Chapter 439

"As a warlord, he built his territory himself; how could he be such a hesitant person?"

"This is already the best outcome!"

Such a brother, why keep him if you don't kill him?

"Indeed!"

Cheng Yu nodded and looked at Su Xuan: "However, my lord! Since Sun Ce can be ruthless enough to kill his own brother, it shows he is a cold-blooded and heartless person; even if he submits to you in the future, you should still be careful and guard against him;"

"At the same time, it is best not to over-rely on him!"

"Such a person is not to be trusted!"

To stop at nothing to achieve his goals—this is undoubtedly the temperament of an ambitious hero!

"That is not necessary!"

Su Xuan waved his hand with a smile: "Sun Ce’s actions may not necessarily be cold-blooded; if it were me and I encountered such a brother who pits his own brother, I would probably also be unable to resist raising the butcher’s knife and killing him!"

"Such a vicious bad seed, if you don't solve it early, do you want to keep it to harm yourself and your family?"

At the same time, Su Xuan was also very glad that his three brothers were all good, and the relationship between them was even better, with no gaps.

Of course, this was inseparable from the years of teaching from him and his father.

"That is true! My lord is wise!"

Cheng Yu did not continue to argue, but instead began to flatter Su Xuan.

Su Xuan found it amusing.

This old guy Cheng Yu was not a simple character either!

Fortunately, with the spiritual contract, he didn't have to worry about Cheng Yu betraying him.

In fact, even without the spiritual contract, Su Xuan could feel that Cheng Yu was truly loyal to him.

This guy was ruthless, but it was all directed outward, so that was fine.

After a night passed, Sun Ce, under Zhou Yu’s coordination and command, successfully extinguished the rebellion in Chaisang City and accepted most of the rebel army.

He prepared to hand these people over to Su Xuan after submitting.

As for how Su Xuan would deal with them, that was Su Xuan’s business.

However, based on Su Xuan’s past actions, these people would likely be sent to build roads, serve sentences, and mine.

Whether they could survive would depend on themselves.

Once the rebellion in the city was quelled, Sun Ce walked out of Chaisang City again and met Su Xuan once more.

He cupped his hands and thanked him: "Thank you, Your Majesty Prince Zou Qian, for your timely reminder; otherwise, I might have been doomed by now!"

"I didn't expect my second brother to collude with outsiders to harm me!"

"In the past, I was too indulgent and neglected his education and guidance!"

"No need for that!"

Su Xuan waved his hand: "It was just a small effort!"

"I also do not wish for my Jiangdong to be in chaos;"

"That would not only increase my workload, but taking Jiangdong peacefully would also become impossible!"

Sun Ce was speechless: "It seems Prince Zou Qian has already considered victory as his own!"

"Isn't that too confident? My side is actually quite strong too."

"Haha!"

Su Xuan laughed aloud: "Confidence based on strength is true confidence, just like me now!"

"Alright, enough of that! Can your competition proceed as normal?"

"Naturally, that is not a problem!"

Sun Ce nodded firmly: "If there is no problem, I will go and arrange it!"

"Fine!"

Su Xuan naturally had no objections, but he gave Sun Ce one day to rest.

One day later,

Sun Ce vs. Lu Bu,

After less than fifty exchanges, Sun Ce was knocked off his horse by Lu Bu’s halberd, easily defeating him.

Sun Ce climbed up from the ground, looking at Lu Bu with burning eyes: "Is this the Heaven-Man Realm? It is truly more powerful than I imagined!"

"However, this is interesting!"

"May I ask how much of your strength you used before?"

Lu Bu looked at Sun Ce with a faint smile: "Ten percent of my strength; you are indeed very good. Once you join my lord’s ranks, you will definitely be able to achieve the Heaven-Man Realm!"

"Work hard! Kid! I look forward to the day we meet again at the peak."

After speaking, Lu Bu mounted his Red Hare horse and left quickly.

Afterward, Zhou Yu + 20,000 Eastern navy vs. Wen Pin + 10,000 Xiangyang navy.

It was also without suspense; Zhou Yu lost to Wen Pin.

It wasn't that his talent was insufficient; he was simply crushed by technology!

Finally,

Su Zhan and three thousand personal guards vs. 10,000 infantry and cavalry commanded by Sun Ce and Zhou Yu.

The result was even worse; they were completely crushed.

"Hiss! This gap is too big! Far beyond my imagination; it seems Prince Zou Qian’s strength is far beyond what he has shown!"

"He is already invincible! The throne will be his sooner or later;"

"No matter how Lord Yuan Shao and Cao Cao fight, and no matter what little schemes other warlords have, they will never be able to defeat Prince Zou Qian!"

"Zhou Gongjin, we bet correctly this time!"

Sun Ce said excitedly, looking at Zhou Yu.

"Hmm!"

Zhou Yu nodded affirmatively: "We are lucky!"

If they hadn't been struck by Su Xuan’s iron-clad fleet and had chosen to continue resisting, their ultimate end would definitely not have been beautiful.

Now, although they had lost the chance to compete for hegemony and lost much of their power, they had at least preserved their family, and in the future, following Su Xuan, they would still have the chance to honor their ancestors.

That was enough.

People! One really must learn to be content.

Three battles, three losses; Sun Ce was convinced and, meeting Su Xuan again, he bowed: "This time, I am convinced; therefore, I am willing to abide by the bet and submit to Prince Zou Qian, and at the same time, offer up the entire Jiangdong, hoping Prince Zou Qian will grant it!"

"Haha!"

Su Xuan laughed aloud, waved his hand through the air, and Sun Ce was lifted up without any resistance.

Then, to Sun Ce’s shock, he walked up, patted Sun Ce on the shoulder, and said: "I am overjoyed to have your loyalty, Bofu!"

"You have made the right choice; believe me, you will not regret today’s decision in the future!"

"Hmm!"

Sun Ce nodded blankly, then woke up and looked at Su Xuan in shock: "My lord! What power did you just use to lift me up? Is this the power of the Heaven-Man Realm?"

He was completely unable to resist.

"You could say that!"

Su Xuan smiled and nodded: "The Heaven-Man Realm, as the name suggests, requires mastering the state of mind of Heaven-Man Unity and being able to mobilize the power of heaven and earth to be considered the Heaven-Man Realm!"

"That was just a small trick!"

"Once you break through to the Heaven-Man Realm in the future, you will naturally be able to master it easily!"

"Hiss!"

Sun Ce took a cold breath and asked with anticipation and trepidation: "Can you really help me break through to the Heaven-Man Realm?"

"Naturally!"

Su Xuan nodded affirmatively: "It is just the Heaven-Man Realm; that is not a difficult thing for me!"

"Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Xu Chu, Old Dian Wei, Taishi Ci... and others under my command have already been trained by me into Heaven-Man Realm martial artists!"

"Once you return to Xiangyang City with me, you can go to the Merit Pavilion to exchange for corresponding divine arts and cultivation resources; with your talent and realm, I estimate that within five years, you should be able to achieve the Heaven-Man Realm!"

After all, Sun Ce’s strength and talent were there.

— Author's Notes —

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