In the world of martial arts, grind your skill level to become a saint.

"You're too kind! Let's eat first! The braised duck at Fuquan Restaurant is absolutely superb; it's definitely one of the best in the entire outer city!"

Zhou Zhengtang waved his hand, picked up his chopsticks, and gestured for Su Hao to start eating.

There were only Su Hao and Zhou Zhengtang in the private room. The latter ordered a large table of dishes, saying it was to celebrate Su Hao becoming a formal disciple today!

Su Hao didn't stand on ceremony. He was starving after practicing martial arts all day, and the sight of the large table of food whetted his appetite.

The two of them swept everything away in a flash.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Zhou Zhengtang seemed to have forgotten about the homework he had to hand in today, and insisted on dragging Su Hao to Fengxianlou to relax.

Fengxianlou was a famous brothel in Hongqiao Town, known for having four top courtesans. Each of the four courtesans was beautiful and talented, and therefore very popular with some high-ranking officials and nobles.

Su Hao said he was still a child and firmly declined Zhou Zhengtang's invitation.

The other party chuckled and decided not to press the matter further. After bidding farewell to Su Hao, he boarded the carriage that was already waiting at the door and left.

Su Hao watched Zhou Zhengtang leave, then left Fuquan Restaurant and headed home.

Shortly after Su Hao left, two figures shrouded in black robes emerged from the shadows of the restaurant, glanced slightly in the direction Su Hao had gone, and followed him.

Without stopping, Su Hao returned to the vicinity of Rat Alley.

As he walked through one of the alleys, he suddenly quickened his pace and slipped into one of the lanes.

despair!

Su Hao squatted in an abandoned courtyard in the alley, looking out into the alley through the cracked walls.

He held a short dagger in his hand, his eyes cold.

This alley is mostly filled with abandoned houses and is about fifty or sixty meters long. He wanted to see who was following him.

"Damn it! The fat fish got away!"

Just as Su Hao had hidden himself, hurried footsteps came from the alley entrance.

Then two figures ran into the alley and looked around.

"That kid must have money on him! I saw them order a whole table of dishes when I passed by the private room!" said a tall, thin man, his beady eyes darting around.

"What a pity... he got away. If we had killed him, the money would have been ours..."

boom!

Before the other short, stout man could finish expressing his regret, a large rock flew out from the darkness on one side and smashed hard onto his head!

The sound of bones cracking rang out, and the man kicked off with both feet, falling backward like a wooden stake, and then fell silent.

"who!?"

The tall, thin man's pupils contracted sharply. Just as he drew the prepared dagger from his waist, a large cloud of white ash rushed towards him, obscuring his vision.

The white ash stung his eyes, causing an instant burning pain. The tall, thin man was shocked and raised his hand to stab wildly forward.

Boom! !

With two muffled thuds, a burly figure dragged two corpses out of the ashes and threw them into a dilapidated courtyard.

Su Hao carefully put away the dozen or so copper coins he had looted, muttered to himself that he was really poor, and then turned and quickly left the place.

He had noticed something was wrong as soon as he left the restaurant.

Because of his breakthrough to the Stone Skin Realm, his blood and qi underwent a transformation, making his five senses even more acute.

After discovering that someone was following him, he initially thought it was someone he knew, or a remnant of the Fierce Tiger Gang that hadn't been dealt with properly.

But judging from the conversation between the two people behind them, it was clear that they were after the money from the murder.

However, since you've decided to do this, you should be prepared to lose your life.

After leaving the alley, Su Hao turned into another alley across the street and returned to his residence.

Back in his small courtyard, Su Hao first finished his written task. About fifteen minutes later, he returned to the courtyard, carrying a bowl of medicinal soup that smelled strongly of herbs.

This was the blood-activating powder that Zhou Zhengtang had given him.

Su Hao sniffed the medicine and found that the smell was not as pungent as he had imagined. It even had a slightly burnt smell of cheap latte. He picked up the medicine and drank it all in one gulp.

The herbal decoction entered my mouth, its bitterness spreading throughout my mouth, while a surge of heat rushed down my esophagus and into my lungs.

Su Hao let out a long breath and began to practice his Yue Shan Fist technique, throwing punches at the wooden stakes standing in the courtyard.

Boom!

A series of punches rang out, and Su Hao's arms turned red, with faint traces of blood visible beneath.

And the breath he exhaled began to carry a hint of heat!

As the name suggests, Huoxue San is a medicine that can thoroughly activate the blood.

Zhou Zhengtang said that this medicine has no side effects and will not conflict with other martial arts medicines.

The only drawback, which is also its advantage, is that the drug is very potent and the effect is immediate, but the duration is very short.

Therefore, it can be taken three times a day.

This process lasted for about 15 minutes before the heat in Su Hao's body gradually dissipated.

"The results seem pretty good!"

Su Hao felt a slight improvement in his qi and blood. He couldn't help but be delighted.

If you can take it three times a day, combined with red-headed frog supplements and blood-strengthening soup, it seems that replenishing your qi and blood is not a difficult task.

Su Hao is only lacking time now.

Most importantly, after breaking through the stone skin, his aptitude improved. Although his cultivation speed was not much faster than before, he was at least able to maintain the same growth rate!

It's important to understand that the higher you go in the transformation of Qi and Blood, the more difficult it becomes. Being able to maintain the same growth rate is already quite good.

Su Hao was fairly satisfied with the effects of the blood-activating powder. However, he also felt conflicted.

The dilemma naturally lies in the matter of the temporary posting.

The conditions offered by Zhou Zhengtang were indeed very good, but the time commitment was not necessarily flexible.

However, if they had chosen other temporary assignments, the benefits they would likely have been far less than what they are now.

Su Hao let out a soft breath and shook his head, trying to put the matter aside for the time being.

We'll discuss everything after further consideration.

……

The next day.

Su Hao got up early, ate breakfast, and then went out to the blacksmith shop.

Upon arriving at the shop, Su Hao, as usual, lit the stove and prepared the tools he would need later.

Just as they finished doing this, five or six figures hurriedly walked in.

"May I ask if you are Brother Su Hao from Yueshan Boxing Gym?"

Among the group, the leader, a middle-aged man with a thick beard and long braided hair wrapped around his neck, dressed in gray, clasped his hands in a fist salute and asked.

The people behind him also stood respectfully behind the man.

Su Hao didn't know who they were, so he nodded in confusion. "Who are you?"

"I am Wang Heihu, the leader of the Black Tiger Gang. Please forgive my uninvited arrival, Brother Su Hao!"

Wang Heihu, who claimed to be the leader of the Black Tiger Gang, clasped his hands in a fist salute and spoke with great politeness.

Black Tiger Gang?

Su Hao frowned slightly, not expecting these people to come again today.

"I wonder what business Chief Wang has with me? If you need me to forge iron, you might have to wait in line."

Su Hao said calmly.

"Brother Su Hao, you've misunderstood. I'm here today to apologize to my younger brothers from yesterday. They were ignorant and accepted your allowance, and I've already disciplined them. This is our apology; please accept it!"

After Wang Heihu finished speaking, he took out a cloth bag, which made a rustling sound.

"apologize?"

Su Hao's expression also became somewhat inexplicable.