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

After wandering around several pharmacies in the inner city, Su Hao finally managed to buy all the ingredients for the Eight Treasures Soup by purchasing a few herbs from each pharmacy.

This was also what Master Liu specifically instructed him to do when he gave him the prescription, in order to prevent anyone with ulterior motives from prying into it.

A whole serving of Eight Treasures Soup costs about fifteen taels of silver.

A dose of Bazhen Tang (Eight Treasures Soup) can be simmered for about three days before its effects completely wear off.

However, Su Hao was not surprised by the price.

He already knew that this kind of medicine to enhance the blood level of a master was not cheap. Now, fifteen taels for a dose was already somewhat beyond his expectations.

Afterwards, Su Hao also bought several sets of the secret medicine for cultivating the Crimson Blood Palm, planning to stay at home and cultivate in seclusion for a while.

After taking the medicinal soup, Su Hao planned to leave the inner city and go back to brew the soup.

But just as he reached the inner city gate, he found that the wide road was now lined with crowds.

All eyes were fixed on the city gate at the very front.

There, a dozen or so exceptionally tall and muscular men, clad in black leather armor and shirtless, slowly walked out of the city gate.

"This head..."

Su Hao looked surprised.

He noticed that the shortest of the dozen or so people who walked in was at least two meters tall, and the tallest was even over two and a half meters tall!

In addition, their physiques are extremely robust, each one looking like a fleshy tank, and the ground vibrates when they walk, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

Most importantly, when Su Hao saw the exposed joints on these people's bodies, the exaggeratedly protruding contours and the ridiculously robust bone curves all told everyone how peculiar these people were.

"Tsk tsk... This is the second time I've seen the Martial Arts Alliance's 'Iron Mountain Guard.' I remember the last time was several years ago, but the Iron Mountain Guard now is much more imposing than it was a few years ago!"

"Is that even a question? The eight great families worked together, combining their cultivation techniques to develop a powerful secret medicine. The mutant warriors they trained from childhood are physically strong and incomparable to ordinary people. It's unknown how much money it would cost to train each Iron Mountain Guard."

"However, now that the Iron Mountain Guard has been mobilized, it seems the conflict between the Martial Arts Alliance and Zhang Family Fort is escalating. I wonder when a fight will break out..."

"..."

Hearing the surrounding discussions, Su Hao's heart stirred.

I never expected that these big, burly men would have such an imposing organization name, and that they were members of the Martial Arts Alliance.

As for the so-called alien warriors that people around him had been talking about, Su Hao believed that they should refer to a special group of people who were cultivated from childhood by relying on secret medicines and specific martial arts to temper their body's blood and qi.

As more than a dozen towering figures strode past him, Su Hao frowned slightly.

He noticed that, apart from the leaders, these Iron Mountain Guards seemed to be more alert.

Most of the others had empty eyes and blank stares, like puppets.

However, judging from the occasional sounds of these people speaking, they are not the type with intellectual disabilities.

Su Hao also noticed that these Iron Mountain Guards had thick, ring-shaped calluses on some joints, wrists, ankles, and necks.

It is estimated that these people are usually restrained by chains.

From this limited glimpse, Su Hao could roughly understand the Martial Master Alliance's style and methods.

As Tieshanwei gradually disappeared into the distance, Su Hao finally withdrew his gaze.

They left the inner city as the crowd dispersed.

Back at his residence, Su Hao took out the medicinal herbs he had bought for the Eight Treasures Soup and brewed them, intending to test their effects.

Eight Treasures Soup, as the name suggests, is a tonic soup made from eight kinds of nourishing medicinal herbs in a certain formula and proportion.

Its greatest effect is strengthening blood and vital energy, and it also has a certain healing effect and strengthens the function of internal organs.

The strength of one's Qi and blood directly depends on one's constitution, which in turn is closely related to the strength of one's internal organs.

Each martial arts technique and its secret medicine has a corresponding function.

Just like the Crimson Blood Palm, that kind of self-harming palm technique relies heavily on secret medicines for healing and repair.

It simmered for about an hour.

Once the medicine in the pot had thickened into a dark paste, Su Hao ladled it out, let it cool, and then drank it.

As the bitter medicinal soup flowed down his esophagus, Su Hao once again felt a warm current rising from his abdomen and spreading throughout his body.

It gave him a feeling of comfort, as if his whole body was immersed in warm water.

The medicine is not potent; in fact, it is extremely mild.

Su Hao immediately began practicing stance training in the courtyard, starting with the mutual generation method of sitting mountain boxing.

After cultivating for more than an hour, Su Hao finally felt the warmth in his body subside.

"This Eight Treasures Soup seems to be somewhat similar to the Blood-Strengthening Soup. It appears to be an enhanced version of the Blood-Strengthening Soup, with a longer duration of effect and better results."

Su Hao thought to himself.

Although it is much less effective than the meat of exotic beasts, the price difference between the two is understandable.

Most importantly, some exotic beast meat has negative effects; eating too much can be harmful to the body, and specific antidotes are needed.

However, Bazhen Tang (Eight Treasures Soup) does not have this problem, and long-term use should be harmless.

This can be considered as meeting Su Hao's expectations.

Now that he has all the resources, he can leave the rest to time.

the next day.

Su Hao arrived at the boxing gym early, ready to ask Master Liu about some details of the mutual generation practice method.

During his practice yesterday, he discovered that when he performed a combination of stance training and fist movements, his internal energy and blood seemed to flow backward.

He was also worried about whether it would harm his body, or whether his cultivation method was incorrect.

However, somewhat unexpectedly, everyone at the boxing gym was present today.

Even Zhou Zhengtang, who hadn't been to the boxing gym for several days, came.

When the other person saw him, they smiled and gave him a thumbs up before quickly walking over.

Su Hao was also puzzled by this, not knowing what had happened.

However, seeing the inexplicable awe in the eyes of the many students in the surrounding boxing academies, he was completely baffled.

"Bro! You're something else! You broke through without even telling me? Sneaking around like this, don't you consider me a brother?"

Zhou Zhengtang strode over and slapped Su Hao hard on the shoulder.

With a sharp bang, he quickly withdrew his hand, clutching his palm and sucking on it to cool it down.

At the same time, the doubt in his eyes completely disappeared.

"That feel, that's it! You really broke through the metal barrier!"

Zhou Zhengtang was somewhat excited.

He really didn't expect that Su Hao would be able to break through the iron skin so quickly.

If he hadn't received a message from a fellow student at the boxing gym yesterday, he would still be completely in the dark!

"Ouch, that really hurts..." Su Hao grimaced, rubbing his shoulder. "Brother Zhou, I just broke through to the next level. Aren't you afraid of killing me by using such lethal force?"

Su Hao was also somewhat helpless.

He hadn't expected that after only informing Master Liu about his breakthrough, he thought not many people would know, but he was wrong...

He glanced at where Liu Shi was and saw that the latter was sitting in a rattan chair drinking hot tea.

Surrounding him were Tang Huang, Jiang Yan, and a few others, whose gazes, too, were fixed on him with a strange expression.