A colossal figure descended outside Hanzhong Prefecture.
In the real world, it was only about as tall as a soy sauce bottle.
In this world, it was a mountain that walked.
The giant stood beside the walls of Hanzhong and looked down at more than seventy thousand marauders below.
Li Daoxuan's Field of View Expansion had just reached Hanzhong.
Somewhere, people had been saved. Perhaps in Sichuan. Perhaps on Pi Island. Perhaps in some forgotten village he did not even know existed. The Salvation Index had been rising quietly in the background like an unnoticed tide.
Now his sight covered Hanzhong.
So he brought out the silicone figure Cai Xinzhi had custom made for him and attached his own face to it. It was the same type he had used in Jishan County before, only larger. More imposing. More theatrical.
Li Daoxuan did not enjoy using giant avatars to scare ordinary people.
But this was not an ordinary situation.
The core forces of Chuang Wang had been captured. Among them were hardened bandit chiefs who had rebelled for ten years straight. They had surrendered before. Accepted pacification. Taken silver and oxen. Promised to farm.
Then rebelled again the moment the guards relaxed.
These were not starving peasants looking for survival.
These were men who believed the world could be seized.
Who says kings, nobles, generals, and ministers are born to rule?
For such people, kindness alone was meaningless.
Benevolence must walk hand in hand with authority.
So Li Daoxuan decided to use his ultimate move.
The moment he appeared, tens of thousands of militiamen exploded into cheers.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
"Dao Xuan Tianzun has arrived!"
"Dao Xuan Tianzun is mighty and majestic!"
"Surely this is only a reduced form. The true body must be even larger!"
Their voices rose and fell like waves.
In contrast, the seventy thousand marauders froze where they stood.
They could not move.
Mantian Xing, who had been bold just moments ago, turned pale. His lips trembled. He stared up at the towering face and could not speak.
Prince Rui was no better.
Zhu Changhao stood stiff as wood.
Regional Commander Zhao Guangyuan's legs nearly gave out beneath him.
Only the Hanzhong Prefect, who had heard rumors of Xi'an, looked slightly less shattered. He muttered to himself.
"So it is true. Dao Xuan Tianzun truly exists."
The giant lowered his gaze.
First, he looked at Prince Rui.
"Just now," the voice rolled down like thunder, "were you mocking Sun Chuanting?"
Prince Rui began trembling.
Not lightly.
Violently.
His entire body shook like a leaf in a storm.
His eunuch confidant jabbed him desperately.
"Your Highness, answer quickly. If you delay, it will be seen as disrespect. We are finished."
Prince Rui snapped back to awareness. A deity was speaking to him. Trembling without replying was also disrespect.
He stammered, "This Prince was wrong. This lowly one was wrong. I will never dare mock Senior Official Sun again. Please show mercy, great deity."
Sun Chuanting cleared his throat.
"What great deity? His venerable title is Dao Xuan Tianzun."
Prince Rui swallowed.
"Forgive me, Dao Xuan Tianzun."
The giant's gaze shifted.
Now it settled upon Mantian Xing.
Mantian Xing's body shook just as violently.
"State your name," the thunderous voice commanded.
"Mantian Xing," he stuttered.
"You seemed quite dissatisfied with the road construction."
Mantian Xing collapsed to his knees.
"I would not dare."
"You seemed daring a moment ago."
At that moment, Li Daoxuan briefly exited the diorama.
Back in his original body, he typed Mantian Xing into a search engine and pressed enter. The information appeared instantly. A veteran rebel. Previously pacified under Yang He. Took silver. Took oxen. Rebelled again.
Li Daoxuan scanned quickly.
Then he returned to the box.
His voice grew stern.
"Mantian Xing. You once accepted pacification under Yang He. You took silver and oxen. Instead of farming, you rebelled again. Now Sun Chuanting arranges for you to build roads, and you harbor ill intentions once more. Were you planning to wait for lax supervision and rise again?"
Mantian Xing's heart stopped.
Every word struck the center of his thoughts.
As expected of a deity, he thought in terror. He even knows what I am thinking.
His soul nearly left his body.
He slammed his forehead against the dirt.
"This lowly one dares not. My thoughts were foolish. Before Dao Xuan Tianzun they are nothing. I will never dare harbor such intentions again. I only wish to build roads. I will build immediately."
The giant lifted one foot.
Then brought it down.
Boom.
The stomp landed several meters in front of Mantian Xing.
The earth shook violently.
Had Mantian Xing not already been flat on the ground, he would have been thrown off balance.
His mind shattered.
Tears and mucus streamed across his face.
"Mercy, Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
"Undergo Labor Reform properly," the giant said. "Diligently reform. Cleanse your sins as soon as possible."
"I understand. I understand. From now on, I will not harbor even a shred of disloyalty."
Mantian Xing wept openly.
Only after a long moment did the giant withdraw his foot.
"I will now sit atop Mingyue Gorge and watch you work."
With that, he turned.
Step.
Boom.
Step.
Boom.
Each stride covered dozens of meters. The earth trembled with every movement. Mountains seemed to shiver as he walked toward the Mingyue Gorge plank road.
Soon, the colossal figure vanished from sight.
Silence swallowed the world.
For a long time, no one spoke.
At last, Sun Chuanting broke it.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun now sits upon Mingyue Gorge, observing your Labor Reform. If any of you harbor devious thoughts, you would be better off ending your lives now while your bodies remain intact. If that venerable one crushes you with a single step, you will not even leave behind a human shape."
The souls of the seventy thousand captives were still soaring in the heavens.
Who would dare scheme now?
They knelt properly.
Accepted their orders.
The tens of thousands of militiamen finally relaxed. There was no need for suffocating vigilance anymore.
Sun Chuanting waved his hand.
Supplies transported from Xi'an were distributed.
Gao Family Village needed only a small number of militia to escort the prisoners. Food was issued. Tools were handed out. Each man, fed and equipped, reentered the mountains to cut roads and build bridges.
From their work sites, they could look up.
On the peak of Mingyue Gorge sat a colossal figure.
Dao Xuan Tianzun watched all beings with majestic eyes.
Under that gaze, not a single convict dared entertain treachery.
They worked carefully.
Diligently.
The mountain echoed not with rebellion, but with the sound of chisels and hammers shaping a road that would change history.