Crisis
Nobody dared to escort Luo Zheng to the training hall, but he took the initiative to go there, nevertheless.
Luo Zheng was very displeased with the current rules of Luo Clan. His Second and Third Uncles failed to maintain law and order, while their sons violated rules. For example, whenever did Luo Peiran and Luo Chengyun show any regards for the rules? That was, precisely, why lowly servants dared to act out of line.
But just because others violated the rules, that didn't mean that Luo Zheng could ignore them. That wasn't him being pedantic, but persistent.
The atmosphere at the training hall was slightly different to usual.
All of Luo Clan had heard about Luo Zheng hitting General Manager Huang Ge and Steward Fang Cong.
Two years ago when Luo Zheng became a criminal and demoted to a slave, and thus a punching bag in the training hall, he had always meekly accepted the maltreatment. He put up with it without making a peep, no matter how the Luo Clan descendants beat him. It was as if he was a docile sheep.
Everybody had forgotten that he was once the Young Lord of Luo Clan. They had forgotten the power of Luo Zheng, who had reached the Flesh Refinement Realm.
Now, however, they realised that he wasn't somebody who would just put up with everything, but that he allowed them to be insolent and beat him, because he carried the Luo surname. Others who didn't share the same surname, had no right, though!
For that reason, the descendants of Luo Clan looked in his direction when they were in the training hall. They slightly feared him, deep down inside. Nobody chose him as their punching bag when the head instructor told them to select their punching bags.
Luo Zheng revealed a helpless smile. This wasn't the result he was after…
Right now, he needed to temper his flesh, but they all ignored him. That wouldn't do. He couldn't blatantly say, "I feel like getting hit. Come hit me", could he?
One punching bag got taken away after another, leaving just him standing there, alone. Luo Zheng got annoyed.
'The descendants of Luo Clan shouldn't be such wimps!'
He walked up to Luo Dalong who was viciously hitting a stone dummy and said, "Dalong, hitting a stone dummy is pointless. I'll help you train."
"That…"
Even the brash Luo Dalong looked hesitant.
Luo Zheng patted his chest and proclaimed, "I'm a punching bag, so it's natural for me to help you with your training! Rest assured, this leather armour of mine is sturdy. I'll be fine."
Luo Dalong couldn't really refuse him after he said that, or else he'd look too weak. However, he didn't, actually, want to enrage Luo Zheng.
Luo Daluo had qualms on his mind, so his punch wasn't as strong as it should've been. His punch was merely fifty to sixty percent of his usual strength. The soft punch meant that the tempering results weren't good. Only a very minimal amount of the warm current was produced in Luo Zheng's body, which greatly displeased him.
"Put some strength into it! Hit this spot with all you got!"
"Too slow! What are you worried about?"
"You punch looks the same, but it's a far cry from yesterday's punches."
The jaws of the descendants of Luo Clan in the training hall almost dropped to the ground at the sight of a "punching bag" teaching his attacker to beat him. They, honestly, couldn't figure out what was going through Luo Zheng's mind.
Luo Dalong started to let go of his concerns. He slowly regained his composure under Luo Zheng's tutelage. His hands and legs began to gradually loosen up, and thereby regained his usual strength.
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
Each punch drilled into Luo Zheng's body, allowing current after current of the warm current to flow in Luo Zheng's body, purifying the impurities in his bones.
Every punch increased the purity of his bones, in addition to increasing the strength of his bones.
Being hit was the same as consuming Heaven and Earth Blessings Pills. The qualitative transformation brought on a joyous feeling that was hard to put into words. While he looked as though he was in pain, on the surface, he was praying to himself, "Punch harder!"
The bronze kettle in the training hall, which was used for time keeping, had been emptied three times, which meant that three hours had gone by.
The servants of Luo Clan brought food over. Both the descendants of Luo Clan and the "punching bags" needed to replenish themselves. However, the descendants of Luo Clan enjoyed sumptuous delicacies, while the "punching bags" hate water and hard mantous…
Luo Zheng, also, felt incredibly hungry after three hours of tempering. Tempering his flesh had expended lots of his stamina. He didn't complain about the taste of the food. But just as he went to bite down on a mantou, a porcelain bowl suddenly appeared before his eyes. Inside was aromatic beef, exuding an alluring aroma.
Luo Zheng looked up to see Luo Dalong handing him a bowl of rice. Luo Dalong smiled and said, "Let's eat together."
Luo Zheng didn't stand on ceremony. He began to dig in, having big mouthfuls of mantou and meat.
In a muffled voice, Luo Dalong said, "The Second Young Master will get on your case for hitting Huang Ge."
Luo Zheng gorged on the food. He hadn't had such an appetising meal, ever since becoming a punching bag. He nodded. He was aware that Luo Dalong was giving him a friendly reminder. He was once the young lord, after all. And so, naturally, he knew these things better than collateral descendants.
The reason his Second and Third Uncle allowed him to live for so long, wasn't mainly out of benevolence, but because he was too weak. Essentially, he was an ant they could do with or without, as he posed no threat to them. However, they wouldn't hesitate to grant him death, should the ant that he is, bite them and hurt them.
"But that felt good. We had enough of that old Huang fart a long time ago," said Luo Dalong with a laugh.
While the other descendants at the training Hall didn't explicitly say it as Luo Dalong did, their gazes told the whole story.
It would be befitting to describe the behaviour and deeds of his Second and Third Uncle as going against the tides. They deducted all sorts of monthly expenses from collateral descendants and even their pills used for training, not to mention that even those that didn't carry the Luo surname sat on their heads. What's that considered?
Virtually all resources were spent on Luo Peiran and Luo Chengyun, so it'd be strange for collateral descendants to not be happy.
Everybody now missed the days Luo Zheng's father ran the clan. Back then, the rules were strictly enforced, but there wasn't so much infighting or servants bullying them, and certainly none of this unfair treatment!
Unfortunately, there was no way to go back to those days.
They could only reminisce those days to themselves. They didn't dare to make a case out of it, afraid that they'd give away something that could be leveraged against them, to punish them with "clan rules".
Luo Zheng sighed to himself, 'Luo Clan has rotted! If I get the chance, I'll get rid of all the tumours of Luo Clan, if I'm given the chance!'
At the front of the Third Branch Family's luxurious residence.
Huang Ge had his head wrapped up with layers of cloth, leaving only his nose, eyes and mouth exposed. He didn't resemble a human being in any capacity.
He dropped to his knees with a thud. In his high-pitched voice, he sulked, "Young Master Chengyun, you must serve justice for your subject!"
In front of Huang Ge, was a young man, dressed in cyan coloured clothing leaning back in his chair. The young man had a handsome appearance, but he exuded a conceited and violent aura. He was the Second Young Master of Luo Clan, Luo Chengyun.
Luo Chengyun titled his head with a smile, "I heard you wanted to make Luo Zheng your servant to take care of your living needs and meals."
Huang Ge sobbed as he denied it, "Young Master Chengyun, that is not true…"
Luo Chengyun didn't listen to any of Huang Ge's explanation. He laughed and said, "Luo Zheng may have been demoted to a slave, but he still carries the Luo surname, nevertheless. He's also the former young lord, so it wouldn't be appropriate for, even, me to make him my servant. You must be retarded to do something so senseless. You deserved the beating."
Huang Ge kowtowed and continued sulking, "Young Master Chengyun, your subject was in the wrong this time, but you still must seek justice for me…"
He discretely made a hand gesture to the side as he sulked.
A woman roughly forty years old by the side walked up to Huang Ge's side without a word and then knelt down.
The middle-aged woman is Huang Ge's wife, and at the same time, Luo Zheng's nanny. She took care of him ever since he was a kid until now. Luo Chengyun lost his mother at a young age, but was very close to his nanny. They were close as though they were mother and son.
Luo Chengyun waved his hand, "Second Mom, you do not need to kneel. Huang Ge, you stand up, too!"
Huang Ge's voice shuddered, "So you have agreed, Young Master Chengyun?"
Luo Chengyun got up from his chair and walked two steps. He responded, "Cousin Peiran said he'd spare Luo Zheng's life, previously, so that he could witness his accomplishments. However, Luo Zheng isn't an important person. Cousin Peiran will be heading to Azure Cloud Sect any time now, so I'll help him dispose of him!"
When Huang Ge went to speak, you could see the now strange shape of his mouth, "Thank you, Young Master Chengyun!"
"This will have to wait, though." Luo Cheng Yun touched his head and continued, "I just consumed the clan's last Heaven and Earth Blessings Pill, so I need to go into seclusion, in order to use the pill to cleanse my flesh. Wait until the clan training day next month. I'll choose him for my opponent in the death matches and personally kill him."
Layers of malicious intent surfaced on his face, after he finished speaking.
The clan training day is a day where the elders of Luo Clan will make an appearance to evaluate the results of the training undertaken by the descendants of Luo Clan. At the same time, it's also a chance for the "punching bags". They could obtain freedom if they survived the death match.
Even the lowliest flesh punching bags had the right to desire freedom. If they couldn't see the ray of freedom, they wouldn't have survive the pressure of taking beatings and die quickly.
The rule that promised freedom was designed to give them a shred of hope. Therefore, they hoped that they could survive their death match, so that they could leave Luo Clan and never have to be a punching bag again.
But, the "death match" itself, was unfair, for the punching bags were often given beatings. They, therefore, suffered all sorts of difficulties from their injures. How could they last against the elites of Luo Clan, in that condition?
Countless punching bags got beaten to death on clan training days. That's a day where the elders evaluate the abilities of Luo Clan's descendants and reward them according to their abilities. As such, every single Luo Clan descendant gives their all and hit with all their might.
"Sure, Young Master Chengyun. Let that Luo Zheng live for another month!"
Huang Ge kowtowed a few more times before getting to his feet. A resentful look appeared in his eyes, underneath the cloth.
After Luo Chengyun left, the middle-aged woman tried to dissuade him, "Young Luo Zheng is pitiable, too. Why must you insist on killing him? Yes, he shouldn't have hit you, but you just need to give him a minor lesson."
However, Huang Ge retorted, "You're just a woman. What else do you know, aside from the virtues of a wife?"
She muttered under her breath, after being scolded by her husband. She then, finally, sighed and didn't say another word.
Glossary
*Mantou - often referred to as Chinese steamed bun, is a type of cloud-like steamed bread or bun popular in Northern China.