Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

……

In a secluded place outside Qiao County in Pei State, Yuzhou, a prosperous territory was quietly being built.

One day after Cao Hong was killed by Zhang Ji, a dazzling light shone from a peculiar pavilion in the center of this territory.

After a short while, Cao Hong's figure slowly appeared.

However, at that moment, a mighty force suddenly descended and enveloped Cao Hong.

"Roar!!~~~" Then a series of howling sounds suddenly rang out.

"What happened? My Tiger Luck, my twenty-one Tiger Luck, how come it's all gone?" At this moment, Cao Hong's voice rang out.

Immediately afterwards, a strange purple aura suddenly appeared and enveloped Cao Hong.

"This is... the hidden attribute of talent... I see... I see!" After a while, Cao Hong's voice rang out again.

“Normally, dying once halves one’s luck, and the historical soul talisman blessed by heaven and earth is exposed, completely losing the protection and grace of heaven and earth. But now, everything about me has remained unchanged except for the Tiger Luck. Not only that, my strength has actually surged to the level of a Three-Elemental Divine General, and my Divine Domain and Origin Yuan Power have both been slightly strengthened... This is all thanks to the forty-one Tiger Luck!”

"The price is that all my luck with the tiger has been wiped out!"

"Resurrected by consuming Qi Luck, my strength not only didn't weaken but actually increased! Qi Luck, for me, must be like Tiger Luck. But how much Tiger Luck is needed to achieve this? If I had unlimited Tiger Luck, could I infinitely increase my strength? This hidden attribute of my talent seems quite formidable..."

"This hidden attribute only becomes apparent after dying once... Heh... Who would die for no reason..." Cao Hong murmured, his eyes gleaming.

This death cost him forty-one Tiger Luck, but Cao Hong's strength increased, and there were no aftereffects...

"However, this resurrection not only destroyed our luck, but also depleted a lot of the Creation Qi of the Creation Rebirth Tower..." Cao Hong looked at a small pool of water floating in mid-air not far away, filled with a pale blue mist, and a look of heartache appeared on his face.

When he was resurrected, the normal consumption was without exception. He consumed half of the forty-one Tiger Luck and the foundation of his brother Cao Cao's divine-level building. His hidden talent attributes consumed the other half to improve his strength and remove negative statuses such as Soul Talisman.

……

Meanwhile, in the city lord's mansion of Xingyang, Zhang Ji, who had just finished a banquet with his soldiers, returned to his room to deal with Cao Hong's lost items when he watched helplessly as Cao Hong's soul talisman and the lost items turned into a stream of light and disappeared...

"What's going on?!?" Zhang Ji was dumbfounded...

It wasn't stolen, nor was it robbed in front of him; rather, it was taken away by some high-level force.

“Cao Hong…this man is somewhat extraordinary!” Zhang Ji frowned slightly, as if he had just thought of something.

Like Hua Xiong before him, Cao Cao's younger brother Cao Hong should not have completely perished.

"I wonder what the consequences will be if I offend Cao Cao..." Zhang Ji sighed softly.

The fact that he failed to completely eliminate Cao Cao and left behind future troubles made him somewhat uneasy.

"Back in my hometown, they've arranged a marriage for me. Once I've finished dealing with Suanzao City, I'll take a break and go back to visit." Zhang Ji temporarily put aside his business with Cao Cao and began thinking about his hometown.

After thinking it over, Zhang Ji left the side room and went to the military camp to get things done.

……

Meanwhile, after Cao Cao and his remaining troops disappeared completely, a civil war broke out.

The first flames of war were not ignited by the top few lords on the list of lords of heaven and earth, but by the very bottom...

That's right, with the Kwantung Allied Forces alliance broken, the first target was none other than Ji Beiqin!
As the saying goes, you should always pick the softest persimmon.

As an extraordinary person, Ji Beiqin's ability to be listed on the Heavenly and Earthly Lords Ranking was already a great achievement, and the same was true among the indigenous people.

Since he made the list, it means Ji Beiqin has some luck to his name. And Zhang Chao, the nineteenth warlord, governor of Donghai, and commander of 600,000 troops, has his eye on Ji Beiqin!
Zhang Chao currently commands only 520,000 troops, of which 150,000 are allocated for transporting provisions and supplies. Therefore, he only has 370,000 troops capable of fighting.

Zhang Chao was a force to be reckoned with within the Guandong Allied Army, but his strength and foundation were too weak. Although he was ambitious, he lacked the strength and courage to contend with the top warlords.

Now that the alliance has collapsed and there are no constraints, he has turned his attention to Ji Beiqin, an outsider who seems to have a shallow foundation and is easy to manipulate.

In Zhang Chao's view, Lin Mu and Ji Beiqin were exceptions, their current status entirely due to luck. He couldn't deal with Lin Mu, but he could with Ji Beiqin. Although Taiyuan County, under Ji Beiqin's jurisdiction, wasn't wealthy, it was still a lucrative territory, and its internal stability was questionable, making it an ideal target for annexation, expansion, and the plunder of fortune.

"Ji Beiqin is nothing but a peculiar junior who has only managed to be ranked at the bottom of the list of feudal lords. How dare he sit at the same table as us feudal lords? He is truly ignorant of his own limitations!" Zhang Chao declared to his generals in his tent.

At the start of the meeting, the ambitious Zhang Chao discussed with everyone which target to take down, and they eventually set their sights on Ji Beiqin.

"Now that the alliance has broken down, it is the time for us to plan our fortunes and climb to the top! Ji Beiqin's army is weak and he has no brave generals. He can be easily dealt with! After annexing Ji Beiqin, our fortunes will increase and our foundation will be strengthened. At that time, why should we worry about not being able to occupy a place in this chaotic world!" Zhang Chao said excitedly.

Many of the generals under his command echoed this sentiment, believing that Ji Beiqin was weak and vulnerable.

A general even advised: "My lord is wise! Ji Beiqin's forces have been destroyed before, and now they are rising again, but their foundation is not yet stable and they have no strong reinforcements. If our hundreds of thousands of troops march in, we will surely be able to uproot them in one fell swoop! At that time, we will arrange for Ziyuan to be the governor of Taiyuan, and the resources and population of his territory will be used by our army!"

Ziyuan was the courtesy name of Zang Hong. Zang Hong was Zhang Chao's chief clerk.

"Yes, my lord, Dong Zhuo made a promise, didn't he? We'll use that promise to send Ziyuan to take over Taiyuan County. Then we'll work together to lay a solid foundation for you and pave the way for future great undertakings!"

"Gentlemen, our lord has many capable men under his command. I am ashamed," Zang Hong, sitting below Zhang Chao, said, waving his hands repeatedly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chao's eyes flashed with a brilliant light, and he slammed his hand on the table: "Ziyuan, you'll have to take this! Pass on my order to muster the troops and ambush them outside the West City in three days! We must win this battle and completely annihilate their forces!"

Zhang Chao already knew that Ji Beiqin would depart from Hulao Pass in four days. And his route would take him to the outskirts of the western city. In fact, he was aware of the movements of not only Ji Beiqin, but also those of the other warlords…

That very night, Zhang Chao led all his available soldiers out of Hulao Pass and set up an ambush.

Inside Hulao Pass, the people were already quite restless. Zhang Chao's troop movements weren't actually the biggest; the troops mobilized by Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were several times, even ten times, larger...

For a time, the army inside Hulao Pass was frequently mobilized, and the atmosphere became tense.

Meanwhile, Ji Beiqin, who was being targeted, was also in a bit of a panic. Jiang Chenglong, Xuan Yuan Changying, and the others were actually urging him to join them in taking down Cao Cao!
That's right, they wanted to take advantage of Cao Cao's defeat and kick him while he was down.

They were prepared to throw their lives into the enemy ranks, including Xiahou Dun, and then kill Cao Cao at any cost, thus completely rewriting history!
However, for some reason, Cao Cao left early on and disappeared without a trace...

Unfortunately, their scheme against Cao Cao failed. Afterwards, they decided to kill him again, turning their attention to the other lowest-ranking warlords on the list of warlords.

Originally, he was going to deal with Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, but this guy hadn't made any moves since Wei Zi and the others died.

Finally, his attention turned to his younger brother, Zhang Chao.

"Are we really going to target the warlords on the list?" Ji Beiqin asked hesitantly in the chat room. He had a strong feeling that this suggestion was highly improbable.

“Let’s do it this time. Whether it succeeds or not, we’ll hurry to meet up with Lin Mu, okay?” Jiang Chenglong said solemnly.

"Forget it, you guys do it. My men have already set off, and I'm leaving tonight," Beitang Xue refused.

“Yeah, you guys do it. Anyway, I’m definitely not going to be on the list in the end, so I’m going to meet up with Lin Mu early.” Zhang Xueying also decided not to participate.

Lin Mu has already summoned them to raid Dong Zhuo's rear...

Jiang Chenglong and Xuan Yuan Changying wanted to dethrone the lords on the Heaven and Earth Lords List, but their real intention was to climb up to the top!
They've worked so hard on so many tasks, yet the progress is still so long. Do they really have to march all the way to Chang'an to achieve perfect progress?!
"You asked me to be the bait, and I'm willing. But I won't be bringing my troops; you'll be the main force, how about that?"

"Alright!" everyone replied. (End of Chapter)