Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Chen Cheng said nothing.

'He could be almost certain the young man wasn't lying.'

This was the very disciple from the Cloud Platform Middle Courtyard who had severely injured Lu Changning during the tournament a few days prior.

The move he'd used to severely injure Lu Changning was identical to Yu Shi's style.

'They must have been taught by the same master.'

'Clearly, his connection to Yu Shi ran deeper than it appeared to outsiders.'

'And the Yu An he mentioned must be the lynchpin of this special connection.'

"When... when did you spot me?"

The young man had barely caught his breath before he blurted out a question.

It was the biggest question on his mind, but it was also a cover—a way to buy time while he searched for an escape.

Chen Cheng replied in a flat tone, without hesitation.

"The Inner City. South Seventh District, at the intersection of Changshui Street and Willow Forest Lane."

"That... That's impossible!"

The young man looked as if he'd been struck by lightning, completely stunned.

The location Chen Cheng had just casually named was the exact spot where he had begun his pursuit.

This meant that his pursuit, which he'd believed was completely unnoticed, had been exposed from the very beginning.

Before Chen Cheng, he was like a naked infant, with nothing hidden.

He thought he was the one doing the tracking, but in reality, Chen Cheng had been leading him around like a dog the entire time.

"Don't... don't kill me..."

The young man was actually quite sharp; he quickly pieced things together and realized the gravity of his situation.

A moment ago, he was still trying to buy time, to find a way to escape.

Now, only a single thought remained in his mind: beg for mercy!

The reason was simple.

If Chen Cheng had only wanted an answer, he could have seized him and forced it out at any point along the way.

Yet Chen Cheng had deliberately led him all the way here before revealing himself.

How could he fail to understand? What Chen Cheng wanted was far more than just an answer.

SNAP—

But just as this realization dawned on him, a crisp snap echoed from his neck.

Chen Cheng's fingers tightened, and he cleanly snapped the man's neck.

The young man's body went limp, collapsing like an empty sack into the snow and kicking up a fine spray of powder.

Chen Cheng crouched down.

He first took a money bag from the corpse's waist. Shaking it out, he found less than ten taels of broken silver, which he tucked into his robes.

He tossed the empty bag aside.

Then, in a secret pocket in the corpse's right sleeve, Chen Cheng found a cleverly designed little pouch.

Chen Cheng took it out and held it between two fingers, examining it closely.

The object was exquisitely crafted.

The material was extremely thin, almost translucent. It felt slick yet tough to the touch, like a fish bladder, only thinner and more uniform.

'It must have been made from the inner membrane of some beast's bladder, repeatedly tanned.' The edges were sealed tight, leaving virtually no seam. When squeezed, it felt soft but resilient, not easily ruptured.

The top of the pouch tapered to a small neck, which was tied tightly with silk thread. The end of the thread was concealed inside the opening, revealing only a hidden clasp the size of a grain of rice.

To use it, one simply had to rub the clasp open with a thumb and squeeze, and the contents would spray out.

It was some kind of white powder, as fine as frost, faintly visible through the pouch's translucent wall.

'Knockout powder? Or some kind of poisonous powder?'

Chen Cheng mused silently.

'This kind of powder has to be released from the sleeve, so it's bound to touch my own skin, and I might even inhale some... The toxicity probably isn't that high...'

'Besides...'

Chen Cheng sniffed it.

It had no distinctive odor, so it could be carried without fear of detection by someone with a keen sense of smell.

'This little thing is quite an ingenious hidden weapon.'

'Extremely rare.'

At least, Chen Cheng had never seen or even heard of such a thing before.

The crafting process alone was complex, and even the material for the pouch was difficult to acquire.

An ordinary person or faction simply wouldn't have the means to produce something like this.

Depending on the user's own poison resistance, the poisonous powder inside could be swapped for a much more potent substance.

If the user were immune to all poisons, they would no doubt use the deadliest substance they could get their hands on.

Chen Cheng gave the pouch a little shake and slipped it into the secret pocket of his own sleeve.

For the past month, he had been cultivating his body's resistance to poisons.

However, this was a slow and gradual process. A single month was unlikely to have produced any significant results.

He hadn't yet found an opportunity to test it, either.

But he wasn't in a hurry. He would simply be patient and persist with his training.

'Gather enough sand, and you can build a pagoda. His efforts would eventually bear fruit.'

...

「Dragon Mountain Middle Courtyard, Inner Hall.」

When Chen Cheng arrived, Ye Yang was instructing Lin Fengxiao and Qiao Qiao in their training.

The afternoon sun streamed into the courtyard. The snow had already been swept into the corners, revealing the flat, blue-brick training ground.

Lin Fengxiao and Qiao Qiao were at opposite ends of the ground, practicing the Hidden Dragon Fist. Lin Fengxiao was dressed in white, while Qiao Qiao wore the black training attire issued by the Middle Courtyard.

As their figures darted and weaved, the contrast between black and white was striking. The wind from their fists whistled, stirring up fine specks of snow that swirled around them.

Lin Fengxiao had advanced to the Inner Hall by the book, having successfully condensed the Three Pillars of Blood Qi.

Qiao Qiao, on the other hand, had been admitted as a special exception.

From the constant smile on Ye Yang's face, it was clear he was very pleased with these two new Inner Hall Disciples.

Especially Qiao Qiao. When Ye Yang's gaze fell upon the young girl, it was gentler and softer than if he were looking at his own daughter—bordering on doting.

"Master Ye."

Chen Cheng called out as he stepped through the courtyard gate.

Ye Yang turned and nodded to him, then told Lin Fengxiao and Qiao Qiao they could take a break.

Ye Yang walked over to Chen Cheng.

After dropping her stance, Qiao Qiao's large, glistening dark eyes lingered on Chen Cheng for a moment. Then, she silently retreated under the eaves of the walkway.

She picked up a small, red-skinned gourd, pulled out the stopper, and tilted her head back for a sip. Her brows immediately furrowed, her little face tensed up, and she stuck out the tip of her tongue for a moment before quickly retracting it.

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