Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

She took a deep breath, jutted out her chin, and questioned him.

”Chen Cheng! With a Root Bone as inferior as yours, there’s no way you could have improved this quickly! Fess up! What sort of shady methods did you use?!”

”That’s where you’re wrong, isn’t it?”

Once again, before Chen Cheng even needed to speak up, Cao Zhao cut in.

He took half a step forward, his tone tinged with a smugness, as if sharing in the glory.

”A month ago, at the Jiuan Hunting Manor’s Tiger Slaying Banquet, Junior Brother Chen took first place in the martial arts competition and was gifted an entire jar of twenty-year-aged Golden Ring Treasure Snake Medicinal Wine!”

”This wine is considered one of Zhao City’s greatest treasures, specializing in the improvement of one’s Root Bone! And at twenty years old, its medicinal properties are at their peak!”

He paused, glancing sideways at Chen Cheng, his eyes filled with clear admiration and anticipation.

”Junior Brother Chen has been using that Medicinal Wine ever since. His Root Bone must be a world of difference from what it was before!”

”That…”

Ye Qiluo was stunned again. After a long moment, she managed to force out a response.

”That’s still impossible! It’s just Medicinal Wine, not some legendary Dragon Heart Phoenix Marrow! In the end, it couldn’t have been that effective!”

”Alright, that’s enough from you!”

Ye Yang frowned and glared at his daughter, his voice low and stern.

”The ultimate effect of any resource that improves the Root Bone varies from person to person. If Chen Cheng was particularly compatible with that Golden Ring Treasure Snake Medicinal Wine, it’s not impossible that it could turn the mundane into the miraculous!”

At these words, Ye Qiluo was left completely speechless.

The gazes of the surrounding crowd on Chen Cheng shifted once more. Most prominent among them was a look of anticipation; they all wanted to see just how much Chen Cheng’s Root Bone had truly improved.

Slightly different were Qiao Qiao and Lin Fengxiao.

The young girl’s gaze toward Chen Cheng was filled more with adoration and a conviction bordering on obsession. From now on, she would learn from him with unshakable resolve, learning everything she could from him.

Lin Fengxiao’s gaze was much more reserved. Admiration, gratitude, astonishment… all these emotions flashed by in an instant, almost impossible to detect.

”Hey! Are you going to fight or not?”

A voice, slightly lazy yet exceptionally cold, drifted down from the fighting ring.

The bald young man had appeared on the stage at some unknown point.

His eyes were downcast, his gaze sweeping over the people from Dragon Mountain Hall with contempt, his face etched with impatience.

”Of course we are!”

Ye Qiluo, still furious, spun around, bent her knees, and leaped onto the fighting ring.

”Master Ye…”

Chen Cheng said, his brow slightly furrowed.

”It would be best if I took this fight.”

”You… it’s enough that you have the sentiment.”

Ye Yang smiled faintly in approval, but his expression immediately turned serious again.

”Though your Senior Sister Ye is not the most talented, I still trained her myself. In a fight between those of the Same Tier, her chances are better than yours.”

Hearing this, Chen Cheng’s furrowed brow relaxed, and he no longer insisted on fighting.

But in the time it took to speak that single sentence, the battle on the stage had already begun.

Ye Qiluo was just about to announce her name and school, but the bald young man had already stomped on the ground, his figure shooting forward.

In Ye Qiluo’s vision, her opponent blurred for an instant, then appeared right in front of her the very next moment.

The sound of the wind was still catching up from behind, but his fist was already rapidly filling Ye Qiluo’s vision, reflected in her pupils.

There were no stances, no routines, not even a wind-up.

It was just a simple, straightforward punch, the kind even a three-year-old child could throw.

THUD—

The muffled impact was like thunder trapped under a thick quilt, a deep, heavy boom.

Ye Qiluo didn’t even have time to raise her arms to block. To be precise, her Heart Spirit’s reaction was far too slow.

Her consciousness, even her instincts, couldn’t keep up with her opponent at all.

Facing the incoming fist, the only reaction her body could muster was the trembling of her eyes and the sudden constriction of her pupils.

The next instant, the muffled sound had already faded.

Her opponent’s fist withdrew from the Zhongting acupoint, where her chest and abdomen meet.

She just stood there silently, not taking a step back, not flying backward, not even crying out. She showed no reaction at all.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Her eyes suddenly rolled up, showing only the deathly whites.

Her body, as if drained of all strength, fell straight backward.

The back of her head slammed against the fighting ring. She convulsed unconsciously a few times, and then bloody foam began to pour from her mouth, gushing up from deep in her throat, covering her face and body.

Dark Force Internal Burst!

”Qiluo!”

Ye Yang’s face turned pale with shock. His body shot up from the ground, and he flew directly onto the stage.

He threw himself beside his daughter, his knees slamming onto the stage. He pulled out all the vials of Healing Medicine from his robes, frantically ripping out the stoppers and stuffing pills of all colors into his daughter’s mouth.

”Open your mouth… Open your mouth! Qiluo!”

His voice was trembling, and his hands were shaking violently.

The scene fell deathly silent.

Only on the side of Cloud Platform Hall did the atmosphere completely relax.

Han Chuo leaned back in his chair, lifted his teacup for a sip, and slowly set it down.

He didn’t speak, didn’t even spare Ye Yang a glance, but the curve at the corner of his lips was impossible to suppress.

Years ago, Han Chuo had been severely injured by Ye Yang, making it nearly impossible for his Cultivation to advance further. He had lost all hope of avenging himself in this lifetime.

Now, the debt from back then was being paid in full by Ye Yang’s daughter.

In Han Chuo’s heart, this outcome was even more satisfying, more gratifying, than injuring Ye Yang himself!

Beside him, Han Tianqi wasn’t as composed as his father.

He stood up directly, took a few steps forward, and crossed his arms. His gaze went over the fighting ring, landing on Ye Yang and Ye Qiluo. A wide, unconcealed smirk spread across his face as he laughed.

”Uncle Ye, don’t let your hands shake! Feed her slowly! Feed her plenty!”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly into everyone’s ears.

”If your Healing Medicine isn’t enough, we at Cloud Platform Hall have plenty more. Just say the word, and I’ll have it sent over to you right away!”