44: Chapter 44 I am Jiang Hanzhou!

These were no ordinary arrows.

The White Dragon Gang had clearly emptied their coffers and exhausted every malicious scheme for this night.

The first wave, tearing through the rain and mist, consisted of triangular armor-piercing arrows designed specifically to shatter Protective Aura and Iron Bone Realm defenses; the arrowheads were a ghostly blue, quenched in a deadly cocktail of poisons that killed upon drawing blood.

Following closely behind were barbed grappling arrows, their tails attached to oil-soaked thick cables; once they pierced the hull or a human body, they were like maggots boring into bone, impossible to shake off, and designed for subsequent dragging and control.

Then came the incendiary arrows.

The arrowheads were wrapped in cotton soaked in fierce fire oil, ignited in mid-flight by flint on the shaft, transforming into streaks of flowing fire trailing black smoke, aiming directly at the light boat itself!

A rainstorm of arrows was unleashed simultaneously from at least twenty different directions!

Interwoven from above and below, sealed from the left and right, and flanked from front and back.

The sharp whistling of arrowheads piercing the air merged into one, almost drowning out the sound of the wind and rain, forming a metallic storm of death that made one's scalp crawl!

"Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft—!!"

"Thud! Thud-thud!"

"Boom! Whoosh—"

The armor-piercing arrows easily punched through the thin boat planks, making dull thuds as they embedded into the wood.

The grappling arrows embedded deeply, and the cables instantly pulled taut.

The incendiary arrows nailed themselves to the gunwales and the roof; the fierce fire oil did not extinguish upon contact with water, but instead "boomed" into an even larger burst of flame, greedily licking at everything flammable.

In an instant, the light boat was pinned into a hedgehog by countless arrows and swallowed by the rapidly spreading flames, turning into a fiercely burning, crackling fireball in the middle of the river!

Thick smoke mixed with water vapor billowed into the sky, and the firelight dyed the rain curtain and mist for dozens of feet around into an eerie orange-red.

Dead silence.

The arrow rain came fast and left just as quickly.

When the last arrow plunged into the flames or the river, only the crackling of the burning wreckage and the dull sounds of wood snapping and collapsing within the fire remained on the river surface.

The flickering firelight illuminated the swirling mist and the pitch-black water, highlighting an eerie tranquility that felt like the calm after a catastrophe.

On the shore, thousands of onlookers were deathly silent.

Many people had their mouths agape, yet could not make a sound in their throats.

That devastating volley, that barrage with no room for escape, had thoroughly shocked them.

Before the White Dragon Gang's meticulously prepared, cost-no-object kill zone, individual martial prowess seemed so insignificant.

"Is… is it over?" someone whispered hoarsely.

"He must be dead… no one could survive under that kind of arrow rain…"

"Even the boat has been burned to nothing…"

Sighs and whispers gradually arose.

Filled with regret, fear, and even more so, a deep dread of the White Dragon Gang's ruthless methods and formidable strength.

Under the shelter of the Canglang Water Dock, Dock Master slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, his eyes filled with gravity.

He whispered to his pale-faced son, Hong Zhen, beside him: "Did you see that? This is how Bai Tianxiao operates. He either doesn't move, or when he does, it is with the force of a thunderbolt, leaving no room for error. That Li Feiyu… what a pity."

Hong Zhen swallowed, nodding subconsciously. The admiration he had previously felt for "Li Feiyu" had been washed away by the cruel scene of annihilation before his eyes, leaving only a deep fear of the White Dragon Gang.

Even the Patrol Inspection Division soldiers maintaining order in the distance, who were watching coldly, had their leading officer frowning and gripping his sword hilt tightly.

The armed strength and ruthless style displayed by the White Dragon Gang had exceeded the scope of ordinary Jianghu vendettas, making even the government feel vaguely uneasy.

In the middle of the river, several White Dragon Gang speedboats hidden in the mist slowly approached the burning wreckage. The minor leader standing at the bow wore a ferocious sneer and waved his hand to order: "Stop! The fire is too big, be careful! Wait until it burns down a bit more, then go into the water and fish him out! I want to see a person if he's alive, or a corpse if he's dead! The priority is that tiger soul saber! The Gang Leader has ordered that the tiger soul saber must be brought back!"

The command was clear, carrying the cruelty of someone who believed victory was already in hand.

A sudden change!

Just as the minor leader's voice died away— "BOOM—!!!!"

At the center of the burning wreckage, as if a sleeping prehistoric beast had suddenly awakened, an earth-shattering power erupted!

It was not an explosion, but it was more shocking than one!

All the arrows and grappling hooks nailed to the hull, and all the burning planks and tarpaulins, were in that instant blasted outward from within by a pure, domineering, and unrivaled force!

Not shattered… but blown away!

Countless burning or charred wood fragments, wrapped in twisted arrow shafts and broken grappling hooks, shot out in all directions like gravel struck by an invisible giant hammer!

The speed was so great that it brought with it a shrill whistle!

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

The few White Dragon Gang speedboats that were close by bore the brunt of the impact. Their hulls were riddled with holes by the flying wood fragments, and the gang members on board screamed as they were struck and fell into the water.

And at the center of the explosion, a thick, charred piece of the bottom hull that still maintained its general shape, like a shield thrown by a giant, crashed through the flames and thick smoke, smashed aside the floating debris, and stood steadily upon the water!

A figure stood barefoot on the charred boat plank that was still standing on the river waves.

The coir raincoat had long since turned to ash in the previous explosion, and the bamboo hat was also nowhere to be found.

He just stood there, his coarse cloth short-sleeved outfit soaked through and clinging to his body, outlining smooth and explosive muscle lines.

There was not a single scratch on his body.

Even the tiger soul saber carried on his back, and the inconspicuous pouch at his waist, were completely intact, merely soaked by water.

Water droplets mixed with wood ash rolled off his jet-black short hair, broad shoulders, and firm arms.

The exposed skin, under the reflection of the distant firelight and the faint light from the sky, presented a texture that was as warm and smooth as jade, yet faintly glowing with a pale golden sheen, completely intact, without even the slightest red mark.

The deadly arrow rain just now, which was enough to shoot an Iron Bone Realm Martial Artist into a sieve and severely injure a Viscera Burning Realm expert, had failed to harm him in the slightest!

He slightly raised his head.

His gaze was calm, yet contained a coldness like ice from the bottom of the river, piercing through the thinning smoke, sweeping across the panicked White Dragon Gang boats, toward the larger, looming black shadows in the mist in the distance, and finally, seemingly casually, grazing the deathly silent crowd on the shore illuminated by the firelight.

Just a moment ago, when the arrow rain descended upon him in that narrow boat, he had not dodged.

With his Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill at Major Achievement, the Physical Body brought about by the initial Formation of his dao bone had skin, tendons, and fascia far tougher than metal, his internal organs were as stable as a furnace, and his Qi and blood spontaneously protected his body, condensing into substance.

Those armor-piercing arrows struck him as if they had hit a mountain wall cast from hundred-refined steel; the arrowheads shattered, and the shafts snapped!

But to prevent his clothes from being damaged.

He drew the tiger soul saber that had not yet warmed up.

The blade light did not shine brightly; it simply followed the tiny tremors of his wrist, weaving a dense, impenetrable dark golden curtain of blade light around him.

Every arrow shot at him, the moment it touched the blade curtain, was shattered and deflected by the Saber Qi—which contained the immense power of the Dragon and Tiger and the sharpness of blood-evil—sending them into the cabin or the river.

Though the arrow prison was terrifying, it could not even make him retreat half a step.

"Ho… how is this possible?!" "He didn't die?!" "He's completely unharmed?!" "Monster! He is a monster!"

The White Dragon Gang members near the burning wreckage saw it first and immediately erupted in terrified uproar as if they had seen a ghost; some of the cowardly ones even backed away repeatedly, nearly falling into the river.

On the shore, the dead silence was shattered by an even greater wave of sound!

"Whoa—!!!"

Shouts of astonishment, horror, and disbelief swept across the shore like a tsunami!

"He blocked it!" "He blocked it all!" "Unscathed! My god! What kind of hard-training skill is this?" "That tiger soul saber! The way he swung that tiger soul saber… I couldn't even see it!" "Li Feiyu! He really is Li Feiyu!"

Someone among the gamblers screamed frantically, their eyes bloodshot, unable to tell if it was from fear or excitement.

Dock Master stepped forward abruptly, his pupils constricted, staring fixedly at the figure standing on the boat plank in the middle of the river. All his previous judgments and sighs were now shaken to the core by this unbelievable scene.

His son, Hong Zhen, was even more dumbfounded, his mouth wide enough to fit a fist.

"Swish…" Suddenly, several large warships broke through the outer wall of mist and arrived.

Each one was several times larger than the previous speedboats, with iron-clad hulls and heavy rams at the bows. The decks were crowded with figures, their presence powerful; they were clearly the elites of the White Dragon Gang, and many of them had Qi and blood fluctuations that had already reached the Viscera Burning Realm!

The three giant warships formed a "pin" Formation, completely sealing off this stretch of the river. Huge shadows were cast, making Jiang Hanzhou and the lone plank beneath his feet appear even smaller.

On the bow of the largest warship in the center, a figure stood like a mountain.

He was not wearing a magnificent brocade robe, but a simple dark black martial outfit. Yet standing there, he seemed to be the center of the entire river surface; all the mist, firelight, and even the surging undercurrents seemed to bow before him.

It was none other than the White Dragon Gang leader, Bai Tianxiao!

His face was as cold and hard as iron and stone, his short beard like halberds, and his tiger eyes, though still bloodshot, had now settled into a killing intent like a ten-thousand-year-old cold pool.

The aura around him was held in check, yet it made the surrounding air thick and heavy, with a low, rumbling sound like an evil dragon lurking, echoing within his body.

His gaze, like a tangible blade, crossed dozens of feet of river surface, firmly locking onto Jiang Hanzhou on the boat plank.

Bai Tianxiao spoke. His voice was not loud, but it drowned out the wind, rain, the crackling of the flames, and the noise on the shore, clearly spreading in all directions, carrying unquestionable majesty and monstrous hatred: "Li Feiyu."

Every word seemed to be spat out from between his teeth, soaked in blood and ice.

"You killed my only son, slaughtered my Guest Elder, and insulted the prestige of my gang… Today, this Old Stork Bay shall be your burial ground!"

He slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread wide, as if he wanted to grasp the entire center of the river in his palm and crush it.

"This Gang Leader will… slice you inch by inch on this river, feed your flesh to the fish, sink your bones into the mud, and bind your soul to the bottom of the water forever!"

"With this, I console the spirit of my son Shiyu in heaven!"

"With this, I uphold the inviolable prestige of the White Dragon Gang!"

"With this… I warn all the petty villains of the Three Rivers Estuary!"

As his voice fell, the massive Qi of dozens of Viscera Burning Realm experts on the three warships rose simultaneously, like invisible shackles, layered upon layers, crashing down upon the lone figure in the middle of the river!

At least half of the Eight Great Vajras had come! And there were many of the White Dragon Gang's fierce, long-standing leaders!

This was a death trap, a naked display of power and authority!

Countless people on the shore felt their breathing stifled and their faces turn pale under the combined pressure of this terrifying aura, as if they too had become lambs waiting to be slaughtered in the trap.

Facing this monstrous power and the layers of locked-on killing intent, Jiang Hanzhou suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, barely moving the corners of his mouth, yet it made the cold light in his eyes suddenly become incomparably sharp, as if it could pierce through this heavy rainy night and reach straight into people's hearts.

He stepped forward.

The thick, charred boat plank under his feet sank slightly on the river surface, sending out a clear ripple.

Then, he spoke.

His voice was not particularly loud, but it strangely drowned out Bai Tianxiao's declaration, drowned out the river waves and the wind and rain, and was clearly delivered into the ears of everyone present, every word clear, like ice beads falling onto a jade plate, carrying a tone of indifferent judgment: "First—I am not called Li Feiyu."

He tilted his head slightly, looking at the boiling killing intent of Bai Tianxiao at the bow of the ship, his tone as flat as if he were stating what he had eaten for dinner.

"Lest you go to the King of Hell's palace later and cannot explain who sent you on your way."

He paused, ignoring the countless gazes around him that had suddenly become sharper and more incredulous, ignoring Bai Tianxiao's face, which had suddenly darkened like the prelude to a storm, and slowly spat out three words: "Remember, my name is—Jiang, Han, Zhou."

The moment the word "Zhou" left his lips, a sudden change occurred!

Jiang Hanzhou's chest swelled slightly, his abdomen sank, and his Qi and blood surged and gathered in an unprecedented way, condensing at a single point in his throat, creating a mysterious resonance with his Dantian blood pellet and his dao bones!

The Major Achievement secret technique, "Dragons Roar and Tigers Howl," was unleashed in dual force at this moment!

He did not open his mouth to roar, but merely vibrated his Adam's apple gently.

"Aung—Yin—!!!" A clear, high-pitched dragon roar, seeming to come from beyond the Nine Heavens and piercing straight into the depths of the Divine Soul, exploded first!

This sound ignored physical barriers and acted directly upon the mental consciousness of everyone present!

The Martial Artists and commoners watching from the shore, and even some gang members on the White Dragon Gang warships with lower cultivation and weaker wills, were instantly struck as if by lightning; their minds buzzed, their Qi and blood churned uncontrollably, their vision went black, and their minds were filled with boundless majesty and shock, causing them to almost lose the ability to think or act for a short time!

The dragon roar had not yet ceased when a deeper, more imposing, and violent tiger roar, as if a prehistoric beast were awakening, followed immediately! "Roar—!!!"

This sound was a real, tangible sonic attack!

The air was compressed into visible pale golden ripples, spreading madly in a spherical shape from Jiang Hanzhou as the center in all directions!

Wherever the ripples passed, raindrops were shattered, mist was rolled back, and the river surface was forcibly pressed into a huge depression!

Crack! Bang! Pfft—!!

The White Dragon Gang speedboats closest by had their hulls crack and shatter like paper under the impact of this sonic wave containing destructive power!

And what was even more terrifying was underwater! "Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft—!!!"

Beneath the river surface, clumps of thick blood suddenly exploded!

Those elites of the "Water Ghost Battalion" lurking in the water, preparing to ambush, as well as some gang members whose cultivation was below the Viscera Burning Realm and who were lurking relying on special equipment or breath-holding techniques, had their internal organs struck as if by a heavy hammer under this indiscriminate, highly penetrating tiger roar sonic attack; their eardrums and eyeballs burst, and they suffered intracranial hemorrhaging!

In an instant, large patches of scarlet appeared on the river surface, rapidly spreading and mixing with the burning embers and floating debris, a shocking sight!

One roar and one howl, a dual attack on the Divine Soul and the Physical Body!

On the shore, rows of people collapsed like wheat being harvested, fainting away, with not a few bleeding from their seven orifices.

Those who could still stand were all pale, teetering, and gazing in horror at the figure in the middle of the river who was like a demon god.

Even among the White Dragon Gang elites on the three giant warships, many with slightly inferior cultivation let out muffled groans, their Qi and blood churning, and their Formation's aura was thrown into chaos!

And just in the flash of lightning between the echoes of the "Dragons Roar and Tigers Howl" still lingering and the entire audience being stunned and distracted—Jiang Hanzhou moved.

The heavy boat plank beneath his feet exploded with a bang, not because it couldn't withstand the force, but because he had shattered it to gain leverage!

His figure transformed into a streak of black light that tore through the rain curtain and the afterimages of the sonic waves; the tiger soul saber on his back had somehow already been drawn half a foot from its scabbard, the dark golden blade dragging out a line of desolate, gorgeous blood-red light.

His target was aimed directly at the bow of the central warship, at Bai Tianxiao, who had just recovered from the shock of the dragon roar!