Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”Uncle... Cheng, Cheng!”

Just then, Wang Chuang woke with a start.

As if waking from a nightmare, his eyes shot open. Almost unconsciously, he cried out the names of the two people he cared for most.

’Crap!’

Zhu Kang panicked and scrambled to cover Wang Chuang’s mouth...

But he was too late.

”FWEEEE—!”

The dreaded whistle of an Iron Arrow splitting the air sounded once more.

This time, it was closer than any before—so close it seemed to detonate right by his ear. The piercing shriek tore through the air, a harbinger of death that pierced all in its path.

The instant the sound reached their ears, a black shadow had already pierced through the ancient tree they were using for cover.

In a flash, the Arrow’s point burst through the trunk, its cold tip glinting as it aimed straight for Wang Chuang’s head.

Wang Chuang, having just awoken, hadn’t yet processed what was happening.

He only saw Zhu Kang lunging desperately toward him.

At the same time, a black shadow flashed in his peripheral vision as the sharp whistle flooded his ears.

”Uncle!!!”

Wang Chuang finally understood, but it was too late.

In that instant, his Heart Spirit was already flooded with an image of Zhu Kang being impaled by the Arrow.

Zhu Kang, however, showed no emotion. Only at the very last second did the corner of his mouth lift into a smile of release.

”BANG—!!!”

A muffled bang erupted without warning.

「The next instant.」

Before Wang Chuang’s despairing eyes, the fatal Iron Arrow was struck mid-shaft by something unknown, snapping it clean in two.

The front half lost all momentum, grazing past Zhu Kang’s shoulder before sinking into the thick bed of rotten leaves on the ground. The back half tumbled through the air, landing not far away.

His immense grief instantly turned to elation.

Tears welled in Wang Chuang’s eyes, and he nearly started to cry.

But now, his mind was fully alert, and reason completely suppressed his emotions.

He immediately grabbed the still-lunging Zhu Kang, twisting his body and using his core strength to roll them both behind another large tree.

They pressed themselves flat against the back of the trunk, circulating their Blood Qi with all their might just to suppress their heavy breathing and pounding hearts. The effort alone made their chests feel ready to burst.

Their eyes met, and they could only see the panic of a near-death experience mirrored in the other’s gaze, along with utter bafflement.

This time, however, the uncle and nephew didn’t dare make the slightest sound.

「Meanwhile.」

Bai Fangshuo’s bow hand trembled slightly.

It was a single, slight tremor, as if he’d been pricked by something.

His brows furrowed deeply. He opened his mouth to speak, his voice thick with shock and astonishment.

”What was that sound just now? My Iron Arrow... it broke?”

The tree trunk blocked his line of sight, so Bai Fangshuo had only heard the muffled bang; he wasn’t sure what had actually happened.

”It must have been the Arrow striking bone! Young Manor Master Bai, your archery is truly divine! You’ve really opened my eyes today!”

Zhu Biao chimed in with a fawning smile. He personally retrieved an Iron Arrow from a subordinate’s Quiver, held it with both hands, and presented it to Bai Fangshuo.

”With Young Manor Master Bai here today, the Lord Altar Master and I won’t even need to draw our blades! To be honest, I’ve never had such a relaxing fight in my entire life!”

”After this, when we take Jiuan Hunting Manor, I’m willing to give an extra ten percent of the profits to you, Young Manor Master Bai!”

Zhu Biao paused, a thoroughly lecherous smirk appearing on his brutish, fleshy face.

”However, Wang Peng’s wife and daughter... I’ve got to take them back to my stronghold... Hehehe...”

’Something’s wrong!’

Just then, Bai Fangshuo snapped his head to the right, his ears twitching slightly as if catching an abnormal sound.

However, the sound was so faint that he only caught it when it was almost upon them.

And that was with his hearing being far superior to that of a normal person.

To his left, the bald man Zhu Biao referred to as ”Lord Altar Master” hadn’t noticed a thing.

And to his right, Zhu Biao had no reaction whatsoever. His wide mouth was still stretched in a grin across his fleshy face, revealing a mouthful of blackish-brown, rotten teeth.

His lecherous smirk was even more exaggerated than the moment before.

”THUMP—!”

The next instant, a glint of silver light flashed into existence.

Just as it was about to strike the back of Zhu Biao’s head, the air in its path, unable to disperse, was violently compressed, creating a visible vortex and a sickening thud.

Bai Fangshuo’s hearing, sight, and reflexes were all far beyond those of a normal person.

His eyes snapped toward the source, his pupils instantly constricting.

And then.

Reflected in his pupils, now constricted to pinpricks, the back of Zhu Biao’s head suddenly caved in.

The instant the silver glint bored into his skull, the scalp collapsed inward, and then the entire cranium spiderwebbed with countless fine cracks, like an ice sheet struck by a heavy hammer.

Before a mist of blood could even erupt, the silver glint had already penetrated the cranial cavity, exiting from above his brow.

No!

It hadn’t merely exited, it had exploded out!

A fist-sized, bloody hole was instantly blown open in the center of his forehead, spewing a mixture of shattered bone, flesh, and brain matter in a grisly spray.

It sprayed directly onto Bai Fangshuo, who stood right in front of him, covering him from head to face. His eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were plastered with gore. His white cloak was instantly dyed crimson, dripping with a nauseating mixture of thick fluids and solid matter.

The lecherous smile was still frozen on Zhu Biao’s brutish, fleshy face. Even his eyes were fixed, without the slightest change.

He stood frozen for the space of a single breath.

Then his burly body, like an emptied sack, limply pitched forward.

Drenched and unable to dodge in time, Bai Fangshuo was knocked off balance by the impact and nearly fell.

And yet, in that very instant.

After exploding from Zhu Biao’s forehead, the silver glint’s momentum had sharply decreased. As it continued its flight, Bai Fangshuo had already intercepted it with his left hand, clenching it securely in his palm.