Cultivating with Bragging System-Chapter 488 - 249 The High-Ranking Members of the Demon Race: Find Nicholas! Dead or Alive, We Must See the Body! (5000 words)_1

Chapter 488: Chapter 249 The High-Ranking Members of the Demon Race: Find Nicholas! Dead or Alive, We Must See the Body! (5000 words)_1

The influence of the storybooks grew, creating a massive stir.

"Who exactly is this Nicholas Xiu? His books are truly marvelous!"

"They’re so thrilling! I feel restless and can’t calm down. It makes me yearn for a fierce battle!"

"I’m so envious. The protagonists in his books always have amazing encounters, overcoming stronger opponents and toppling even the most formidable enemies!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Crowds gathered to discuss the tales, clicking their tongues in wonder and fantasizing about being the heroes themselves.

The news soon spread to the surrounding cities. Book merchants from all directions rushed to Three Origins City, seeking out the owner of Return to Dreams Pavilion in hopes of contacting the mysterious Nicholas Xiu.

The man was so elusive that, to this day, no one had seen his true face. The only person who’d had any real contact with him was the owner of Return to Dreams Pavilion.

"It’s not that I’m unwilling to tell you; it’s just that I know very little about Lord Nicholas myself!" the owner of Return to Dreams Pavilion sighed.

"Lord?" A book merchant from the Demon Race raised an eyebrow, seizing on the key word. The others frowned and exchanged glances, realizing this meant Nicholas was, at the very least, a Pureblood Demon with an extraordinary lineage. There were only three great pureblood clans in Three Origins City, so it was easy to make the connection.

"You all misunderstand," the owner of Return to Dreams Pavilion stated with conviction. "While I don’t know his true identity, I can assure you he is definitely not from one of the three great families of Three Origins City!" Although he had only met him a few times, the man’s physical characteristics were completely different from those of the three great families. The Demon Race valued bloodlines above all else, especially among purebloods. Their racial features were a mark of honor that might be concealed but never altered.

Upon hearing this, the crowd grew worried. The trail had gone cold once more.

However, the next moment, they heard the pavilion owner say, "But, while it’s currently impossible to contact the lord, he did say beforehand that anyone else who wants to print his books is free to do so!"

"Is that true?" the crowd asked excitedly, pressing for details. This was the very reason they had come.

"It’s true! However, when it comes to profits, you will only receive a forty-percent share!" the owner of Return to Dreams Pavilion said, his eyes narrowing with a shrewd, business-like smile.

The industry standard was an even fifty-fifty split of all profits between the author and the bookseller. Nicholas, however, had arranged for the pavilion owner to handle all negotiations with other merchants, giving him the extra ten-percent cut. Don’t be fooled by that single share. Given the immense popularity of the works, that ten percent represented an astronomical sum, far surpassing the income from all the other books in his shop combined.

"Deal!"

Without much hesitation, they all agreed. They weren’t fools. Even if the owner of Return to Dreams Pavilion was intentionally exploiting them, giving up a ten-percent share of the profits to gain the right to publish and sell the works of Nicholas Xiu was an absolute windfall.

In the following days, the stir grew even bigger.

Nicholas’s works appeared in all the surrounding cities. The wonderfully diverse and engaging stories instantly captivated countless members of the Demon Race. It wasn’t just the lower-class Foreign Demons; even the typically indolent young masters and ladies of the pureblood clans were utterly enthralled.

Almost everyone was discussing it.

"Who is this Nicholas? I’ve never heard of him before!"

"The person who wrote these stories can’t be ordinary!"

"I heard he’s very mysterious. Many people are looking for him, but it’s hard to even catch a glimpse!"

Gradually, the discussions shifted from the storybooks to the author himself. Everyone was curious about what kind of person Nicholas really was.

"There is nothing I admire more in life than talented demons. If anyone can provide me with information about this Mister Nicholas, the Feather Demon Clan will reward them handsomely!" the Fourth Young Prince of the Feather Demon Clan announced at a grand banquet, in front of countless people.

The Feather Demon Clan was a great clan. Even among the Pureblood Demon Race, they possessed a terrifyingly deep heritage. A True Demon had once emerged from their ranks in the distant past, and though they had since declined, their power remained formidable. The Fourth Young Prince was an especially respected figure among his clan’s younger generation and held considerable sway.

Once these words were spoken, countless demons joined the search for Nicholas. They were motivated by nothing other than the chance to claim the Fourth Young Prince’s reward.

Coincidentally, a similar event occurred in the Swan Demon Clan, another great clan of the Demon Realm. The Thirteenth Young Lady of the clan, known for being habitually haughty and tyrannical, publicly declared, "This Nicholas does indeed have some talent. It would be a shame for it to go to waste in obscurity! Find him and bring him back. This Young Lady wants him to spend the rest of his life writing books only for me!"

The demand was tyrannical, but the reward offered by the Swan Demon Clan was so magnificent it was impossible to refuse.

In addition to these, many similar incidents occurred.

There were simply too many people who wanted to find Nicholas. Some purely admired his work, others wanted to possess the man himself, but even more coveted his moneymaking ability. Each of his books was immensely popular and profitable, enough to make even some of the ancient noble families green with envy.

For a time, Demon Sea Island was swept up in a massive "Find Nicholas" craze, and Three Origins City became the primary focus of the various powers’ investigations.

Strangely, however, a full half-month passed with not a single lead. The man seemed to have appeared from thin air only to vanish just as mysteriously, leaving no trace behind.

"This Nicholas is incredible. So many people searching for so many days... and still not a single trace! It’s as if the man doesn’t even exist..."

"I heard the Thirteenth Young Lady of the Swan Demon Clan flew into a rage and had many people executed. A lot of her escorts and guards have suffered for it, and if there’s no news soon, it’s likely even more will lose their lives!"