From Cellar to Throne: Zen's Quest for Immortality novel Chapter 5

Since Zen had taught Darren a lesson the evening before, the steward didn't show up in the morning. Several of his accomplices, however, came to dress Zen in the customary leather armor before escorting him to the Martial Arts Hall.

As usual, a group of children from the Luo Clan were practicing. Despite the morning mist and chill, they concentrated on their lesson at the Martial Arts Hall.

They didn't wear any protection on their arms as they beat a row of stone men in the corner with their fists. Despite how hard the stone men were, these children smashed their targets with great power and precision.

The slaves stood on the other side of the Hall. Gloom and hopelessness reflected in their expressions as they watched the force being used by the children.

The never-ending cycle of being hit and kicked every day and night made their life really unbearable. Most nights, they lay in bed, tossing and turning. As they writhed in pain, sleep would elude them. Unfortunately, they had no freedom at all. They had been bought by the Luo Clan and they had no choice but to bear the beating.

"All slaves get ready!" Corey, the trainer shouted.

All the slaves snapped out of their contemplation when they heard Corey. He was a cruel trainer. If he noticed any of the slaves making even the slightest of mistakes, he would lose his temper and whip them. Corey's whip was not an ordinary whip, and a thin-skinned person could easily have their skin peeled away with one strike of the whip.

The Luo children were familiar with this part of their routine. Quietly, they made their way to the slaves and began selecting. A strong teenager named Melvin Luo chose Zen.

Other slaves glanced at Zen with sympathy-filled eyes.

Melvin Luo's talent was ordinary since he was still at the skin refining level. However, his inner divine strength was powerful, and his strength was equal to anyone at the meat refining level. He was ferocious and brutal, and several slaves had died or been seriously injured by him. To be chosen as Melvin's punchbag was indeed, unfortunate.

Melvin Luo shook his fist and moved his body a little bit before looking at Zen. His eyes gleamed with excitement. Death row inmates had been difficult to procure in recent times. Their number dwindled even more as other families were also competing to buy them. Human punchbags used by the Luo Clan were deprived of adequate supplements. Therefore, slaves were a scarce resource in the Luo Clan.

Beating a slave not only exercised their bodies, but also helped the children to vent their feelings. Another reason why Melvin Luo felt excited was because his punchbag was once the young master of the Luo Clan.

The young master was at a much higher level than Melvin, and now Zen would be begging for mercy under Melvin's fists. The thought pleased Melvin.

Zen frowned. Melvin was known for his strength. Zen had suffered gravely from his beating the last time. Zen had taken half a month to recover from the internal injuries he had sustained.

However, having spent two years of his life as a human punchbag had taught him how to calm himself in any situation. He quickly took a few deep breaths and then arranged his leather armor before facing Melvin Luo.

Melvin Luo came toward him with all his strength. He had been practicing a very fierce form of boxing, called Bullish Punch, and he was eager to test it on his human punchbag.

Melvin Luo came at Zen like a raging bull. His first punch landed straight on Zen's chest. Everyone watched wide-eyed as a burst of wind enveloped Zen.

In the face of this momentum, Zen took a deep breath, and stiffened his chest so that he could use the protection of the leather armor to counteract the power of this punch.

"Puff!"

Although the thick leather armor helped slow down the power of Melvin's fist, Zen still felt pain explode throughout his body. The strength with which Melvin had hit Zen made him feel as though he had been struck on the chest with a huge hammer. At this moment, he quickly exhaled the air from his chest and let his chest flatten as much as possible.