Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

In the spring of 188 AD, Ma Chao was 13 years old, which means that Ma Chao was reborn when he was 13 years old. Although Ma Chao was only 13 years old at this time, he was more than seven feet tall, equivalent to an adult. He had a face as beautiful as jade and eyes as bright as stars. Because he liked to wear brocade robes, he was called Brocade Ma Chao by gossipers.

In the martial arts arena, Ma Chao led his brothers Ma Xiu, Ma Tie, and his cousin Ma Dai in spear practice. Drawing on his memories from his past life and his unrivaled martial prowess, Ma Chao wielded the spear with unparalleled skill. His brothers surrounded him and asked, "Brother, when did your spearmanship become so advanced?" Ma Chao, filled with emotion, looked at his brothers and said, "Brothers, don't rush. Take your time. Everything is built on practice. Hard work and perseverance are key to building a solid foundation. I'll be your mentor. Practice diligently, and in the future, our Ma family's spearmanship will astound the world." Ma Chao's spearmanship was undoubtedly impressive. After all, he'd been known as the Golden Lü Bu and the Silver Ma Chao in his past life. Furthermore, with his memories of peak strength, he was still young enough to surpass Lü Bu someday. He needed to hone his skills and find a chance to challenge the world's greatest warrior, Lü Bu, once again. The only thing now is that there is no suitable weapon. The spear used for training at home is too light. Thinking of this, Ma Chao said: "Brothers, I think the spear we use for training is too light. Let's go find dad together and then replace us with suitable weapons. What do you think?" Ma Tie and his brothers cheered and shouted to go to the front yard to find Ma Teng to change their weapons.

Here, Ma Teng was handling military affairs in the room, when suddenly Ma Chao and his brothers came in noisily. Ma Teng said with a little displeasure: "You brothers don't practice martial arts well, why are you making noise here? You must know that a day's plan starts in the morning. It is the time to work hard. How can you waste time playing?" Ma Tie said first: "Dad, Dad, big brother showed us the gun skills just now. It is so mysterious and extraordinary. It feels better than what you taught us! Big brother also thinks that the big guns we practiced are too light and not handy. Dad, I feel that big brother is better than you now!" Ma Teng said curiously: "Oh, there is such a thing, Chao "Son, is your spearmanship really as good as they say?" Ma Chao said: "I dare not hide it from my father. It has indeed improved. I feel that the spear in my hand is too light and I cannot perform mysterious moves." Ma Teng's curiosity was thoroughly aroused, and he said in a loud voice: "Good boy, come to the training ground and let your father test your skills!" You should know that what Ma Teng practiced was the Ma family's inherited spearmanship, "Thousands of Troops Breaking". "Thousands of Troops Breaking" emphasizes the concept of "one force defeats ten skills". It was created by Xiang Yu, the King of Chu during the Chu-Han contention period. It has the power to break thousands of troops. Ma Yuan, the ancestor of the Ma family, learned this spearmanship by chance. With this spearmanship, he helped Emperor Guangwu of Han Liu Xiu to create a great cause and was named one of the 26 generals of Yuntai. Later, Ma Teng's great-grandfather was implicated in the Dou Xian case, his title was stripped, and the family fell into decline. Ma Teng's father, Ma Su, was forced to marry a Qiang woman, who gave birth to Ma Teng. Born with immense strength, Ma Teng, through diligent practice of spearmanship, joined the army with unstoppable courage and numerous military exploits. This led to his rise to prominence, reviving the Ma family and earning the rank of Lieutenant General. Ma Teng used large spears for the Ma family's sons, each weighing 30 jin (approximately catties) and cast entirely of iron. This was to help them strengthen their physique and pass on their family's spearmanship.

Ma Teng led his sons to the martial arts arena. Ma Teng and Ma Chao each took a spear and stood on either side. Ma Teng said with a smile, "Chao, attack with all your might! Let me see how skilled you are." Ma Chao urged his father to be careful, then charged forward, brandishing his spear for seven or eight rounds. Ma Teng grew increasingly frightened, but he regained his composure and, with full vigor, engaged the enemy. Before they knew it, they had fought for thirty or forty rounds. Gradually, Ma Teng began to feel at a disadvantage. Their spear skills were equally powerful, but Ma Chao's were intertwined with subtle, unpredictable movements. Sometimes, the same moves were executed with a fiendishly angled strike, making them impossible to counter. Ma Teng, considered a world-class warrior, felt he was outmatched. Furthermore, Ma Chao complained that the spear was too light and unsuitable for his wielding skills. If he had been given a more suitable weapon, he would have been defeated by thirty or forty rounds. Ma Chao is both tough and fierce, but also has amazing switching moves that are really hard to understand. It should be noted that when two generals face off, a single move is enough to determine the outcome.

Ma Teng became more and more frightened as the fight went on, and gradually he became clumsy. Ma Chao also saw that his father was no match for him, so he showed a flaw. When Ma Teng attacked, he deliberately let his spear drop from his hand, turned over and knelt on the ground: "Father is truly mighty, I admire you." Ma Teng knew that Ma Chao did not want him to lose and was afraid of losing face, so he laughed and helped Ma Chao up, patted Ma Chao on the shoulder: "My son, you have such martial arts at such a young age. If you work hard, you will surely be a famous general in the world. You are truly a son of the Ma family!" He turned to his other sons and said: "You brothers should learn from your eldest brother, practice martial arts hard, and become your father's right-hand man as soon as possible. You keep practicing, and I will talk to your eldest brother about making weapons." The boys of the Ma family were greatly encouraged and began to practice with great energy.

Ma Teng led Ma Chao to the study, and the two sat down separately. Ma Teng said: "Chao'er, after competing with you, I found that your spear skills have improved a lot. If you hadn't deliberately lost, your father would really be no match for you. In the art of martial arts, only water dripping through stone can wear away stone. You must practice diligently and strive for breakthroughs in the battle. It is impossible to make such great progress so easily. Today I believe what you said that day. As the saying goes, Zhuang Zhou dreamed of the butterfly, and the butterfly dreamed of Zhuang Zhou. Perhaps what you said may be true." Ma Chao said: "I dare not hide it from my father. I really think I may have really experienced it. I can empathize with everything, and it feels so long." Ma Teng said: "Chao'er, your father doesn't care whether what you experienced is true or not. It doesn't matter if it's a dream, as long as you are my son Chao and healthy, your father will be satisfied. Also, about the weapon forging you mentioned, more than ten years ago, a meteor fell from the sky in the Qiang territory east of Liangzhou. A small tribe obtained nearly 200 kilograms of meteorite iron from outer space and presented it to the Qiang King. The Qiang King searched for craftsmen in the tribe and went through untold hardships to hammer out a corner, inlay seven gems, and forge a short knife called the Seven-Star Sword. It was so sharp that it could cut through hair. Later, the Qiang people rebelled. General Huangfu quelled the rebellion and presented it to the emperor, who bestowed it on Prime Minister Wang Yun. This meteorite iron is extremely difficult to refine, and I think it should still be in the hands of the Qiang people. "Ma Chao was overjoyed to hear this. The Seven-Star Sword in his previous life was very famous. After all, it was this sword that Cao Cao used to assassinate Dong. Ma Chao said: "Father, I want to go to the Qiang tribe and get this meteorite iron to make weapons. I hope you will allow me to do so." Since Ma Teng said so and had this idea in mind, he decided to let Ma Chao go and began to arrange for Ma Chao to prepare for the trip.