Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

On the vast, desolate plains, a dark mass of heads stirred. They were all new conscripts, forcibly drafted from every region, and they nearly filled the endless wasteland.

Most of them were from the lowest rungs of society, dressed in foul-smelling old clothes, their toes poking through worn-out shoes.

The idea of a warm spring with blooming flowers was a complete joke in the vicinity of Whale Hook Pass.

A fierce wind assailed them from all directions, carrying bits of sleet and the smell of damp earth, piercing them to the bone like a knife.

Every one of these new recruits had their necks shrunk down and their arms wrapped around themselves. Their teeth chattered, and their bodies trembled like dead leaves in the wind.

The formation was a crooked mess, neither in proper ranks nor files. It resembled a crumpled rag tossed carelessly onto the plains. The hands gripping their weapons trembled, each more violently than the last.

In the distance.

There was another unit composed entirely of newly promoted Military Guards. They appeared disciplined and formidable, but in reality, their morale had already plunged to rock bottom.

Zhu Qian was clad in Heavy Armor, an Eight-edged Copper Hammer hanging from her waist. Her tall, sturdy frame, like an iron tower, completely cast a shadow over Zhuang Zhen, who stood before her.

Zhuang Zhen wore a suit of silver-white Battle Armor with two Battle Sabers at her waist. Her once-delicate, pretty face now clearly bore the marks of wind and frost.

“Sister Zhuang, we’re marching into Whale Hook Pass tomorrow…”

Zhu Qian paused, her voice trembling slightly.

“I heard… that for soldiers, entering Whale Hook Pass is like walking through the Ghost Gate… N-No one ever makes it out alive…”

Zhuang Zhen’s slightly chapped lips moved, but she said nothing. In the end, she simply turned her head slowly, her gaze sweeping past the boundless plains to look toward the south.

…

[Lip Reading]: Entry Level (0/300)

Chen Cheng put down the book, *Lip Language Record*, then picked up his bowl and drank all the Treasure Fish Soup at the bottom.

He had learned a brand new Skill while eating his lunch.

After a quick clean-up, he took his Fishing Pavilion waist token and set off to report for duty.

Descending from the Outer Sect Stone Platform to the edge of the marsh at the mountain’s foot, his view suddenly opened up.

A covered bridge as wide as a main road lay across the water’s surface. The bridge was paved with single slabs of bluestone and flanked by vermilion-lacquered wooden railings, the tops of their posts carved with simple fish patterns.

The bridge extended straight forward, seemingly without end, piercing directly into the vast mist deep within the great marsh.

Across the marsh, islands were scattered like stars in a night sky between the water and the heavens. The clusters of buildings on them were veiled by a perennial thin mist, their upturned eaves appearing and disappearing, resembling a wash-painting blurred by water vapor.

The island connected to the end of the covered bridge, Sanshi Island, was precisely where the Fishing Pavilion was located.

From a distance, one could see pavilions, houses, tall towers, and docks layered one upon another in a staggered arrangement, spreading out along the island’s shoreline.

As Chen Cheng reached the head of the bridge, he happened to meet a Fishing Pavilion disciple dressed in a light-blue martial arts uniform.

She was a woman of about twenty-three or twenty-four, with a pleasant appearance and a supple figure. As she walked gracefully toward him, she seemed to be made of water itself.

Chen Cheng immediately stated his purpose and presented his waist token.

After the woman verified the token, a friendly smile appeared on her gentle, fair face.

“Junior Brother Chen, my name is Lü Qinyi. From now on, I’ll be your Senior Sister.”

Lü Qinyi smiled, handing the waist token back to Chen Cheng. Her tone was gentle and natural, as if she were greeting a younger brother from next door who had come to visit.

“Come with me. I’ll take you to the General Affairs Pavilion to complete the entry procedures.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister Lü.” Chen Cheng cupped his fist in a salute.

“No need for formalities, Junior Brother.”

Lü Qinyi waved her hand and asked,

“By the way, Junior Brother, did you bring enough money? To join the Fishing Pavilion, you need to buy a set of regular clothes, a leather suit for going underwater, an Underwater Technique, a Lip Reading Practice Method, plus rent and food. All in all, it’ll cost five thousand taels.”

“This…”

Chen Cheng’s expression faltered. He truly hadn’t expected that the bundle Li Wenrou had delivered this morning wasn’t free, but an entry gift she had paid for out of her own pocket.

More importantly, she was tight on money herself and had to take on missions to earn a living…

At this thought, a complicated look couldn’t help but surface in Chen Cheng’s eyes.

“…You don’t have enough money, do you?”

Lü Qinyi noticed the change in Chen Cheng’s expression and sighed softly.

“Don’t worry, I won’t laugh at you or look down on you… We disciples of the Fishing Pavilion generally don’t lack Root Bone or Comprehension, only money… As someone who’s been through it, I understand your difficulties.”

“No, Senior Sister, it’s not that. I actually don’t need to spend that much money…”

Chen Cheng said,

“A friend of mine already bought all the things you just listed. We can go straight to the paperwork.”

“…You little rascal, you should have said so earlier.”

Lü Qinyi shot Chen Cheng a playful glare, but it was quickly replaced by her gentle smile as she turned and led him toward the tallest pavilion on the island.

The procedures went very smoothly.

From this moment on, Chen Cheng was officially an Inner Sect disciple of the Mountain and Sea Sect’s Fishing Pavilion.

“Junior Brother Chen, you’re not planning to live on the island?”

Lü Qinyi said,

“I noticed you didn’t seem to pay for rent or meals just now.”

Chen Cheng shook his head.

“I plan to continue living in the Outer Sect, or maybe find an uninhabited island to settle on. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“…It’s not a problem, just inconvenient.”

Lü Qinyi said,

“The area around the Outer Sect Stone Platform is mostly shallow waters, so Treasure Fish and Treasure Medicine are very rare. Just traveling from the Outer Sect every day will waste a lot of your time.”

“As for an uninhabited island, you can settle there if you want, of course. The problem is, there are no houses, but there are plenty of mosquitoes, insects, snakes, and scorpions.”

“Especially the mosquitoes. Who knows if they flew over from a warzone or a plague-ridden area. If you get bitten, at best it’ll be painful and itchy for days. At worst, you could fall ill… I’d advise you to stay away.”

“Thank you for the warning, Senior Sister.”

Chen Cheng cupped his fists again and asked,

“Where is the Fishing Pavilion’s General Affairs Hall? I want to see if there are any resources I need that I can exchange for.”