Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood Chapter 8: Fatal Blow

Chapter 8: Fatal Blow

Cousin...
Zen hadn't heard anyone call him 'Cousin' in a long time.
He remembered when Andrew was younger, he would chase Zen all around the Luo residence, calling him 'Cousin Zen'.
If anyone bullied Andrew, he would seek Zen's help.
When Zen heard the word 'Cousin', he couldn't help but be transported back to a time in his childhood that was filled with sweet memories. What a beautiful time it had been!
He never dreamed that when he grew up, family fights would break out in the Luo Clan and his father and his uncles would be estranged. These past two years had been tragic indeed.
Zen nodded and changed his address as well. “Cousin Andrew, let's start!”
“Well, it is said that you haven't accepted your identity as a slave. I found that hard to believe. But now that you're addressing me as 'Cousin', it seems as though the rumors are true. I called you 'Cousin Zen' as a test. Did you really think you have the same privilege? Ha ha ha! I'm going to end this today! You will die by my hand.” With that said, Andrew sneered and suddenly gave off an aggressive appearance.
Upon hearing the insulting remarks by Andrew, a wave of anger swelled in Zen's heart. His face became cold and indifferent. All traces of residual family affection in his heart vanished!
Andrew covered his whole body with purple lights. After taking a cursory step forward, he rushed to attack Zen.
“Bang!”
The energy Andrew channeled hit Zen on his chest. The force was so strong that Zen felt unbalanced. He took a few steps to steady himself. It was obvious that Andrew had reached the bone refining level by virtue of the Magic Pill.
Over the past few days, Zen had been disappointed with the rate of refining. His body had strengthened so much that when the Luo children hit Zen, his body did not produce the warm currents he needed to continue refining his bones. However, Andrew had struck him so hard that Zen's body produced the warm currents.
A small smile played on Zen's lips as he welcomed the opportunity to remove more impurities from his body.
The feeling of warm currents flowing through his body, removing pollutants, and healing his core, was so cool!
While Zen was secretly pleased, Andrew drew on his rage to attack Zen with all his strength. He didn't want to give Zen any reprieve.
He threw a short straight punch at Zen's chest, followed by a powerful fist. Before Zen could react, Andrew directed a bursting strength at Zen's body.
Andrew then bombarded Zen with a combination of an elbow attack, a side kick, and a front snap kick...
All sorts of fierce attacks were aimed at Zen.
Streams of warm currents flowed between Zen's bones. Their intensity was such that it felt as though floodgates had opened. Zen could feel the impurities in his bones being squeezed out and washed away, little by little, by the warm currents.
“Well done! Just kill him, Master Andrew!” Grey Huang shouted and screamed from outside the arena. He looked excited, as though he were beating Zen himself.
Some children from the Luo Clan were also cheering for Andrew. However, many children were standing still and silently praying for Zen.
Most of the children came from other branches of the Luo Clan. Deep in their hearts, they missed the time when Zen's father headed the Luo Clan as he had been fair and sympathetic. Everyone enjoyed the same opportunity to practice. Everyone's achievements depended on their talent rather than birth. Everyone had a chance to make a difference, even if he came from an insignificant branch of the Luo Clan.
However, everything had changed once the second and the third branches grabbed the reins of the Luo Clan. People from these two branches were very privileged and usurped all resources, while children from the rest of the Luo Clan were left struggling.
Zen, the former young master, was the last person left from his branch. Since his uncles had spared him, all hope depended on Zen's survival. The children knew that if he died, all chances of a fair and just leader ruling the Luo Clan would be gone forever.
Meanwhile, Zen continued to take Andrew's assault.
Ken Luo, Andrew's father, frowned as he watched the battle. He knew his son very well. After taking the Magical Pill, Andrew had reached the bone refining level. His strength had increased tremendously. The impact of his fist strength had weighed a thousand pounds. He was almost as powerful as Hercules!
He was confident that his son was the second most powerful person in the younger generation within the Luo Clan. Perrin was the only person who could defeat Andrew.
Ken watched as Andrew hurled dozens of punches at Zen. His attacks were fierce and strong, and full of power. While Zen was losing ground, he hadn't been injured severely yet.
Why hadn't Zen been defeated?
There was a saying in the realm of martial arts that attacking was the best form of defense.
The reason why this theory was widely accepted was that attacking was far easier than defending. Even the strongest person could not withstand continuous fierce attacks from his opponents.
Strong as Ken was, he shouldn't be able to stand such violent attacks from Andrew. This was why methods of practicing a strong body such as King Kong Cover and Yang Holy Body were so valuable.
Zen had taken such furious blows, and yet he could still stand...
Did it mean that Zen had learned special methods of refining his body? Or had Zen's father, his elder brother, discovered a way to refine the body, kept it secret from the rest of the family, but taught it to Zen before he died?
Considering the fact that Zen Luo had been beaten indiscriminately in the Martial Arts Hall for two years and he was still alive and kicking, it was obvious that Zen knew something that the others didn't. Ken's eyes shone when he thought he had discovered Zen's secret!
At this time, seeing that his continuous blows were ineffective, Andrew became impatient. His punches were getting harder and harder, and he tried all kinds of vicious attacks on Zen's body.
“Purple Fist Strength!”
“Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!” The sixfold force burst through Zen's body.
He had thought that the destructive power of the Purple Fist Strength would beat Zen. However, to his surprise, Zen was still standing in front of him, firm and undefeated. His eyes were getting brighter and brighter. Andrew felt terribly uneasy.
This guy was so strange. How could his body withstand such fierce attacks?
Looking at Zen's sly smile, Andrew became more flustered. He had reached the bone refining level and had great power. He was much stronger than Zen. He should have easily knocked Zen down with a single, well-placed blow. But why had he failed?
Why was Zen smiling? Was he sneering at Andrew's incompetence?
Such a look replaced the panic Andrew was feeling with indignation. His eyes blazed with fury.
The more he thought about it, the more certain Andrew became that his only alternative was to use a secret weapon to deal with Zen! Andrew took out a small box from his pocket. It was the size of a clapper. It was engraved with a trail of glittering symbols. He aimed the front of the box at Zen and quickly pressed the trigger behind the box. At the same time, Andrew roared,“Go to perdition!”
When Andrew took out the small box, Zen was startled. As the former young master of the Luo Clan, he knew that the box was the Thunder Rob Halberd, one of the best defensive weapons in the family!
It was a secret weapon made by a talisman. A powerful thunderbolt was sealed inside the Thunder Rob Halberd. It could deliver an instant kill to the enemy with a surprise attack.
But it was meant for single use only. It was most certainly very expensive. Thus, it was given to the younger generation of the family for personal defense.
'Andrew is so sinister and vicious that he will attack me with such a nasty thing when desperate.' Zen thought. Strong as his body was, he would never be spared by the Thunder Rob Halberd.
Just as this thought flashed through Zen's mind, a thunder halberd formed, and lightning burst out of the Thunder Rob Halberd. It was headed straight for Zen.
Zen nimbly rolled on the ground at the critical moment to dodge the attack. The lightning released from the Thunder Rob Halberd flashed over his head with a deafening crackling sound, burning a few strands of his hair.
Then, a slave outside the arena screamed. The thunder halberd had hit him. Instantly, a fierce fire spread across his body. The fire turned the slave to ashes.
Everyone paled at the sight of the slave's misery. Andrew had gone too far this time. His Thunder Rob Halberd could have hit anyone in the arena. What if it hadn't hit the slave, but it hit a Luo child instead? Andrew had never taken the lives of the rest of the Luo family seriously.
Zen rose from the ground. His face was stony and cold. He clenched his fist and said,“You have been hitting me for so long. Are you satisfied? It is my turn, right?”
“No!” Seeing the sudden power change in the arena, Ken Luo screamed and jumped down from the high stands. He had discovered the anomalies of Zen's body. It had to be a conspiracy that helped Zen live for so long.
Unfortunately, though Ken Luo was fast, he had to travel a long distance to get to the arena. The time it took for Ken to get there was sufficient for Zen to pounce on Andrew and attack him.
“Purple Fist Strength!”
Before Andrew could process what had happened, Zen punched him. The punch hit key parts of Andrew's body. The muffled sounds of seven instantaneous explosions came from Andrew's body.
“Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang.”
After the muffled sounds, seven areas on Andrew's body began to bleed. Zen had aimed for the roots of both arms and legs, as well as other important parts.
These injuries would not endanger Andrew's life, but he wouldn't be able to cultivate for the rest of his life.
Just one fist!
The arrogant second young master of the Luo Clan had been defeated by one attack.
Silence engulfed the arena.
Who would have thought that a slave who had been beaten randomly for the past two years would have such great strength?
Some of the Luo children who had offended Zen during his time as a slave shuddered as a chill traveled down their backs. They thought Zen was weak and allowed himself to be bullied. They didn't expect that he concealed such great strength.
'He defeated Andrew with only one fist. What if he attacks me?' they thought.
Andrew's expression turned to complete disbelief. He had thought that Zen was like a three-year-old child before him given his strength at the bone refining level. Andrew had assumed it would be very easy to defeat him. How could he have been so wrong? He had taken the Magical Pill, and his cultivation speed was infinitely superior to Zen's...
Andrew's legs felt weak, and he fell to the ground. Ken rushed to him and scooped Andrew in his arms. “Andrew, my son! Are you all right?”
“I don't hurt important organs. He won't die.” Zen mumbled.
Ken raised his head. His gentle and elegant face was now twisted with rage. He pointed at Zen and said,“Why did you hurt my son, you wicked little mongrel?”
“Uncle Ken, everyone knows that a battle is dangerous. This is a death match. We are supposed to be fighting till one of us dies. You should know better than me how slaves have injured Luo children in the arena in the past!” Zen continued solemnly,“now that I have won against Andrew Luo, according to family rules, I am no longer a slave. I am free to leave the Luo residence!”
“Ha ha ha. I've been kind enough to let you live for all these years. I haven't expected you to grow to this level.” Ken stopped long enough to help Andrew stand. Then he laughed and continued,“Do you think I'm going to let you go? Don't even think about it!”
Zen's face fell. He said,“Uncle Ken, according to the Clan's rules, if I win during the fight, I will be free.”
“Rules?” A sneer replaced the anger on Ken's face. He taunted Zen,“Only your good-for-nothing father would act according to the Clan's rules. I'll tell you who makes the rules now. Me! I make the rules in the Luo Clan!”
Zen's face convulsed with rage when he heard what his uncle had to say.
He had longed to kill the man standing in front of him for what Ken had done to Zen's family. However, he had reminded himself to be patient and to wait for the right moment.
Because he knew that his strength was insufficient to avenge his father's death. To achieve this goal, Zen needed to leave the Luo Clan. He needed practice and sufficient time to grow stronger!
Zen had pinned his hopes on Family Practicing Day. He had thought that he would win in the death match and then claim his freedom. It had never crossed his mind that Ken Luo was going to cheat him at this crucial time.
He had endured for such a long time, that these cruel words from his uncle dashed all of Zen's hopes. He thought over all the suffering he had endured over the past two years before breaking out into an angry laugh. “Blame me for being naive and childish. It is ridiculous that I believed that you, such a despicable person, would abide by the rules of the family. I was silly to think that you will be merciful and that you will remember that I'm one of the Luo Clan and care of me. You killed your older brother, usurped power, and took the holy medicine for yourself illegally. You committed all kinds of crimes. You don't deserve to be called human! You are a mongrel! One day, I will cut off your head with my own hands and avenge my father!”