Chapter 113: Unaffected By Water, Ice Forms Beneath Feet, Walking On Ice, Crossing The Great River!
Many people had gathered on the shore.
There were no shortage of well-informed people among them.
Everyone discussed animatedly: “Sigh, who knows how long the fighting will last? I hear it’s a rebel calling himself the Mahyi Heavenly King who’s revolted, and he’s already captured several county towns.”
“Right now the Imperial Navy has sealed off the Yunmeng River—no vessel is allowed in the water! If we take the land route, there are checkpoints all along the way, and the cargo cost will skyrocket several times over. Making a trip would be a total loss-making business.”
“Forget it. With beacon fires rising all over the land these days, doing business is getting harder and harder…”
Many merchants were sighing in dismay.
The water route was one of the cheapest ways to transport goods.
Now that the water route was sealed off, the impact on merchants was enormous.
Ji Qing frowned.
He had to get to the other side of the river, after all, the Demon Slayer Chen Family was right there.
Ji Qing also inquired around.
If they took a detour, it would take several days of time.
As for waiting.
No one knew how long the navy would blockade it.
Maybe ten days or half a month.
Even one or two months wasn’t out of the question.
“Mahyi Heavenly King… This Great Shang’s realm is already leaking wind everywhere—who knows how much longer it can hold on?”
Ji Qing recalled that the end of dynasties was always like this.
Either natural disasters or man-made calamities.
Rebellions were as common as ox hairs.
Great Shang now already had signs of this.
If it were the dynasty’s prosperous era, how could someone like the Mahyi Heavenly King appear?
Even if he did, he’d probably be suppressed in a few days.
It wouldn’t delay things for so much time.
Ji Qing gazed at the vast river surface.
The Yunmeng River’s river surface right now was extremely calm.
Under the sunlight, it sparkled with ripples, and at a glance, there were no winds or waves.
Ji Qing didn’t want to wait any longer!
Thus, Ji Qing walked step by step toward the Yunmeng River.
He arrived at the riverbank.
Many people also noticed Ji Qing.
After all, his head of white hair was simply too striking.
“What is this person trying to do?”
“Looking at his attire, he should be a Jianghu person, but even a Jianghu person can’t cross the river.”
“With so many navy warships on the river surface now, what can a Jianghu person do?”
Some people had still seen Jianghu people before.
They also knew that Jianghu people had formidable martial arts.
But no matter how formidable the martial arts, facing this vast great river, there was nothing to be done.
After all, how could human strength overcome the heavens?
Suddenly, Ji Qing extended his left foot, then resolutely stepped into the water.
“What?”
“Could he be planning to swim across the great river?”
“This great river is so vast—swim across it? That’s simply wishful thinking!”
Ji Qing naturally had no intention of swimming across.
He had just come up with an idea.
He simply wanted to give it a try now.
Thus, his foot stepped onto the river surface.
The next moment, Ji Qing unleashed an Internal Energy Burst.
Massive internal energy erupted from under his foot all at once.
Accompanying the massive internal energy burst, Ji Qing’s Ice Power also erupted.
How terrifying was the Ice Power?
It could even freeze refined steel into ice crystals.
Therefore, the river water under Ji Qing’s foot was instantly frozen into ice crystals.
Although the frozen area wasn’t large, barely enough to accommodate one foot.
But for Ji Qing, it was already sufficient.
His whole body was now standing on the river surface, with internal energy bursting from his feet to maintain the ice crystals in the water.
Ji Qing lifted his other foot and similarly stepped onto the river surface.
And as soon as his foot touched the river surface, the river water immediately turned into ice crystals, allowing Ji Qing to tread water without sinking.
Thus, one step, two steps, three steps, four steps, five steps…
Ji Qing proceeded step by step, treading on the ice crystals toward the other side of the great river.
This scene left many people on the shore dumbfounded, their hearts surging with stormy seas.
What had they just seen?
Someone was actually walking on water?
And it looked like he was going to cross the great river?
This was simply inconceivable!
“They say Martial Artists have internal energy, but can internal energy be this powerful? Walking on water and crossing a great river?”
“No, this person is different! Black clothes, conical hat, long saber, and a head of white hair—he’s the renowned ‘Astonishing Swan Saber’ Ji Qing of the Jianghu!”
“Mister Ji is a first-rate expert, and the internal energy of first-rate experts often carries a trace of mysterious power.”
“Can a first-rate expert walk on water and cross a great river?”
“No, first-rate experts are far inferior to Mister Ji. The one who can walk on water and cross a great river isn’t a first-rate expert—it’s Mister Ji…”
There were still quite a few Jianghu people on the shore.
Thus, they eventually recognized Ji Qing.
After all, Ji Qing’s features were simply too distinctive.
Ji Qing was like a mythical existence in the Jianghu.
And at this moment, Ji Qing was even more godlike!
“Treading water without sinking, ice forming underfoot, walking on ice, crossing the great river…”
At this moment, many people seemed to have a whole new understanding of “Jianghu person.”
Was this still a Jianghu person?
Or a Martial Artist?
This scene was shocking not only to ordinary people but also to Jianghu Martial Artists.
Some third-rate and even second-rate Martial Artists, who had practiced martial arts their whole lives, suddenly witnessing such a mystical scene—this undoubtedly stirred their hearts immensely.
So martial arts could be this powerful?
At this moment, Ji Qing had step by step reached the center of the river surface.
His internal energy was incredibly vast.
It could fully support him in crossing the great river.
Ji Qing stood with hands behind his back, gazing at the vast river surface, a surge of heroic spirit rising in his heart.
This was the Martial Artist of his dreams!
There were many navy warships on the river surface.
These warships were all extremely large.
There were also many elite soldiers on them.
But now, all the soldiers on the warships were dumbfounded.
They had actually witnessed such a mystical scene with their own eyes.
Someone walking on water, about to cross the great river!
But the problem was.
Should they stop him or not?
“General, this person wants to cross the great river—do we stop him or not?”
On one warship, the navy general was troubled.
An extraordinary person who could cross a great river relying on his own internal energy—could he be an ordinary person?
As a general, he naturally knew there were some extraordinary people in the Jianghu.
Ones who could take heads amid thousands of troops.
If he intercepted him and provoked this person.
The navy might not be annihilated, but he would certainly die!
“Intercept what? The Imperial Court’s order is to seal off the Yunmeng River—no vessel is allowed in the water. Is there a boat on the river surface now? Since there is no boat, what are we intercepting?”
“Uh…”
The general’s deputy was speechless.
It seemed pretty reasonable.
However, he also knew this was just the general “sophistically arguing.”
But he also understood the general’s meaning.
Facing this kind of “Jianghu extraordinary person,” the general didn’t want to provoke him, and neither did he.
The entire navy didn’t want to provoke him either.
Since no one wanted to provoke him, they naturally turned a blind eye and pretended not to see.
Thus, Ji Qing passed right in front of the navy warships, striding boldly across the water until he vanished from sight.
But the news of someone walking on water and crossing the Yunmeng River quickly spread throughout the land.
On the seventeenth of the tenth month in the fourteenth year of Yongchang, an extraordinary person treaded water without sinking, ice formed underfoot, walked on ice, and crossed the great river!
The news shook the world!
Soon, even more precise news circulated in the Jianghu.
And the news was even more accurate.
The extraordinary person was none other than the “Astonishing Swan Saber” Ji Qing!
