The Dao Sovereign of Shennong

Zhao Xing began executing the largest cloud manipulation technique he had ever attempted.

From the moment Xia Jing and the others took their positions, his Cloud Devouring Technique had been continuously active, absorbing the mist and clouds from the sky. After fully covering Yuncheng, the cloud expanded southward, mainly toward the Canglan River region.

In theory, the Cloud Devouring Technique had no real limit; the only limitation was the practitioner's endurance. Over the past few days, Zhao Xing had extended his technique to cover an area 500 li deep into Southern Barbarian territory.

Thanks to the abundance of cloud qi provided by the Canglan River, Zhao Xing could easily maintain the spell.

The reason Yuncheng was called "Cloud City" was precisely due to the constant presence of cloud layers hovering over it. The cloud technique Zhao Xing deployed wasn't a rigid cover. While Yuncheng was completely shrouded, the surrounding areas were only extended by tendrils of clouds.

In the natural clouds, Zhao Xing created numerous "cloud paths" through his Cloud Devouring Technique.

These cloud paths allowed airships to travel through them, offering significant safety and concealment.

"You've certainly been preparing early," Xia Jing remarked, gazing at the cloud mountains interconnected by these "cloud paths."

Even shamans skilled in cloud manipulation would have a hard time noticing the difference between Zhao Xing's cloud formations and natural clouds due to his expert control.

"Each direction is covered by a 500 li-long cloud path."

"These cloud paths in the sky form a strategic network of transportation routes."

"The Martial Division can take airships from Yuncheng and swiftly reach up to 500 li in any direction outside the city."

Xia Jing couldn't help but feel fortunate. Being assigned to Yuncheng and having Zhao Xing as his companion was indeed a stroke of luck.

If it had been another Shennong in charge, they would likely still be busy dealing with insect infestations.

By the time Zhao Xing sent messages to his acquaintances during the last quarter of the night, it was already the early hours of the morning.

Some had already woken up and responded to Xia Jing's messages.

What Xia Jing read was shocking.

Counties and prefectures south of the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Prefecture, along the Canglan River, had already suffered over a hundred disasters. The types of disasters varied: some faced flooding, others encountered earthquakes, while some even experienced sudden snowstorms… but the worst-hit places were those ravaged by insect shamans.

One county had already lost 70% of its officials and civilians!

Xia Jing learned of this tragic situation through a mutual friend, a warrior to whom he had sent a message. That friend had already perished in the disaster.

"Finally found them," Zhao Xing suddenly opened his eyes, quickly took control of the airship's rudder, and dived down.

"Prepare for battle!" Xia Jing shouted, and the others immediately readied themselves.

From the fifth watch (around midnight) until now, after almost an hour and a half of searching, they had finally found their targets.

The shamans' spellcasting range wasn't too far, but it had taken them this long to locate them.

"Master Wang!"

"Understood." Wang Ji immediately activated the invisibility formation aboard the Hujiao Airship. He then called out from the formation chamber, "Prepare the Divine Crossbows!"

"Ballista One, ready!"

...

"Ballista Three, ready!"

...

"Ballista Ten, ready!"

Numerous voices responded.

"Prepare the Net Launchers!"

"Net One, ready!"

"Net Three, ready!"

...

"Net Ten, ready!"

Hearing Wang Ji's commands, Zhao Xing poked his head out of the control cabin and said, "Master Wang, there are only ten enemies. Do we really need to use the Divine Crossbows?"

From a nearby cabin window, Wang Ji's half-bald head popped out, chuckling, "Heh, just a little intimidation."

Zhao Xing sighed. "I know everyone's itching for a fight, but don't get too excited. We don't have that many Divine Crossbow bolts left in Yuncheng."

Wang Ji waved a hand across his brow. "Don't worry. The bolts are recoverable, and besides, if we run out, I'll just make more for you. But today, we have to let the brothers have some fun!"

With that, Wang Ji quickly ducked back inside.

On the other side of the ship, Xia Jing was arranging the troops.

"Brothers, did you hear what Master Wang said?"

"The engineers want to steal our glory. Are you going to let that happen?"

"No way!"

Xia Jing grinned, "Good. Once Zhao Shennong brings the airship down to 300 meters, we jump. Let's save some crossbow bolts for Tiangong Workshop."

They were all fired up, driven to madness by anticipation.

The previous two tasks had been mostly mental and emotional tests. When they finally reached the third task, it was all about reacting defensively. Now that Zhao Xing had created an opportunity, they couldn't hold back any longer.

They were eager for a chance to fight.

"Zhao Xing, how about the Military Shennong Division...?" Cao Shuang rubbed his hands together.

Zhao Xing glanced back. Cao Shuang, Che Shihai, and the other military Shennong officers were all itching for action, even the usually composed Han Bing seemed restless.

"Go provide support to the warriors."

"Make sure none of them fall to their deaths."

"Got it!"

The military Shennong officers quickly took their positions on the deck.

Zhao Xing chuckled.

Whether the military Shennong officers participated or not was irrelevant because the third task was mainly to prevent disasters from harming Yuncheng. Their eagerness to join the battle was more about earning some recognition and leaving a good impression on the military commanders monitoring them.

With only ten enemies, there wouldn't be enough for everyone.

Zhao Xing himself had no intention of fighting. After all, the Hujiao Airship was carrying more than 500 people!

"This is what they call overwhelming force..." Zhao Xing murmured as he adjusted the airship's course, positioning it low within the clouds.

At this point, the ship was hovering just 300 meters above the ground.

Swish, swish, swish~

Xia Jing, Chen Fang, Hu Bing, Zhang Jie, and the other warriors immediately jumped off the deck.

Whoosh~

A gust of wind surrounded them, counteracting the air resistance as they silently and swiftly descended.

But they couldn't beat the engineers to the punch.

Even before Xia Jing had jumped, the net launchers had already fired from the bottom of the airship.

Buzz~

A fine, silk-like net descended from the sky, enveloping Zhao Ke.

Zhao Ke only realized what was happening when the net was just 50 meters above him.

Although his flying locusts were patrolling at 200 meters high, the net had moved too quickly.

By the time his flying locusts were sliced to pieces and he received feedback, the net had already dropped to 50 meters.

Although the flying locusts weren't known for their defense, their exoskeletons were as strong as third-tier elite armor.

But in the blink of an eye, they were sliced into thin pieces, and Zhao Ke immediately understood the nature of the attack.

"It's the Sky Net!"

"At least a fourth-tier Sky Net!"

Without time to warn the others, Zhao Ke instinctively crouched down, activating his most prized possession—a shield box on his back.

The rectangular insect box unfolded, forming a shield around him.

Zhao Ke curled up on the ground, frantically triggering the mechanisms on the fourth-tier insect box.

At the same time, he released twelve Illusion Insects.

Shhh~

Green smoke shot out from around Zhao Ke, forming twelve illusionary versions of himself, each with scaly skin and fuzzy hair.

The Sky Net used by the Fortune Dynasty often came with Divine Crossbow bolts that tracked life force.

Zhao Ke's Illusion Insects were designed to confuse the tracking capabilities of those bolts.

Crack, crack, crack~

The Sky Net collided with the insect box, sending out sparks.

Of the ten insect shamans, only three reacted quickly enough to mimic Zhao Ke's actions.

The remaining seven stood frozen in place, and in the next instant, their bodies were sliced into chunks of flesh.

"Scatter!"

Zhao Ke finally shouted.

Faced with a life-or-death crisis, his only thought was to escape.

When an insect shaman faced Fortune Dynasty soldiers, escape was the only option—fighting head-on was never advisable.

Their close-combat capabilities were far too weak.

Especially when it came to weapons, the Fortune Dynasty had always been far superior to the Southern Barbarians.

Although Zhao Ke was the young chief of the Hana tribe, his insect box was only a fourth-tier elite item, while the other elders only had fourth-tier low-grade items.

However, any Fortune Dynasty soldier bold enough to patrol beyond the border would surely be equipped with multiple fourth-tier weapons, including large-scale fourth-tier divine weapons!

Even the gear worn by a typical soldier could be more luxurious than what Zhao Ke, a young chief, had.

Whizz, whizz, whizz, whizz, whizz, whizz!

As soon as Zhao Ke gave the order to scatter, crossbow bolts rained down from the sky.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Each bolt was three meters long, with a specially designed diamond-shaped tip. Inside the hollow tip, a wind spell formation activated, causing the bolt to spin for enhanced armor-piercing capability.

The bolts were designed in three stages. The middle and rear sections not only provided propulsion but also exploded upon impact, changing the bolt's direction to better track its target.

The Divine Crossbow, a masterpiece of the Fortune Dynasty's Ministry of Works, was a pinnacle of craftsmanship. Even a seemingly simple third-tier bolt was beyond the imitation capabilities of the Southern Barbarians.

"Young Master!"

Splat!

Boom, boom!

The three remaining insect shamans were pinned to the ground by the crossbow bolts, their bodies buried three feet deep.

Only Zhao Ke, who had activated his insect box and used his illusion insects, managed to avoid a direct hit.

However, the bolts exploded upon landing, sending a shockwave that flung Zhao Ke into the air.

"What!? How can these bolts be so powerful?"

Zhao Ke was horrified.

His soft armor had been shredded by the fragments, leaving deep gashes that exposed bone.

But his muscle tissue soon wriggled as insects emerged, sticking together to rapidly heal the wounds.

"These aren't third-tier Divine Crossbow bolts—they're fourth-tier Divine God Crossbow bolts!"

Zhao Ke examined the debris on the ground and sank into despair.

He couldn't help but look up.

Above him, 500 figures were descending from the sky, and dozens more hovered above, preparing to unleash wind and thunder.

Sky Nets led the way, followed by Divine God Crossbow bolts, and now hundreds of warriors and spellcasters were closing in.

This was the true meaning of 'no way to escape, no way to hide.'

"Why me, Zhao Ke… what did I do to deserve this?"

Any one of the warriors around him had an aura equal to or greater than his own.

Zhao Ke's heart filled with despair.

"Damn it, did Master Wang's men kill all the others? This is all that's left?"

"Ugh, tell Master Wang not to waste his money next time."

"Five hundred brothers, and we jumped for nothing!"

"..."

Hearing the chatter around him, Zhao Ke finally realized what he had to do.

He immediately tried to take his own life.

No one could stop an insect shaman from committing suicide.

Unless—

Whizz, whizz, whizz!

Eighteen silver needles embedded themselves in Zhao Ke's body, instantly sealing off all his life-bonded insects, especially the heart insect that had been preparing to pierce his heart. The needles precisely nailed it in place.

"You… the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles!"

Zhao Ke lay twitching on the ground, his body spasming as his internal insects lost control.

"Hey, not bad. He actually recognized the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles," Yuan Yang remarked as he approached. "Looks like we caught a big one."

Zhao Xing landed shortly after, giving Zhao Ke a quick once-over. "His cultivation isn't impressive, but his status must be. Search him."

At Xia Jing's command, three hulking men who practiced the Black Tortoise secret arts rushed over and stripped Zhao Ke bare.

"Who is he?"

"Probably the leader of a small tribe, or maybe the son of one."

The others pulled out Earth Mirrors to check for relevant clues.

Zhao Xing examined the markings on Zhao Ke's face and chest, then compared them to his skin and clothing.

"This feather symbol shows he's under the rule of the Golden Feather Court. The three silver moons he bears indicate that his tribe is directly governed by a 'Silver Moon Lord,' and the number of moons represents the leader's rank—three silver moons denote an Earth Shaman-level leader."

"As for his tribe, it should be called the Hana Tribe."

Xia Jing could tell by Zhao Ke's reaction that Zhao Xing was right.

However, Xia Jing was puzzled. "I didn't find this information in my records. Where did you get it?"

Zhao Xing laughed. "Their tribe's history isn't long, probably around three or four hundred years. The Military Realm doesn't bother updating records for such small tribes. But I found the Hana Tribe mentioned in the county annals of fifteen counties in the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Prefecture. It's normal that you didn't know."

"You sleep only one hour a day?" Wang Ji glanced at Zhao Xing's hairline. "No wonder you have time to read so much. But how come you don't lose hair?"

Zhao Xing just smiled, ignoring the comment.

"Chen Fang! Where's Chen Fang?"

"Here!" Chen Fang came running eagerly.

"Your Southern Barbarian dialect is the best. You take care of this guy." Zhao Xing pointed at Zhao Ke. "Don't let him die. The Hana Tribe might not be a big catch, but they're still a mid-sized tribe… Oh, sorry, Xia Jing, I didn't mean to say that."

"No worries," Xia Jing replied, covering his mouth and trying to suppress his nausea. "I'm starting to get used to it…"

"Got it," Chen Fang said, slapping his chest. "You want me to extract the location of his tribe, right?"

"Exactly," Zhao Xing nodded.

Fighting the Southern Barbarians had one major downside. Aside from a few established nations, most tribes didn't have fixed territories and roamed around the Southern Wilderness.

Due to unpredictable weather, most Barbarian tribes lacked shamans who could control the weather, forcing them to constantly relocate.

As a result, the Military Realm couldn't provide accurate maps, leaving it up to the soldiers to find their targets.

"Leave it to me," Chen Fang boasted.

"No, just handle the translation," Zhao Xing said. "Interrogating him is a job for Zhang Yi and the military doctors."

"Make sure they dig out everything. Our next missions depend on him."

"Understood!" Chen Fang grabbed Zhao Ke and hauled him onto the airship.

On the way back, Zhao Xing received a notification from the Military Realm.

"The third task is complete… Hmm? My temporary promotion to the seventh rank has been made official? I'm eligible for advancement?"

Zhao Xing looked at the message in his Earth Mirror, surprised.