Xia Qi in the Water, the Yamen Takes Shape

Leaving the Ye Residence, Qin Geng stepped into the blazing sun, which had baked a touch of dryness into Tianjin.

He did not linger. With wind beneath his feet, he headed straight for Chen Family Village on the lower Xun River.

The waters around Chen Family Village were known as the "Gate of Ghosts." The current was swift, the riverbed bristled with jagged rocks, and countless whirlpools and hidden currents lurked below. Ordinary fishing boats took a wide detour, afraid of striking a reef or being sucked into a bottomless hole.

But to Qin Geng, this was no Gate of Ghosts. It was practically his own back garden.

He reached the bank. No one was around.

Qin Geng did not even take off his clothes. He merely tightened the water-parting spikes at his waist, drew a deep breath, and slipped soundlessly into the river, like a weary bird returning to the woods, or a flood dragon returning to the sea.

Splash.

The instant he entered the water, that familiar sensation of the current wrapping around him returned.

This time, though, it was entirely different.

When he had been a level-one Water Lord, the water had been gentle and obedient.

Now it seemed to be part of his body, like blood flowing beyond his skin.

Qin Geng felt all thirty-six thousand pores across his body open at once, greedily drawing in the essence within the water.

The hidden currents, fierce enough to sweep away an ox, behaved like pliant dough around him. Far from hindering him, they pushed him forward and held him up.

"Rise!"

At a thought from Qin Geng, without any visible stroke, he shot forward over a dozen yards like an arrow loosed from its string.

He was even faster than when he used Divine Stride Guardian on