New Skill (8000)

If this topic is brought up, Xu Bai will stop dozing off; he could talk about it all night long.

When praising yourself, it might be a little difficult to do so in front of an acquaintance, but if you're praising a stranger, you can go on and on like a never-ending river.

Is he handsome?

Of course I'm handsome; my face is indeed very handsome.

And he wasn't lying; handsome is handsome.

Xu Bai continued, describing him again. "Not only is he incredibly handsome, but he also has a tall and straight figure, naturally exuding a certain charm that makes countless beautiful women fall for him. In short, he is a genius who is both handsome and charismatic."

With such thick skin, Xu Bai didn't care about anything and kept praising for almost five minutes before reluctantly stopping.

"Huh, you really enjoy listening to his stories?" Xu Bai picked up the tea beside him, took a sip, and then noticed that Ying Yue's expression was very strange.

While he was talking about his own affairs, Ying Yue placed her hands on her chin, clenched them into small fists, stopped eating her snacks, and stared at Xu Bai with her bright eyes.

As Xu Bai became more and more enthusiastic, a hint of excitement shone in Ying Yue's eyes.

Xu Bai was all too familiar with this light.

That little girl from Miao territory had the same look in her eyes.

"Good heavens, does this mean that even if my reputation spreads to the Great Yue Kingdom, there are still people who admire me?"

"Indeed, sometimes, handsomeness knows no borders."

Xu Bai took another sip of tea before putting down the teacup and continuing to watch the progress bar in his hand.

"That's it?" Ying Yue quickly recovered from her infatuation and rolled her eyes at Xu Bai, still somewhat unsatisfied. "You have the nerve to use just a few words to trade with me? Give me back what you've got."

A small, fair hand reached out, still covered in crumbs from snacks; Ying Yue seemed quite indignant.

"Once the goods are sold, there are no returns or exchanges." Xu Bai moved his stool back two steps, then sat down again, with an expression that said, "What can you do to me?"

"Besides, you might as well talk about me instead of him. Am I inferior to him?"

"You?" Ying Yue's face was full of disdain. "That's the Blood Slaughtering Saber Wielder, how can you compare to him?"

Bloodslaughter? Swordsman? If there's one thing that could make Xu Bai most agitated when he's calm, it would be these four words.

Upon hearing those four words, he subconsciously reached for his waist, only to realize that his knife had long since shattered.

"Call..."

After taking several deep breaths, Xu Bai finally turned his calm gaze to Ying Yue, his eyes conveying a meaning.

—You little girl, you've been given a second chance at life.

Ying Yue didn't notice Xu Bai's unusual behavior and was somewhat disheartened, since Xu Bai didn't continue.

She started eating snacks again, of course, with her back to Xu Bai, leaving Xu Bai with a curvaceous silhouette.

"I'm asking you, a member of Shadow Building in the Great Yue Kingdom, why would you care about that King Xu of the Great Chu Kingdom?" Xu Bai said with interest. "If the people in the Shadow Building find out, you might be in deep trouble."

Ying Yue didn't turn around, stuffed a handful of snacks into her mouth, and said indistinctly, "Go ahead and tell them, we're in this together. Besides, I'm not doing this for any other reason, I'm just trying to find out about the enemy, after all, Xu Bai is our enemy."

Xu Bai: "..."

He felt it was particularly difficult to communicate with this young girl; she clearly showed her feelings, but she remained stubborn.

Being stubborn is not a good thing, especially when you need to use your mouth.

Xu Bai was too lazy to pay attention to her anymore. Silence actually made him feel quieter. Apart from the sound of the snacks being chewed, he didn't care about anything else.

Xu Bai refocused his gaze on the golden progress bar, which continued to slowly grow under his watchful eye.

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, another incense stick's time had gone by before the golden progress bar finally filled up.

The next moment, a pale blue mist appeared in front of Xu Bai's eyes, visible only to him.

Pale blue smoke gradually gathered, and after a moment, it coalesced into a new line of text.

[You studied mysterious books and grasped the Sea Sect Deity Summoning Heart Sutra.]

[You studied mysterious books and comprehended the Sea Sect Deity Summoning Method.]

Xu Bai: "???"

Something's not right, something's very wrong! "This thing was clearly taken from the tuna, how could it be Spirit Summoning Method?"

"And what the hell is this 'Shanghai School'?!"

"Wait, there's a mountain sect and a sea sect. The mountain sect is like a summoning, so does that mean the sea sect is descending upon me?"

Thoughts surged through Xu Bai's mind, but he had no time to dwell on them, because after the pale blue smoke dissipated, new words were formed.

Integration continues.

The mental techniques merged with each other, and the skills merged with each other, and brand-new text reappeared before Xu Bai's eyes.

[Mergeable options found, currently in progress.]

[The Sea Sect Deity Summoning Heart Sutra + The Myriad Aspects Heavenly Attraction Divine Art = The Myriad Aspects Heavenly Attraction Mountain Sea Art.]

[Sea Sect Deity Summoning Method + Mountain Sect Deity Summoning Method = Mountain Sea Deity Summoning Method.]

[Merger successful!]

A stream of information was flooding into Xu Bai's mind, and at the same time, the pale blue text completely disappeared.

Xu Bai closed his eyes, carefully savoring the information in his mind. Only after two or three minutes did he reopen his eyes.

The latest attribute panel appears before your eyes.

[Name: Xu Bai]

[Realm Level: Eighth Rank Loose Cultivator]

[The Blade Sword Three Absolutes (Transcendent Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Myriad Aspects Heavenly Attraction Mountain Sea Art (Transcendent Rank 8): Max Level.]

[Returning Wind Flowing Snow (Tier 5): Max Level.]

[Nine Revolutions of Action and Ruin (Rank 9): Max Level.]

[Moving Stars and Changing Constellations (Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Undying Demon Soul Buddha Body (Transcendent Tier 1): Max Level.]

[Strengthening Kidney Gathering Art (Transcendent Stage 1): Max Level.]

[Poison Compendium (Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Mechanism Puppet True Explanation (Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Water Adaptation Method (Tier 5): Max Level]

[Feng Shui Arithmetic (Level 9): Max Level.]

[Thousand Faces Method (Tier 9): Max Level.]

[Yin Yang Coexistence (Transcendent Stage 1): Max Level.]

[Mountain Sea Deity Summoning Method (Transcendent Rank 9): Max Level.]

[Comprehension: Max level.]

His strength reached the eighth rank of the Transcendent Realm, which was a qualitative improvement, and his True Yuan Power was greatly enhanced. But these were not the main things. The most important thing was another skill.

The Mountain Sea Deity Summoning Method! This Spirit Summoning Method, which combines the styles of the Mountain School and the Sea School, now possesses formidable power.

Not only can one draw power from the invited god, but one can also bring that so-called god to one's presence.

In other words, he now not only possesses the ability to summon, but also the ability to extract a portion of the power from the summoned creatures.

The extracted power is a full ten percent of that of the summoned creature.

To put it simply, the stronger the summoned creatures, the stronger you become.

Don't underestimate this one tenth. One tenth of ten is one, but one tenth of one hundred is ten. The two cannot be equated.

As his strength grows, the amount he can improve will also increase accordingly, since it's not a fixed number, but a percentage.

Moreover, it can also improve the level of two other skills. As those two skills are upgraded, the level of improvement will also increase.

"Really good, what a pity, that guy is a real genius."

Xu Bai's gaze held a complex expression, a feeling that was hard to describe.

"I never imagined that fat guy would find another way to access the stream when resources were depleted."

"No wonder, no wonder those fish had all turned into Thought Gods back then."

"This guy is cultivating his spirit, cultivating a spirit he's invited!"

As far as Xu Bai knew, the thing that was supposedly requested by the gods was related to him.

For example, he invited someone related to him, the white-clad madman Liu Qingfeng, who had met him many times before.

The scorpion is actually a descendant of the Deity Summoning Sect. After resources were depleted, he found a unique way to live.

The fish he kept were all gods he had invited.

However, after he possessed these things, they were actually extracted from his body and poured into the fish, which is how he managed to raise that pond of fish.

As time passed, the fish in that pond gradually transformed into Thought Gods.

"I don't know if he can be considered a genius, but at least in my opinion, being able to come up with such a method in an era of scarce resources, although it's disgusting, at least he survived," Xu Bai thought to himself.

Of course, this was just a thought; he only considered it briefly before stopping himself from thinking about it further.

Distracted from his thoughts, Xu Bai put down the book and took out the human skin that Gao Guan, the man in white robes and Gao Guan hat, had given him.

Since there's still plenty of time, let's keep working hard and make the most of this time.

Looking at the human skin in his hand and the tiny characters on it, he couldn't understand them, but he was filled with emotion.

Xu Bai had always felt that Gao Guan was a person worthy of admiration.

In that era of resource depletion, they still held fast to their beliefs, continued down the same path, and were unafraid of death.

Even when he was about to become Thought Gods, he still went to fight that old madman, and finally died at the hands of the old madman.

Well... if it were Xu Bai in that situation, Xu Bai wouldn't know if he would have done the same thing as Gao Guan.

Perhaps most people in this world will, like that man-eating old Daoist priest or the trevally, no longer live the way they used to.

So Gao Guan gave him this human skin, asking him to help pass on the profession of Corpse Collector, Xu Bai agreed.

Having been in business for so long, he has rarely missed a deal, and this was one of those times.

However, he couldn't understand the text on it, so he could only learn by using the progress bar.

Once I've finished learning, I'll hand the human skin over to the Emperor of the Great Chu Kingdom and ask him to help me pass on this profession. I suppose with my influence, that should be possible.

Of course, you can also find a suitable person to teach you personally, which will have the same effect.

"Let's get to the grind first," Xu Bai thought, continuing to stare at the progress bar and starting to grind.

The crunching sound of snacking continued to ring out.

Ying Yue continued eating, her back to Xu Bai, with no intention of turning around.

Time passed slowly, and before you knew it, a night had gone by.

"Huff... huff..."

Not far away, Ying Yue was curled up in a chair, hugging her knees with both hands, and snoring softly.

Because of the way she hugged her knees, a slight curve appeared from below her waist.

Xu Bai didn't sleep all night, tormented by the snoring.

Even beautiful women snore; no matter how beautiful a woman is, she still needs to poop and fart.

Why was Xu Bai single before? He often thought that many people like round buttocks, but those things also need to poop and fart, which might be the reason he was single.

"Wake up, wake up." Xu Bai walked up to him and said expressionlessly.

Ying Yue the sound, Yingyue groggily opened her eyes, rubbed them, and when she realized it was Xu Bai, she cried out and covered her chest with her hands.

He acted as if Xu Bai had taken advantage of him, but Xu Bai knew the truth best in his heart.

"Stop pretending. You're as cunning as a fox, why pretend to be innocent and cute?" Xu Bai said calmly.

This woman seemed innocent and naive, and when she was with him, she acted like a foodie.

But he knew very well that things could not be judged by appearances.

If this woman were just an ordinary person, perhaps all of this would be true, but don't forget who she is.

Could someone with this kind of personality survive in Shadow Building, or even escape the various searches by the Dark Building? The answer is no.

The so-called innocence and naivety are probably just a smokescreen.

"How much longer will it take for your assassins to be ready?" Xu Bai asked.

This wasn't asked as a question, but as an affirmative statement, indicating that the speaker was becoming somewhat impatient.

Ying Yue groggily got up from the chair, rubbed her slender waist, and looked worried, her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know either. I'm waiting for news. Otherwise, what do you think I'm doing here every day?"

Xu Bai thought for a moment and said, "I'll give you one last day. You told me it was ten days, but I think that's too long. If it doesn't work out, I'll just leave."

Xu Bai knew that the longer things dragged on, the more troublesome they would become.

The agreed timeframe was ten days, but after these past few nights of careful consideration, he realized there were still quite a few risks involved.

So if it can't be done by tomorrow, then don't do it.

As for how to get the information, he could simply set foot in the entire Great Yue Kingdom and search place by place. He wasn't going to cause trouble, nor was he afraid of trouble finding him.

Ying Yue hearing this, Yingyue's eyes darted around. "Then I'll make the contact."

As she spoke, she took out a jade pendant from her waist, pressed it with her finger, closed her eyes, and then opened them after a moment.

"Well, after my repeated urging, the higher-ups have agreed. They'll send assassins over tomorrow. We can kill these four people first, and say it's the price we paid to capture this assassin."

She put her hands on her hips, looking like she was taking all the credit, her head held high, her face full of pride.

But the next moment, she felt a tightness around her neck as Xu Bai lifted her down, and she panicked.

Ying Yue tried to grab Xu Bai with both hands and feet, but couldn't. She could only place her fair hand on Xu Bai's arm, her face full of surprise. "What do you want to do? Let me tell you, if you want to do those things, you will offend the Shadow Building. If you really can't resist, I can go to the brothel and find you two girls."

As she spoke, she stared at Xu Bai with a pitiful expression, as if Xu Bai was about to bully her.

Xu Bai sneered, "I'm not interested in a tablet. What I want to tell you now is, don't try to be clever with me. You should know what I mean."

How could it be so simple to push time forward so easily? Xu Bai thought that Ying Yue must have done something to it.

flat?

Ying Yue habitually ignored the last sentence, her eyes widening as she released her grip, cupped her hands to her chest, and lifted them up forcefully.

A sudden tremor.

"Me, Ping?" Ying Yue asked in astonishment.

"Get to the point, pay attention to the second half of the sentence!" Xu Bai was speechless.

Ying Yue stubbornly said, "Tell me first whether I'm in a fair situation or not?"

Xu Bai's lips twitched. "I really want to twist your head off."

Ying Yue snorted and turned her head away, "As you guessed, I deliberately prolonged the time."

"But this is all for your own good. The intelligence we received was obtained not long after the last time this branch communicated with others."

"If you get a spy in a short time, it will arouse suspicion, so it's better to postpone it."

"I was afraid that if I told you, you would disagree because of your impatient nature, so I've been staying here with you these past few days. If it really is tomorrow, there's enough time!"

Under Xu Bai's pressure, she had no choice but to tell him everything.

Xu Bai released his grip and said, "Not bad, you can at least make sense of it. Let's do it tomorrow then."

Now that things were clear, he had no intention of taking action. He wanted to resolve the matter as soon as possible, get the top-tier information quickly, and then return to the Great Chu Kingdom to extort money from those kings of different surnames.

That's where true freedom is, which is much better than here, where I have to hide my identity.

Ying Yue pursed her lips and touched her neck, where there were already handprints.

This man has no sense of chivalry whatsoever; he went too far.

Thinking this, Ying Yue turned her back to Xu Bai and started munching on snacks.

Xu Bai ignored her and continued looking at the progress bar in his hand as usual.

The Great Chu Kingdom, the Capital City, the Star Plucking Tower.

Chief Mu looked at the old man in front of him with a bitter expression and a sense of helplessness.

"Old Wei, you really have to believe me. I would never lie to you, no matter who else I lie to. How could I possibly let Xu Bai die?"

"You are the head of the eunuchs and a close advisor to His Majesty. You cannot stay here with me every day."

"Besides, even if you came here for tea, you didn't have to beat my men up like this."

Standing in front of Chief Mu, Eunuch Wei calmly picked up an expensive teacup and sipped the tea.

Behind Eunuch Wei lay seven or eight powerful individuals, all of whom were at the Extraordinary Realm.

However, all of these people were injured, clearly inflicted by Eunuch Wei.

"We're coming to visit you, but they say this place is forbidden territory. Tell me, given your relationship with us, is there really such a thing as a forbidden place?" Eunuch Wei put down his teacup and said calmly.

Chief Mu shook his head. "The relationship between us doesn't need any boundaries. If it weren't for you in that battle, I might be dead by now. It's precisely because of that that you ended up like this..."

He didn't say the rest, clearly worried about touching on Eunuch Wei's sore spot.

"I don't care about these things anymore." Eunuch Wei poured himself another cup of tea. "Now I just want your promise. If you give it to me, I'll leave immediately."

Chief Mu asked, "What promise?"

"Keep Xu Bai safe and sound!" Eunuch Wei said slowly.

Chief Mu's expression turned particularly strange. "Old Wei, people at our level are all talking about it, Xu Bai might be your illegitimate son, could he really be?"

"Smack!"

The teacup broke.

Eunuch Wei stood up. "Some things cannot be said carelessly, and gossip cannot be spread. The relationship between my family and King Xu is one of both friendship and trust."

Chief Mu gave him an "I understand" look.

"Speak up, we only need your word." Eunuch Wei stopped drinking tea and placed the broken teacup on the table.

Upon seeing this, Chief Mu nodded directly. "Don't worry, Eunuch Wei, I promise you, Xu Bai is safe and sound."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Wei didn't waste any more words. He stood up and walked outside, disappearing in a flash.

It seemed that a single promise from the Chief would be enough to keep Xu Bai safe and sound.

After Eunuch Wei left, Chief Mu looked at his subordinate lying on the ground, his expression gradually turning cold.

"Stop pretending, get out."

Upon hearing these words, the seven or eight experts at the Extraordinary Realm who were lying on the ground quickly got up and disappeared from the room.

Chief Mu bent down, picked up the broken teacups, threw them into the trash can, found a new teacup, poured himself a cup of tea, and quietly took a sip.

The tea was very hot, so he could only sip it slowly. Before he could finish drinking it, he saw a person emerge from the shadows beside him.

The man was dressed in a blue robe, had a handsome appearance, and a long sword at his waist.

If Xu Bai were here, he would surely recognize the man in front of him as Qin Feng, the fisherman from the Ancient Moon Sword Sect.

"Is it all done?" Chief Mu asked.

Qin Feng still smelled of earth on him, a scent left from the riverbank. Clearly, he had gone fishing before coming, but his hands came back empty, so he probably hadn't caught anything.

"Chief, the goods have been delivered to the Great Yue Kingdom. It took a lot of effort. In order to deliver them safely, the Ancient Moon Sword Sect wasted most of its resources."

"We have already taken over Ying Yue under your command, so we can't interfere in the rest."

As he spoke, a pained expression appeared on his face.

For a truly top-tier power to expend most of its resources, overcome numerous blockades, and send the goods in, is a huge loss.

Chief Mu saw through this and smiled, "If things succeed, you will have done a great service, and His Majesty will not be stingy with your reward."

Qin Feng hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but he dared not speak in front of this person.

Fine beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, as if the kind, white-haired old man before him were a terrifying figure.

"Do you know what the difference is between you and Xu Bai?" Chief Mu asked.

Qin Feng shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

"He can remain calm and composed in the face of Eunuch Wei and disgrace, neither humble nor arrogant, but you cannot," said Chief Mu.

Qin Feng was taken aback, then clasped his hands in a fist and said, "It is indeed impossible, but if it is impossible, it is impossible."

Chief Mu shook his head. "I know what you want to ask, but you shouldn't know these things. If we fail, you can't bear the consequences. Go on, you've done your job."

Qin Feng remained silent for a moment, then turned and left.

His trip to the Capital City this time, including his previous chance encounter with Xu Bai, was not accidental. Rather, it was a grand scheme orchestrated by Chief Mu, with him acting as a liaison.

The communication function is no longer needed, so he should leave and go back to fishing. It would be better for him than to stay in this creepy Star Plucking Tower.

Soon, Qin Feng left, leaving only Chief Mu alone in the large room.

Chief Mu stood up, went to the window, and looked at the scenery outside.

"Daughter, I'm sorry, but if we want to achieve great things and truly make the world a better place, someone always has to make sacrifices."

"Other people's children are children too, and my children are children too. Ordinary people have things to do, and I have things to do in this position."

The faint voice was inaudible to the hidden experts. Even if Chief Mu spoke it openly, he could make sure that no one could hear it.

Fallen Phoenix City.

Another day has passed since the last time, and Xu Bai still looks like the shopkeeper.

Beside him followed Ying Yue.

Ying Yue kept talking. "I told you everything about the person you're playing last night, including all the information about him. You must remember it and not give anything away."

Last night, the two talked for a long time, explaining the role he was playing. At this point, Xu Bai's every move was almost identical to the shopkeeper's.

Today, that assassin is coming.

"The assassin must have important news, otherwise they wouldn't have promoted me," Xu Bai asked.

Ying Yue nodded. "Of course there are, and the Shadow Building will have to pay a huge price, but that's not something you need to worry about. You just need to find the top-tier information."

"Okay." Xu Bai responded and then stopped talking, waiting patiently.

About half an incense stick's time later, a man covered in wounds was brought in by two other people.

The man had an ordinary appearance, but his face bore huge scars.

His ears were cut off, his eyes were gouged out, and even his slightly open mouth was missing its tongue.

After the other two people came in, they handed Ying Yue a piece of paper and left.

Xu Bai frowned and said, "He can't hear, he can't see, and he can't speak?"

Ying Yue handed the paper in her hand to Xu Bai and said, "Just say that this thing was taken from him, and that he used a secret technique to make himself unable to see, hear, or speak, and even turned him into a fool."

Xu Bai understood.

Although Ying Yue didn't answer his question just now, everything was already understood without words. The person in front of him was no different from a dead man.

Even a suicide squad member can't guarantee they won't leak information, so the person sent here is basically an idiot.

Xu Bai unfolded the paper in his hand and looked at its contents. "You guys are really generous, sending news from two branches."

Ying Yue did not answer, but her meaning was clear.

How could we obtain information on a top-tier level without paying a huge price? Xu Bai put away the paper in his hand. "I will notify the higher-ups now."

Ying Yue taught him how to send the notification yesterday, so Xu Bai knows how.

"If anyone with special abilities in spirits comes down, I will help you, but I have to go now." Ying Yue said, and quickly disappeared into the shadows.

Seeing this, Xu Bai didn't say anything. After Ying Yue left, he looked at the four people he controlled and snapped his fingers.

The four people in front of me were all lying on the ground, lifeless.

After doing all this, Xu Bai took the paper and went out the door.

He walked through the bustling streets, navigated through alleyways, and finally arrived at a coffin shop.

The coffin shop in front of us was completely out of place with the surrounding noise; it was deserted and almost no one came and went.

After all, they're in the coffin business, which many people find unlucky and therefore avoid.

Xu Bai followed the shopkeeper's actions, took the paper, and went inside.

This is another department of the Dark Building, which does nothing else but handle communications.

As soon as Xu Bai walked in, the middle-aged man at the counter quickly saw Xu Bai, his expression changed slightly, and he continued to look down at the accounts.

Xu Bai walked over, took out a token from his waist, and placed it on the table.

The middle-aged man was slightly taken aback, picked up the token, and examined it carefully.

After looking at it again and again, he bowed and said respectfully, "Please come with me, sir."

Xu Bai nodded and followed behind.

Before long, the two arrived at the backyard and entered a secluded room.

Xu Bai didn't waste any words and stated his purpose. When he said that he had captured a Deadpool and had important information, the middle-aged man was stunned.

However, this sluggish state did not last long.

The middle-aged man quickly realized what was happening and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Congratulations on your upcoming promotion, sir. It's a cause for celebration."

Xu Bai was, of course, well aware of the intricacies involved.

He mimicked the actions expected of someone in this role, waving his hand to indicate that he needed to report to his superiors immediately, and didn't want to say anything more.

The middle-aged man knew he shouldn't say more, so he turned around, first leading Xu Bai into a room and making him sit down, then quickly left.

After the middle-aged man left, Xu Bai sat in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the table as he pondered what to do next.

Next comes the most important part: once the higher-ups arrive and confirm the results on his side, he can be promoted to the next level and receive a Class A report.

The biggest challenge will likely be when the higher-ups send people down; the Shadow Building will definitely not let this go to waste and will certainly help secretly.

Once they received the news, they changed their tune and fled far away.

—Perfect! Thinking this, Xu Bai felt a little more at ease and waited patiently.

Time passed slowly, and then the sound of footsteps approached.

Xu Bai suddenly raised his head and looked towards the door.

The footsteps didn't sound like those of the middle-aged man.

Light and agile.

A voluptuous figure appeared before Xu Bai.

When Xu Bai saw this figure, he almost couldn't control his expression.

Happy New Year