As the crowd marveled at what effect Ying Chen's action could possibly have, wondering if he could summon shrimp soldiers, crab generals, or dragon princes, a figure suddenly emerged from the depths of the ocean.
The figure strode across the waves as if an immortal emerging from the deep sea.
His long hair cascaded, and he sang a passionate song.
An unwritten romance and an ethereal aura radiated from him.
Simultaneously, the waves beneath his feet seemed to possess a spirit, surging and ebbing with his every step.
One step, one lotus bloomed.
Everyone was mesmerized by this ethereal scene.
Their eyes widened, eager to see who this true immortal emerging from the sea was.
But in the next second, a commotion erupted.
For this person was none other than He Chongxu!
He Chongxu held a staff, which he gently planted on the surface of the sea.
He floated on the water, standing leisurely.
He laughed heartily towards the crowd and shouted, "I have arrived!"
"Master Ying!"
Hearing He Chongxu's address, everyone's hearts sank.
They had initially thought He Chongxu might still have a chance to reconsider, to turn back.
Now, it seemed there was no hope left.
Because He Chongxu was already addressing Ying Chen as "Master Ying"!
Before, He Chongxu had only addressed Hidden Dragon Daoist as Uncle-Master, not even to the level of Master!
He Chongxu had even said that he had only one Master in his life, and his Master had died when he was thirteen.
At the time, everyone had praised He Chongxu's unparalleled filial piety.
Who would have thought that today, He Chongxu would turn around and call someone else Master?
Of course, the term "Master Ying" might not necessarily mean a biological father, just as others would call He Chongxu "Master He."
But at least the meaning was similar.
It represented that He Chongxu had completely allied himself with Ying Chen and severed all ties with the big players in Hong Kong!
Huo Sheng and the others looked at He Chongxu with heartbreak, shaking their heads repeatedly.
At the same time, a hint of mockery flickered in their eyes.
"I thought you had found some powerful helper, but it turns out to be He Chongxu!"
"Heh, I wonder what kind of potion you've fed him to make him believe he can match three warships."
"Who do you think he is? That big shot renowned for being able to replace three divisions? Bah! Don't dream!"
"Today, we'll send both of you to your deaths here!"
Huo Sheng pointed at both Ying Chen and He Chongxu, speaking sternly.
Ying Chen merely glanced at Huo Sheng from the side, without refuting him.
He turned his gaze to He Chongxu on the distant sea and asked, "Have you prepared what I asked you to prepare?"
He Chongxu bowed slightly to Ying Chen and replied, "Reporting to Master Ying, it is all prepared."
"Very good," Ying Chen nodded.
"Then let's begin!"
"Let our Mr. Huo, who sits in a well and views the sky, witness what it truly means to have people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens!"
"Your command shall be obeyed," He Chongxu bowed again.
Then, He Chongxu forcefully stomped his staff onto the sea surface!
The staff instantly pierced the water, and a force like a fired bullet shot rapidly across the sea.
It traveled hundreds of meters before abruptly stopping.
However, in the next second, that force reappeared.
Like a billiard ball hitting a cushion, it rebounded diagonally.
It traveled another few hundred meters before stopping again.
Then, the same scene repeated, bouncing off at a different angle.
In this manner, it bounced over a hundred times in the blink of an eye.
A strange and mysterious colossal outline gradually formed on the sea surface!
Once formed, the outline lingered, becoming clearer and clearer.
It was as if someone was using a brush to trace and deepen the outline repeatedly on the sea.
"What's going on?"
Huo Sheng and the others stared intently at the scene, their faces filled with bewilderment.
They instinctively felt something was wrong.
But they were neither martial arts masters nor members of the Xuanmen, so they couldn't pinpoint what exactly was amiss!
At this critical moment, Commander Lin reminded them, "Don't hesitate, Huo Sheng! Attacking Mr. Ying might affect all of us, but attacking He Chongxu won't!"
"Quickly order the warships to open fire and kill He Chongxu!"
"No matter what he's up to, if he's dead, he won't be able to do anything!"
Huo Sheng seemed to snap back from a daze.
He quickly clasped his hands towards Commander Lin and said, "Thank you, Brother Lin, for your guidance. Your words have awakened me from my dream!"
With that, Huo Sheng immediately connected to a communication device on his ear.
"Captain Wolin, I demand that you immediately eliminate this target!"
"Use whatever means necessary!"
"As long as it doesn't endanger the safety of the cruise ship!"
Soon, a response came back through the communicator: "As you wish, Mr. Huo."
Shortly after, the turret of one of the warships began to rotate.
Its direction was towards He Chongxu.
The turret rumbled as it spun, and the cannonball was loaded.
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a fiery streak cut through the night sky, hurtling like a shooting star!
The mere force of its passage created a terrifying gash in the air!
Not to mention the explosive effect upon impact.
It was predictable that if He Chongxu couldn't escape the blast radius, even a slight impact from the shockwave would bury him in this sea.
Huo Sheng and the others' eyes gleamed with excitement.
They all believed He Chongxu was doomed.
However, Ying Chen smirked and murmured, "To think you could kill He Chongxu with this, you underestimate the 'Three Disasters Tides Overturning Formation' I bestowed upon him!"
As soon as Ying Chen finished speaking, He Chongxu, seemingly trapped in a desperate situation, calmly raised his staff and waved it towards the incoming cannonball.
Rumble!
A bizarre scene unfolded.
From the deep sea, a colossal wave, as dark as ink, appeared!
This wave, as if obeying He Chongxu's command, rose from the depths, forming a water wall in front of him!
"Vajra!"
"Sealed!"
He Chongxu whispered.
The water wall instantly solidified, becoming as sturdy as diamond and glazed pottery!
Bang!
The cannonball struck the water wall with a deafening roar.
The supposedly indestructible cannonball failed to penetrate the water wall's defense!
Countless shrapnel fell like burning fireworks.
Ultimately, only a cloud of smoke remained in the air.
And He Chongxu still stood in his original position, staff in hand, exuding an ethereal aura.
"Huo Sheng, do you have anything more powerful?"
"You don't have just this much ability, do you!"
He Chongxu actually dared to provoke Huo Sheng!
Hearing this, Huo Sheng couldn't help but fly into a rage.
Suppressing his killing intent, he sternly addressed the communicator, "Captain Wolin, I don't want to see a second failure!"
"I'll give you one more chance!"
Clearly, Captain Wolin on the other end was also furious.
He said hatefully, "Don't worry, Mr. Huo. That was just an accident. This time, I'll leave him with nothing but ashes!"
"Heed my command, all main and secondary turrets, lock on target, fire!"
In his anger, Captain Wolin prepared to unleash full firepower to annihilate He Chongxu!
And the full firepower of a warship was indeed terrifying.
The reason warships are considered outdated in this era is merely due to their short range and weak defenses, not their firepower!
On the contrary, if a warship were to appear silently on the battlefield and sail within range, everyone would be filled with despair and await their demise!
"This is a bit dishonorable."
At this moment, Ying Chen looked at the poised warships' turrets and said lightly.
Then he shouted to He Chongxu, "Since they are being dishonorable, let's show them something formidable as well!"
"Understood!"
He Chongxu bowed to Ying Chen.
Then, he suddenly inverted the staff in his hand!
This seemingly insignificant gesture, however, was followed by a change that made everyone's faces turn ashen with horror!
A terrifying and profound eerie sound emanated from the deep sea, and the entire sea surface seemed to tilt and invert, uncontrollably surging to one side.
The sea, which had been calm moments before, instantly roared like an enraged beast.
Fierce winds whipped up waves, crashing down ferociously and recklessly.
The sound of crashing waves echoed repeatedly, splashing large plumes of white foam.
"Not... not good!"
At this moment, everyone on the cruise ship suddenly realized something was amiss.
The cruise ship, without anyone noticing, had begun to slowly tilt to one side!
In this short span of time, the cruise ship had already tilted by more than ten degrees!
Although ten degrees might not seem like much, on the sea, it was an angle sufficient to affect everyone's sense of balance!
The most critical point was that this was just the beginning!
The tilting of the cruise ship had not stopped and was continuing to tilt at an even greater angle!
This meant that if left unchecked, the cruise ship could at any moment reenact the tragedy of the Titanic!
Becoming the biggest maritime disaster of the new century!
Everyone was terrified.
At this moment, someone suddenly pointed at the sea ahead and screamed, "Look! What's happening to the Doton!"
Everyone subconsciously looked towards the distant Doton.
Then they gasped.
The bow of the Doton had actually lifted!
As if some enormous entity was attached to its stern, trying to drag the Doton into the abyss!
The tilt of the entire Doton was far beyond that of their cruise ship!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Even though the Doton was tilting, the turrets that had already received firing orders did not stop.
Cannonball after cannonball slid out of the barrels, transforming into dazzling streaks of fire that plunged into the sea.
The ship's tilt caused the previously calibrated coordinates of the turrets to become invalid.
All the cannonballs missed their target, turning into a fireworks display of explosions.
Worse still, the vibration from the turrets firing exacerbated the ship's tilt, causing the Doton to descend towards the seabed at an even faster rate!
As the bow of the Doton rose completely, everyone was horrified to discover: at some point, a colossal whirlpool had appeared in the sea beneath the Doton!
It was this whirlpool that caused the violent tremors on the sea surface, the tilting of the cruise ship, and the lifting of the Doton's bow!
"No! Captain Wolin! Respond, please respond!"
Huo Sheng cried out hoarsely.
However, there was no longer any response from Captain Wolin in the communication channel.
With such a massive overturning of the ship, the people on board were struggling for their own survival, let alone having the time to respond to Huo Sheng's calls!
Rumble...
The speed of the whirlpool's rotation began to accelerate.
He Chongxu stood on the sea surface, staff in hand, like a deity born from this sea.
With a flip of his hand, he could decide everyone's fate!
Even a powerful warship like the Doton was powerless against the terrifying force of nature!
Those who had been smug moments ago, believing He Chongxu was doomed against the warships, now felt a chill down their spines and their bodies grow cold.