...

"Young master, young master~" Chen Xi vaguely heard someone chattering beside his ear.

His head felt heavy, and Chen Xi struggled to open his eyes. [If I had known, I wouldn't have drunk so much…]

Three days had passed, and Chen Xi finally understood the current situation. It was the broad era of the Three Kingdoms, just after the Yellow Turban Rebellion had been suppressed. This was a time when heroes emerged, a period Chen Xi used to fantasize about in his idle moments. After all, whether it was the white horse and silver spear of Zhao Yun or the wisdom of Zhuge Liang, both had infinite admirers in later generations. With so many people in China, it was only natural.

His current identity was that of a branch member of the Chen family in Yingchuan. He had a slight connection to the main family, but it was so negligible that no one would notice if he disappeared. At home, he had only a maid to take care of him and an old housekeeper, fitting the classic description of "one person eats, the whole family isn't hungry."

Watching the housekeeper wield a sword with such skill that not a drop of water could get through, Chen Xi was at a loss for words. Could it be that people of this era were so strong? Was the historical record accurate? Could the quality of ancient people surpass modern people by ten streets? Chen Xi found it hard to believe.

"Young Master Chen, are you feeling better recently?" An old man dressed as a physician poked his head in and asked with a smile.

"I feel much better." Chen Xi hurriedly saluted. As far as he knew, in this era, even a minor ailment could be fatal. Given how serious his illness had been, it was truly remarkable that this old gentleman had managed to save him.

"Your complexion has improved a lot. Young Master Chen should practice breathing exercises more." The old man smiled and said, "Since you are better, I will not stay any longer."

"Old Sir," Chen Xi called out.

The housekeeper quickly led a horse over. His speed was unbelievably fast.

"Old Sir, I see you are in a hurry to leave, so this horse is a gift to you for your journey. Please do not refuse." Chen Xi forcefully handed the reins to the old man. He didn't even know the old man's name after all this time, and the old man never mentioned it either.

The old man looked at Chen Xi, thought for a moment, and then accepted the gift. He did have urgent matters to attend to, and having a horse would be very convenient.

[Since he saved my life, I should repay him as soon as possible. The compassion of a healer is his business, but repaying a life-saving grace is mine. With the chaotic times ahead, if something happened to the old man, I wouldn't be able to repay him later.]

After the old man left, Chen Xi closed the door and prepared to go back to his room to read. For him, there was nothing more important than studying the writing of this period. Although he had the memories of the previous Chen Xi, they were clearly incomplete.

"Young Master, that horse was a gift from the master when he brought it back from Bingzhou. Isn't it bad to give it away?" Housekeeper Chen spoke up only after Chen Xi closed the door.

"It's fine. I don't need the horse. By the way, bring all the books from the study to my room. I need to review them." Chen Xi shook his head. He knew the horse was valuable, but compared to repaying a life-saving grace, he felt it was worth it.

Chen Xi's family wasn't poor; on the contrary, they were wealthy. However, after his father Chen Luo passed away, Chen Xi fell seriously ill, and the cost of medicine and treatment consumed much of the family's wealth. Combined with internal family strife, a once wealthy family had fallen into decline.

However, for Housekeeper Chen, as long as Chen Xi recovered, there was hope for the Chen family to rise again. Most of the servants and songstresses had left during Chen Xi's illness. Now, the large Chen household only had Housekeeper Chen and Chen Lan, a songstress who doubled as a maid.

Chen Xi didn't mind these changes. Those who left, left. It was good to have the most loyal ones stay.

Since recovering, Chen Xi hadn't left the Chen household for three whole months. During this time, he mastered everything the previous Chen Xi had learned, such as calligraphy, chess, painting, and most importantly, mental power and formations.

After reviewing these things, Chen Xi realized that this late Eastern Han period was entirely different from the one he remembered. History might be the same, but the world had completely changed.

Reading through the history of the Chu-Han period, Chen Xi silently noted a passage: At the Battle of Gaixia, Xiang Yu single-handedly broke through Liu Bang's 30,000 elite troops, exhausted, and died. He could have escaped but chose to fight to the death rather than disappoint the people of Jiangdong. The undefeated Overlord, even in death, no one dared to approach.

Chen Xi carefully reviewed all the historical records and confirmed one point: history had changed four hundred years ago during the Chu-Han contention period.

The initial change came from a meteorite, recorded in the historical records as a "divine stone," which landed on the Central Plains. This "divine stone" altered the physique of the people in the Central Plains.

Originally, those who could cultivate Qi to strengthen themselves were extremely rare during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Those who could refine their mental power to resonate with the world were even fewer. But this stone caused a dramatic change in the physique of everyone in the Central Plains.

Qi could be cultivated by almost anyone, and refining mental power became much easier. This led to increasingly powerful warriors during the Chu-Han period, with Xiang Yu being the pinnacle of these warriors.

"Pulling up mountains and dominating the world," which might have sounded exaggerated in the original history, was now a reality in this world. At his peak, Xiang Yu could pull up a small mountain and throw it, turn air into a liquid state, and use it like small missiles to create craters in the ground. In short, he was no longer human.

Following the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, various martial arts schools emerged. The warriors who relied on talent during the Chu-Han period gradually systematized their training methods. Cutting down thousands was no longer a myth but a reality.

Similarly, mental power refinement also developed its own schools. So-called secret techniques and Taoist arts emerged. As these developed, methods to counter the top warriors also appeared. Formations significantly reduced the killing power of top warriors, though if they encountered scattered soldiers, the soldiers had no chance of survival.

After four hundred years of development, Qi and mental power were widespread. Although most people didn't master anything extraordinary, they at least had access to these practices. This meant that even farmers in this world could throw several hundred-pound boulders several meters away…

As for the strength of warriors, there were clear records. If Xiang Yu could pull up a mountain and throw it, then by the same ratio, Chen Xi estimated that Lü Bu could shatter a mountain with a single strike…

This was no longer the Three Kingdoms era of history; this was the mythological version of the Three Kingdoms. Chen Xi silently thought.