Chapter 65: Trash and Chicken Ribs
The next day, after Shi Feizhe finished his morning exercises, he came to visit Kongtong Mountain Market.
The biggest specialty of Kongtong Mountain Market is the martial arts manuals of the Great Cai Dynasty, so it stands to reason that the most numerous shops in the entire market are bookstores, martial arts libraries, and the like.
Names like “Invincible Bookshop,” “Strongman’s Armory,” and “Imperial Secret Library” are all very exaggerated, just to attract passing martial artists.
After all, nobody cares if you brag.
Shi Feizhe even saw a bronze pillar sign standing at the entrance of a bookstore, just like the “spirit fortress” of a commercial plaza he had seen in his previous life.
The bronze pillar was emblazoned with the four golden characters “Sky-Supporting Armory”, shining brightly in the sunlight, blinding Shi Feizhe’s dog eyes.
Besides these shops, there were also shops selling everything needed for daily life, from food and drink to necessities, and even ridiculously expensive inns.
Shi Feizhe came to Kongtong Mountain Market mainly to see if he could buy different versions of the 《True Origin Sword Finger Formula》, and secondly to buy some martial arts manuals to enrich himself.
Some people read manuals to see the power of the techniques, while others read them for the martial arts principles contained within.
Since Shi Feizhe aspired to spread martial arts throughout the land, he needed to either collect martial arts manuals suitable for everyone or create such manuals himself.
Judging from the chaotic state of the Jianghu, it was very likely to be the latter.
He wanted to use the scientific and rigorous thinking methods he had learned in his previous life to develop a cultivation method that everyone could practice.
Everyone can practice martial arts, and everyone can be a hero!
Therefore, it was not a bad thing to read more martial arts manuals. One could learn from others’ strengths to improve oneself, as long as one did not blindly practice incomprehensible manuals.
Before coming, he had already inquired. If it was just copying martial arts manuals, it would not cost much silver.
So, he started from the East Market, visiting every bookstore one by one.
Although the bookstores in the East Market had impressive and cool names, the martial arts manuals were mostly for those below the True Realm.
Manuals for the Blood and Qi Barrier, Essence and Spirit Barrier, and See the Truth Barrier were on shelf after shelf, all available for copying.
Copying a book yourself or reading it through only cost ten wen!
If you directly bought a copy already made by someone else, it was only three hundred to five hundred wen.
It should be noted that copying books was also a time-consuming task. With the prices in Kongtong Mountain Market, anything less than three hundred to five hundred wen would probably not be enough for the copyist to even eat!
As for the Transcendence Realm’s Qi Sea and Celestial Cycle manuals, those were more expensive.
Copying or reading one yourself would cost one tael of silver.
Even so, in Shi Feizhe’s opinion, it was still a bargain.
Martial arts manuals that were hard to come by in other places were readily available in Kongtong Mountain Market.
Although the vast majority were trash or chicken ribs.
They were called trash because the martial arts techniques recorded in the simple and easily deciphered manuals were not only simple but also generally weak in power and easily countered by anyone with a little thought.
For people in the Jianghu, they spent so much resources and energy practicing martial arts. As a result, after practicing, they could not defeat anyone and became punching bags for others.
Wouldn’t that be a waste of time?
Only those who were truly desperate and had no choice would practice them.
For sects and families with inheritances, these things were useless and not as good as their family traditions.
In addition to the overly simple and easily deciphered martial arts manuals, there were also some profound and esoteric manuals.
But because they were too profound, they were incomprehensible!
It would take a lot of time to decipher them, and you might even need to find someone to test the techniques.
With that time and energy, it would be better to directly test the True Realm techniques!
Tasteless to eat, yet a pity to discard, this was what chicken ribs meant!
Therefore, the most valuable things in the entire Kongtong Mountain Market were the True Realm, and even above True Realm, techniques!
True Realm experts were all city lords, or even sect leaders, who could either establish their own sects in the Jianghu or dominate a region and become local overlords.
Once a True Realm manual appeared, regardless of whether it could be understood or not, various forces would secretly fight over it.
Even if they just took it back to use as a table leg support, they could not let others snatch it away!
This was the simple and straightforward thinking of those forces.
Otherwise, if another sect gained a True Realm expert and a True Realm technique, after thirty to fifty years, who knows, they might be able to shit on their heads!
When the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Because these forces fought each other too fiercely, wandering martial artists actually took advantage of the situation a few times.
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So, these forces changed to private transactions to decide the allocation of the manuals.
Their gathering place in the market was the West Market!
The East Market and the West Market were the most realistic portrayal of the Jianghu.
They seemed to be both in the Jianghu, but a small river separated them into two groups!
“Shopkeeper, do you have the 《True Origin Sword Finger Formula》 here?” Shi Feizhe asked as he arrived at a shop called “Invincible Bookshop.”
“Huh?”
The bookstore was not big, only having two storefronts. The rooms were filled with black bookshelves, piled haphazardly with books. The space in the bookstore was very small, only having enough room for people to stand.
The shopkeeper was on a ladder in front of a bookshelf, organizing the books on the shelves. Hearing Shi Feizhe’s words, he suspected he had misheard and couldn’t help but say, “Say that again?”
“Do you have the 《True Origin Sword Finger Formula》!” Shi Feizhe repeated.
“Why would you buy that? My shop has the most complete collection of books in the East Market! Many books in other shops were copied from here!” The shopkeeper said proudly.
“I’m buying it to use as toilet paper!” Shi Feizhe said seriously.
When he asked at the previous bookstores, he was treated like a fool, and everyone gave him strange looks. He had a sudden inspiration: if he said he was buying it to use as toilet paper, no one would give him strange looks anymore.
“Hmm… toilet paper is indeed more expensive than that!” The shopkeeper slowly climbed down from the ladder. He was wearing a blue robe and looked to be in his early forties. He didn’t look like a martial artist, but rather like a scholar.
He cupped his hands and said, “I am Li Wudi. May I know how to address you, brother?”
So, this was how the Invincible Bookshop was invincible!
“Shi Feizhai,” Shi Feizhe said.
He didn’t know which bastard had made him famous, but he had heard the legend of Old Demon Shi several times along the way.
Legend had it that the Old Demon was hated by both humans and ghosts, and he took pleasure in exterminating families and playing with people’s hearts.
It made the name Shi Feizhe stink!
“Is it Feizhai? Nice to meet you, nice to meet you!” Li Wudi said.
Shi Feizhe was already used to the strange accents of the people in this world.
Feizhai it was then!
Better than Dead Fat Otaku!
He said, “Does Brother Wudi perhaps have the 《True Origin Sword Finger Formula》 here?”
“Yes! But I have to look for it. Wait a moment.” Li Wudi moved the ladder to another bookshelf and continued, “No one has asked about that thing for nearly ten years. I don’t know if I can find it!”
“Oh? Did anyone buy it ten years ago?” Shi Feizhe asked.
“Yes! Back then, they didn’t know that this book was only worth using as toilet paper. There were still fools who bought it! Cough, cough…” The dust on the bookshelf was too thick, making Li Wudi choke.
“So, where did this book come from?” Shi Feizhe asked again.
“Of course, someone copied it, and someone sold it!” Li Wudi’s voice came from the ladder.
“A True Realm technique is so rare. Decades ago, there were rumors in the Jianghu that the 《True Origin Sword Finger Formula》 could directly lead to the True Realm, or even higher.”
“Think about it, wouldn’t the entire Jianghu be in an uproar?”
This afternoon, my book will be featured on the Sanjiang list for the first time. I’m so excited!
