"That being said," Cheng Xiao mused to himself while looking out the window of the sedan, "the thought of Zhang Heng annihilating an entire unit with a bow and arrow feels deeply unsettling. Does this count as cold weapons overcoming firearms?"

Upon arriving in the Northeast, Cheng Xiao landed with a grand flourish, his Green Devil Skateboard touching down in a bustling coastal city dominated by a massive port. The entire region had fallen under occupation, with Japan aggressively developing and exploiting this crucial territory. Given Japan’s limited resources, manpower, and material wealth, sustaining its current enormous military apparatus was a strain. Thus, the Northeast was its lifeline, teeming with countless mechanical factories and material processing plants—a sprawling construction site, humming with activity. Yet... "Yet... the people being exploited here are all sons and daughters of China, aren't they?" Cheng Xiao maintained an outward calm, but his internal landscape was in turmoil. He had long known himself to be a quintessential hothead, someone who acted based on raw emotion rather than objective facts like Chu Xuan. He was just an ordinary person, like most members of the Central Continent Team; they were all just ordinary people.

Because Cheng Xiao’s landing had been so brazen, and he had lingered conspicuously in the busy downtown area, within minutes he was completely surrounded by a large patrol unit.

These soldiers were all mounted on motorcycles equipped with sidecars—a semblance of mechanized force. For some unknown reason, the moment they arrived, these soldiers began forcibly evacuating the surrounding crowds, while simultaneously training the heavy machine guns mounted on their motorcycles directly at Cheng Xiao.

Their demeanor suggested they viewed him as an overwhelming threat, showing none of the composure one might expect when heavily outnumbering an opponent. In reality, ever since Zhang Heng single-handedly wiped out an entire Japanese division headquarters, along with dozens of fighter jets, the Japanese Expeditionary Army had begun pulling back its defensive lines, even yielding less critical positions on the front. Though only a few days had passed, the changes had been seismic, an absolute nightmare for the Japanese military command.

First, Shanghai, which they had occupied, suddenly lost all communication, reportedly under attack by an unknown force. Then, the fleet sent to blockade the Shanghai port was completely annihilated. Following that, an entire division was wiped out by a single man, with dozens of fighter planes destroyed as collateral damage.

All of this had occurred within the last few days. Everything the world had come to accept as common sense, science, or the norms of modern warfare had been utterly overturned in this short span.

Japan had dispatched countless spies deep into China years ago to facilitate their invasion. This intelligence network allowed them to mobilize the fleet to blockade Shanghai so quickly after the initial incident. And it was only after the fleet's destruction, and Zhang Heng’s annihilation of a division plus aircraft, that the Japanese high command truly went into overdrive.

Leveraging their vast network of spies, they gathered extensive intelligence within days, confirming the cultivators like Chu Xuan were "Immortals," learning about their quest for Buddha statue fragments, and understanding the scale of their unimaginable power. Their intelligence specifically highlighted the "Flying Swords" used during their movements. Consequently, when Cheng Xiao descended upon the city using the Green Devil Skateboard, these Japanese soldiers treated him with extreme caution.

The subsequent events resolved themselves quite easily. Even without the diplomatic credentials and endorsements provided by the KMT, the sheer spectacle of Cheng Xiao arriving from the sky on his Green Devil Skateboard was enough to ensure the Japanese military treated him with the utmost respect. After waiting for about ten minutes, several field-grade officers ushered Cheng Xiao into a black sedan with extraordinary deference. Escorted by hundreds of motorcycle troops, the sedan headed toward a military installation outside the city limits.

These welcoming officers spoke Mandarin with remarkable fluency, one even sporting a flawless Beijing accent, which momentarily led Cheng Xiao to suspect they might be collaborators. However, their bearing and mannerisms confirmed they were unequivocally Japanese.

During the drive, the officers were eager to engage Cheng Xiao in conversation, but their relentless stream of flattery failed to capture his interest. Being called an "Immortal" felt uncomfortably like being cursed with impending death. The officers, for their part, were miserable. Their orders were absolute: under no circumstances were they to anger this Chinese "Immortal" who wielded a "Flying Sword." They were to use every means to placate his wrath. If they could successfully recruit these Chinese Immortals into the Japanese Empire, their futures would be boundless. Conversely, if they provoked these beings into dealing a devastating blow to the Japanese military, they faced immediate court-martial or secret execution.

"Immortal Sir, if I may be so bold, what is the purpose of your visit here?" Seeing Cheng Xiao remain silent, one officer shrewdly changed tactics and asked cautiously.

Cheng Xiao turned his gaze toward the officers. "It is simple. Our objective is the Buddha statue. My purpose for coming here is also the Buddha statue... Seeing as you hurried to meet me, I presume you are prepared? Given the number of spies you currently have deployed across China, knowing who we are should be straightforward. And you must already know what power we possess and what our goals are. Therefore... the Buddha statue—every piece you possess—that is why I am here!"

The officers exchanged knowing glances. One immediately responded, "Yes, we did obtain a fragment of the Buddha statue from Yan Xishan in Shanxi. However, this is classified information at the highest levels of our military command; we do not have clearance for the details. Immortal, perhaps you should discuss this directly with our superior? I am certain there will be an answer that satisfies you."

Cheng Xiao nodded. No one is immune to courtesy; these Japanese officers had been exceptionally respectful throughout the journey, their speech and actions devoid of the arrogance Cheng Xiao usually associated with the Japanese military in WWII films. His initial impulse to teach them a lesson now seemed childish. Relations between nations are not governed by simple advantage; one event is often the result of many interconnected factors. For instance, since the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, China had been slowly declining. It was conceivable that even without Japanese aggression, some other nation would have invaded. China had already suffered humiliations beyond description before this point; perhaps the Japanese simply inflicted the deepest wound upon this era's China, adding profound pain to an already dire situation.

Cheng Xiao sighed, beginning to grasp what Chu Xuan meant. If his anger, or the killing of a few Japanese soldiers, could suddenly revitalize and strengthen China, he would throw his life away to do it—but it was impossible. The fundamental reason for the invasion lay more deeply within China itself. From the Opium Wars onward, China had repeatedly repeated the pattern of defeat and surrender to external powers. The first time weakness led to invasion, the fault lay with the leadership; subsequent repeated defeats due to sustained weakness meant the fault lay within. Cheng Xiao had known this for a long time, but his heart struggled to accept it. Understanding the truth and being able to act on it are entirely different matters.

(Forget it. Don't take it out on these few Japanese officers like a child. If I want to vent, I need to find the real heavy hitters... I’ll find an opportunity to force them to make the first move. Zhang Heng is guarding outside anyway, and I want to test the limits of my own strength. Chu Xuan's order was only that I shouldn't strike first. If I wait for them to attack, Chu Xuan shouldn't have any complaints, right?)

With that thought, Cheng Xiao chuckled. He looked at the Japanese officers. "I don't wish to waste words. I must have that Buddha statue. Regardless of your intentions, you must hand over the statue or tell me its location by the end of today. If you refuse, I won't hesitate to use force to seize it... I believe your Imperial Palace in Tokyo still houses your so-called Emperor, correct? Using him as a bargaining chip—do you think that chip carries enough weight? Oh, I forgot to tell you something. One of my companions is currently pursuing the US Pacific Fleet; their target is also a Buddha statue fragment they seized. Looking at the time, he should already be engaging that fleet. Would you care to know the result? Hahahaha..."

Regardless of Cheng Xiao's scheming intentions, far across the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Wang Xia had indeed caught up with the US Pacific Fleet. This fleet, naturally, could not compare to the world's strongest navies of decades hence. In fact, prior to the Pearl Harbor incident, the United States had already redeployed a significant portion of its Pacific vessels to the Atlantic coast, which had given the Japanese military command a dangerous illusion of superiority, indirectly leading to the Pearl Harbor attack.

Regardless, Wang Xia was facing an entire fleet. Unlike the few small Japanese vessels blockading Shanghai harbor, this was the true main battle fleet: torpedo boats, escort ships, destroyers, light warships, large escort vessels, and aircraft carriers—it had everything. To destroy this entire force through the power of one man, given the technological level of the era, sounded like the ravings of a lunatic. Even Wang Xia himself felt a tightening in his chest; he looked exactly like a madman courting his own death.

The time was the final darkness just before dawn over the Pacific Ocean when Wang Xia finally overtook the US Pacific Fleet... alone, facing the entirety of their formation... Jump to