Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

"Too strong... I traded blows with Liu Yufeng, and he defeated me in a single move..."

A young Martial Artist slumped in his chair. He gulped hard, his voice trembling.

"If it had been me fighting that young man, that kick... it probably would have split me in two right down the middle!"

"Decisive, ruthless, and utterly merciless! He’s the type... That young man would definitely do something like that!"

"You can’t afford to provoke someone like that... From now on, when we deal with the Yongsheng Store, we have to be on our absolute best behavior..."

"We’ve been talking all this time, but who is that young man? I’ve never seen him before..."

"He must be a genius disciple from one of the top Great Martial Arts Halls in the Inner City. How would we ever get a chance to meet someone like that?"

The gazes of several Masters swept over one another; they were all competitors from the Outer City.

"The Great Martial Arts Halls in the Inner City... do any of them teach a leg technique like that? I’ve never even heard of it..."

"Hiss... Now that you mention it..."

A middle-aged Martial Artist, who had previously won his own bout, narrowed his eyes in deep thought. Suddenly, his expression changed.

"That kick just now... it reminds me of a leg technique from the Wind and Thunder Sect from many years ago, a move that descends from the heavens!"

"Martial Arts from a Sect? Then we’d have even less of a chance of ever encountering it..."

The crowd shook their heads with wry smiles.

"Martial Arts Sects are not something ordinary people like us should or even can think about."

"Thank goodness Boss Shen didn’t choose my firm..."

An old Master with a goatee let out a long breath and wiped his brow, only then realizing it was beaded with cold sweat.

The other Masters were all in the same state.

If Shen Mi had chosen any one of them, they absolutely would not have been able to hold onto the Trade Document.

For a moment, all these Masters turned to look at Gu Heng in unison.

Seeing Gu Heng’s expression, which was uglier than if his own father had died, these Masters couldn’t help but feel a secret thrill of schadenfreude.

Such was the nature of competition between peers...

"If that’s the case, don’t all of us hired Martial Artists have to thank Boss Shen for sparing our lives?"

"You can say that again."

The surrounding Martial Artists all wore the expressions of people who had just survived a catastrophe, still shaken and pale.

They understood better than anyone the sheer power behind Chen Cheng’s kick. If it had been them on that stage, even a few extra lives wouldn’t have been enough to save them.

However, what they didn’t know was that the kick Chen Cheng used to obliterate Liu Yufeng was not, in fact, the true power of the Thunder Treading Skill.

At this moment, Chen Cheng’s Thunder Treading Skill was only at the Entry Level. He could only execute the Leg Technique’s stances perfectly. The fundamental power of this Cultivation Technique had to be slowly enhanced through future training.

The kick just now was merely Chen Cheng’s own Tai Chi Force, unleashed in coordination with the stances of the Thunder Treading Skill’s Leg Technique.

This meant that as his mastery of the Thunder Treading Skill progressed, the power of that same kick would continue to increase, reaching an even more terrifying level.

Over in the main hall.

Shen Mi had turned her head, unable to look directly at the arena.

Her eyes were downcast, her eyelashes trembling softly. It was impossible to know what she was thinking.

A few timid Scribes were already so weak-kneed they could barely stand. They huddled behind Wu Zhan, their heads bowed low, not daring to even lift their eyelids.

Occasionally, one of them would lose control, their Adam’s apple bobbing as they swallowed. The sound was exceptionally clear in the silence.

Wu Zhan, however, managed to remain seated.

But his hands, gripping the armrests of his chair, were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

He tried his best to control his breathing, not wanting anyone to see the shock in his heart, but the rising and falling of his chest betrayed him.

He was, after all, a Civil Servant; scenes like this were not something he encountered often.

Compared to him, Wu Ziyu, who often handled matters outside the city, seemed more accustomed to scenes of carnage.

Wu Ziyu wasn’t afraid of gore, but at this moment, she was still dumbfounded, her body stiff.

It was simply because Chen Cheng’s strength had far, far exceeded her expectations.

She only knew that Chen Cheng had just recently condensed his Fifth Pillar of Blood Qi, and that he possessed a strength that far surpassed others of the Same Tier—to the point of being invincible within it.

But what Chen Cheng had just displayed was even more than that!

In her estimation, Chen Cheng’s speed and power were both infinitely close to that of an expert with Six Pillars of Blood Qi.

The key was that kick. Chen Cheng’s kick just now had truly astonished her.

"Brother Chen..."

Wu Ziyu hesitated for a moment before she couldn’t help but ask.

"The leg technique you just used is incredibly profound... It must focus on the lower body, prioritize speed, and center on kicking attacks... but the key is that it can balance all three!"

"May I ask... what... what exactly is that leg technique?"

"The Thunder Treading Skill."

Chen Cheng walked back but did not sit down. His gaze drifted toward the northern sky as he spoke calmly.

"In this school of Martial Arts, the step technique is like the form of thunder, ever-changing. The leg technique accumulates the momentum of thunder, its power capable of splitting mountains."

"When cultivated to Perfection, a mortal body can chase the wind and lightning. The bones and sinews of the legs resonate in unison, and a sound like thunder echoes beneath one’s feet. Hence the name..."

"Thunder Treading Skill!"

"Thunder Treading Skill?"

Wu Ziyu had clearly never heard of it.

Shen Mi, however, suddenly turned to Chen Cheng, her beautiful eyes wide, her red lips trembling slightly.

She followed Chen Cheng’s gaze and saw that he was looking in the direction Elder Wen had departed.

She knew. The words Chen Cheng had just spoken were not for Wu Ziyu. And that kick was not for anyone present to see.

’After this parting, years will pass, and we may never meet again...’

’With heaven’s thunder, I bid you farewell.’

...

「Some time later.」

Wu Zhan personally handled the remaining matters.

With Wu Zhan presiding, no matter how unwilling Gu Heng was, no matter how his heart twisted in agony, he could only hand over the still-warm Trade Document he had been clutching to his chest to Shen Mi.

All subsequent procedures and Official Documents were specially approved by Wu Zhan on the spot.

Not only that, but Wu Zhan also offered, in the name of the Wu Family, to provide Shen Mi with a sum of capital to tide her over. It was to be repaid, interest-free, only after her store was operating normally again.

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