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

No, there were no suspicious people around, no unusual heartbeats, no lurking spies, and only our own people in the entire building.

Only then did he slowly let go of her hand.

Five red marks were left on Zhao Yuan's face, and a white mark was pressed onto his lips. It took several seconds for the color to return. He lay on the ground, panting heavily.

Jiang Zhen did not speak immediately.

He turned around and looked at the map again, his gaze falling on the red line, the red line he had just drawn to block the Yangtze River.

He stared at the line for a few seconds, then suddenly looked up, pointed at the map, his finger trembling slightly.

"Zhao Yuan!"

After a moment, he finally spoke, his voice very low, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat, carrying a chilling quality that made one's scalp tingle.

"Do you even know what you're saying?!"

His finger pointed at the red line, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"You're pushing me into a fire pit."

Master Feng and Bai Fu exchanged a glance.

Their eyes met briefly. Bai Fu's eyelids twitched, and Fifth Master Feng nodded slightly. They both saw the same thing in each other's eyes—now that they had spoken, there was no turning back.

"Boss."

Master Feng took a bold step forward. As the former head of the Shanghai Gang, his status in the Canal Gang was second only to Jiang Zhen, and every word he spoke carried weight. At this moment, his voice was calm, yet it revealed a resolute determination to burn his bridges.

“Zhao Yuan is right. That position will eventually have to be filled. Why can't that person be you?! Besides, this is an unprecedented opportunity.”

He paused, his voice lowering.

"Besides, even if you don't consider what we old folks think, you should at least consider what the brothers of the Canal Gang think."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door was kicked open with a loud crash.

Zhou Tiedan, Yao Zhong, and other former members of the Magic City Hall surged in like a tide. Their faces were all flushed, veins bulging on their foreheads, and their chests heaving violently, clearly indicating that they had been holding back for a long time.

Their faces bore an expression Jiang Zhen had never seen before—not the killing intent of a battlefield, nor the warmth of a dinner table, but a kind of fanatical light that sent chills down one's spine.

"Boss!" Zhou Tiedan's face flushed red, and the veins on his neck bulged. "Fifth Master is right! We only respect you!"

"Yes! I only admire you!"

I only admire you!

Everyone shouted in unison. The sound exploded in the office, making the windows rattle and the teacups on the table tremble slightly.

They shouted as they surrounded Jiang Zhen, one step, two steps, three steps, getting closer and closer. The footsteps of more than a dozen people mingled together, like muffled thunder rolling across the ground.

Jiang Zhen frowned: "What? You want to attack me because I disagree?"

"I dare not!" Zhou Tiedan shouted loudly—but his steps did not stop. He shouted as he walked forward, and Yao Zhong behind him also pushed forward. The crowd was like a moving wall, pressing down on Jiang Zhen.

"but……"

Jiang Zhen's gaze swept past the crowd that had gathered around him, and he suddenly spotted something behind them.

A piece of dark black fabric was tightly clutched in Yao Chong's hand, with only a corner showing. Something was embroidered on the fabric; gold thread glittered under the light, and the shape of a claw could be vaguely discerned.

Jiang Zhen's mind went blank for a moment.

"???"

The next second, the crowd suddenly dispersed to both sides—as if they had been split in two, each taking a step back neatly, and unfolded the cloth—a dark black background with a gold-threaded dragon embroidered with five claws.

Was it a flag? No, it was a robe. A robe embroidered with dragon patterns that they had somehow obtained.

Four people grabbed the four corners of his robe and covered Jiang Zhen from head to toe.

"Damn it!"

This is to make sure he doesn't die completely, and to let him turn back the clock of history.

Jiang Zhen took a step to the side, knocking over several people beside him before barely avoiding the robe that covered his head and face.

The robe hadn't covered anyone, lost its target, and was about to fall to the ground.

The four people slid out on their knees at the same time, their knees scraping against the floor tiles with a screeching sound.

Zhou Tiedan lunged forward, gripping one corner of the robe tightly with both hands. The other three also each grabbed the remaining three corners, managing to catch the robe before it hit the ground, keeping it perfectly flat, as if holding some sacred object.

Someone shouted something, their voice hoarse and cracking:

"Brothers! This is it! We've got this! Grab the gang leader, don't let him get away! Put it on!"

"You bunch of bastards really think I won't hit you, huh!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The dull thuds of flesh colliding rang out one after another.

Zhou Tiedan was the first to rush forward, but Jiang Zhen slapped him on the head, sending him flying and crashing into the wall before sliding down.

Someone grabbed Jiang Zhen's waist from the side, but was elbowed in the chest and went limp with a muffled groan.

Someone tried to grab Jiang Zhen's arm from behind, but was slammed into the floor tiles with an over-the-shoulder throw, causing the tiles to crack.

Someone tried to grab Jiang Zhen's leg from the front, but was kicked away and rolled a long way, knocking over a flowerpot in the corner.

……

In no time at all, more than a dozen people were lying on the ground.

Some people hugged their arms, some clutched their stomachs, some curled up in a ball gasping for breath, their faces bruised and swollen, lying haphazardly, but they all still clung tightly to that robe as if it were their own lives.

Jiang Zhen stood there, his chest heaving, his heart still pounding.

As a time traveler, no one understands the course of history in the past few years better than him. The current situation is that "a million soldiers are crossing the Yangtze River," marking the end of the old era and the imminent arrival of a new era with the rising sun. Crossing that red line means falling into an abyss.

"You guys..." Jiang Zhen's voice was a little hoarse, "Have you guys taken the wrong medicine?"

Zhao Yuan raised his head.

His lips were so swollen that he could barely speak, but he still enunciated each word clearly.

"Boss, we didn't take the wrong medicine. We are more clear-headed than ever."

"You ask if we know what we're talking about? Yes! We've been preparing for this for several years now. Every manpower, every batch of weapons, and the deployment of every dock has been carefully considered and refined."

He took a breath, his voice becoming even more resolute: "The great cause is possible—"

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was slapped again by Jiang Zhen.

Zhao Yuan was slapped so hard his head turned to the side, and he staggered a couple of steps before regaining his balance. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth down his chin and onto the ground, but he didn't fall; he forced himself to stand. He slowly turned his head back to look at Jiang Zhen, the fire in his eyes burning even brighter instead of extinguished.

"Boss, we don't understand."

Bai Fu wiped the blood from his nose, his voice trembling, "You, who went north to behead ninjas and saved the people of Nanjing, possess unfathomable and extraordinary abilities. Our Canal Gang now has money and manpower, and our guns are even better than those of the regular army. We are guarding this Yangtze River; we can advance or retreat as needed..."

"Shut up!"

Jiang Zhen scratched his head in frustration. He paced back and forth in his office, his heavy steps causing the floor to tremble slightly. With each step, the person lying on the floor would shudder.

He suddenly stopped and stared intently at the crowd.

"You think we're strong? You think I, Jiang Zhen, am invincible?" Jiang Zhen stopped and stared intently at the crowd.

“Wrong! In this world, there is a power more terrifying than my vibrational power, and more profound than my Conqueror's Haki.” He extended a finger and tapped the table.

"That kind of power is called the general trend, the inevitability of history."

Jiang Zhen took a deep breath, his tone becoming extremely calm, yet exuding an undeniable air of authority. His gaze swept across everyone's face like a knife.

"Zhao Yuan, take back all the men and weapons. Those who need to retreat, retreat immediately!"

"Impossible! We refuse to accept this!"

Zhao Yuan's voice was hoarse, and his whole body was trembling, not from fear, but from excitement.

"Chief, what are you worried about? Are you worried about over there? Worried about the foreigners? Worried about those prestigious sects?"

But we are not afraid!

He raised his head, his voice hoarse:

"As long as we follow you, the brothers are willing to risk everything. All these years, we've worked hard in Shanghai, on the water, and all over the world—are we just going to end up as porters, errand runners, or dock watchmen for others?"

He pointed out the window:

"Boss, please go to the window and look outside."

Jiang Zhen stood still.

Master Feng also raised his head, his voice hoarse: "Chief, go and see. The brothers have something to say to you."

Jiang Zhen remained silent for three seconds.

Then he slowly turned around and walked to the window.

He stopped.

The courtyard outside the window was now filled with kneeling people, a huge, dark mass.

A vast, dark mass, like a silent tide washing over the ground.

The sons of the Grand Canal gang, dressed in black, knelt in neat rows and columns. The line stretched from the courtyard gate all the way to the bottom of the steps in front of the building, and from the bottom of the steps all the way to the base of the courtyard wall. No one spoke, no one whispered, not even a cough could be heard.

Everyone looked up at the window.

Hundreds of eyes.

No—it's thousands upon thousands of eyes.

It shone brightly in the night like scattered stars.

Jiang Zhen felt a chill run down his spine as he watched this scene.

Since he came into this world, he had never felt a chill run down his spine like this. A chill shot from his heels to the top of his head, and then a bucket of ice water was poured over his head.

At the same time, a rustling sound came from behind.

Master Feng, Bai Fu, Zhao Yuan, Zhou Tiedan, Yao Zhong, and everyone else who was lying on the ground got up and knelt down again.

Master Feng knelt at the very front, with Bai Fu and Zhao Yuan kneeling on either side of him, followed by Zhou Tiedan, and so on, row by row.