Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

"They aren’t just on bad terms with me."

Chen Cheng said indifferently.

"They’re trying to drive my mother and me to our deaths."

"Yes, I know... I was just feeling a bit emotional. I wasn’t trying to persuade you of anything..."

Chen An explained hurriedly, his tone full of regret, as if blaming himself for running his mouth.

"Nowadays, I... I don’t associate with that side of the family anymore... I meant well, tried to talk some sense into Chen Hao, but he... Sigh..."

Chen An heaved another long sigh and said no more, simply lowering his eyes to avoid Chen Cheng’s gaze.

Chen Cheng’s brow twitched. Sensing something, he immediately circled around to Chen An’s front to get a better look at him.

Sure enough, on the other side of Chen An’s cheek was the faint, lingering remnant of a bruise. The outline was still vaguely visible—it was a handprint.

"I’m completely disheartened with that side of the family..."

Chen An turned his head away, not wanting Chen Cheng to look any longer, and changed the subject in a low voice.

"Little... Cheng, what brought you all the way out here today?"

"A friend from the Hunting Manor was hosting a banquet. I went over for a couple of drinks."

Chen Cheng answered casually, then asked,

"Third Uncle, what’s going on up on the mountain? I saw you running down in a panic from a long way off."

"There’s... there’s a monster on the mountain..."

As if recalling an extremely terrifying scene, Chen An’s face went deathly pale, and his pupils contracted involuntarily.

"I caught a glimpse of it from a distance... It looked like an old ape, quite a bit taller than you, with sparse strips of black cloth wrapped around its body..."

"It was... it was holding Third Master Gou’s body and... chewing on it... You remember Third Master Gou, right? He used to hold you when you were a child."

"...I remember."

Chen Cheng nodded, his brow furrowing involuntarily.

This world did indeed have Demon Fiends, spirits, and other strange, supernatural beings, but they almost never appeared so close to the city. At least, Chen Cheng had never encountered one in his entire life.

More importantly, it was wrapped in black cloth.

This was enough to prove that it wasn’t an ordinary monster, but some strange creature related to the Red Moon Nunnery.

Back then, when the Red Moon Nunnery was buying up corpses in huge quantities, rumors had already spread through the city. They said the bodies were secretly processed with an Evil Technique into Cloth Puppets, and the failed ones were used to feed strange creatures.

Chen Cheng didn’t know the exact truth.

And he had no desire to find out.

"Third Uncle, you should head back first. My friends are still behind me; I’ll wait for them,"

Chen Cheng said.

"This place isn’t safe..."

Chen An started to speak, but suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

He abruptly realized that Chen Cheng was no longer the muddle-headed, quiet boy he once was. He wasn’t even an ordinary person anymore.

Whether it was dangerous or not, Chen Cheng could judge for himself. As for staying or leaving, who was he, Chen An, to say anything?

"Cheng, I’ll listen to you. I’m leaving now. Be careful."

After saying this, Chen An hurried away.

After watching the crowd run off into the distance, Chen Cheng turned and headed in the opposite direction of the incident on the mountainside, ducking into another stretch of forest.

Dry branches and fallen leaves snapped under his feet, making soft, crunching sounds.

He didn’t walk quickly, but all his senses were fully extended until the only sounds left were the wind and his own breathing.

Confirming he was alone, Chen Cheng placed the wine jug on the ground. He then calmed his Heart Spirit and looked inward at his status panel.

[Health Tai Chi]: Limit-Breaking (Available)

’Break through!’

The thought flashed through Chen Cheng’s mind.

In the next instant, the external phenomena he had worried about did not appear. Only the information on the panel changed.

「Health Tai Chi → Foundation Establishment Tai Chi」

[Health Tai Chi]: Great Success (851/3000), Traits (Nourishing Life, Harmony)

[Foundation Establishment Tai Chi]: Entry Level (0/300), Traits (None), Limit-Breaking (No)

’So this is Limit-Breaking?’

Chen Cheng silently mulled over the term.

’The progress and Traits of Health Tai Chi are still there, it just derived a brand new Skill...

Health Tai Chi can no longer break its limit, but this new Skill can.

’This... perhaps this secretly aligns with the great Dao’s True Intent of ’the one begets the two, the two beget the three, and the three beget all things...’’

With this thought, Chen Cheng stopped pondering.

He immediately adopted a stance, intending to first practice this new Foundation Establishment Tai Chi.

The Vertical Eye Mark had granted him perfect mastery from the start, so he skipped the learning process entirely.

From the very first move, it was perfect.

Chen Cheng slowly sank his waist, his arms extending as if pulling silk threads.

The opening posture was extremely slow, so slow he could hear his shoulder blades sliding slightly beneath his skin and feel the subtle tension and release of every tendon as it was stretched inch by inch.

He turned his body, raised his arms, and turned his palms outward, gently engaging his waist and back.

His spine loosened, vertebra by vertebra, from his tailbone to his neck, as if something were quietly awakening between the bones.

The sensation was extremely light, almost imperceptible, yet incredibly real—so real he could clearly sense every minuscule change.

Wisps of warmth arose from his Blood Qi. His skin, muscles, bones, and even his internal organs and marrow seemed to be like snow melting in early spring, improving bit by bit as the warmth seeped into them.

After practicing the whole set, the greatest difference between Foundation Establishment Tai Chi and Health Tai Chi lay in one principle: pushing things to their absolute limit.

For example, when an arm was extended to its limit, it still had to be pushed out another fraction. When the waist was twisted to its extreme, it had to sink and turn another half-inch.

Combined with its unique breathing Technique, these minute extensions and stretches might not show any effect in the short term.

But over months and years, as small efforts accumulated into a great result, it would likely cause a qualitative transformation in one’s Root Bone.

And perhaps the True Intent of Foundation Establishment lay precisely in this.

At this thought, Chen Cheng closed his eyes.

His movements became even slower as he sank deeper into that extreme pursuit of stretching and extending.

He laid out the form, one posture after another, like a silkworm spinning its thread, every minute detail perfectly expressed.

Every time he raised his hand, every time he turned, it was as if he were re-measuring the boundaries of his own body.

Unconsciously, he felt his body transform into a boundless void.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!