Chapter 3

Yesterday, he punished the head of the department, and today, he did not see the head of the department at all. After a few servants helped Luo Zheng put on his leather armor and shackles, he was taken to the training hall.

As usual, a group of Luo family’s young disciples were practicing diligently amidst the morning mist in the training hall.

They bared their arms and struck the stone dummies in the corner with all their might. Each punch on the stone dummies produced a slight explosion, causing the air to vibrate.

The human targets standing on the other side looked as if they had lost their loved ones, their faces drooping, and their mouths filled with bitterness.

This life of being beaten day and night was indeed hard to endure. Sometimes, with a body full of injuries, they would toss and turn in bed, unable to sleep due to the pain. Unfortunately, they had no freedom and could only choose to be beaten.

"Human targets, stand at attention!" The Luo family’s drill instructor shouted loudly.

All the human targets stood in a neat row, their backs straight. They were well aware of the drill instructor’s temper; any slight mistake would result in a lash. The drill instructor’s whip was not an ordinary one; even a slight touch would cause the skin to split open.

The Luo family’s young disciples each chose their human targets. The one who chose Luo Zheng was a burly collateral descendant, named Luo Dalong.

The other human targets all showed expressions of pity when they saw Luo Zheng being chosen by Luo Dalong.

Luo Dalong had average talent and was only at the Skin Refinement stage, but he was born with immense strength, equivalent to that of a Meat Refinement stage practitioner. Moreover, he was naturally fierce and somewhat cruel. Many human targets had either died or been severely injured at his hands, making it a very miserable fate to be chosen by him.

Luo Dalong flexed his fists and moved his body, looking at Luo Zheng with a hint of excitement. Recently, there were fewer death row inmates, and many of them had been bought by other families. The Luo family’s human targets were hard to replenish, so they were considered a scarce resource.

Beating human targets not only trained the body but also allowed one to vent their frustrations, which was why Luo Dalong was excited. More importantly, this human target was once the young master of the Luo family.

The thought of the once high and mighty young master begging for mercy under his fists made him feel extremely satisfied.

Facing Luo Dalong, Luo Zheng frowned. Luo Dalong’s strength was particularly great, and he had suffered a loss under his fists before, sustaining internal injuries that took half a month to recover from.

However, two years as a human target had taught him to remain calm. He quickly calmed down and even carefully adjusted his leather armor before standing straight to face Luo Dalong.

Luo Dalong then pounced at him fiercely. He practiced a very powerful and fierce boxing technique called "Mighty Bull Charge." This technique was extremely fierce and powerful.

Luo Dalong, like an enraged bull, brought a chaotic wind with him as he launched a Mighty Bull Charge straight at Luo Zheng’s chest.

Facing this powerful punch, Luo Zheng took a deep breath and stiffened his chest, relying on the leather armor to maximize the reduction of the punch’s force.

"Thud!"

Although the thick leather armor reduced the force of the punch, the powerful punch still seeped through, hitting his chest like a heavy hammer. At that moment, he quickly exhaled, causing his chest to collapse instantly.

"Unloading the force!"

Exhaling made his chest quickly contract, forming a buffer zone that could further reduce the opponent’s force. This small technique was the secret to Luo Zheng’s survival as a human target for two years!

However, Luo Dalong’s punch was too fierce, and even after the second reduction, the force was still overwhelming. Luo Zheng’s face showed a bitter smile as he was thrown back like a broken kite.

Lying on the ground, Luo Zheng felt dizzy and thought he was done for. This punch would likely cause severe internal injuries. But at that moment, he strangely found that he felt no pain at all.

Not only did he not feel pain, but a warm current also emerged in his chest. As soon as this warm current appeared, Luo Zheng’s body immediately reacted, feeling like a hungry wolf rapidly consuming the warm current.

The warm current then spread throughout his organs, limbs, and skin, making his entire body feel warm and comfortable, without any pain.

"What’s happening?" Luo Zheng was full of surprise. "This warm current is actually cleansing my body!"

Although Luo Zheng had become a household slave, he was once the young master of the Luo family and had some knowledge.

Medicines that could cleanse the body were very rare, like the Luo family’s Heaven Earth Creation Pill, which had the effect of cleansing the body. However, such a sacred medicine was extremely precious. The entire Luo family had only accumulated two Heaven Earth Creation Pills in several hundred years, which showed how valuable it was.

The warm current that cleansed his body appeared without any reason. Luo Zheng lay on the ground, thinking for a while, and soon connected it with the anomaly that occurred yesterday.

"Using the body as a vessel, using oneself as the spirit, undergoing a thousand hammerings and temperings, cleansing my body..."

Could it be that this so-called thousand hammerings and temperings meant being beaten?

As recorded in the golden foil, his own body was like a mystical artifact. Wasn’t the process of refining an artifact to undergo a thousand hammerings and temperings to create a high-quality artifact?

As long as he was beaten, a warm current that cleansed his body would be generated! As long as he was beaten, it was like continuously consuming Heaven Earth Creation Pills!

Thinking of this possibility, Luo Zheng’s heart became excited, and his heart even trembled with excitement.

To verify his guess, Luo Zheng got up.

Although he was not injured and Luo Dalong’s punch had greatly benefited him, he still pretended to be in pain, standing up with great effort and even trembling to make it more convincing.

When Luo Dalong saw Luo Zheng get up, he showed a look of surprise. He thought that after such a powerful punch, Luo Zheng would either be dead or crippled, but Luo Zheng could still get up, which made Luo Dalong feel embarrassed.

"Hey, no wonder you’re at the peak of the Meat Refinement stage, so tough! Lie down!" Luo Dalong said and launched another Mighty Bull Charge at Luo Zheng.

"Boom!"

Luo Zheng was once again hit and flew back, rolling on the ground like a human punching bag. As he hit the ground, he secretly felt a sense of satisfaction. The warm current appeared again as soon as he was hit, turning into small snakes that entered his organs, meridians, and continuously refined his body, cleansing his organs.

It felt so comfortable that Luo Zheng felt as if he was basking in a spring breeze, his entire body feeling extremely relaxed. His eyes sparkled, becoming brighter and more energetic the more he was hit.

"Die!"

"Thud!"

"Can’t kill you!"

"Boom!"

Each time the warm current appeared, Luo Zheng’s body became more refined. For Luo Zheng, Luo Dalong was like a diligent blacksmith, continuously hammering and tempering this "mystical artifact" with his fists.

This beating continued for a while before Luo Dalong finally stopped, panting and looking at Luo Zheng on the ground with great surprise. He had heard that Luo Zheng was particularly tough, but he never expected this kid to be so resilient, getting up after so many punches, even though he looked extremely weak each time he got up...

Luo Dalong didn’t know that Luo Zheng’s weak and easily knocked down appearance was all an act. In reality, he was full of energy and enjoying the sensation of the warm current cleansing his body.

The other human targets, seeing this, secretly cursed Luo Zheng for being stupid. If he couldn’t get up, he should just stay down and get a day of rest. Getting up to be beaten again was just asking for trouble. Could it be that this guy had become addicted to being a human target and actually enjoyed being beaten?

Luo Zheng did not get up the last time, although he was somewhat reluctant. The sensation of the warm current cleansing his body had become addictive!

However, getting up and being beaten again would make the act too obvious, and someone might suspect him. So, he decided to... get beaten again tomorrow.

Seeing that Luo Zheng could no longer get up, Luo Dalong felt relieved. If Luo Zheng could stand there and not be knocked down, his face would be completely lost.

At night, Luo Zheng limped back to the cellar. As soon as the servants locked the cellar door, he immediately became lively.

Today, the head of the department still did not appear, but the servants brought him three healing pills, this time without withholding any.

A small punishment yesterday made the head of the department behave? Luo Zheng shook his head, not believing it.

He knew the head of the department’s thoughts; he would not let it go and was probably plotting some evil plan against him.

Whatever! He needed to be cautious of such a small person but not take him too seriously. Meet force with force, and water with earth.

He threw the three pills to the side; in his current state, he didn’t need such cheap medicine.

After a day of being beaten, his body was very dirty. He took off his clothes and scooped a large ladle of cold water from the water barrel, pouring it over his head.

Splash...

The clear, transparent cold water poured over his head and turned into black, muddy water on the ground, mixed with some light white impurities.

He had noticed during the beating that the warm current was continuously forcing out impurities from his body.

What is the Meat Refinement stage?

It is the process of refining the body to remove impurities.

What is the Bone Refinement stage?

It is the process of refining the bones to remove impurities.

What is the Organ Refinement stage?

It is...

The five stages of body refinement are a process of purifying the body, starting from the skin, then the flesh, followed by the bones, organs, and so on, from the outside to the inside, gradually and systematically. Once the impurities in the spinal cord are completely removed, one can break through the body refinement stage, elevating life to a higher level.

Luo Zheng’s biggest difference from others was that they needed to rely on their own training to remove impurities from their bodies, a process that was very slow, taking years or even decades or a lifetime.

However, Luo Zheng now needed to be passively beaten, using the warm current, which was comparable to the Heaven Earth Creation Pill, to cleanse his body and remove impurities!

Compared to others who struggled to remove a tiny bit of impurity in a year, his speed was hundreds or even thousands of times faster!

Luo Zheng was already at the peak of the Meat Refinement stage. Over the past two years, he had been a human target and had no time to train, so his realm had remained at the peak of the Meat Refinement stage.

However, after today’s beating, which cleansed the impurities from his body, he felt a qualitative change in his body. His flesh was now extremely pure, and he had noticed during his bath that the black impurities also contained some light white impurities.

The impurities expelled from the body were pure black, while the light white impurities were from his bones, proving that he had entered the Bone Refinement stage!

He moved his iron bed to create space in the cellar and began the Purple Sandalwood Fist, his entire body bathed in a layer of purple light, which was comparable to the purple light Luo Peiran had emitted.

He punched into the air, and a burst of sound immediately echoed.

"Pop!"

The powerful sound wave created a chaotic airflow, causing the candles and papers in the cellar to be thrown into disarray.

Unfortunately, the cellar was narrow, and there were no stone locks or stone dummies to test his strength, and he was also afraid of making too much noise.

However, he was now a Bone Refinement stage expert, a fact that was undeniable.