Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”Die!”

In that instant, Chen Cheng was already a dead man in Zou Kui’s eyes.

Judging by Zou Kui’s decade-plus of experience in life-or-death struggles on the Green Forest Dao, there was no way Chen Cheng could escape this attack unscathed.

Either prong of the attack, if it landed, would be a death sentence for Chen Cheng.

Yet, in the very next instant...

Chen Cheng’s Step Technique abruptly shifted. His body twisted with a fluid harmony, forming an arc that was almost inhuman and defied all logic.

Just as he narrowly dodged the glint of the Poisonous Thorn...

The muscles over his right kidney suddenly bulged. He leveraged the defensive, force-dispersing properties of his Dragon Scale Shirt, layering them with the momentum of that harmonious rotation.

Zou Kui’s pecking strike felt like it had landed on a conveyor belt; most of its force was instantly neutralized.

Furthermore, his entire left arm was guided by that momentum, sliding right past Chen Cheng’s waist. The little force that remained failed to land a solid blow.

”...This!?”

Zou Kui’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t believe his fatal, sure-kill strike had been so perfectly neutralized.

”Zhao Hai! What kind of deity did you provoke!?” Zou Kui bellowed.

”I... I don’t know either...”

Zhao Hai clutched his injured arm, his face a mask of bewilderment.

For one, the night was too dark to see clearly. For another, the Dragon Scale Shirt was a defensive technique with no obvious visual cues. And third, it was all integrated with the momentum of Health Tai Chi.

As a result, Zhao Hai couldn’t spot a single clue to identify his opponent.

He racked his brains but couldn’t figure out how he could have provoked the man before him...

Nor did he have time to think.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Chen Cheng lunged at Zhao Hai once more.

”Zou! This guy’s too tough! Let’s take him on together!”

Zhao Hai shrieked, spittle mixed with the reek of alcohol spraying from his lips.

This time, Zou Kui didn’t use Zhao Hai as bait. A savage glint flared in his eyes as he pushed his Blood Qi to its absolute limit and threw his entire body at Chen Cheng!

It was another frenzied, suicidal style of attack!

Headbutts, shoulder rams, knee strikes, elbow jabs... his entire body became a weapon. His movements were seamless, the Poisonous Thorn a whirling sphere of blades... Every attack targeted Chen Cheng’s joints, ribs, and groin.

Chen Cheng didn’t dare underestimate him. He decisively abandoned his attack on Zhao Hai and switched to a cautious, defensive posture.

His Hidden Dragon Fist would block like an iron floodgate, then counter-attack like a thunderclap. The flow of his Tai Chi was like mercury spilling across the ground—guiding, deflecting, and neutralizing—allowing him to weave between Zou Kui’s suicidal attacks within inches of his body.

However, Zou Kui’s fighting style was too tenacious and dirty. Many of his subtle moves were completely unexpected, yet brutally effective.

Even for someone like Chen Cheng, the slightest slip-up would mean a disastrous defeat.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hai lurked nearby, waiting for an opening. The moment Chen Cheng showed a weakness, he too could deliver a fatal blow.

”SWOOSH—”

Without a shred of warning, Zou Kui suddenly produced a handful of lime from nowhere and flung it straight at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng reacted in a flash, batting it all away with a sweep of his sleeve. Still, it briefly obscured his vision.

This was the moment!

Zou Kui lunged. His Blood Qi thundered, and his skin flushed a sickly crimson as his speed and power surged once more. The Poisonous Thorn in his hand shot straight for Chen Cheng’s heart—a true all-or-nothing gambit!

Simultaneously, Zhao Hai roared and charged with all his might. Even if he couldn’t land a blow, he had to create pressure on Chen Cheng.

It was a matter of life and death.

But Chen Cheng’s steps suddenly became sluggish and soft, as though he were wading through a viscous bog.

For a split second, both Zou Kui and Zhao Hai were stunned, completely baffled by the change.

Only Chen Cheng knew this wasn’t a simple Step Technique.

’It’s using the outward slowness and harmony of Tai Chi Nourishing Life as a framework. Internally, I’m channeling its True Intent—’Unceasing Harmony, Unending Life’—for Force Manipulation, accumulating power.’

He pushed his Blood Qi to its limit, but not through the channels of the Hidden Dragon Fist. Instead, he transformed it into a tide, coiling inward, layer upon layer, continuously compacting itself.

Countless tides, feeding into one another, compressed further into a sphere, and that sphere then condensed into a single point.

Unleashed in an instant, it was Chen Cheng’s own creation: Tai Chi Force!

It allowed for a burst of power that shattered the limits of both speed and strength in an incredibly short time!

”WHOOSH—”

With a sharp whistle of air, Chen Cheng vanished from between Zou Kui and Zhao Hai without a trace.

”THUD!”

In that split second, neither Zou Kui nor Zhao Hai could react, and they slammed violently into one another.

The Poisonous Thorn in Zou Kui’s hand plunged squarely into the flesh of Zhao Hai’s shoulder.

’Damn it...’

Zou Kui’s immense forward momentum was thrown off course. His upper body pitched forward uncontrollably, leaving him wide open.

The vanished Chen Cheng had already reappeared behind him. His right fist, like a lurking dragon, spiraled out from his waist in a devastating strike.

The Tai Chi Force erupted, augmented by the Armor-piercing Trait...

”BOOM!!!”

A terrifying, muffled boom, like the deep thunder of an alligator drum shattering the night’s silence.

The next instant, the fist sank deep into the center of Zou Kui’s back.

Zou Kui’s expression froze completely. His eyes bulged, the corners seeming to split. All his Blood Qi, all his agonized screams, were annihilated by that single punch.

His entire body was thrown forward, feet leaving the ground. What he spewed from his mouth was no longer air, but a bloody slurry mixed with pieces of his internal organs.

He landed heavily on top of Zhao Hai, twitched twice, and then moved no more.

”You... who in the world are you...”

Zhao Hai wasn’t dead yet, but with the potent poison coursing through him, he couldn’t get up. His lips were black, his eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was as faint and wheezing as a broken bellows, nearly inaudible.

Chen Cheng didn’t answer. He simply knelt and pulled the Poisonous Thorn—as long as a palm and half a finger wide—from Zhao Hai’s shoulder.

He pressed the tip of the thorn against Zhao Hai’s throat and swiped deeply, ending his life for good.

The commotion from the fight had been considerable, and Chen Cheng was already aware that many of the nearby residents had been disturbed.

He quickly relieved the three corpses of their Money Bags. He wrapped them up with the Poisonous Thorn in a piece of cloth, stowed it away, then went into the side hall and collected the small, palm-sized wooden box from the table.

While he was first staking them out from against the wall, Chen Cheng had heard Zhao Hai and Zou Kui mention it several times.

This was a box of incredibly valuable Treasure Snake Dried Meat!

...

「Back at the Martial Arts Hall.」

First, Chen Cheng hid the Poisonous Thorn in a crack along the edge of his bed frame. Then, after discarding the original pouches, he consolidated the loot—a total of less than ten taels of silver—into his own Money Bag.

But tonight’s greatest prize was, without a doubt, that box of dried meat.

The so-called Treasure Snake was similar to a Treasure Medicine. Among innumerable species of snakes, a rare few were born of incredible fortune, having absorbed the very essence of creation, making them exceedingly rare and valuable.

So much so that Zou Kui had foregone silver entirely, specifically demanding the Treasure Snake Dried Meat as his payment for helping Zhao Hai.

Chen Cheng composed himself, then opened the wooden box. He poured all the dried meat out onto the table and gave it a quick count.

There were only nineteen pieces of the crimson, knuckle-sized dried meat in total.

’...My life is only worth this little?’

Chen Cheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But when he actually picked up one of the pieces, the expression on his face immediately changed.

—