Brewing Body Strengthening Soup! Breakthrough!

Su Que recovered the Animal Traps from the White Lotus Disciple.

Then, driving the three Donkeys, he hauled the three carts to Qinghua Mountain, fifty li outside Jade Water City.

As he traveled, he erased his tracks along the way.

After arriving at Qinghua Mountain, he found a concealed Cave and moved the three large redwood chests inside.

After practicing the Seven Injuries Fist, he had become strong and robust. Lifting the redwood chests filled with medicinal ingredients took no effort at all.

About ten paces into the Cave, he piled up a dense mass of branches and leaves, placing more than twenty Animal Traps among them.

This was to keep wild beasts from entering the Cave and devouring his medicinal ingredients.

After finishing all this, Su Que looked at the three Donkeys.

He thought that selling the three Donkeys in the city would draw too much attention and might very well alert White Lotus Disciples gathering information.

But if he tied the three Donkeys up in the mountains, they would likely become a meal for other fierce beasts.

Left with no choice, Su Que could only grit his teeth and slaughter the three Donkeys, skinning them before eating the meat.

Once boiled down, donkey hide could be made into Donkey-Hide Gelatin. It was quite valuable, and selling it in the city tomorrow would earn him another sum of money.

After eating the donkey meat, Su Que practiced the Seven Injuries Fist for a while, washed away the sweat and blood stench in the river, then went home.

Early the next morning, Su Que went to an empty corner and disguised himself as a hulking man.

Then he immediately went to the Poshhan Martial Arts School and spent three hundred taels to buy its Prescription.

Although the disciples of the Poshhan Martial Arts School looked strangely at him when he paid, unable to understand why Su Que had suddenly come into so much money.

They were not the authorities, however, and could not be bothered with such matters. They took the money, handed Su Que a sheet of paper containing the Prescription, and warned him not to spread it.

After obtaining the Prescription, Su Que went to the market and sold the three donkey hides.

Then he went to a corner, took out the Prescription, and studied it carefully.

After all, every trade was a mountain apart. Of the thirteen medicinal ingredients listed on the Prescription, he recognized only six.

Therefore, he could not pick out the ingredients he needed from the three large redwood chests.

He memorized the names of the seven ingredients he did not recognize. Still dressed as a hulking man, he visited ten apothecaries and bought a few qian of each of the seven ingredients.

At last, he recognized all thirteen ingredients.

After removing his hulking-man disguise, Su Que immediately hurried to School to teach.

That afternoon, after class ended, he went to the market and bought a Clay Pot for brewing medicine, a Scale for measuring ingredients, two Gourds for carrying water, a Pestle for grinding, and various other tools before heading out of the city.

He could not wait to verify whether the Prescription from the Poshhan Martial Arts School was genuine, and to see whether the three large redwood chests contained those thirteen ingredients.

Once he reached an uninhabited place outside the city, he suddenly sped up and began to run.

Though his running speed still could not compare to that of martial artists proficient in qinggong.

After cultivating the Seven Injuries Fist, his physique had steadily improved, and his stamina was exceptional. He could maintain high-speed running for a long time.

Upon reaching Qinghua Mountain and the Cave where he had hidden the medicinal ingredients, he leaped over the branches concealing the Animal Traps. Then he took a Woodcutter's Knife from his bundle and smashed apart all the locks on the three large redwood chests.

When he opened the chests, the fragrance of countless medicines instantly filled the entire Cave.

He looked inside and found that one chest contained different medicinal ingredients, separated by wooden partitions.

With a single sweep of his eyes, Su Que found the thirteen ingredients needed to brew "Body Strengthening Soup."

Thus, following the Prescription, he used the Scale to portion out the thirteen ingredients. He ground what needed grinding, decocted what needed decocting, and soaked what needed soaking.

After completing the preliminary preparations, he put the ingredients into the pot, lit a fire, and began brewing the medicine.

Following the Prescription, he first used High Heat, then Low Heat.

After half an hour of work, a pot of Body Strengthening Soup was ready.

Looking at its murky black color and smelling that familiar scent, Su Que thought the Prescription should be genuine.

This Clay Pot held three bowls' worth.

Su Que filled a bowl and tipped his head back, drinking it down.

The medicinal broth passed through his throat and into his stomach. Before long, a surge of medicinal power rose within his abdomen.

"Looks like this Prescription is real!"

Su Que immediately used the medicinal power to practice the Seven Injuries Fist.

Urged on by the medicinal power, he felt the blood and qi throughout his body boil. Combined with the tempering of the Seven Injuries Fist, the blood and qi within him surged like a rushing river, and a sense of ease instantly spread through his entire body.

His efficiency in practicing the fist art increased enormously!

After night fell, Su Que went hunting to settle that night's meal.

After eating his fill, he continued practicing his fists.

Because his Seven Injuries Fist had already reached the fourth realm, Outstanding, further advancement required even more medicinal power.

In just one night, he consumed the medicinal power of three bowls of Body Strengthening Soup.

Yet in that single night, his Seven Injuries Fist progress increased by 3%.

In a little over a month, his Seven Injuries Fist might advance another realm.

Having resolved his shortage of medicine and money, Su Que returned to his peaceful life of teaching during the day and practicing Martial Arts at night.

Several days after killing the White Lotus Disciples, he finally heard that the White Lotus Sect had razed three martial arts schools to the ground.

Only then did he learn that the black-clad men who had ambushed the White Lotus Disciples that day had been disciples from those three martial arts schools.

The deaths of the six White Lotus Disciples transporting the medicine were discovered by the White Lotus Sect in Jade Water City.

Afterward, the White Lotus Sect members of Jade Water City took the heads of those martial arts school disciples into Jade Water City to identify them.

They immediately learned that the black-clad men had come from three different martial arts schools.

In truth, from the wounds on the dead White Lotus Disciples, the White Lotus Sect members knew that the people who had ultimately stolen the medicine were not disciples of those three martial arts schools.

After all, the shattered hearts had most likely been caused by the Heart Shattering Palm, the Seven Injuries Fist, or some other Martial Arts capable of destroying the internal organs.

The disciples of those three martial arts schools generally only knew how to use weapons, not such Martial Arts.

But they thought that if those disciples from the three martial arts schools had not attacked them, someone else would never have reaped the fisherman's profit and stolen the medicinal ingredients.

The White Lotus Sect members of Jade Water City thus searched for the person who had stolen the medicine while taking revenge on the three martial arts schools.

According to rumors in the streets and alleys, the masters of those three martial arts schools had not known their disciples were doing this.

But overnight, the White Lotus Sect slaughtered every member of the three masters' families, as well as every member of the families of the martial arts school disciples involved in the operation.

After such a tragedy, the people became even more terrified of the White Lotus Sect.

The Yamen and several martial arts schools that had wanted to band together against the White Lotus Sect immediately dared not make any move.

They might have wished to resist, but if their resistance failed, they would only drag down their entire families.

In the blink of an eye, another month passed.

Winter had arrived. The wind carried bitter cold, yet Su Que stood bare-chested in the woods, sinking into a horse stance and striking left and right as he practiced the Seven Injuries Fist.

Not only did he feel no cold, but the blood and qi throughout his body surged as though he were soaking in a hot spring, making him feel extremely comfortable.

With a thought, he summoned four lines of pitch-black text.

Name: Su Que (17 years old)

Lifespan: 66

Talent Value: 11

Martial Arts: Seven Injuries Fist (4th realm, Outstanding 99%), Five Animal Frolics (1st realm, Initial Glimpse 1%)

The Seven Injuries Fist had once again reached the brink of a breakthrough.

Su Que's heart stirred with excitement as he stepped forward and threw a punch.

Punch after punch struck the air. His fist force collided with the atmosphere, sending out ripples and producing loud explosions.

Before long, he felt a force brewing within his body.

His five viscera, tendons, and bones gradually began to tremble and ring.

This was the sign of a breakthrough!

"Hah!"

Su Que exhaled with a shout and threw another punch!

At that very moment, the force within him suddenly erupted, surging violently toward his limbs and every part of his body.

"Crack! Crack! Crack..."

A dense series of ringing sounds came from within his body.

"Breakthrough..."

Su Que looked again at the four lines of pitch-black text before him.