Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”His... his lumbar vertebrae are completely shattered... I did my best, but all I could do was roughly set the bone fragments. I can’t guarantee they will heal properly...”

”His internal organs are also severely injured. His spleen and kidneys are both ruptured. Although I’ve stopped the bleeding, but...”

The old doctor paused, as if he couldn’t bear to continue. He let out a long sigh before saying:

”From now on, it’s not certain if he’ll ever be able to stand again.”

”This... How can this be!?”

Wan Qianshan’s expression froze. It was as if he’d been punched in the chest, and his entire body swayed violently.

Cao Miao reacted quickly, immediately grabbing his arm to support him, but was shoved away.

He stared at the old doctor, his lips trembling. He tried to say something, but for a long moment, no sound came out.

He slowly turned around.

Facing the half-closed door, his stooped back seemed even more frail, as if he might collapse at any moment.

”Ngh... PFFT—!!”

Overcome with rage and grief, he suddenly spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood and fell straight backward, his body stiff.

Cao Miao caught him. By the time he helped him back into a chair, it seemed as if Wan Qianshan was on his last breath.

Without even wiping his hands, the old doctor quickly took out a red pill and had him swallow it. Only then did his breathing begin to even out.

If not for that pill, the distinguished Hall Master of Dragon Mountain Hall might have literally died of anger.

”How could this happen? Why did this happen? Tell me why...”

Wan Qianshan had just caught his breath when his eyes locked onto Cao Miao, and he endlessly repeated the same question.

Before Cao Miao could speak, the old doctor quickly took his leave with his apprentice, not even mentioning his fee. He had dealt with men from martial arts halls his entire life and knew exactly what he should and should not hear.

After they left, Cao Miao finally spoke, recounting in detail how Zhao Tianlai had been crushed by Qin Zhao and ultimately crippled.

”There’s a conspiracy! There must be a conspiracy here!” Wan Qianshan coughed violently.

”If I’m not mistaken... the problem likely lies with Kuang Yifeng...” Cao Miao said just enough, not elaborating further.

How could Wan Qianshan not understand?

”Die! I want him dead—!!”

Wan Qianshan roared, spewing another mouthful of blood. His voice trembled as he said:

”I have leverage that can cost him his life... My first disciple will be returning soon... I want him dead... I want Kuang Yifeng dead!!!”

”He’s already dead.”

Cao Miao said in a low voice:

”He was killed by Chen Cheng, on the dueling ring.”

”Who? Chen... Chen Cheng?”

Wan Qianshan was stunned for a moment. His dull old eyes, as if touched by a spark, flashed brightly before instantly dimming again.

Of course, he remembered who Chen Cheng was. More than that, he remembered *why* Chen Cheng had left Dragon Mountain Hall.

In that instant, Wan Qianshan’s Heart Spirit was almost completely filled with regret.

And this dense, inescapable regret made him feel as if his old face was being slapped repeatedly by countless invisible hands.

A sharp, twisting pain shot through his chest again. He spat out another large mouthful of blood, nearly sliding out of his chair.

Zhang Dong steadied him.

Cao Miao turned to go after the doctor, but Wan Qianshan grabbed his sleeve.

His hand was shaking violently, and his lips trembled. As if using the last of his strength, he spoke a few words to Cao Miao.

...

「Afternoon. The Chen Mansion.」

Lady Li gave all the red envelopes she had received to Chen Cheng. Inside, the Gold Notes and Silver Notes combined totaled a surprising six thousand taels.

Added to Chen Cheng’s existing wealth, his total assets were now close to ten thousand taels of silver.

Chen Cheng kept nine thousand taels for himself and gave the remainder, six or seven hundred taels, directly to Lady Li.

In addition, Wu Ziyu, in the name of the Wu Family, gifted Chen Cheng six storefronts all on the same street.

”Brother Chen, I had originally wanted to give you cultivation resources, but lately—perhaps because of the Martial Selection—High Level resources have been really hard to find on the market... And giving you low-level ones wouldn’t help you improve much.”

Wu Ziyu said:

”So, after discussing it with my grandfather, we decided to give you these six shops first. They’re in a great location. You can run them yourself or just collect rent.”

Before Chen Cheng could even offer a polite refusal, Shen Mi came over, saying she wanted to give Chen Cheng a non-voting share in her trading company.

”Cheng, this is the transfer contract for a sixty-percent non-voting stake in our Yongsheng Trading Company. It’ll be effective once you sign it.”

Shen Mi shoved the contract directly into Chen Cheng’s hands:

”Don’t be polite with me. Without you, where would the Yongsheng Trading Company be today? You get sixty percent. I’ve already cleared it with my family; no one has any objections!”

Although both gifts were extremely valuable, Chen Cheng knew their personalities well. If he didn’t accept, the two of them would never let the matter rest.

For that reason, after a simple word of thanks, Chen Cheng accepted their gifts.

He would find a chance to repay them generously in the future. For now, there was no need for false modesty or to haggle over the details.

In addition, Yu Feng and Zhuang Hui Xian also brought presents. The couple was nowhere near as wealthy as Wu Ziyu and Shen Mi, so they just gave some thoughtful gifts to express their goodwill, which Chen Cheng was equally grateful for.

Chen Cheng had wanted to ask them to stay for dinner, but they had to get back to take care of the injured Zhuang Zhen, so they took their leave right away.

”Lady Zhuang, Lord Yu, take care. My mother and I will come visit Sister Zhuang another day.”

Chen Cheng and Lady Li walked the pair to the gate, and then a little further down to the alley entrance, before turning back.

Just as they reached their own gate, the door to the neighboring Sun Mansion suddenly opened, and a group of officials’ wives flooded out.

Every one of them wore an incredibly fawning smile—a smile so greasy you could scrape two taels of oil off it. Carrying all sorts of gifts, they swarmed forward.

Chen Cheng didn’t break his stride. He simply nodded with a smile to Lady Sun and walked straight through his own courtyard gate.

The group of officials’ wives didn’t seem to mind; they immediately surrounded Lady Li.

”Oh, Lady Li, we all heard about Young Master Chen’s magnificent display at the Martial Selection today! Truly, a tiger father has no dog for a son... oh no, I mean, Lady Li has raised her son so well!”

”Still calling him Young Master Chen? You should change how you address him! From now on, it should be Lord Chen!”

”Lady Li, this humble gift is just a small token of our respect. Please don’t be a stranger, come visit when you have the time.”

”Yes, yes, you must come to my house some other day. My husband has ordered me again and again to take any opportunity to get closer to Lord Chen...”

For a moment, she was drowned in a tide of flattery and an endless stream of sycophantic smiles.

Some reached out to support Lady Li’s arm, others fought to carry her things, and some leaned in to whisper in her ear, their tones as intimate as if they’d known each other for decades.

Lady Li was jostled and pushed about in the center of the crowd.

At first, she was a bit dazed, but then she couldn’t help but want to laugh.

She had always thought a person’s station in life—noble or lowly—was determined at birth.

Only now did she realize that these so-called nobles were even more base!

Of course, she understood with perfect clarity that getting to see this side of the nobility wasn’t easy. It was all because her son was successful enough.

And behind that success were her son’s countless trials and endless struggles.

She was proud of having such a son! So proud!

A second ago, she’d wanted to laugh, but now her eyes suddenly reddened.

Just then, a swift horse came galloping up.

Before the horse had even been fully reined to a halt, the man on its back had already dismounted and was rushing into the Chen Mansion.

”Manor Master Wang, why have you come in person?”

Chen Cheng had heard the hoofbeats in advance and was already waiting in the courtyard. Seeing it was Wang Peng, he couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled.

After all, Wang Peng was based at the Jiuan Hunting Manor; for any ordinary matter, he could have just sent a messenger.

For him to come personally, the matter was certain to be important.

”It’s not convenient to talk here. Could we speak somewhere private?”

Wang Peng glanced cautiously behind him, as if afraid something had followed him.

”This way, please.”

Chen Cheng led Wang Peng into an empty side room off the front courtyard.

Wang Peng composed himself, then took a small, rolled-up piece of letter paper from his robes and handed it to Chen Cheng.

”A letter came from Miss Yun. It says... you should just read it yourself.”

’Yun Shuanglin?’

Chen Cheng’s heart stirred. He slowly unrolled the letter paper.