Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

“Chen Cheng, I won’t keep you any longer. I’m heading back to the Fist Pavilion now.”

Li Wenrou grinned and said,

“I’m definitely going to tell my master all about your performance today! You should consider joining the Fist Pavilion and becoming my junior brother, heh!”

Li Wenrou was in high spirits. As he turned to leave, his burly, muscular frame seemed a little lighter on its feet.

‘The Fist Pavilion?’

Chen Cheng’s heart stirred.

“Chen Cheng!”

Just then, Zhou Wansen hurried over, a broad smile plastered on his face. He was holding a small, still-warm porcelain bottle, which he immediately shoved into Chen Cheng’s hand.

“This is a bottle of top-grade Healing Medicine. Take it. Mix it with warm water and drink it when you get back to the Guan Lan Pavilion. From what I can see, your injuries aren’t too serious. You’ll definitely be fully recovered within two or three days!”

Chen Cheng glanced at the small porcelain bottle.

He recognized it. It was the Healing Medicine from the resource catalog, a single bottle of which cost over one thousand taels of silver.

“You’re too kind, Elder Zhou…”

Chen Cheng asked, seemingly casually,

“Weren’t you the one who told me to move out of the Guan Lan Pavilion?”

“I did no such thing…”

Zhou Wansen’s brow furrowed slightly, his expression a perfect picture of “How could I possibly know about that?”

“Chen Cheng, there must be some misunderstanding. Why would I ever make you move out of the Guan Lan Pavilion? To be perfectly honest, I’ve had high hopes for you from the very beginning!”

He paused, clearly sensing how unconvincing he sounded, and quickly added,

“I won’t hide it from you—I’m on my way to the Sword Pavilion to see my master right now! I’m going to strongly recommend he take you on as his disciple! Just go back to the Guan Lan Pavilion and rest. Wait for my good news!”

With that, he forced the medicine bottle into Chen Cheng’s hand and hurried away.

Chen Cheng silently lowered his gaze to the medicine bottle in his hand, an urge to laugh bubbling up inside him.

Just ten-odd minutes ago, he had been at a dead end, on the verge of being kicked out of the Mountain and Sea Sect.

But now, he had become a blue-chip prospect coveted by all the Pavilions.

Before, the Pavilions were the ones choosing him. Soon, he would likely be the one choosing the Pavilion.

The contrast between then and now was truly like the difference between heaven and earth.

And this was the tangible benefit brought by strength!

It was precisely because of his constant, arduous training—never slacking for even a moment on his journey north—that his strength had steadily grown, drop by drop, culminating in this reputation-making battle that had reversed his fortunes!

And that wasn’t all.

In truth, Chen Cheng wasn’t injured in the slightest.

His Four Gods Traits enhanced his Blood Qi, creating a Transforming Force Barrier far superior to others of the Same Tier. This was his first layer of defense.

The Dragon Scale Shirt dissipating the force was the second.

The Loose and Transparent Characteristic was the third.

His formidable physique was the fourth.

And the most critical was his newly unlocked Profound Body Traits. Where the first four Blood Fragrance Divine Shadows condensed, his physical strength was boosted by thirty percent, protecting his vitals. The Heart and Mouth Divine Seal Acupoint was one of those spots!

Five layers of protection, like five great mountains.

To injure Chen Cheng, one would first have to shatter peaks and level mountains.

Han Chou had only just condensed his Ninth Pillar of Blood Qi; in the end, he was still lacking.

If that punch just now had landed anywhere else, Chen Cheng would have needed to adjust his stance and position.

But he just had to aim for the chest, where Chen Cheng didn’t even need to move.

That one punch truly made a god!

Except the god was Chen Cheng.

As for why Chen Cheng pretended to be injured in the end…

Firstly, he didn’t want to be too ostentatious and attract envy. The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be blown down by the wind—the logic was simple enough.

Secondly, it was purely a matter of social grace.

Pretending to be injured was mostly to save Han Chou’s face.

Immediately after, a few more Outer Sect Stewards came forward, offering words of praise and flattery. They invited Chen Cheng to banquets, their intentions to befriend and recruit him couldn’t have been more obvious.

Chen Cheng responded politely to each of them with impeccable etiquette, but in the end, he graciously declined all their invitations, using his “injury” as an excuse.

Su Bing and the others had also wanted to come over and invite Chen Cheng to a meal, but they got halfway there before they all seemed to lose their nerve. They backed out one by one and ultimately didn’t approach him.

“We don’t really have a deep friendship with Senior Brother Chen. Let’s not go over there and make a fool of ourselves…”

Lu Shang was the first to stop in his tracks.

Hearing this, Ding Lu couldn’t help but sigh.

“Senior Brother Chen already looked down on me before… I won’t go either.”

“You’re both overthinking it. Senior Brother Chen isn’t the kind of snob who fawns on the powerful and tramples on the weak!”

Su Bing said.

“As long as we’re sincere, Senior Brother Chen won’t look down on any of us.”

“I agree!”

Marsong nodded emphatically.

“I haven’t spent much time with Senior Brother Chen, but I have a really good feeling about him! You might not believe me, but my gut feelings are exceptionally accurate. Everyone in my clan agrees!”

“Yeah, right!”

Lu Shang pursed his lips and turned to leave without another word.

Ding Lu hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to stay and see what would happen.

“Ding Lu!”

Just then, a voice filled with unconcealed enthusiasm and joy called out from a distance.

“Ning Chong!”

Ding Lu’s face instantly lit up, and she ran to greet him with a beaming smile.

After the two of them acted lovey-dovey for a bit, oblivious to everyone around them, Ding Lu gave Ning Chong a rough summary of the situation.

“Hah, you’re all overthinking it!”

Ning Chong said in a hearty voice,

“My Brother Cheng… I mean, our Senior Brother Chen is the most straightforward and frank person there is. If you want to talk to him, you don’t need to beat around the bush or worry about all that nonsense.”

As he spoke, Ning Chong strode directly toward Chen Cheng.

Ding Lu, Su Bing, and Marsong immediately followed him.

“Senior Brother Chen! You’re the man! Strong! So strong! How can you be so strong?”

Ning Chong clumsily rushed forward, raising a hand to clap Chen Cheng on the shoulder, but Han Chou reached out and stopped him.

“He’s injured?!”

Ning Chong’s expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he pulled a medicine bottle from his robes and forced it into Chen Cheng’s hand.

“Senior Brother Chen, this bottle is some top-grade Healing Medicine my master gave me. Take it and use it. If it’s not enough, I’ll go beg my master for more! He’s really good to me, he’ll definitely help!”

“…No need, I already have a bottle.”

Chen Cheng smiled and opened his palm. The medicine bottle Zhou Wansen had given him was identical to the one from Ning Chong.

Afraid that Ning Chong would keep nagging, Chen Cheng decided to change the subject.

“You’re already a disciple of the Fist Pavilion, yet you’re still calling me ‘Senior Brother’… That’s against the rules!”

“Hah, rules are rules, but friendship is friendship!”

Ning Chong said with a serious expression,

“Back when we were in the merchant caravan, I already decided you were my Brother Cheng! Once my brother, always my brother! At worst, I just won’t call you Senior Brother. I’ll stick to the old way and call you Brother Cheng!”

Before Chen Cheng could even react to these words, it was Han Chou, standing to the side, who was deeply moved.

Han Chou composed himself and re-examined Chen Cheng with extreme seriousness.

‘To make a Fist Pavilion disciple call him ‘brother’ with such sincerity—and a brother for life at that—requires more than just strength. It requires immense personal charisma.’

At this thought, Han Chou felt deeply that his understanding of Chen Cheng was far too shallow. This sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth was simply unfathomable.

Chen Cheng had no idea what Han Chou was thinking. He just looked at Ning Chong and asked casually,

“How’s the Fist Pavilion? Are you adjusting well?”