CHAPTER 1003: CHAPTER 960: RISING TO FIGHT

"Foolish!" Just before Ma Chao was about to attack Lyu Bu, he heard the angry shout of Lyu Bu. Then Lyu Bu disappeared from his sight, and the immense force coming from behind made Ma Chao spit blood, disrupting the outflow of Inner Qi from his already damaged meridians.

With another thunderous noise, Ma Chao was slammed into the ground by Lyu Bu head-on. However, the next moment, Ma Chao flew out, appearing completely unharmed, and launched a frenzied attack on Lyu Bu.

Inner Qi surged endlessly, his meridians broke and healed repeatedly. Amidst the pain, Ma Chao’s power ascended to peak after peak, with his wild attacks being enough to suppress a master like Zhang He within about thirty moves.

Unfortunately, Ma Chao’s opponent was Lyu Bu. Though his moves were fierce, they were ineffective. Even though Lyu Bu didn’t wield the Sky Piercer, relying solely on his refined Inner Qi output, he was several times stronger than someone with Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation wielding a Divine Weapon.

Though Ma Chao fought with growing courage, Inner Qi is ultimately limited. Even a Divine Stone is not a core; it had to both restore Ma Chao’s Inner Qi and heal his wounds. Over time, naturally, it became somewhat inadequate, and even the sharp edges of the Divine Stone began to dissolve.

Lyu Bu watched Ma Chao with interest, having realized that the Divine Stone was probably with Ma Chao. However, Lyu Bu had no intention of seizing others’ fortunes.

One reason was that Lyu Bu found Ma Chao pleasing to the eye, as his character, gaze, or prowess resembled his younger self, fostering a sense of cherishing talent in Lyu Bu, which led him to hold back.

Otherwise, when Ma Chao forcibly stepped into the Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation, unable to perfectly control his body, Lyu Bu could have easily killed him many times, rather than continuously feeding moves to help him harness the power.

If they were truly fighting, even if Ma Chao didn’t break through, Lyu Bu was confident he could take down the current Ma Chao within thirty moves. As for after a forced breakthrough when body and reactions become uncoordinated, one move from Lyu Bu would be enough to defeat Ma Chao.

The second reason was that the current Divine Stone was practically meaningless to Lyu Bu, unless it was like the Divine Stone Core of King Xiang back then. Otherwise, it wouldn’t significantly increase Lyu Bu’s strength.

Currently, Lyu Bu had surpassed Xiang Yu in matters concerning the Heart Spirit, making him the unrivaled first on this path. Regarding Inner Qi, it had reached the physical limit, but physical qualities restricted Lyu Bu’s Inner Qi enhancement, a barrier most martial artists focusing on Inner Qi rather than body strength encounter.

Though a Divine Stone could enhance Lyu Bu’s physical qualities, it could in no way provide a fundamental boost.

In Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation, everyone’s extremity is naturally different. For instance, if someday, Heavenly Dian Wei reaches the Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation, the combined power of Qi and blood could allow him to one-shot kill a normal Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation.

Dian Wei’s training method is the most correct; an extremely powerful body can accommodate a massive amount of Inner Qi, and the same robust body can unleash even crazier power from Inner Qi. However, after strengthening to Dian Wei’s degree, the Inner Qi almost fails to keep up with consumption.

The body naturally absorbs all the generated Inner Qi. Of course, Dian Wei produces Inner Qi every moment, or he couldn’t continually exhibit such astonishing prowess. The value of a mighty body lies in that the same amount of Inner Qi can erupt with ten times the power.

Unfortunately, the conflict lies in needing that amount of Inner Qi. Inside Dian Wei’s body, the Inner Qi generated every moment is about the same as the total Inner Qi of a normal Qi Refining to Gang, meaning Dian Wei’s explosive limit is akin to an Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation wielding Qi Refining to Gang Inner Qi at ten times the power.

This is the fundamental reason for Dian Wei’s enduring combat power; as long as he’s alive, he can continue fighting endlessly!

If it were Guan Yu or Zhao Yun, experts who focus solely on Inner Qi, with only all the Inner Qi at the Qi Refining to Gang level remaining, even with full skills retained, their strength would drop significantly. After all, for Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation, the Inner Qi held by Qi Refining to Gang level military generals is as good as nothing.

Therefore, for Lyu Bu, taking the Divine Stone would only increase his maximum Inner Qi, and since his maximum Inner Qi is continually growing, there is no need to compete with a young lad, particularly such an interesting one.

"No good, Lyu Bu is truly like a monster, he’s toying with me!" At this moment, Ma Chao’s eyes turned bloodshot, furiously roaring within his heart.

Initially, Ma Chao thought that before the Divine Stone’s power was depleted, the output would be infinite. After forcibly breaking through to Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation, he realized that wasn’t the case at all; this thing’s output also has a maximum limit!

More importantly, Ma Chao was now nearing this maximum, unable to fully restore both Inner Qi and injuries simultaneously.

"This can’t continue. Having exchanged over a hundred moves with Lyu Bu, even though it’s partially due to him holding back and me having the Divine Stone, it’s enough to be proud. I must retreat, or I’ll truly die!"

Ma Chao shouted in his heart, in his understanding, Lyu Bu killing him seemed inevitable, having never realized Lyu Bu was simply enjoying combat with a master, having no intention of snuffing out a genius. Killing a strong opponent and killing a genius are completely different feelings, especially when Ma Chao can only be considered a genius now.

"I must first injure Red Hare, otherwise, with Red Hare Horse’s speed, I won’t be able to escape. Previously, I only wounded Red Hare’s back, not affecting its speed at all. This time, I must attack its shoulder blade!"

Determined, Ma Chao abandoned healing his injuries, mustering all his Inner Qi to launch an attack on Lyu Bu, attacking while moving towards Red Hare’s direction.

"Red Hare Horse’s strength is no less than a normal Inner Qi Manifestation Perfection, almost no different from my previous self, and incredibly fast. I have only one chance!"

Though prideful, Ma Chao knew he couldn’t lose his life here, so he schemed while preparing. Finally, within a hundred paces of Red Hare, he engaged in a fierce clash with Lyu Bu, then leveraged strength to fly towards Red Hare.

The moment Ma Chao flew towards Red Hare, Lyu Bu realized he was fooled, thinking he had gone too easy, yet the other side still understood nothing!

Ma Chao thrust his spear at the unsuspecting Red Hare, and at the moment delight appeared on his face, Lyu Bu suddenly appeared before him. Such a bizarre scene shocked Ma Chao, but it didn’t change his mind; decisive action was always Ma Chao’s excellent quality!

"Die!" Ma Chao roared, thrusting his spear at Red Hare, completely ignoring Lyu Bu’s hastily wielded golden Great Halberd of Inner Qi attack. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommended and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)