My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

Li Shimin stood up, placed his hands on the table, and glanced at the top assassins of the Tang Dynasty in front of him.

"Chen'er said that he has a celestial spirit boat, but his magical artifacts are limited, so he can only send a few teams, each with five hundred people."

Li Shimin raised five fingers, his eyes sharp.

"That's five general positions, who should go?"

The moment those words were spoken, the air in the courtyard instantly ignited.

Cheng Yaojin was the first to jump up, ripped off his turban and slammed it to the ground, letting out a thunderous roar in his hoarse voice:

"Your Majesty! This old minister's axe has been itching for a long time! This old minister will be the first to go!"

"Get out of my way!"

Without any hesitation, Yuchi Gong slammed his shoulder into Cheng Yaojin's, causing the black bear to stumble.

"With your fat body, you'd be out of breath after just a few steps; you'd be nothing but food! I'm willing to swear a military oath: if I don't chop off every last dog's head on that island within a month, I'll bring you my own!"

Cheng Yaojin steadied himself, and upon hearing this, he flew into a rage.

He stepped forward, his thick forearm suddenly exerting force, and grabbed Yuchi Gong's collar tightly. He arched his back and used an extremely savage force to flip the big black man onto the bluestone slab. He then straddled him and raised his huge fist to smash into Yuchi Gong's chest.

Yuchi Gong was no pushover either. He wrapped his legs tightly around Cheng Yaojin's waist, and the two of them began to wrestle like two mad dogs in the courtyard full of talismans. Their fists pounded into each other's flesh with dull thuds, and dust filled the air.

Qin Qiong didn't try to break up the fight. Instead, he strode up to Li Shimin, knelt on one knee, and said in a firm and resounding voice, "Your Majesty, my mace is still sharp. I will go, and Huaidao will come with me. Father and son will fight side by side, and we swear we will not return until the enemy's country is defeated!"

Seeing this, Li Chengqian became so anxious that his eyes turned red.

He drew his sword from his waist and shouted urgently, "Father! Sixteenth Brother! I want to go too! I want to lead the Crown Prince's guards to avenge the people of future generations!"

The entire backyard was in complete chaos, like a pot of boiling porridge. For the five spots to lead troops to kill, these usually imposing dukes and crown princes had all abandoned all pretense of dignity and were arguing heatedly.

Li Chen lay on the rocking chair, watching the group of fierce Tang generals who were almost biting each other, and a very wicked smile slowly crept onto his lips.

He rummaged through his spiritual space, pulled out a dusty cloth bag from his sleeve, and casually tossed it onto the stone table.

Clang.

The pocket slammed onto the table with a dull thud.

"Stop fighting. All of you can go, but some of you need to be in pairs. Let me finish explaining the rules first."

Li Chen cleared his throat, his voice not loud, but it clearly drowned out all the arguing.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong, who were wrestling on the ground, stopped fighting and got up, panting heavily, their hair disheveled.

Li Chen pointed to the cloth bag on the table and spoke in a calm tone.

"This contains fasting pills."

"Eat one pill, and you won't need to eat or drink for ten days, and you won't even need to poop."

Li Chen glanced at the crowd, his eyes revealing a cold cruelty.

"Once you get to that island, no one will give you time to cook. Take this medicine, and for twelve hours a day, you will have only one task: to keep going non-stop, killing until your blades are worn out."

Hearing about this incredible elixir of immortality, everyone's breathing suddenly became heavy.

Not needing to eat or sleep means they can unleash the full potential of the Tang Dynasty's military power like tireless machines.

But Li Chen hadn't finished speaking.

He placed his hands on the armrests of the rocking chair and slowly stood up. He looked at the group of murderous generals as if they were a pack of hungry wolves about to be released into a flock of sheep, and felt that he had to add fuel to the fire.

"Seeing how enthusiastically you are arguing, I have decided to add some more excitement to this expedition."

Li Chen walked to the stone table and gently tapped his fingers on the bag of fasting pills, each word like a thunderclap.

"Once we get to the island, we'll implement a point system. Killing a Japanese soldier with a knife will earn you one point."

"Once you've accumulated a thousand points, you can exchange them with me for a low-grade elixir that can extend your life by five years after you return to the Tang Dynasty."

Li Chen paused, his smile widening, his eyes gleaming with an alluring charm.

"If anyone can accumulate five thousand points, I will not only extend their lifespan, but also personally teach them a basic cultivation breathing technique, guaranteeing them a complete transformation and a prosperous family for a hundred years."

Dead silence.

In the backyard of the Prince of Qin's mansion, an absolute silence fell, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The wind stopped.

Even Li Shimin gasped in shock, staring at his son in disbelief.

Extend your life by five years! A cultivation technique for immortality!

This is a luxury that ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of, a priceless treasure that couldn't be bought even if ten Tang Dynasty treasuries were exchanged for it.

Now, the only condition for obtaining them is to kill a group of barbarian beasts whom they already wished to grind to dust.

After a brief period of deathly silence came pure, extreme madness.

Cheng Yaojin suddenly shoved Yuchi Gong aside, his eyes bloodshot as if they were about to bleed. He lunged at the stone table, staring intently at the cloth bag, his voice cracking with extreme excitement.

"Your Highness! Is this true?! Is it really possible to cultivate immortality?!"

Yuchi Gong panted heavily like a mad bull, his eyes fixed on Li Chen, filled with a thirst for killing.

Even the usually composed Li Jing had veins throbbing on his forehead. In his deep eyes, all his calmness and restraint had been burned away by a flame called "ambition".

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, and his voice was deep and sharp like a knife.

"Your subject, Li Jing, will surely emerge victorious and leave no one behind."

Li Chengqian trembled with excitement, raising his sword and shouting, "Sixteenth Brother! Count me in! I don't want the martial arts techniques, I just want the heads of those beasts!"

Looking at this group of generals who had completely lost their minds and whose eyes were green with wolves' greed, Li Shimin suddenly felt an inexplicable jealousy.

Damn it, if he weren't the emperor who couldn't cultivate, he would have grabbed a knife and gone to steal the points.

"Alright, the list is set."

Li Chen waved his hand and made the decision immediately.

"Li Jing, Yuchi Gong, Qin Qiong, and Lao Cheng with Cheng Chumo, plus the Crown Prince and Qin Huaidao's team, make a total of five teams."

Li Chen pushed the cloth bag to the edge of the table and gave the final instructions.

"Each of you go back and muster five hundred of your most elite and fierce soldiers, carrying only swords and armor, and no extra baggage."

"Assemble at Dengzhou harbor in three days. No waiting for those who are late."

The crowd readily accepted the order, and when their eyes met, the politeness between colleagues had vanished, replaced by a fierce determination to outmaneuver their rivals.

Li Shimin frowned, pointed in the direction of the map, and asked the final question he had been asking:

"Chen'er, even if we reach Dengzhou with five hundred men and warhorses, the Tang Dynasty's current sand ships simply cannot withstand the giant waves of the deep sea. How are you going to transport them there?"

Li Chen did not answer.

He slowly reached into his wide sleeve, fumbled for a moment, and pulled out a palm-sized, exquisitely carved wooden boat model.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he casually tossed the small wooden boat into the air above the courtyard.

The wooden boat flew out of my hand, growing larger with the wind. In mid-air, it emitted a sickeningly loud sound of wood expanding rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it blocked out the sunlight in the backyard, transforming into a colossal ship a hundred feet long, hovering above the Qin King's mansion.

The shadow of the giant ship fell, completely enveloping everyone.