Chapter 2368 - 2093: You Don’t Understand at All!

At the moment when Hua Xiong restrained his momentum and entered Ye City, everyone felt a bit relieved, but what happened next left Chen Xi and the others at a loss.

A group of old retainers of the Yuan Family who hadn’t left with Yuan Tan inexplicably cried out, even facing north to weep. Their heartfelt sorrow affected the surrounding aristocratic family members.

"Oh, so it’s like this." Someone soon explained the situation to Chen Xi.

"What’s wrong, Zichuan?" Liu Bei, calming his inner agitation, slowly inquired.

"Because this is Ye City. Back then, it was at the northern city wall of Ye City where Yuan Benchu led his civil and military officials, braving the winter snow to send Ju Yi on a northern expedition to Youzhou, and within the same year, he solidified his position as the hegemon of the North," Chen Xi said with a tinge of emotion. Yan and Zhao are full of generous and chivalrous heroes.

In this lifetime, Yuan Shao faced the pressure from Dong Zhuo, and after Dong Zhuo fell, he faced the military might of Gongsun Zan. After Gongsun Zan’s fall, Liu Bei began contending with him for the hegemony of the Central Plains. In his lifetime, Yuan Shao never completely established absolute dominance, hence he hardly had anything reprehensible about him.

His clarity of will, his terrifying capabilities, his well-equipped armor and weapons, his loyal ministers and valiant generals, the ferocity of his legion’s combat power — honestly, even the current Cao Cao and Sun Ce couldn’t defeat the Yuan Shao of the Yuan Liu battle during their era. Only one person from Central Plains matched wits with Liu Bei, the paragon of the world, Yuan Benchu!

Throughout history, although Yuan Shao made many mistakes, there were still people willing to die for the Yuan Family. In this lifetime, Yuan Shao was undoubtedly the most formidable hero.

If it weren’t for Liu Bei not exterminating the Yuan Family and Yuan Tan making a deal to expand land beyond the country to bind the old retainers of the Yuan Family to Liu Bei, under Liu Bei’s governance, assassinations might have occurred from time to time. The generosity and chivalry of Yan and Zhao are no joke.

"Ju Yi..." Liu Bei sighed softly, "Yuan Benchu was the strongest opponent I have encountered. Whether it was will, ideals, or justice, I couldn’t conquer him, nor could he conquer me. We could only contend for justice with the swords in our hands, and I won."

"Hmph!" Yuan Shu snorted coldly, turning his head without speaking. Although he deeply hated Yuan Shao, the more he learned now, the more frightening he found Yuan Shao. He had fought Liu Bei to a standstill, and now Liu Bei stood before them, displaying his military momentum.

[Benchu, the opponents you faced back then were indeed this overwhelmingly powerful military force. Hmph, brother, it turns out that a proud man like you never bothered to return to Yuzhou to reclaim the position of Family Head of the Yuan Family. Sadly, the timing was unfortunate.] Yuan Shu thought with a slight lack of enthusiasm.

Currently, the Xiahou Brothers and Zhou Yu thought similarly. The deeper they understood Liu Bei, the more they realized just how powerful Yuan Shao, who had fought against Liu Bei without falling behind back then, truly was. The military force Liu Bei possessed, Yuan Shao had once had too.

"Xuande," Yuan Shu suddenly propped his elbows on the city wall, turning his head to speak to Liu Bei.

"What’s the matter?" Liu Bei asked casually.

"Continue to grow stronger, stronger than ever. You defeated my brother, Yuan Benchu, who represented all the wisdom and power of the Yuan Family. Keep getting stronger, defeat all your enemies. Only if you are strong enough will my brother’s defeat have meaning. The military momentum you have now, if my brother were alive, he would have it too!" Yuan Shu suddenly said, tears welling up in his eyes.

Yuan Shu was the legitimate son of the Yuan Family, born as the pride of the Yuan Family. From Yuan Shu’s perspective, Yuan Shao, as a concubine’s child, would have amounted to nothing if he hadn’t been adopted by Yuan Cheng. Therefore, Yuan Shu always looked down on Yuan Shao.

This was also one of the crucial reasons why Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao fell out during the Feudal Lords’ Contention. Someone he looked down upon took away all of his friends.

So Yuan Shu almost never referred to Yuan Shao as his brother, always proclaiming himself as the legitimate heir of the Yuan Family. This time, seeing Liu Bei’s military momentum, which was shocking enough to instill fear, Yuan Shu finally understood that the one who could represent the wisdom and power of the Yuan Family was never him, Yuan Shu, nor anyone still alive in the Yuan Family, but the already deceased Yuan Benchu.

This point, even someone as proud as Yuan Shu had to admit. Unfortunately, Yuan Shao was already dead. Yuan Shu could only pin his hopes on Liu Bei to continue growing stronger, strong enough to give meaning to Yuan Shao’s defeat.

"Yes, I will become stronger, stronger than anything," Liu Bei said solemnly, "Yuan Benchu was indeed the strongest opponent I have encountered so far."

"Don’t lose to anyone. If you lose, it would prove that the struggles between you and my brother were nothing but a joke. I don’t want my brother’s glory to fall!" Yuan Shu said with a stern face, even carrying a certain anger at his own incompetence.

"Rest assured, I won’t lose," Liu Bei said with utmost calmness.

Up to now, aside from tying with Yuan Shao, Liu Bei could achieve crushing victories against others whenever he wished. But with Yuan Shao, there was no way to crush him. In the final battle between Yuan Liu, it can only be said that Guan Yu unexpectedly struck down Yann Liang with one stroke, after which Yuan Shao’s situation began to spiral out of control.

No matter how one thinks about it, even now, it’s not guaranteed that Guan Yu can take down Yann Liang in a single stroke. Yann Liang was a master who, upon breaking through, could exchange thirty moves with Lyu Bu and was evenly matched with Guan Yu after stabilizing. With the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade in hand, there were but a few under heaven that could contend with him, and yet he was struck down by Guan Yu in a single stroke. What a terrifying thing!

Back then, Yann Liang was arguably the closest master to Divine Boundary Break after Lyu Bu. Both had even reached that boundary, and yet Guan Yu struck down Yann Liang with one blade, then went on to slay Wen Chou in a desperate fight.

With Yann Liang’s death, Ju Yi’s death, Yuan Shao’s death, the brotherhood and loyalty that Wen Chou steadfastly held crumbled. At that time, Wen Chou reached his peak intensity with a burning spirit, but then Guan Yu, lightly injured, killed Wen Chou!

Slaying two masters who had almost reached the breakthrough level consecutively and on the same day—under those circumstances, even Lyu Bu might not have done better.

So praising Yuan Benchu as a model of the world is not exactly wrong in this lifetime. The performance of Yuan Shao was astonishing, even for Liu Bei. In truth, it was the only battle where Chen Xi couldn’t guarantee the outcome would match his plans. Yuan Shao was incredibly formidable, leaving no choice but to confront strength with strength.

"Could General Yuan at that time be defeated by the current armies we have?" Zhou Yu suddenly inquired, directing his question toward Chen Xi. However, before Chen Xi could respond, Liu Bei slowly spoke.

"We can defeat them, but to replicate the situation of that time," Liu Bei said, gazing at the distant advancing Taishi Ci’s Golden Armored Legion, "it’s probably impossible. The power of Yuan Benchu, even with today’s capabilities, you cannot overcome him. After passing the hurdle of Yuan Benchu, I was already invincible."

To this day, you have never seen anything comparable to Juo Yi’s Cloud Qi Arrow, Kinetic Arrow, Will Arrow, and Piercing Arrow, which are virtually unsolvable for most troops.

To this day, you have never witnessed an army with a breakthrough-level assault legion on both flanks, a mighty Xuanxiang behind them, and a Military Spirit Legion in the middle!

You have yet to assemble over a hundred thousand well-organized elite legions with at least the talent of one day.

You have yet to face five or six strategic masterminds among the enemy, plotting together with sufficient generals and soldiers to exploit their maximum potential.

You truly have no idea how terrifying Yuan Shao was in the past.

If not for Juo Yi’s Military Spirit Legion being critically damaged by the Trap Formation, the new batch of recruits consuming too much Military Spirit Power; if not for the stillborn super-heavy infantry Great Halberdiers with unbeatable dual talents; if not for the dual-talented heavy armored Iron Cavalry being unfinished due to time constraints; if not for Ju Shou being outwitted by Li Youu, hastening the final battle; if not for Yann Liang being slain by Guan Yu in one strike...

Yuan Shao was a monster, truly. Sometimes Liu Bei wonders if, had he not met Chen Xi and defeated Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao might have been the one to unite the world. However, Yuan Shao’s ideals and his had some differences, but it cannot be denied that Yuan Shao was immensely powerful.

He had ability, perseverance, popularity, strategists, and generals, lacking in nothing. Compared to Liu Bei, he might only lack a bit of fortune. It’s a pity that when honoring the Heroic Spirits who fought for the country, a special incense will be made for Yuan Shao, my greatest opponent, Yuan Shao.

Zhou Yu did not entirely agree with Liu Bei’s words but said nothing; Liu Bei’s military strength justified the statement, so he did not argue and turned to continue observing the parade below.

Compared to the previous impressive-and-intimidating appearances of the likes of Guan, Zhang, Zhao, and Hua, Taishi Ci’s legion, from the moment it entered, left everyone amazed.

The golden armor, shimmering with a luxurious golden brilliance like gilded in wealth, combined with Taishi Ci’s golden radiance-like Legion Talent, made the entire legion appear resplendent. If it weren’t for Taishi Ci standing with his back to the sun, the current brilliance would have been blinding.

However, even with his back to the sun, Taishi Ci’s legion shone like it was forged from pure gold, leaving everyone on the city walls astonished.

"This color, this radiance, this power, indeed reflects my style!" Sun Ce’s eyes widened, surveying the brilliantly shining Taishi Ci’s legion. Although the dazzling radiance made it hard to focus on individual soldiers’ conditions, upon Sun Ce’s careful observation, he clearly saw the remarkable individual quality and organizational strength of this legion.

Sun Ce’s excited voice drew the spectators on the city wall to seriously pay attention to Taishi Ci.

After all, compared to the previously passed legions, Taishi Ci’s legion seemed ordinary; even with their golden, gleaming armor, compared to the terrifying momentum of the recently passed Hua Xiong’s army, there was a significant gap.

"Hiss!" It was only upon beginning to focus on Taishi Ci that they realized something was amiss. This blindingly dazzling, gilded legion, at a glance, every soldier had reached the level of Inner Qi Condensation, with the first two rows of soldiers at the Qi Refining to Gang stage, fearing this legion might have two hundred craftsmen of Qi Refining to Gang!

Taishi Ci smiled without a word; how could he not initially grant his men the benefits he found in the Divine Village of Fusang? During the Fusang expedition, Taishi Ci had all his soldiers act as the Divine Guards of the Demon God of Great Black Heaven; after all, they were his men, and he couldn’t play favorites.

Each soldier received a blessing, though slight, and entered the state of Inner Qi Condensation. When leaving Japan, the Divine Village took back the blessings, yet one-third maintained the state of Inner Qi Condensation even after losing it.

Moreover, the levels of Inner Qi Condensation and Qi Refining to Gang have no significant barriers; many highly skilled soldiers steadily achieved Qi Refining to Gang, resulting in Taishi Ci possessing two hundred quite inexperienced Qi Refining to Gangs.

Following that phase, Taishi Ci remembered an army, known as the Trap Formation Military Spirit Legion, which historically was the only one with all soldiers possessing Inner Qi. With this legion’s foundation, several hundred particularly inexperienced Qi Refining to Gangs could indeed be developed.

Consequently, the energy consumption to activate the Trap Formation’s final combat mode would be greatly reduced, even enabling it for one or two seconds of Inner Qi Manifestation mode, and normal mode with a dozen or so Inner Qi Manifestations leading eight hundred Qi Refining to Gangs would incur minimal energy expenditure after raising the foundation to Qi Refining to Gang this high.

Among all the Military Spirit Legions, isn’t the scariest effect of the ultimate ability the increase by one level of the Trap Formation? The whole army’s Inner Qi Condensation utilizing Military Spirit Level plus one application is merely the entire army achieving Qi Refining to Gang, while the entire army of Qi Refining to Gang with one level increase may consume slightly more than before. Still, for the entire army with Out-of-Body Inner Qi, Lyu Bu, you better pack up and make your escape; otherwise, you’ll be beaten to death.