Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”Thank you, Lord Wu! Thank you, Lord Wu! Thank you...”

Shen Mi held the Trade Document and Official Document in both hands, bowing repeatedly. Her emotions were surging uncontrollably, and her eyes reddened once more.

This time, however, it was out of joy.

”You don’t need to thank me.”

Wu Zhan smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

”Everything I’ve done today was out of respect for Brother Chen.”

Hearing this, Shen Mi didn’t deny it in the slightest. In her heart, she felt the exact same way.

She had been able to obtain this near-perfect outcome.

All the credit belonged to Chen Cheng.

Without Chen Cheng, she, Shen Mi, wouldn’t even have been qualified to stand here and speak with Wu Zhan.

Of course, she would have to thank Chen Cheng properly.

’But... a favor this immense, how could she ever properly express her gratitude? How could she ever repay it?’

”I have other official business to attend to, so I must take my leave...”

As Wu Zhan spoke, he gave a deliberate nod to Chen Cheng. Only after seeing Chen Cheng return a slight nod did he turn and leave.

”Take care, Lord Wu! When you are free another day, I will host a banquet to thank you!”

Shen Mi extended the invitation sincerely, planning to properly reward Wu Zhan at that time.

’This connection is one I must maintain no matter what. The exchange of favors is absolutely essential!’

”Of course, of course. When the time comes, as long as Brother Chen is there, I will certainly attend!”

Wu Zhan agreed with a smile and gradually disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Afterward, Shen Mi had intended to play host and treat Chen Cheng and Wu Ziyu.

Chen Cheng politely declined, using his need to cultivate as an excuse.

Wu Ziyu, however, gladly accepted the invitation. In her view, building a good relationship with Shen Mi was, to a certain extent, the same as building a good relationship with Chen Cheng.

The parties went their separate ways, and Shen Mi could only wait for a future opportunity to properly thank Chen Cheng.

...

After returning home, Chen Cheng had another bowl of Cyan Silver Dragon Meat Soup.

Then he went straight to the inner courtyard and began to temper his Thunder Treading Skill.

This Martial Art was indeed a bit more high-level than Hidden Dragon Fist. Tempering it for the same amount of time produced a better effect in nourishing and strengthening his Blood Qi.

The key was that Hidden Dragon Fist mainly tempered his Fist Technique, which was more beneficial for the Five Pillars of Blood Qi in his upper body.

The next Four Pillars of Blood Qi, however, would all condense in the lower half of his body.

Tempering the Thunder Treading Skill would be a better fit.

Chen Cheng had already decided on his way back. Starting today, he would stop training Hidden Dragon Fist and use the time he saved on the Thunder Treading Skill.

In addition, Foundation Establishment Tai Chi and Four Gods Profound Body would take up the most time to temper.

He would still practice the Celestial God Hidden Dragon Painting five times a day.

With the remaining time, aside from circulating Health Tai Chi to recover his condition, he would also find time to temper Endless Moon Breath and Inconstant Moon Step.

This way, not much time would be allocated to these two Evil Techniques, and their progress would slow down.

But there was no helping it; after all, his time was limited.

He had to prioritize.

”BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—”

When tempering the Thunder Treading Skill, the bones and tendons in his legs resonated in unison. Every time he practiced to the point of needing to exert his full force, the sound would explode in volume. The commotion was simply too great.

Chen Cheng had to stop for now, lest his neighbors come knocking.

This Martial Art was great in every way.

When using the Step Technique, its speed was astonishingly fast, far surpassing others of the Same Tier.

When using the Leg Technique, its destructive power was tyrannical and overbearing, also stronger than others of the Same Tier.

The results from tempering it were also better than those from Hidden Dragon Fist, which was also a Middle Grade Martial Art...

But its biggest problem was that the Blood Qi circulated too violently in his lower body. The resonance of his bones and tendons, triggered by the Blood Qi fluctuations, was simply too loud.

In actual combat, this kind of commotion would cause many problems, such as making it impossible to launch a sneak attack or revealing his position while fleeing...

No wonder a Martial Art with such obvious advantages had never been widely popularized.

’Perhaps... I can try linking my Traits!’

Chen Cheng thought to himself.

First, he would activate the Hidden Mechanism Attribute, then circulate Endless Moon Breath.

[Hidden Mechanism: Conceals a portion of one’s life force, preventing one’s strengths and weaknesses from being easily discovered by outsiders.]

’Endless Moon Breath can completely hide Blood Qi fluctuations, there’s no doubt about that. As for the Hidden Mechanism Attribute, perhaps it can conceal the shortcoming of the Thunder Treading Skill... I’ll give it a try!’

Chen Cheng made a quick calculation.

Then, following his idea, he began to temper the Thunder Treading Skill once more.

’It worked!’

This time, all the commotion had vanished.

This meant that the greatest flaw of the Thunder Treading Skill had been perfectly solved by Chen Cheng’s idea.

A brand-new version of the Thunder Treading Skill, the silent version, was thus born.

Following this method, tempering the Silent Thunder Treading Skill was equivalent to tempering both the Thunder Treading Skill and Endless Moon Breath simultaneously.

The tempering progress for both of these Skills would increase.

The only problem with doing this was that the damage to his heart and lungs from tempering Endless Moon Breath would require an increased number of Health Tai Chi tempering sessions to offset.

Of course, while this problem existed, it wasn’t irreconcilable.

He just needed to make some minor adjustments to his cultivation plan.

At worst, he would just have to sleep half an hour less each day.

As long as his nourishment could keep up, he just had to grind himself to death.

...

Immortal Tower.

Inside a private room on the third floor.

Shen Mi and Wu Ziyu ordered several rather exquisite dishes and chatted as they ate.

Originally, Shen Mi had been a little worried that it would be difficult for her and Wu Ziyu to find common ground, and that the conversation might turn awkward.

But after they started talking, Shen Mi discovered that Chen Cheng was their common ground.

Neither of them knew everything about Chen Cheng.

Sharing stories the other didn’t know was refreshing. Not only did they avoid any awkwardness, but they soon found themselves deep in a lively conversation, both feeling a sense of regret that they hadn’t met sooner.

Meanwhile, news that Shen Mi had secured the Gu Family’s Wan Tong Trading Company’s Southern Road Trade Document was spreading like wildfire through the merchant circles.

Another piece of news was spreading just as fast: Shen Mi had a ”brother” with a heaven-defying background, and all the official paperwork for the Trade Document’s transfer had been specially approved on the spot by Wu Zhan out of respect for this person.

Shen Mi and Wu Ziyu’s meal lasted for more than an hour.

When Shen Mi called the serving girl over to pay the bill, she was informed by her,

”Your table’s bill has already been paid... In fact, people were fighting over who got to pay it... Just now, you and Miss Wu were so engrossed in your conversation that I didn’t dare to disturb you... You should go take a look downstairs. The entrance is almost completely blocked.”

(Please vote with monthly tickets!)