Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

An Nan District.

Deep in the back alley behind the Yongsheng Trading Company.

A gnarled old locust tree, its trunk half a head taller than the surrounding rooftops, cast an inky shadow in the night. Its branches were a tangled, sinewy mass.

Near where the trunk split into branches, a faint crack was hidden beneath layers of bark. The inside was hollow, a space just barely wide enough to squeeze a hand into.

This was a place Chen Cheng used to hide a few emergency copper plates back when he was an odd-job worker for the trading company. No one knew about it but him.

At this moment, Chen Cheng appeared silently beneath the tree.

He pushed off the corner of a wall, his fingers gripping the rough trunk. With a surge of power from his core, he flipped himself lightly up into the branches.

He crouched on a horizontal branch, focused his Heart Spirit, and listened intently.

All around him was only the soft RUSTLE of the night wind through the leaves.

Only then did he pull the blood-red scripture, tightly wrapped in a tattered felt cloth, from his robes.

He had ripped the felt cloth from an abandoned shack in the slums. It was filthy, greasy, and completely inconspicuous.

He pulled aside the flap of bark camouflaging the opening, gently pushed the cloth bundle inside, and then carefully returned the bark to its original position, making sure it looked normal from every angle.

After he was done, he didn’t leave immediately. He remained still among the branches for a moment, his gaze sweeping like a cold flash of lightning from one end of the alley to the other.

He waited until he was certain his actions hadn’t drawn any unwanted attention.

Only then did he drift from the trunk like a falling leaf, landing so silently that he barely stirred the dust.

...

「The next morning, in Kuhe Village.」

Members of the Giant Tiger Gang, dressed in ochre short coats with ferocious tiger heads embroidered on their chests, went from door to door in groups of three and five, banging on them.

”Listen up! The Black Wolf Gang is finished! From now on, Kuhe Village is Giant Tiger Gang territory!”

The leader, a burly man, held up one finger and sneered.

”The peace coins will be ten percent higher than before. You have seven days to pay up. I don’t like to repeat myself. Any family that’s short a single coin will find out what I’m capable of!”

The poor residents of the village shrank behind their doors or peeked through cracks in their windows. Their faces were numb and silent, but they wailed inwardly.

A ten percent increase in peace coins!

For most families in Kuhe Village, that was likely several days’ worth of food money.

But who would dare say a word against it?

Standing before them was an existence even stronger and more vicious than the Black Wolf Gang.

Who hadn’t heard the sounds of battle last night? Who hadn’t seen the blood flowing in the alleys?

These poor souls, living in the lowest dregs of society, wouldn’t even dream of objecting. Daring to bargain would get them killed on the spot to make an example of them.

”My lord...”

Just as a dead silence fell over the crowd, Chen An’s slightly trembling voice slowly spoke up.

”My family... has a Martial Artist... a Middle Courtyard Disciple from Dragon Mountain Hall, Chen Cheng. He-he’s my nephew, my biological nephew!”

Chen An clearly lacked confidence as he spoke, and Mrs. Bai beside him was also filled with anxiety.

After all, this was their first time dealing with the Giant Tiger Gang.

The crucial thing was, Chen Cheng might not have spoken with them before.

’What if they don’t buy it...’

Chen An swallowed. The more he thought about it, the more flustered he became. ’I shouldn’t have said anything.’

”Dragon Mountain Middle Courtyard?”

The leader froze for a second, then turned to a shrewd-looking sub-leader next to him.

The sub-leader pulled a list covered in tiny, fly-head-sized characters from his sleeve and quickly found Chen Cheng’s name on it.

”So you’re Lord Cheng’s relatives! Forgive my disrespect!”

The sub-leader first clasped his hands and bowed. The leader immediately understood and broke into a wide smile.

”Lord Cheng’s great name is known to all! Your household’s peace coins will, of course, be waived!”

The man paused, then slapped his chest and promised,

”From now on, if you ever need me for anything, you two just have to say the word. I’d be more than happy to be of service!”

”Ah... Oh...”

Chen An and Mrs. Bai were stunned at first, then nodded repeatedly.

The surrounding neighbors witnessed the entire scene. Beyond their envy, their gazes toward Chen An and Mrs. Bai now held a deep sense of admiration and awe.

...

Inside the Martial Arts Hall’s dining hall.

After finishing his standard portion of white porridge and stewed pork, Chen Cheng ordered two additional servings of Deer Meat Medicinal Cuisine.

One serving was a free resource provided by the Martial Arts Hall after he had condensed his second wisp of Blood Qi.

The other, he still had to pay for.

Five maces of silver. Even as recently as yesterday morning, he would have had to think twice, unwilling to spend it so easily.

But now, he didn’t even blink when he paid.

It was all because of last night’s windfall, which had been truly substantial.

In Zhao Chuan’s Money Bag, there had been a full seven taels of silver.

And in Chen Hao’s Money Bag, there had been a full twenty taels of silver, plus ten Golden Blade Coins.

According to the official Great Shang exchange rate, one Golden Blade Coin could be traded for ten taels of Official Silver.

In other words, the money in Chen Hao’s bag was worth a full one hundred and twenty taels of silver—a fortune that could make someone rich overnight!

It was just that Chen Cheng was the one who’d gotten rich.

Chen Cheng took this money with a clear conscience. He wouldn’t return a single cent to Chen Hao.

He chewed the deer meat slowly, the ledger in his mind calculated with cold clarity.

’First, Old Chen and Chen Yong’s oaths were as worthless as farts. They had tricked my father into taking the fall for the military draft.’

’That cost my father his life!’

’Second, Chen Hao stole my opportunity to practice martial arts. After I awakened, I still had no path forward and was forced to stake my life on the Dragon Mountain Lower Courtyard.’

’That was a threat to my life!’

’Finally, the ten taels of silver my father earned with his life were also shamelessly embezzled by Chen Hao, pushing my mother and me to the brink of starvation.’

’He was cutting off the only path to survival for a widow and her orphan son!’

’If I hadn’t acquired the Vertical Eye Mark as a trump card when I awakened, the lives of my family of three would have been impossible to guarantee!’

’By this reckoning, Chen Hao only compensated me with a mere one hundred and ten taels of silver.’

’He was getting off easy!’

’But, given the current situation, the ’good times’ for him, Chen Hao, and that family are just beginning!’

”Everyone, quiet down!”

A young disciple ran into the dining hall, his voice raised to a shout.

”Eldest Brother sent me with a message! All Silver Disciples from the Outer Hall with two wisps of Blood Qi are to gather at the Inner Hall as soon as possible.”

As soon as he said this, several figures stood up, abandoning their half-eaten meals and striding quickly outside.

A few from poorer families scrambled to pick out the stewed pork and stuff it in their mouths. Their cheeks bulged as they walked, chewing and swallowing with effort.

Chen Cheng naturally didn’t dare to delay. He quickly finished the rest of his Deer Meat Medicinal Cuisine and followed them.

”That kid... where’s he going?”

In the distance, Luo Boqing, his face wrapped in several layers of bandages, happened to see Chen Cheng get up and leave, his eyes full of confusion.

Dong Li and Sun An next to him weren’t in much better shape. They too were covered in conspicuous bandages and reeked of medicinal ointment.

Several others who usually hung out with them weren’t there today. Most had likely been seriously injured during yesterday’s mission and were at home recovering.

”Probably going out to train like an idiot after stuffing his face.”

Dong Li said with a look of contempt.

”What else can he do besides put in a brute effort?”

Sun An scoffed.

”A nobody with the lowest-grade Root Bone actually thinks he can turn his life around just by training desperately? How ridiculous!”

Before the words had even left their mouths, Chen Cheng had already stepped through the dining hall’s main door.

Just then, a morning breeze swept through the hall, lifting the corner of Chen Cheng’s tunic. On his belt, a small waist token engraved with a silver dragon was suddenly revealed!