Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood
Chapter 4

Giving The General Manager a Thrashing

Luo Zheng was excited for a long time, this time. He struggled to sleep and ended up only getting an hour of sleep, but despite that, he was full of vigour.

The servants of Luo Clan opened the big lock of the cellar the next morning. They restrained him and put his leather armour on him, before leading him out.

His body had also undergone a qualitative change, after reaching the Bone Refinement Realm. The sort of change he experienced was difficult to describe, but even a minor activity, such as walking felt lighter, more coordinated and effortless. He would've flown off, if not for the darn restraints.

Luo Zheng discovered that there was something wrong with the path the servants led him on.

Luo Clan occupies an extremely large area, but the boundaries under the jurisdiction of the clan were orderly demarcated. Besides the training ground, the conference pavilion, garden and weapon refinery workshop, which were places commonly used by the clan, everything else was situated at the front courtyard of the estate.

The path they were on, now, was a path that went around to the rear. They seemed to be headed to the rear courtyard of the Luo Clan residence!

Luo Zheng frowned a little, but he didn't make a sound. He planned to see how things played out.

The appearance of the rear courtyard seemed to have changed drastically, after not coming here in so long. The houses of the second and third branch families, in particular, had changed drastically. They had added lots of pavilions and buildings. They also constructed ponds, built a small bridge over running water, and an area for people to play around in, which was situated in front of the pond.

The structures were exquisite and beyond breathtaking. The carved beams and painted pillars, which had dragon and phoenix designs were made using gold. They even suspended gemstones on the roof that swayed…

Luo Zheng couldn't help but sigh at the things done. Though Luo Clan is a prosperous clan and spending this much is no big deal, in today's day and age, only the strong will survive. These luxuries and glories were unnecessary. If a clan becomes complacent with the status quo and indulges in joy…

'Luo Clan may fall under the rule of Second and Third Uncle.'

After passing by a pond, they turned into house.

Two people were sitting there drinking tea and looking very unhappy.

Luo Zheng took a close look, to see Steward Fang, who had gone missing for the past few days, being one of them. The other individual was dressed in posh satin clothing. The man in satin clothing was over fifty years old. Luo Zheng recognised him. His name is Huang Ge. He was, originally, a servant of Luo Clan.

Huang Ge, being the nanny of the his Third Uncle's eldest son, Luo Chengyun, and thus on very good terms with his Third Uncle, not to mention a master of flattery, was promoted within the clan. Now that his Second and Third Uncle had taken over control of Luo Clan, Huang Ge was promoted even further, becoming the General Manager of Luo Clan. As such, he now disregarded, even, collateral descendants of Luo Clan.

Luo Zheng had long heard of Huang Ge's arrogance.

Luo Zheng didn't enter. He heard Steward Fang say to Huang Ge, "Master Huang, this house that Young Master Chengyun gifted you is, truly, a fabulous house. If I am correct, that board hanging above the door, with a jade dragon carved onto it, was carved on with natural corundum seed, correct?"

Huang Ge chuckled and then replied, "You have a keen eye. Besides the jade dragon; look at the glazed tile on the roof and that copper line, they were made by the best artisans in Chongyang…"

After marvelling at them, Steward Fang giggled and then said, "Old Huang, this house of yours is perfect, but it is missing something!"

Huang Ge proudly responded, "I have everything you could imagine in this house of mine. What could I be missing?"

However, Steward Fang snickered, "Of course, that would be a servant who is quick witted and competent, to take care of you and take care of your meals. Look, I have brought you one. With him as your servant, I guarantee you will be held in high esteem!"

Huang Ge curiously asked, "Who is he?"

Steward Fang pointed to the entrance of the house, "Look, Old Huang!"

Huang Ge followed his finger to see Luo Zheng. How could he not recognise the former famous young lord of Luo Clan?

Luo Zheng stood at the entrance of the house. He heard every word they said. Rage gushed forth inside.

The two bastards spoke so arrogantly. They were far too insolent.

He may, now, be a slave, but this was Luo Clan's business.

Not even an ordinary collateral child would dare to be so rude. After all, Luo Zheng was the eldest son of the Head Family, at the end of the day, yet Steward Fang urged Huang Ge to order him around as a servant!

Huang Ge scanned Luo Zheng. A sick smile crept up onto Huang Ge's wrinkly face, "It would, indeed, be suitable for him to take care of my meals. But, what does Young Master Chengyun think of it?"

Steward Fang responded, "Rest assured, Old Huang. You are the general manager of Luo Clan. You could get Luo Zheng to come here, if you just said the word. Luo Zheng is, now, but just an insignificant servant for the clan. Would it not be so much nicer to serve you here, as opposed to being beaten to a pulp at the training hall? The worst case scenario would be to take our excrement and urine…"

Huang Ge was convinced after that speech from Steward Fang. Those who rise up from low statuses like Huang Ge value reputation most. Having the former Young Lord of Luo Clan as his servant was, indeed, a very interesting proposition. He nodded and then asked Steward Fang, "How about… we do that then?"

"Let's do that!"

After Steward Fang gave a nod, he got up and called a few servants to bring Luo Zheng in.

However, Luo Zheng stood in place, without budging. Pull as they may, the servants couldn't move him an inch.

They had two-arms worth of strength, but there was no way they could move Luo Zheng, who had reached the Bone Refinement Realm.

Luo Zheng's legs were stiff, as though they were wedges that had been hammered deep into the ground, with a heavy hammer. The servants gave it their all. Their backs got sweaty and they huffed and puffed.

Seeing the situation, Steward Fang whipped his sleeve and exclaimed, "Luo Zheng, I'm giving you a chance to serve Sir Huang, here. Don't act up and not know better!"

Anger then appeared in Luo Zheng's eyes. The strength of his rib contractions by his chest, after reaching the Bone Refinement Realm had grown stronger, so his roar was akin to thunderclap from the ground. The tremor made the servants', Steward Fang's and Huang Ge's ears go numb, a feeling that was very uncomfortable.

"Huang Ge! Fang Cong! Not even my Second Uncle, Luo Bingquan would dare have me serve him. How dare you lowly outsiders dare act so insolently?! I don't know who gave you the audacity to speak insolently and have me order you!"

Luo Zheng's roar rushed at Steward Fang, as though it was a wave. His roar frightened Steward Fang, causing him to retreat a few steps and hide behind Huang Ge.

Steward Fang deliberately brought Luo Zheng here, to have Huang Ge teach him a lesson. He knew he was close to succeeding, judging from Luo Zheng's anger. General Manager Huang Ge got to where he is one step at a time. The one taboo he absolutely detested was others calling him "lowly". Luo Zheng was, therefore, most likely done for now.

Huang Ge didn't move after hearing what Luo Zheng said, though. He narrowed his eyes and coldly said, "Luo Zheng, don't forget your current status. You are the lowest among lowly servants, not the former young lord. The current young lord is named Luo Peiran, not Luo Zheng. It's an honour for a punching bag to be serving me."

"Get lost!"

Luo Zheng shook his body out with his might, sending the servants flying. They fell onto the ground in various awkward positions.

Seeing that, Huang Ge said, "Luo Zheng, you are a criminal, to begin with. Is this mutiny? According to the rules of the clan, you should be killed by a thousand cuts!"

Luo Zheng snickered and then walked over with big strides. He laughed loudly as he walked over, "Clan rules? A mere outsider dares to mention clan rules to my face? I'll show you what clan rules mean!"

Luo Zheng raised his hand up and went to hit Huang Ge. However, his bones cracked. The sound of them cracking resembled the sound of a nut being cracked. The loud crack sound was a result of his bones interlocking, due to him using maximum power.

Huang Ge forced himself to hold himself to together, "You would dare?! If you hit me, Young Master Chengyun will not spare you. You are just a punching bag. You have no authority in the clan. If you're not afraid of being beaten to death…"

*Smack!*

Luo Zheng smacked Huang Ge across the face, just as his voice drifted off. Luo Zheng's strength had virtually increased by folds, after reaching the Bone Refinement Realm. He didn't put all his strength into the smack, but it most certainly wasn't a light hit.

A hand mark surfaced on Huang Ge's initially old white face. The mark was so clear it was as if it was printed onto his face. The half of his face he got slapped on swelled up badly.

"Luo Clan rule: No insolence and slander. Face slap!"

*Smack!*

"Luo Clan rule: No helping villains commit evil. No being self-righteous. Face slap!"

*Smack!*

"Luo Clan rule: No false accusations. No standing facts on their heads. Face slap!"

*Smack!*

"Luo Clan rule…"

*Smack!*

Huang Ge sprayed a bloody mist out of his mouth with each slap. Steward Fang trembled as he witnessed the scene.

This… This… This was completely different to the development he was after.

'Luo Zheng didn't throw any fits and resigned himself to his predicament, when he worked as a punching bag, so why did he suddenly dare to hit Old Huang now?'

Steward Fang didn't understand Luo Zheng's behaviour, this time. Luo Zheng had resigned himself. He didn't want to bother himself with them.

A fair number of Luo Clan descendants were now at the door. All of them were shocked by what they saw, but also felt as though they were venting.

General Manager Huang always acted overbearing, without any reserve by leveraging the fact that he was connected to Luo Chengyun. He acted as though he was the master of Luo Clan. These collateral descendants had suffered a lot of Huang Ge's mistreatment, but they all put up with him, out of consideration of Luo Zheng's second uncle. However, Huang Ge didn't stop. As a matter of act, he got even more arrogant, because they put up with him.

They were pleased to have somebody teach him a lesson today.

However…

The descendants of Luo Clan understood that an outsider could be so haughty, precisely because he had a strong backer. Huang Ge was haughty, because of his relationship with Luo Chengyun.

Additionally, he returned to his roots as a servant in the presence of the second and third branch family leaders, flattering them with everything he had, as opposed to being haughty. That was something the two leaders really liked.

Luo Zheng was now a servant of the clan, hitting Huang Ge was bound to bring him serious trouble…

Luo Zheng gave him dozens of slaps before stopping. Huang Ge's face was, now, crooked and bleeding. If you didn't look carefully, there'd be no way of telling if you were looking at his nose or his mouth. His head of white hair was a mess, as well, making him resemble a devil.

Once Luo Zheng stopped, Huang Ge muttered with his contorted mouth, "Y-You just w(ait)-…"

Luo Zheng gave him another slap before he could finish. Huang Ge glared at him, one last time, before falling backwards onto the ground.

Once he was done teaching Huang Ge a lesson, Luo Zheng shifted his gaze over to Steward Fang, again.

Steward Fang took two steps back and couldn't help but exclaim, "Luo Zheng. You're a servant!"

Luo Zheng continued to approach him, "So what?"

Steward Fang replied, "How dare you offend someone of higher rank than you?!"

"Who's the higher rank and who's the lower rank? My surname is Luo. That doesn't change, even if I am a servant. You've also forgotten that my fist is bigger than yours, so I am of higher rank! I'm stronger than you, so I'm of higher rank! I'm more skilled than you, so I'm of higher rank!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Steward Fang with one hand. With his strength, as one who's reached the Bone Refine Realm, these servants were the same as obedient little chickens when they were in his grasp. He lifted him up and then proceeded to dish out another ten plus slaps.

The sound of his hand smacking Steward Fang's face would make one grind their teeth. You couldn't imagine how painful those slaps could be!

Once he was done slapping him, he threw him on top of Huang Ge, without a care. The two of them cried out in pain. Luo Zheng then said, "That's your lesson for today. Remember this pain, so that you know your place from now, and understand what you can and cannot do!"

Once done, Luo Zheng turned around and left the small house. The descendants of Luo Clan and the servants all went their own ways, as soon as he got to the entrance.

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