Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Zhang Zhiwei stared silently at the contents of the Yin-Yang paper, his face expressionless. The actions of the Tiantong Church were even faster than he had anticipated.

"The storm is coming..."

A sigh came from behind him, and Zhang Jingqing appeared behind him without him noticing.

“Master!” Zhang Zhiwei did not turn around.

"Have you decided everything?" Zhang Jingqing walked to his side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, looking together at the endless sea of ​​clouds.

“There’s no way out,” Zhang Zhiwei said calmly.

Zhang Jingqing was silent for a moment, then said, "When the nation is in peril, even extraordinary individuals have a responsibility. This is a principle that has remained unchanged for thousands of years. Do you intend to take your fellow disciples with you?"

Zhang Zhiwei shook his head: "This battlefield is not suitable. Although I trained their ability to fight head-on in the inner world, even though the superhumans are strong, their individual strength is ultimately insignificant in the face of a steel torrent composed of thousands of guns, cannons, airplanes and warships. They are more suitable for carrying out some special missions."

"Therefore, this battlefield is not suitable for them. Strictly speaking, the northern battlefield is more suitable for them. If they have completed the test in the Guiyuan Formation and want to go down the mountain, then they should go to the northern battlefield. I will assign them a legion. They should be able to play their greatest role there."

"What legion?" Zhang Jingqing asked.

Zhang Zhiwei was silent for a moment, then said, "This legion hasn't been established yet, probably..."

He thought for a moment and continued, "It will probably take about another week!"

"You can accurately predict legions that haven't even been formed yet?"

Zhang Jingqing couldn't quite see through Zhang Zhiwei. At this point in time, not only China, but the whole world was in chaos. Heavenly secrets were hidden, and all kinds of deductions were invalid. Yet Zhang Zhiwei could see so clearly and so meticulously.

Zhang Zhiwei laughed and said, "After all, it concerns the safety of my fellow disciples, so we naturally have to be careful in some places."

"Do you think they'd be safer in that legion that hasn't been formed yet?" Zhang Jingqing asked.

"It's not so much about safety, but rather that many military units these days have a mixed bag of personnel. As their senior, I have to find them the best one, the one whose abilities won't be wasted," Zhang Zhiwei said.

Zhang Jingqing nodded: "Since you have a plan, then you can arrange this matter."

If the disciples were to go down the mountain to fight against the Japanese pirates, according to Zhang Jingqing's arrangement, they would definitely be recommended to work under some reliable generals they knew. Whether they would serve as bodyguards or scouts would depend on the generals' arrangements.

Longhu Mountain's reputation speaks for itself. As a Celestial Master, Zhang Jingqing had frequent interactions with high-ranking officials. For example, the former military governor of Jiangxi would come to Longhu Mountain every few days to ask Zhang Jingqing to hold a birthday celebration. Therefore, he knew many important figures.

However, seeing that Zhang Zhiwei had a plan, Zhang Jingqing felt relieved.

Zhang Zhiwei continued, "A week later, my junior brothers should be able to come out of the Guiyuan Formation one after another. I have an acquaintance in that legion. You might remember him. He is Zhang Sanjia."

Zhang Jingqing remembered: "Isn't that the last martial arts champion of the previous dynasty who came to the Celestial Master's Mansion to recognize his ancestors a few years ago?"

Zhang Zhiwei nodded: "It's him. I saw him once last year, and he has changed a lot."

Zhang Jingqing nodded: "Since you're one of us, then I can rest assured."

"What do you plan to do this time? Will you intervene personally like before?" Zhang Jingqing asked.

“Take it slow. If it were before, I would have personally fought my way through the entire match. But now, with a broader perspective spanning the past and present, and having seen more, I understand that each generation has its own wars. I…”

Zhang Zhiwei looked up at the sky: "I also have my own war, so I will take action, but not now."

Zhang Jingqing nodded with some satisfaction. That was why he had come. Seeing that Zhang Zhiwei already had a plan, Zhang Jingqing turned and left.

……

Not only the Celestial Master's Mansion, but other sects also took action. Although the Alliance of Extraordinary People did not form due to some sectarian prejudices, many sects still made the same choice without prior agreement.

The Japanese pirates are coming with overwhelming force, and their spies will certainly not stand idly by. There will undoubtedly be ninjas, onmyoji, and other lurking demons and monsters accompanying the army, carrying out assassinations and sabotage. They will protect this land, ensuring the pirates never return.

at the same time.

At the same moment the gunfire erupted at the airport, as if by an invisible command, the behemoth of war, utterly enraged, opened its blood-red eyes on the other side of the East China Sea.

At the Japanese naval port, at a command, the gray steel behemoths anchored in the harbor roared in a deep voice, their huge chimneys spewing out thick black smoke.

The anchor chain was pulled up by the winch, making a screeching sound. The massive fleet turned its bows, cleaved through the white waves, and menacingly rushed towards the mouth of the Yellow River.

Meanwhile, in the barracks of the naval base, alarms blared through the sky. Soldiers of the Japanese Navy's First Special Naval Landing Force, their swords honed to their sharpest edge, were rapidly donning their gear, collecting ammunition, and boarding the transport ships that were already waiting, with mechanical precision and efficiency.

Their faces were expressionless; they had been forged by militarism into weapons that knew only how to kill.

The person wielding these weapons was Admiral Takeshita Yujiro.

At this moment, he stood proudly at the bow of the flagship, his hand resting on the "Dojigiri Yasutsuna" tachi bestowed upon him by the Emperor, letting the sea breeze tousle his gray hair.

In recent years, he had actually already stepped down to the second line, just like Shigeo Onishima back then, no longer holding military power, but instead taking on some leisurely positions such as the head of a séance.

But he was not one to sit idle. During his time in the background, he integrated Aikido and gave it his full support, allowing it to develop rapidly within the Japanese army and cultivate a large number of loyal followers.

Upon learning of the impending major battle in Shanghai, he volunteered to participate and assured the active-duty naval admiral in charge that he would follow orders and would not vie for power. However, he had one condition: the Tian Tong Church must be eradicated completely.

Yes, that's why he volunteered to join the fight this time.

Back then, Zhang Zhiwei attacked Bincheng, bombed the railway company, killed Lieutenant General Fujita, and wiped out the newly formed elite army.

In his eyes, the murdered Fujita and his so-called elite troops were nothing but army idiots, a bunch of useless good-for-nothings, and their deaths were not worth regretting.

He didn't feel any regret. What he regretted was that he hadn't directly intervened in the battle to intercept and kill the young celestial master because he looked down on Lu Junmalu, thus leaving behind a major threat.

Later, this major threat destroyed the Navy's combined fleet in Shanghai, which greatly angered him and he remained resentful ever since.

Over the years, he'd always felt he'd been too narrow-minded, letting that young celestial master go because of a factional dispute, which had caused such a huge loss to the Navy. If he could turn back time, he would have rushed to their aid immediately and launched a manhunt. As for those army idiots who deserved to die, he'd let them commit seppuku.

After the battle began, he keenly sensed an opportunity through the Tiantong Cathedral. Since that was the case, he would make up for the regret of over a decade ago. He would lead his men into the Tiantong Cathedral, topple its statues, slaughter its followers, and force it out completely.

If we don't take that little celestial master's head, how can we be worthy of the title bestowed upon him by His Majesty the Emperor?!

Therefore, he is now leading a group of elite naval personnel, as well as Aikido masters he has carefully trained, heading towards the battlefield with murderous intent.

……

With a storm brewing, the authorities in Nanjing were unwilling to sit idly by in the face of the surging Japanese pirates. Orders had already been issued to seize the initiative and eliminate the Japanese pirates' fangs in Shanghai before their reinforcements arrived!

The prelude to war was suddenly drawn!

General Zhang's legion, serving as the iron fist of this operation, consisted of three elite German-equipped divisions and an independent brigade. Like tigers descending a mountain, they launched a decisive and comprehensive general offensive against the Japanese pirates entrenched in the city from the west, north, and south!

In the sky, Hawk fighter jets of the Shenzhou Air Force roared past, casting their vengeful fury upon the Japanese Marine Corps headquarters, Huishan Wharf, and the cruisers that were swaggering around Jiangshan.

The deafening explosion resounded through the sky, and flames and thick smoke shot into the heavens. This was the unleashing of national anger that had been simmering for ten years.

On the ground, shouts of battle shook the heavens and the earth. The initial focus of the offensive was on the Red Mouth District, the stronghold of the Japanese pirates.

The sounds of gunfire, grenade explosions, and heavy machine guns mingled together to create a symphony of death.

With the determination to succeed or die trying, the soldiers of China launched a massive offensive against the Japanese pirates' strongholds.

After several days of fierce fighting, good news and bad news arrived at the same time.

The elite soldiers of the German-equipped divisions fought bravely, overcoming numerous tough obstacles with their own flesh and blood, capturing a series of strategic points, and relentlessly pushing the front line forward, even venturing into brutal street fighting. They were like a sharp knife, piercing straight into the Japanese headquarters.

However, the initial victories of the Chinese army failed to break the Japanese pirates' will to resist.

The Japanese marines stationed there fought desperately, relying on their strong fortifications and powerful firepower.

They retreated to a defensive perimeter centered on the Marine Corps headquarters, and the battle became a stalemate.

Swallowing it down, this once bustling metropolis in the Far East has now become a giant grinding mill of flesh and blood.

Just as both sides were frantically pouring troops into this narrow battlefield, filling countless young lives into this bottomless abyss.

An order from the Tokyo Imperial Palace added fuel to the fire, and an army general was dispatched to the battlefield.

Meanwhile, multiple divisions gathered on Japanese soil. Their goal was no longer to hold out their strongholds, but to completely tear open the heart of China!
The atmosphere at the Nanjing Command Headquarters was as heavy as iron.

The Chairman frowned, staring at the small red dot of Shanghai on the map.

The battle reports from the front were not optimistic. Although the Japanese marines had been reduced in size, they were still difficult to completely eliminate with the support of naval guns.

The news of the Japanese pirates' large-scale reinforcement made everyone realize that the initial strategic plan of "quick victory" had failed.

But at this point, he cannot choose to back down.

"Damn it, fighting here is more advantageous for us than fighting on the northern plains!"

He pointed his baton heavily on the map: "Here, our supply lines are shorter! Here, we can counteract the mobility advantage of the Japanese mechanized forces to the greatest extent!"

"More importantly, this is the bustling metropolis of Shanghai, a place where the interests of various countries converge! Let's show them! Let those foreigners see our determination to resist!"

"As long as we can attract international intervention and force them to the negotiating table, we can win a 'glorious peace' and thwart the Japanese invaders' ambition to annex North China!"

This is a blatant scheme by a weak nation, and also a high-stakes gamble. They are placing the battlefield under the world's spotlight, using their own flesh and blood to wager the conscience and interests of the great powers.

Meanwhile, the other side of the bet revealed their sinister hand.

A massive fleet, centered around two battleships hailed as the strongest in the world, escorted the vanguard of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, numbering over ten thousand, sailing away from the Japanese mainland like a moving steel island, heading straight for them.

These troops landed from the flanks, like two sharp daggers, slicing open the battlefield from the left and right.

The tide of battle turned in an instant.

What was originally a siege turned into a brutal positional war and a war of attrition. The piecemeal tactics employed by both sides turned this place into the Verdun meat grinder of the East.

Once a bustling metropolis, glittering with neon lights and filled with song and dance, it has now become a bloodbath, a battlefield littered with cannon fire and corpses strewn across the land.

The struggle for every inch of land requires the sacrifice of hundreds or thousands of lives.

As the regular army's artillery fire tore open bloody gashes in the sky above Hongkou, another silent war was fiercely unfolding.

Inside the Peace Hotel, the three tycoons gathered. Huo Tianhong kept smoking, while Fire Cloud Evil God impatiently counted on his fingers. Compared to all this, he preferred to just kill people.

Lu Yusheng, dressed in a long robe, was standing in front of a huge map. He held no baton, only a slowly burning cigar.

But his gaze was very focused. On this map, there were no markings of army numbers or positions, but countless teahouses, docks, factories, and even brothels were densely circled with cinnabar and ink.

This is his battlefield, a battlefield he would rush to even if Zhang Zhiwei hadn't assigned him any tasks.

"Tell General Zhang that three squadrons of Japanese pirates will be relieved from Yangpu Wharf tonight, taking Huade Road, around midnight."

"There's another piece of news: the warehouses behind the yarn factory are a newly established ammunition supply point by the Japanese pirates, heavily guarded, but there's a hidden channel in the northeast corner that's only flooded during high tide."

"Have the brothers inform the rice and cloth shops in the city. The nation is in peril; those with money should contribute money, and those with strength should contribute strength. The soldiers on the front lines lack medicine, clothing, and food. Anyone who dares to profit from this national crisis shouldn't blame us for being ruthless!" (End of Chapter)