Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”I had people look into Wen the Dog. He used to have an apprentice he secretly taught, transmitting his skills deep within the trading company’s warehouse...”

Liu Yufeng slowly ascended the platform, his eyes sizing up Chen Cheng with malice.

”So you’re the one, kid.”

Chen Cheng didn’t answer. His expression didn’t even flicker.

”Wen the Dog used to have a daughter, you know. Her figure, her skin... she could have given Shen Mi a run for her money. So tender, smooth, and soft... What a pity. They never even found a complete body.”

Liu Yufeng kept his voice very low, his lips barely moving, ensuring only Chen Cheng could hear.

”Wen the Dog hunted me for a while. Now, the tables have turned. My power keeps growing, while he’s long past his prime. He doesn’t even dare to face me anymore!”

”He secretly ruined things between me and Shen Mi. Now that it’s time to settle things for real, he sends a punk like you to fight in his place. How is that any different from sending you to your death?”

Though Liu Yufeng’s words had nothing to do with the duel, his eyes remained locked on Chen Cheng.

He was sharp. He’d already realized that mentioning Elder Wen affected Chen Cheng’s composure.

He said all this deliberately to shatter Chen Cheng’s composure, disturb his Heart Spirit, and make it impossible for him to focus.

”I don’t mind telling you plainly: things between me and Wen the Dog are far from over! Today, I’ll start with you. And when I’m done, I’ll take my sweet time finishing off Wen the Dog and Shen Mi. Heh...”

BOOM—

A rolling peal of thunder suddenly echoed without warning.

Everyone in the crowd looked up at the sky, bewildered. ’Thunder? In the dead of winter?’

「The next instant.」

Chen Cheng launched himself into the air.

The platform beneath his feet shattered, sending countless splinters trailing white vapor everywhere like buckshot.

Already in midair, the bones and sinews in his legs thrummed in unison, popping and cracking with explosive sounds, as if he were stomping on the thunderclouds themselves.

In that moment, the thunder roared again.

Peal after peal overlapped, rolling in like a tide, making eardrums tremble and hearts pound violently in time with the rhythm.

Every head in the crowd snapped toward the source.

At that exact moment, Liu Yufeng’s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and all the color drained from his face.

His reactions were undeniably fast. The instant he saw Chen Cheng take flight, his Heart Spirit made the right call: he had to dodge with all his might and avoid the brunt of the attack.

However, Chen Cheng was faster than Liu Yufeng’s own thoughts.

His Heart Spirit had just registered the thought, but his body hadn’t had time to move an inch.

Chen Cheng was already twisting in midair, his core exploding with power. His spine coiled like a dragon, channeling all the Power in his body, joint by joint, into his right leg.

As his leg swung with the momentum of his rotation, arcing above Liu Yufeng’s head, it carried the force of his initial leap, the inertia of his spin, the enhancement from his Blood Qi, and the explosive burst of Tai Chi Instant Force—

Like a thunder-spear hurled from beyond the heavens, it pierced the air, descending with unstoppable might.

It wasn’t just Liu Yufeng; no one present could clearly see the attack.

But the rolling thunder was clear in their ears, and the shriek of rending air pierced them to the marrow. It allowed every single person to feel the purest violence and the most extreme speed.

BOOM—!!!

The air above Liu Yufeng’s head was violently stretched and crushed, collapsing into a bizarre, visible vortex. It was like a miniature black hole, seizing the air, light, and even sound, and bringing it all down in the strike.

And in the very instant that vortex formed,

Liu Yufeng’s head, like rotten wood struck by a bolt from the heavens, exploded without a shred of suspense.

There was no scream.

No struggle.

Only a single, sickeningly dull pop.

Blood, brain matter, bone fragments, eyeballs, and shattered teeth... sprayed in every direction, fanning out in a sunburst pattern that coated nearly the entire platform.

The headless body remained standing, swaying slightly.

The next moment, as if its knees had been blown out from within, the body collapsed straight down into a kneeling position.

THUD.

After the dull thud, the entire arena fell silent.

Even the wind seemed to stop, and the clouds seemed to freeze in place.

The heavens’ light no longer reached them; darkness enveloped all.

Only the figure in the center of the platform remained, slowly lowering his leg. White vapor steamed from his body, making him look like a god or a devil.

「After a long moment.」

Chen Cheng took a step, turned, and walked off the platform.

It was as if the frozen world before everyone’s eyes had been gently pricked, and shattered.

The clouds slowly began to drift apart.

Sunlight poured down, making the scarlet that stained the ground all the more glaring.

”AHH—!”

Finally, someone let out a gasp.

Then, screams erupted one after another, exploding like a tidal wave and shattering the deathly silence.

”Yufeng—!”

Gu Lan’an collapsed onto the ground, her eyes immediately turning red.

’Just moments ago, when Liu Yufeng had asked her to be with him, she had even started thinking of names for their children.’

’Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the father of her children would already be a corpse.’

”Dead... He’s dead!? Yufeng... He’s... just dead, like that!?”

Gu Heng was dumbfounded. His legs went weak, and he nearly slid out of his chair.

He stared intently at the kneeling, headless corpse on the platform. His Adam’s apple bobbed violently, and his face was utterly drained of color.

’One kick!’

’Just one kick!’

’His entire head was just... gone!’

The more Gu Heng thought about how powerful Liu Yufeng had been, the less he could believe what he was seeing.

More importantly, Liu Yufeng’s death meant the duel was over.

This meant that he, Gu Heng, was about to lose his most important Trade Document.

Half of his Wan Tong Trading Company’s empire would completely collapse. He didn’t dare to even imagine the chain reaction that would follow.

Feeling as if all strength had been drained from his body, he went completely limp in his chair, unable to move.

In the surrounding private rooms, cries of shock now echoed ceaselessly.

”What kind of Leg Technique was that? I couldn’t even see it! I just heard thunder, and Liu Yufeng was... no, his *head* was gone!”