Ma Chao Gains Insight

Shouldn't it be Huang Zhong who is seeking medical help for his child?

Who is Cai Yang?

Wait, I seem to have some impression of him.

Qi Fei suddenly realized.

"Could it be the senior Cai Yang, known as the Sword Ancestor?"

In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in order to avenge his nephew Qin Qi (one of the Five Passes and Six Generals), Cai Yang fought a duel with Second Master outside the Ancient City, and for a short time, neither could gain the upper hand.

At that time, Second Master was anxious to prove his innocence to Zhang Fei, so he had to use a stratagem to behead Cai Yang.

Yet in the God Three World, Cai Yang had even fought against Lu Bu before he became a Boundary Breaker, and he had retreated unscathed.

Although Lu Bu was not in his best state at the time, Cai Yang had faced him alone.

To survive a one-on-one fight against Lu Bu, whom others needed to gang up on, was enough to demonstrate the strength of this old man.

"I was fortunate to have the favor of friends back then; I am not worthy of such a title from the General."

Cai Yang tried hard to squeeze out a smile to flatter Qi Fei.

"Senior and Mr. Tong are both elders; you may just call me Zihong."

Qi Fei said quickly.

No matter what, Cai Yang was a senior from over twenty years ago, and Qi Fei still possessed the basic virtue of respecting the elderly.

"Then, this old man will shamelessly accept the General's kindness."

Although Cai Yang accepted, he still maintained a low posture.

This humbleness made Qi Fei feel somewhat unbearable, so he shifted his gaze to the child on the carriage.

The child's lips and other areas were cyanotic, which should be due to insufficient blood oxygen; most likely, there was a problem with his heart and lung functions.

"I wonder who this is?"

Qi Fei asked.

"This is my son, Quan. He was born with a weak constitution and cannot stand to salute you. Please forgive him, Zihong."

As Cai Yang spoke, he was about to bow to Qi Fei to express his apology.

"May I take a look?"

Qi Fei grabbed Cai Yang, preventing him from performing the bow.

"That is exactly what I hoped for; I would not dare to refuse."

Joy appeared on Cai Yang's face.

Immediately, Qi Fei used both his mental power and Internal Qi to carefully examine Cai Quan's body.

Just as he expected, both the heart and lungs had problems.

A congenital organic heart defect caused his pumping capacity to be lower than that of a normal heart.

Problems with blood circulation were a huge burden on Cai Quan's body and also severely affected his own cultivation of Internal Qi.

At the same time, blood had been accumulating in his lungs for a long time, increasing the risk of lung infection, which had led to pneumonia.

This completely cut off any possibility of him relying on Internal Qi to heal himself.

Not only that, but Qi Fei also discovered traces of pulmonary tuberculosis.

This must have been a recent infection; otherwise, even with Cai Yang infusing him with Internal Qi every day, Cai Quan would not have lasted until now.

Because they lived in a high-nutrition environment rich in Internal Qi for a long time, these bacteria were all vigorous and possessed extraordinary abilities.

In his previous life, they would have been enough to make the big shots in the respiratory department fight over them.

Overall, for the people of the Han Dynasty who lacked modern medical knowledge, Cai Quan could basically be considered a dead man.

Even if they directly infused Cai Quan with enough energy to reach Internal Qi Separation, it would be useless.

Due to the long-term torment of illness, Cai Quan's Divine Will was too weak to lead his own transformation.

On the contrary, the bacteria would likely take advantage of it.

If it weren't for the fact that the life structure of bacteria is truly simple, it wouldn't even be strange for them to become Qi Solidification level super-bacteria during the breakthrough process.

However, for Qi Fei, these difficulties were not problems at all.

Under Cai Quan's hopeful gaze, Qi Fei spoke:

"It can be cured, but to be completely healed, some special techniques are required, so..."

"Is there something that needs to be purchased? Rest assured, Zihong, I will do my best to obtain whatever is needed."

A Divine Light that could be described as blinding erupted in Cai Yang's eyes.

He had already despaired of his son's illness, which was why he had braved the bumpy journey to bring his son here to take a gamble.

Now that he had finally found hope, how could he give up?

"It's not exactly that; the technology itself is quite sensitive, so I need to discuss it with Lord Xuande first."

As Qi Fei spoke, he also used his spiritual energy to send a message to Liu Bei, telling him to be prepared.

"Lord Xuande's reputation is known throughout the four seas, and I have long wished to pay a visit, but I lacked an introduction, so I came here to try my luck."

Cai Yang had not lived all these years in vain; he could naturally hear the subtext in Qi Fei's words.

"Lord Xuande thirsts for talent. If he knew a senior like you had come to visit, he would certainly sweep the floor and welcome you with open arms."

While speaking, Qi Fei used his internal qi to force the accumulated fluid out of Cai Quan's lungs, then used a burst of fire to burn it all away.

After dealing with most of the bacteria in Cai Quan's lungs, Qi Fei began to clear his blood circulation.

Once this was done, Cai Quan's symptoms improved immediately.

Of course, this was only Qi Fei helping Cai Quan initially alleviate his symptoms; a complete cure would require operating on his heart.

Qi Fei informed Cai Yang of this as well.

But even this initial relief made Cai Yang feel much more at ease.

Overjoyed, Cai Yang bowed repeatedly to thank Qi Fei, not forgetting to pull Cai Quan along to thank him for saving his life.

To be honest, twelve-year-old Qi Fei felt a sense of amusement hearing fourteen-year-old Cai Yang call him uncle.

Afterward, Qi Fei brought the group to rendezvous with Liu Bei and the others.

Liu Bei called for carriages to bring everyone to his residence, hosting a banquet to entertain Ma Chao, Fa Zheng, Tong Yuan, and Cai Yang.

Needless to say, it was the familiar bronze tripod stewing mutton.

Although Chen Xi and Qi Fei didn't feel much about it, the two juniors, Fa Zheng and Ma Chao, had eyes that were shining, and the two elders, Tong Yuan and Cai Yang, were nodding repeatedly.

After all, in this era, this was the standard of prestige.

Zhu Fu Yan had even famously declared: "If I cannot eat from the five tripods while alive, I shall be cooked in the five tripods when I die."

And after Qi Fei had his people bring over the chickens he had just raised at home—which had reached the level of Internal Qi Condensation or even Qi Solidification—to put into the pot, the atmosphere reached its peak.

Currently, the Heaven and Earth Essence had not yet recovered much, and while beasts possessing internal qi existed, they were not exactly numerous.

Usually, everyone could only satisfy their cravings occasionally.

With Qi Fei's "all-you-can-eat" attitude, both the newcomers and the veterans ate to their hearts' content.

As they ate, the generals began to chat about the beasts possessing internal qi that they had hunted.

Then, everyone discovered that the one who had eaten the best in this regard was Tong Yuan, followed by Zhao Yun, and thirdly, Xu Chu.

Back when Tong Yuan was laying the foundation for Zhao Yun, he had caught three beasts at the Internal Qi Separation level: two wild boars and one bear.

Later, while wandering the world, Tong Yuan had also hunted his fair share of fierce beasts.

As for Xu Chu, he had personally killed a tiger at the Internal Qi Separation level.

While the generals were reminiscing about the taste of these beasts, Chen Xi, holding a bowl of chicken soup, turned to look at Qi Fei.

"Zihong, I want to eat beef—the Internal Qi Separation kind."

He said it bluntly.

If the chicken at the Qi Solidification level tasted this mellow, Chen Xi couldn't even imagine how delicious beef at the Internal Qi Separation level would be.

"I want to as well, but right now there aren't even many cows on Mount Tai, so I'm helpless."

Qi Fei spread his hands.

You have to have the corresponding animal first before I can turn it into an Internal Qi Separation level beast.

Otherwise, I can't conjure one out of thin air for you.

"Or, should I skip work and go to the northern grasslands to catch two for you?"

The main issue was that Qi Fei didn't have spatial equipment from other settings, so he could only bring back a few at a time.

If he brought too many, it would be easy for people to spot him while flying.

If they thought a wild Internal Qi Separation beast flying around was looking down on them and brought an army to block him with Cloud Qi, that would be a difficult situation to handle.

"Then never mind."

Chen Xi said with regret.

Compared to satisfying a bit of gluttony, it was more important for Qi Fei to focus on training the troops.

It seemed he would just have to add more responsibilities to the merchant guild for Zizhong and the others.

"When you two brothers discuss things like this, could you please avoid doing it in front of me?"

Lu Su looked at Qi Fei and Chen Xi helplessly.

They were still in the early stages of their venture, and since it was a private reception by Liu Bei, there was no specific seating arrangement for civil or military officials.

When Chen Xi pulled Qi Fei to take a seat, he sat directly next to Lu Su.

Therefore, he could hear every word these two said clearly.

"Zijing, just tell me, do you want to eat it or not?"

Chen Xi asked bluntly.

Lu Su did not answer.

He certainly wanted to, but such things could not be brought out into the open.

Slaughtering cattle without authorization was illegal, after all.

"I finally understand why you two get along so well despite the significant age gap."

Mi Zhu, standing beside Qi Fei, chimed in.

Over this period, they had discovered that these two were highly consistent in certain areas.

"Food cannot be too refined, and meat cannot be sliced too thin. I thought the Master was already particular enough, but I didn't expect..."

Under the gazes of the two, Lu Su did not finish his sentence.

"Zihong, it seems Zijing doesn't like these. Let's not invite him to our banquet later."

Little classmate Chen Xi put on an expression of not wanting to play with little friend Lu Su.

"I didn't say that."

Lu Su decisively denied it.

A cow at the level of Internal Qi Separation—if he missed out on such a delicacy, wouldn't he regret it to death?

He didn't know how Qi Fei had managed it.

"Isn't that it? Wouldn't it be better to be honest?"

Chen Xi wore an expression that said he knew it would be like this.

Amidst such idle chatter and banter, everyone ate and drank their fill, preparing to disperse.

But just at this moment, Ma Chao suddenly approached Qi Fei.

"I have heard that you are even younger than me, yet you have already achieved the Boundary Breaker realm. I wonder if I might have the honor of witnessing it?"

Perhaps because he had witnessed the power of the Nine Phoenix Sword, Ma Chao's tone was much more polite.

It was not just him; Tong Yuan and Cai Yang also developed a bit of interest.

When Tong Yuan drew his sword earlier, both knew this power was indeed above Internal Qi Separation, but they had not seen its full extent.

Thus, curiosity arose in them at this moment.

As for Guan Yu and the others who had already sparred with Qi Fei, they wore expressions of watching a good show.

Only Liu Bei was a bit worried.

Qi Fei's strength was too great; what if he caused Ma Chao's confidence to shatter?

However, after Chen Xi gave him a wink, Liu Bei, who was accustomed to following the lead of smart people, swallowed his words.

"Fine."

Qi Fei agreed on the spot.

Ma Chao of God Three had one characteristic: he was absolutely unwilling to fall behind his peers.

And as it happened, Sun Ce had a similar personality.

Thus, the two would start fighting as soon as they met.

But because they couldn't use lethal force, they could only beat each other until their faces were bruised and swollen, and from time to time, they would break the opponent's newly nurtured weapon, forcing them to start the nurturing process all over again with a new one.

However, the ill-fated connection between these two originally started because Ma Chao ran into Lu Bu.

At that time, because Lu Bu's Red Hare was bullied by Ma Chao's horse, he went to find trouble with Ma Chao.

Originally, Lu Bu only intended to teach Ma Chao a lesson, but Ma Chao was a glutton for punishment and attacked Red Hare directly.

Enraged, Lu Bu treated Ma Chao like a ball and knocked him flying.

Then, Ma Chao, who had turned into a shooting star, happened to save Sun Ce, who was being assassinated by Yu Ji.

And Sun Ce, seeing classmate Ma Chao, who had turned into charcoal, also saved him in passing.

Thus, the two, having saved each other's lives, began this ill-fated connection.

Even later, when Ma Chao accidentally became the commander of the Roman Seventh Eagle Flag legion, their relationship never changed.

They even had the glorious record of fighting before the start of the Great Court Assembly, and while fighting, they happened to roll under Liu Tong's carriage.

It made the Regent Princess of the Great Han exclaim that she had been "bump-and-run" scammed (taught by Chen Xi).

He didn't know if this Ma Chao, who had come to their side now, would still be able to establish this ill-fated connection with Sun Ce.

"Then shall we go outside?"

Ma Chao asked with an excited face.

"No, right here is fine."

Qi Fei rejected Ma Chao's proposal.

"?"

Ma Chao thought that Qi Fei was looking down on him.

Qi Fei did not explain, but instead raised his palm.

"Be careful."

As soon as the words fell, the brilliant will of the God Boundary Breaker extended from Qi Fei's palm.

The once unremarkable palm now felt like the might of heaven, making it difficult to even look at directly.

And as the palm slowly descended, the fear in Ma Chao's heart surged at an unimaginable speed.

I will die.

If that palm lands, I will undoubtedly die.

Under the threat of life and death, Ma Chao's potential was ignited.

The internal qi within his body vented out along with his roar, bristling like a hedgehog with its fur standing on end.

Ma Chao, at the peak of Qi Solidification, successfully broke through to Internal Qi Separation, becoming a warrior who could rank among the best in the world.

"Well done."

The power on Qi Fei's palm dissipated.

Following that, he ignored the internal qi clawing and scratching around Ma Chao's body and gently patted him on the shoulder.

Ma Chao turned his head to stare at Qi Fei's palm, panting heavily.

After a long while, he finally regained his senses.

"Thank you for your guidance."

After steadying his breathing and retracting his internal qi, Ma Chao bowed to thank Qi Fei.

"It's nothing; this is the result of your own accumulation."

Qi Fei looked Ma Chao up and down.

Those who break through on their own under stimulation have highly condensed Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and their combat power seems to be much stronger than the rookies he had produced.

Qi Fei glanced again at Chen Xi, who was gradually stepping into Internal Qi Separation.

No, it should be an issue with that slacker himself; normally, there would be a gap, but it shouldn't be this large.

I'll go find Zang Ba to test it out later.

Zang Ba could last ten moves against Taishi Ci, who was already at the Internal Qi Separation stage, so logically, his accumulation should be about there as well.

"If not for your assistance, I fear it would have taken me quite some time."

Ma Chao's tone had now become exceptionally polite.

Of course, polite as he was, deep down he still harbored the thought of fighting Qi Fei.

If I can't do it now, then I'll wait for the future; I will work hard to cultivate, and I will definitely be able to fight him.

Flames were burning in Ma Chao's eyes.

As expected, running away from home to come to Mount Tai was the right choice.

Only in the prosperous Central Plains could one witness such experts and better improve oneself.

Ma Chao had no intention of hiding his thoughts, which naturally could not escape Qi Fei.

However, he didn't pay much attention to it.

After all, only such unyielding little kids are fun to beat up, hehehe.

In his heart, Qi Fei revealed the same evil grin as Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia.