Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood Chapter 3 part1

Chapter 3.1: Wonderful Body
Yesterday, Luo Zheng had scared the steward to fright. It was of no surprise that he did not see him today. Rather, another steward came to pick him up. After putting on the shackles on Luo Zheng, he was led to the Martial Arts Hall.
As per usual, groups of Luo Clan disciples in the hall trained diligently in the morning mist.
They were bare-armed and did their best to beat rows of stone golems in the corner. Every time their fists collided with the stone golems, there would be a slight explosive sound. Even the air itself would vibrate.
The meat targets stood on the other side looking like they had lost their parents, their faces hunched and their mouths curled to bitterness.
The kind of life where they were being punched and kicked day in and day out was at times difficult to bear. Sometimes, they’d curl on their beds with wounds written all over their body, tossing and turning in agonizing pain; at times, it was difficult to sleep. They had no freedom, and they had no choice but to be eaten alive.
“The meat targets are all ready!” The Patriarch of the Luo Clan barked.
All the meat targets stood in a straight line with their waists straight. The meat targets knew the tempers of the teachers. If they were even slightly careless, they would be whipped. And the whip the teachers used was no ordinary whip. The disciples cared for by the Luo Clan each picked their own meat target. The one who picked Luo Zheng was an outer branch disciple with a sturdy body like a bear--this outer branch disciple’s name was Luo Dalong.
When the other meat targets saw Luo Dalong had chosen Luo Zheng, all wore a pitiful expression.
Though Luo Dalong had average talent he had inborn divine strength. And his strength, his strength was comparable to those above him.
Furthermore, he was fierce and a little bit brutal.
Luo Dalong raised his fist and stood at a ready stance, eyes looking at Luo Zheng with a hint of excitement.

Beating a meat target not only allowed him to temper his body, it also allowed him to vent the anger and unhappiness in his heart. Luo Dalong was flushed with excitement.
The young masters who run amok high and mighty would often beg for mercy under his fist. Thinking of this, he felt good.
Facing Luo Dalong, Luo Zheng’s eyebrows creased. This Luo Dalong, he was powerful. He was beaten black and blue by him last time and ended up suffering internal injuries. It took him half a month of rest before he was able to recover.

But after two years working as a meat target, he learned to maintain a calm facade. He breathed deeply and rubbed the leather armor on his chest before facing Luo Dalong.
Soon after, Luo Dalong pounced towards Luo Zheng. Luo Dalong cultivated a fierce and overbearing fist technique called “Barbarian Cow Punch.” He was like a raging bull, like a flurry of wind as he threw a punch straight towards Luo Zheng’s chest.
Faced with this frightening fist aura, Luo Zheng took a deep breath and forced his chest to stand straight. This way, he could rely on his leather armor to minimize the impact of the punch.
“Pfft!”
Though the thick leather armor on Luo Zheng’s chest reduced the force of the punch significantly, the powerful force still seeped through the leather armor and smashed into his chest like a hammer. At this moment, he quickly breathed out the air in front of his chest, causing it to cave in instantly.
“Discharge!”
Spitting out the air caused his chest to contract rapidly to form a buffer zone which could once again offset the opponent’s strength. This small trick was Luo Zheng’s secret. It was why he was able to live for two years as a meat target.
However, Luo Dalong’s fist power was just too ferocious. Even after reducing the force of Luo Dalong’s fist, the energy embedded into it was still as brutal as before. Luo Zheng revealed a wry smile. His entire body fell backward like a kite with its string cut.

Lying on the ground, Luo Zheng felt a bit dizzy. He thought this was the end. That punch would cause him to suffer serious internal injuries… But it was not so. Strangely, he felt no pain.
Not only did it not hurt, a strange warm current appeared on his chest. Soon as the warm current appeared, Luo Zheng’s body reacted immediately. He felt like a hungry wolf quickly devouring the warm current.
Following that, the warm current spread into his five viscera and lungs, causing his entire body to feel warm. There was no pain, only extreme comfort.
“What’s going on?” Luo Zheng was astounded. “These warm currents are actually cleansing my body!”
Though Luo Zheng had been turned into a mere servant, he was still the Young Master of the Luo Clan.
Medicines that could cleanse the body was scarce like the Luo Clan’s Heaven and Earth Rebirth Pill which had the ability to cleanse the body. But how rare was a “divine” medicine on the level of the Heaven and Earth Rebirth Pill? In the entire Luo Clan, there was only two Heaven and Earth Rebirth Pills that the clan managed to accumulate over hundreds of years. From this alone, one could see how precious they were.
The warm current that cleansed Luo Zheng’s body had appeared without reason. He quickly laid on the ground and thought for a while, and quickly connected the strange phenomenon from last night to today.

“Using my fleshly body as a weapon, using my own body as a spirit, tempering myself thoroughly with thousands of hammers, cleansing my body…”
Just as the golden leaf had recorded, his own body was like a Profound Artifact.
Aren’t high-ranking artifacts worth a lot of effort to forge?
It would seem that it was not the case for him.
As long as one was beaten, he or she would be able to create a warm current that cleansed his or her body; as long as one was beaten, it was equivalent to consuming the Heaven and Earth Rebirth Pill!
When he thought of the possibility, Luo Zheng’s heart burned with passion and trembled with excitement.
To verify his guess, Luo Zheng got up.