Three Kingdoms: Zhang Fei was sent flying by a single spear thrust, leaving Liu Bei stunned.

……

Outside the camp.

Xiahou Dun was patrolling the camp when he saw that Zhang Ziqian's tent was still lit up, so he thought he would come and see why he hadn't eaten dinner.

"Ziqian? Is he inside?" he called out, but received no response.

He lifted the curtain, peeked inside, and was immediately stunned.

Zhang Ziqian was wearing a black bodysuit he had never seen before, with a strangely shaped helmet on his head. He was standing in the center of the tent, gesturing wildly.

"Rolling! Rolling! Oh no! He's dead again!"

"You wait! I'll drink my medicine first!"

"The wind's getting strong, let's get out of here!"

While shouting and yelling, Zhang Ziqian made all sorts of strange movements on the spot. Sometimes he would suddenly pounce to the side and roll on the ground; sometimes he would jump high and slash wildly at the air; sometimes he would seem to be hit by something, staggering back a few steps and letting out a painful cry of "Ouch!"

Xiahou Dun was dumbfounded.

Is this... possession? Or has he lost his mind?

He wanted to go in and wake Zhang Ziqian, but he was afraid that Zhang Ziqian was having an episode and that disturbing him rashly would cause trouble.

He hesitated for a long time, then quietly withdrew and quickly ran towards Cao Cao's main tent.

"My lord! My lord! Something terrible has happened!" Xiahou Dun rushed in with a panicked expression.

Cao Cao was discussing military affairs with Cao Ren, Li Dian, and others when he was startled.

"Yuan Rang, what's the matter that you're so panicked?"

"Ziqian... Ziqian seems to have gone mad!" Xia-Hou Dun said breathlessly.

"What?!" Cao Cao and everyone in the tent were all shocked.

If Zhang Ziqian goes crazy, that would be even more serious than losing a battle!

"What happened? Explain yourself!" Cao Cao asked hurriedly.

Xiahou Dun quickly described the scene he had just witnessed in detail.

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion and worry.

"Wearing tight black clothes and a strange helmet, hitting and cursing at thin air?" Cao Ren frowned. "It sounds... like some kind of shamanistic ritual?"

"Impossible." Li Dian shook his head. "I've never heard of such a ritual. It's more like... being under some kind of evil spell."

"Stop guessing!" Cao Cao suddenly stood up. "Let's go take a look!"

The group arrived in a grand procession outside Zhang Ziqian's tent. They dared not go in, but quietly lifted a corner of the curtain to peek inside.

Zhang Ziqian was still "going crazy".

"Hahaha! You've finally met your match! Watch my fatal blow!" He let out a burst of maniacal laughter and made a thrusting motion towards the air in front of him.

"Holy crap! There's a second stage? No sportsmanship here!" Then, he let out another scream, and with a "bang," he fell straight back onto the cot, motionless.

"Ziqian!" Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, and the others could no longer contain themselves. They cried out in surprise and rushed in.

They rushed to the bedside and saw Zhang Ziqian lying on the bed, breathing steadily, as if he were just asleep.

Cao Cao reached out to remove the strange helmet from his head, but his hand was repelled by a gentle force the moment it touched it.

"What exactly is this thing?" Cao Cao was filled with doubt and unease.

Just then, Zhang Ziqian, who was lying on the bed, suddenly took off his helmet and sat up.

He rubbed his eyes, looked at Cao Cao and the others who were gathered around the bed, staring at him nervously, and paused for a moment.

"What...what are you guys doing? Having a party in the middle of the night?"

Seeing that he had regained consciousness, Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief, but still couldn't help asking, "Ziqian, what... exactly were you doing just now?"

Zhang Ziqian then realized that they must have seen him playing VR.

He scratched his head, thinking he couldn't very well say he was playing video games.

His eyes lit up, and he came up with a brilliant excuse.

He stood up solemnly and said to Cao Cao and the others, "Boss, you've come at the right time. I was just undergoing a special kind of cultivation."

"Cultivation?" Xiahou Dun looked incredulous.

"That's right." Zhang Ziqian's story became increasingly fluent. "This is a secret technique passed down only within my sect, called the 'Dream Travel Technique.' Wearing this allows my soul to enter a dangerous and strange realm called the 'Boundary Land.' There, countless powerful demons and monsters reside. Fighting them hones my martial arts skills and willpower. Although my soul may feel fatigued or even 'die' during battle, it does not harm my physical body. On the contrary, it allows my combat experience to increase rapidly."

He pointed to himself: "You just saw me fall; that's because my soul was killed in that other realm by a powerful monster called the 'Great Tree Guardian.' But it's alright, I can resurrect infinitely. Once I completely defeat it, my martial arts will reach a whole new level!"

These words were spoken in such a mysterious and profound way that Cao Cao and the others were completely stunned.

A dreamlike journey? A borderland? Demons and monsters?

This is completely beyond their comprehension.

But considering Zhang Ziqian's superhuman strength and what he had mentioned before about "treasures of the sect," they felt that... it wasn't entirely unacceptable.

Cao Cao stared at the futuristic VR headset, his expression incredibly complex. He knew that Zhang Ziqian harbored a secret he would never understand.

"I see." Cao Cao nodded, accepting this explanation. "Since it's Ziqian's unique cultivation method, we won't disturb you any longer. You... cultivate diligently."

After saying this, he led a group of generals, who were filled with shock and doubt, out of the camp.

Watching them walk away, Zhang Ziqian let out a long sigh of relief.

"Luckily, I was quick-witted and managed to get away with it."

He put his helmet back on and lay back down on the bed.

"Damn it, Tree Guardian, I'm going to fight you! If I don't beat you up tonight, I'm not a Zhang!"

Inside the tent, the sounds of virtual battle rang out once again.

Outside the tent, Cao Cao stood in the night, silent for a long time.

Xiahou Dun whispered beside him, "My lord, Ziqian, he..."

"No need for further explanation." Cao Cao waved his hand. "All we need to know is that the stronger Ziqian is, the more advantageous it will be for our army. He has his secrets, and we need not investigate them."

He looked up at the starry sky, and his ambition to unify the world burned even brighter because of the new layer of mystery that Zhang Ziqian had revealed.

With such divine assistance, what great things cannot be accomplished?