Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood Chapter 11 (2)

Chapter 11: Efforts (1)
A large bucket of cold water was poured over Luo Zhen's body. Milky white impurities covered the earthen soil.
After entering the Bone Refining Stage, his body no longer contained traces of impurities. What he forced out of his body was the milky white impurities inside his bones.
After all the impurities had been washed away, Luo Zheng felt refreshed.
That aside, Steward Fang did not dare to find trouble with him these days. This gave Luo Zheng more space and time for himself.
When night fell, Luo Zheng pulled up the iron bed and pressed it against the stone wall. Then, he wrapped the bed frame with layers of cotton wool to make a simple wooden stake.
Because the bed frame was pressed against the stone wall of the cellar, most of its strength had been absorbed by the thick wall. This way, the iron bed would not break simply by a few of his punches. As he wrapped the bed frame in cotton wool, the sound emitted from each of his blows was reduced to the smallest bit of noise. Plus he was inside a cellar, so it was impossible for the people outside to know that he was secretly cultivating. Otherwise, they would have his head off.
The sandalwood fist he used had been passed down in the Luo Clan for many generations. Though it belonged to the Luo Clan, it was a secret technique that not many in the Luo Clan know of. Even the disciples from the other houses knew not of it. If they did, they wouldn't teach it to him.
After stepping into the Bone Refining Stage, the moves that he was once unable to cultivate were now all easily accessible to him.
"Purple Sandalwood!"
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Seven muffled sounds erupted from the stone wall.
The Purple Sandalwood martial arts skill was the most profound move of the Purple Sandalwood Fist. A single hit from it could cause multiple damages, and the number of times it could be used was exponential.
His father had once told Luo Zheng that he was able to deal eight damage when he was at the Bone Refining Stage. Not that Luo Zheng was at the Bone Refining Stage, he could only manage to deal seven blows.
Punch after punch landed on the cotton wool, each punch producing a slightly muffled sound.

After entering the Bone Refining Stage, Luo Zheng's strength had grown at a crazy rate.
Luo Piran had already stepped foot into the peak level of the Bone Refining Stage. Each of his punches weighed more than a thousand li.
As for Luo Zheng, he had only stepped into the beginning of the Bone Refining Stage. He estimated the strength of his fist to be around seven-hundred to eight-hundred li.
This little bit of strength was not enough.
The most critical issue was that Luo Zheng wanted to enter Clear Heaven Sect.
When he thought about how his sister was faring in the sect, Luo Zheng felt as if a rock had struck his heart.
Luo Yan had always been an obedient girl. She would never stir up trouble. She must have been framed, and so, he needed to enter Clear Heaven Sect as soon as possible. Only in this way would his heart be at ease and would he be able to protect Luo Yan.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The strength in each of his punches slowly increased.

Clear Heaven Sect was the empire's largest sect, accepting disciples every year throughout the empire.
All the young people in the Imperial City had set their eyes on Clear Heaven Sect. It was their target and their hopes. The best cultivation resources gathered there, as well as the most powerful experts available to guide them in their growth.
However, the conditions to enter Clear Heaven Sect was extremely harsh. Just the strength of someone in the Bone Refining Stage might not be enough.
"Now that I've been tempered, the speed at which my body is progressing has changed. If I want to improve quickly in a short period of time, I'll need to cultivate diligently!"
Thinking of this, Luo Zheng used all his strength to smash the stone wall.
Luo Zheng always had the thoughts to pursue the pinnacle of the martial arts. He had been meticulous in his efforts. Even his late father praised his perseverance.
It was only after his father died that he was demoted to a mere servant, a tool. His state of mind soon suffered a huge blow, which was why he was stuck in the path towards the pinnacle.
However, the current him had regained his confidence, and he was rushing to catch up with his goal.

For the entire night, he did not sleep.
He did not know how many times he punched. He only knew that the cotton had been tightly pressed against the wall in the end. He had no choice but to tear off the cotton and gently pull it back away before turning the cellar back to its original state.
During the day, he had been beaten endlessly, but it was also a continuous tempering.
Luo Zheng had become more active as a meat target. He wanted to get beaten up so as to cultivate as soon as possible, even taking the initiative to request the Luo Clan's disciples to him despite the risk of others seeing through him. After all, he had been beaten up so many times, yet there wasn't the slightest bit of injury on his body.
It would be easy for others to notice.
However, Luo Zhen no longer cared for it. Only by taking as many beatings would he be able to temper himself and increase his strength as soon as possible.
Soon, some of the disciples saw a strange peculiarity. Luo Zheng had been beaten more so over the past few days, but he seemed to be in a better mood. How could he possibly be the one being beaten? On the contrary, it looked like he was hitting someone!
However, when they thought of how Luo Zheng had been a meat target for two years and lived up to this point, it could be described as him being tenacious. Other than that, the disciples had no interest in investigating the mystery of this meat target. After all, the purpose of their cultivation was to hit others, not take a beating. Even if Luo Zheng had some unique defensive technique, they couldn't be bothered to care.