Tidal Promotion

Jing Qian raced through the deep sea. Three thousand li—he set out at dawn and arrived by noon!

While sailing, he suddenly spotted a target. He immediately slipped into the void, and when he leaped out again, he was already inside the intestines of a killer whale.

With two Crocodile Dragon Teeth in hand, he pierced its heart and stomach, removed its bones, and drained its blood. In a few swift moves, he had added another white-toothed trophy to his haul.

After that, his figure flashed, and he slipped into the Destiny Stele Space. He gave the killer whale's divine soul a thorough drubbing, harvesting one Whale Tiger destiny, some information about the sea region, and a slight increase in destiny essence.

The entire process flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water, so satisfying and slick that it rivaled Lao Mo's fish-killing.

Jing Qian's control over his three destinies was also improving rapidly, and his combat power was soaring every moment!

After dismembering the killer whale and extracting its materials, Jing Qian did not pause for even a moment. He pointed the dragon tooth in his hand and shot out once more.

Wherever his sword edge pointed, a new enemy awaited!

Up to now, not a single ninth-rank demon or fiend had been able to stop his little combo of gut-piercing and belly-ripping.

He calculated the time. Considering his speed through the waters, he should be able to elevate the Tidal destiny to the Azure Wing rank before the ship arrived.

It was just a pity for all the Sea Race demon fiends across this vast stretch of ocean.

Within a radius of ten thousand li, the ninth-rank demon fiends would likely be wiped out to the last household by him alone.

Time flew. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

At the dark bottom of the vast ocean stood a huge undersea volcano, steaming with poisonous earth-vein fire and boiling all the surrounding seawater.

Yet within this forbidden zone for living creatures, a peculiar figure was bathing in the magma.

It had a human body and a fish tail, stood one zhang tall, and was soaking leisurely in the magma.

Suddenly, it received a piece of information—a subtle fluctuation from the depths of the sea, resembling the ocean's whisper and the volcano's murmur at once.

The figure shifted slightly. A trace of surprise flashed through its eyes, then turned into irritation at having its interest disturbed.

It waved a hand, summoning a long, multicolored sea snake from the outskirts of the volcano, and said, "The Crocodile Dragon is dead. While it was away, someone slaughtered my Sea Race offspring throughout its territory."

"Go take the Crocodile Dragon's place and guard its waters. While you're at it, grind the person who slaughtered my offspring to dust, as a warning to the others!"

Upon hearing this, the sea snake nodded, then transformed into a streak of rainbow light and sped away.

Though the Crocodile Dragon's territory was near human forces and less peaceful than the inner seas, that was precisely why human prey could often be harvested there. It could be called fertile.

This seventh-rank sea snake was far stronger than the Crocodile Dragon. It had no dissatisfaction with the merfolk's arrangements and immediately took up its new post.

It left the area covered by the undersea volcano and headed north without stopping. In five days, it crossed nearly a hundred thousand li.

Following the route in its memory, it entered the waters that had belonged to the Crocodile Dragon.

It had intended to find a white-toothed Sea Demon and have it get familiar with the terrain and surroundings.

To its surprise, after traveling several thousand li, it had not encountered a single one!

"What are the people of HunZhou trying to do? How can they be so utterly disrespectful of the rules?"

The sea snake's temper flared as well!

The outer seas of HunZhou had always been a breeding ground for low-rank Sea Demons. Low-rank Sea Demons of every variety appeared in endless succession.

But now, this enormous stretch of sea seemed to have been swept clean. Not even a shadow could be found.

Unwilling to believe it, it continued forward until a sizable human fleet appeared within its field of vision.

The warship at the head was familiar to the sea snake. It was the main seventh-rank battleship of the HunZhou navy.

The battleship led a group of smaller vessels, dragging a shipwreck up from the seabed.

The sea snake did not think much about it before reaching a conclusion: these ruthless humans had surely slaughtered its Sea Race offspring!

It did not act rashly. Instead, it concealed its aura, suppressed its escaping light to the lowest level, and charged toward the fleet.

In the blink of an eye, the blue-blooded demon's escaping light reached the fleet. The seawater was swept up by its magic power, and enormous waves surged into the sky.

"Ding!"

A chime rang out from the Hun Yi Number. A pale-blue light membrane expanded outward with the battleship at its center, shielding the entire fleet.

The next second, a booming human voice rang out from the battleship:

"A great demon is attacking! We will hold it off. All ships, do not delay—return to the island at once!"

With that, the battleship shot out like a cannonball and charged toward the sea snake.

The remaining small ships were all seasoned sailors who had spent years drifting across the sea. They immediately scattered like startled birds and beasts, splitting apart and vanishing in all directions.

This was a race against death. No one dared to drag their feet.

The vast blue sea stretched without end. Without the Hun Yi Number's protection, no one knew how many ships would make it back to HunZhou Island.

Among the many fleeing ships, Jing Qian's figure suddenly appeared inside a sealed cabin.

The cabin had been locked from the outside. He had relied on the power of Sumeru to slip through the crack beneath the door.

After a full month of surfing the sea, Jing Qian's appearance and bearing had changed completely.

Thousands upon thousands of li of underwater travel, along with dozens of life-and-death struggles, had caused his spiritual and physical strength to evolve across the board.

That single month of experience had already given his life far greater depth than the twenty years of accumulation from his previous life.

At present, he wore whale-skin shorts on his lower body, a large blackfish scale stuck across his chest, and wooden clogs modified from a pair of shrimp pincers on his feet. He looked utterly bizarre.

Yet beneath those bizarre decorations was a young man's body with graceful lines and harmonious proportions.

Nourished by a vast amount of destiny essence, he had grown taller once more and now stood over four and a half chi.

All the materials covering his upper body were valuable, in-grade treasures of the white-toothed rank, and worth no small fortune.

Though this outfit looked like performance art, in reality, it was comparable to a walking string of blade coins.

The cabin was piled high with assorted junk, leaving scarcely anywhere to set foot.

Yet to Jing Qian, it was a rare haven of quiet.

Once the door was closed, the turmoil outside could not seep in, and he could finally loosen his taut nerves a little.

After boarding the ship, he did not need to expend any more effort. Someone else would carry him back to the human world.

As for the battle between the seventh-rank sea snake and the Hun Yi Number, he had cast it completely out of mind.

He still lacked a vast amount of knowledge and resources and urgently needed to obtain more information. All of that required him to go to a human settlement.

He was already growing somewhat impatient.

Jing Qian found a corner of the cabin and lay down in peace.

The journey ahead would be a rare period of rest.

Still, although he was resting, he did not dare relax. Within his sea of consciousness, knowledge of the Essence Extraction Art churned and rolled.

He was only one step away from fully comprehending the Seal Talisman Art corresponding to Sewing Souls and Weaving Spirits!

Before disembarking, he would surely master this secret art!

At the same time, thinking of what he had gained over the past month, he glanced again at the information on his Destiny Stele:

Host: Jing Qian

Lifespan: 150 years

Destiny Essence: 9.97 (White Tooth)

Destinies: Sumeru (Golden Root), Tidal (Blue Blood 1.3/10), Sewing Souls and Weaving Spirits (Azure Wing)

Destiny Art: Dragon Travel Technique

Destiny Forging Opportunity: 0

Even Jing Qian himself had not expected that in just one month, he could remake the Tidal destiny thirteen times.

Not only had this completed its Azure Wing promotion, but the path toward its Blue Blood promotion had officially begun as well.

At present, he only needed to remake Tidal eighty-seven more times to complete its Blue Blood promotion.

This was certainly an exceedingly difficult task, but it could not dampen Jing Qian's enthusiasm in the slightest.

It was simply the Sea Race offspring who would suffer again, forced to offer up all their flesh and divine souls!

After traveling tens of thousands of li, his Dragon Travel Technique had finally reached the entry level and appeared on the Destiny Stele.

After its promotion, Tidal's power surged once more. Combined with the Dragon Travel Technique, it let Jing Qian travel through the sea at a speed that could almost catch up with the Crimson Scale Dragon Carp.

Of all the ninth-rank Sea Demons he encountered, not one could match him.

Beyond that, after the Tidal destiny advanced to Azure Wing, it gained another new ability.

Jing Qian closed his eyes and focused, sensing Tidal's surging power.

With a thought, he extended that power outward. To his surprise, it established a subtle connection with the ship beneath him.

He was astonished to discover that he could permeate every corner of the ship and resonate with the vessel itself.

With but a thought, the ship beneath his feet could receive Tidal's enhancement, causing its sailing speed to increase greatly!

Azure Wing's Tidal could easily command a vessel. It moved without wind, like a tiger with wings.

To avoid being discovered, Jing Qian withdrew Tidal's power and did not interfere with the ship's operation.

He entered meditation again, sinking into the digestion of knowledge and memories.

The first day passed peacefully just like that.

But just as Jing Qian thought he would reach his destination safely, a sudden upheaval occurred aboard the ship!

A violent fluctuation of magic power came from outside and entered his perception directly.

Jing Qian awoke from meditation, slipped into dimensional space, and stealthily moved toward the source of the magic power fluctuation.