Republic of China era: A hundred-year-old still practicing martial arts? Is that right?

The mist on the river surface gradually dissipated.

Golden sunlight pierced through the clouds and spilled onto the river surface from the horizon.

Sunlight fell on the hull of the Jing-class ironclad warship, giving it a metallic sheen.

The barrels of the eight gleaming rapid-fire cannons exude a heavy, oppressive aura.

The sailors stood at the gun emplacement, their gray-blue uniforms crisp and straight, like a row of statues.

Lin Ji stood on the small sampan, his gray cloth robe fluttering in the river wind.

He looked up at the towering bridge, without the slightest hesitation in his eyes.

As soon as the sampan was brought close to the gangway, two sailors came forward to greet it:

"Excuse me, just in case, please unload your weapons before boarding!"

Just as the two men reached their hands into the air, Lin Ji released a slight burst of energy, and the two men felt a numbness in their wrists, forcing them to take two steps back.

"presumptuous."

A rough sound came from the gangway:

"Mr. Lin is my guest. All of you, get out of here."

The two sailors immediately stepped back and bowed in salute.

Lin Ji climbed the steps, his gaze sweeping over the gun emplacements on the side of the ship.

Piles of ammunition were stacked to the side, indicating a state of constant readiness.

The soldiers around me exuded a chilling aura that the city's garrison lacked; it was clear that this was an elite force that was constantly on standby, not some fancy local unit.

Zhang Zhengting stood at the top of the gangway waiting for him.

This was a military officer in his early fifties, with a straight back, a jawline as hard as if carved by a knife, and a fierce aura honed on the battlefield.

Upon seeing Lin Ji step onto the deck, he spoke in a booming voice:

"You're Lin Ji, the one who stormed the consulates of Japan and the West?"

Lin Ji looked up and met the other person's sharp gaze: "It's me."

"Good courage." Zhang Zhengting looked him up and down, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the bridge: "Come in and let's talk."

Inside the bridge command room, a large map of the Yangtze River waterway hangs on the wall, covered with dense red and blue markings, and several letters of commission are nailed next to it.

There's a long table in the picture, with an aluminum kettle and several iron cups on it, but not even a teacup.

Zhang Zhengting dragged over a chair and sat down, without any formalities, and went straight to the point:

"Jiangcheng is a necessary waterway for those heading south, and it will be affected to some extent when war breaks out. Today, we invited you aboard the ship, hoping you would do us a favor and use your status to pressure the people in the city to make way for me to head south."

He looked up at Lin Ji and said, "I'll get straight to the point. My purpose in coming south is solely to suppress the rebels of the National Salvation Association. I don't care about anything else. As long as you agree, I guarantee I won't touch a single brick or tile in Jiangcheng."

Lin Ji's eyebrows twitched slightly. He neither confirmed nor denied it, but simply looked up at the other man: "Admiral, are you sure what you're saying?"

"Of course it's true," Zhang Zhengting laughed. "I swear here that the navy will never land on the shore without authorization to disturb the people, nor will it fire a single shot to harm the innocent."

"How can I be sure that what the Admiral says is true?" Lin Ji had a plan in mind. He had observed the man's demeanor and found him to be fairly upright.

"Hahaha, old sir, with this warship we're on, if I wanted to get through Jiangcheng, even a master cultivator might not be able to stop me!" Zhang Zhengting laughed loudly and slammed his teacup on the table.

Lin Ji thought to himself, "That's true!"

……

As the two were talking, the situation in the city was quietly changing.

The unrest among the displaced people at the south gate has subsided considerably.

Li Shuwen, along with his brothers from the Xinghua Society and the city's garrison, identified seven or eight displaced people who had led the uprising.

Liang Yanqing had been squatting to the side interrogating for a long time, and when he came over, his expression was grave:

"It's been investigated and found that they were all spies planted by the National Salvation Association, mixed in with the refugees to stir up trouble."

Li Shuwen frowned and glanced towards the south of the city: "What about the rest of the city? No movement?"

"It's a bit strange. There's a gang in the south of the city that has built its own fortifications." Liang Yanqing's tone was somewhat complicated. "They're called the Green Robe Gang. A bunch of thugs are guarding the street corners, stopping the refugees and preventing them from rushing in to rob. It seems they're protecting the people in their own territory."

Li Shuwen was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled, "This old fox has a trick up his sleeve!"

In the streets and alleys of the south of the city, Du Qingyi, dressed in a black short jacket, stood behind the fortifications.

The gang members around him all carried knives, their eyes scanning the street corner warily.

An elderly woman carrying a child stumbled over, and the helpers stepped aside to let her into the safe zone behind them.

Du Qingyi looked up at the ironclad warship in the middle of the river, then glanced in the direction of the city gate, and said in a serious tone, "Keep an eye on the street corner and don't let any unauthorized people in."

……

On the ship.

Zhang Zhengting pointed to the location of Guanghua on the map with his fingertip, and frowned as he said:

"He Ze was a notorious madman back in the chaos of war. He's capable of anything when he's desperate. Back then, he even dared to breach the riverbank to seize territory, flooding three villages. Now that he's determined to rebel, who knows what kind of evil scheme he's plotting..."

Before he could finish speaking, the guard's voice suddenly came from outside, sharp and urgent, shattering the tranquility of the ship:

"Report to the Admiral! Twelve merchant ships are rushing down at full speed from upstream! Black smoke is billowing from their hulls, and they're heading straight for us!"

Zhang Zhengting suddenly stood up, strode to the lookout point, grabbed the binoculars, and looked upstream.

In the morning mist, twelve dark figures rushed down the river at great speed, with wisps of black smoke rising from their bows.

The ships were positioned very close together, clearly not giving these large ships any chance to escape.

"You bastard! This is going to blow us up!" he cursed, slamming his fist on the bulwark. "With this much explosives, not only will our three warships be blown to bits, but Jiangcheng itself will probably be half-submerged. They're using civilians as scapegoats! He Ze, that bastard, is utterly despicable!"

Lin Ji also walked to the side of the ship, his brows furrowed as he watched the approaching ship upstream.

His worst fears have come true.

Everything Jiang Yunhe said is true.

He Ze had no intention of occupying the city; what he wanted was to sink the Jing-class ship and cut off the government's naval arm.

As for the people along the river, and the life or death of Jiangcheng, he didn't care at all.

The ship immediately sprang into action, with messengers running around and soldiers quickly taking their positions at the gun emplacements. The gun covers were all removed, and the gun muzzles were slowly raised to aim at the upstream channel.

The loader, holding the shell, crouched beside the gun emplacement, waiting for the order.

The air tensed instantly, like a fully drawn bow, ready to be released at any moment.

Everyone knew that once this shot was fired, it would be an earth-shattering explosion.

Whether it will sink enemy ships or shatter half of Jiangcheng, no one can say for sure.

Zhang Zhengting clenched his jaw tightly, the veins on his hand holding the binoculars bulging, caught in a long dilemma.

On one side were their comrades-in-arms who had risked their lives together, and on the other side were tens of thousands of innocent civilians on the shore.

This multiple-choice question is too heavy.

Chapter 237 The Realm of Transcendental Control over the River: There is a deity on the river!

"How far is it?"

Zhang Zhengting asked in a deep voice, his voice drowning out the noise on the ship.

"Reporting to the Admiral! Only three miles left! At this speed, they'll be upon us in a quarter of an hour!" The lookout's voice carried a hint of panic.

Zhang Zhengting gripped the railing on the boat tightly.

He had fought for thirty years and had never seen anyone like He Ze who treated human lives like dirt.

If he dares to order the cannons to fire, the moment those twelve merchant ships, laden with explosives, are hit, a massive explosion will occur. The shockwave will sweep across the river, collapsing all the docks and houses along the riverbank, and countless civilians will be buried with them.

He remembered the flood He Ze caused in the north back then, and he watched with his own eyes as tens of thousands of people were drowned in the city.

He would never forget the feeling of helplessness that came with it.

But what if we don't fire the cannon?

Once the explosives ship gets close, his three ironclad warships will be blown to smithereens.

Hundreds of brothers on board would all perish at the bottom of the river.

These are his old brothers who have followed him for more than ten years. They fought from the north to the south and have been through thick and thin together. How could he bear to part with them!

On one side are comrades-in-arms, and on the other side are innocent civilians.

How should I choose?

"Don't fire!" Lin Ji's voice suddenly rang out.

Zhang Zhengting suddenly turned his head, his eyes sharp as knives:

"Not fire? Are we just going to let them crash into us? Are we playing with the lives of my brothers?"

"Fire! The people on the riverbank will all be doomed." Lin Ji looked at the merchant ships upstream, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Give me some time. I can keep these ships stuck in the open part of the river. We can deal with them then. It won't hurt the people or your brothers."

"You?" Zhang Zhengting was stunned for a moment, staring at him for three seconds.

He himself was a master of the late stage of internal strength, and he had seen masters of internal strength like Li Shuwen make their moves. Even the most powerful martial arts masters had never seen them confront explosives and shells head-on.

But when he looked at Lin Ji, his eyes were resolute, and there was not a trace of a joke in Lin Ji's eyes.

His gaze swept over the densely packed houses along the riverbank, and thinking of the elderly and children hiding inside, he suddenly gritted his teeth:

"Alright! I'll give you ten minutes! If I can't stop them by then, I can only protect the brothers on the ship. Don't blame me."

He turned and roared, "All cannons, stand by! Do not fire without my order! Lifeboats, prepare to rescue Mr. Lin!"

The order was given, and the ship fell silent once more.

All eyes were on Lin Ji.

Lin Ji didn't say anything more. He took a deep breath, touched the side of the gunwale with his toes, and leaped out.

Zhang Zhengting looked at his back, and for a moment, Lin Ji seemed to merge into the whole world.

The gray cloth long gown was suddenly blown open by the river wind, like outstretched wings.

The Yin-Yang Jade Pendant in his mind began to rotate, stimulating the Heavenly Evolution Injection within his body.

He lightly touched the crest of the wave with his toes, and without sinking even an inch, he remained suspended above the river surface.

Beneath his feet flowed the surging river, behind him stood the imposing ironclad warship. Though not particularly tall, his figure seemed nailed to the heavens and the earth.

The people who were running towards the city on the shore stopped in their tracks, staring blankly at the figures on the river. Some rubbed their eyes, thinking they were seeing things.

A teenager pointed at the river, his mouth agape for a long time before he finally blurted out, "A deity..."

Zhang Zhengting held his breath, his grip on the railing tightening.

All the sailors on the ship stared wide-eyed, forgetting to breathe.

Lin Ji slowly opened his arms, palms facing down.

He unleashed all the internal energy within his body, pouring it out from his palms, and whispered a command:

"Hidden Dragon Abyss!"

Instantly, ripples spread across the river, centered on him.

Followed by.

He calmed himself down and his breathing gradually slowed.

He absorbed the speed and direction of the surrounding river into his mind.

He gently patted the water's surface with his palm, creating another ripple. He slightly opened his eyes, watching the water's flow and muttering to himself:

"I hope it works! Let me trust you this once!"

"The sky is clear, but the earth is murky!"

moment.

The undercurrents beneath the surface secretly changed course, causing the water currents to collide with each other.

The already turbulent upstream channel suddenly surged with waves, and a wave as tall as a person crashed against the ship's side.

As Lin Ji pressed down with his palm, the surging river water seemed to be held back by an invisible hand!

The water flow slowed down suddenly, the waves subsided, and even the sound of the waves crashing became softer.

The fish swimming in the river all floated on the surface, as if they were frozen in place, forgetting to wag their tails.

The twelve explosive boats that were rushing downstream suddenly slowed down and swayed on the river, unable to make any progress.

"Holy shit..."

On the Jing-class warship, an old soldier saw this scene and couldn't help but mutter a curse.

Not only him, but everyone was stunned.

Even Zhang Zhengting's mouth was slightly open, his face filled with shock.

He had fought half his life, seen masters and extraordinary people, but he had never seen such a spectacle.

Can one person single-handedly stop the flow of the river?

This isn't just martial arts; it's practically divine intervention.

"Damn... is this the realm of perfection?" he murmured to himself, his eyes filled with shock and undisguised admiration.

"Damn, this is truly eye-opening! I've been leading troops for thirty years, and today I've really seen something new."

His adjutant whispered, "Admiral, it seems... Mr. Lin is no ordinary man. No wonder the rumors about his skills are so incredible."

Zhang Zhengting nodded. He didn't say anything more, but he already had a plan in mind.

Inside the city, on a towering building in the south.

Du Qingyi stood at the very top, staring at the figure suspended on the river, and he was momentarily stunned.

When did Lin Ji become this powerful?!

He had long known that Lin Ji was highly skilled in martial arts, so much so that he could suppress all the forces in Jiangcheng and prevent them from making any rash moves.

But I never expected it to be this high.

The gang members nearby were also dumbfounded, stammering, "Boss... this... this is Mr. Lin? This is too..."

Du Qingyi came to her senses and slowly said, "Activate the defenses, leave two people to guard the street corner, and the rest of you go out to help the people on the east side evacuate the elderly and weak."

"Huh?" The gang member was stunned. "Didn't we say we wouldn't interfere?"

"Stop talking nonsense." Du Qingyi glanced at him.

Soon, the Green Robe Gang members opened their defenses, helped the elderly and carried the children, and headed towards a safe area in the south of the city.

On the river, Lin Ji's figure swayed slightly.

Trying to control the river with human strength is ultimately going against the will of Heaven, and one's internal energy is being depleted very quickly.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped down his chin, soaking a large area of ​​the back of his long robe.

The lead boat on the river was already emitting sparks from its bow, making the deck glow red.

The water flow that had been held back began to show signs of recovery, and the river water was beginning to surge again.

He won't last much longer.

Just then, the roar of a motor came from downstream, growing louder as it approached.

Lin Ji turned his head to look.

A fast boat cut through the waves at full speed, its bow cleaving through the water and splashing water more than ten feet high.

Shen Jinluan stood at the bow of the ship, dressed in a close-fitting outfit, her long hair tied back, gripping the rudder in her hand, her eyes sharp as an eagle.

She arrived with the water patrol team.

Lin Ji breathed a long sigh of relief.

I finally made it.