Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”I can’t stay. Just a few words, then I have to hurry back to the hall.”

Cao Miao was in a hurry, his expression haggard and uneasy.

Chen Cheng didn’t have to guess to know the situation at the Upper Courtyard must be dire.

”The Hall Master knows everything now... He’s filled with regret and wants to invite you back to the Upper Courtyard. He’ll do his best to make up for his past mistakes...”

Cao Miao said,

”He said it himself. He’s willing to take you as his Closed-door Disciple and teach you everything he knows. If you can master the Entry Level of the Secret Martial Arts, he’ll even personally recommend you to the Nine Altars Sect.”

”I’ll pass.”

Chen Cheng shook his head but said nothing more.

Even someone with Pang Shixun’s status couldn’t guarantee Chen Cheng’s acceptance into the Nine Altars Sect.

So what could the now severely injured and powerless Wan Qianshan possibly guarantee?

As for the Secret Hidden Dragon Fist, it no longer held much appeal for Chen Cheng.

Before reaching the Divine Storage Realm, one Secret Martial Art was enough. Any more would be biting off more than he could chew, a waste of precious cultivation time.

”I knew it... You’re not the type to turn back...”

Cao Miao sighed, then took a white porcelain medicine bottle from his robes and handed it over.

”These are the last thirteen Red Jade Blood-Nourishing Pills in the hall. The Hall Master had me bring them all for you. Don’t refuse. We’ll surely see each other again someday. It’s better to part as friends than to harbor an old grudge...”

”...Thank Hall Master Wan for me.”

Chen Cheng accepted the white porcelain bottle and tucked it away inside his robes.

This gift, frankly, was an olive branch. Cao Miao had made it clear: accepting it meant goodwill, while refusing it would lead to mutual suspicion and wariness, ultimately turning into a bitter grudge.

Chen Cheng understood this reasoning perfectly. He accepted the gift directly, without any need for excessive pleasantries.

Besides, the gift was exactly what Chen Cheng desperately needed right now.

Although the Red Jade Blood-Nourishing Pill was a bit inferior to the Three Treasures Nourishing Essence Pill, it was the best supplementary cultivation medicine he could get his hands on. It could significantly boost his cultivation speed.

With the advancement of Chen Cheng’s Realm, the effects of a single Red Jade Blood-Nourishing Pill would only last him about a day.

Thirteen days would be enough for Chen Cheng to elevate his strength by another significant margin.

His task completed, Cao Miao hastily took his leave.

...

Throughout Zhao City, inside and out, notices were posted at every city gate, at the entrances to the Government Office, and on every crowded street corner and marketplace.

On every street corner and in every alley, in teahouses and taverns, everyone was discussing this year’s Martial Selection.

Some mimicked the techniques from the tournament stage, while others discussed the infamous scenes of carnage and slaughter. Bursts of gasps and sighs erupted one after another, as if the entire city of Zhao was abuzz over the Martial Selection.

South Outer City, Lunan District.

The Chen Family Courtyard.

The local Constable had already delivered the news. The local gangs, wealthy households, various factions big and small, and all the neighbors had come one after another to offer their congratulations.

Chen An and Bai Shi finally managed to see out the last of their guests.

They shut the courtyard gate.

They gazed at the monetary gifts, no less than a hundred taels of silver, and the presents piled up like a small mountain.

The two of them fell into a contemplative silence.

After a long while.

Bai Shi let out a long breath she’d been holding and exclaimed with heartfelt emotion,

”Cheng has really made it! An esteemed Military Guard for an official family! A true, bona fide new noble of the Inner City!”

”Yes...”

Chen An sighed deeply.

”Now, what Cheng gets as mere scraps is more than we could earn in a lifetime... Before, I wouldn’t have dared to dream of such a thing...”

”What are you thinking?”

Bai Shi shot Chen An a look.

”All of this belongs to Cheng! We have to find a chance to get it to him! We can’t touch a single cent of it!”

”But... alright. I’ll listen to you.”

Chen An nodded without another word.

When it came to important matters, letting Bai Shi take the lead was always the right choice.

’He remembered how if Bai Shi hadn’t made the final call to stand with Chen Cheng, the two of them wouldn’t be where they were today.’

”We’re not just going to send all this to Cheng, we’re going to buy him an additional gift to congratulate him properly!”

Bai Shi said,

”If we hadn’t been riding on Cheng’s coattails, would you have become a Rice Shop Steward? Would I be a steward in the restaurant’s kitchen? For all we know, we’d still be scrabbling for food in some mud pit!”

”Alright, I’ll do whatever you say.”

Chen An nodded emphatically. He might not know about other things, but he had a rough idea of how many people had starved or frozen to death in the slums over the past winter.

If not for Cheng’s help, the two of them might not have even survived, let alone be living the good life they had now.

”Then there’s the matter of the draft. We’ll have to ask Cheng to figure something out...”

Bai Shi said,

”I heard the draft is starting right after the Martial Selection. They’re taking one man for every two in a household. On our family’s register, it’s you and Xiaofan. One of you is bound to be taken...”

”The northern battlefield is incredibly dangerous. If you or Xiaofan gets drafted, it’s a certain death sentence... Right now, only Cheng can help us.”

”Yes...”

Chen An sighed deeply.

”Xiaofan is never home... We can only rely on Cheng to save us...”

...

「Seven days later.」

Inner City, South Sixth District, Rushan Street.

The six storefronts gifted by Wu Ziyu had been cleaned up by the Li Family, Bai Shi, and Chen An working together.

The rear courtyard of one of the shops became Chen An and Bai Shi’s new home.

The family of three had been successfully transferred to Chen Cheng’s household registration, completely exempting them from military service and labor levies.

Chen Fan never made an appearance.

Chen An and Bai Shi, however, were endlessly grateful to Chen Cheng, nearly kneeling to kowtow to him.

For ordinary people like them, exemption from military service was tantamount to having their lives saved. How could they not be genuinely grateful for such a life-saving favor?