Chapter 512

Lu Fengxian suddenly realized he had underestimated the Five Tiger Generals; Zhang Fei just now, plus Zhao Yun with his silver spear—both were not to be trifled with. The other three likely had even stranger techniques.

Zhao Yun launched first with his Dragon's Courage Bright Silver Spear, employing the "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" technique, its moves bizarre and unpredictable. Though Lu Bu's combat power surpassed Zhao Yun's, he was forced onto the defensive; Zhao Yun's spear shadows rained down, forcing Lu Bu to continually retreat.

The onlookers marveled at Zhao Yun's relentless advance, awestruck by the "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" for the first time; Guan Yu stood nearby, his fighting spirit surging.

Seeing Zhao Yun's exquisite spearplay, Lu Bu drew a deep breath and unleashed the "Dominating Power" passed down by Dong Zhuo; his combat power surged to 25,000, his eyes glowed with faint black mist, and he unleashed his Heaven-Defying Halberd to counterattack Zhao Yun.

Lu Bu, drenched in demonic energy, became like a god of slaughter descending upon the world—he abandoned defense entirely, swinging his Heaven-Defying Halberd in relentless chains at Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun raised his spear to block, but was crushed beneath the halberd's force, sinking to one knee, blood seeping from his lips—he was clearly about to collapse.

"Zhao Yun!" Huang Zhong aimed his arrow at Lu Bu, while Ma Chao stepped in front of Zhao Yun to block Lu Bu's advance.

Guan Yu helped Zhang Fei, who had regained some awareness, to his feet, his gaze locked firmly on Lu Bu.

For a moment, the entire arena fell silent; only Lu Bu trembled violently, while Lin Yu stood nearby, watching him calmly.

"You absorbed demonic energy?" Lin Yu asked, his tone even.

Lu Bu did not answer, only stared silently at Lin Yu.

"Today you defeated the Five Tiger Generals. I'll spare your life. Take those two bastards back with you."

Upon hearing this, Lu Bu exhaled softly, forcing himself to suppress the demonic energy, dispersing the power he had just gathered. His body went limp and collapsed. Li Ru and Mei Niang rushed forward to support him back.

Others did not understand why Lin Yu had let them go.

"Today you lost. Return and train hard. Next time we meet, I expect each of you to be able to defeat Lu Bu. Understood?"

"Yes!"

The Five Tiger Generals all shouted in unison; today's defeat weighed heavily on them—they had been overwhelmed by a single man. To preserve their dignity as the Five Tiger Generals, they could not accept this. They would train even harder upon returning.

"Enough. This matter is concluded. Return to the Eastern Han Academy."

"Alright! Let's all go to the Eastern Han Academy."

The principal's office of the Eastern Han Academy.

"Thank you all for rescuing Diao Chan. Each of you has earned merit—especially Lin Yu, who protected Diao Chan. You will now serve as her personal bodyguard, staying by her side at all times," Wang Yun said cheerfully to the Five Tiger Generals and Lin Yu.

"That's inappropriate, Principal! It would make all three of them extremely awkward. My suggestion is to assign Guan Yu to this role—he cares most for Diao Chan and is most willing to remain constantly by her side."

Lin Yu noticed that the moment Wang Yun finished speaking, both Diao Chan and Guan Yu's expressions changed—he understood.

Guan Yu, who had been flustered, turned beet red. Diao Chan, seeing this, smiled at his flushed face and cast a grateful glance toward Lin Yu.

Wang Yun also sensed the unusual tension between them.

"Fine. Then let Guan Yu protect Diao Chan."

"Thank you, Principal! Thank you, big brother! I'll do my utmost to protect Diao Chan and never let her be kidnapped again!" Guan Yu vowed loudly.

0 ······· Requesting flowers···· ······

"Good! It's settled. Go about your business," Wang Yun smiled.

In the dining hall, everyone sat together again, raising cups to celebrate Diao Chan's safe return.

"Don't let Diao Chan perform on stage tonight!" Lin Yu joked.

Diao Chan blushed.

"I'll never seek the spotlight again."

Everyone smiled at Diao Chan as Zhang Fei stood up and bellowed.

"Come on, let's drink! To my second brother becoming Diao Chan's full-time 'personal' bodyguard—congratulations, second brother, you've gotten your wish!"

.... 0....

"Third brother, why'd you say something so blunt!" Guan Yu's face turned red again from Zhang Fei's words.

"Oh~"

"Guan Yu's blushing!"

Zhao Yun stoked the fire from behind.

Diao Chan gazed tenderly at Guan Yu.

"Big brother! I toast you—thank you for protecting Diao Chan and securing this opportunity for me." Guan Yu rose to toast Lin Yu.

"We're brothers," Lin Yu rose to return the toast.

"Big Brother Liu! I'll drink with you too—thank you for protecting me," Diao Chan said.

"Oh? Just a 'thank you' and I have to go save someone?" Lin Yu drawled.

Diao Chan blushed again; everyone burst into laughter.

"By the way—who is Lu Bu? So powerful, yet so unknown. Strange."

"True! We've been too full of ourselves."

"With my help, defeating Lu Bu is inevitable. He's merely an appetizer—there's much more ahead for you. Your current combat power is still insufficient."

"Big Brother Liu! What's your combat power? I felt today that Lu Bu was afraid to do anything to you," Ma Chao asked.

【335】 Lin Yu trains the Five Tiger Generals

"My combat power? You wouldn't believe it. Let's just skip it," Lin Yu smiled.

"Pfft~ You're not hiding something like tens of thousands, are you!" Zhang Fei muttered.

"Enough! Eat, drink, and rest well today. Tomorrow we begin special training—enjoy it while you can," Lin Yu said.

Everyone gazed at Lin Yu with anticipation, imagining how the training would transform their strength—except Guan Yu, who stared at Lin Yu with deep concern.

In the Cao family's training ground,

Lin Yu stood at the center, facing the Five Tiger Generals dressed in training uniforms, while Xiao Qiao, Diao Chan, and Cao Cao watched from outside.

"Today's task is simple: five hundred push-ups, five hundred 'seven-zero-seven' squats, and a ten-kilometer cross-country run. How's that? Not too hard, right?" Lin Yu said to the Five Tiger Generals.

"What?! That's easy? I thought Big Brother Liu was going to teach us some incredible technique!"

"I can do twenty thousand of each," Zhang Fei said.

"Good. As you wish. If you don't finish, you don't eat. If one fails, all of you go hungry," Lin Yu said.

"Second brother, you start first."

Zhang Fei said nothing, dropped down, planted his hands on the ground, straightened his legs, and began pressing down; when his face was one centimeter from the ground, he stopped, ready to push up.

"Hm?"

Zhang Fei let out a question—he couldn't rise, as if a thousand jin pressed down on him. He strained with all his strength, trying to lift his body.

"Ahh~"

Zhang Fei shouted loudly; the others stared at him in confusion—what was so hard about a push-up? They thought he'd been bitten by a dog!

Guan Yu, watching Zhang Fei, sighed helplessly, thinking: You've dragged everyone down—training intensity just doubled.

"Aaa~~"

Zhang Fei let out a final roar and finally lifted off the ground, gasping for air, looking up at Lin Yu in shock—definitely something his big brother had done.

"Zhang Fei! Stop fooling around—it's just a push-up! Is it really that bad?" Zhao Yun said.

"Try it yourself and you'll understand," Zhang Fei told Zhao Yun.

"Isn't it really that hard? Second brother! Third brother! All of you, try!" Lin Yu said to the others.

"I'll go!"

"Ah!"

"Oh no!"

"What's going on!"

"Hungry!"

After the others dropped down, they understood why Zhang Fei had screamed—under this overwhelming force, you couldn't succeed without full effort, but even with full effort, how many could you even do?

Everyone now hated Zhang Fei with gritted teeth.

"Hurry up! This is exhausting—are you all muscle-wasted? None of you are hungry, right? You like losing weight?" Lin Yu's voice echoed across the training ground.

"Chief! What are they doing? It's just push-ups—they look so strained! It feels like they're carrying giant stones!" Xiao Qiao asked.

"I don't know either—probably Liu Bei used some strange power," Cao Cao said, equally puzzled as he watched them.

On the training ground, gasps and cries intertwined; where once tens of thousands of push-ups took no more than half an hour, now even a few hundred were impossible—before reaching two hundred, they collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

Lin Yu waved and summoned Diao Chan and the others; they hurried forward with energy drinks specially customized by Hua Tuo, replenishing the exhausted Five Tiger Generals and Xiu one by one.

This energy drink was designed to rapidly restore physical strength lost in training, ensuring uninterrupted sessions and doubling efficiency.

Diao Chan gazed with pity at Guan Yu, who lay sprawled yet forced a smile—exhausted, yet still smiling at her.

"Rest! Five minutes!" Lin Yu shouted.

"Guan Yu, are you alright?" Diao Chan asked with concern.

Guan Yu responded with a smile, his eyes filled with determination: "Don't worry—I can do it. I must grow stronger, so one day I won't let you get hurt…"