Chapter 981: Circumstances

Xie Pi still firmly believes that Yuan Shao is not dead. Chen Xi doesn't have any good solutions, mainly because Chen Xi's focus is not on Xie Pi. However, speaking of which, Zhu Ling, who has not surrendered much, did give in.

Given that Zhu Ling has some ability, Chen Xi thought for a moment and decided to assign Zhu Ling to Wei Yan as a屯长 (tún zhǎng, commander of a garrison). Although Zhu Ling had lost repeatedly against Wei Yan, it was not due to Zhu Ling's weakness, but entirely because his opponents were too strong.

Wei Yan naturally accepted Zhu Ling as a屯长, which effectively served as a deputy.

Wei Yan did not have any particular thoughts about Zhu Ling surrendering after just a month; in his eyes, it was only natural for a good bird to choose the best tree to perch on, especially since Yuan Shao was dead!

Moreover, Zhu Ling had not submitted before confirming Yuan Shao's death, and only turned to others afterward. Wei Yan felt that was already showing great benevolence.

Of course, when Wei Yan learned that Zhu Ling was being transferred, Xu Shu would need to be moved as well. Without thinking, Wei Yan decided to send Zhu Ling back. Naturally, that was not going to happen as Wei Yan wished; after all, this was a decision that had already been confirmed with considerable input, and it was impossible to let Xu Shu continue to idle under Wei Yan.

Guan Ping, although he had some achievements, had limited strength. At the peak of Qi Refining, he could feel the barrier, but could not break through it no matter what. In simple terms, at this stage, he needed to engage in a fierce battle with a peer-level expert and fight to the death, where life and death might lead to a sudden breakthrough.

However, playing this way also carried a high risk of death. Guan Yu now had only this one son, and although he knew that fighting was the most suitable method, he could not let Guan Ping act recklessly. Thus, Guan Ping was brought back by Guan Yu.

Every day, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took turns guiding Guan Ping and sent Zhou Cang to help refine his skills. They aimed to raise Guan Ping’s strength to the true limit of Qi Refining, which referred not to the limit of internal energy, but to the limits of techniques, power, and speed. Only then would they let Guan Ping go to the battlefield.

Although this approach was slower, it was clearly much safer. However, it would take quite a bit of time, especially since Guan Ping had abundant resources. His father, his third uncle, and his father’s friends were all experts in external energy, willing to invest lavishly; otherwise, he would have to gamble his life on the battlefield.

Currently, there were three figures who had quickly cultivated external energy: one was Tong Yuan, another was Huang Zhong, who had purified his internal energy and broken through the realms, and the last was Lü Bu, who had been researching from the start.

However, Tong Yuan's method truly produced external energy, while Huang Zhong's could only be used on his son and incurred considerable costs, which could not be recovered quickly.

As for Lü Bu's approach, it relied entirely on an extremely strong internal energy and divine power to forcibly create a pseudo-expert who had external energy and external energy recovery capability. This type of expert, in reality, might not even surpass the peak of Qi Refining.

More importantly, creating such a formidable figure caused Lü Bu's overall strength to decline by one-tenth. This was also why, besides granting such terrifying strength to Diao Chan and his only daughter, Lü Bu did not continue with such pointless endeavors.

Lü Bu had once suggested bestowing such strength upon Gao Shun, but Gao Shun politely declined. To be honest, he looked down on such power; living in the same camp, he could at any time possess strength equal to the peak of external energy, so why bother?

However, to return to the point, Tong Yuan's externally cultivated energy was solid and had room for improvement. Although Huang Zhong's method caused significant self-loss, it was effective immediately. Lü Bu's, however, was just a façade; the experts produced had no combat ability.

Nevertheless, Lü Bu never sought combat ability. His goal was to protect Diao Chan and his only daughter from illness and curses. When it came to breaking through external energy, no one understood it better than Lü Bu. He was the one who comprehended every stage of external energy cultivation better than anyone else.

Naturally, Guan Yu did not know about these matters. If he did, he would surely inquire, as both Huang Zhong's and Tong Yuan's methods held reference value.

Although each had its own drawbacks, overall they were quite good. Unfortunately, Guan Yu was unaware of these details and could only silently use his Green Dragon Crescent Blade to teach his son.

For Guan Ping, who was born during times of turmoil and whose father was a famous general, life was very difficult. Gaining his father's approval was a formidable challenge, especially since Guan Yu was a cold and aloof general, rarely praising Guan Ping.

Yet despite this, Guan Ping still viewed his father as an idol, diligently learning his father’s strategies and martial arts. Unfortunately, he still could not learn his father's authority.

After escaping from Zhen Mi, Xin Xianying skipped off to find a carriage, preparing to see her father again. With Chen Xi's assurance, the guards were not too strict with the Xin family, especially for Xin Xianying, who essentially needed someone to specifically protect her to sneak out.

However, after running out, Xin Xianying remembered Zhen Mi leaning on the window watching Chen Xi leave. After considering the direction, she skipped off in pursuit of Chen Xi.

"You little brat!" Zhen Mi, sharp-eyed, noticed Xin Xianying's skipping direction and immediately knew what she intended. However, after a frustrated huff, she quietly watched Xin Xianying, slightly anticipating her actions.

Although Xin Xianying had short legs, she was energetic and quickly caught up to Chen Xi, rushing over.

"Oh, Xianying, what’s the matter?" Chen Xi smiled slightly at the now even cuter Xin Xianying with her two little braids, bending down to pat her head.

"Lord Chen said that patting someone's head would stop them from growing tall and also warned me not to let anyone pat me." Xin Xianying pouted.

Chen Xi felt a bit embarrassed and silently withdrew his hand. "I just thought your hair was neat and wanted to mess it up a bit."

"How about I give you steamed egg custard if you tell me a story?" Xin Xianying asked shyly, fiddling with her fingers.

"You can’t do anything other than steamed egg custard, can you?" Chen Xi rolled his eyes, but for some reason, he felt much happier, perhaps because a pure little white flower was beside him.

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