Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

The closer he got, the narrower the alley became. Mud-brick houses crowded against each other on both sides, and in some places, the eaves nearly touched. Clotheslines crisscrossed haphazardly overhead, hung with tattered clothes and rags that fluttered in the cold wind like soul-summoning banners.

This kind of environment was one Chen Cheng was intimately familiar with.

He trailed from a distance, his steps as light as treading on clouds, making no sound as he landed. His gaze was locked onto the crimson figure ahead, patiently waiting for the optimal moment to strike.

’This is the place...’

Chen Cheng suddenly quickened his pace, cutting diagonally through an alley just wide enough to pass through sideways, moving to flank his target.

This position was far enough from that strange man in the bamboo hat.

Moreover, there was a corner with a blind spot up ahead, a path the Blood Robe Believer would have to take.

The key was that at this spot, the alley walls narrowed significantly. If the Blood Robe Believer wanted to pass, he would have to walk close to the base of the wall.

It was practically a heaven-sent spot, tailor-made for an ambush!

Chen Cheng’s calculations were flawless. Arriving at the corner before the Blood Robe Believer, he pressed his left shoulder against the wall, ready to strike.

He focused his mind and quickly gathered his Hidden Strength.

Under the concealment of Endless Moon Breath, his breathing, heartbeat, killing intent, and even the subtle fluctuations from circulating his Blood Qi were completely hidden.

This meant that before he launched his sudden attack, the Blood Robe Believer wouldn’t sense anything was wrong.

The footsteps drew near.

Ten feet.

Five feet.

Six inches.

Just as the crimson figure appeared from around the corner...

Chen Cheng erupted into action!

His left shoulder slammed into the earthen wall. Bracing himself against it, he cleverly borrowed its force. With a muffled THUD, the entire wall suddenly erupted with countless cracks as loose dirt trickled down.

He twisted at the waist, channeling the force through his entire body. The power flowed into his arm as his right fist hooked out from his side, tracing a vicious arc around the corner and straight toward the Blood Robe Believer’s heart.

Chen Cheng held nothing back with this punch.

He fully circulated all the Blood Qi in his body. The scent of blood filled his fist, and his skin glowed a fiery red, as if invisible flames were licking out from it.

On top of that, his fully accumulated Hidden Strength, aided by the Force Manipulation of Tai Chi Force, was compressed into a sphere, which then collapsed into a single point.

In that instant.

The fist shot out, its speed and power reaching the absolute peak of Chen Cheng’s current abilities.

It far surpassed any attack he could launch in his normal state.

”Hm!?”

In that split second, the Blood Robe Believer reacted with extraordinary speed, nearly matching the Peak of Five Pillars of Blood Qi.

He leaned back, his spine bending at the perfect angle, as if every inch of his muscles moved with calculated precision. It was just enough to ensure Chen Cheng’s hooking fist would graze past his chest without so much as touching the hem of his robe.

At the same time, the Short Saber with its warped blade in his right hand slashed upward from below at a fiendishly clever and precise angle, aimed for Chen Cheng’s throat.

In his calculations, Chen Cheng’s punch was bound to miss. The momentum would carry him forward, leaving his center wide open. His neck would practically throw itself onto the blade. His death was certain!

He could already picture the next moment.

Chen Cheng’s head, sliced off by the blade. Hot blood would gush from the stump of his neck, splattering the mottled earthen walls and his own blood-red Cloak.

However!

Just as Chen Cheng’s fist was about to miss completely, exactly as the Blood Robe Believer had calculated...

That punch, at the peak of Chen Cheng’s power, impossibly shifted forward two inches, defying all logic!

Instant Shift!

The Blood Robe Believer’s pupils contracted violently. No matter how fast his reactions, he had no way to counter this.

BOOM—!!!

A thunderous, muffled boom erupted. Chen Cheng’s fist, without any deviation, slammed squarely into the Blood Robe Believer’s heart.

Beneath the shadow of his large cloak hood, his face twisted in an instant. He vomited blood, his eyes bulged, and the sharp CRACK of shattering bones echoed from his chest cavity.

But even so.

He used every last ounce of strength to steady the hand holding the short saber.

Veins bulged on the back of his hand, and the muscles in his arm strained. ’He had to keep it steady, no matter what!’

’As long as the blade’s edge steadily swipes across Chen Cheng’s throat, victory can still be decided in an instant!’

SWISH—

But just as the Wave Blade Short Saber was about to find its mark...

Chen Cheng’s throat impossibly shifted back two inches in the same logic-defying manner, perfectly dodging the blade.

’Impossible!’

’This is absolutely impossible!’

His blade swung through empty air. This outcome was completely beyond the Blood Robe Believer’s comprehension.

The moment the fist had struck him squarely in the chest, he had realized that Chen Cheng might have used Inconstant Moon Step.

But the problem was, Inconstant Moon Step couldn’t be used consecutively.

Between two instant shifts, there had to be a recovery period of about ten breaths.

For Chen Cheng to shift twice consecutively, once forward and once back, all within a single breath...

The Blood Robe Believer had never seen or heard of such a thing.

Never mind him; even if that strange man in the bamboo hat were in his place, he would have undoubtedly fallen for Chen Cheng’s move.

Over the past nine days, Chen Cheng had already honed his Inconstant Moon Step to the level of Minor Achievement.

And had activated its Trait.

[Instant Shift: Perform two Moon Step shifts in a single instant.]

This was a Skill Trait originating from the Vertical Eye Mark. Only Chen Cheng could possess it; other Cultivators could never achieve such an effect. Naturally, they could neither understand nor counter it.

BOOM—!

In the instant the Blood Robe Believer’s concentration wavered, a knee strike shot forward.

This time, it wasn’t a shift. Chen Cheng had precisely seized the opportunity when his opponent was overly shocked and his Heart Spirit was in disarray.

The key was that the previous punch had already severely injured him. Both his physical movements and the circulation of his Blood Qi were greatly hindered.

He could only watch helplessly as Chen Cheng’s knee slammed into him with the force of a collapsing mountain.

There was no suspense.

The knee strike once again smashed into his caved-in chest.

The cracking of shattering bones, like countless dry twigs being snapped, was enough to make one’s teeth ache.

He was sent flying backward, his back slamming heavily against the earthen wall. He then slid down powerlessly, collapsing in a heap like a pile of mud against the base of the wall, continuously vomiting blood and bits of flesh.

’Something’s wrong!’

Just as Chen Cheng was about to step forward and deliver the finishing blow, his heart suddenly tightened, and his pupils contracted sharply.