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

Master Feng was stunned. He recalled Jiang Zhen's punch in the ruins of the hall that day, and his sparring match with Zhang Zhiwei. He knew Jiang Zhen wasn't lying; this young man's strength had already surpassed his understanding of superhumans.

However, knowing is one thing, worrying is another.

"Bullshit! This is the only one that won't do, absolutely not."

Master Feng slammed his pipe against the stone pillar, sparks flying everywhere. “How good you are at fighting is your business! I don’t care about your supernatural abilities! I, Master Feng, have been in the Canal Gang my whole life, and I’ve never heard of sending one of the bosses to his death. If word gets out, where will I put my old face?”

"I've lived for almost sixty years. I've lived a full life. I've seen the world, eaten the finest delicacies, and slept with the most beautiful girls. Besides, we canal gang people live off the water. To die in the waves of the Huai River is like returning to our roots."

"Fifth Master, please listen to me first..." Jiang Zhen was about to continue explaining when he was interrupted.

Fifth Master Feng took another step forward, staring intently into Jiang Zhen's eyes:

“I understand your concerns, and I won’t send any other brothers to hold you back. But I have to come along. I’m not going to fight for you; I’m too old for that. I’ll steer the boat for you.”

Jiang Zhen frowned: "Fifth Master, you are the head of our Magic City Hall. We can't do without you here."

"Don't give me that nonsense. Just leave it to Bai Fu. I don't think I'm that important that he can't do without me."

"Listen to me first. The thing I'm most proud of in my life isn't being the head of this Shanghai gang, but being the steadyest boatman on the canal when I was sixteen. No one understands the wind on the river and the waves in the water better than me. Xiao Zhen, if anything happens, I'll risk my life to save you from that mudflat. If you die there, I'll never have the face to face the founder of the canal gang in my next life."

Looking into Master Feng's bloodshot yet unusually determined eyes, Jiang Zhen remained silent for a long time.

What he saw in those eyes was not just so-called "loyalty," but also an almost obsessive dedication to "tradition" by the older generation. In Master Feng's eyes, Jiang Zhen was the hope of his dreams.

"Okay." Jiang Zhen finally nodded.

"Fifth Master, I'll trouble you to steer the boat for me."

"Master Bai, I'll be leaving the affairs of the branch to you during this time."

Jiang Zhen cupped his hands in greeting to the two of them.

“By the way, we should also give this trip a nice code name. How about we call it the Ocean Cruise, the first Ocean Cruise?” Jiang Zhen said to Master Feng and Bai Fu in a relaxed tone.

Master Feng and Bai Fu exchanged a glance, both speechless. What kind of time is this? Why do young people still like to do these fancy things?

After reaching an agreement with the two men, Bai Fu and his gang watched as the small boat carrying Jiang Zhen and Master Feng slowly sailed away.

Two days later.

Nighttime, Huaihe River branch, Fengyangkou.

This is the hub of the Huai River system and the core territory of Chief Qian. In the past, the docks here were always crowded with cargo ships carrying coal, grain, and smuggled salt, with shouts of boatmen rising and falling. But these past two days, the entire Fengyangkou area seems to have been held down by an invisible giant hand, the silence unsettling.

News of Jiang Zhen's departure had already spread. "Do they really dare to come?" Chief Qian immediately sent people to investigate, but the news that came back enraged him.

"Damn it! You mean, Jiang Zhen only brought that old man Feng Laowu with him, and they came all this way in a sampan?!"

In the main hall of the Huaihe River Herald, Herald Qian was patting the huge rosewood table, looking utterly incredulous.

A few days ago, he received a telegram from Jiang Zhen containing only five words. He was so angry at the time that he tore the telegram to pieces on the spot, but now he has confirmed that Jiang Zhen is indeed on his way to his door.

In his view, no matter how powerful Jiang Zhen was, he was still just an extraordinary person. On these great rivers and lakes, no matter how strong an extraordinary person was, could they be stronger than a thousand troops? Could they be stronger than powerful ships and cannons?

"Reporting to the leader... yes, yes. The scouts saw it eighty miles downstream, a small boat with only Jiang Zhen and Master Feng in it," the leader below answered tremblingly.

"Depending on the situation, we should be able to arrive as early as tomorrow morning."

"Hahaha! Great! Great!"

Suddenly, Chief Qian burst into wild laughter, his thick, fleshy body trembling violently. "What a 'River-Shaking Dragon'! What a 'Feng Laowu'! I think they've really lost their minds! Or are they just treating me like an easy target, thinking I have hundreds of boats, thousands of brothers, and hundreds of guns as mere decorations? Do they really think the Huai River is some small ditch like their Huangpu River?"

"Damn it, you're asking for it!"

He stood up abruptly, a ruthless glint in his eyes: "Pass on my order! All ships out at sea, return to port and set up positions at Fengyang Port! Move all eight foreign cannons to their shore gun positions. I begged and pleaded with everyone I knew, and even lost a lot of my savings, all for those eight cannons. I was hoping to keep them to defend against warlords, but I never expected to use Jiang Zhen as a sacrifice today!"

"Since this matter has caused such a stir in the martial arts world, I reckon many people are watching the show. Let's show them the strength of the Huaihe Branch and let them see Jiang Zhen's fate!"

Chief Qian walked to the window, looking at the still turbulent Huai River under the night sky, and muttered coldly to himself: "Strange methods? Lawless? Today I'll show you that even the River-Shaking Dragon will be reduced to a bottom-dwelling worm in the face of this barrage of cannon fire!"

He certainly has the confidence to back it up.

In this day and age, firearms and large-caliber artillery are the true reality. Some superhumans who have trained for half their lives are not even as good as an ordinary person who has only received a short period of training and can wield a gun.

Although his eight mountain cannons were secondhand goods discarded by foreign firms, they were enough to blast any flesh and blood that dared to provoke him in this inland waterway environment.

Meanwhile, patrols on land were intensified, leaving no suspicious person unchecked. They also laid driftwood and barbed wire underwater, thinking they had thwarted Jiang Zhen's plan to capture the leader first. He assumed Jiang Zhen was planning to appear arrogant on the surface by sailing over in a small boat, but in reality, he was secretly sneaking in to deal with him.

After all, no matter how you look at it, in Chief Qian's opinion, Jiang Zhen's attempt to confront him head-on was simply overestimating himself. The best way to deal with him was to feign an attack while secretly advancing.

On land, they were heavily guarded, with the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free." Underwater, traps were everywhere, so even if Jiang Zhen tried to dive in from the bottom, he would only be torn to pieces.

At the same time, Chief Qian did indeed possess some of the martial prowess that Xiu Jiangzhen had displayed that day. Although he had been at the main camp during this period, he always arranged for dozens of men with guns to follow him wherever he went.

……

The wind was getting stronger on the river.

The turbid waters of the Huai River churned with white foam, wave after wave crashing against the fragile little sampan, as delicate as a fallen leaf.

Wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, Uncle Feng's withered but strong hands gripped the oars tightly. With each stroke, he precisely cut through the crests of the waves, keeping the small boat as steady as a mountain in the middle of the turbulent river.

"Xiao Zhen, Fengyangkou is just ahead." Uncle Feng wiped the rain off his face, his voice a little hoarse. "Judging from that setup, Old Fatty Qian has brought out his entire fortune. Look at those dark pipes on the bank, they're probably real cannons."

Jiang Zhen stood with his hands behind his back at the bow of the boat.

He had already taken off his cumbersome long robe and was now wearing only a neat black outfit. The howling river wind made the hem of his clothes rustle.

"Fifth Master, are you scared?" Jiang Zhen turned around and glanced at the old man.

"What's there to be afraid of!" Master Feng chuckled, revealing a set of yellowed teeth. "I've never been so powerful in my life. Rowing a small boat into a battle formation of ten thousand soldiers, if word got out, my name, Master Feng, would be enough to crush all the turtles in that river."

"We're famous now, so you just go about your business. If I let you get your shoes wet, I'll swallow this oar!"

Jiang Zhen smiled. He turned his head and looked directly at the massive fleet that was already faintly visible ahead.

That was a defensive line composed of dozens of large cargo ships and nearly a hundred medium and small transport vessels. Many men stood at the bow of the ships, holding guns, knives, and clubs. But the most eye-catching sight was the eight huge cannon positions on the embankment. The long cannon barrels were slowly adjusting their angles, like venomous snakes, locking onto the only white dot on the river.

At this moment, both sides saw each other.

"Jiang Zhen—!!!"

"He's got guts, he's really got guts!" Chief Qian had been on tenterhooks for days, only to find that Jiang Zhen not only didn't launch a sneak attack, but actually dared to come straight at them.

"Old Fatty Qian, such a grand welcome for us, I am truly flattered." Looking at the massive fleet and the arrival of Captain Qian, Fifth Master Feng used his Qi to call out Captain Qian's nickname across the river, speaking sarcastically.

"Since you're so afraid, why don't you surrender now?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Laofei's roar echoed across the river, "Afraid? Bullshit! I think you two old and young lunatics are truly insane! Now, if you two kneel down, kowtow three times to me, admit that you were talking nonsense the other day, and give up 80% of the profits from Shanghai, I won't mind letting you live today!"

"Old Fatty Qian, stop pretending. With this kind of show of force, we're not going to let this go easily," said Fifth Master Feng as he accelerated the boat towards them.

Jiang Zhen, however, crossed his arms and did not respond.

His gaze pierced through the defensive line formed by the transport ships, through the eight cannons, and even through the cold waters of the Huai River, looking towards the more distant north.

There, the smoke of battle has already risen.

Compared to the impending national catastrophe, these current disputes over interests and these so-called artillery pieces are as insignificant as dust in Jiang Zhen's eyes.

As the two men sped towards him, Qian Laofei glanced at the person controlling the cannon.

"Master, that's about enough. This distance is enough for the brothers to hit the bullseye every time."

Then Jiang Zhen spoke. He didn't shout loudly, but every word seemed to explode directly in Qian Tuozhu's mind, making his scalp tingle.

"Master Qian."

"I told you I'd give you seven days, and now those seven days are up. It seems you've chosen the path of death."

Hearing this from the shore, Old Man Qian shuddered, his face turning bright red with extreme rage and shame: "Fine! Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish! Fire! Fire! Fire! Blast them to pieces! Even if you blow the Huai River through, I'll make sure they die a horrible death!"

At Qian Laofei's command, the gunners on the dock began to move.

Loading, aiming, adjusting...

Once everything was ready, Old Fatty Qian shouted:

"put--!!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Eight earth-shattering roars instantly shattered the tranquility of the river.

Crimson flames erupted from the cannon barrels as eight shells, powerful enough to shatter a fortified fortress, hurtled toward the lone boat with a piercing whistle.

Jiang Zhen narrowed his eyes as he watched the incoming artillery shells.

(I went to sweep the tombs today, so the update is a bit late...)

Chapter 27 The Tremor That Rifts Through the Sky, the Huai River Breaks

The wind seemed to stand still for a moment.

Facing the eight shells roaring out from the artillery positions on the riverbank, the surface of the Huai River was reflected in a ghastly red. It was the ferocious roar of the industrial age, a metal storm capable of tearing any flesh and blood to shreds.

The knuckles of Uncle Feng's fingers gripping the oars turned white, and his old eyes reflected the approaching firelight.

Even though he had roamed the martial arts world for decades and had witnessed the astonishing skills of countless extraordinary masters, he still felt a chill run down his spine when faced with this hopeless situation of directly confronting large-caliber artillery.

"Xiao Zhen... this is suicidal!" Master Feng gritted his teeth, gripping the ship's deck tightly with his feet, preparing to receive the devastating blow.

However, Jiang Zhen, standing at the bow of the ship, remained unhurried.

He didn't turn around, but just whispered a few words:

"Fifth Master, hold on tight!"

Before he could finish speaking, the sampan beneath Jiang Zhen's feet suddenly sank, almost sinking into the river. Then, like a black shooting star, Jiang Zhen's figure rose into the air without any external assistance, soaring straight into the sky!

Before everyone's eyes, Jiang Zhen completed an extremely graceful turn in the air. His right hand stretched backward, and his right fist was surrounded by a dense, almost tangible white aura.

"Airquake: Sky Rift!"

Jiang Zhen's eyes flashed like lightning as he unleashed a devastating punch into the empty air before him.

Snap! Snap!

A crisp, abrupt sound, yet powerful enough to drown out the roar of all cannons, exploded in the atmosphere.

In that instant, everyone—whether it was the people operating the cannons on the shore, Rang on the bank, the gang members in the fleet with their mocking smiles, or even the smug Qian, the captain sitting in the main hall—all witnessed the most unforgettable moment of their lives.

Despite the news, the written accounts were far less impactful than seeing it with one's own eyes.

Centered on Jiang Zhen's fist, the transparent air in front of him visibly cracked, as if struck by a heavy hammer.