Of the three rulers who remain, each has come to power in a unique wat: Cao Cao through ruthlessness, Sun Quan by virtue of inheritance, and Liu Bei because of his reliance upon and fidelity to those around him. In fact, the defining heroic act of Three Kingdoms is Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei's blood oath, a selfless act that commits their individual lives to one another as well as to the cause of restoring China to its former glory. It is therefore ironic, but fitting, that the defining tragedy of Three Kingdoms stems from the same blood oath.