This was why Zhao Yun could sense the presence of the Divine Stone Core. After all, a fragment of the Divine Stone Core was sealed within his own internal energy core. Reflecting on this, Zhao Yun suspected that Lu Bu must have accidentally consumed a Divine Stone Core fragment; otherwise, there was no way he could be so powerful.
Zhao Yun understood his own situation well. In his previous six attempts at rebuilding his internal energy, the first three times, his internal energy had not reached perfection, and the energy stored within collapsed, forcing him to start over.
During the fourth and fifth attempts, he reached the pinnacle of internal energy detachment, but he still couldn't withstand the pressure from the core, and he had to rebuild his energy again. The sixth time was after the great battle at Hulao Pass, where he gained significant insights and reached the extreme limit of internal energy detachment at Taishan, which then triggered another rebuilding.
Overall, during his sixth rebuilding, his strength was undoubtedly top-tier at that time. However, when facing Lu Bu, Zhao Yun could only say one thing: Lu Bu was a monster, truly a monster!
Even at the extreme limit of internal energy detachment, Zhao Yun estimated that Lu Bu could easily take on three opponents at once. Such strength was utterly abnormal. Zhao Yun even doubted whether he could defeat Lu Bu if he fully mastered his own power. That guy was simply on a monstrous level!
With Zhao Yun's current strength, he estimated that once he completed his seventh rebuilding and fully mastered his powers, he would possess the strength of about three to four peak-level internal energy detachment experts. But when facing Lu Bu on his Red Hare, Zhao Yun still felt immense pressure.
Every warrior has their own obsession with being the best. Zhao Yun, too, wanted to try and claim the title of number one. However, for all the warriors in the world, if they couldn't achieve that rank themselves, the only person they would acknowledge as deserving it was Lu Bu. Even someone like Ma Chao, from the remote and impoverished region of Xiliang, knew how terrifying Lu Bu was!
Zhao Yun took a deep breath. Lu Bu's existence gave all warriors a goal to strive towards, but defeating Lu Bu also became their wildest dream—though, in reality, it was just a dream.
Zhao Yun led the Curly Red Hare away and placed it in the stable with his Night Illumination Jade Lion. He patted both horses, signaling for them to get along, then filled their trough with ample feed before turning and leaving.
While Zhao Yun was present, both the Night Illumination Jade Lion and the Curly Red Hare refrained from causing trouble. However, once Zhao Yun left, the two horses immediately clashed. Both were dominant horses, and neither could stand the sight of the other. How dare another horse eat from its feed trough?
A loud "thud" echoed, and Zhao Yun casually covered his ears. Glancing back at the camp, he saw a flash of white light shooting out from the stable, followed by a streak of red flame-like energy chasing after it. The two horses, moving at lightning speed, disappeared over the horizon, only to return just as quickly.
"Let them be. They've been cooped up in the stable, eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating. They're turning into pigs. A little competition with another fine horse might do them some good," Zhao Yun muttered to himself as he watched the two horses, now mere streaks of light, racing madly across the sky. Although his Night Illumination Jade Lion was a prized steed, it clearly wasn't fond of exercise. Being challenged by the Curly Red Hare might just sharpen it up.
After handing over military duties to Chen Dao, Zhao Yun led three thousand White Horse Cavalry and over two thousand infantry towards Taishan. This time, his Night Illumination Jade Lion seemed much more spirited, likely because the Curly Red Hare's presence posed a serious threat to its status as the top horse.
"General Zhao, are you sure this is okay?" Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping, traveling with Zhao Yun back to Taishan, were concerned as they watched the Curly Red Hare and Night Illumination Jade Lion occasionally return with injuries.
"These kinds of wounds will heal in a day. Only through constant challenges will a fine horse become even more exceptional," Zhao Yun shook his head. He had been closely monitoring the two horses, and while they occasionally fought, most of the time, they were simply racing each other.
Meanwhile, in the Linyi area of Yanzhou, Sun Qian had already sent many engineers ahead to conduct on-site surveys. The Fan family had also dispatched some of their members to accompany the engineers. For such a large project, consulting feng shui experts was essential, so the Fan family's professional geomancers went along to assess the site's suitability for building a city.
While Liu Bei's side was preparing for a counterattack, a familiar scene of strategists arguing broke out on Yuan Shao's side. However, unlike before, this time even the usually decisive Yuan Shao wasn't sure which side to support.
Rewind to the time when Ju Yi was defeated, Yan Liang's troops were annihilated, Zhang He was routed, and Tian Feng and Xun Chen barely managed to hold off Lu Bu. After Ju Yi and Yan Liang regrouped with their scattered forces, they realized they were no longer capable of further battle. Helpless, they retreated to Wei Commandery, and a group of them returned to Ye City to beg forgiveness from Yuan Shao.
As Chen Gong had predicted, Yuan Shao didn't hold them accountable for the defeat. Instead, he comforted them, reassuring them that his vast resources could easily replenish the lost troops with more training. While he regretted the loss of the Xian Deng soldiers, his wealth and manpower were abundant, so he was willing to overlook the defeat.
After fully understanding the situation, Yuan Shao became deeply covetous of Lu Bu's Formation Breaker troops, Lu Bu himself, and Chen Gong. It was this desire that led Yuan Shao to consider recruiting Lu Bu and his men. But now, the question was how to go about it—should they fight first or negotiate directly? And what should be done about Lu Bu?
As for the latter question, Yuan Shao made a quick decision: Lu Bu had done the Yuan family a favor, so if Lu Bu was willing to defect, Yuan Shao would gladly accept him. Yuan Shao believed that his magnanimity would be enough to win Lu Bu over.
Regarding how to recruit him, Yuan Shao's strategists initially had differing opinions. But after further discussion, they reached the same conclusion as Liu Bei's side: negotiations were necessary, but they had to fight first. Only by proving their strength would they be able to negotiate favorable terms.
Thus, the matter of Lu Bu was settled. However, what really troubled Yuan Shao was the secret message Xu You received from Li You, informing them that Liu Bei had moved Zhao Yun from Xuzhou and was likely appointing Zhang Fei as the governor of Xiaopei. More importantly, no additional troops were being sent to Xuzhou, which meant that Xuzhou only had one army stationed there!