The dawn light over the Eastern Sea always carried a warm, salt-touched dampness, casting dappled shadows across the meditation cushion where I sat cross-legged.

The Spirit Eye Water in the jade pool rose and fell with the gentle rhythm of the tides, and the spiritual energy drifting above the surface coiled into a faint blue mist. This was my twenty-third day at Tide-Listening Retreat.

"Huu—"

I exhaled a long, slow breath, the lingering coolness of the spirit-water refinement still faint on the tip of my tongue. The spiritual energy inside me circulated through my meridians in accordance with the Tide Saint Body Art's mental cultivation method, each revolution like riding the crest and trough of a wave. That sensation of resonating with the heavens and earth's tidal rhythm grew clearer with every passing day. Elder Kai said this was "the first glimpse of tidal intent," yet I always felt the technique ran far deeper than I had imagined — each session of cultivation was like deciphering the very breath of the ocean.

"Rookie, playing pretend again?" The little old man's voice rose in my mind, carrying his customary mockery. "Elder Kai's barely gone and you're already slacking. Want me to tell the old geezer?"

I ignored his jab and let my fingertips brush lightly across the water's surface. The spirit-water instantly broke into fine ripples, spreading outward from my fingertip to form a tiny vortex. This was the Tide Summoning Art from within the Tide Saint Body Art. Three days ago I could barely coax a tremor from the surface; now I could guide the flow of the water at will.

"System, what cultivation stage do you think Elder Kai has actually reached?" I asked inwardly. "Every time he gives me guidance, there's that faint, almost imperceptible pressure from his spiritual energy — it always makes him feel utterly unfathomable."

"Idiot." The old voice gave a disdainful snort. "Back in his days at the Demon Demon Suppression Bureau, Elder Kai could go blow-for-blow with cultivators in the late Foundation Establishment stage. He's in seclusion now, sure, but his cultivation is sitting steady at mid Foundation Establishment. To someone like him, your scrawny little Qi Refinement Stage Six body is no different from a fingerling that just learned how to splash."

Mid Foundation Establishment! My heart lurched. No wonder every casual pointer Elder Kai offered sent understanding crashing through me like a wave. I thought of him yesterday, standing at the ocean's edge, commanding a wall of water a hundred meters away to condense into a water dragon with nothing but his intent. Feats like that felt like something I could never reach in this lifetime.

"Stop daydreaming about things that don't concern you," the old voice said, seemingly reading my thoughts. "Focus on your cultivation. The spiritual energy in your body is practically spilling over. If you don't break through soon, don't blame me when you blow up like a balloon."

He was right. Ever since I took up the Tide Saint Body Art, the rate at which my spiritual energy grew had far exceeded anything before — especially here in Tide-Listening Retreat, bathed in its dense water-attribute spiritual energy. The barrier of Qi Refinement Stage Six had long been on the verge of crumbling. I drew a deep breath, cast every stray thought from my mind, and drove my spiritual energy with full force against the meridian barrier.

The spirit-water churned in the jade pool. The mist above the surface thickened and thickened, nearly blotting out my vision entirely. Inside my body, spiritual energy surged in wave after wave against that thin, fragile partition. Each impact was accompanied by a faint, stinging ache — yet what overwhelmed that sensation was the trembling anticipation of a cocoon about to split.

"Now!" The little old man's voice shot upward in pitch.

I snapped my eyes open. The shimmering play of light off the water's surface reflected in my gaze. A soft pop rang out, as though something had shattered. The spiritual energy in my dantian surged in an instant, flooding through every limb and bone like a dam giving way. My meridians crackled faintly under the rush — yet there was no pain at all. Only an overwhelming sense of power.

Ding! Congratulations, Host, on successfully breaking through to Qi Refinement Stage Seven! Current cultivation: Qi Refinement Stage Seven. Tide Saint Body Art proficiency increased to 25%. Water-attribute spell power increased by 90%.

The system chime exploded through my mind, but I paid it no attention. I only stared at my own hands in a daze. Beneath the skin of my palms, spiritual energy flowed in slow, steady currents, like water beneath ice, and every pore drank greedily at the water-attribute spiritual energy surrounding me. The spirit-water in the jade pool seemed to answer a summons — the surface erupted in a column of water that arced cleanly into my palm and dissolved into cool, thrumming energy as it entered my body.

"Not bad, kid. That was fast." Elder Kai's voice came from the doorway of the wooden cottage. He was carrying a bamboo basket filled with oysters he had just collected along the shore. "From Qi Refinement Stage Six to Stage Seven in barely three weeks — with cultivation speed that remarkable, no wonder the Baizhen Pavilion clings to you like a burr that won't come loose."

I rose at once and bowed. "I am deeply grateful for your guidance these past days, Elder. If not for you—"

"All right, all right, spare me the formalities." Elder Kai waved a hand and set the basket on the table. "Good timing on the breakthrough, actually. Tonight I'll take you to witness the true power of the tidal force."

He crossed to the jade pool and pressed his weathered palm against the wall. The spirit-water immediately surged into violent motion, and complex runes rose and shimmered across the surface.

"The Tide Saint Body Art is built on 'resonance with the tide.' Playing with ripples in a pool will only get you so far. Tonight at the Hour of the Rat, the Eastern Sea will run a great tide. Come with me to the entrance of the Sea Eye, and let's see whether you can stir a real tide."

End of Chapter 31: The Morning Tide Breaks Through