Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

The sheet of Iron Skin looked like it was on the verge of breaking, which explained the dispute.

Ye Yang, however, remained impassive, his expression unreadable. "Hold it up. It’s broken if light shines through."

"Yes."

The young disciple raised the sheet of Iron Skin with both hands.

A web of cracks spread out in all directions across its surface. At first glance, it was nearly identical to the damage Xiao Yi had inflicted moments ago.

But the moment the sheet of Iron Skin was held high toward the sun, a tiny yet undeniable pinprick of light, no bigger than a grain of rice, appeared at the very center of the cracks.

"It... it broke! The fourth layer!"

The disciple shouted, his voice ringing with disbelief.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

The young man in white at the head seat and Cao Miao beside him both raised their eyelids slightly, sparing Chen Cheng a single glance before returning to their nonchalant conversation.

Chu Meng kept his eyes lightly closed, but his ears twitched a few times, betraying his struggle to maintain his air of utter indifference.

Zhu Mingyuan, Ye Qiluo, and Cao Zhao were simply stunned. They exchanged glances, but none of them spoke for a long while.

This was especially true for Cao Zhao. He rarely showed his face in the Middle Courtyard, and his gaze toward Chen Cheng was now filled with unabashed astonishment and curiosity.

Zhuang Zhen’s expression grew even more complicated, and her ample chest rose and fell with visibly quickened breaths.

"...He really did punch through it."

A sharp glint flashed in Ye Yang’s eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

His acknowledgment was the final verdict.

The disciple responsible for recording took a deep breath, his voice booming even louder than when he had announced Xiao Yi’s results.

"Senior Brother Chen Cheng, broke through four layers of Iron Skin with his Power, equivalent to twelve layers of Stone Skin! A new record! Rating: A+! Senior Brother Xiao Yi, rating revised to: A!"

’An A!?’

Xiao Yi’s face tightened instantly, every trace of his earlier confidence and smugness completely gone.

He forced his back to remain straight, trying to maintain his composure, but his hands, hidden within his sleeves, had already clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms.

In just a few moments, he had to run through every happy memory of his life just to squeeze out a smile that looked more pained than a grimace.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Chen! I guess all that desperate, life-or-death training wasn’t a waste for that brute strength of yours!"

"You went easy on me, Senior Brother Xiao."

Chen Cheng gave a casual reply, his mind not on Xiao Yi at all. He was silently calculating the current strength of his Power.

’That last punch was pretty close to my estimate.’

’I deliberately held back twenty percent of my strength, and the effect was comparable to Xiao Yi going all out.’

’The reason I could pierce four layers of Iron Skin was the additional ten percent solid bonus from my Penetrating Armor Trait.’

’If I were to strike with my full power, adding my Tai Chi Force and the Penetrating Armor Trait, I could conservatively break six layers of Iron Skin. That would be a full eighteen layers of Standard Leather Armor!’

’Piercing eighteen layers of armor with a single bare-fisted strike... Back in the pre-gunpowder age of my past life, wouldn’t that make me a peerless general, the kind who could charge into an army’s formation alone and be worth a thousand men?’

"...Next is the test of endurance."

Ye Yang said, gesturing to the other side.

"Those are two Copper Cauldrons, each weighing thirteen hundred jin. The record from previous years is lifting one overhead and holding it steady for five breaths."

After saying this, Ye Yang glanced pointedly at Xiao Yi. The latter had clearly suppressed his irrepressible desire to show off; his expression was now grave, without a hint of his earlier condescension.

"Chen Cheng."

Ye Yang said, glancing his way.

"You just threw a full-power punch, so you can take a moment to regulate your breathing and relax. Once you’re ready, you two will start together."

"Yes. Thank you for your consideration, Master Ye."

Chen Cheng gave a fist-and-palm salute.

Although he didn’t actually need to catch his breath, he went through the motions anyway to avoid looking too conspicuous.

Taking advantage of the break, Xiao Yi walked over to Wu Ziyu, wanting to offer a few words of explanation.

Wu Ziyu, however, waved her hand magnanimously. "I am well aware of your strength. This is just one small loss. Simply win the next two rounds."

"Miss Ziyu, you can rest assured..."

Seeing that Wu Ziyu didn’t blame him and, in fact, trusted him, Xiao Yi felt a surge of passion. He lowered his voice and spoke as if making a solemn vow.

"I will give my absolute all in the next two rounds! If I don’t achieve a complete victory, feel free to stop my funding! I... I will also willingly accept any punishment you deem fit!"

"Very good."

A faint smile touched the corner of Wu Ziyu’s lips.

"To have such resolve proves I didn’t misjudge you. Perform well. The Wu Family is never stingy when it comes to investing in people of true value."

"As long as you prove yourself worthy, our support will only increase. I hope that in the future, you can walk alongside the Wu Family, going further and farther together!"

"I will!"

Xiao Yi cupped his fist and nodded forcefully. When he turned, his back was ramrod straight, as if renewed with strength. But his gaze flickered, quickly and secretively, toward the young man in white at the head seat.

In Xiao Yi’s mind, Wu Ziyu was merely his safety net. That young man in white, with his inscrutable identity, was the higher branch he truly yearned to grasp.

’The next two tests are absolutely crucial! I have to win, no matter the cost!’

’I can’t just win—I have to win spectacularly, in a way that leaves everyone in awe!’

Seeing Xiao Yi return, Chen Cheng spoke up at the appropriate moment. "Master Ye, I’m ready."

Ye Yang nodded. "Each of you stand to one side. First find a proper grip and get into position. Wait for my command to lift."

"Yes, sir."

Chen Cheng and Xiao Yi walked to their respective cauldrons and bent down. They placed their palms into the specially forged grooves beneath the cauldron’s handles, sank into a low stance, staggered their feet, and stabilized their base.

"Lift!"

At Ye Yang’s command, the two men exerted their strength in unison. With a chorus of straining sinews and bones and a surge of Blood Qi, they used the brute force of their bulging muscles to rip the massive, thirteen-hundred-jin objects from the ground and slowly raise them overhead.

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