Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”Losing is one thing, but getting injured by them would be a huge problem. They won’t hold back. If they get a chance, they’ll definitely go for the kill!”

”Understood.”

Chen Cheng acknowledged, silently memorizing what those people looked like.

He didn’t need to make a special effort to remember Qin Zhao, though. They were old acquaintances.

What concerned Chen Cheng was that Qin Zhao had ranked fifth among all the competitors in the first round.

Chen Cheng hadn’t held back in the first round, and the gap between him and Qin Zhao was clear.

If he drew Qin Zhao, Chen Cheng wasn’t confident he could win.

”Heavens above, please give my brother Cheng some good luck. Don’t let him draw one of those monsters from the top ranks...”

Fatty Fang pressed his palms together and bowed repeatedly, the fat on his body jiggling with the motion.

”It’s Chen Cheng’s turn.”

Cao Miao’s gaze narrowed as he watched Chen Cheng draw a red slip of paper.

Fatty Fang leaped to his feet and waved. When Chen Cheng saw him, he held up three fingers.

”Number three!”

Fatty Fang turned his head to look at the other person beside Cao Miao.

That man was also holding a red slip of paper, on which the number ”3” was clearly written.

”Heh, what a coincidence, isn’t it?”

Kuang Yifeng grinned and said:

”This little bastard surnamed Chen has been disloyal to Dragon Mountain Hall. I’ll take this chance to cripple him and cleanse this stain from our name!”

”You...”

Hearing this, Fatty Fang’s brow knotted. The flesh on his face quivered, and he opened his mouth, ready to start cursing.

But Cao Miao raised a hand, cutting in.

”Chen Cheng has committed no great wrong, nor has he ever done anything to harm the interests of Dragon Mountain Hall. Furthermore, he has always been on good terms with my Cao Family.”

As Cao Miao spoke, his gaze slowly shifted to Kuang Yifeng.

”Would you be willing to give this old man some face? Do not injure Chen Cheng.”

”...Of course!”

Kuang Yifeng grinned and said:

”I’ll certainly give face to Master Cao! Rest assured, I won’t let Chen Cheng get injured. I’ll just knock him off the platform.”

”Good. In that case, I will owe you a favor.”

Cao Miao acknowledged and said no more.

Fatty Fang couldn’t say any more either, so he plopped back down, sullen.

Kuang Yifeng was all smiles, but inwardly he was sneering:

’Heh, I’m a man of my word. I’ll make sure that country bumpkin Chen Cheng doesn’t get *injured*. But I never said I wouldn’t let him *die*!’

’In a real fight, life and death are up to fate. Even the official family won’t investigate. If I really kill him, what can you, Cao Miao, do about it? You old dog, are you going to bite me?’

Kuang Yifeng was not blindly confident.

Before today, the Qin Family had already investigated every participating Martial Artist.

Kuang Yifeng, of course, had seen the intelligence reports.

According to those reports, Chen Cheng’s greatest asset was his solid and dense Blood Qi, which far surpassed others of the Same Tier.

And in the first round, his own results were clearly superior to Chen Cheng’s.

This meant that Kuang Yifeng had already nullified Chen Cheng’s main advantage, while possessing strengths of his own that Chen Cheng couldn’t hope to match.

He had nearly perfected the Entry Level of the Secret Hidden Dragon Fist. Although he hadn’t been training it for long, his progress could only be described as miraculous.

He didn’t dare to dream of making it onto the Golden List.

But as for killing a mere Chen Cheng, he was completely confident.

Meanwhile, matches began simultaneously on the five fighting platforms.

Zhuang Zhen was quite lucky. Although drawing Blue One meant she had to be the first to enter the platform, her opponent was just a regular Martial Artist who had only recently condensed his Seventh Pillar of Blood Qi.

Zhuang Zhen defeated her opponent in just a few moves.

Her own strength was already greater than her opponent’s, and with the dual enhancement to both Blood Qi and physique from her Four Gods Profound Body, her victory was never in doubt.

Their match ended, and the next one began right after.

With matches rotating across the five platforms, the competition proceeded much faster than expected.

「A short while later.」

Chen Cheng and Kuang Yifeng were already standing on the platform marked with a red banner.

”The heavens must be blind! Why did my brother Cheng have to draw Kuang Yifeng...”

Fatty Fang grumbled under his breath.

Cao Miao sighed silently.

”Lady Li...”

Zhuang Hui Xian reminded her softly:

”Cheng might lose this match, and he might get injured... You... you should prepare yourself.”

Lady Li didn’t answer, only nodding silently.

She did her best to appear calm, not wanting to embarrass Chen Cheng, but the hands hidden in her sleeves were trembling uncontrollably, her palms slick with cold sweat.

Beside them, Shen Mi’s breathing also grew heavy, the rise and fall of her chest becoming more pronounced. Her impressive, rounded figure was too prominent to be hidden.

”Victory and defeat are common for a Martial Artist. There’s no need to be overly concerned.”

Yu Feng said consolingly:

”With Cheng’s current age and Cultivation, even if he loses this match, plenty of major factions will be scrambling to recruit him.”

”And not just for some nominal post, but as a Tributor—a position with excellent status and benefits! As long as he’s patient and continues to improve for another year or two, his future will be limitless!”

Lady Li silently nodded, still saying nothing, but the hands in her sleeves trembled even more violently.

What did status, benefits, or a limitless future matter? In her eyes, none of it was more important than her son’s safety.

”It’s starting!”

Shen Chun suddenly sat up straight.

The eyes of everyone around them immediately snapped to the platform.

On the platform, Kuang Yifeng launched the first attack.

With a hard stomp, he shot forward like a cheetah. A single half-step carried him over ten feet. His right fist spiraled out from his waist, letting out a low whistle as it aimed straight for Chen Cheng’s face.

The punch was incredibly fast—so fast that some in the audience blinked and missed the entire motion.

Before the fist even arrived, a tide of Transforming Force washed over him. The invisible power compressed the air, creating a low hum, as if an unseen beast were opening its massive jaws.