I can’t read, either. I only know this is a family heirloom, so I hurried to put it away for the master.

I never dared let anyone else see it.

Now that it’s been passed to you, Young Master, this old man’s duty is done!”

……

Fists like iron, flesh forged like steel?

After dinner, Andrew Warren sat at his desk, opened the Warming and Tonic Formula, and stared at the four lines in the preface for a long time.

Can the claims in this Warming and Tonic Formula really be trusted?

Can someone truly train their muscles to be as hard as steel, their fists like iron blocks?

Whether it’s believable or not, Andrew Warren was deeply intrigued by the contents of the Warming and Tonic Formula. He turned past the preface and began to read carefully.

The Warming and Tonic Formula recorded three prescriptions.

They were, in order: “Three-Element Vitality Soup,” “Heavenly Essence and Earthly Benefit Body-Refining Plaster,” and “Tenfold Supreme Tonic Medicinal Bath.”

After each prescription, its effects were described.

The Three-Element Vitality Soup is for martial artists who have not yet achieved, or have just achieved, the “Bright Force” stage. It can refine the muscle fibers, enhancing the muscles’ contraction ability.

When pulling the muscles produces a “twang” like drawing a bow, it means the muscle fibers have been fully refined.

The Heavenly Essence and Earthly Benefit Body-Refining Plaster is an ointment applied all over the body to increase muscle strength.

Whenever the muscles contract, if you press with your hand and feel a hard membrane, it means the muscle strength is nearly perfected.

The Tenfold Supreme Tonic Medicinal Bath can fuse muscles and fibers, improving all aspects of a martial artist’s muscles.

When all the muscles are tensed and as hard as steel, that is the level of flesh forged like steel.

At the end of the thin booklet, Andrew Warren saw three small lines of text.

“This formula was created by Wuwo.”

“Many parts of the prescription are still open to discussion and are under experimental verification.”

“Wuwo assumes no responsibility for any adverse consequences resulting from rash use.”

“……”“Goddammit!”

With a snap, Andrew Warren closed the thin booklet, unable to hold back a curse.

The Warming and Tonic Formula had painted a picture of an extraordinarily powerful martial artist for him.

But in the end, it mercilessly snuffed out that fantasy.

He had wanted to throw the booklet into the fire, but after hesitating, he put it back on the desk.

Maybe it really is possible to “make fists like iron, forge flesh like steel”?

Maybe he just didn’t know how yet.

Chapter 5: The Appointment Test

Bang bang bang!

In the backyard, Andrew Warren’s fists became a blur of afterimages.

Fierce, forceful energy pierced the air.

He had already developed new variations for this set of spear-fist techniques.

Within less than fifteen minutes, he performed the spear-fist routine three full times.

Every punch burst with force.

Every punch was like a spear—sometimes thrusting, sometimes sweeping, sometimes chopping.

Stomp!

Suddenly, Andrew Warren stomped his foot and stopped in place.

In an instant, all the swirling fist shadows vanished.

Strands of force twisted together like ropes inside his muscles, linking over a hundred muscles, all contracting at once.

A brilliant light shone in his eyes as he unleashed a “Tyrant Spear” straight at the large stone in front of him!

Bang!

The shadow of his fist crashed down like a waterfall.

The large stone shattered on impact, breaking into pieces!

“I did it!”

Andrew Warren exhaled, unable to hide the joy on his face.

After more than a day of practice, he had finally managed to contract over a hundred muscles at the same time.

The power generated in that instant was enough to smash a stone!

He crouched down to examine the stone he had just broken.

A stone as big as a dining table was now split into more than a dozen pieces, spread out like flower petals, with some crushed powder and pebbles mixed in.

‘The power of my punch seems to be even stronger than Mr. Clark’s?’

‘He could only crack the stone, but couldn’t shatter it into pieces like I just did.’

‘He said that martial artists at the “Dark Force” level can also smash stones.

So when he cracked the stone, was he using Bright Force or Dark Force?

If it takes Dark Force just to crack a stone, isn’t that a bit too weak?’

Andrew Warren shook his head and stood up.

The look of longing in his eyes had not yet faded.

Just contracting over a hundred muscles at once was enough to smash a stone.

If all six hundred-plus muscles in the body were trained to the Bright Force level and contracted simultaneously, how much power would that generate?

And what about reaching the realm of flesh forged like steel, fists like iron?

Vaguely, Andrew Warren felt as if a brand new door had opened before him.

He walked to the water vat in the corner of the yard and used the water’s surface as a mirror to observe himself.

Bare-chested, Andrew Warren’s muscles were well-defined and evenly proportioned. His slightly delicate face, set off by his muscles, now looked masculine and handsome.

He dipped a towel in water at the edge of the vat and wiped the sweat from his body.

After putting on his outer shirt, Andrew Warren once again looked like a delicate, youthful boy.

As he walked out of the backyard, he called out, “Mr. Grant, I have the appointment test today, so I won’t be eating at home. I’ll just buy a few buns on the way.”

“Hey!

Alright, Young Master, make sure you do your best!”

Rustling sounds came from Mr. Grant’s bedroom. It was just barely dawn, and the old man had only just woken up and hadn’t gotten out of bed yet.

Worried the old man might catch a chill, Andrew Warren added, “No need to get up, I’m heading out now!”

With that, he strode out of the house and closed the gate behind him as he left.

……