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

"Although I am not very talented, I am willing to take on this important task."

"puff--!!!"

Master Feng spat out a mouthful of wine, spraying it all over Bai Fu's face. Bai Fu was so stunned that he didn't even wipe his face before staring blankly at Jiang Zhen.

Master Feng's eyes widened, he coughed violently, staring at Jiang Zhen in disbelief, his heart screaming:

"Hey, you little rascal! What are you trying to do?!" Master Feng screamed inwardly, "I told you to integrate, to slowly boil the frog in water, but you've just overturned the whole pot! You've put yourself on the opposite side of everyone!"

The hall fell into a deathly silence; the lively and bustling atmosphere vanished instantly.

Under the originally bright lights, the faces of the hall masters, who had been all smiles, turned grim one after another.

The aroma of alcohol in the air seemed to freeze instantly into ice crystals.

“Jiang Housheng, do you know what you’re saying? Take it back now and we can pretend we didn’t hear it,” an elderly man from the canal gang said with a frown.

Let's look at the others.

Grandpa Zhao's face, which had been flushed from the alcohol, had now turned ashen. He slowly put down the priceless white jade cup he had brought with him when he came out to drink, slammed his iron hands heavily on the table, and his eyes were terrifyingly gloomy.

Master Sun sneered, and the nine-section whip at his waist made a slight clinking sound.

Chief Qian narrowed his one eye and gave Fifth Master Feng a sinister look. He chuckled and said, "Fifth Master, is this the 'welcome banquet' you invited us brothers back for? What, the Lu family's birthday banquet wasn't grand enough? Are you planning to set up a 'trap' for us at the Magic City Hall?"

"Is it a good idea to take advantage of all the hall masters and wipe us out in one fell swoop? Aren't you afraid of breaking your already few teeth?"

"Or do you think we're all just that kind of people?"

These words immediately brought the atmosphere to a freezing point.

What was originally a harmonious gathering of the canal gangs instantly turned into a powder keg that could explode at any moment.

"Jiang Zhen," Old Zhao spoke, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded on sandpaper, "I admit, you're a genius. In that battle with the Lu family, you brought honor to our Canal Gang, and I, Old Zhao, sincerely admire your skills. But... what you just said, were you drunk and didn't even know your own name?"

He stood up, his tall stature resembling a small, dark mountain: "Integrate the Canal Gang? Have only one voice? You set up a throne here, what are we brothers supposed to do? Be your grooms? Or your watchdogs?"

"Brother Jiang, a reputation in the world of supernatural beings doesn't necessarily carry weight on this dock," Hall Master Sun interjected sarcastically. "You can defeat the top disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion and subdue the high-ranking masters of those major sects—that's your skill. But this river of the Canal Gang was fought and fought by our brothers, it's the livelihood of tens of thousands of canal workers. You think you can just open your mouth and swallow up the foundation we've built up over the years? On what grounds? On what grounds? On what grounds? On what grounds?"

He pointed to the gang leaders around him, whose faces were grim: "This is the Canal Gang, not Longhu Mountain, much less the Sanyi Sect. No matter how fast your fists are, can they outrun hundreds of guns? No matter how capable you are, can you compare to the hundreds of thousands of brothers from all over the world who depend on us for their livelihood?"

"Unbelievable!"

Mocking and sneer rose and fell, and the once respectful gazes now turned hostile.

"Young man, there's a limit to your wildest dreams. You want to establish a throne? Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Can your shoulders really support the lives of hundreds of thousands of brothers in the Canal Gang?"

"Hmph, in the end, it's all thanks to Fifth Master Feng's excellent teaching. He's really gone too far. Trying to eat all the food himself? Aren't you afraid of stuffing yourself to death!"

Faced with the barrage of criticism, Master Feng sat there, his expression shifting constantly. He looked at Jiang Zhen's tall, javelin-like back and originally wanted to step in to ease the tension, but when he saw that Jiang Zhen's hand behind his back was trembling slightly, producing a faint "click" sound in the air, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Jiang Zhen was not angry.

He simply listened quietly to the taunts. In his perception, the frequencies of these people were noisy and chaotic.

"Are you finished?"

Jiang Zhen spoke again. This time, he didn't use a loud voice, but in that instant, everyone heard a muffled thunderclap.

"Om-"

A terrifying, invisible force erupted instantly in a ring shape, centered on Jiang Zhen!

All the wine jars in the hall shattered with a "bang" at the same time! Spicy wine mixed with broken porcelain shards shot out like arrows.

Lin Zhu, who was originally sitting in the corner, had already run outside at some point.

Jiang Zhen took a step forward.

"boom!"

The hard terrazzo floor crumbled directly.

“I’m not discussing this with you.” Jiang Zhen stared directly at Grandpa Zhao, the chilling look in his eyes causing the seasoned leader, who had seen it all, to involuntarily take a half-step back. “I also don’t have time to play any political games with you.”

"The Japanese bayonets are practically stabbing you in the throat, and you're still talking to me about territory and rules?"

Jiang Zhen turned around abruptly and looked at all the hall masters: "From now on, there is only one rule for the Cao Gang, and that is—the winner, the one who beats me, has the final say!"

"Anyone who disagrees, step forward now."

Jiang Zhen stretched out his right hand and clenched his fist in the air. The air in that space seemed to be crushed, emitting a series of mournful cries.

"Beat me, and I, Jiang Zhen, will be at your mercy. Lose me..."

Jiang Zhen's eyes darkened, and an extremely domineering aura surged into the sky, directly overturning the red lanterns on the top of the hall.

"Then all of you, listen to my command!"

"Jiang Zhen! You're too arrogant!" Hall Master Sun roared. Although he was also intimidated by Jiang Zhen's aura, as the overlord of the Three Gorges section, he could not back down. He sprang up, his palm gathering deep blue Qi energy, which was his trump card technique, "Surging Wave Palm." He slashed out with a palm, aiming straight for Jiang Zhen's chest with overwhelming force.

Immediately afterwards, Uncle Zhao and Chief Qian exchanged a glance. Although they were terrified, they knew that if they surrendered without a fight in front of everyone, they would have no face to show in the martial arts world anymore.

"Old Sun, I'm here to help you!" Grandpa Zhao roared, his iron palm bringing up a gust of wind that blocked Jiang Zhen's left flank.

Qian, the leader, crouched low with a sinister look in his eyes, and a deep blue dagger appeared in his hand, which he thrust straight at Jiang Zhen's lower body.

The three men, from three different directions, launched their attack with overwhelming force.

If they don't suppress this arrogant brat, how will they ever be able to establish themselves in the martial arts world again?

"on!"

Three top-ranking members of the Grand Canal Gang launched their attack from three directions with overwhelming force.

Master Feng's hand holding the wine glass trembled slightly. He looked at the hall that was almost blown away by the shockwave, and finally sighed and closed his eyes.

He should have known better than to bring it up with Jiang Zhen so quickly; what a mistake.

As for the three men's attack, Master Feng knew that Jiang Zhen's strength was not a concern at all. His only worry was that Jiang Zhen might not be able to stop himself. He could only hope that Jiang Zhen would not actually kill them.

Jiang Zhen stared at the three approaching figures, his eyes remaining completely calm. His fist clenched slightly, a white aura swirling around it.

"Vulnerable."

He simply threw a punch.

boom--!!

At that moment, it felt as if a small earthquake had struck the entire venue.

……

Jiang Zhen stood in the center of the ruined seating area, not even moving a step. He looked at the three hall masters lying on the ground, their faces deathly pale, and the rest of the terrified crowd, and said coldly:

"Anyone else want to give it a try?"

Jiang Zhen looked up and saw that, apart from the three people who had fallen to the ground, everyone else involuntarily took a step back.

Look at me, I push you, our eyes are saying why you're not going up? Can't you see our three best fighters are lying there?

After waiting a moment and seeing that no one else came out, Jiang Zhen held up three fingers and said, "I have three things to say."

"The first thing is to integrate the transportation capacity of all branches. Within ten days, no, within seven days, I want to see with my own eyes the detailed list of the gang members in each branch, the accurate number of ships, the sufficient and reliable reserves of materials and money, and the status of business transactions. At the same time, all the dispatch and control of large ships will be unified in my hands from now on."

"If it is not completed within seven days, I will personally go to your temples to cut down mountains and destroy temples!"

"The second thing is that, starting today, the Canal Gang will no longer engage in the opium trade. Anyone who touches it will be killed by me."

"The third thing..."

Jiang Zhen looked up at the northern sky, his eyes were terrifyingly deep, but his tone was extremely sorrowful.

"Prepare for war..."

Chapter 25 I've Come to Kill (4000 words)

In the ruins-like hall, dust danced wildly under the lamplight, like countless terrified souls.

Amidst the shattered venue, a mixture of broken porcelain shards, spilled liquor, and fragments of shattered mahogany, Jiang Zhen stood with his hands behind his back, the lingering force of his punch still echoing in the air.

Everyone was pondering Jiang Zhen's last words.

"Preparing...for war?"

Grandpa Zhao coughed, pushed aside the half-rosewood table that was pressing down on him, and slowly stood up. His once neat beard was now stained with wine, making him look disheveled. He stared intently at Jiang Zhen, his eyes filled with not only fear but also a sense of absurdity.

Not only him, but also Master Sun and Chief Qian were getting up from the ground, each of them with a blank expression that said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"War? What war?" Master Sun wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse and shrill. "Jiang Zhen, did you lose your mind after that battle with the Lu family? Or were you drunk and confused? In this world, although the various warlords are still openly and covertly fighting each other, at least on the surface, there is still peace. The one in Nanjing has only just calmed down, and the young marshal Zhang in the north has 300,000 troops guarding the Northeast. They are all currently defending their respective territories. Where is there a war to fight?"

Chief Qian's face was grim, his single eye flashing with a venomous light: "Jiang Zhen, if you want to take our business, just say so. With your skills, we brothers can accept defeat today. But to use such nonsense as war to scare people, aren't you underestimating us old hands in the Canal Gang? Our Canal Gang is spread all over the country. Aren't we better informed than you about which warlords are about to rise up or which factions are about to fight each other across China?"

Jiang Zhen looked at them, but there was no anger in his eyes.

"It's not warlord infighting." Jiang Zhen said, each word distinct and his voice low and rumbling like thunder in his throat, "It's the Japanese. They're coming to attack, a full-scale invasion!"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into a deathly silence, then erupted into a burst of mocking laughter. Even Master Feng and Bai Fu were quite surprised; why would a mere Japanese person need to be so formal?

"Japanese? Hahahaha!" Grandpa Zhao seemed to have heard the most ridiculous joke of his life. He held his waist and laughed so hard that tears almost came out.

"Jiang Zhen, are you perhaps referring to those short, monkey-like dwarfs? That Japan is nothing but a tiny, uncivilized overseas island, poor and lowly. A hundred years ago, they even had to learn a smattering of traditional Chinese culture from our Celestial Empire to be considered human. Do they have the guts to wage a full-scale war against us? Do they even deserve it?!"

“Exactly!” Hall Master Sun also mocked, “Those shorty bastards have indeed become a bit too arrogant these past few years. Take those ronin samurai, for example. If it weren’t for the higher-ups keeping them in check, they would have been beaten so badly they wouldn’t even recognize their own mothers.”

"You think they'd dare a full-scale invasion and start a war? Jiang Zhen, are you genuinely ignorant or just pretending? Our China is a vast country with a population of 400 million. How big is that little island in the East? Even if they had ten times the courage, would they dare to land? They'd probably be drowned by our spit the moment they set foot!"

"If you're going to come up with an excuse, at least make it believable," Chief Qian sneered. "To consolidate the Canal Gang, you've fabricated a colossal lie about a 'foreign invasion.' Jiang Zhen, your acting is more captivating than any of the famous opera singers. If you want to encroach on our territory and cut off our brothers' livelihood, just say so. Using the nation's fate as a shield, aren't you afraid of shortening your lifespan?"

As Jiang Zhen listened to these words, his fists slowly clenched again.

"Om-"

This time, the vibration frequency was extremely high, and the air whistled sharply between his fingers. The ruins of the entire hall began to tremble again, as if they were about to collapse completely at any moment.

A sudden chill ran through everyone. The mocking laughter abruptly ceased, and a chill ran down their spines as a shadow of death instantly enveloped them. They thought to themselves: Is this madman really going to kill us to silence us?

Grandpa Zhao took a small step back, trying to protect everyone in front of him.

Sun, the gang leader, was drenched in cold sweat, thinking to himself: Even if this madman makes a move, I don't believe he can kill them all in an instant. As long as I can get him back to the Three Gorges, mobilize several thousand brothers, and equip them with foreign guns and cannons, I refuse to believe I can't kill him! Today's humiliation will be avenged!

Qian, the leader, was even more sinister. He had already subconsciously reached for the distress flare hidden in his sleeve.

Although they said they were going to accept defeat, none of them wanted to die. After all, they were the leaders of their respective branches, and they were like local emperors in the rivers and lakes of their areas. They hadn't had enough of their good days yet, so how could they bear to die?

Master Feng sat to the side, his heart pounding in his chest. He looked at Jiang Zhen's slightly trembling shoulders, his lips moving as if he wanted to offer some advice, but he couldn't openly contradict Jiang Zhen at this moment, so he remained silent.