Chapter 6 A Marvelous Body (Part Two)

'I feel so invincible, ' Zen thought as the warmth enveloped him like a gentle spring breeze. His whole body felt at ease and his eyes shone with excitement. In fact, the more punches he received, the more brightly his eyes shone.

"Go to hell!"

"Boom!"

"I will beat you to death!"

"Bang!"

Each punch by Melvin revitalized Zen. Melvin Luo worked so hard to break his opponent, and yet, his actions were equivalent to those of a hard-working blacksmith's. Each blow shaped Zen's body into the 'Mysterious Weapon'.

After a long while, Melvin Luo stopped. Although Zen lay on the ground, he looked unharmed. Melvin panted as he glared at Zen. He was bewildered by this experience. He had heard that Zen could bear heavy beatings, but he had not expected Zen to be this tenacious. He had endured so many punches from Melvin and yet, he was able to stand on his own, even though he appeared to struggle and tremble with the effort.

Melvin Luo had no idea that Zen was just pretending to be weak. He actually enjoyed his punches.

The slaves standing by shook their heads. They couldn't understand why Zen would continue to defy Melvin by trying to stand after each blow. If Zen was smart, like they were, he would stay on the ground as though defeated. That way the guards would send him back to the cellar where he could rest and avoid further injury. And yet, despite that intrinsic survival instinct, Zen stood up repeatedly, and faced each blow by Melvin. Perhaps he enjoyed being a punchbag? Did he like being beaten by other people?

Zen did not get up after the last blow by Melvin. Instead, he lay on the ground enjoying the warmth that had spread through every part of his body. He felt so serene and invincible!

Another reason that Zen stayed on the ground, was to avoid doubt. No slave would be able to take such a beating without being seriously injured. And if he were to stand repeatedly and not be injured, people would begin to wonder how he was able to withstand such a beating.

So to avoid suspicion, Zen decided to stay on the ground and relish the warmth. He knew he would be beaten again tomorrow.

Upon seeing that Zen was no longer attempting to stand, Melvin Luo felt relieved. If Zen had stood up again, Melvin would have been disgraced.

At night, Zen limped back to the cellar. The minute the cellar door slammed shut, he stopped feigning being hurt. On the contrary, he felt immediately alive, as though he was bubbling with energy.

Darren didn't show up in the evening either. He ordered his accomplices to bring three wound-healing pills to Zen. Zen smiled as he looked in the paper bag. It seemed as though Darren had learned his lesson and wouldn't embezzle his drugs.

'Could yesterday's small action have scared Darren this much? Would he be better behaved now?' Zen shook his head as he didn't believe that Darren would reform this quickly.

He had a feeling that a villain like Darren would be plotting something else. He would never give up so easily, and was probably planning something more dire like perhaps, poisoning Zen.

'Who cares?' Zen knew that he needed to be more watchful. But he also knew that people like Darren were cowardly. He decided not to take him seriously. He thought, 'I will take measures according to the actual situation.'

Then he threw away the pills as he didn't need them anymore.

As his mind calmed, Zen began focusing on other things. A full day of fighting meant that he was dirty. He walked toward the water tank and quickly removed his clothes. Zen then scooped cold water in his palms and poured it over his head.

Crash....

The clear cold water trailed down from Zen's head and pooled into a dark muddy mess at his feet. When Zen looked down, he was surprised to see that the dirty water was mixed with some light white things.

Just as he had suspected, the beating Zen had received had forced out the impurities from his body.

What was flesh refining level?

It was the level where impurities were expelled from the body.

What was the bone refining level?

It was the level where impurities were removed from the bones.

What was the organ refining level?

It meant...

These five levels of refining were a crucial process that would purify the whole body; starting from the skin to the flesh followed by bones and organs. It was a step-by-step outside to inside refinement process that would stop once the impurities were cleared from the spinal marrow. In completing all the levels, a person could break through his flesh body, attain a life of sublimation, and be elevated to a higher level.

The biggest difference between Zen and others was that other people needed to rely on their exercise regimes to remove impurities from their bodies. This was a slow and time consuming process that could take a few years or decades or even a lifetime, depending on the person.

However, Zen's experience from the previous night meant that he now needed to be beaten to reach the higher levels. With those warm currents around his body, which had the same effect as the Magical Pills, he could discharge impurities from his body quicker.

Compared to other people who through hard work, discharged a small amount of impurities each year, Zen's refining was a thousand times faster!

Zen had plateaued at the top of the flesh refining level before, but then because of the two years he had spent being a punchbag, there was no time for him to practice, and he stayed at the flesh refining level.

But after today's beating, some impurities in his body had been washed out. He felt as though his body had undergone a qualitative change; his flesh was very pure already and the light white impurities that were released when he washed up, led him to believe he had been further purified.

Impurities removed from the flesh were usually pure black dirt, and those pale white impurities were supposedly discharged from his bones. This was the proof he needed to be sure that he had entered the bone refining level.

Enthused and invigorated, Zen removed his iron bed and made place in the cellar for practice. He began with the Purple Light Fist. His whole body was bathed in a purple light as he concentrated. It was roughly the same as the purple light around Perrin Luo earlier that day.

Suddenly Zen released all his energy with a punch. The silence in the cellar was replaced with a sharp ringing sound.

"Boom!"

Another powerful sound was generated with the scattered air flows. It stirred the candles, paper, and other small objects in the cellar.

Unfortunately, the cellar was narrow, which meant that Zen didn't have much space. There was no stone lock nor a stone man on which he could try out his strength. Zen also didn't want to make much noise as that would alert the guards.

However, he basked in the satisfaction that he had reached the bone refining level.