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

Chapter 65. Peerless Warrior of the World and The Greatest Under Heaven (4)

I raised my halberd to slay my enemies.

It was a dreadful battle, but it was also quite enjoyable.

They tried to kill me, and I tried to kill them.

There was no need for any flowery words. It was simply a struggle between lives.

However, even she had once been young and fearful.

That’s just how people are.

Over time, with their environment and the people around them, the pure white canvas of their life gets painted over.

What shape that painting will take, not even parents, teachers, or the high heavens know.

“Fengxian.”

A faint, unfamiliar voice that Lü Bu barely remembered rang in her ears.

The wrinkled woman slowly, ever so slowly, stroked Fengxian’s cheek.

Her chapped hands were so rough that her touch stung.

“Live.”

The woman who spoke was crying. Young Fengxian couldn’t understand.

Why was this woman crying? And why was she holding a chipped dagger, blocking her path?

It was incomprehensible.

However, it was clear that the woman wasn’t in a normal state.

Blood streamed from her forehead, causing one of her eyes to stay shut, and pus oozed from her rotting leg through torn clothing.

On top of that, two lumps that could hardly be called breasts were hanging down from her chest, and her shoulders bore numerous wounds.

“You must survive.”

Still, the woman repeated the same words like a parrot.

Lü Bu shivered, instinctively nodding her head.

The woman smiled.

Or did she?

Lü Bu couldn’t recall the woman’s expression.

After that, Lü Bu ran without looking back.

If she stopped, she would die immediately.

Primal fear coursed through her nerves.

One thing was certain, though.

The child named Lü Bu had her canvas painted not with black ink, but with the blood of that woman.

And so, she survived.

She painted.

She continued to paint.

Her life.

Her path.

As she walked her path, it became covered in bloodstains the same color as the woman’s.

Eventually, she reached a place where all under heaven looked up to her.

No one in the world could defeat Lü Bu.

That was simply her life.

***

It’s coming.

Death.

She couldn’t help but notice, even if she didn’t want to.

That blade would sever her arm.

Her eyes would be gouged out, her legs torn to pieces, and her neck would be cut.

Yet Lü Bu continued forward.

Toward the death she had always turned away from.

It was a strange feeling, one she didn’t even understand.

The desire to deny someone’s existence was a childish and foolish motive.

And that foolish motive was now driving her forward.

“Come!”

She shouted bravely, but her trembling voice couldn’t be hidden.

At last, Unryong kicked off the ground.

Even with the dust settled, his movements were still invisible.

However, her animalistic instincts moved her frozen body.

– Kaang!

Cut them down.

Cut down those who threatened her and tried to kill her.

Just as she always had, Lü Bu just needed to live that way.

– Kaang!

Lü Bu desperately parried the sword strikes that were invisible to the naked eye, but the blade of her halberd continued to crack.

Had it been an ordinary weapon, it would have broken long ago.

– Kaang!

Life clashed with life.

Unryong and Lü Bu.

The paths the two had walked were vastly different.

That’s why they couldn’t understand each other.

And so, they fought.

Lü Bu fought to deny the path of the man before her, while Unryong fought to finally affirm his own path.

– Kaang!

Lü Bu was steadily being pushed back.

It was expected, in a way.

Ever since Unryong’s movements had changed, Lü Bu had been overwhelmingly outmatched.

For her, blocking the man’s attacks was the best she could manage.

When the horizontal sword strike came, Lü Bu twisted her head. But it was a feint.

It was the Linked Illusion Sword. Faster than before.

Acceleration, acceleration.

– Kwaak!

The blade pierced her side.

Ka-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak!

The blue aura dug into her body.

Blood splattered, and her mind went hazy.

Lü Bu quickly twisted her body and rolled on the ground.

Blood and dirt mixed, and her appearance was a mess.

This was the scene she had witnessed countless times.

What a ridiculous situation.

She never imagined that the roles would be reversed like this.

Unryong didn’t stop. He swung his sword.

Lü Bu, with trembling hands, righted her Fangtian Huaji. If she didn’t grip it, she would die.

That was all she could think about.

“Grrr…!”

As she moved, unbearable pain surged from her side.

Her breathing grew ragged.

Soon, the blue sky flooded her vision.

The death she had feared.

Yet, the sky that shined calmly before her.

“Aaaaah!”

Come. Come to me.

Even if death approached, she would cut it down.

That was Lü Bu, the Peerless Warrior of the World.

Raising the halberd, now cracked in multiple places, Lü Bu lifted it high.

The man and Lü Bu collided.

– Ka-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak!

One of Lü Bu’s knees hit the ground.

Even her trusted Fangtian Huaji, which had been with her all her life, began to break.

At this rate, defeat was inevitable.

Lü Bu clenched her teeth tightly.

Was this the end of Lü Bu’s story?

Was her canvas, stained only with blood throughout her life, finally tearing apart?

For some reason, she didn’t feel all that bad.

To think it wasn’t so terrible to die at the hands of the one she despised—she must have lost her mind in her final moments.

And then.

Flicker. Flicker.

The blue aura flickering on the man’s sword violently surged.

At last, when half of the halberd was sliced away, the blue aura from the man’s sword extinguished.

This was her chance. Lü Bu quickly got to her feet and lunged forward.

Smack! Unryong collided with Lü Bu’s shoulder and was pushed back helplessly.

“Haa… Haa…”

Lü Bu couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Did he hold back? Or had he reached his limit?

No, that wasn’t it. The man still held his sword, preparing for the next attack.

Then, why?

Lü Bu, who had no deep knowledge of martial arts, could only keep questioning.

Meanwhile, Unryong steadied his breath, gripping his sword hilt.

The Gate of Blood, which unlocks the Middle Dantian.

However, it was still immature.

He hadn’t intended to unlock it unless necessary.

His incomplete body could not withstand the release of the Middle Dantian; he had known this would happen.

Moreover, he had already scattered a lot of sword qi. He had released the Gate of Opening twice already.

The fate of a martial artist who had reached their limits was simple.

His stomach churned, and his entire body ached.

He had internal injuries.

The forced opening of the gates had twisted his qi flow and severely damaged his Middle Dantian.

Right now, he needed to regulate his qi immediately to stabilize this chaotic energy.

But it wasn’t the right time.

If only he could properly wield the third form of the Heavenly Extreme Linked Illusion Sword Technique, Illusory Soul.

‘This is no time to whine.’

Unryong smirked and took a step forward.

The sword qi was no longer there. His movements slowed due to his body’s limits.

It was a disastrous situation.

But the same went for Lü Bu. Her body was already battered beyond repair.

Even lifting the heavy Fangtian Huaji was challenging.

At that moment, both sensed something.

They simultaneously realized that this was their chance.

Unryong was the first to move. Lü Bu deflected his upward strike with the shaft of her halberd.

Unryong didn’t stop, rotating on one foot.

Swish!

The sword strike once again slashed Lü Bu’s side.

Lü Bu stifled her groan and threw a punch.

Her fist struck the man’s chin, disrupting his stance.

Then she swung her halberd from below in a vertical arc.

The cleanly drawn line left a wound on Unryong’s shoulder.

The impact almost made him drop his sword, but he managed to regain his grip.

– Kaang!

In the end, their weapons clashed once more.

The blade of the halberd shattered. It could no longer withstand the impact.

Likewise, Unryong’s worn-out sword, unable to hold any more sword qi, had reached its limit.

The blade, reflecting the sunlight, scattered like fireworks.

The two took a step forward at the same time.

Weapons were now meaningless.

Unryong ducked and closed the distance to Lü Bu’s chest. He spread his palm wide.

Despite his disordered qi flow from internal injuries, he could still manage.

His internal energy wasn’t entirely depleted, so he could still do it.

Exploding Palm.

“Gah!”

Lü Bu coughed up blood.

If this continues, it won’t end well. Allowing any more openings would surely lead to defeat.

Lü Bu threw aside her cumbersome halberd and swung her fist.

Smack! Her fist struck Unryong squarely on the cheek.

Unryong staggered and fell, dropping his sword.

A broken sword was useless to the man as well.

As Lü Bu charged forward, Unryong grabbed the ground and flung dirt at her.

“Kyaah…! You bastard!”

While Lü Bu clutched her eyes, groaning in pain, Unryong got up and slammed her to the ground.

Then, mounting her, he continued to rain down punches.

The two rolled and grappled, each reaching out.

It was a moment when their blood intermingled.