Under One Person: The Sea Emperor Who Shattered Heaven and Earth

Through these two clean and decisive victories, they finally logically sorted out and confirmed a crucial fact.

“That girl named Feng Baobao, with her bizarre, inexplicable, and unpredictable hand-to-hand combat instincts, and her enormous, illogical Qi, is the exception.”

Chapter 143 Each with their own ulterior motives

With the stunning debut of the New World Trio coming to a close, the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony continued, and everyone gradually turned their attention to other arenas. But to be honest, after witnessing the previous earth-shattering battles where dragons transformed into human forms, all things spoke, and wills filled the sky, the remaining matches were rather dull in the eyes of most of the supernatural beings.

However, even with the reduced spectacle, the selection process for the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony continued smoothly. As the sun gradually set, the first day of intense competition finally came to an end, revealing the final sixteen finalists.

Sixteen names were prominently listed on the huge red notice board on the high platform:

Jiang Ping of the New World, Jiang An of the New World, Jiang Shun of the New World, Lu Linglong of the Lu Family, Wang Bing of the Wang Family, Lü Huan of the Lü Family, Tang Wenlong of the Tang Clan, Zhuge Qing of the Wuhou Sect, Chen Sheng of the Sanyi Sect, Feng Xingtong of the Tianxia Association... and Zhang Chulan of Na Du Tong.

Night quietly fell, enveloping the entire Longhu Mountain.

As night deepened, the secluded path leading down the mountain from the back was pitch black.

A figure in a hoodie was bending over, stealthily making its way down the slope like a thief. This person carried no luggage, their hands were empty, and they walked with extreme fear, glancing back every two steps, as if afraid someone would catch up.

This person was Zhang Chulan.

During the daytime match, especially after seeing Jiang Shun's "divine evasion" of that strike, Zhang Chulan immediately made up his mind that he had to run away.

"To hell with the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, to hell with the Celestial Master position, I'm done!" Zhang Chulan cursed inwardly as he looked around furtively. "These three from the new world are inhuman! One can transform into a dragon, another can make rocks and trees sing, and the youngest one... tsk tsk tsk! If I face them, I'm dead for sure!"

Zhang Chulan felt increasingly frightened as he thought about it, and his pace quickened involuntarily.

However, just when he thought he was about to escape and was about to reach the mountain gate, a sudden change occurred.

Swish!

A dark shadow darted out of the darkness without warning, like a ghost.

Zhang Chulan didn't even have time to react. He felt a sudden tightening around the back of his neck, and he was lifted off the ground by a tremendous force. His legs thrashed in mid-air, and his collar tightened around his neck, almost killing him on the spot.

"Holy crap! Who is it? Let go!"

Zhang Chulan was terrified and his soul almost left his body. He hurriedly tried to circulate his internal energy to resist. But when he saw the pretty face holding his collar, with a blank stare and a few weeds hanging from her hair, his fear instantly turned into despair.

Zhang Chulan wore a pained expression, his body went limp instantly, and he cried out plaintively, "Bao... Sister Bao'er, why are you here?"

Feng Baobao tilted her head, looked at him expressionlessly, and didn't say anything.

Just then, a series of unhurried footsteps came from the nearby woods, and two figures emerged one after the other.

Xu Si, walking in front, had an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, his hands in his pockets, looking every bit the thug; Xu San, behind him, pushed up his glasses, his face showing a hint of helplessness.

"Chu Lan, why aren't you resting in your dorm late at night? You didn't even bring your luggage. Where are you thinking of going?" Xu Si asked leisurely, looking at Zhang Chu Lan who was hanging in mid-air with a forced smile.

Zhang Chulan's mind worked incredibly fast, with almost no delay of a fraction of a second. The terrified and desperate expression on his face instantly switched to an extremely sincere, even somewhat ingratiating, smile.

"Hey! Fourth Brother! Third Brother! What are you saying? Where could I go?" Zhang Chulan waved his hands in the air while frantically trying to justify himself. "It's just that the competition today was too tiring, and I thought that as employees of the company, we should have a sense of collective honor. I figured there must be some wild game in the back mountain in the middle of the night, so I was thinking of hunting some for you guys to treat you all!"

Xu Si chuckled upon hearing this. He stepped forward, pinched the cigarette between his fingers, and exhaled a smokeless sigh: "Come on, Chu Lan. Nine out of ten living creatures in the back mountains of Longhu Mountain are nationally protected animals. You dare to hit them, but we dare not eat them."

Xu San, standing to the side, had a serious expression and spoke in a stern tone with a hint of impartiality: "Chu Lan, this time you are representing our Na Du Tong Company, representing the face of North China. The Old Master and the company's senior management are watching you. Tomorrow is the crucial match between the top sixteen and the top eight. How can you have any crooked thoughts and run away at this time?"

Seeing that his little scheme had been seen through on the spot, and his excuses had been completely exposed, Zhang Chulan knew that if he continued to make up stories, he would be treating others like fools.

He simply stopped pretending, withdrew all his energy, and slumped down like a lump of mud, letting Feng Baobao carry him. His expression was utterly miserable and aggrieved.

"My dear brothers! Third brother, fourth brother, it's not that I want to desert, I really have to run away!" Zhang Chulan started wailing with snot and tears streaming down his face, his voice full of despair. "Didn't you see what happened in the stands today? Those three people from the New World, are they even human? One can turn into a dragon when they fight, one can make inanimate objects talk, and the other one is even more amazing, he cleaved someone in half with one strike, and even the advisor had to go and rescue him himself!"

Zhang Chulan became more and more excited as he spoke, clasping his hands together and bowing frantically to Xu San and Xu Si.

"I beg you, please let me go! I, Zhang Chulan, am just an ordinary person. I just want to live a peaceful life. You want me to compete with those three monsters? That's not sending me to a competition, that's sending me to my death! With my weak arms and legs, I can't even withstand the aftershock of Jiang Shun's 'Divine Evasion'. I'd be blown away the moment I went in! Let me go down the mountain, I'll kowtow to you, okay?"

Seeing Zhang Chulan's completely terrified and shameless state, Xu San and Xu Si exchanged glances.

Xu San sighed. It seemed that the kid was completely terrified.

Xu Si wasn't surprised. He smiled to himself, then stepped forward, patted Zhang Chulan's shoulder twice heavily, and said in an extremely confident and relaxed tone:

"Alright, alright, Chu Lan, stop wailing here. Don't worry, do you think your brothers would watch you go to your death? We've already taken care of things for you. Just go fight tomorrow without worry, and we guarantee you'll be fine."

Zhang Chulan's crying stopped abruptly.

His shifty eyes suddenly lit up, bursting with intense hope as he stared intently at Xu Si's face: "Really? Fourth Brother, you're not lying to me? You really made a deal with them?"

Xu Si rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Nonsense, when have I ever messed up on important matters? If things hadn't been settled, why would we have waited until you were almost down the mountain before having Bao'er intercept you here? We could have just pinned you down in the dorm."

"Oh! That's good, that's good!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan instantly came to life. His previously bitter and resentful face, like a Sichuan opera mask-changing act, was once again filled with fawning and ecstatic joy. He patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Oh, with your words, Fourth Brother, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. I knew the organization wouldn't abandon me! Sister Bao'er, quick, quick, put me down! Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, let's go back to sleep. We need to be energetic to bring honor to the company tomorrow!"

Feng Baobao glanced at Xu Si, and seeing that Xu Si nodded, she loosened her grip and threw Zhang Chulan to the ground.

Zhang Chulan scrambled to his feet, dusted himself off, and instantly became smug and arrogant. With his hands behind his back, he strode confidently back up the mountain towards his dormitory, his back view exuding an air of unbridled arrogance, as if the championship was already his for the taking.

Once Zhang Chulan had walked a little further away and he was sure he couldn't hear the commotion, Xu San, who was walking behind, quietly approached Xu Si.

Xu San frowned, lowered his voice, and asked with great suspicion, "Fourth brother, what did you mean by what you just said to Chu Lan? When did you talk to that Jiang Haihuang and the old master? When did the company give this instruction? How come I didn't know?"

Xu Si glanced sideways at Xu San, a look of utter disdain on his face. He slowly pulled a lighter from his pocket, lit the cigarette in his mouth with a "snap," took a deep drag, and exhaled a plume of smoke.

"Put it out, we're up on the mountain!" Xu San snatched Xu Si's cigarette and stubbed it out.

Xu Si looked at Xu San, who was looking very serious, and continued to explain, "When did I say that I talked to them? Third Brother, how come your reading comprehension skills are on par with Chu Lan's?"

Xu Si's tone was so matter-of-fact, "What exactly have you all misunderstood?"

Xu San was taken aback, then his mind suddenly clicked, and his eyes widened slightly: "So that's how it is... You were just making him up?! How could he believe that?"

"He'd never believe that."

Xu Si chuckled, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes as he looked at Zhang Chulan's swaying, pretentious back.

"That Zhang Chulan is more cunning than a strainer used for rinsing noodles at home. Even though I said we'd reached an agreement, who knows what he'll be saying about me. I was just giving him a way out. The performance of those three from New World scared him half to death. If he really wanted to run away, we can't keep him chained up every day. Giving him some psychological comfort, letting him feel that the company is backing him up, will make him dare to go on stage tomorrow. But, that kid will definitely find another opportunity to cause trouble tonight."

At this point, Xu Si turned his head and tilted his head at Feng Baobao, who was staring blankly to the side: "Baobao, keep a close eye on this kid when we get back to the dorm tonight. If he dares to climb out the window or crawl through the dog hole, knock him out and drag him back."

"Oh, I understand." Feng Baobao nodded seriously, then casually pulled a gleaming kitchen knife from behind her waist, her eyes extremely clear.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chulan, who was walking at the front and looked very proud and arrogant, lost all his arrogance the moment he stepped onto the stairs.

The moonlight shone on his bitter and gloomy face, and he couldn't help but curse inwardly:

"You've reached an agreement? What the hell am I talking about! Xu Si, you son of a bitch, you really think you can fool me like I'm a three-year-old? And you even guaranteed I'd be safe? Keep lying!"

As Zhang Chulan pretended to walk forward nonchalantly, he was quickly calculating a new escape route in his mind.

"Damn it, these guys are like turtles eating a weight, determined to push me into a fire pit. No, I can't just run away by force. I have to go along with them first, make them think I've completely let my guard down. Then, in the middle of the night, when they're all fast asleep, I'll find a way to escape through the woods behind the mountain! Once I'm out of Longhu Mountain, the sky's the limit, and nobody will make me face those three freaks in the New World!"

Chapter 144 Doesn't that mean everyone is an alien?

Zhang Chulan finally returned to the dormitory area arranged by Longhu Mountain. Looking at the rows of bungalows with dim lights in front of him, he was about to go back to his room to quickly review the escape route he had taken in the second half of the night.

However, as soon as he stepped into the courtyard and before he could even open the door, several figures suddenly darted out from the shadows to the side, instantly blocking the gate and his escape route.

Zhang Chulan shuddered.

"Zhang Chulan! We've been looking for you all night, where have you gone?"

Leading the group was a girl with long pink hair tied in a single ponytail, dressed in a neat tracksuit, hands on her hips, glaring angrily at him. Behind her followed several young superhumans, each exuding a calm and collected aura, clearly not ordinary individuals.

The person who arrived was none other than Lu Linglong, the beloved granddaughter of Lu Jin, the patriarch of the Lu family. Behind her followed the younger generation of the "Lu Family Troupe".

Zhang Chulan's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly put on his signature sly smile and tentatively asked:

"Hey, Sister Linglong? What do you want? It's the middle of the night, and you've brought so many brothers with you?"

Countless thoughts flashed through Zhang Chulan's mind. Could it be that his shameless fighting style earlier had made him too infamous, and these scions of prestigious sects couldn't stand it anymore, so they came in the middle of the night to teach this scum of the supernatural world a lesson?

"What are you thinking about!" Lu Linglong stepped forward, grabbed Zhang Chulan's sleeve, and pulled him outside. "We're having a party, and we're just missing you! Come on, come on, hurry up and come with us!"

"Huh? A party?" Zhang Chulan was taken aback, and tried to break free by shuffling his feet backward. "No, Sister Linglong, what time is it? We have a competition tomorrow! I'm a heavy sleeper and don't stay up late. Why don't you guys have fun, I'll go back to sleep first..."

"Stop talking nonsense! This is a rare gathering."

Lu Linglong's strength was astonishing, giving Zhang Chulan no chance to refuse. Several young men from the Lu family troupe also surrounded him with smiles, half-pushing and half-shoving Zhang Chulan as they walked deeper into the back mountain.

Zhang Chulan was completely confused. What were these scions of prestigious families doing having a party in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?

After passing through a dense forest, the view suddenly opened up.

This was a spacious mountain area located on the hillside behind the mountain, surrounded by ancient trees that completely blocked the view from the outside. At this moment, a huge bonfire was burning in the center of the mountain, the raging fire illuminating the area within dozens of meters in a bright red glow, and the firewood crackling and popping in the firelight.

A large group of people sat around the campfire. Zhang Chulan took a closer look and realized that they were mostly young experts who had shown their skills in the competition during the day.

Zhuge Qing of the Wuhou faction sat on a clean rock, holding a bottle of mineral water, smiling with his eyes narrowed; Feng Xingtong and Feng Shayan of the Tianxia Society were talking in hushed tones...

But none of these people made Zhang Chulan the most nervous.

What truly made Zhang Chulan freeze the moment he saw them clearly was the sight of the three people sitting directly opposite the campfire.

Jiang Ping, Jiang An, Jiang Shun.

The three siblings in the new world overseas, their faces illuminated by the firelight, exuded a sense of oppression that sent chills down Zhang Chulan's spine.

"Here he comes! We've found Zhang Chulan!"

As Lu Linglong pulled Zhang Chulan's arm into the camp, she shouted at the top of her lungs to the people sitting around the campfire.

brush!

Dozens of eyes instantly fell on Zhang Chulan.

"Hey, our main character has finally arrived!" someone shouted from the crowd, followed by a burst of laughter.

Zhang Chulan quickly clasped his hands like an electric fan and bowed repeatedly, saying:

"No, no, no, everyone, please don't joke with me. What protagonist or not, I, Zhang Chulan, am just a nobody trying to make a living. I can't accept that title, I really can't!"

"Alright, Zhang Chulan, stop pretending." Canglong squeezed out from the crowd. "You were quite the star during the qualifying rounds and the top 32 matches."

"Yeah, stop joking. How could the successor of the Qi Body Source Stream be a nobody?"

Upon hearing the words "Qi Body Source Flow," a bitter look flashed deep in Zhang Chulan's eyes, but his fawning smile deepened. He plopped down on the ground, his face contorted in a grimace, and said:

"Brothers, I really don't know what Qi Body Source Flow is! I grew up in the village with my grandfather, and he taught me a little bit of the basic Golden Light Mantra. If I really knew those Eight Extraordinary Techniques, would I have to use such methods to win the competition? How could I have ended up being called 'shameless' by everyone?" Zhang Chulan kept making fun of himself, speaking so fast it sounded like he was doing a stand-up comedy routine.

"Alright, alright, the point of this gathering tonight is for everyone to relax and not talk about anything heavy." Lu Linglong pulled out a case of beer from somewhere, grabbed a bottle, and shoved it into Zhang Chulan's hand. "You're the last one here, everyone's been waiting impatiently. Enough talk, chug a bottle to apologize to everyone!"