Garrison Commander

That very afternoon, the Garrison Commander and departments such as the Security Bureau had already begun town-wide preparations.

News of the incoming sea tide spread, and the town's residents all stopped what they were doing, preparing to stockpile food and supplies and shelter at home.

"I thought the sea tide wouldn't come this year. Who knew it would still arrive in the last month?"

"Ah, it really wears a person down. The next few days are bound to bring more worries."

"I only hope we get through this year safely too."

"."

The major shops in town also chose to close their doors as soon as they received the news.

Some grain stores and butcher shops sold out outright, their goods snapped up by residents staying indoors.

When the sea tide came, there was never anything wrong with storing more food.

Sun Chengshan's mine also ceased operations and sealed itself off that day, while all the miners hurried home.

Meng Lao Er was equally anxious. He was only an ordinary man, and he worried for the safety of his wife and children.

In the end, Sun Chengshan let his family move back into the gym temporarily.

Some Body Tempering First Level disciples would remain at the gym then. At the very least, it was safer than an ordinary residential home.

That night, Wang Yu relaxed for once and did not continue his grueling cultivation.

The sea tide might surge ashore tomorrow, so he needed to make thorough preparations and adjust his condition.

Island Town 732 was still unbearably muggy at night, and the air carried an inescapable salty, fishy stench from the sea.

Beneath the night sky, mist shrouded the town overhead, making the entire night seem dim and lightless.

Some disciples staying in the gym went out into the courtyard to get some air, deeply vexed.

The gym had not installed air conditioning in every room. The temperature above forty degrees made the entire island town like a furnace, scorching every person within it.

Coupled with their worries over the sea tide, this was destined to be a difficult night for everyone.

Early the next morning, rain and mist gathered into clouds, and a fine drizzle fell across the entire sea.

Yet the heat wave had not receded. Even the rain falling on their bodies felt like a hot bath.

Sun Chengshan led Wang Yu, Song Hezheng, and several core disciples at the second level of Body Tempering out of the gym.

Zhang Yi, Liu Yemei, Liu Mei, He Tie, Zhang Erdan, and the others were among them.

The rain fell over them, and the damp, clammy feeling made them uncomfortable all over.

Liu Yemei and Liu Mei in particular kept their brows tightly furrowed, occasionally glaring up at the sky as though blaming the heavens for joining in the fun at such a time.

There were no ordinary residents left on the streets.

The few people moving about were mostly martial artists from Island Town 732. From time to time, groups of gym disciples could be seen setting out toward the harbor embankment beyond town.

Among them was a team dressed in yellowish-brown uniforms, each disciple wearing a steel saber slung diagonally at the waist.

"Well, if it isn't the Duanhu Saber Hall. Old acquaintances, huh?" Zhang Erdan called out in a sarcastic, singsong tone.

Wang Yu looked over and saw that it really was the Duanhu Saber Hall's group.

On the backs of their yellowish-brown disciple uniforms was a fierce tiger, claws bared and fangs exposed, flaunting itself with high-profile arrogance.

The Duanhu Saber Hall had some history with them.

He Tie, a disciple of their gym, had been beaten up, while their female disciple Liu Yemei had been publicly harassed. Those incidents had left everyone in the gym with no good impression of the Duanhu Saber Hall.

Afterward, Sun Chengshan had flown into a rage and led people to kick down the doors of both Jifeng Hall and the Duanhu Saber Hall.

Jifeng Hall had now been completely shut down, and its hall master, He Xuyang, had been thrown into prison.

Only the Duanhu Saber Hall remained. Now that enemies had met on a narrow road, neither side had a pleasant look for the other.

He Tie and Liu Yemei especially still looked hostile when they saw the other side's chief disciple, Fang Shihao.

Fang Shihao was a man who wore a lock of long hair. He had fairly decent features, but his shifty eyes carried a hint of wicked charm, making him look like no respectable sort.

Rumor had it that, relying on his own bit of ability, he often seduced young women outside, even driving some women to attempts at taking their own lives.

It was precisely because of him that even the Duanhu Saber Hall's reputation had begun to stink.

When this matter came up, Sun Chengshan had once said that Ding Lei, the Duanhu Saber Hall's master, could not be absolved of blame for indulging him.

Now, the man had become one of the stepping stones for Sun Chengshan to make his name.

"Hmph, what rotten luck!" Ding Lei cursed coldly, staring at Sun Chengshan's group.

He badly wanted to recover the face he had lost last time, but he had no confidence in defeating Sun Chengshan.

"Let's go!"

Strength was a hard injury. Ding Lei tightened his grip on his saber and could only lead his group away in another direction, unwilling to have anything to do with the Shadowless Fist Gym right now.

Just wait, you old dog Sun. Once I obtain precious materials and meat from the Silver Belt Sea in this tide and take my saber technique another step forward, I'll settle this score with you!

For now, he could only curse and roar like that in his heart.

Sun Chengshan, meanwhile, merely cast a faint glance at the departing group. He did not think much of Ding Lei at all.

To put it bluntly, the man's Duanhu Saber Technique was merely so-so. He had only just entered the Body Tempering Fifth Level, still far behind Sun Chengshan.

He likely would not catch up even if he whipped his horse in the short term.

And once Sun Chengshan's fist technique reached the sixth level of mastery, forgive him for saying it, but every gym on the entire island would be nothing more than this!

His ambitions were that high now. Ever since he had made a fortune from the mine, his horizons had long since broadened.

His demands of himself were no longer as simple as becoming an ordinary gym master.

On the future path of martial arts, he wanted to go one step further and step into that longed-for new realm!

He firmly believed he had such an opportunity. So long as he dared to dream, there was hope!

When they reached the edge of town, they could hear from afar the crashing roar of wild waves sweeping in.

Rain poured down over the sea like a curtain, and not a ray of sunlight could penetrate the darkened sky.

Within the darkness, a colossal storm engulfed the entire Silver Belt Sea.

The tearing howl of the gale was terrifying, like some vast catastrophe descending upon the world and shaking heaven and earth.

Enormous waves were whipped high into the sky, blotting out the sun and covering the heavens.

The ships docked at the harbor, large and small alike, had long since been smashed apart by the massive waves, their shattered pieces swept into the depths of the sea and lost without a trace.

"I didn't expect the conditions at sea to become this dreadful in just one day." Sun Chengshan's expression was incomparably grave as he watched the scene.

Compared with the previous few sea tides, this one was clearly far more frightening in scale.

Wang Yu's gaze passed over Sun Chengshan and fell on the other groups of martial artists who had already gathered outside town.

Besides the teams from several gyms in Island Town 732, there were many other independent martial artists scattered outside the town, all staring intently at the sea. There were at least several thousand of them.

Some were local martial artists from Island Town 732, while others had rushed over overnight from neighboring island towns, hoping to claim a share of the spoils from this Silver Belt Sea tide.

Beyond these civilian martial artists, the true main force resisting this sea tide was the large number of military experts led by the Garrison Commander.

They stood in disciplined groups at important locations outside Island Town 732.

These places were the primary routes where deep-sea creatures came ashore year after year.

Their foremost task was not to seize precious materials or meat, but to stop every deep-sea creature and ensure that all of Island Town 732 behind them remained safe and unharmed.

They fought for that, with a purpose entirely different from the civilian martial artists!

At the same time, Wang Yu saw Island Town 732's Garrison Commander, Lu Pan.

Standing amid the wind and rain beyond town, clad in armor and holding a massive refined-iron war halberd over two meters long, he looked sternly murderous and imposing in every direction.

His eyes were fixed intently on the storm raging across the sea before him, his towering figure utterly unmoved.

Even from afar, Wang Yu could sense that this Garrison Commander was no one to be trifled with.

This was also the first time he had seen the Garrison Commander.

His former status had been worlds apart from that of the Garrison Commander, so despite living in the same island town, he had never personally seen such an important figure.

"Master, is the Garrison Commander also a martial artist?" Wang Yu asked.

Previously, he had seen that Zheng Anbang, the director of the Security Bureau, was only an ordinary man. He had thought officials were all the same, occupied with political duties in their daily lives and not skilled in strengthening their bodies through cultivation.

"Of course." Sun Chengshan turned his head, his expression carrying a trace of admiration.

"The Garrison Commander is far more than merely a martial artist. He established himself in the military through martial prowess. Calling him the strongest person on this island town would not be an exaggeration. Back then..."

Sun Chengshan did not continue, but it was enough to set their imaginations racing.

"I never expected the Garrison Commander to be so formidable." Song Hezheng, beside Wang Yu, had also heard Sun Chengshan's account and could not help murmuring.

He likewise knew little about the Garrison Commander.

But simply thinking about it, anyone capable of governing an entire island town had to be an extraordinary figure.

Not to mention that Sun Chengshan regarded him as the town's strongest person.

Given Sun Chengshan's insight, he would not speak carelessly. It was very likely the truth.