Chapter 13: A New Mission—Defeat Guan Yu

After acquiring Lü Bu's Sky Piercer, Su Ming wielded it for several days and found it to be an exceptional weapon. However, the Sky Piercer did not quite suit his own attributes. Su Ming possessed the martial soul of Yuwen Chengdu, and his martial skills were identical to Yuwen Chengdu's. Not only was Lü Bu's Sky Piercer unsuitable, but even his original silver spear was no longer a good fit. Now, the weapon that best matched his abilities was the Phoenix-winged Gilded Mace.

Therefore, Su Ming straightforwardly sought out a skilled craftsman and had both his silver spear and Lü Bu's Sky Piercer melted down. With the addition of some refined steel, a new Phoenix-winged Gilded Mace weighing one hundred and eight jin was forged.

It must be noted, this was the era of the Three Kingdoms, not the Sui or Tang dynasties. Even Lord Guan's Green Dragon Crescent Blade weighed only seventy-two jin, so Su Ming's newly crafted Phoenix-winged Gilded Mace already surpassed it in weight.

After forging the new weapon, Su Ming was practicing with it in the martial yard at his residence. Suddenly, Xu Chu appeared, pushing a small cart loaded with jars of wine.

“Su, my brother, put down your weapon,” Xu Chu called. “Come drink with your elder brother and vent some anger—I'm furious, so stifled I could die!”

Seeing Xu Chu so dejected, Su Ming set aside his weapon, walked over, and asked, “What happened now?”

“What could make you, Xu Chu, so frustrated?”

Xu Chu raised a wine jar, took a long swig, and cursed, “It's all because of that Guan Yu! That man is nothing but an ungrateful wolf!”

“The lord treated him so well—rewarded him with gold when he mounted a horse, with silver when he dismounted. Who would have thought he would just run away? I wanted to chase after him, but the lord forbade it.”

“It's enough to make me mad!”

So Guan Yu has hung his seal and left? Su Ming calculated the days. Guan Yu hanging up his seal and gold, then crossing five passes and slaying six generals—after that would come the Battle of Guandu, which would determine whether Cao Cao or Yuan Shao would rule the north. The Battle of Guandu was set for October 200 AD, and now it was the end of May. That meant only four months remained until the great conflict. Cao Cao had lingered in Xuzhou precisely because it was a strategic hub, making it easier to mobilize troops and supplies to the front.

At this moment, both Cao Cao's and Yuan Shao's armies were shifting positions, and soon, the earth-shaking battle would erupt. By this reckoning, it was indeed time for Guan Yu to leave.

Just then, a line of text appeared on Su Ming's attribute panel:

[Mission: Defeat Guan Yu.]
[Mission Reward: Unknown.]

After accepting the new mission, Su Ming began to review his attributes.

[Name: Su Ming.]
[Age: 23.]
[Martial Prowess: 101.]
[Leadership: 87.]
[Strategy: 80.]
[Politics: 73.]
[Martial Soul: Yuwen Chengdu (Fusion Rate: 92%).]
[Primary Weapon: Phoenix-winged Gilded Mace.]
[Secondary Weapon: Golden Mace.]
[Mount: Thunder Leopard.]

As the fusion with Yuwen Chengdu's martial soul deepened, Su Ming's martial prowess had already broken through the hundred mark, reaching one hundred and one. This was nearly the limit of human capability. With Su Ming's current strength, defeating Guan Yu would not be a problem. However, it was clear that Cao Cao wanted Guan Yu to leave. If he wished to intercept Guan Yu, he would first need to seek Cao Cao's permission.

Su Ming looked at Xu Chu with a smile and asked, “You want to stop Guan Yu?”

“Of course! How can the Cao camp be a place where he can come and go as he pleases?” Xu Chu grumbled. “If you ask me, not only should we stop him, but we should chop off his head and be done with it!”

At this, Su Ming couldn’t help but laugh outright.

“Su Ming, what are you laughing at? Am I wrong?” Xu Chu protested, feeling indignant.

Xu Chu thought that for all his wit, Cao Cao always lost his head when it came to Guan Yu—not as clear-sighted as even himself. Letting Guan Yu go was like releasing a tiger back to the mountains.

“Does Guan Yu have the Red Hare horse? Could you even catch him?” Su Ming asked pointedly. “And even if you did, could you defeat him?”

With these two piercing questions, Xu Chu was struck speechless. Indeed! Whether or not he could catch up to Guan Yu was uncertain, and even if he did, he was not confident of victory.

“Let’s just drink, and forget about this,” Xu Chu muttered.

“Anyway, the lord has been charmed by Guan Yu and forbids pursuit,” Xu Chu said, handing Su Ming a wine jar.

Su Ming did not accept the wine. Instead, he said, “Take me to see the Chancellor. I guarantee I can persuade him to let us give chase.”

“Guan Yu’s name is famed throughout the land, and I have long desired a match with him.”

Xu Chu’s spirits lifted at these words. Indeed! He himself was no match for Guan Yu, but Su Ming might well be. After all, Su Ming had once defeated Xu Chu even when seriously wounded. In Xu Chu’s eyes, only Lü Bu in his prime could match Su Ming.

“Alright! We’ll leave the wine for later—let's go see the Chancellor first!” Xu Chu said, dragging Su Ming toward the Prime Minister’s residence.

On the way, Xu Chu confided, “Su Ming, Guan Yu is arrogant and conceited, as if heaven is first, earth is second, and he himself is third. You must teach him a lesson this time—show him there are always heights beyond the heights.”

Soon, Xu Chu brought Su Ming to the Chancellor’s residence.

In the study, Xu Chu led Su Ming before Cao Cao and said, “My lord, Su Ming here has something to say to you.”

“Su Ming pays his respects to the Chancellor,” Su Ming said with a bow.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao realized Su Ming still refused to acknowledge his ancestry. In recent days, Cao Cao had sent many gifts, but Su Ming had remained indifferent. Yet today, Su Ming had come of his own accord, which put Cao Cao in a good mood.

Cao Cao looked at Su Ming, thinking, When will my son finally forgive his father?

After a moment, Cao Cao asked, “Ming’er, what brings you here?”

Being addressed as “Ming’er” made Su Ming’s scalp tingle. He quickly replied, “Chancellor, please just call me Su Ming.”

According to the memories of the body’s original owner, Cao Cao was indeed his nominal father, but Su Ming still found it awkward. After all, having your father called “Cao the Traitor” always sounded like an insult.

When he heard this, Cao Cao thought, My son still keeps his distance. In the future, I must doubly make it up to him and bridge this gap.

“Su Ming, speak freely. Whatever you need, I will do my utmost to grant it!” Cao Cao replied without hesitation.