Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”Pang Wanhe, Seven Blood Pillar Pattern, six feet and one inch exactly!”

As the examiner on that platform announced the result, the crowd erupted in gasps and discussion, instantly overshadowing Chen Cheng’s moment of glory.

”That young man... he’s much stronger than Cheng...” The woman from the Li family frowned, her brow deeply furrowed.

Beside her, Zhuang Hui Xian’s eyes were filled with doubt.

”He looks to be only twenty-three or twenty-four, and he’s just a step away from the Eight Pillars of Blood Qi. With that kind of strength, shouldn’t he have chosen to join a Sect? Why is he wasting his time at the Martial Selection?”

”His surname is Pang.”

Yu Feng said in a hushed voice,

”For a Martial Artist, there are three paths: joining a Sect, entering service through the Martial Selection, or attaching oneself to one of the great families. No matter which path they choose, it all comes down to acquiring resources you can’t get on the open market. Things like Secret Martial Arts, Top-grade Treasure Medicine, Elixirs, and meat from Exotic or Spirit Beasts.”

”The Pang Family is the one among Zhao City’s Seven Great Races with the most Military Officers in positions of real power and the most accumulated Military Merit over generations. For a Pang disciple, entering service is a much smoother path. They get more opportunities and, naturally, more resources. It’s not necessarily worse than joining a Sect.”

”...That’s true.”

Zhuang Hui Xian nodded and sighed softly.

”One generation plants the trees, and the next enjoys the shade. The Pang Family disciples truly are a different breed from those who have no foundation in the official world and must claw their way up from the bottom.”

Over with the Pang Family.

”Grandfather!”

The youth in martial attire had a look of pure astonishment.

”How did Wanhe’s Realm improve so much all of a sudden? Was he deliberately hiding his strength before?”

Pang Shixun shook his head but didn’t reply. There wasn’t much joy on his face, either.

The youth in martial attire beside him was stunned for a moment, but he quickly realized what was going on.

Pang Wanhe’s current result wasn’t something he had achieved through a recent breakthrough.

Rather, Pang Shixun had used his connections in the official circles to let Pang Wanhe familiarize himself with this year’s Measuring Strength Map ahead of time.

The Measuring Strength Map was similar to the True Strength Crossing Thought Map. As the patterns appeared, it measured a Martial Artist’s Power on one hand, and their fine control over that Power on the other.

Every year for the Martial Selection, the intricate mechanisms within the Measuring Strength Map were subtly adjusted.

By familiarizing oneself with it for a period beforehand and figuring out the flow of its pathways, one could gain a huge advantage when channeling their Power into it.

For that very reason, Pang Wanhe’s stunning performance, which had amazed the entire audience, was merely an acceptable result in Pang Shixun’s eyes—neither a success nor a failure.

But in the eyes of the uninformed, Pang Wanhe had just become the most likely person to take the crown this year.

”This year’s Martial Selection Champion will most likely be him.”

Wu Shannan narrowed his eyes and casually probed,

”Elder Pang has mentioned the matter of a marriage alliance to me several times now.”

”That’s a good thing.”

Wu Ziyu nodded and said,

”The Wu Family’s focus is on commerce, while the Pang Family is deeply rooted in official careers. If we arrange a marriage between disciples from our core Direct Lineages and form a solid alliance, our families will complement each other—government and business. It would be a win-win!”

As Wu Ziyu spoke, she suddenly realized the topic was aimed at her. Her expression instantly turned cold.

”Grandfather, let me make this clear! I won’t marry him! In the main branch of our Wu Family’s Direct Lineage, I have several older female cousins. It’s not my turn, no matter how you look at it!”

”Look at you, getting all worked up.”

Wu Shannan chuckled.

”I’ve raised you to be part of the family’s core leadership. How could I possibly marry you off so casually? If someone wants to marry you... being a mere Martial Selection Champion isn’t nearly enough!”

”Grandfather...”

Wu Ziyu’s cheeks flushed slightly. She felt mortified, but she had to say,

”Actually... actually, you don’t have to set the bar so high. I think... potential is what’s most important... D-don’t you think?”

”What do I think?”

Wu Shannan roared with laughter.

”I’d say a grown daughter can’t be kept at home!”

As they spoke, more eye-catching results were announced one after another by the examiners on the various platforms.

”Kuang Yifeng, Seven Blood Pillar Pattern, three feet, six and seven-tenths inches!”

”Hong Fang, Seven Blood Pillar Pattern, four feet and two inches exactly!”

”Zhao Tianlai, Seven Blood Pillar Pattern, five feet exactly!”

”Zhuang Zhen, Seven Blood Pillar Pattern, three...”

”...”

”There really are a lot more at the Transforming Force Realm this year than in the past.”

Cao Miao narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the grounds. He could still see quite a few Transforming Force Martial Artists who had yet to take the stage for their test.

”In previous years, every Great Martial Arts Hall might produce one or two Transforming Force Disciples. Small and medium-sized Martial Arts Halls might not produce one for several years, and the various families would produce even fewer... This year is really different.”

”Indeed... I didn’t even sign up this year...”

Fatty Fang nodded heavily, then couldn’t help but frown.

”But I heard the requirements for next year’s Martial Selection are going to be even stricter. Anyone who makes the Golden List will have to go to the front lines... That’s probably why so many Transforming Force practitioners who were planning to keep building their strength don’t dare to wait any longer. They’re all rushing to participate this year...”

Hearing this, Cao Miao glanced silently at Fatty Fang and couldn’t help but sigh.

’This fatty wasn’t weak to begin with, but unfortunately, he was stuck at a bottleneck. For months, he hadn’t been able to cultivate even a single sliver of Blood Qi.’

’Once stuck, it might be for a lifetime...’

「Some time later.」

The first round of the force measurement test ended, and the participating Martial Artists temporarily withdrew to rest.

The Scribes from the Martial Guard Headquarters immediately began to rank the results of all the participants.

”Mother... I...”

Shen Chun walked back to Shen Mi’s side, completely dejected.

In her group, several people who came after her had scored worse, so she was no longer in last place. Still, the result was ultimately not very good.

”It’s all right.”

Shen Mi smiled and comforted her gently,

”Actually, I’ve been secretly asking people about how you’re doing. I know about every little bit of progress you’ve made. You’ve already done very well.”

”Mother...”

Shen Chun’s eyes instantly turned red. Unable to hold back any longer, she threw herself into Shen Mi’s arms and began to sob quietly.

Seeing this, the few people nearby smiled knowingly and averted their gazes.