Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Wang Han hovered sideways at the edge of a massive reef’s shadow, one hand gripping a protruding corner of the rock. With the tips of his toes braced in a recess, his body held steady at an angle in the water.

His other hand held the Short Fork horizontally across his chest. His posture seemed relaxed, but it was a stance ready for both offense and defense.

His chest rose and fell with extreme slowness, almost imperceptibly. A long time would pass before a string of miniscule bubbles escaped his lips, a sign of his deep mastery of internal breath control.

Suddenly, his nostrils twitched. He opened his mouth, and the faint scent of blood, carried by the icy current, washed over his lips and teeth.

By using both smell and taste, this dual-sensory method—far more accurate underwater, especially in the deep—was enough for him to confirm the Iron-Bone Crocodile Eel was just ahead.

He narrowed his eyes, continuing to sense the subtle changes in the current. If he could pinpoint the source of the bloody scent, he could pinpoint the Iron-Bone Crocodile Eel’s exact location.

「A moment later.」

His gaze suddenly sharpened, locking onto a deep trench hidden beneath a massive reef over a hundred meters away.

’That’s the place!’

The corners of his mouth lifted into a smirk. He released his grip, allowing the current to push him slowly adrift.

Most Underwater Martial Arts included Water Manipulation Techniques. Using the flow to one’s advantage, blending in with the current, and avoiding any man-made disturbances that might startle one’s prey—this was a required lesson for any practitioner.

More advanced Water Manipulation Techniques were known as Water Control Skills. With these, a Martial Artist could infuse their Power into the water, creating waves, undercurrents, Water Sabers, and even Water Cannons.

However, the Water Control Skill was exceedingly difficult to master. One had to be able to refine their Power Transfer Thought with microscopic precision to even attempt it.

Otherwise, any Power infused into the water would either dissipate instantly or fail to form the desired shape.

The slightest deviation resulted in complete failure.

At his current stage, Wang Han could only perform Water Manipulation. The gap between manipulating the water and truly controlling it was immense.

Suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, the water behind Wang Han erupted into turmoil.

He spun around.

There, he saw a figure like a White Dragon, which had appeared without him noticing in a patch of seaweed less than thirty feet away.

And now, the White Dragon swayed, its movements looking unhurried, smooth, and graceful.

But in reality, with every sway, the muscles and tendons throughout its body coiled to their absolute limit. Countless muscle fibers would then snap in the same direction at once, the Power stacking and exploding outward.

Each sway was like a massive wave propelling it from behind, causing its speed to spike dramatically.

After just three or five sways, the White Dragon’s speed had already become a blur to the naked eye.

And not just an ordinary person’s eye.

It was a speed that even Wang Han—a veteran of the Jianghu, at the Peak of Six Pillars of Blood Qi, who had spent half his life honing his Underwater Martial Arts—could not follow, a speed his eyes could not comprehend.

In an instant, the White Dragon was nearly upon him, yet Wang Han still couldn’t get a clear look, unable to even identify what it was.

Not until a stray beam of light pierced the water and glinted off its form.

Only then did Wang Han finally see clearly. It was...

Chen Cheng, rushing forward. He held two Profound Black Daggers in a reverse grip, the blades facing backward and held flush against his forearms, like a pair of folded pinions sprouting from a dragon’s claws.

Wang Han’s face twisted in horror. His pupils contracted as if he’d just seen a ghost, and his composure completely shattered.

But he was no amateur.

In that split second, he swung the Short Fork in his hand in a wide arc, aiming for Chen Cheng’s face.

He had honed his Underwater Martial Arts for many years. His Water Manipulation Skill was masterful; he could ride the currents, use them to his advantage, and drastically reduce the water’s resistance. Underwater, his strikes were more than a notch faster than those of an ordinary Martial Artist.

What he never could have imagined, however, was that the Water Manipulation Skill of the young man before him—who likely hadn’t even been alive for as long as Wang Han had spent in the water—was far more profound than his own.

Every inch of the young man’s movement met with far less resistance, as if the water itself were actively parting for him.

In the next instant, reflected in Wang Han’s shrinking pupils, Chen Cheng’s body dipped down with absolutely no lag or resistance from the water. He effortlessly dodged the Short Fork as his right arm simultaneously swung forward.

The Profound Black Dagger at his side spun nimbly into a forward grip. Its blade thrust upward, plunging deep beneath Wang Han’s left ribs.

A thick cloud of blood exploded between them, shockingly vivid in the dim water.

Wang Han let out a muffled groan, a stream of bubbles escaping his lips as his body instinctively recoiled.

But he didn’t retreat.

His left hand clamped down on Chen Cheng’s wrist, preventing him from pulling the dagger out or twisting it. At the same time, he pushed his Blood Qi to its absolute limit, flipping his Short Fork and thrusting its tines toward Chen Cheng’s throat.

The tips of the fork cut through the water, leaving a white scar in their wake.

This strike held all of his remaining strength; its speed and power were on a completely different level from his previous attack.

Crucially, his arms were nearly a foot longer than average. Given the range of the strike, it was impossible for Chen Cheng to dodge.

However, just as the tines were about to pierce Chen Cheng’s throat, he leaned his upper body back. The bones and muscles of his waist and abdomen stretched with an unnatural flexibility, moving far beyond the limits of the human body.

It was as if several of his vertebrae had been dislocated, allowing his spine to bend into an impossibly exaggerated arc.

The fork’s tines scraped past his face, stabbing nothing but water. Only the current stirred by its passage was left, whipping the hair on his forehead into a wild dance.

Before Wang Han could react, Chen Cheng’s left hand shot out.

The other Profound Black Dagger slid silently into his palm, and he slashed it directly at Wang Han’s neck.

Wang Han’s already contracted pupils shrank again, constricting so violently they almost disappeared entirely.