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

At this moment, Jiang Zhen stood on the rocks by the river, his right hand slightly raised. Just half an inch above his palm, an extremely faint humming sound emanated from the space, a sound so subtle that even birds dared not approach. It was a high-frequency force field generated by the combination of vibration and Qi.

Domain? Even more vague...

Just as Jiang Zhen was enjoying the thrill of "leveling up and improving his skills," Master Feng and Master Bai arrived at his door with delighted expressions.

During this period, thanks to Jiang Zhen's reputation as "the Dragon Who Shakes the River," the Canal Gang's waterway business around Shanghai was thriving. Those local bullies who originally wanted to make a quick buck all obediently withdrew their claws after hearing about Jiang Zhen's feats of shattering a sunken ship with one hand and piercing Bihe Ren's iron eye with one finger.

Jiang Zhen has quite a reputation in the world of supernatural beings in Shanghai.

"Xiao Zhen, calm down, I need to discuss something serious with you." Master Feng dusted himself off and handed over an exquisite mahogany box.

"Fifth Master, let's get straight to the point. We don't do this kind of thing between us." Jiang Zhen finished his work, took the wooden box, opened it, and found an invitation with dark gold trim inside.

“This is no ordinary post.” Bai Fu stood to the side, fanning himself with a folding fan, his expression solemn. “It was posted by the Lu family of Jiangnan.” (The author doesn’t remember if the Lu family was from Jiangnan, and the timeline is a bit messy, so please bear with me.)

Master Feng lit a cigarette and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke: "The old master of the Lu family is going to celebrate his 80th birthday. Although our canal gang is powerful at the docks, in the eyes of those prestigious families, we are still not considered respectable. However, we have recently had several large transactions of raw silk and medicinal herbs with the Lu family, and we have become close, so they gave me an invitation."

Master Feng looked intently at Jiang Zhen and waved his hand, "I was thinking of taking you with me. Firstly, to broaden your horizons, and secondly... I also want to show those arrogant and prestigious sects that our Canal Gang not only has people, but also a dragon who can hold the fort!"

"For now, let's leave the gang's affairs to Bai Fu. With your reputation as the 'River-Shaking Dragon' in charge of the canal transport, the petty thieves won't dare to cause trouble."

Jiang Zhen's hand holding the invitation trembled slightly.

Lu Family Birthday Banquet?

The Lu family of Jiangnan?

Countless images flashed through his mind in an instant. If he remembered correctly, this was not just a simple dinner party; it was practically one of the most classic turning points in the Republican era arc of "Under One Person."

During a martial arts competition among various sects of extraordinary individuals, Lao Lu was slapped so hard by Lao Zhang that he cried.

So this is the plot point.

Once there, he will not only meet Lu Jin, the future "flawless" young man, but also Zhang Zhiwei, the genius Taoist who may only be a "squinty-eyed" boy now but can single-handedly defeat everyone in the arena.

And that "Great Immortal of Great Abundance, who will have successors."

"Um... Fifth Master, at the Lu family's birthday banquet, will there be many disciples from various sects sparring together?" Jiang Zhen asked tentatively.

"Of course!" Master Feng chuckled. "That's the tradition of prestigious sects. On the surface, it's a birthday celebration, but behind the scenes, each sect sends out its most outstanding disciples to show off their skills. Our Canal Gang has always been called 'wild fox Zen' and 'common stuff,' but I'm taking you there this time so you can show off your skills!"

Master Feng patted Jiang Zhen on the shoulder, exclaiming with boundless pride, "Go all out against them! Let's see if they can withstand the punch from our 'Shaking River Dragon'!"

Jiang Zhen looked at the powerful "Lu" character on the invitation and began to feel excited.

Finally, I'm involved in the storyline, and it's a classic one. Let's see who gets ahead of me and these geniuses.

Jiang Zhen looked down at his fist. Although there was only a little white qi left, combined with the destructive power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he really wanted to know which would be tougher when his own "Spatial Shattering" collided with the Celestial Master's Mansion's "Golden Light Mantra".

"Interesting, absolutely fascinating."

Jiang Zhen's lips curled into a smile, and his eyes revealed an unprecedented fighting spirit.

“Alright, Fifth Master, I’ll take this job.”

Jiang Zhen put away the invitation and smiled at Master Feng, "Master Feng, it seems you'll have to trouble yourself these next few days to teach me a few more proper fist-and-palm salutes. We're going to a famous sect to cause trouble... oh no, to celebrate a birthday, so we can't let them find fault with our etiquette and say that our Canal Gang has no manners."

Master Feng chuckled: "You little rascal, I think you're up to no good. Alright, we won't practice boxing these next few days, we'll practice 'etiquette' instead."

Jiang Zhen turned to look at the surging river.

A prodigy from a prestigious family?

(One setting I forgot to mention is that the seawater in this world doesn't have Devil Fruit factors, so naturally there's no restraint relationship.)

Chapter 12 Tiangong Hall

On the official road leading to the Lu family mansion, two fast horses were traveling at a steady pace.

Although Master Feng was wearing a brand-new silk robe, he couldn't hide the rough and unruly air of someone who had been around the docks.

Jiang Zhen, on the other hand, appeared much more casual. He wore a short gray cloth outfit, held the reins in his right hand, and his left hand was slightly dancing in the air. A wisp of white energy, like a gossamer thread, repeatedly wrapped around his fingertips. Even while traveling, he did not forget to work on his meager savings.

"After we pass that grove of trees, it'll be half a day's journey to the Lu family's territory." Master Feng reined in his horse. "Xiao Zhen, when we get to a crowded place, try to control that habit of yoursing. The Lu family has many rules; we can't let them think our canal gang is impolite..."

As he spoke, Fifth Master Feng tugged at his dark red silk vest, shifting his neck uncomfortably. "This damn new clothes are so tight I can hardly breathe. If it weren't for the sake of preserving the reputation of our canal gang, I would rather wear a t-shirt and carry bags at the dock."

Jiang Zhen opened his eyes, about to make a joke, when his ears twitched slightly.

His "Vibration Perception 2.0"—a vibration perception that combines Quanzhen Neidan Gong with the Zhenzhen Fruit—suddenly detected an extremely discordant frequency.

It was a tremor caused by the violent collision of metal, mixed with violent energy.

"Fifth Master, there's some work going on in the woods ahead, and it's quite a commotion." Jiang Zhen's eyes narrowed, and he instantly switched from a relaxed state to a tense state on the verge of battle.

Master Feng, a seasoned veteran, frowned upon hearing this, while inwardly marveling at how Jiang Zhen's perception was becoming increasingly formidable.

"Let's assess the situation first. This place isn't far from the Lu family's territory, and it's also the Lu family's birthday. There shouldn't be anyone so foolish as to start a conflict at this time."

The two men understood each other perfectly and slowed their horses down to get a little closer. Then they tied their horses to the edge of the woods and, using the dense bushes as cover, crouched low and crept silently over.

In the clearing in the forest, the once smooth grass now looked as if it had been rooted up by wild boars, with charred holes and scattered parts everywhere.

Seven or eight strange people were surrounding three people dressed as craftsmen. Although the three were covered in sweat, they were very coordinated. Each of them held several exquisite iron balls or wooden kites and other mechanisms in their hands, and with a wave of their hands, sparks would fly or spikes would suddenly appear.

"Hehe, the wood and iron blocks in the hands of you people from Tiangongtang are really hard. I wonder how hard your bones are?"

A gaunt, ruddy-faced man surrounded three men dressed in drab gray craftsmen's clothes. He held a pair of steel hooks that gleamed with an eerie green light, each swing sending up a foul, pungent gust of wind. Behind him stood five or six other men dressed in various styles, their auras chilling, each with a greedy, murderous glint in their eyes.

Surrounded in the center were three craftsmen. One of them, a young man, caught Jiang Zhen's attention. He was about twenty years old, with a broad forehead and a large, thick hand, his fingers still clogged with iron filings. Although his face was covered in sweat, his eyes were as steady as iron.

In front of him, a wooden "mechanical kite" was barely flying, spitting out tiny steel needles.

"You scum of the Quanxing Sect, if you want to take the magic weapon from my Tiangong Hall, you'll have to take my head first!" the young man roared, quickly pulling out several roly-poly-like items from his treasure pouch at his waist.

"Uncle-Master, you go first. I'll hold them off. Once we reach the Lu family, they won't dare to continue chasing us."

"Nonsense! How could it be your turn, a junior, to cover the rear!"

"Oh dear, are they all rushing to their deaths?" the lean man sneered as he watched the scene.

"Hey, stop talking nonsense and get to work. The old man from the Lu family is having a banquet. Who knows if anyone else will pass by next? Let's not cause any trouble." The one-eyed leader said from the side, while channeling his dark blue qi and staring at the three men with an unfriendly look.

Having overheard the brief conversation between the group from the shadows, Master Feng and Jiang Zhen roughly understood what was going on.

"It's the Quanxing gang surrounding and killing the disciples of Tiangongtang," Feng Wuye whispered in Jiang Zhen's ear, his tone filled with the righteous indignation of a江湖人 (jianghu person, a term referring to a person who is out of the martial arts world). "That young man seems to be Ma Benzai from Tiangongtang? This kid has recently become quite famous in the field of weapon forging. It seems that those beasts from Quanxing are trying to steal someone else's treasure."

The Heavenly Craft Hall is renowned in the world of supernatural beings; it's a sect specializing in crafting magical artifacts. To these supernatural beings, magical artifacts are like a second life, so it's no wonder that the Quanxing gang of lunatics would set up an ambush here.

Upon hearing the name "Ma Benzai," Jiang Zhen felt a surge of turmoil within him.

Ma Benzai! One of the Thirty-Six Thieves, a future master craftsman who will master the Eight Extraordinary Techniques, "Divine Refinement of the Hundred Machines," making future generations of weapon refiners look up to him in awe!

At this time, Ma Ben was just a fledgling genius. Although his skills were exquisite, he was no match for the overwhelming force. Among the Quanxing group, the leader, One-Eyed Dragon, was clearly a skilled fighter. Moreover, the people who came seemed to be using targeted methods, coordinating with each other to gradually deplete the magical artifacts of the three members of Tiangongtang.

"Fifth Master?" Jiang Zhen clenched his fist, and a faint buzzing sound began to emanate from his fingertips.

"Help! The people from Tiangongtang are righteous. Many of the main shafts of the cranes at our docks were corrected by them." Before Master Feng finished speaking, Jiang Zhen had already rushed out like a tiger released from its cage, creating a gust of wind.

"Who?!"

The one-eyed man reacted extremely quickly, swinging his broadsword backhand and unleashing a ghastly green Qi blade to the side.

Jiang Zhen twisted his body strangely in mid-air, as if stepping on some kind of ripple in the void, and instantly moved three feet to the side.

"The Quanxing sect is here to do business. If you don't want to die, get out..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Zhen had already closed the distance to within three feet of him.

Without any fancy moves, Jiang Zhen simply threw a straight punch. But this punch was wrapped in some extremely precious white qi, and it also carried the techniques that Jiang Zhen had painstakingly cultivated over this period of time.

boom! !

That was the sound of a fist colliding head-on with a steel blade.

The one-eyed man had thought his strike would shatter the brat's fist, but the instant they made contact, his expression changed. He felt as if he had crashed not into flesh, but into a madly spinning millstone!

"Snap—"

Without any obstruction, the steel blade imbued with potent poison and vital energy shattered inch by inch, starting from its tip, the moment it touched Jiang Zhen's fist.

"Ah!! My hand!"

The shockwave traveled along the broken steel blade straight to the one-eyed monster's shoulder. Jiang Zhen's eyes were icy cold, his fist undiminished, and a "Bone-Piercing Shock" struck the opponent's chest directly.

One-Eyed Dragon was like a ball struck by a giant hammer, flying backward for more than ten meters before crashing into three trees as thick as water buckets and finally coming to a stop. The moment he landed, his bones made a sickeningly loud "pop beans" sound—Jiang Zhen's punch had shattered his entire skeleton into dust, even through his skin and flesh.

The remaining Quanxing demons raised an eyebrow and retreated in unison to create distance.

"Bad things have happened, just what I feared most has come to pass."

"It's all because of that one-eyed man's bad luck!"

"But... what kind of commotion is this? This commotion... could it be that Jiang Zhen, the 'River-Shaking Dragon' who has recently risen to fame in the Canal Gang?!"

"You recognize your Master Jiang?" Jiang Zhen sneered, and his figure disappeared again.

"The idea is tricky, we need to work together..."

Jiang Zhen didn't use a wide-range "air tremor" because the collateral damage would be too great. The three members of the Tiangong Hall couldn't withstand it, and they were also testing their newly learned "spot kill" technique on these Quanxing demons.

He moved through the crowd with a light and quick step, as if he were dancing.

A Quanxing man swung his long sword at Jiang Zhen, who dodged to the side, then flicked the side of the sword with two fingers.

hum-

The entire longsword trembled violently and instantly broke into seven or eight pieces. Immediately afterward, Jiang Zhen's counterattack arrived; his palm moved like a phantom, gently patting each of them on the back or chest.

Those Quanxing demons didn't even have time to scream before they were hit and collapsed to the ground one after another like rotten mud with their bones removed.

This is Jiang Zhen's integrated application of "vibration perception" and "internal destruction." In his perception, he can clearly see the fulcrum of the opponent's Qi flow, and then use vibration to directly shatter that fulcrum.

This caused their Qi to become chaotic on its own. Coupled with the implanted vibration, in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the Quanxing demons on the open ground, except for the two who were good at running away and immediately attacked when they saw that things were not going well, were all killed.

Jiang Zhen glanced at Master Feng, intending to ask him to stay and look after the place while he continued to chase after it, but Master Feng shook his head.

It was hard to tell whether it was a trap or not. They had wounded soldiers on their side, and although Jiang Zhen was strong now, the Quanxing people had no shortage of all sorts of underhanded tricks.

The forest returned to deathly silence.

Chapter 13 Lu Family, Lu Jin

Ma Ben, supporting his uncle who was most seriously injured in the sneak attack, stared in disbelief at everything that had happened. As a weapon refiner, he was extremely sensitive to the use of "Qi and strength," but he had never seen such power before.