Cultivating with Bragging System-Chapter 485 - 247: A Killing Frenzy! Nicholas Xiu!_2

Chapter 485: Chapter 247: A Killing Frenzy! Nicholas Xiu!_2

He berated furiously, flinging a parchment scroll to the ground.

Xiang Shan’s head hung even lower, and he remained silent.

"Do you remember? When you were born, the entire clan celebrated, believing you would be the one to lead our Land Demon Clan to new heights of glory. Even the Old Ancestor appeared to baptize you personally! But look at you now! Look at the state of you!"

"Then look at your sixth brother! He was once your inferior, but see how magnificent he is now! He was selected to participate in the Divine Demon Ritual, and our entire Earth Magic Elephant Clan is filled with pride, basking in his glory!"

"Don’t you feel ashamed? If I were you, I’d smash my head against the ground and die!"

Xiang Lou’s tirade grew harsher, his face twisting with rage.

Xiang Shan still said nothing, but his hanging fists clenched tight.

His mind was a swirling mess of chaos.

He remembered his days of glory. His bloodline was the purest the Earth Magic Elephant Clan had seen in centuries. Everyone revolved around him, like stars around the moon.

This was all because his sixth brother had a serendipitous encounter that greatly increased the concentration of his bloodline. In a subsequent clan competition, his brother used disgraceful means to severely injure him, leaving him bedridden for years.

In the Demon Race, there is no distinction between honor and dishonor. Whoever is left standing is the winner.

When it came to cruelty and cunning, he was clearly no match for his sixth brother.

From that day on, his era had ended. The curtain had fallen, and he was surrounded by nothing but mockery and ridicule. This included his father, once so kind, who now found fault in everything he did.

Whenever his father was in a sour mood, he would come to curse, hit, and kick him.

After a long while, having vented his fury, Xiang Lou harrumphed coldly and departed haughtily.

Numbly, Xiang Shan saw his father off.

He returned to his room, intending to do as he always did: compose himself and swallow it all.

Just then, he noticed he was still holding a storybook, which had been crumpled beyond recognition.

Did I forget to burn it?

He tossed it to the ground. A ball of demonic fire coalesced in his hand, ready to incinerate the book.

Suddenly, a few words on the ruined cover caught his eye.

"...a fallen genius?"

He froze, his heart struck as if by a needle. Isn’t this... about me?

As if possessed, a strange impulse drove him to pick up the storybook, smooth it out, and begin reading, page by page.

「Midnight.」

The Minotaur was lying on a crude bed. Having just applied his medicine, he was struggling to rest.

He stared at the ceiling, lamenting his miserable fate.

If only I had an ancestral ring! In a daze, the thought surfaced in his mind. He found himself wishing for an old master to appear and deliver him from his sea of suffering.

Just then, a head popped into view with startling abruptness, its eyes fixed intently on him.

He jumped in fright.

"What in the—" he yelped, raising a fist the size of a sandbag to strike.

But the intruder was impossibly strong. A single palm strike sent him and the bed crashing to the floor. Already severely injured, he opened his mouth to let out a howl of agony, but a hand clamped over it.

"Quiet!"

"M-Master?" He was astonished. The person who had burst into his room in the middle of the night was Xiang Shan.

"Where is the second volume?" Xiang Shan stared at him, his eyes bloodshot, a strange light dancing within them.

"What second volume?" the Minotaur asked, still half-dazed.

"The book! Where is the second volume of the book?" Xiang Shan demanded, nearly hysterical. He pressed down harder, causing the Minotaur’s head to ache with pain. The servant finally understood he was talking about the book that had been confiscated earlier that day.

"I... I don’t have it!" the Minotaur said with difficulty.

"Hand it over, and I, the young master, won’t hold it against you! I can even grant you Precious Medicine to heal your injuries!" Xiang Shan urged hastily.

"I really don’t have it, Master! I couldn’t buy it. They said the author hasn’t written it yet!" Xiang Shan’s offer was tempting, but the Minotaur was helpless. He wanted the next volume, too, but it simply didn’t exist.

Hearing this, Xiang Shan fell silent. After confirming the Minotaur wasn’t lying, he released him, cursing under his breath.

He had finished the first volume of the storybook.

He read it again and again. The more he read, the more obsessed he became, a fire igniting in his heart, surging with battle intent. He felt as if the story was written specifically for him. He was the protagonist.

"Do not scorn a youth for being poor..." Such powerful words!

Unfortunately, the volume was far too short, not nearly enough to satisfy the itch in his heart. He couldn’t focus on his cultivation, let alone get a proper night’s sleep.

「Meanwhile.」

「Hui Meng Bookstore.」

"Boss, any new books you’d recommend?"

"You’ve come at the perfect time! I strongly recommend ’Fighting Fire Cangqiong.’ It’s absolutely splendid. I guarantee you’ve never read anything so good!" The shop owner was brimming with excitement. He had spent several nights rereading the first volume and never grew tired of it. The more he read, the more energized he felt, as if his very spirit had been elevated.

"’Fighting Fire Cangqiong’? What a strange name. Who’s the author?"

"A newcomer named Nicholas Xiu. He might be new, but I’ll make you a promise: if you don’t like it, you don’t pay!" the shop owner declared with fervor.

Hearing this, all the customers in the shop were surprised. The owner had never made such a bold claim. He considered himself a man of letters, and even when hyping his own wares, the most he would say was something like "a rare masterpiece." This kind of enthusiasm was unheard of from him.

"Well, if the boss is saying so, I’ll have a look!"

"We trust the boss’s taste..."

Storybooks were one of the most popular forms of entertainment on Demon Sea Island, second only to the brothels. But most demons weren’t wealthy enough to frequent the brothels, so storybooks remained the most prevalent pastime.

It was still early, and the shop was bustling with customers. Enticed by the owner’s recommendation, many of them started reading right then and there.

"Wow, this story is really original. I’ve never read anything like it before!"

"This is pretty interesting..."

"My blood is boiling! Boss, where’s the second volume?"

Soon, a buzz of discussion filled the shop, one comment following another. It was as if a fire had been lit behind everyone’s eyes, their gazes burning with an intense fervor.

"The second volume isn’t out yet! But you can pre-order it!"

"I’ll pre-order one!"

"Me too!"

"Save a copy for me!"

The scene was incredibly frenetic. As word spread, demon cultivators from all over the city who loved storybooks began to flock to the store, all of them asking for "Fighting Fire Cangqiong."

The shop owner was ecstatic. He rushed to find the men from the printing workshop. "More copies! Print me more copies!"

A workshop employee asked, "How many should we print?"

"One million copies!" The shop owner thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and made the decision.

"One million?" Everyone was stunned, their mouths agape. No one had ever ordered such a massive print run. Wasn’t he afraid of taking a loss?

"Yes, one million!" the shop owner said resolutely. He trusted his own judgment. This "Fighting Fire Cangqiong" was bound to be a blockbuster—an unprecedented blockbuster.

And as expected, as the news spread, "Fighting Fire Cangqiong" went viral. It became known to all, the topic of every conversation. Countless people waited with bated breath, eagerly anticipating the second volume.

「In a private room of a high-end tavern.」

A copy of "Fighting Fire Cangqiong" lay on a table, surrounded by four or five demons, all of them wearing sour expressions.

"I assume you’ve all read this book?" asked an old demon with bluish skin, ram’s horns, and a goatee. His voice was cold and sharp.

"How could we not have? It’s gone absolutely mad!" another, smaller demon said sarcastically.

"I really don’t see what’s so special about this book that so many people enjoy it. Readers today have no appreciation for true art, preferring such shallow material..."

One after another, they chimed in. Their remarks were filled with dismissal for the book, or rather—jealous hatred! 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

They were all well-known authors in the city and had written many popular storybooks. In their day, they had been celebrated, with countless fans. But as soon as this new book appeared, their own works were instantly forgotten. You could leave them on the side of the road and no one would pick them up. The contrast was staggering.

"Regardless of our opinions, the fact is, if this book is allowed to continue, we brothers won’t have a crumb to eat!" the goateed old demon said ominously.

"What do you mean, Brother Gongyang?"

"Only the first volume is out. A second and third will inevitably follow. No matter what, shouldn’t we first find out who our opponent is?"

At his words, the demons exchanged glances. The temperature in the room plunged as a murderous aura filled the air.