Mountain Lord on Shore, Flood Dragon in the Water (Part Two)

On the deck, the river wind howled.

The oil in the torches crackled and popped, stretching the two figures facing off into long shadows, then shrinking them short.

Qin Geng drew no weapon. He did not even touch his usual water-parting spike. He merely staggered his feet, drove his rear foot into the deck, and set his front foot lightly forward. His hips sank, his back arched, and his body became a bow drawn to its limit.

His hands curled into claws, one before the other to guard his centerline. His knuckles bent slightly as dark blue-black force faintly circulated through them.

Xingyi, Tiger Guards the Cave.

The moment he took that stance, the eyes of those who knew their craft lit up.

This was more than a posture. It carried a presence.

To the onlookers, Qin Geng no longer seemed human. He was a white-foreheaded, glaring-eyed tiger deep in the old mountain forests, fresh from a meal of meat, licking his claws and fangs, ready to choose someone to devour.

"Fine stance!"

In the crowd, an old hand of the martial world with an abacus on his back and a goatee on his chin could not help muttering his praise.

"You couldn't build Stance Training like that without ten years through frost and heat. His feet have taken root, his body's like cast iron. Fifth Master Qin learned his Xingyi from a true master."

Several former outlaws recruited into service nodded to themselves.

One move from an expert was enough to show what he had.

With that opening stance, Qin Geng had the bearing of a master: steady, weighty, and able to command the entire deck.

Outside the circle, Zhou Dawei still gripped his wineskin, but his eyes had narrowed to slits.

As a Transforming Force master, he saw