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

"In the last two months?"

Zhou Chengan nodded slightly.

However, the initial optimism he had for Su Hao had weakened slightly.

After all, the difference between a stone mirror and a metal mirror is not that great.

Under normal circumstances, as long as one has good talent and practices diligently, one can generally achieve a breakthrough within two months.

Those with even greater talent, like Tang Huang, the recently much-discussed figure at the Yueshan Boxing Gym in Hongqiao Town, broke through the Stone Skin in half a month and the Iron Skin in about a month.

All in all, it only took a month and a half.

Su Hao has been cultivating for three months now, but he hasn't broken through to the Iron Skin level yet. To be honest, his talent is indeed just average.

Having changed his opinion of Su Hao in a moment, Zhou Cheng'an did not continue to discuss the topic with Zhou Zhengtang.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhengtang said nothing more and stood aside quietly waiting.

His father was not strict with him, so his father rarely mentioned any of the friends he made.

This time, the other party finally brought up Su Hao, a friend who should be considered the best friend in terms of character and potential that he has made in recent years.

But judging from his father's attitude now, it seems that he doesn't particularly value it.

Zhou Zhengtang believed that this was because his father had heard that Su Hao had not broken through the Iron Skin barrier in two months, so he viewed Su Hao's potential as insufficient.

Naturally, they wouldn't pay too much attention to it.

This is understandable. How could a father who has weathered many storms care about a boy who is merely at the level of a stone skin?

Especially before the other party demonstrates sufficient potential, they will not pay too much attention.

The fact that the other party brought it up must be because they appreciated Su Hao's poetic talent, which is why they felt that this young man was different from others.

The two stood there watching as goods and medicinal herbs were loaded onto the carriage.

This time, the procession included as many as three carriages.

The entire guard team consisted of 12 warriors, divided into groups of four to guard each carriage.

Among the 12 martial artists, three captains were at the Iron Skin Realm, while the rest were at the Stone Skin Realm.

Once all the goods were loaded onto the vehicle and covered with tarpaulins and straw, the goods were ready.

The team then set off for Daling Town.

Daling Town is a full 200 li away from Yanshan City.

This batch of medicinal herbs needs to be delivered urgently and must be delivered before noon tomorrow.

Therefore, this trip was extremely rushed, and we only decided to rest once along the way, so that we could arrive before noon.

Logically speaking, a journey of two hundred miles should take about half a day, given the speed of a carriage and the walking speed of martial artists.

Of course, this is on the premise that the entire journey takes place on a wide, official road.

However, to get to Daling Town, there is a section of Daling Mountain that leads into the town. The road into the mountains there is rugged and mostly horse trails, accounting for about one-third of the total distance.

That's the reason it takes so long.

Su Hao followed the group out of the tall and imposing black city gate, his gaze involuntarily drawn once again to the vast yellow horizon ahead.

This was his second time leaving the city on a mission, and compared to the tension he felt last time, he was much calmer this time.

Because of their previous experience, and this time with a larger team and three Iron-Skin Mirror warriors in charge, ordinary bandits and robbers wouldn't dare to provoke them.

This should save us a lot of trouble along the way.

"Brother Su, what a coincidence! We're paired up again this time. Come on, have some jerky!"

Wang Yu's voice came from behind.

Su Hao turned around and saw a palm-sized piece of jerky being thrown over.

He quickly reached out and caught it.

The reddish-brown jerky exudes a beefy aroma, with hints of spices, cumin, and Sichuan peppercorns.

It smells very appetizing.

"Thanks, Brother Wang!"

Su Hao thanked him, holding the dried meat.

"What are you thanking me for? I brought the wrong thing this time; I shouldn't have had it on me in the first place. Please help me get rid of it..."

Wang Yu said with a hint of helplessness.

Then he took out a large piece of dried meat and distributed it to the guards around him.

"What do you mean?" Su Hao took a bite of the jerky, a salty and fragrant flavor filling his mouth, and asked curiously.

"The route we're taking this time includes a section near deep mountains, where we've heard man-eating beasts used to roam. So, the dried meat we're carrying might attract other ferocious beasts..."

Wang Yu explained, "Me too. I was in a rush when I left, and I forgot to take this out of my bag. Luckily, there's nothing dangerous around here, otherwise I would definitely have gotten a scolding from Captain Shen!"

Su Hao's heart stirred upon hearing this.

This was the first time he had ever heard anything about strange beasts.

"Have you seen Brother Wang before?"

Su Hao suddenly became interested.

The other team members who had been silent all perked up their ears and looked at Wang Yu.

Some of these people had never been to Daling Town, so they were quite curious about the rumors of man-eating beasts appearing on the way to Daling Town.

"I've never seen it, but I heard that the Yonghe Escort Agency in Nanshan Town once suffered an attack by a strange beast with a team of more than a dozen escorts, losing five or six people. Some of those people were even experts at the Iron Skin Realm..."

Wang Yu recalled softly.

So fierce?

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.

Unexpectedly, this strange beast was so bold as to attack a caravan of more than a dozen people.

It should be noted that escort teams are composed of martial artists. A team of more than ten martial artists can easily deal with even tigers, black bears, and wolf packs.

Even so, they still suffered heavy losses when facing the alien beasts.

This also made others feel a little worried about the mission.

Although they have enough manpower for this mission, it is hard to guarantee that there will be no losses if they encounter an attack by alien beasts.

The conversation within the group also caught Shen Qing's attention. Seeing that Wang Yu's words were becoming increasingly esoteric, he intervened to stop the discussion.

The purpose, of course, is to keep everyone from being too nervous, so as not to affect their performance.

The journey continued in silence as the group quickly passed through the farmland area outside the city and began to enter a region flanked by woodlands.

Then they continued straight along the official road, and after passing two or three forks, they finally arrived at a flat and open area again.

By this time, it was already afternoon.

"After another twenty miles or so, we will enter the Daling Mountain area. We will rest there for the first half of the night, and then start our journey again at 3:45 a.m. We should be able to arrive at Daling Town by noon tomorrow."

At the front of the group, Shen Qing turned to the people behind him and spoke.

The other team leaders also turned to their respective team members and gave them a few words of advice.

Su Hao held a specially made iron rod in his hand, which could be used for support or as a tool to clear obstacles.

The roads in this world are not as smooth and clean as they were in my previous life. Many places have become overgrown with weeds due to the lack of foot traffic, and deadly poisonous insects and snakes may be lurking inside.

He glanced at the rolling mountains that had already appeared on the horizon; that must be the Daling Mountains.

Thinking of what Wang Yu had said about the legends of strange beasts, he couldn't help but feel a little wary.