Chapter 1 Repaying Cruelty With Kindness (Part One)


    It was ate autumn morning. As the dawn chased the dark shadows, the sun added some warmth to


    the chilly air.


    An oilmp in the cer of Luo''s House lit up. A young man named Zen Luo sat upright in front of a


    table, shading most of the light of the oilmp. Quietly he pulled out a battered thread-bound book.


    Zen Luo was a lean, average-looking young man who had just turned 17. However, there was


    something mellow about him. In contrast, his eyes were so radiant that even in the dim light projected


    by the oilmp, they glowed with charm.


    "It has taken me a month to finish Heavenly Principles. Its arguments are all very well, but, what I find


    most revolting are those four words, repaying cruelty with kindness," Zen Luo whispered as he stared


    at the bean-sized me of the oilmp. Mncholy was written all over his face. "Had my father not


    been so kind-hearted as to believe those four words, I, the direct descendant of my n, would not


    have ended up like this, and father would still be alive…"


    The sudden noise of the cer door being unlocked interrupted his flow of thoughts. Zen Luo reced


    the mncholy he was feeling with a solemn expression. He promptly blew out the oilmp and


    covered himself with the shabby cotton quilt.


    The door of the cer flew open and footsteps began drawing close. The man in charge stepped


    forward and stomped his foot on Zen Luo''s bed before shrieking at him, "Still in bed? Dreaming about


    being the young master of the Luo n? Get the fuck up!"


    The man was a steward in the Luo n. He looked rather wretched. He had a wart on his forehead


    that often invoked disgust from people.


    Zen Luo sat up and rubbed his eyes. He pushed off the quilt, before turning and nting his feet on the


    ground. Silently, he slid on his clothing, socks, and shoes. Although his clothes were old, Zen Luo kept


    them neatly. He was very meticulous by nature.


    The steward rolled his eyes, criticized Zen, and then waved his hand. Several men surrounded Zen


    and forcibly put a thick leather armor and shackles on him.


    After they were done, Zen Luo followed the servants as they walked out of the cer and toward Luo''s


    Martial Arts Hall.


    The Luo n owned hundreds of mines and millions of acres of fertilend. As a big and powerful


    n, they were well-known in C County.


    However, the entire Eastern Region had thousands of county cities, including countless wealthy


    families and the Luo n was almost insignificant in the Eastern Region.


    Zen Luo was escorted by some men as he climbed out of the gloomy cer. This was a daily ritual with


    which Zen was quite familiar. The walk to the Martial Arts Hall meant navigating through numerous


    pavilions, bridges, and galleries.


    The Martial Arts Hall was an open area. It was a ce where the children of the Luo n woulde


    for practice. The entrance was decorated with white marble sculptures of a male lion and a female lion.


    The ground was onerge, ck basalt b. Standing at the entrance of the building, one could feel


    the power emanating from the Hall.


    In the middle of the Martial Arts Hall, dozens of children from the Luo n practiced martial arts under


    the guidance of a teacher. They were all dressed alike, in gray robes.


    They bawled and their boxes whirred again and again.


    In order to win a position in the family, every child needed to study diligently and practice hard. These


    children looked like they were more than 10 years of age.


    On thiste autumn day, the wind began to howl around the training children. Nevertheless, sweat


    beaded on their foreheads. The contrasting heat and cold filled the Hall with steaming white mist.


    On the other side of the Martial Arts Hall stood over a dozen men who were dressed like Zen Luo, in


    leather armor and shackles. These men were dejected, bleeding, and wounded all over their bodies.


    Zen Luo was escorted into the Martial Arts Hall. The guard ced him amongst the injured men.


    Since most of these men had been bought by the Luo n from local prisons, they were now the


    ves of the Luo n. These ves yed the roles of live targets for the Luo n children for the


    purpose of training and testing their own strength. These children could assault these ves arbitrarily.


    Several live targets were killed or disabled during such assaults. Over time, the number added up and


    it was difficult to gauge how many had lost their lives in the Hall.


    Zen Luo was not a death row inmate and thus, was not bought by the family. He was the eldest child in


    the eldest branch of the Luo n. The rest of the n used to call him the young master. He was once


    noble, and his peers would bow and salute him with respect. Even the family elders were polite to him.


    However, something disastrous happened in C County two years ago. Zen Luo''s father, the head of the


    Luo n, had been poisoned by his brother. He died on the spot.


    Immediately after, the eldest branch of the Luo n was set up by the other three branches. They


    framed a case against Zen Luo''s father. ording to their usations, Zen''s father was a rebel. The


    family didn''t survive the allegations, and the eldest branch became no longer powerful.


    Zen Luo, the former young master, was alsobeled a rebel and became a ve of the Luo n. He


    became a tool, and was beaten up at the whim of the other children in the Luo n as part of their


    martial arts practice.


    Zen Luo had lived like this for two years. He had lost count of how many fists and insults he had


    endured during this time.


    "Today''s boxing practice is over. You can select a ve for the next practice now! Hitting the human


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    body allows you to fully understand actualbat skills, get familiar with the weaknesses of the human


    body, and the body structure!"


    After the teacher had finished speaking, the children started selecting their ves. Soon, the sounds of


    ves begging and pleading for mercy could be heard in the Hall. The Luo children did not treat ves


    as humans. They were trained to hit the flesh without mercy.


    Many of them tried to find Zen Luo. The act of beating up a former young master with as much


    aggression as they could muster gave them a greater sense of aplishment!


    When being used as a sandbag, Zen Luo protected vital parts of his body with calmness. Since it had


    been two years, he was now quite used to it.


    Before long, a few people came through the entrance of the Martial Arts Hall. A young man who was


    dressed finely led this group of neers.


    "The young master ising!"


    "Young master, your practice has finallye to a halt. You seem to feel refreshed in spirit. You must


    have progressed greatly in your ability and power!"


    "Our young master is intelligent. He is the talent of our Luo n. He must have grown stronger and


    has surely entered the higher level of bone refining."


    The children who noticed the young master entering stopped their practice and began patronizing.


    Some even walked up to the young master as they generously threw praises his way. It was obvious


    that they all wanted to tter the young master.


    Zen Luo''s eyes fell on the young man, and his imperceptible anger rose quietly. The young teenager


    being called the young master by the Luo children, was Perrin Luo. He was the oldest son in the


    second branch of the Luo n. He was the same age as Zen Luo.


    Zen Luo was relegated to very and Perrin Luo reced Zen as the young master of the Luo n.


    Zen Luo had heard that Perrin Luo had been staying in a secluded ce to practice some time ago. He


    had disappeared for a long time. It seemed as though he had improved a lot after the practice.


    Perrin Luo was very sensitive and he turned to look at Zen Luo when he became aware of his cousin''s


    hate-filled re. He smirked as he walked straight toward Zen Luo and said," Zen Luo, I practiced for a


    long time. I didn''t expect to see you alive when I returned."


    "Thanks for caring about me. I''m fucking alive." Zen Luo answered in a muffled voice.


    "How dare you! What kind of tone is that? How dare you speak this way to the young master?"


    "You are just a ve here, kneel! Fall to the ground quickly and apologize to our young master or you


    will regret being alive."


    Several children of the Luo n shouted as though Zen Luo had done something very unforgivable to


    them.


    Zen Luo looked around indifferently. These people used to behave like little dogs in front of him in the


    past. They were too scared to even breathe in his presence when he was the young master. Once he


    lost power, their attitudes changed. It had been so sudden. Now, they were Perrin Luo''s dogs.


    Perrin Luo waved his hand to stop the excited Luo children from defending him. He spoke to Zen Luo


    with a triumphant smile," Zen Luo, do you know why I left for the practice?"


    Zen Luo did not speak. He just looked at Perrin Luo expressionlessly.