Chapter 5: Crisis
The next morning, to Zen's surprise, no guard appeared to dress and escort him to the Martial Arts Hall. Since the beating process was crucial to his refinement as a mysterious weapon, Zen dressed and walked to the Hall.
As he marched, Zen thought over the disturbing behavior of his two uncles and their sons. They seemed to be defying the rules of the Luo Clan. Especially Perrin and Andrew never cared about the family rules. Perhaps this was the reason why some servants in the Luo Clan had dared to become arrogant and haughty.
However, even if others disregarded the rules set by the Luo Clan, it didn't mean Zen would ignore the values he grew up with. It also did not mean that others should expect Zen to look the other way if they openly flaunted the Luo Clan's rules. He was not pedantic, but Zen did have morals and values that he respected.
When Zen reached the Hall, he noticed that the atmosphere was somewhat different from usual.
By now word had spread that Zen had beaten Darren and Grey the previous day.
Two years ago, Zen had become a convicted person after false allegations were levied against him and his family. He then became a slave for the Luo Clan. Like other convicted slaves, he was made to work as a human punchbag in the Martial Arts Hall. He always stayed indifferent to violence. No matter how much the Luo children attacked and beat him, he endured, let go of his anger, and remained quiet, as if he were a docile sheep.
People had forgotten that Zen was the young master of the Luo Clan. They had also forgotten his strength. He was one of the youngest to reach the flesh refining level.
After the previous day's incident, the children realized that Zen would not always tolerate everything that came his way. The children could assault him without repercussion as they were members of the Luo Clan.
Other people who were not part of the Clan were not going to get away with treating Zen however they chose.
Because of this, the Luo children now began looking at Zen with respect. When the trainer, Corey, asked the Luo children to pick their punchbags, no one dared to select Zen. This came as a surprise to Zen. He knew how important this beating was to the refining process, and he had been looking forward to being beaten today.
Zen smiled bitterly.
What he needed was to exercise and refine his body, but when the Luo children didn't select him as their punchbag, Zen found himself in a dilemma.
He could not ask the children to beat him. Being a punchbag was not a fun job, and it would seem very odd for a punchbag to invite a beating. He could not reveal why he needed to be beaten either.
Once all the punchbags had been selected, Zen found that he was the only one left in the corner of the Martial Arts Hall. Zen was very unhappy indeed. The Luo children should not be so frightened!
He walked toward Melvin Luo who was practicing with a stone man and said,“Melvin, what good is it to fight with a stone man? I'll help you practice.”
“Well...” Melvin said with a frown. After his last encounter with Zen, and having heard about the beating Zen gave to Grey and Darren, Melvin wasn't so sure that he wanted to get into a fight with the former young master.
“I am a punchbag. It is my duty to help you practice! Don't worry, my leather is thick. It can protect me.” Zen patted his chest as he spoke.
After hearing what Zen said, Melvin felt embarrassed. What would people say about Melvin if he were to refuse beating a punchbag? The Luo children who practiced daily were supposed to be stronger, meaner, and more resilient than the punchbags who were battered and bruised daily. Would he look weak? Would the other children make fun of him? Could he risk angering Zen and getting a beating similar to Darren and Grey?
Regardless of what the others would say, Melvin still felt worried. He wasn't as strong as before. If he could get 100 marks because of his strength earlier, now he could only get 50 or 60 marks.
Melvin shrugged as he accepted Zen's offer. He couldn't possibly look bad in front of the other children. Once the practice started, Zen realized why Melvin had hesitated. The strength with which Melvin was hitting Zen was insufficient to refine his body. The effect this beating had on his body was not the same as the last time when Melvin had beaten Zen. This dissatisfied Zen.
"More Strength! Hit hard right here!
Your fist is too slow. What are you worried about?
Now that is much better, but it is still not as good as yesterday."
Seeing a punchbag tutoring a Luo child was unusual indeed. It was also rare to see a punchbag asking to be beaten harder. A group of children in the Martial Arts Hall were astonished by what they were witnessing. Their mouths hung open as they watched the practice session between Zen and Melvin. They could not guess what Zen was thinking.
However, Melvin didn't pay attention to the other children. At first, he was upset with what Zen was saying. He felt as though Zen was taunting him. However, when Melvin noticed that he was slowly becoming better, he put aside his anger and focused. His limbs felt more comfortable now, and his power seemed to have returned to normal level.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
The power of Melvin's fist passed from Zen's chest to his inner flesh. Zen fell to the floor and thrashed in agony until the warmth began flowing through his body. As this continued, Zen felt the impurities in his bones being refined, like reeling silk from cocoons.
Each punch purified his bones. With an increase in his bone strength, Zen could feel that he was getting tougher.
Melvin's punches were like a Magical Pill for Zen's body. The joy of this qualitative change could not be described with words. After each punch, Zen remembered to feign being in agony. Pain showed on his face, but secretly, he rejoiced in the refinement that his body was undergoing. It took all of his will power to stop from shouting 'let your fists hit me more violently!'
Zen smiled as the guards went to refill the copper pot. The copper pot was used to keep track of time. The pot had a small opening from which water would trickle out. It took an hour for the pot to get empty. Zen had been eagerly counting how many times the guards had refilled it. Since the pot had been refilled three times, it meant that three hours had passed.
The thought brought joy to Zen as it meant that the Luo servants would be bringing food, both for the children and their punchbags. Usually, Zen like all other punchbags was unhappy as the Luo children were served delicious delicacies, while the punchbags got cold water and hard bread.
This time, however, Zen was too hungry to care about the food. After three hours of refining and practicing, he was very starving. Since the refinement process used a lot of physical energy, he didn't care that the food was unpalatable. Zen grabbed the bread and was about to stuff it into his mouth when he was interrupted.
A porcelain basin full of exquisite and fragrant meat suddenly appeared in front of Zen.
When he looked up, Zen was surprised to see that Melvin was standing before him. “Let's eat together,” Melvin said as he handed his rice bowl to Zen.
Instead of refusing, Zen smiled gratefully and grabbed a handful of meat.
“You beat Grey. Young Master Andrew will get you into trouble for that,” Melvin whispered.
Zen gobbled his food. Since he was a punchbag, he didn't get good food. It had been a while since anyone offered him delicious meat. While chewing, Zen nodded. He knew that Melvin was simply reminding him of what was going to happen.
After all, he was the former young master of the Luo Clan, and so he knew these rules better than anyone else.
His uncles had left him unchecked for all these years. It wasn't because they were being merciful. It was simply because they didn't see him as a threat. Making Zen a punchbag also gave them the satisfaction that Zen wasn't getting any practice. On the contrary, the beatings would weaken, or even kill him over time. This was why he had stayed in the Luo Clan for all this time.
Zen was quite aware that if he were to fight back, his uncles would not hesitate to kill him.
“However, you helped us get even with Grey. We don't approve of that old man. And his actions have only gotten more evil over time.” Melvin said with a suggestive smile.
Except the second and third branches of the Luo Clan, all other children secretly admired Zen for standing up to a bully like Grey.
While the other children in the Martial Arts Hall had not openly thanked Zen, they agreed with what Melvin had said.
The years that followed the coup in the Luo Clan were not very happy ones. The behavior of the two branches could only be described as evil. A substantial deduction had been made in the various monthly allowances for the collateral relatives. Even the quantity of drugs for practicing and refining had been reduced. A few servants had become arrogant toward the Luo Clan members as well.
Almost all of the good things were being given to Perrin and Andrew. It was no doubt that other Luo children would feel mistreated.
Everyone now yearned for the time when Zen's father was the head of the Clan. At that time, the Clan system was very rigid. Although strict, Zen's father was fair. There wasn't much intrigue in the Luo Clan, nor did anyone dare to take advantage of situations. Servants were not rude to other people either.
It was a pity that the new branches ruling the Luo Clan were not as fair and disciplined.
This kind of nostalgia remained in the heart of the children in the Luo Clan. They were afraid to talk with each other about it for fear of a falling out between the families. They also didn't want to leave evidence of discontent that could be used against them for fear of being punished by established rules.
Over these past two years, the Luo Clan had certainly waned! Zen had plans. He knew that if presented with the chance, he would gather his strength and grow his power to be able to clean the Clan of these “rotten” members.
...
...
In front of the magnificent mansion of the third branch of the Luo Clan, Grey stood with his head wrapped in gauze. So wounded was he that only his nose, eyes, and mouth could be seen.
A thudding sound was heard as he dramatically fell to his knees. With a low snarl, he cried out,“Master Andrew, rule in my favor please!”
A teenager dressed in cyan leant back in his chair at Grey's pitiful cry. Andrew was the second young master of the Luo Clan. He was a handsome man but, extremely arrogant and self-conceited.
“I heard that you wanted Zen to be your servant so that he could take care of your diet.” Andrew tilted his head and laughed at the ludicrous idea.
“Master Andrew, it's not true ...” Grey denied with a feigned sob.
Andrew Luo did not listen to Grey's explanation. Instead, he laughed,“Although Zen's family was discredited and he was demoted to the position of a slave, he is still a Luo. You forgot that he was once the young master of the Luo Clan. It would be inappropriate if I, the second young master of the Luo Clan were to ask him to be my slave. You are a fool to think you could do such a thing and not face repercussions. Did you burn your brain with a high fever? You deserved the beating.”
Grey kowtowed in front of Andrew humbly before continuing to defend his actions. “Master Andrew, I admit I might have been at fault, but you have to help me and judge in my favor ...” As Grey feigned more tears, he made an inconspicuous gesture.
Within moments, a middle-aged woman rushed to his side. She quietly knelt next to Grey.
The middle-aged woman was Grey's wife. She had been Andrew's nanny ever since the death of his biological mother in his early childhood. Andrew had a very good relationship with Grey's wife. They were almost as close as a natural mother and son.
“Auntie, you do not need to kneel down. Please, stand. Grey, you may stand as well!” Andrew waved his hand as he spoke.
“Master Andrew, you agreed?” Grey's voice showed a hint of excitement.
Andrew stood from his chair and took a few steps before stopping and speaking,“Cousin Perrin said that he didn't kill Zen because he wanted Zen to see how strong our families would be. However, Zen is not important at all. With cousin Perrin preparing to leave for Cloud Sect, I will help Perrin to dispose of Zen!”
Grey understood what Andrew was going to do. The bandages around Grey's mouth stretched as he grinned in satisfaction. He exclaimed,“Thank you so much, Master Andrew!”
“But, we need to wait and solve this at a later time,” Andrew said as he placed his hand on his forehead. He turned to Grey and continued,“I just took the last Magical Pill. It is important for me to practice after taking the pill. It is the only way the pill will be able to refine and clean my body. How about we take revenge on Family Practicing Day? I will choose Zen as my opponent during the death match held that day. Then I will have the perfect opportunity to kill him with my own hands.”
An evil smile grew on Andrew's face at the thought of getting even with Zen.
Family Practicing Day was an important occasion as on that day, the skills of all the children would be inspected by the elders of the Luo Clan.
At the same time, Family Practicing Day also presented a good opportunity for slaves.
If the slaves survived the death matches held on Family Practicing Day, they would be granted their freedom.
Even the most lowly slaves desired their freedom. If the Luo Clan did not offer them an opportunity to regain their freedom, slaves would soon crumble under the hopelessness of their situation. They would have no incentive to live through the daily beatings at the Martial Arts Hall.
By setting this rule, all slaves gained a trace of hope. They struggled through their daily monotony, hoping to live despite the terrible beatings as eventually, Family Practicing Day would come and they would have a real chance to secure their freedom.
However, the nature of the death match was not fair. Since salves were beaten every day, they suffered from various injuries and diseases. They stood no chance when attacked by healthy and well-trained elite children of the Luo Clan.
A lot of slaves had died on Family Practicing Day in the past. In the meantime, the Luo children's skills and abilities were tested on that day and the best ones would be rewarded with different prizes. Therefore, every Luo child would definitely try their best to win the match.
“Good idea, Master Andrew. So be it. Let that kid live another month!” Grey kowtowed before Andrew a few more times before quickly standing. Beneath the several layers of medicated gauze, Grey's eyes shone with intensity and hatred.
When Andrew left, the middle-aged woman turned to plead with Grey. “Zen is a poor teenager. Why do you have to force him to his death? He should not have hit you, I agree. But teaching him a little lesson is enough. You don't have to kill him.”
Grey snorted when he heard his wife. He glared at her as he replied,“You are just a woman! You don't know anything except petty kindness.”
Scolded by her husband, the middle-aged woman cowered. She tried to respond, but had nothing to say. Finally, she closed her mouth and bowed her head.