When the six of them reached the reef belt near the outer edge of the Ring Sea's center, Xiao Bai did not pursue them.
They had trained on Sea God Island for a full month. Tang San divided the short route he had managed last time among three groups, leaving each group to bear the water pressure at only one point. Ma Hongjun kept his flames overhead as a movable breathing point, while Oscar gave his two supply bags to Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing. Ning Rongrong stood between the groups, shifting the light from her first six rings with the bags.
"Don't go ashore yet." Tang San looked at the stone ahead. "There's still water pressure on the reef."
Zhu Zhuqing tested it with her toe. The sea reached only her knees, but the undertow beneath it was fierce. The moment she put her full weight down, it dragged her ankle left. Dai Mubai moved to her other side and spread the White Tiger Protection Barrier downward. Only after they each held one end could Ning Rongrong and Oscar step safely onto the reef belt.
There was no shelter here. Whenever the sea rose, all six had to find the stone beneath their feet again. Oscar hung the two bags from separate stone spurs. Zhu Zhuqing felt along one spur and found a narrow natural crack inside it that could mark the tide line's direction. She cut off a short length of seagrass and tied it to the outside. It did not lie flat against the stone; at first, it pointed toward the shore they had come from.
"When it turns the other way, we'll try the next stretch," she said.
Ma Hongjun was already eager to fly ahead, but Tang San stopped him. The suppression on flight was