"Is it really that incredible?"
The two of them didn't believe it. Then a young soldier who served Zhang Liao made a gesture against Ma Chao.
Without using his full strength.
He was defeated in three moves.
The result shocked them both.
Zhang Liao smiled and said, "Do you understand now?"
Zhao Yun and Ma Chao could only smile bitterly. No wonder Zhang Fei and Guan Yu had lost.
This was truly unbelievable.
To master supreme martial arts.
Required years of hardship and depended heavily on one's own talent.
Yet this man had simply received a divine gift, and suddenly surpassed them overnight.
The gap between the two was self-evident.
"I only now understand what mortals truly are. The power of God is truly overwhelming... The Central Plains will rule the world in the future!"
Ma Chao was a straightforward man.
He said whatever was on his mind.
Half an hour later, dawn broke.
Because there was no servant to wake him, Liu Bei was roused from his drunken sleep, and began shouting in a daze.
"Someone come here! Someone!!!"
"Where is everyone?!"
"You lazy good-for-nothings, you think Liu Bei can't do anything about it? Damn it..."
When he staggered to the door.
He was terrified by the scene before him.
All his dead men lay slumped on the ground, each with a deep gash beneath their throats.
Liu Bei was shaken awake in a panic.
He ran out of the courtyard in terror, only to find more bodies piled at the gate — the streets were empty.
Even in the midst of chaos, some pedestrians would normally emerge to buy food. But now, nothing.
"What... what the hell is going on?"
Liu Bei stood frozen. Was he dreaming?
This massive city was gone!
He rode through the city on horseback. No one at the gates, no one on the main streets — everyone had vanished.
"No... why... why is this..."
Liu Bei was seized by fear.
But he was no fool. He quickly suspected that Zhao Yun and the others had rebelled, and immediately rode deep into Shu territory without even bothering to change clothes.
"Damn you, Zhao Yun! And Ma Chao... you are all traitors! All of you!!!"
---
The next day.
When Cao Cao received the news, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Come! I'm going to Jingzhou — this time I have to see Liu Bei suffer!"
"Yes."
The galleon sailed upriver.
With a group of cultivators at the oars.
The speed was faster than a motorboat.
In less than a day, Cao Cao arrived in Jingzhou from the lands of Wu.
The people who had fled were already returning.
At this point, Zhang Liao got the word and brought Zhao Yun and the others to stand at the city gate to greet him.
"Greetings, My Lord!"
"Wen Yuan, you've done excellent work this time!"
"It was not this subordinate's achievement alone — Zhao Yun and the others knew right from wrong, which made Jingzhou fall so easily."
Zhang Liao spoke calmly, not claiming credit for himself.
For him, he had simply followed orders.
Slay the immortal and destroy Liu Bei's morale.
That was the work of the goddess.
Cao Cao nodded in satisfaction and said, "Wen Yuan shall share the credit. In the future, you will serve as a priest in the temple, helping to pacify the world."
"That is my wish, My Lord."
Conquer the world and become undying.
Then conquer the stars.
That was Zhang Liao's aspiration.
What use was fighting over a mere nest?
Afterward, Cao Cao moved into Jingzhou and began issuing decrees, including a tax exemption plan that brought tears of joy to hundreds of thousands of people.
And no conscription.
If one wished to join Cao Cao's ranks, one had to first become a believer, then pass an assessment.
This was very different from Liu Bei's forced enlistment.
Cao Cao then went to the place where Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were being held.
Looking at their tortured faces, he asked, "Are the two of you still unwilling to submit?"
"We are not the sort who would abandon our brother. Even if eldest brother was in the wrong, he is still our eldest brother... Cao Cao, if you have any honor, kill me..."
Guan Yu had no spirit left at this point.
He looked utterly haggard.
Zhang Fei beside him was in even worse shape — even Cao Cao's arrival did not wake him.
Still sleeping deeply.
Looking at the two desolate generals, Cao Cao sighed, "What a pity, two tiger generals. Liu Bei chose the wrong path, and is now sending Wei Yan to the grasslands to seek reinforcements and attack me.
Now that you two are like this... enough of these useless matters.
Come — send these two generals on their way."
Two dull thuds rang out.
Both loyal generals were slain.
Their souls were placed into a soul lamp.
"My Lord, what should be done with these souls? Should they be sent to the altar, or..."
"Send them to the God Realm. It was not they who were wrong — it was Liu Bei!"
"Yes."
Cao Cao cherished talent. Though Guan Yu had sworn to die before surrendering, that did not mean he could be disrespected.
In this way, they would be sent to the God Realm.
Whether for reincarnation or dwelling in the underworld.
They would meet again in the future.
Watching the souls depart slowly from the altar.
Cao Cao turned to attend to official business, when a gentle voice came from above his head.
"So it is that you treat your enemies with such kindness. You deserve to be the priest chosen by the gods."
"Who goes there?"
Cao Cao was startled — he had not expected anyone to appear above him unnoticed.
He immediately drew his long sword; a black dragon soared into the sky.
He saw among the white clouds.
A woman tapped her palm, and the black dragon was unexpectedly seized.
This technique made Cao Cao's pupils shrink sharply.
Who was she?
How could such power exist?
Cao Cao had surpassed ordinary immortals, approaching the strength of a heavenly emperor — yet his full strike had been so easily neutralized.
Clearly this woman was formidable indeed.
"It matters not who I am. I am certainly no enemy of yours — it is only that I was drawn by your faith, and so I came..."
The woman's figure appeared before Cao Cao.
Her appearance was quite beautiful.
Most importantly, she exuded a compassionate temperament that put Cao Cao instinctively at ease.
"So it was a female immortal seeking to join our faith. Would you come down and speak with me?"
"Of course."
The woman descended before Cao Cao, a faint smile on her face the whole time, completely unconcerned by the attacks aimed at her nearby.
"Let us find a clean place to talk, if you would."
Cao Cao dismissed everyone.
He took the strange woman and walked out of the city.
If their conversation turned hostile, the residents within should not be caught in the crossfire.
The two came to a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters before slowly descending from the sky.
"What may I call you, if I may ask?"
"Call me Xiangu — they all call me that."