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

In less than three seconds, the entire street fell into a deathly silence, like that of a graveyard.

As Jiang Zhen passed by a noodle stall, several young men from the canal gang who were slurping their noodles were so startled that they dropped their bowls with a thud. They didn't even bother to wipe their mouths; they scrambled to the base of the earthen wall next to the stall, buried their heads in their arms, and trembled like leaves.

Jiang Zhen watched this scene, his anger rising, and his temples began to throb again.

He immediately recognized the back of the head of the person at the very front of the row of figures pressed against the wall. Wang Er, he was a member of the canal gang back in Shanghai's docks, and used to dare to play drinking games with him while drunk.

“Hey… Wang Er? Look up at me.” Jiang Zhen pointed to the back of the man’s head.

"I wouldn't dare! Please—please spare my life, sir! The first law is that you cannot look your superior in the eye." Wang Er's voice was choked with sobs, his tone splitting several times in his throat. As he spoke, he buried his head even deeper into his arms, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the wall.

Jiang Zhen stood on the street with his hands on his hips for a moment, surrounded by a wall of people who looked like they were reflecting on their mistakes. At that moment, Jiang Zhen felt an unprecedented sense of absurdity.

What kind of terrifying education are these old fogies spreading day after day?

Jiang Zhen's figure swayed, the stone bricks beneath his feet trembled slightly, and he disappeared from the center of the street. The next time he reappeared, he was standing on the high platform in the central square of New World Island.

The next moment, he unleashed his full power without reservation, not as a destructive vibration, but as a pure, vast, and resonant sound:

"Everyone, get the hell over here!"

The sound was deafening, exploding in the eardrums of almost every alien on the island.

In less than ten minutes, the members of the Cao Gang, the island's scattered residents, the native islanders, and the outsiders who had been hiding in various corners all gathered densely in the square.

Some people ran all the way from the market, some ran over the wall from the training ground, and some crawled out of the secret cave in the back mountain. Feng Wuye, Bai Fu, and Zhao Yuan were among them. They squeezed out from the back of the crowd and made their way to the front row. Then they stood trembling with fear and looked up at the man on the platform.

"Take your place," the three said in unison, bowing.

Jiang Zhen, with a cold face, glanced at the three of them and stretched out his right hand: "Bring over that piece of waste paper that you guys made, so hard it's not even good enough to wipe your butt."

Zhao Yuan shrank back and nudged Bai Fu. Bai Fu looked helpless, held up the scroll with a cracked corner that read "Sea Laws - Twelve Articles of the Venerable One" with both hands, and respectfully handed it to Jiang Zhen.

Jiang Zhen took the scroll without any hesitation.

"Rip—!"

Under everyone's gaze, the scroll representing absolute authority and the result of countless efforts by the three old men was torn in two by Jiang Zhen like a piece of scrap paper, the sound of the silk tearing crisp and long.

"Listen up!" Jiang Zhen surveyed the entire room, his voice icy. "Everything written on this paper—from this moment on, anyone who dares to bring it up again, anyone who dares to use it again, will be expelled from the Canal Gang and kicked out of the New World! Whether it's the Law of Gaze, the Law of Avoidance, the Law of Sacred Relics, or that damned Whip of Injustice—I don't care who wrote it, who came up with the idea, or who cobbled together this bullshit after coughing all night, none of it counts!"

The square was deathly silent.

"You'll remain the same as before," Jiang Zhen said, pointing at his trembling subordinates. "As long as you don't betray your own people and commit crimes, you're free! I brought you to this sea so you could live like human beings, not to be shadows of walls!"

The gang members exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions shifting from fear to confusion. They instinctively looked at the three men at the front.

"Ascend!"

Just as Jiang Zhen took a deep breath and prepared to turn and leave the stage, Zhao Yuan, Bai Fu, and Master Feng launched their attack simultaneously. They exchanged a glance—a glance that conveyed enough information to fill an entire page—and then, in front of tens of thousands of people, they all burst into tears in unison.

"Your Excellency! How can this work without rules!" Zhao Yuan cried his heart out, tears and snot streaming down his face. "As the saying goes, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and a gang cannot be without rules for a day! If you abolish these laws, the soul of our Canal Gang will scatter!"

Jiang Zhen's head was throbbing from crying, and he waved his hand impatiently: "Enough! Stop wailing! I am the rule! As long as I live on this island, this sea will not turn upside down! My word is the order—I don't need these empty pieces of paper to speak for me."

Zhao Yuan wiped away his tears, as if making a huge concession, and said through sobs, "Then...Sir, we won't implement those harsh laws. But you have to promise us this. From now on, we'll all respectfully address you as 'Sir,' is that alright? If you can't even agree to this, the brothers will have nowhere to put their hearts."

Jiang Zhen looked down at the tens of thousands of hopeful eyes below, and then at the three people who were crying like babies.

Compared to the "Twelve Laws" that had just caused his blood pressure to spike, this mere title of "superior" seemed much more acceptable.

“Fine.” Jiang Zhen sighed and compromised. “You can call me whatever you want. But remember, all those other nonsense things—facing the wall, not being allowed to look up, the vindication whip, silencing, killing—are all abolished. Anyone who dares to do those things in private again, I will personally cripple him. I’m not kidding.”

"Higher Saint——!"

The roar of thunder and waves echoed across the square once again.

Jiang Zhen shook his head, turned around, and left the platform somewhat listlessly. He felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

After Jiang Zhen's figure completely disappeared from sight, the atmosphere in the square underwent a subtle change.

Zhao Yuan, who had been crying his heart out, wiped away his tears with a swift and clean motion, faster than removing any makeup. He raised an eyebrow at Bai Fu, then grinned at Master Feng, showing no trace of sadness.

“Plan works.” Zhao Yuan uttered three words.

Master Feng straightened his long gown, and the faint smile that had been playing on his lips finally crept out.

In fact, these three old foxes had already planned it out. They knew Jiang Zhen too well. If they directly asked him to accept the title of "rising to a higher position," Jiang Zhen would definitely resist. He would feel that these three old geezers were secretly building a ladder for him, and then kicking that ladder over.

Therefore, they deliberately created an extremely disgusting, feudal, and insane set of "Twelve Laws". Not only did they have to face the wall, but they also had to be whipped. They did everything they could to make people nauseous. They knew that Jiang Zhen would be furious and would tear up the scroll in public.

It was a young man in the gang who suggested this, saying that in psychology, it's called the "roof-ripping effect." If they wanted to open the window, they would say they would tear down the roof, and after Jiang Zhen angrily refused to tear down the roof, they would naturally agree to open the window.

Jiang Zhen has now accepted his newfound position. Once this door is opened, they have the patience to subtly and gradually infiltrate the rest.

Master Feng walked slowly over to Wang Er, who had been lying on the ground refusing to get up after being called on by Jiang Zhen from his wall-facing posture. Wang Er's face was still covered in noodle soup stains, and he was grinning as he asked how his performance had gone.

"Wang Er, you did a good job just now." Master Feng patted him on the shoulder. "Go to the storeroom to collect your reward later."

"Alright! Thanks, Fifth Master!" Wang Er stood up nimbly, all traces of his previous cowardly and desperate demeanor gone. "By the way, Fifth Master, what should we do with this thing?"

Wang Er pointed to the "Sea Laws - Twelve Articles of the Venerable One" that Jiang Zhen had torn in half on the ground.

Master Feng glanced at the tattered scroll: "It's a shame to just throw it away. After all, it was compiled with everyone's painstaking efforts. Go find someone to mend it and put it in the storeroom."

"Fifth Master, why keep this thing?" Bai Fu asked, walking over in confusion.

Master Feng sighed and said quietly, "Who knows, we might have to take it out and revise it before using it again someday. Keeping it as a reference will save us from having to rack our brains for words again later."

"Fifth Master is wise." Bai Fu fanned himself with his folding fan, deeply agreeing.

"Let's go." Zhao Yuan put his arm around Bai Fu's shoulder and swaggered towards the tavern. "Tonight, we'll have to drink to our 'rise to the top'!"

Subsequently, this copy of "Sea Laws - The Twelve Articles of the Venerable One" was repaired and quietly placed in the warehouse of the New World.

Chapter 119 Jiang Zhen's Back Hurts

Since the controversy surrounding the abolition of the law in the square, the atmosphere on New World Island has entered a delicate balance. Jiang Zhen has preserved his social freedom as a "human being," while Zhao Yuan and others have preserved the power structure brought about by their "higher" positions.

A few days later, a new document was delivered to Jiang Zhen's desk.

This time, they didn't use those hellish stuff involving kneeling and bowing in reverence. The cover reads very elegantly: "License Agreement for Passage Through the High Seas".

"Sir, please take a look." Zhao Yuan smiled and offered a cigarette. "This time, we're going for an international approach. From now on, this money won't be called 'toll money' or 'maritime tax'—that's too rustic, like something a mountain bandit would do. We need to be civilized now and align with international standards. This is called 'Maritime Safety Management Fee'."

Jiang Zhen glanced at the document; it was simple: any merchant ship entering international waters must apply for a passage permit from New World. Those who paid the fee were free to navigate, and New World would provide protection; those who refused to pay would be classified as "illegal armed forces on the high seas" or "pirates," and New World had the right to conduct "humanitarian strikes."

"Same old wine in new bottles." Jiang Zhen exhaled a smoke ring, scribbled at the end of the agreement with his pen, and said, "Alright, send it to the whole world."

Although Jiang Zhen joined the maritime security alliance, he still had to collect the money. Although New World was not short of income, the scientists they were currently supporting were huge money-burners.

Ma Ben, on his end, immediately asks for all sorts of rare ores, measured in tons; Duanmu Ying, on the other hand, conducts life science research, using all sorts of sophisticated experimental instruments and culture media—they're all cutting-edge.

“Scientific research is indeed a money pit,” Jiang Zhen sighed. “Letting these foreigners share the cost is their contribution to human progress.”

Compared to the shifts in global maritime power and the implementation of high seas agreements, Jiang Zhen has something else that worries him more lately—something he doesn't really want to talk about with anyone, but which he can't completely ignore.

That morning, he wiped his face in front of the mirror, water running down his forehead. He glanced at the mirror subconsciously, then suddenly froze.

He noticed that his hairline seemed to have receded by a few millimeters.

"Tsk..." Jiang Zhen turned off the water and leaned closer to the mirror to examine himself carefully.

Although no law stipulates that a peerless hero must be dashing and cannot be bald.

But in order to maintain some of his idol image as the "Emperor of the Sea," he started going to Duanmu Ying's laboratory every few days.

"Take your hands away and don't move." Duanmu Ying, wearing a white lab coat, swayed her high ponytail behind her head as she looked at Jiang Zhen, who was sitting in the chair, with a look of disgust. She was already used to visitors like Jiang Zhen who never entered the lab and who always came with some kind of boring request.

Her slender fingers lightly touched Jiang Zhen's scalp, a faint red light flickering, and the power of her two hands instantly seeped in.

"Is it really that important, Jiang Dahai? Is a few strands of hair such a big deal to you?"

"Image, Yingzi, image is very important." Jiang Zhen closed his eyes, enjoying the tingling sensation of his hair follicles being reborn.

"If I went out on patrol with a Mediterranean-looking head, I'd be laughed to death."

“Your hair follicles aren’t completely dead, they’re just deteriorating because of the long-term exposure to wind, sun, and rain, plus the frequent late nights.” Duanmu Ying withdrew her hand. “I’ve repaired your hair follicles with my Double-Hand Technique, but you still need to rest. Although you have the Quanzhen Inner Alchemy Technique protecting you, your body is still made of flesh and blood, and no one can stop the natural decline.”

Jiang Zhen sat up from his chair and touched his hairline. The texture was definitely different—before, that patch of scalp felt a bit too smooth, but now he could feel a layer of very fine, newly grown downy hair. He tilted his head to look at himself in the small mirror hanging on the lab wall and nodded in satisfaction.

He listened to Duanmu Ying's words, but habits are hard to break.

One late night, he practiced a complete set of intricate internal operations of Conqueror's Haki and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit on a secluded beach on New World Island.

After finishing his practice, Jiang Zhen felt his blood surging. Although he didn't find anything seriously wrong, just to be on the safe side, he wanted to have a professional check his pulse.

It's too late; it doesn't seem appropriate to go find Duanmu Ying now.

Jiang Zhen thought of Lin Zhu and decided it would be better to go see her.

He returned to his post and quietly pushed open Lin Zhu's door.

The room was filled with a faint scent of herbs. Lin Zhu was wrapped in a thick quilt, fast asleep, curled up like a silkworm cocoon, with only a tuft of messy hair showing.

"Lin Zhu, Lin Zhu." Jiang Zhen walked over, squatted down by the bed, and poked the side of the silkworm pupa with his finger. The quilt was thick and soft to the touch, and the silkworm pupa inside didn't move at all. He poked it twice more, this time with a little more force, and the silkworm pupa finally moved—a very soft, muffled murmur came from deep inside the quilt.

Lin Zhu woke up groggily, still heavy with sleep. She opened her eyes, saw that it was Jiang Zhen, ignored him, turned over and went back to sleep.

"Don't sleep, do me a favor. Sorry to bother you." Jiang Zhen plopped down on the edge of the bed and started rambling, "I just tried using the vibration power to operate internally at the beach... but I felt the last few movements were a bit jerky, could you take a look?"

A moment later, Lin Zhu spun around in the blanket.

Jiang Zhen immediately understood what she meant, reached his hand under the covers, and found Lin Zhu's forearm in the blankets.

In the darkness of the bed, Lin Zhu placed her hand behind her back and took Jiang Zhen's pulse.

"How about it?"

After a while, Lin Zhu started scurrying around in the blankets again.

Jiang Zhen felt the pressure on his pulse disappear and breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm relieved that everything is alright. Okay, I won't disturb your sleep anymore, you can continue."

Jiang Zhen got up, tucked the blanket around her, and walked out of the room in a nonchalant manner.

Neither Jiang Zhen nor Lin Zhu noticed that a figure had been standing in the darkness for a long time outside the half-open window of the room.

Duanmu Ying's face was extremely distorted at this moment, her teeth were clenched so tightly that they made a grinding sound, and she squeezed out a very low growl from between her teeth.

"What the hell are these two up to?"

She'd been peering out the window for quite some time now, and it was always the same routine. Jiang Zhen walked into the room, talking to himself. Lin Zhu wriggled in the blankets for a moment—and he understood. She wriggled again—and he understood again. Lin Zhu hadn't said a word, yet Jiang Zhen could understand her meaning; it was extremely strange.

But the eerie scene continued without any progress.

Duanmu Ying watched Jiang Zhen's departing figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, then looked at Lin Zhu, who had curled up into a ball and fallen asleep again inside the room. A strange anger surged within her.