The "bellyband," as the name suggests, is a piece of clothing worn by ancient women, commonly known as a chest wrap.
When Xu Que heard the old woman's words, his mind went completely blank.Under the strange, eyebrow-raising gazes of the entire village, he straightened his chest, lifted his head, and strutted forward.The tattered quilt draped over his shoulders was treated as if it were a hero's cloak, flaring out dramatically as he walked with the style of a great general.
After finally managing to distance himself from the village entrance and returning near Xiao Rou's house, Xu Que's face turned red. He lowered his head to glance at his crotch, and suddenly, Xiao Rou's beautiful face and petite figure flashed in his mind.Damn it, no! Stop thinking about it!
Xu Que cursed inwardly, quickly forcing his thoughts away from inappropriate places and pressing down his body's natural reaction.He hurried to a small pond nearby, placing his new clothes on the shore, and with a "splash," jumped into the water.As he washed away the medicinal paste, his thoughts drifted to the system.He focused his mind, opening the system interface. His personal information appeared before him:
"Host: Xu QueRealm: Foundation Establishment Stage 1 (slightly accomplished)Experience: 200/2000Show-off Points: 25Cultivation Method: "Ancient Five Elements Art" - BeginnerProfession: NoneStatus: Prince Consort of the Fire Yuan Kingdom, East Wilderness Continent..."
"Only 25 Show-off Points... when can I get the Intermediate Volume?" Xu Que sighed in his heart and opened the system's shop. His eyes scanned the cultivation methods section.Immediately, he froze.
He had never really paid much attention to the shop's items before, thinking they were too expensive for him to afford.But now, he realized the real reason he couldn't afford the Intermediate Volume of the "Ancient Five Elements Art" wasn't because it was too expensive, but because it was a higher-grade technique, which justified the high price.
The shop's cultivation methods were divided into several tiers, ranging from low to high, following the order of Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.
Yellow-grade techniques averaged 1 to 5 Show-off Points.
Profound-grade techniques averaged 5 to 10 Show-off Points.
Earth-grade techniques averaged 10 to 20 Show-off Points.
Heaven-grade techniques ranged from 20 to 200 Show-off Points.
His current cultivation method, the "Ancient Five Elements Art," was a Heaven-grade technique. The Beginner and Intermediate Volumes each cost 100 Show-off Points, while the Advanced Volume required 200 Show-off Points.Additionally, after the Heaven-grade tier, there were many other locked techniques from even higher levels, though their descriptions were hidden.
Xu Que tried to forcefully access them but received a system message:"Host's permission level is insufficient. This function is not yet unlocked."
"Interesting!"Instead of feeling disappointed, Xu Que became even more intrigued by the system. This meant that there were even more powerful techniques hidden beyond the Heaven-grade level.
He reopened the Yellow-grade section of techniques and started thinking.Although he was practicing the "Ancient Five Elements Art," he still lacked battle-oriented martial techniques, so he needed to find something suitable to practice.
"Solitary Nine Swords? Damn, such a divine technique is only Yellow-grade?" Xu Que was shocked when he saw the first martial technique.But then he quickly realized: the Solitary Nine Swords was a martial technique from a wuxia world, while he was in a xianxia world, so the combat power was not comparable.
Skipping the Yellow-grade section, Xu Que moved on to the Profound-grade section.The first technique he saw was "Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms." It was cheap—only 5 Show-off Points—and the description mentioned that it required inner strength, but when using Fire Yuan Spiritual Energy, its power would be greatly enhanced.
Xu Que's eyelids twitched, and he almost gave in to the temptation, but he restrained himself and continued looking."Frozen Ice Swordsmanship? Hmm, not flashy enough.""Flame Magic?""Triple Flame Blade?""Withered Wood Technique? Thunderous Fist?..."
"Ugh, none of these names are grand enough! How can I show off with these?"After checking several martial techniques, Xu Que shook his head, feeling unsatisfied.Although their power was similar to Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms, he didn't care about that. In this world, the name mattered most. Techniques that were flashy and could be used to show off were the best!
Scrolling further, Xu Que moved on to the Earth-grade section."Lion Tiger Crushing Gold Chant, Flame Splitting Tsunami Saber, What the hell!"He nearly jumped out of the pond.
This system actually sold techniques from a popular novel from his past life, and each one only cost 10 Show-off Points!"I hit the jackpot this time!" Xu Que was ecstatic. He kept scrolling down and was even more stunned.In the Earth-grade section, most of the techniques were from novels where the protagonists trained, and even some of the villainous techniques were for sale.
For example, Flame Splitting Tsunami Saber:
From a certain realm's combat skill, low Earth-grade. When mastered, it could split mountains and cut through waves with a single strike!
Price: 10 Show-off Points.
Three Thousand Thunder Movements:
From a certain realm's body movement technique, low Earth-grade. It had three layers: Thunder Flash, Thunder Instant, and Three Thousand Thunder Movements!
Price: 10 Show-off Points.
Sixfold Movement Technique:
From a certain realm's combat technique, mid Earth-grade. It combined offense and defense, advancing to attack and retreating to defend. There were three stages: Fire Crack, Fire Movement, Six-Fold Fire. When practicing, one had to find a magma lake and move through the magma waves without touching the molten liquid. Only those who could master it would reach the advanced stage.
Price: 15 Show-off Points.
Thunder Origin Technique:
From a certain realm's celestial technique, high Earth-grade. It allowed the practitioner to draw the essence of thunder into their body, rapidly condensing their spiritual power. This technique was extremely overbearing, as only advanced cultivators could withstand the thunder and successfully practice it.
Price: 20 Show-off Points.
Xu Que's mouth dropped open as he scrolled through the different techniques.There were so many powerful techniques from novels that he could use to show off, and just picking any one of them would make him a formidable figure.
However, choosing one or two techniques to practice from this vast selection was no easy decision.After much contemplation, Xu Que finally chose a high Earth-grade martial technique: "Dragon's Roar Nine Changes"!
Why not Flame Splitting Tsunami Saber or Sixfold Movement Technique? The answer was simple—he didn't have enough Show-off Points!After buying the technique, he would still need to buy the necessary weapon (a 尺) to execute the technique, but the cheapest 尺 cost 50 Show-off Points, which was far beyond his current budget.As for Thunder Origin Technique, it was even worse, as it required the arrival of heavenly thunder to practice, so Xu Que ignored it.
Thus, he reluctantly chose "Dragon's Roar Nine Changes" to defend himself for now. After all, there would always be opportunities to buy more techniques later.This technique was incredibly powerful, as it could increase strength exponentially with each change, making it the best choice for self-defense and offense for the time being.
"Ding! Are you sure you want to exchange for 'Dragon's Roar Nine Changes'?""Yes!" Xu Que confirmed.
Whoosh!Immediately, a golden light flashed on his forehead, and he felt a surge of power.When he opened his eyes again, he realized that the skill had been seamlessly integrated into his body—like it was something he had known all his life.
Opening his personal information, Xu Que saw that his status had updated:
"Host: Xu QueRealm: Foundation Establishment Stage 1 (slightly accomplished)Experience: 200/2000Show-off Points: 5Cultivation Method: "Ancient Five Elements Art" - BeginnerSkills: Dragon's Roar Nine Changes (Progress 0%, First Change mastered)Profession: NoneStatus: Prince Consort of the Fire Yuan Kingdom, East Wilderness Continent..."
Xu Que nodded in satisfaction, stroking his chin.The 20 Show-off Points spent were well worth it.As for the remaining 5 Show-off Points, he decided to keep them for now, in case he got injured again and needed to use the healing function.
With the technique settled, Xu Que opened his system inventory, once again filled with anticipation.What would the newly acquired Growth Pack reward him with?