Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

"Father!"

"This...!"

Behind them, Song Diao and the young man who had just crawled out of the rubble were both stunned on the spot.

Song Diao knew the extent of his father’s strength.

The young man, having just taken a punch himself, knew it even more clearly.

The second-in-command of Grass Head Mountain, a great bandit who had dominated the Green Forest Dao for over a decade, had been turned into a drooling imbecile by a single punch from Chen Cheng...

Song Diao’s eyes were filled with horror as he gulped frantically.

The young man’s Adam’s apple bobbed as well, his body trembling.

He knew with crystal clarity that if such a punch had landed on him, he would have been instantly obliterated, with absolutely no chance of survival.

"This is for you, too."

Chen Cheng bent down, pulled a bulging and heavy Money Bag from Song Zhuo’s body, and tucked it into his own robes before leaving without a backward glance.

Only then did the young man snap out of the shock from that punch.

He faced Chen Cheng’s departing back, cupped his fist, and bowed deeply, holding the position.

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for making this possible!"

A moment later, the young man straightened up and walked slowly toward Song Diao.

"Don’t... don’t come over..."

Song Diao wailed wretchedly, but unfortunately, his body was already immobilized.

"Who... who the hell are you? What grudge do I have with you? Just tell me... I can negotiate, I can compensate you... Who... who the fuck are you!?"

The young man said nothing, simply looming over him like a shadow.

「Meanwhile.」

Chen Cheng had already walked a great distance, but he could still hear the utterly desperate and piercing screams of Song Diao and Song Zhuo.

After a long time, silence finally returned.

Chen Cheng and his surroundings fell into complete stillness. Only the occasional gust of wind carried the thick scent of blood.

But both his figure and the heavy stench of blood were quickly swallowed by the darkness and foulness of the slums.

It was as if he had never been there at all.

...

By the time he returned to the Inner Hall, the sun had already set.

After dinner, Chen Cheng sparred with Zhu Mingyuan for another hour.

Then he returned to his own room.

Chen Cheng continued to train his Four Gods Profound Body. After three Grand Circulations, his physique felt completely hollowed out. It wasn’t just physical exhaustion; it felt as if something had been drawn from the very marrow of his bones. Every movement was weak and tired, his fingers trembled, and even making a fist was difficult.

He rested for a moment before taking out the Treasure Snake Dried Meat Fatty Fang had given him and eating a small piece.

The box contained only ten knuckle-sized pieces of Treasure Snake Dried Meat in total.

Chen Cheng had originally estimated it would last him seven or eight days.

But now, it seemed that at this rate of pushing his body to its limits, he would probably finish it in five days at most.

Fortunately, the haul from this afternoon was a big one.

In Song Diao’s Money Bag, there were five Golden Blade Coins and a few taels of broken silver.

In Song Zhuo’s Money Bag, however, there were a whopping fifty Golden Blade Coins, equivalent to five hundred taels of silver.

Adding that to the money Chen Cheng already had, his total came to nearly one thousand taels of silver.

He had never fought such a profitable battle before.

However, the biggest problem now was that he had no way to purchase Treasure Meat.

Whether it was Treasure Snakes or Treasure Fish, they were all extremely scarce resources, much like Treasure Medicine. They were monopolized by the major powers in the Inner City, making them difficult to buy even with money.

Even for the Jiuan Hunting Manor, capturing a Treasure Snake or a Treasure Beast was purely a matter of luck.

Take the Mutant Tiger that the Jiuan Hunting Manor had captured not long ago. According to Wang Chuang, the last time they had caught a Mutant Tiger was a full seven years prior.

It was a rare opportunity granted by the heavens, something one could only hope for but never seek out.

Chen Cheng had no good solution for this either. He could only ask his friends to help him find some connections as best they could.

Afterward, Chen Cheng took a few sips of the Golden Ring Treasure Snake Medicinal Wine.

Once his stamina had recovered slightly, he continued to practice his Health Tai Chi, relying on its Health-Preserving Traits to further restore his energy and eliminate fatigue.

Between every two sets of Health Tai Chi, he interspersed one set of Endless Moon Breath and one set of Foundation Establishment Tai Chi.

He kept this up for two hours until early morning. After confirming that Zhu Mingyuan was fast asleep, he had to sneak into the courtyard like a thief to practice his Inconstant Moon Step.

He continued for another hour before he could finally go to bed.

Another fulfilling night.

...

Two hours later, Chen Cheng woke up naturally.

After washing up briefly, he took out the Celestial God Hidden Dragon Painting to train his Bright Force and Dark Force.

After three repetitions of Powerful Penetration and Dark Clouds Covering the Sky, his physical strength and Heart Power were greatly depleted, so he immediately transitioned seamlessly into Health Tai Chi.

He continued until the sky turned fish-belly white, then headed to the small kitchen for breakfast.

After a short rest, it was time to practice Hidden Dragon Fist again.

During this process, he would take out the herbs for cultivating his poison resistance and chew them one by one.

Some he swallowed after chewing, while others he spat out as dregs once they lost their flavor.

Cultivating poison resistance was also a long process, and the initial results were completely negligible.

As for medicinal baths, it was still inconvenient at the moment, so he could only postpone them.

Chewing the herbs worked from the inside, while the medicinal baths worked from the outside. They didn’t necessarily have to be done at the same time, but if conditions allowed, doing them concurrently would be complementary and yield much better results.

...

「Nearing noon.」

Cao Zhao returned and personally went to the General Affairs Room to retrieve Lin Fengxiao’s Death Oath Contract and register its termination on the spot.

Chen Cheng watched from the side, not paying much attention.

Zhu Mingyuan, however, couldn’t help but sidle over, his face full of curiosity.

"Senior Brother Cao, what’s going on? To terminate a Death Oath Contract, doesn’t a Copper Word Token holder first have to earn Military Merit?"

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible."

Cao Zhao smiled, then folded the Contract Paper and the termination document together and tucked them into his robes.

"Our dear Junior Brother Lin performed a heaven-sent service yesterday. His personality and temperament are also exactly to the Lord Captain’s liking, and on top of that, his Root Bone and Comprehension are both top-tier. The Lord Captain personally requested him."

"Those old men from the Upper Courtyard were eager to do the Lord Captain a favor. As soon as they got the news, they hurried me over to complete the paperwork and, while I’m at it, to take all of Junior Brother Lin’s personal belongings into the Inner City."

"Tsk!"

Hearing this, Zhu Mingyuan grew even more curious.

"What kind of great service was it? To allow a Junior Brother with a Copper Word Token to leap over the dragon gate in one go!"

"That’s nothing."

Cao Zhao raised an eyebrow and said,

"The Lord Captain helping Junior Brother Lin terminate his Death Oath Contract and letting him move into the Inner City is just an appetizer... The grooming he’ll receive later, *that’s* the real dragon gate!"

"Putting aside everything else, the reward the Lord Captain gave Junior Brother Lin last night shocked even me!"

"Quick, tell me! What was the reward?"

Zhu Mingyuan’s eyes widened as he pressed impatiently.

At this, even Chen Cheng’s curiosity was piqued.

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