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

“Those are… magical artifacts? No, they’re all magical implements!” Zhao Huanjin pointed incredulously toward the inner harbor outside the window.

In mid-air, hundreds of silver metal spheres were seen moving rhythmically, carrying batches of heavy supplies into the underground warehouse without any tethering threads.

Jiang Ping calmly replied, "That's the 'Magnetic Qi Suspension Matrix.' One of Uncle Ma's masterpieces, which uses the Divine Refinement Technique to automatically program the operating rules of the magical artifact."

As everyone toured the site, their mouths grew increasingly agape.

Even Tian Jinzhong could not hide the shock in his eyes at this moment.

The last time I came here was during Jiang Zhen and Lin Zhu's wedding. Although it has been decades, so much has changed so quickly. Now, Jiang Zhen has not only built a power, but he has also used the methods of the supernatural and modern technology to stitch together a prototype of a civilization that is ahead of its time in the depths of the ocean.

"Uncle Jiang, this is truly unprecedented." Tian Jinzhong looked out the window at the New World residents who were walking briskly and full of energy, and was filled with emotion.

……

Meanwhile, Jiang Zhen first went to the medicine shop to find Lin Zhu. Just like when he left his hometown, Lin Zhu didn't say much after listening to him and asked someone to help her pack her luggage. She really wanted to go back to Tengshan to see it.

Jiang Zhen began to gradually gather his men.

This time, he wasn't interested in casually bringing a few people home to keep a low profile. His brothers had traveled a long way with him, and now it was time to return home in glory; how could he do something like this? Since that old bastard Zhang Zhiwei wanted to make a big fuss, he didn't mind adding fuel to the fire.

Some people, such as Duanmu Ying, Ma Benzai, Shuiyun, and Changqingren, needless to say, already returned every few months and each time they stayed for a month. When Jiang Zhen suggested setting off together, they immediately agreed.

They just didn't expect Zhang Zhiwei to be so bold. Jiang Zhen's status is such that his every move is under the world's scrutiny. This move of his might cause a major earthquake.

Subsequently, Jiang Zhen gathered another group of people.

These weren't the young captains of the fleet, nor the technical backbone of the research park, but rather those white-haired old men who hadn't worn the fleet uniform or touched a rope in a long time. They were the first batch of old brothers who followed Jiang Zhen across the ocean and settled down in the New World. Few of them are still alive today. The youngest here is over seventy.

Looking at these old faces, Jiang Zhen felt a pang of unease.

“Brothers, Zhang Zhiwei, the current Celestial Master of the Celestial Master’s Mansion at Longhu Mountain, has invited me to return to observe the Luotian Grand Ritual,” Jiang Zhen said.

"I'll accept the invitation, but I don't want to walk this road alone."

A moment of silence fell over the crowd. The old men looked at each other, but some of them had already guessed what was going on, their bodies trembling involuntarily.

"I've been thinking, now that life's better, I'd like to take everyone back for a visit." Jiang Zhen looked around. "Want to go back?"

When everyone heard the words "can go back to their hometown," they all froze in place. It wasn't that they hadn't thought about going back. No matter how good the new world was, with their wives and children by their side and their lives becoming increasingly prosperous, their homesickness was growing stronger and stronger.

They had never mentioned it to Jiang Zhen. They had followed Jiang Zhen out of the canal gang, and for decades, not a single person from top to bottom had ever voluntarily said, "I want to go back." It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they didn't want to give their superiors any reason to interfere.

"Up to the top..." An old man in the crowd stood up shakily, his eyes instantly reddening, and his lips moved several times before he could finish a sentence, "Are you serious? We—can we go back?"

"What kind of talk is that?" Jiang Zhen laughed and scolded. "I've never stopped you from taking them back. You didn't ask for them yourselves, and now you're blaming me for not letting them go?"

"Your turn!" Suddenly, a man stood up, tears streaming down his face. "How many people are with you? I... I want to take my grandchildren back with me. Those little brats were born in the new world, they've never even set foot on their homeland, they've almost forgotten who their ancestors were!"

“Yes, Shangzhi!” Another old man tremblingly supported himself on the table and echoed, his voice choked with sobs. “I want to go back too. I want to repair the gate of our ancestral home and tell our ancestors—I didn’t die out there, I made a name for myself with Shangzhi! I didn’t disgrace them!”

Jiang Zhen pressed his hands down, and after the crowd quieted down a bit, he said: "Go back, all of you go back, everyone go back. For the brothers who are no longer here, let their descendants go back. Not a single one can be left behind."

This group of people, who have lived in the New World for decades and have long regarded this place as their home, suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of homesickness when they heard the words "go back to our hometown."

The veterans became increasingly emotional as they spoke, some even wiping away tears. In the new world, they were heroes and elders, but deep down, the well of their hometown and the old alleyway remained a lingering knot in their hearts.

Huang Chunjie stood aside, watching the group of excited old men, and couldn't help but walk closer to Jiang Zhen, lowering his voice and saying, "Taking over, isn't this a bit too much of a commotion?"

Jiang Zhen retorted, "What's wrong with that? We need to go all out! I want them to go back in style, in a grand and imposing manner!"

"I want everyone to know that the brothers I trained are doing better than anyone else! They didn't follow the wrong person!"

Jiang Zhen's words resonated deeply, immediately igniting a burst of enthusiastic cheers.

"The superior is wise!"

"Go home! We want to go home!"

a few days later.

New World Port. The bugle call, silent for decades, once again pierced the sky. The massive fleet, whose names were recorded in the world's top secrets and which had not moved for decades, once again lit all its navigation lights in the morning light.

The massive fleet that had been silent for decades, and the man who had once again shaken the world, emerged from his reclusive daily life and stood at the bow of the flagship, stirring once more.

"Brothers! Let's go home!"

Jiang Zhen's voice, like rolling thunder, resounded throughout the entire new world.

"I'm home!!!"

The earth-shaking response resounded through the sky.

Countless old brothers stood on the deck, pointing to the distant east, and shouted to their children and grandchildren who had only ever seen the sunrise over the new world since birth: "Look over there! That's our old home! That's our root!"

The massive fleet began to set sail. This force, which had been dormant for decades, along with the will of one man, officially began its journey home toward the place called "hometown."

At the same time, all ships sailing at sea received the same brief announcement: the Emperor of the Sea is on a voyage, the waterway has priority, all ships must immediately retreat and must not obstruct him.

No explanation, no consultation, no room for refusal.

Chapter 128 Zhang Zhiwei Nearly Dies

Shortly after the fleet from the New World set sail, Tian Jinzhong and his group had already departed ahead of them and had now returned.

Longhu Mountain, Celestial Master's Mansion.

As dawn broke, the stone steps in front of the mountain gate were still slightly damp. Zhang Zhiwei was already standing there, pacing back and forth, occasionally glancing down the mountain path.

"They're here! They're here!" a young Taoist priest guarding the gate shouted, pointing down the mountain.

Then, Tian Jinzhong, leading a group of elite soldiers including Zhao Huanjin, Dong Ying, and Zhang Qianhe, appeared at the edge of the horizon, looking travel-worn.

Zhang Zhiwei's eyes lit up, and he immediately strode forward to meet him. But after only two steps, he abruptly stopped.

Those eyes, which should have been deep and reserved, swept quickly over Tian Jinzhong and his group. They had brought several suitcases with them when they left, and when they returned, they had the same few suitcases, and they even looked lighter.

"Senior brother." Tian Jinzhong stepped forward and was about to bow when Zhang Zhiwei stopped him.

"Where are the things?" Zhang Zhiwei asked in a low voice, a hint of anticipation in his tone.

Tian Jinzhong was taken aback by the question and asked in confusion, "What is it?"

"What did you mean?" Zhang Zhiwei said directly, "Where did you go? That's the New World! A place overflowing with wealth! You went there, and he, as your senior apprentice and advisor, didn't he give you anything? Didn't he let you take any local specialties? And you just came back empty-handed?"

The disciples around him looked at each other, and finally all turned to look at Tian Jinzhong.

Tian Jinzhong gave a wry smile and said helplessly, "Senior brother, what kind of relationship do we have with our senior uncle? Why are we still playing that formality of giving gifts? Besides, when we went there, you didn't ask us to bring anything with us. It's a matter of giving and receiving gifts back and forth. How could we go empty-handed and then shamelessly bring something back?"

"Foolish! Utterly foolish!"

Zhang Zhiwei looked heartbroken and slapped his thigh, shouting, "How can this be the same? That's Jiang Zhen! He's known as the Emperor of the Sea. He's incredibly wealthy. Even a hair on his head is thicker than the waist of our Longhu Mountain! How much wealth do we Longhu Mountain have?"

"Give us back our gifts. We used all the money to buy you tickets to the New World. By the way, what about the travel expenses... did he reimburse you for them?"

The group shook their heads in unison.

"What a huge loss!" Zhang Zhiwei clutched his chest, as if his heart was really hurting. "I went to the world's richest man's house, and they didn't even bring back the leftovers from his meal for me to try."

He wasn't giving up, staring at Tian Jinzhong again and asking, "Really nothing? Not even a small trinket?"

Everyone shook their heads again in unison, their movements remarkably synchronized.

Zhang Zhiwei's face instantly fell. He stretched out his hand and beckoned to Zhao Huanjin with his finger: "Give me the invoice."

Zhao Huanjin was bewildered: "What invoice?"

“The receipts for the ship tickets! And the receipts for all the meals, hotels, and taxis you’ve taken along the way!” Zhang Zhiwei said irritably. “When that old bastard arrives, I’ll have to confront him and demand payment. Also, while it’s not too late, you should quickly contact the shipping company and have them issue a few extra tickets to include our food expenses over the past few years.”

Tian Jinzhong watched his senior brother's eagerness to rob a rich man and was utterly speechless.

“Senior brother, more important than these small change is how to deal with our uncle’s arrival.” Tian Jinzhong’s expression turned serious.

Zhang Zhiwei waved his hand casually and said, "What's there to worry about? No matter how high Brother Jiang's status or how special his identity is, I'll stick to the fact that he only came back this time at my personal invitation to participate in the grand Taoist event, to witness the Luo Tian Grand Ritual, and it was purely a reunion with an old friend."

Tian Jinzhong sighed: "Uncle-Master did come to reminisce. But he didn't come alone; he brought others with him."

"Oh well, so what?" Zhang Zhiwei said dismissively. "With his status, it's perfectly normal for him to bring a few attendants and nephews."

Tian Jinzhong didn't reply. Zhang Zhiwei, observing Tian Jinzhong's expression, tentatively asked, "Did you bring... a dozen or so?"

Tian Jinzhong shook his head.

"Dozens?"

Shake head.

"Several hundred?"

Tian Jinzhong shook his head again.

Zhang Zhiwei frowned, a hint of unease creeping into his eyes: "It can't be several thousand, can it?"

Tian Jinzhong's expression grew increasingly grave.

Zhang Zhiwei was completely uncertain and asked in a low voice, "How much exactly?!"

Tian Jinzhong took a deep breath and said, word by word, "Conservatively speaking, there should be several hundred thousand. They even used a large fleet that hadn't been deployed for decades. We only heard when we left that all the brothers who went to sea with him, and their descendants, whoever wanted to return, were brought along without exception. The ships were already moving."

"Cough—cough cough!"

Zhang Zhiwei coughed violently and almost died on the spot.

Before Zhang Zhiwei could recover from the shocking news, Zhang Lingyu was rushing over from a distance.

Zhang Lingyu, this cotton ball that popped out of the gutter in the Celestial Master's Mansion, who usually values ​​etiquette and is as gentle as jade, was now running around in a sweat, and his flowing long hair was a little messy.

"Master—something terrible has happened!" Zhang Lingyu rushed to Zhang Zhiwei's side, not even having time to bow, clutching a phone that was still vibrating wildly in her hand. The caller ID on the screen had become a long scrolling bar. "Something terrible has happened!"

Zhang Zhiwei was in a state of agitation at the moment: "What's the panic! The sky hasn't fallen yet!"

"It's...it's the leaders!" Zhang Lingyu said urgently. "Your cell phone hasn't stopped ringing since this morning, your landline has been ringing off the hook, and even...even some high-ranking leaders who you usually only see on the news have called you personally. They specifically asked for you by name, and their tone was more and more serious than the last."

Zhang Zhiwei's heart skipped a beat, and he tentatively asked, "Did you answer? Did they say what it was about?"

Zhang Lingyu swallowed hard and said, "They said that the grand fleet of the New World has set sail. After inquiring from various sources, the fleet clearly replied that the Emperor of the Sea has returned to attend the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony at your 'sincere invitation'!"

"Right now, many of the leaders are on their way to Longhu Mountain. They want to find you... to question you! To ask you what kind of invitation you sent to that 'Sea Emperor' that enabled him to move such a large amount of wealth!"

Before Zhang Lingyu could finish speaking, her phone rang again, just after it had been hung up.

As Zhang Zhiwei listened to these words and stared at the chilling list of incoming calls on his phone screen, only one thought occupied his mind:

broken.

"Quickly, Lingyu, tell them I'm in seclusion, comprehending the Dao of Heaven, and not receiving guests!" Sweat was already beading on Zhang Zhiwei's forehead.