Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”...How much?!”

Elder Wen thought he had misheard at first. But he soon realized Chen Cheng seemed serious, and the faint, relaxed smile on his face slowly faded.

Elder Wen knew better than anyone that Chen Cheng had improved at an astonishing rate over the past half-month.

Initially, he only needed to use less than ten percent of his power and Heart Spirit to completely overwhelm Chen Cheng. Now, he had to raise that to thirty percent just to handle him with ease.

But no matter what, his strength was what it was, and every additional ten percent of power he used represented a massive hurdle.

In his eyes, Chen Cheng had always been level-headed... Why was he being so arrogant today?

Unless...

Elder Wen’s perpetually half-closed eyes suddenly widened. His lips moved slowly a few times before he asked uncertainly,

”You... you broke through again?”

”A stroke of luck.”

Chen Cheng nodded without saying much more.

Elder Wen opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat. He gave Chen Cheng a deep look and didn’t press the matter.

Elder Wen was all too familiar with the taboos among Martial Artists; some things were best left unasked. He couldn’t help but recall Chen Cheng mentioning that his Master had prepared an Herbal Decoction for him...

Good heavens!

Elder Wen inwardly sucked in a sharp breath. ’Just how much was spent on that Herbal Decoction?!’

”...Let’s begin!”

The surprise on Elder Wen’s face slowly faded away. His entire aura was now completely different from when he’d said he would use thirty percent of his power. The very air around them seemed to thicken and grow heavy.

Chen Cheng cupped his fist, about to nod in salute.

But unexpectedly, this time, Elder Wen moved first!

With a quick shift of his feet, he was on Chen Cheng in a flash. The sheer force of his presence made Chen Cheng’s skin tighten and his heart pound wildly.

Fortunately, the accumulation of experience from half a month of real combat had greatly improved Chen Cheng’s ability to handle the unexpected. He immediately sidestepped and retreated, smoothly dodging the attack while instantly entering a combat stance, not allowing Elder Wen to gain the slightest advantage.

However, Elder Wen’s speed and power were now worlds apart from before. His fist tore through the air, and the resulting gust alone was enough to make Chen Cheng’s face tingle.

In the next instant, Chen Cheng’s body moved with incredible agility. Instead of retreating, he advanced, brushing past the fierce punch. At the same time, his right hand shot out like a Spiritual Snake from its hole. He didn’t meet the attack head-on but shifted mid-motion into a coiling, strangling strike aimed at Elder Wen’s throat.

”Hm?”

Elder Wen was slightly taken aback. He had clearly used fifty percent of his power, yet not only had he failed to land a decisive blow, but Chen Cheng had also seized an opportunity!

This...

This kid’s speed and power seemed significantly stronger than that of a typical Martial Artist who had just condensed Three Pillars of Blood Qi.

Elder Wen’s thoughts raced. He secretly exerted a bit more power. Just as Chen Cheng was about to succeed, the muscles in his forearm tensed like cast iron and vibrated, unleashing a peculiar Power that erupted late but struck first, batting Chen Cheng’s attack aside.

”This... Is this the Dark Force?”

Chen Cheng stumbled back several steps. A deep, piercing pain shot through his entire right arm, and half of his body even felt slightly numb.

The crucial part was that both the pain and the numbness were radiating outward from within his body.

This meant that peculiar Power struck internally first!

”Yes, that’s Dark Force.”

Elder Wen retracted his attack and explained in a deep voice.

”For the first Three Pillars of Blood Qi, a Martial Artist refines Bright Force... This involves integrating strength, tempering the body, and strengthening Blood Qi... There is also the concept of the ’Outer Three Harmonies’: the shoulders harmonize with the hips, the elbows with the knees, and the hands with the feet...”

”But all roads lead to Rome. The ultimate goal is to achieve perfect control over one’s Physical Strength... The actual result is what you’re displaying now: your power is solid and immense, and you can control every single move with minute precision.”

Elder Wen paused, then continued.

”Bright Force injures from the outside in—external injuries are more severe than internal ones... As for Dark Force, you should have already experienced it... The pain spreads from the inside out.”

”Once a strike with Dark Force lands solidly, the internal damage far outweighs any external injury. The person hit might not even stumble back or cry out in pain. There might not be a single mark on their skin, but their internal organs, even their bone marrow, will have been grievously wounded.”

Elder Wen deliberately paused again, giving Chen Cheng time to digest and understand before he continued.

”Refining Dark Force requires the ’Inner Three Harmonies’: the Heart harmonizes with the intent, the intent with the qi, and the qi with the power...”

”The ’qi’ here is precisely your Blood Qi! When you can project the power of your Blood Qi out from your body, you have truly crossed the threshold into Dark Force!”

”However, that is something to consider only after you have condensed the Four Pillars of Blood Qi. For now, just focus on comprehending the concept and getting a feel for it. It might be helpful when the time comes.”

”Thank you for your guidance, Elder Wen.”

Chen Cheng listened in silence, already having gained many insights.

’According to Elder Wen, I’ve actually already taken this step ahead of schedule.’

’During my exploration of Tai Chi Force, my ability to perceive and guide ’force’ has evolved—from mutual reinforcement to intertwined consolidation, from condensing it into a ball to collapsing it into a single point, and finally, to instantaneous eruption.’

’Although the final effect is different from Dark Force, the process seems to have a similar ingenuity.’

At this thought, Chen Cheng’s anticipation for condensing the Four Pillars of Blood Qi deepened considerably. When that time came, he would be able to verify his current judgment.

’If I’m right, then perhaps my Dark Force will also be different from others’.

”Come, let’s continue.”

Elder Wen shook out his arms and said with a chuckle.

”From now on, I’ll be using Dark Force from time to time. You’ll have to be on high alert, or you’re in for a rough time!”

”Bring it on!”

Far from being afraid, an irrepressible excitement surged in Chen Cheng’s eyes.

He understood with perfect clarity: only a fight like this could allow him to accumulate the kind of experience he had never had before.

The more serious Elder Wen became, the more excited he grew.

...

「Dragon Mountain Middle Courtyard, Outer Hall.」

Lu Song and Xu Chengfeng, two Imperial Guards from the South Outer City Patrol Headquarters, had brought a number of constables with them to thoroughly search Chen Cheng’s room.

The one responsible for receiving and guiding them was Zhuang Zhen, who was ranked sixth in the Inner Hall.

At first, she had tried to tactfully persuade them that picking the lock and breaking down the door without any explanation seemed rather inappropriate.

Unfortunately, the matter had been approved by Ye Yang.

Moreover, before searching Chen Cheng’s room, these constables had already searched Xiao Yi’s quarters in the Inner Hall.

Even though Xiao Yi had repeatedly tried to refuse, his place was still turned upside down, and they even found two extremely well-hidden Erotic Paintings.

If even a genius from the Inner Hall was treated this way, what right did Chen Cheng have to refuse?

”Lord Lu, Lord Xu.”

A young constable stepped forward to report.

”We’ve searched every corner and every crack in this room. Nothing is out of place.”

Hearing this, Zhuang Zhen, who had been standing silently with a detached expression, let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

Xu Chengfeng, on the other hand, wore an ’I-knew-it’ expression, as if he had long expected that this kind of needle-in-a-haystack search would be a complete waste of effort.

Lu Song, however, twitched his nose slightly and muttered, ”The medicinal smell in this room... it seems...”

He trailed off, leaving them in suspense.

Everyone around him looked on with curiosity.

Zhuang Zhen, however, couldn’t help but grow tense. The rise and fall of her full chest quickened.