From Cellar to Throne: Zen's Quest for Immortality novel Chapter 9

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.