Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

After a glance at Yu An’s corpse on the ground, Chen Cheng looked away, his gaze falling to his own arms.

The muscles in his arms were clearly aching, and a stinging pain ran through them. His joints—fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders—all felt strained.

Though he was still a ways from his physical limit, the cost of repeatedly drawing the Thousand-Pound Bow was considerable.

This was why, in the end, he hadn’t killed Yu An with an arrow, but had used the Thunder Treading Skill to run him down.

The outcome was the same, so there was no need to risk injury by forcing himself to draw the bow again.

Besides, he could have killed Bai Fangshuo with a single projectile earlier.

The reason he had fired four consecutive projectiles to dismember him into a limbless trunk was twofold.

First, he wanted to test his own limits.

His training in the Four Gods Profound Body - Taming God Chapter had clearly strengthened his physique.

His current training progress wasn’t very advanced, so the physical enhancement was only about ten percent.

But that ten percent alone allowed him to draw the Thousand-Pound Bow at least three more times than Bai Fangshuo could.

But that wasn’t the most critical factor.

What truly raised his ceiling was the Harmonious Attribute from his Health Tai Chi.

It reduced his stamina consumption by thirty percent.

This was the fundamental reason Chen Cheng could draw the Thousand-Pound Bow more times consecutively than Bai Fangshuo without needing to rest.

At this thought, Chen Cheng couldn’t help but feel immense anticipation for the third Trait of Health Tai Chi.

His Health Tai Chi was currently approaching the Perfection realm, at which point he would unlock the third Trait.

With brilliant precedents like the Nourishing Life and Harmony Traits...

...how could Chen Cheng not look forward to the third one?

His second reason for not killing Bai Fangshuo outright was related to the Immortal Bone Sect’s plot that Bai Fangshuo had mentioned.

It very well could threaten the existence of the Jiuan Hunting Manor.

Therefore, he had wanted to keep Bai Fangshuo alive to see if he could interrogate him for the details.

Unfortunately, he had overestimated the resilience of Bai Fangshuo’s body.

By the time he’d finished his pursuit, Bai Fangshuo’s breathing and heartbeat had already stopped, his life force completely extinguished.

’Nothing to be done about it.’ He could only report this to Wang Peng and tell him to be on his guard.

”Haaa... Time to loot the bodies!”

After relaxing for another moment, Chen Cheng slowly let out a long breath.

His gaze swept over the numerous corpses, and a faint but distinct smile touched his lips.

He crouched down and began by carefully searching Yu An’s body.

One Money Bag, not very heavy. It seemed to hold some Silver Notes and a hard object of some kind.

A palm-sized brown leather pouch, which was quite heavy. Chen Cheng squeezed it. The contents felt like hard, familiar lumps. He pulled the opening a little wider and took a sniff.

’Just as I thought...’

The corners of Chen Cheng’s mouth lifted a little higher.

Next up was Zhu Biao’s corpse.

Another Money Bag, this one flat and empty. ’Makes sense. He was out doing dirty work, no need to carry much cash.’

A small wooden box about three fingers wide. Chen Cheng picked it up and shook it. A crisp clinking sound came from within. ’A box of Hidden Weapons.’

There was also a nearly identical leather pouch, slightly lighter than the first but not by much.

He weighed the pouch in his hand, his smile becoming even harder to suppress.

Finally, there was Bai Fangshuo’s corpse.

Chen Cheng walked over, crouched down, and confirmed once more that Bai Fangshuo was well and truly dead.

Then, Chen Cheng began a quick search.

He only found a single book, carried close to the man’s chest. The cover bore the four words, *Shooting Scripture: General Formulas*.

Chen Cheng picked it up and gave it a light sniff. No peculiar scent, so he didn’t have to worry about being tracked. He then pressed the front and back covers against the ground, roughly scuffing them up, and shook off the dust before tucking it securely into his clothes.

As for why there was nothing else on Bai Fangshuo’s person, Chen Cheng already had a good idea.

He immediately stood up and went to search the bodies of the attendants.

Sure enough.

On one of them, he found a bulging Money Bag made of silk brocade.

On another, he found a white leather pouch. Its contents were the same as the other two, but there was clearly more of it, and it was much heavier.

Chen Cheng couldn’t hold back his smile any longer.

’Nominal posts, sponsorships, Military Merit... what could possibly be faster than this?’

Next, Chen Cheng quickly went through the other corpses in the area. The haul was mostly Money Bags. After shaking out all the broken silver and copper plates, he put them all together; the total came to about a hundred-odd taels.

In addition, on the bodies of a few of the fiercer bandit leaders, he also found various Hidden Weapons like Flying Needles, Throwing Darts, Sleeve Needles, and Flying Locust Stones.

Chen Cheng tore a Cloak from one of the bodies and used it to bundle everything up to take with him.

”Cheng!”

Just as he was packing, a familiar voice suddenly called out from the distance.

Chen Cheng glanced up.

He saw Wang Chuang and Zhu Kang running toward him.

Both men were stained with blood, but judging by their posture and speed, neither was injured.

They ran quickly, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

”Cheng! It’s so good to see you’re alright! Where’s my uncle? Cheng, you... what are you...?”

Wang Chuang’s words trailed off as his gaze landed on what Chen Cheng was doing.

”Are you looting the bodies?”

”Ahem.”

Beside him, Zhu Kang gave a deep cough.

”What do you mean, ’looting the bodies’? At the end of their lives’ journey, Brother Chen is merely helping them unload their excess baggage...”

Wang Chuang was stunned. ’Another lesson learned.’

Chen Cheng, however, remained unruffled, calmly stating, ”They might have important clues on their persons. I have no choice but to conduct a thorough search.”

”Ahem.”

Zhu Kang coughed again, almost breaking into a grin. ’This kid is pretty slick himself!’

”Cheng, where are our rescuers? I must thank them properly!”

Wang Chuang’s expression was one of immense excitement as he scanned the field littered with corpses.

But gradually, a look of bewilderment crept into his eyes.

Because he couldn’t see a single sign of any rescuers.