Reconnaissance-Type Dao Xuan Tianzun—deploy!
Li Daoxuan was ready to make a dramatic leap, jumping down from the city wall.
Standing at the edge and looking down—holy cow.
The city wall was only two meters tall, but in the eyes of the Reconnaissance-Type Dao Xuan Tianzun, it looked like a towering skyscraper, dozens of meters high.
It was simply too high.
Li Daoxuan hesitated.
Just one glance made him dizzy.
…Forget it.
He couldn't die from the fall anyway.
He closed his eyes.
"Heave—ho!"
With a small heroic cry, the Reconnaissance-Type Dao Xuan Tianzun leapt downward.
That feeling of plummeting like a meteor—
that brief moment of weightlessness—
Did you feel it?
Thump!
Li Daoxuan smashed into the ground.
Fortunately, he had deliberately not activated the detailed sensory feedback of his co-sensing ability. Otherwise, that landing would have hurt.
He brushed off his backside, stood up, and gave the dumbfounded Chen Yuanbo on the city wall an "okay" gesture.
Then he strode toward the distant forest where the Eight Great Kings' army was hiding.
The Dao Xuan Tianzun was truly tiny.
Even slightly taller blades of grass loomed like giant trees over him. As he walked, he had to push the grass aside with both hands.
Ahead stood a dense cluster of ferns—
thick, towering, intertwined like a miniature primeval forest.
He tried to squeeze between two of them.
Didn't fit.
He grabbed a stalk and tried to snap it—
…It wouldn't break.
Awkward.
His strength had shrunk along with his size.
Fine.
Then I'll just crash through.
Though palm-sized, his body was still forged from reinforced steel and iron. He backed up a few steps, then charged forward—
Bam!
The fern snapped and collapsed.
Li Daoxuan stood proudly atop the fallen stalk, flashed a V-sign, and declared:
"Oh yeah! That'll teach you to defy this Dao Xuan Tianzun! Snapped, didn't you?"
He paused.
"…Why am I so happy about beating a fern?"
Shaking his head, he continued onward.
What would have taken a human only a few minutes became a long march for a palm-sized Dao Xuan Tianzun.
He walked.
And walked.
The sky grew darker and darker, until it was so black he couldn't even see his own hands.
Which was actually good.
It made him harder to detect.
He continued forcing his way through the tall grass—
When suddenly—
Whoosh!
Something massive leapt out beside him.
Two red eyes locked onto him.
A mouse.
A scrawny, starving mouse.
It stared at the Dao Xuan Tianzun with clear intent to eat him.
Pressure hit instantly.
The mouse's gaze was full of murderous hunger.
Don't panic.
Li Daoxuan pried open a section of his forearm. The silicone skin peeled back, and a small blade sprang out—about the length of a fruit knife.
This was an auxiliary function of the Reconnaissance-Type Dao Xuan Tianzun.
Originally designed for times when Dao Xuan Tianzun wanted to peel fruit but had no knife.
He raised the blade, assumed the opening stance of the Fruit Peeling Blade Technique, and said solemnly:
"Do not come closer. I am a master of the Fruit Peeling Blade Technique. No fruit under heaven can resist me. Think carefully."
The mouse screeched.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
"Come on!" Li Daoxuan shouted. "Come!"
The mouse lunged.
"Fruit Blade Technique—Secret Move: Apple Halver!"
The mouse bit directly onto the Dao Xuan Tianzun's head.
"Aaaargh!"
Crunch!
The mouse's teeth nearly shattered.
Terrified by whatever unholy thing it had bitten, the mouse fled in complete panic.
Li Daoxuan wiped the saliva from his head and snorted.
"A mere mouse demon. As expected, no match for this Dao Xuan Tianzun."
He turned to continue—
And immediately slipped.
Splash!
He fell straight into an irrigation ditch.
After struggling out and standing upright, he looked around—
More than a dozen pairs of red eyes stared back at him.
"…Don't you dare come closer!"
"AAAAAH!"
"Secret Move—Apple Halver!"
"Finishing Technique—Pear Peeler Blade!"
"Ultimate Art—Orange Eight-Section Slice!"
Several minutes later…
The Dao Xuan Tianzun crawled out of the ditch, looking utterly miserable.
Large sections of his silicone outer layer had been gnawed away, exposing metal framework beneath. Only the silicone on his face remained intact.
Carefully protected.
After all—
A man must protect his face.
If his face couldn't pass as a Dao Xuan Tianzun statue, co-sensing wouldn't work.
After enduring countless trials, the battered Dao Xuan Tianzun finally reached the edge of the forest.
No more mice.
Because there were people.
Many people.
Inside the forest, some lay down, some sat, some leaned against trees.
A massive rebel army lay concealed.
The Eight Great Kings had indeed not withdrawn.
Li Daoxuan crawled quietly into their midst and soon spotted the Eight Great Kings himself—his face twisted with ferocity, surrounded by trusted lieutenants.
They were discussing tactics.
"It's completely dark now," the Eight Great Kings said. "But this isn't the best time to attack. When night first falls, their morale will still be high. We'll wait until after midnight."
The lieutenants replied in unison, "As you command."
"When we advance," the Eight Great Kings continued, "absolute silence. Once we get close, those firearms become useless. In close combat—who do we fear?"
One lieutenant hesitated.
"Boss… you know our men. It's hard to keep them quiet."
"Have them hold copper coins in their mouths," the Eight Great Kings said coldly.
"If anyone drops one, court-martial them."
The lieutenants gasped.
"Boss is truly brilliant!"
"I learned it from Romance of the Three Kingdoms," the Eight Great Kings said smugly.
"I told you to read more books."
He laughed.
"And don't attack the north wall. They'll guard it heavily. We'll strike from the east."
"Boss is Zhuge Liang reborn!"
"No—even Zhuge Liang can't compare to Boss!"
The Eight Great Kings laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Zhuge Liang only knew schemes. I can scheme and fight. Civil and martial mastery!"
"Zhuge Liang is at most half the man I am!"
The Dao Xuan Tianzun spread his hands.
What a fool.
So easily inflated by flattery.
Completely unaware of how shallow his own abilities truly are.