Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

White Ape Martial Arts Hall.

A faint scent of blood and medicinal herbs permeated the air.

The physician summoned by the Hall Master was cleaning and bandaging the wounds of several injured disciples, their groans and muttering a jumbled mess of sound.

Chen Hao, however, was spotless, without so much as a scratch on him. He stood out conspicuously in the crowd.

With his hands behind his back and his chin slightly raised, he couldn’t hide the smug look in his eyes. Not only had he escaped unscathed today, but he had also made a handsome profit on the side.

On the way back to the Martial Arts Hall, he had remembered the principle of not flaunting one’s wealth, telling anyone who asked that his gains were meager.

But the moment he stepped through the hall’s gates, he was swarmed by a few disciples he knew. They showered him with praise and insisted that he treat them.

He had just condensed his Blood Qi yesterday, and today he had reaped a huge reward without a single injury. More importantly, his Heart Nature was inherently impetuous, and he ultimately let the success go to his head.

”Alright, alright! Everyone worked hard today! Tonight, we’re going to the Fulai Building! It’s my treat—all the food and wine you can handle!”

Chen Hao slapped his chest, his voice booming loud enough for the entire front hall to hear.

A few of the younger disciples around him immediately cheered and hollered. Some of the older disciples frowned slightly but quickly joined in with smiling agreement.

This made Chen Hao feel even more proud, but he failed to notice the faint, cold glance the Hall Master shot him from the corner of the room.

The boisterous crowd was just about to head out.

But the Hall Master suddenly spoke, his tone flat.

”Chen Hao, a word.”

”Yes, sir!”

Surrounded by the crowd, Chen Hao responded immediately before giving everyone a dismissive wave.

”You guys go on to the Fulai Building and grab a good table! Order the best food and wine—don’t hold back! I’ll be there in a bit. We’re going to drink our fill tonight!”

The disciples laughed and agreed, slinging arms over each other’s shoulders as they flooded out the door.

Once they rounded the street corner, far from the Martial Arts Hall, the group gradually broke apart into clusters of two and three.

A few who had never gotten along with Chen Hao deliberately fell to the back, discussing him in hushed tones.

”Chen Hao’s got the devil’s luck. Succeeded in condensing his Blood Qi on just his second attempt. And from the looks of it today, he must’ve made another fortune. He won’t be lacking cultivation resources from now on.”

”Devil’s luck, my ass! You think he did it on his own? Let me tell you, he stole and sold the deed to his ancestral home to buy top-grade Blood Refining Powder. That’s the only reason he succeeded!”

”Whoa! So he’s just a prodigal son! No wonder... With his Heart Nature and foundation, how could he have possibly succeeded so easily?”

”Enough about that. He’s the one who said to order the best food and wine! And there are twenty or thirty of us here...”

”Heh, then we’ll have to let our dear Senior Brother Chen bleed a little, won’t we? Isn’t he so arrogant? So full of himself? This time, we’ll let him show off to his heart’s content!”

”It’s a shame Senior Brother Lu had a falling out with Chen Hao and isn’t coming tonight. Otherwise, things would be even more interesting...”

The men exchanged a look, and with a silent, mutual understanding, they quickened their pace to catch up with the noisy crowd ahead, their faces once again plastered with the sycophantic smiles of eager onlookers.

「Some time later.」

Chen Hao walked out of the Martial Arts Hall. His expression was a little grim, but he still hurried off to his engagement.

He took a shortcut that led through two narrow back alleys.

The alleys were quiet even during the day, and after nightfall, they were pitch-black, with only a faint glimmer of light filtering in from the distant main street.

Preoccupied and hurrying along, Chen Hao didn’t sense that something was wrong until he was deep inside the alley.

’It’s too quiet!’

In the depths of the dark alley, he couldn’t even hear the usual buzzing of annoying insects or the scuttling of wild rats. There was only the sound of his own, increasingly loud heartbeat.

SWOOSH—

Without any warning, a dark figure lunged at him from the side and rear.

A sharp gust of wind rushed straight for the back of Chen Hao’s head.

Chen Hao’s reaction was extremely fast. He whipped his head around just in time to see his attacker opening with the most fatal move of the White Ape Fist: Angry Ape Piercing the Moon.

The hair on Chen Hao’s neck stood on end as he hastily twisted his body and raised an arm to block.

BANG!

With a dull thud, a sharp pain, as if his bone was fracturing, shot through Chen Hao’s forearm. The depth of his opponent’s Blood Qi and the penetrating force of their Power were clearly superior to his.

He staggered backward, his eyes fixed on the attacker’s face.

However, the person’s mouth, nose, and forehead were covered with a black cloth, leaving only their eyes visible. It was impossible to tell who it was.

”Lu Feng!? Is that you!? How dare you...”

Chen Hao was both shocked and enraged.

But before he could finish his sentence, the figure attacked again. Their fingers curled into an iron claw, striking for his throat, while their other hand was hidden by their ribs, ready to change tactics and strike his heart at any moment.

’I’m done for...’

Panic seized Chen Hao’s heart.

He had only just condensed his first pillar of Blood Qi. His Realm was not yet stable, and his Blood Qi was restless and difficult to control. On top of that, his strength was already a notch below his opponent’s.

Forced back by the attacker’s ruthless and experienced assault, he was thrown into disarray.

He had intended to block with a White Ape Offering Fruit, but his Blood Qi faltered, and his arm was a fraction of a second too slow.

THWACK!

The man’s fist cunningly slipped through the opening and smashed heavily into Chen Hao’s left shoulder.

Chen Hao’s vision went black. The blow sent him flying backward, and he slammed hard against the earthen wall, showering dust down around him.

Before he could even catch his breath, the figure closed in like a shadow and planted a foot on his chest with enough force to nearly crush his bones.

The attacker then reached into Chen Hao’s robes and ripped out a Money Bag that was stuffed to the brim.

”Ugh... Give it back!”

Chen Hao’s eyes were practically splitting with fury as he struggled to get up.

The figure stomped down hard. With another two sharp cracks of bone, Chen Hao crumpled to the ground, howling in agony.

Seizing the opportunity, the attacker stuffed the Money Bag into their robes and, in a few quick leaps, vanished into the darkness at the other end of the alley.

”My money!!! I... Help... Help me...!”

Chen Hao lay paralyzed on the cold, muddy ground, an excruciating pain lancing through his chest and left shoulder.

How could he possibly care about his dignity as a disciple of the Martial Arts Hall now? He immediately started screaming hysterically.

WHOOSH—

He had barely let out two cries when a sudden gust of wind shot past his head.

It was a black shadow, moving as fast as a phantom. It shot past his side, kicking up a small whirlwind that stirred the dust on the ground, and in an instant, it was chasing after the masked man.

”What... What was that...”

Chen Hao’s cries caught in his throat, and he froze on the spot.

He struggled to prop himself up, only managing to catch the last afterimage of the figure.

’Fast, so incredibly fast!’

So fast that Chen Hao’s eyes could barely keep up.

But what shocked him even more was that the fleeting silhouette seemed strangely familiar.

An impossible name suddenly shot through his chaotic mind.

’Chen Cheng?’

’No... Impossible!’

Chen Hao shook his head violently, aggravating his wounds and causing him to grimace in pain.

’That kid Chen Cheng just entered the Dragon Mountain Middle Courtyard not long ago. There’s no way he could have that kind of speed... Th-this is at least an expert with two pillars of Blood Qi... maybe even more...’

’It must have been an expert with a similar build to Chen Cheng’s... They were probably just passing by, heard my cries for help, and came to deliver justice... Or... was it a case of dog-eat-dog?’

Chen Hao collapsed back onto the ground, his chest heaving. His mind was in utter turmoil, a feeling even more unbearable than the pain from his injuries.