.”

The moment Lü Bu spoke, my body shot forward.

The first technique of the Heavenly Extreme Linked Illusion Sword Technique, Linked Illusion Sword.

Though a simple martial art, when combined with sword qi, it became a formidable technique.

In fact, Xu Rong couldn’t withstand it and ended up losing her head.

I held the sword at a slant, scattering my internal energy using the recoil from my shoulder.

The sword strike that was flowing toward Lü Bu’s left side had now moved to the right.

However.

Lü Bu’s eyes had clearly seen through my feint. She watched the situation calmly, her cold gaze unwavering.

A chill ran down my spine.

Then her Fangtian Huaji overlaid my sword.

Before I could even swing, she intercepted the trajectory as if she had seen my attack path from the future.

Effortlessly deflecting my sword strike, Lü Bu swung her halberd.

An upward trajectory from the left. Slow.

I twisted my body.

However, before the halberd could touch my armor, it suddenly stopped.

What’s this? Just as I had that thought—

Lü Bu’s halberd vanished.

This is—

“Hup!”

The armor shattered, and the halberd’s blade pierced my flesh. Without stopping, my body was flung into the air.

“Oh, you reacted?”

“You damn…!”

Lü Bu looked down at me, genuinely surprised.

Had I not barely thrown myself in the opposite direction, I might have been split in two.

Linked Illusion Sword.

No, not quite.

But it was a feint that rivaled it. She had replicated it almost perfectly using just her robust shoulders.

Crazy woman.

A grin crept up my face.

Indeed, she’s an opponent you can only defeat if you’re prepared to die.

There’s no half-hearted effort against her.

I dusted myself off and stood up.

I gripped my sword tightly.

One hand over my heart. My thumb pressed firmly against my chest.

The gate near my heart opened.

It flowed.

Qi coursing through the blood vessels and the blood flowing through the veins circulated rapidly.

Three, Gate of Blood.

Lü Bu’s Fangtian Huaji flooded my vision in an instant.

***

Lü Bu, who had been bedridden for several days, stared blankly at the ceiling.

The wounds she had received back then had long since healed.

However, an indescribable, lingering feeling weighed down her body.

Whenever that happened, Lü Bu would abruptly rise from her bed and exhale heavily.

The man was foolish.

He wouldn’t listen to reason and paid no mind to his own safety.

He was just a fool, stubbornly following what he believed was the right path.

Yet, Lü Bu was undeniably overwhelmed.

Even she didn’t understand it.

The sky reflected in his eyes—what did it mean?

But one thing was clear.

‘Unryong, I want to deny you.’

Only then would her mind find peace.

Only then would this twisted heart finally feel at ease!

Thus, she couldn’t just stay put.

The man was strong.

From that moment on, whether it was raining or the sun was shining, Lü Bu swung her Fangtian Huaji every single day without fail.

Lü Bu was a person who had never needed training.

She had been strong from birth, thus she was Lü Bu, the strongest of men.

But now, she could no longer rely solely on her strength and stay complacent.

Instinctively, she realized that if she continued like this, she wouldn’t be able to face that man.

So, that man always stood before her.

She never forgot, not even once.

The sky that had soared before her eyes, and the madness she saw.

Every time she swung her Fangtian Huaji, she couldn’t think of a way to counter that blue aura she had seen.

No matter how much she deflected the attacks, there was a limit.

So what should she do?

She had to become faster.

Always.

Always.

Always.

She recalled the man’s sword technique she had seen.

Though she disliked him, every time she swung her Fangtian Huaji, he was both her mentor and her rival.

One day.

It was a day like any other, when she was sparring with Zhang Liao and Gao Shun.

When the two of them fought her, it was still an even match, but now they were knocked down after just a few exchanges.

‘Get up already! You bastards are getting weak.’

Lü Bu clicked her tongue and poked at their sprawled bodies with the shaft of her halberd.

‘D-damn it… Are you joking, sister?’

Zhang Liao glared at Lü Bu with a look full of frustration.

‘We couldn’t even see your movements! It’s hard to endure even one exchange, just one!’

‘Zhang Liao is right…’

“Huh?”

It was true.

Lü Bu’s strikes were accelerating.

To the point where even she was surprised by how light her body had become.

Clenching her fist tightly—

Lü Bu was convinced.

With this, she could win.

She was certain.

– Kwaang!

She swung her halberd.

The downward strike from above was delivered at lightning speed.

As a result, a massive sandstorm erupted, filling the surroundings with dust.

‘No sense of impact.’

Lü Bu pulled back her halberd and calmly turned her gaze.

And then.

He’s coming!

Lü Bu gritted her teeth.

Through the dust, a brilliant blue glow shot toward her like lightning.

“Ugh!”

She dodged, but not completely.

Lü Bu clutched her right shoulder.

The smoke hadn’t yet cleared.

She kept scanning the area.

Flash. Flash. Flash.

Sometimes from above, then from the front, and even from behind.

The moment the light flickered, the sword strikes were unleashed.

It was an entirely different, thunderous quick-sword compared to before.

Even Lü Bu couldn’t evade them all.

Her right knee, wrist, thigh—numerous wounds appeared, and her crimson blood stained the silk.

“Haa… Haa…”

As the dust settled, the man revealed himself.

White smoke was billowing around him.

“Unryong…”

Yet, Lü Bu’s eyes were still brimming with life.

It was a situation where she could die.

The death that Lü Bu feared was right in front of her.

Nevertheless.

“I will not acknowledge you.”

She advanced.

“Your existence…!”

Continuously.

Unryong and Lü Bu’s eyes locked onto each other.

Lü Bu wanted to deny the path that this man was walking.

She was willing to stake everything to do so.

“Come, Unryong. Put everything on the line and try to cut down this Lü Bu!”

It was the moment when the blade of fate cleaved through the air.