Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

"Congratulations, Young Manor Master. Your Archery has improved yet again! An arrow like that leaves no survivors below the Transforming Force realm!"

A bald man at his side clapped in admiration.

The young archer lowered his bow and stood proudly, his expression placid, as if such a feat were only to be expected.

He was none other than the Young Manor Master of Cangying Hunting Manor.

Bai Fangshuo.

"Young Manor Master! An urgent message! From the Inner City! Delivered by a Xuan Sun! Something terrible must have happened…"

Just then, a Manor Soldier from the watchtower came running over frantically. He held a thin copper pipe in both hands, presenting it respectfully to Bai Fangshuo.

Bai Fangshuo took the copper pipe and examined it carefully before using a fingernail to break the Sealing Wax. He shook a small, rolled-up piece of letter paper out from the tube.

He tossed the copper pipe aside and carefully unrolled the letter paper.

It was covered in rows of tiny, densely packed words.

The more he read, the deeper his brows furrowed, his expression growing ever more sullen.

"Young Manor Master, what is it?"

The bald man took half a step forward, simultaneously raising a hand to wave the nearby Manor Soldier away.

Once the Manor Soldier was a safe distance away, Bai Fangshuo finally spoke. His voice was hushed, each word seemingly squeezed through clenched teeth.

"Our plans for the Fuchang Trading Company… they're completely ruined. And… Shi… he's… he's dead…"

At the first part of the sentence, the bald man only frowned slightly, the corners of his mouth turning down in a grimace.

But when he heard the second part, his entire face contorted. His eyes flew wide, looking as if they would burst from their sockets. They instantly turned bloodshot. Veins bulged on his temples, neck, and the backs of his hands, threatening to explode.

An utterly terrifying aura erupted from his very bones. The surrounding snow, as if shoved by an invisible force, rippled outward in concentric circles with him at the center.

In the distance, the fletchings of the arrows lodged in the Cyan Gang Stone target began to tremble.

Bai Fangshuo's pupils constricted. His chest tightened, and he subconsciously backed away several steps.

After a long moment.

The bald man finally spoke, his voice heavy, enunciating every single word.

"How… did Shi… die?"

"He was severely injured during a duel…"

Bai Fangshuo said, his brow furrowed.

"Shi's identity was sensitive. Our relationship with him was kept secret from Han Tianqi… so Han Tianqi didn't… he didn't save him."

"Han Tianqi!"

The bald man ground his teeth, his voice a low hiss.

"I want every last member of the Han Family to join Shi in death!"

"The Han Family is already finished."

Bai Fangshuo collected himself and said, his brow deeply creased.

"They were caught hiding the Sutra of the Original Vow. The evidence was irrefutable. Han Tianqi is dead, and his father and grandfather have both been thrown into the death-row cells of the Captain's Mansion. Of all the people who enter that godforsaken place, few ever come out alive."

...

「The next afternoon.」

The heavy snow, which had been falling for a night and half the day, finally stopped.

The sky was still a hazy gray. The clouds hung low, and the sun was a dim smear behind them.

Chen Cheng put on Ye Yang's jacket, left the Inner City, and headed toward the Dragon Mountain Middle Courtyard.

The moment he crossed into the Outer City's An Nan District, the buildings on either side of the streets abruptly shrank in height. The roads narrowed, and the snow lay thick and uncleared, making every step a struggle through deep drifts.

Chen Cheng's pace remained steady and his posture relaxed, but he didn't stay on the main street.

Instead, he veered off at a fork in the road, heading into a maze of complex alleyways.

Some distance behind him, a young man in martial attire suddenly quickened his pace.

The young man had been tailing Chen Cheng from a distance ever since they were in the Inner City, following him all the way here.

He looked to be in his early twenties, with a sturdy build and a resolute face. His eyes were exceptionally sharp, like those of a hawk.

This was clearly not his first time tailing someone. He managed the distance between them perfectly.

Throughout the entire pursuit, he never let Chen Cheng out of his sight for more than a few seconds. Furthermore, Chen Cheng's gait remained perfectly normal, a clear sign he hadn't noticed he was being followed.

The young man's expression remained calm and his movements unhurried, a clear sign of his confidence in his tracking skills.

Now, seeing Chen Cheng suddenly duck into a side alley, the young man simply assumed he was taking a shortcut.

With a slight smirk, he picked up his pace and followed.

However, the young man had just turned into the alley and had only followed Chen Cheng's footprints in the snow for a short distance when a violent gust of wind exploded past his ear.

SWOOSH—

It was utterly unexpected.

Crucially, before the sound of rushing wind, there had been no warning whatsoever.

No change in aura, no killing intent, no sound of a heartbeat, no fluctuation of Blood Qi…

Nothing!

Absolutely nothing!

In that instant, he was completely defenseless.

This meant that by the time the sound of something cutting through the air reached his ears, his life was no longer his own.

The next instant.

Five fingers, as cold and hard as iron, clamped around his throat.

The fingertips pressed against his Adam's apple while the web of the hand locked against his jaw. Power flowed from the attacker's grip, pressing deep into the flesh of his neck and squeezing his windpipe into a narrow slit.

He desperately tried to suck in a breath but could only manage a hoarse, wheezing gasp.

He had no doubt that the owner of this hand could snap his neck at any moment.

As easily as snapping a dry twig.

"Don't… don't kill me…"

The young man's pupils contracted violently. His body went completely rigid. A drop of cold sweat broke out on his temple and trickled down his cheek.

It tickled.

But he didn't dare move a muscle, not even to blink.

"Who sent you to follow me?"

Chen Cheng stepped out from behind the corner of the wall.

Half his body was still hidden in shadow; only the hand clutching the man's throat and half his own face were visible.

The pressure from his fingers eased just enough to allow the young man to speak.

"Don't kill me… I'll talk…"

Having come so close to death, now that he was finally free from the grip of suffocation, the young man didn't dare hesitate for a second.

"It was the Bai Family… Cangying Hunting Manor… Yu An. He's Yu Shi's older brother…"

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