A New Skill

Xu Bai had been ready to pay when he suddenly heard the Bookstore Owner's question and looked at him strangely.

"Are you sure you want this book? Is there a problem?"

How odd. Did buying a book require confirmation in advance?

It wasn't that kind of book, so what was there to confirm? Though he had not looked at the title, he had casually flipped through it and was certain there were no illustrations inside.

Then it was perfectly normal! "Ah, sir, you must take care of your health. At such a young age, you need to know moderation. Back when I was young..." The Bookstore Owner sighed as he spoke.

Xu Bai froze. He subconsciously glanced at the book on the table, and then the corner of his mouth twitched.

Four words were written on its cover—Kidney Strengthening Essentials.

No wonder. No wonder he had been looking at him like that...

Xu Bai took a deep breath and asked again, "How much?"

There was no point arguing. The more one argued over certain things, the less one could explain them.

Besides, nobody knew him here. So what if he had kidney deficiency? "Thirty copper coins," the Bookstore Owner said.

"That expensive?" Xu Bai was stunned.

He finally understood why no one bought books from this bookstore.

That money was enough for several rounds of eating and drinking to his heart's content.

Buy books? Not even dogs would buy them.

"They all cost this much. Otherwise, my bookstore would not be so devoid of customers," the Bookstore Owner said gloomily.

Xu Bai did not want to say more. He handed over the money, picked up the book, and prepared to leave.

Before he had taken two steps, he suddenly stopped and turned back. "Boss, about how often do you get new books here?"

"My place..." The Bookstore Owner thought for a moment. "Once a month, I suppose. The court places great importance on reading. Aside from the first shipment, later batches can be exchanged for free. You can do it every month."

The Great Chu Kingdom valued martial arts, but it also valued literature.

The Emperor especially valued the education of the common people. That was why even a small county town had a bookstore.

"Boss, replace all the books in your shop next time. I'll come back next month. If there's anything I like, money won't be an issue." Xu Bai stepped closer and slipped him a piece of broken silver.

Since he could find things here that triggered his comprehension, Xu Bai naturally would not let the opportunity pass.

New books came in every month, and they could even be exchanged, so he might as well replace them all with new ones.

The Bookstore Owner was stunned. Then, without a word, he put the silver away and smiled as he nodded.

The two agreed on a time. When Xu Bai left, the Bookstore Owner was still standing at the entrance, waving him off.

In these times, it was the first time anyone had slipped him money. The Bookstore Owner was in high spirits.

After obtaining Kidney Strengthening Essentials, Xu Bai had no mood to keep wandering around. He put the book into his bundle and headed home.

Along the way, he pondered the matter.

None of the other books had triggered the comprehension progress bar. Only Kidney Strengthening Essentials had. Did that mean the other books had no value worth triggering?

Xu Bai thought it over and over, and this was the only conclusion he could reach.

"In any case, I'll comprehend this book first."

He stopped dwelling on it and quickened his pace toward home.

After winding through street after street, Xu Bai finally stopped in front of a house West of the City.

The house looked old, but it was an inheritance left to him by the original owner's maternal uncle.

He fumbled around his waist, pulled out a key, and opened the front gate.

"Creak..."

With the teeth-grinding sound of wood, Xu Bai pushed open the door. There was none of the moldy smell he had expected.

The room was clean and tidy. The original owner had also been a neat person and cleaned often.

Familiar with the place, Xu Bai shut the door, found a chair, and sat down. He could not wait to take out Kidney Strengthening Essentials.

Though the name was a little embarrassing, it was good enough that it could trigger comprehension.

His kidneys were perfectly fine. It was enough that he knew that himself.

Besides, there was nothing wrong with learning a few methods to nourish the kidneys.

As the saying went, when a man reached middle age, he had no choice but to soak goji berries in his thermos.

Though Xu Bai was still young, he still needed to take good care of his kidneys.

His eyes fixed on Kidney Strengthening Essentials, and the progress bar advanced very slowly.

Compared to the prison, the progress bar was much slower.

As he stared and stared, Xu Bai grew bored.

"Maybe... I should read it?"

He swore he was not reading it because there was something wrong with his kidneys.

He was just too bored. The bar would rise whether he stared at it or read it carefully, so he might as well pass the time.

With that thought, Xu Bai opened the book.

Once he started reading, he could not tear his eyes away.

He turned the pages slowly, reading them with great care.

"So it can be done like this."

"Hm? This movement can strengthen the kidneys?"

"Sleeping in this position before bed can cure kidney yin deficiency?"

As Xu Bai read, he could not help nodding repeatedly, occasionally letting out a remark of surprise.

He really was just curious.

The descriptions inside were vivid and lifelike, yet made perfect sense. It was nothing like the dry boredom of other books.

As he read, Xu Bai had another realization: kidneys truly needed to be cared for properly, and handiwork should be done less often.

Reading was an excellent way to kill time, especially when one read seriously.

Xu Bai even forgot about the progress bar. Only when a line of text appeared before his eyes did he realize it was full.

You observed Kidney Strengthening Essentials and comprehended the Kidney Hammering Technique.

Xu Bai was stunned. What kind of thing was the Hammering Kidney Method? Before he could react, streams of information flooded into his mind, and then the blue panel before him changed.

Name: Xu Bai.

Realm: Ninth-Rank Martial Artist.

Bone Severing Blade Technique (Tier 1): Max Level.

Bone Severing Heart Sutra (Tier 1): Max Level.

Kidney Hammering Technique (Tier 1): Max Level.

Comprehension: Max Level.

"They're both Tier 1, but the Kidney Hammering Technique took longer than the Bone Severing series. It seems even within the same tier, there are differences in rank." Xu Bai stroked his chin and came to a conclusion.

He felt exhilarated.

It was like encountering a peerless beauty removing her makeup.

With every layer she removed, the thrill rose higher.

There were only two words for exploring his cheat ability.

—Thrilling.

Once his excitement gradually faded, Xu Bai finally focused on his new ability.

Kidney Hammering Technique. A terrible name, at least in Xu Bai's opinion.

But sometimes, reality was even worse.

The reason was simple: the Kidney Hammering Technique really did hammer the kidneys.

Xu Bai raised a hand. The True Qi within him began to circulate, and then, using a method of exertion incomprehensible to ordinary people, he struck the area of his left kidney.

The True Qi in his body grew stronger by a fraction, crashing wildly about within him.

"It can temporarily increase the amount of True Qi. It's equivalent to a burst of power." Xu Bai withdrew his hand and thought to himself.

It took a full incense stick of time before the True Qi in his body gradually faded away.

That was only from hammering one kidney. If he hammered both sides at once, it would be even stronger.

Though the name was distressing, the effect more than made up for it.

"Right, I remember the side effect was weakness for half an hour."

He had been too excited just now and tried it without a second thought. Only now did he remember that the skill had a negative effect.

Xu Bai stood up, his steps unsteady.

He walked to the table, picked up the bronze mirror on it, and looked at his pale face reflected within. Then he silently put it down.

"In any case, don't use it lightly."

Being weak for half an hour was one thing. More importantly, he did not want people to truly think he had kidney deficiency.