Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Chen Cheng watched in silence, feeling as if something had been ignited within him.

It started burning deep in his chest, spreading through his blood, and in an instant, had engulfed his entire body.

It was as if the drumming had awakened the Blood Qi within him. It churned uncontrollably as its scent rose, surging rhythmically through his body in time with the beat.

This unprecedented feeling was utterly unique.

Even when Chen Cheng tried to suppress it, his Blood Qi and its scent stirred restlessly, ready to erupt.

That feeling... perhaps it could be called... battle intent!

”Junior Brother, is this your first time seeing the Soul Loss Dance?”

Zhuang Zhen glanced at him sideways. Seeing Chen Cheng nod, she continued to explain.

”Although this dance is used in sacrificial ceremonies, it originally grew out of a special form of Martial Arts.”

”The dancers you see are all accomplished Martial Artists who serve in the Evil Extermination Bureau.”

”It’s said that this dance can also concentrate Pure Yang Qi and has the effect of dispelling evil and suppressing demons. When performed by Martial Artists, it might even perform a Summoning of heroic spirits, ensuring favorable weather for the coming year and warding off all evil.”

Zhuang Zhen paused for a moment before continuing.

”The drumbeat is the same. It also comes from the Martial Arts of an Alien Race that uses music to achieve the Dao. When ordinary people hear it, their Blood Qi stirs and their will to fight boils over. It was originally used as a battle drum to break enemy formations when two armies clashed.”

”Using music to achieve the Dao?”

Chen Cheng’s interest was piqued. After a moment of thought, he asked,

”Is that another form of infusing Power? For example, infusing Power into the music...?”

”Exactly! Junior Brother, your Comprehension is truly exceptional. You understand with just a hint!”

Zhuang Zhen’s beautiful eyes quivered, a bright light flashing in their depths as she continued the explanation.

”The world’s Martial Arts are many and varied, appearing in all sorts of strange and wonderful forms. Whether it’s sonic Martial Arts, the Fist Gang of External Boxing, or the Artifact Radiance of the Weapon Strike Style, they all boil down to the same thing: infusing Power.”

”And the essence of this sonic Martial Arts is to infuse Power into soundwaves. However, one must first cultivate Transforming Force to truly turn it into a destructive and lethal combat ability.”

”Infusing Bright Force or Dark Force into soundwaves has almost no killing power. But when combined with special rhythms, it can, to some extent, still affect a person’s emotions, and even their Heart Spirit.”

”Transforming Force?”

Chen Cheng’s eyes lit up as he pressed for more.

”Senior Sister, can you explain it to me in detail?”

”Of course.”

Zhuang Zhen collected herself and began to explain seriously.

”The orthodox explanation is this: you must refine and polish the Inner Three Harmonies and the Outer Three Harmonies until you achieve Six Harmonies Penetration. Then, using the Seven Pillars of Blood Qi as a foundation, you let the scent of your blood fill your body and touch the realm of Heart Strength Harmony. Your Blood Qi will then evolve and transform, giving birth to Transforming Force.”

”The most critical part is ’Heart Strength Harmony,’ which is followed by ’Power filling the entire body, to be released or retracted at will.’”

”You can project Power from any part of your body at any time, forming an invisible barrier so perfect that ’a feather cannot be added, a fly cannot land.’ It’s a state where ’heat and cold cannot invade, and Bright and Dark cannot break.’”

Chen Cheng listened in silence, the light in his eyes flickering continuously.

His eyes shone particularly brightly when he heard the last sentence.

’Heat and cold cannot invade.’ He could see this firsthand with Zhuang Zhen and Gu Kaishen. Despite the biting cold wind, they wore spring and summer clothes, and no white mist escaped their lips when they spoke.

To put it in the terms of his past life, the heat from their bodies didn’t leak out at all; their energy efficiency was approaching the theoretical maximum.

As for ’Bright and Dark cannot break,’ it meant that as long as one was protected by the Transforming Force Barrier, neither Bright Force nor Dark Force could get through. This alone was enough to elevate a Transforming Force master to an entirely different level.

It was the difference between quantity and quality—a chasm that Lower Rank Martial Artists could never cross, no matter how desperately they fought.

In short, for Lower Rank Martial Artists using Bright or Dark Force, the only way to defeat a Transforming Force master was through human-wave tactics: sacrificing lives to slowly exhaust the opponent.

But against a monster with a deep foundation and extraordinary endurance, even human-wave tactics might not be effective.

Strong!

Too strong!

Chen Cheng lowered his eyelids, hiding the flash of excitement in his eyes.

’I wish I could go back and continue training right now,’ he thought. ’Anything to get even an inch closer to Transforming Force would be worth it.’

”You can try punching me.”

Zhuang Zhen spoke again. After a thought, she added a warning.

”Don’t use too much force.”

With that, she held out a fair-skinned palm.

Chen Cheng collected himself, then struck her palm with about ten percent of his strength.

There was no visible effect.

But Chen Cheng felt it with perfect clarity: his fist was repelled by a Power several times his own.

His arm shook violently as he barely managed to dissipate the rebounding force.

’It was a good thing Zhuang Zhen warned me not to use too much force,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, the rebound would have been even stronger. It might have sent me flying.’

”Now you know why ’a feather cannot be added, a fly cannot land,’ right?”

As Zhuang Zhen spoke, she subtly pursed her lips, as if amused by the subtle expression on Chen Cheng’s face after the punch. She seemed to want to laugh but held it back.

”This Transforming Force Barrier, unless I consciously suppress it, will always be active, reflecting any Power directed at me.”

She paused, then added.

”As for the offensive power of Transforming Force, it’s not convenient to demonstrate here. To put it simply, ’plucking a leaf or a flower can kill a man, and a single breath can defeat an enemy.’ The principle behind it is the infusion of Transforming Force.”

”I understand...”

A new light flickered in Chen Cheng’s eyes, as if he had reached a new understanding.

’The major Martial Arts Halls all use the True Strength Crossing Thought Map to refine their Power.’

’But Dragon Mountain Hall’s Celestial God Hidden Dragon Painting has a clear advantage in this regard. Besides helping to generate Dark Force and evolve it into Transforming Force, it also refines and enhances Power itself.’

’It seems I’ll have to spend more time and resources on the Celestial God Hidden Dragon Painting from now on,’ Chen Cheng thought.