Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Shen Qian paused, looked Chen Cheng in the eye, and spoke with a heavier tone.

”Leave as soon as you can. I’m saying this for your own good.”

”Cheng.”

Wang Chuang had appeared beside them at some point. He patted Chen Cheng’s arm.

”My uncle would like to see you.”

”Alright.”

Chen Cheng agreed, then turned and cupped his hands in a salute to Shen Qian.

”Brother Shen, I appreciate your good intentions. The Manor Master has summoned me, so I must take my leave.”

Shen Qian gave a slight nod, an almost imperceptible glint flashing in the depths of his eyes.

Elsewhere.

Wang Peng stood outside a large, blue-brick house, far from the main table. He held a freshly prepared red envelope, and upon seeing Chen Cheng approach, he handed it over directly.

”Brother Chen, now that you’ve condensed the Four Pillars of Blood Qi, I’m increasing your monthly stipend by another one hundred taels. Here are ten Golden Blade Coins. Take them.”

”Thank you.”

Chen Cheng knew Wang Peng was a straightforward man who meant what he said and detested the tedious dance of feigned refusal. After expressing his thanks, he accepted it with both hands.

Just half a month ago, Wang Peng had already given Chen Cheng a jar of ointment refined from Tiger Bone and Leopard Sinew, five Silver Fox Furs of excellent quality, and various wild medicinal herbs to be boiled into tonics for strengthening the body.

All told, it was worth no less than one hundred taels of silver.

This was the material support Wang Peng had initially promised Chen Cheng—he could pick whatever he wanted, up to the agreed-upon value.

And from now on, on top of those material resources, Chen Cheng would also receive an extra one hundred taels in silver.

This was the benefit of increased strength.

His Four Pillars of Blood Qi were dense and solid, and his nascent Dark Force already surpassed others of the Same Tier.

Chen Cheng didn’t even have to ask; the benefits came to him naturally.

And this strength...

...was only what Chen Cheng was willing to reveal.

He kept his true trump cards—Tai Chi Force, Endless Moon Breath, and Inconstant Moon Step—hidden close to his chest.

At this thought, Chen Cheng subconsciously checked his internal panel, feeling an even greater sense of security and calm.

[Hidden Dragon Fist]: Great Success (0/3000), Traits (Penetrating Armor, Thunder Burst)

[Thunder Burst: A Dark Force Martial Art. The force penetrates deeper and the internal explosion is more violent.]

[Health Tai Chi]: Limit-Breaking (Available)

The punch he had just thrown—the one that had sent force through the pot wall to detonate within the charcoal core, violently conjuring a thirty-foot Fire Dragon—wasn’t only due to his pure and powerful Dark Force. The Thunder Burst Trait deserved some of the credit.

By a rough estimate, the Thunder Burst Trait boosted his Dark Force by about twenty percent.

That was why, even though Chen Cheng had only just manifested Dark Force, he was on a completely different level from the likes of Yan Huaiqing.

As for Health Tai Chi’s Limit-Breaking, it seemed to require his active confirmation before it would take effect.

He had never experienced this before and was unsure if it would cause some kind of phenomenon. To be safe, he hadn’t made a move.

’I’ll wait until I get back and find a secluded place to look into it.’

Afterward, Chen Cheng tucked the red envelope into the Secret Pocket in the sleeve of his silver-gray fox fur coat. He chatted with Wang Peng a while longer before turning to head back.

”Brother Chen!”

Wu Ziyu hurried over to greet him, a gentle and friendly smile on her fair face.

”Forgive my forwardness, Brother Chen, but we haven’t seen each other in half a month, and I feel like your bone structure has changed. Even your skin has improved significantly. Have you, by chance, used a Treasure Medicine to improve your Root Bone?”

”I’m afraid I can’t say.”

Chen Cheng’s expression was calm, betraying no emotion, but inwardly his heart tightened.

’This Wu Ziyu... can she read bone structure?’

For the past half-month, Chen Cheng had been grinding the Frost Bone White into a fine powder, taking a small spoonful each night with Drunken Immortal Brew. He also applied the Tiger Bone and Leopard Sinew Ointment from Jiuan Hunting Manor externally.

Day by day, the changes took place subtly, almost imperceptibly.

His skin had indeed become much fairer and smoother, and even his old scars had nearly vanished.

And the changes in places unseen by the naked eye were even greater.

The resilience of his skin had quietly increased. The innate feeling of stagnation in his fascia was gradually washed away, and even the natural stiffness in his joints had subtly loosened.

These changes were like a fine spring rain, silently nourishing every corner of his body.

A change in one or two places was minor enough to be ignored.

But as they stacked up, accumulating everywhere, quantitative change eventually led to a qualitative one.

His most direct experience of this was in his training. When practicing the Hidden Dragon Fist, his body was now depleted by nearly ten percent less than before, while his training progress, conversely, increased by almost ten percent.

He hadn’t asked anyone to read his bones for confirmation, but he was already certain in his heart: the improvement in his training was ninety-nine percent due to the enhancement of his Root Bone.

’He just never imagined Wu Ziyu would actually be able to tell.’

Of course, it wasn’t surprising.

She came from a Great Clan in the Inner City. With a family heritage stretching back hundreds of years, her profound background meant it was perfectly normal for her to possess some special methods and skills.

Chen Cheng had once heard Qian Baolu mention that once a Martial Artist reached a certain stage, the necessary Secret Techniques were all monopolized by the Court, the Sects, and the Great Clans.

An ordinary Martial Artist without connections, no matter how talented, would find it difficult to grasp these profound mysteries.

The annual Zhao City Martial Selection was the only relatively fair path for a common Martial Artist to obtain Secret Techniques and advance.

As for young Martial Artists like Pang Wanhe, who hailed from the Eight Great Races and already had Secret Techniques, what they competed for in the Martial Selection was Military Merit, an official position, and real power!

The Eight Great Races were able to remain standing precisely because each generation produced powerful Military Officers who engraved their family names onto the Military Merit Record, ensuring their continuation.

The Great Shang Dynasty placed immense value on Military Merit. Once a Vermilion Gate Golden Seal was forged for a family, its legacy could be passed down through the generations.

By accumulating merit over several generations and gathering achievements across lifetimes, they gave rise to the term ’Military Faction.’

However, Zhao City was hardly a Metropolis, and the Eight Great Races were still a far cry from the true Military Faction noble families that dominated entire regions.