Regarding Zhao Yun's question, Chen Xi didn't have a perfect answer. The more he understood Zhao Yun, the more he realized how powerful Zhao Yun truly was. In terms of inner energy, technique, and combat ability, Zhao Yun wasn't lacking compared to Lü Bu. The only difference was raw strength, but Zhao Yun was significantly faster than Lü Bu.
In other words, when it came to pure strength, Zhao Yun and Lü Bu were more or less evenly matched. Yet, whenever Lü Bu appeared, he was typically surrounded by two or three experts of Zhao Yun's caliber. Even if he couldn't win, he was never easily defeated, making the gap between them seem larger than it really was.
Chen Xi's assessment wasn't far off. In terms of raw power and overall attributes, Zhao Yun and Lü Bu were evenly matched. Both had consumed divine stones, both recovered quickly, but their mindsets were distinctly different.
Zhao Yun had a formal background, with a master guiding and teaching him properly from a young age. Tong Yuan had always been very satisfied with Zhao Yun's talent but also instilled in him the unique humility of Chinese culture to prevent arrogance. "Yun'er, you must be humble. Remember, there is always someone stronger out there. You must be cautious to avoid being caught off guard."
Lü Bu, on the other hand, was a wild fighter. He fought and fought, from small scuffles to grand battles, from Jiuyuan to the grasslands, and then back to Bingzhou, and finally to Hulao Pass!
Humility? Why would he need that? If you could defeat him, then you would have the right to teach him!
Humility? No, he was invincible. If anyone doubted that, they could step forward. It didn't matter who they were—he would win. If they didn't accept that, he'd make them accept it. Did someone dare to deny his invincibility? Today, he would show them why he was invincible!
Ordinarily, humility is a virtue. It's generally the right approach. But for someone like Lü Bu, humility was clearly not fitting. If an ordinary person claimed to be invincible, they would be dismissed as arrogant and quickly put in their place. But in Lü Bu's case, even if people didn't like it, they had to admit it.
By now, no matter how much people might dislike Lü Bu, they acknowledged that he was the strongest warrior of the current era. This included top-tier fighters like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Huang Zhong. When they spoke of Lü Bu's strength, they all tacitly agreed on his supremacy, and Lü Bu himself believed he was invincible.
Whether it was arrogance or confidence, Lü Bu embraced the idea that whenever he appeared, he would be besieged. He accepted the notion that single combat between warriors was not bound by strict rules, and the fact that other warriors had no qualms about ganging up on him was an implicit admission that they couldn't defeat him one-on-one!
By this point, aside from a few ignorant individuals in remote corners, perhaps only Zhang Fei still harbored the belief that he could single-handedly defeat Lü Bu. Zhang Fei had no fear. He would fight, even if he couldn't win. If he lost, he'd come back next time and still be the first to challenge Lü Bu in single combat!
This was why Zhang Fei managed to keep up with Lü Bu. His mindset was different. His goal wasn't to survive a certain number of moves or to draw with Lü Bu as Zhao Yun hoped. Zhang Fei's goal was to hang Lü Bu on his spear...
Though Zhang Fei's ambition might have been unrealistic, you couldn't deny that his determination made him stronger. After all, the mindset you bring influences the strength you can unleash.
Zhao Yun's mindset was strong, even excellent!
But compared to his strength, Zhao Yun's mindset only allowed him to harness his power rather than push it to its limits.
In contrast, with similar raw power, Lü Bu's mindset, whether it was confidence or arrogance, was far beyond Zhao Yun's. Zhao Yun had a problem with how he perceived himself.
Chen Xi's response left Zhao Yun momentarily stunned, but he quickly understood where his problem lay.
Unfortunately, understanding the issue didn't mean resolving it. If understanding were enough to achieve results, many of the world's problems would disappear—like restoring the Han Dynasty, for example.
Zhao Yun lacked Lü Bu's dominating presence. Lü Bu dared to declare himself invincible to the world, but even if Zhao Yun reached the same level, he wouldn't be able to make such a claim. He would humbly say that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were just as strong as he was and that he still needed to work harder...
This was a matter of personality and mindset. Chen Xi could point it out to Zhao Yun, but he couldn't make Zhao Yun stronger than Lü Bu. That was unrealistic. If Zhao Yun wanted to defeat Lü Bu, he'd have to rely on himself.
The next day, Chen Xi packed his things, bid farewell to Liu Bei, and said goodbye to Fan Jian and Chen Lan. Then he set off with Zhao Yun's army. By the time Zhao Yun had arrived the previous day, the supplies and baggage had already been sent ahead to Yanzhou. All that remained was to march with the troops.
During the march, Zhao Yun and Chen Xi didn't discuss the matter of mindset further. Chen Xi had no better solutions—his knowledge of psychology was shallow, and Zhao Yun wasn't suited to an arrogant mindset. Well, in some cases, such a mindset might be considered confidence.
Zhao Yun, too, continued to reflect on the gap between himself and Lü Bu. In the end, he returned to the same conclusion: Lü Bu's strength came from within, not just in terms of power but also in terms of mindset. Lü Bu was someone who combined invincible strength with an invincible mindset, though he lacked invincible wisdom.
As Zhao Yun pondered his own situation, Chen Xi was also reflecting on himself. If Zhao Yun underestimated his own abilities, what about Chen Xi? Looking back, Chen Xi realized he had always exuded a sense of confidence, an unshakable confidence. The wisdom of understanding others and the self-awareness of knowing oneself—Chen Xi was enveloped in the intelligence to recognize others and the accumulated wisdom of millennia.
Chen Xi thought with a touch of helplessness.
It wasn't that Chen Xi looked down on Jia Xu and the others, but rather that he stood atop the river of time, gazing down upon the traces of the past. No matter how capable people like Lu Su or Zhuge Liang were, they couldn't grasp the flow of time the way Chen Xi could. Though his view was blurry, it was far more accurate than anyone else's.
"It seems that I must take the top position. Even if there's no 'first' in civil affairs, I have to hold that spot. I can't let anyone challenge it. If this era of brilliant stars needs a bright moon to overshadow them, then let me be that moon. At least I can ensure that this moon remains full and flawless forever!" Chen Xi muttered to himself as he gazed at the heavens, a sharpness emanating from him. After all, he was still young and had his moments of youthful arrogance.