Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Chapter 333: Chapter 165: Weak (Part 2)

Beneath the robe.

Two Profound Black Daggers flashed across, then vanished in an instant.

The next moment.

The black robe swept over Liu Yikai’s head and swiftly melted into the dark depths of a side alley ahead.

Liu Yikai remained in his slumped, seated position, his eyes staring straight ahead, the swaying lanterns of the street reflected in his pupils.

One breath.

Two breaths.

His head slowly slid off his neck, and a perfectly straight, thread-thin slit opened in the Soft Armor on his chest.

Three breaths.

From his bare neck stump and the gash on his chest, pillars of crimson blood erupted simultaneously.

…

Outside Qin Zhao’s private residence, Chen Cheng was silently hidden in a secluded corner he had scouted out beforehand.

He had been coming here to stake out the place for a while each day, and he had long since determined that Qin Zhao lived in this house alone.

Qin Zhao’s three daily meals were delivered by two disciples from Cloud Platform Hall, both with the surname Qin.

One of them was the young man who had just delivered a message to Liu Yikai in the North Thirteenth District.

The other, if things went as expected, had already gone to Cloud Platform Hall to report the situation.

And at this moment, the sounds of fighting could still be heard intermittently from within the private residence.

This meant that the Pang Family’s assassins hadn’t finished off Qin Zhao, but it also seemed Qin Zhao was trapped inside, unable to break out.

Chen Cheng didn’t make any rash moves, simply waiting silently where he was.

For him, Qin Zhao dying at the hands of the Pang Family’s assassins was undoubtedly the best possible outcome.

It would be clean and simple, and he wouldn’t be entangled in the karmic consequences.

But as time ticked by, the sounds of fighting continued to emanate from deep within the residence.

Chen Cheng’s brow gradually furrowed.

He had been calculating the time, knowing with crystal clarity in his heart that the assassins’ window of opportunity had closed.

Just as he expected, a series of powerful gusts roared from the distance, as if a flock of massive birds of prey were sweeping across the rooftops.

Figure after figure leaped through the air as if flying, their Body Techniques swift. With just two or three bounds, they crossed the long street and vaulted directly into Qin Zhao’s private residence.

The people from Cloud Platform Hall had arrived.

Chen Cheng saw one of the figures with perfect clarity—it was none other than the Cloud Platform Hall Master, Qin Yuan.

His Blood Qi was boiling, and his invisible aura was as profound as an abyss and as imposing as a mountain. Even from a great distance, it made Chen Cheng’s heart clench.

Chen Cheng knew very well that with this old bastard’s arrival, the situation was no longer in question.

Qin Zhao would certainly be saved.

The key point was, after tipping their hand like this, finding another chance to kill Qin Zhao would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The Pang Family…

‘Fucking useless teammates!’

Chen Cheng couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

But just as he was preparing to withdraw, his heart suddenly tightened.

His gaze immediately swept to the far end of the long street.

Several more figures were rushing over, their speed even greater, their Body Techniques even more profound. They seemed to flicker in and out of view, closing in on the residence’s outer wall in an instant.

Even with Chen Cheng’s eyesight, he couldn’t make out the silhouettes of the two figures in the lead. They were like two bolts of black lightning, vaulting into the residence in the blink of an eye.

Immediately after, a series of booming explosions rocked the residence from within.

The commotion was so immense it was as if cannonballs were plowing the earth, threatening to level the entire residence.

‘This…’

Chen Cheng’s heart seized, and a chill shot up from the base of his spine to the back of his head.

‘I should apologize to the Pang Family first.’

‘They aren’t useless teammates at all. They’re clearly a bunch of old schemers who’ve planned a step ahead.’

‘The first wave of assassins deliberately tied up Qin Zhao to lure the experts from Cloud Platform Hall to the rescue.’

‘This last group of experts who leaped into the residence—they are the Pang Family’s true killing blow.’

‘They intend to wipe out the entire upper echelon of Cloud Platform Hall in one fell swoop.’

After figuring this out, the chill running down Chen Cheng’s spine instantly grew several degrees colder.

‘There’s always someone better, and a heaven beyond heaven!’

‘How could any major power truly capable of establishing itself in this world be a simple affair?’

‘Especially a great clan like the Pang Family, one that has held a stable position in the political sphere for generations and maintained good relations with Sects—they truly could not be underestimated.’

At this thought, an unprecedented sense of unease surged through Chen Cheng’s heart, a feeling like an icy tide washing over his feet, submerging him inch by inch.

‘In the end, I’m still too weak.’

‘Never mind the future—a vortex of this magnitude right here is enough to swallow me whole, without so much as a splash.’

‘And the even crueler truth is…’

‘In a game of this level, I don’t even qualify to be a pawn on the board.’

‘Weak!’

‘Too weak!’

‘With my current strength, if any of these major powers had the slightest killing intent, they could erase me with ease!’

‘A Sect!’

‘I have to join a Sect as soon as possible.’

‘Whether it’s the Nine Altars Sect or the Mountain and Sea Sect, the sooner I join, the sooner I can obtain more profound Martial Arts and scarcer resources, and the faster I can increase my own strength!’

‘To survive in this world, the only way is to keep climbing, to keep struggling upward, without relaxing for even a second!’

‘First, I need to get out of here…’

In this situation, Chen Cheng didn’t think he could gain any advantage, so he turned to leave.

“BOOM—!”

Just then, a massive explosion erupted, shaking the entire residence as if it were trembling.

Chen Cheng froze and shifted his gaze back.

The residence’s courtyard wall first bulged outward. The next instant, the entire wall exploded, sending bricks and rubble spewing out in a cloud of thick smoke.

Immediately after, tongues of fire shot out from the large hole, roaring as they rose, refusing to die down.

“BOOM! BOOM—!”

Two more thunderous explosions. Two pillars of fire shot into the sky from the center of the residence, billowing with smoke, reaching a height of several dozen feet. Sparks scattered everywhere, showering down like a torrential rain.

The sounds of fighting inside the residence stopped for a moment, but large swaths of flames began to burn.

‘Firearms?’

‘Divine Fire Thunder?’

Chen Cheng’s brow furrowed.

These things were extremely rare in Zhao City, practically nonexistent.

The reason Chen Cheng suspected this was because he had once spent time specifically researching Hidden Weapons. While chatting with some old masters at a Weapon Forging Shop, he had heard them mention it.

This Divine Fire Thunder was supposedly far, far more powerful than the hand grenades from his previous life.

It was said that it could directly shatter a Transforming Force Barrier.

He didn’t know which side had been responsible for these three explosions.

The fire spread with extreme speed, engulfing the entire residence in the blink of an eye. The blaze lit up the sky, dyeing the night a dark crimson.

A moment later, the sounds of fighting erupted once more.

A figure suddenly burst out from the large hole blown in the courtyard wall.

He looked back.

And fiercely hurled two egg-sized iron balls back into the opening.

“BOOM! BOOM—!”

Two more thunderous blasts. Pillars of fire shot to the sky, and smoke filled the air.

In the firelight.

Chen Cheng clearly saw the figure that had rushed out. It was Qin Zhao.

He was currently covered in blood, his clothes in tatters, and he staggered with every step.

However, as he ran, he pulled a blood-red Pill from his robes and tossed it directly into his mouth.

Though his body was still covered in wounds, he seemed to have forgotten the pain.

His steps quickly steadied, his frantic sprint grew faster and faster, and his breathing became longer and deeper. With every inhalation, his chest swelled dramatically; with every exhalation, two plumes of white mist shot from his nostrils.

The blaze grew ever more intense, clearly illuminating his rapidly contorting face and, within his deep red eyes, two bizarre, vertical pupils that writhed like Exotic Snakes.

‘The Cloth-Wrapped Demon!?’ The instant Chen Cheng saw those eyes, his heart seized once again.

In truth, ever since he had heard the news of Qin Zhao’s recovery, Chen Cheng had sensed that something was strange about it.

He just never expected the strangeness to originate from the Red Moon Sect.

At this thought, Chen Cheng unhesitatingly activated his Endless Moon Breath. He then opened all five senses, pushed his Blood Qi to its absolute limit, and enhanced his speed with the Secret Cloud Peng Leg Technique, erupting with the fastest pace he could currently muster to give chase.

Chen Cheng was well aware that Qin Zhao had intended to kill him, only giving him one month to consider his options.

If he let this tiger return to the mountains now, then in one month—or to be precise, in twenty-three days—heaven knew what would come back for him. Would it be Qin Zhao? Or some monster from the Red Moon Sect?

However, Qin Zhao’s strength was already greater than Chen Cheng’s. Now, enhanced by that blood-red Pill, his frantic sprint was far faster than usual.

Even if Chen Cheng went all out, it would be difficult to catch up.

Fortunately, Chen Cheng had already familiarized himself with the area’s layout. After observing Qin Zhao’s direction, he decisively turned into a side alley to cut him off.

At the same time, the huge commotion had long since scared away every bystander in the vicinity. But by the same token, forces from the Patrol Office, the Captain’s Mansion, and even the Evil Extermination Bureau could arrive at any moment.

For this very reason, Chen Cheng not only had to kill Qin Zhao, but he had to do it quickly.

Otherwise, if he got surrounded, he would be in deep trouble.

“SWISH—”

Qin Zhao was still sprinting, his speed even increasing, leaving a bizarre afterimage in his wake on the empty street.

Just then, Chen Cheng cut him off. He burst out from a side alley, leaped into the air, and brought a fully-powered leg crashing down on Qin Zhao’s head. It was like a Divine Thunder from the heavens, descending to exterminate evil and slaughter demons!