Cultivating with Bragging System-Chapter 597 - 279: Zhao Qingyu: You Owe Me Another Good Deed_2

Yu Changhe sipped his tea and chuckled. "Brother Wu, why the anger? Since Nephew Wu Ming is so highly regarded by that individual, he must have been given something to protect his life. It's good that he's unharmed. As for the rest, it's all trivial. Experiencing a few setbacks in life is always a good thing!"

The Wu Clan expert narrowed his eyes and glared at Yu Changhe, huffing, "Easy for you to say. It wasn't your young master who got kicked!"

Yu Changhe spread his hands. "I actually wish my second young master had been the one kicked. That way, he could be tempered a bit and learn a lesson. But alas, my second young master is useless at everything except making friends. I'm quite helpless about it!"

The Wu Clan expert was speechless. "!!!"

The others also wore strange expressions, unable to stop themselves from glancing at Yu Changhe.

Is that helplessness? That's just showing off, isn't it?

A brief silence fell over the room.

Suddenly, someone offered an objective opinion. "That boy, Wang Xiu, is indeed extraordinary. Nephew Wu Ming couldn't defeat him even after opening Emperor Wu's Miraculous Door. And from the looks of it... it seems Wang Xiu was still holding back!"

"Perhaps he has some method to resist the Dragon Emperor's oppressive aura!" another added.

"I am more inclined to believe that possibility."

The experts began to discuss among themselves, feeling that Wang Xiu likely held significant secrets. After all, the contest between Wang Xiu and Wu Ming wasn't a true battle. There were too many potential external factors.

"Let's wait and see," an amiable old man in the crowd spoke up suddenly. "I have a feeling we might reap an unexpected surprise from this trial!"

He was dressed in a Confucian robe and held a half-unrolled book. His demeanor was incredibly refined, his eyes were clear and pure, and he radiated a calming presence.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression shifted subtly. They couldn't help but turn to the old man. "Confucius, are you interested in this Wang Xiu?"

The old man simply smiled and said nothing.

***

"So this is Longhuang Island?"

Before Wang Xiu stood a high cliff, a waterfall cascading down from its peak. The white spray blotted out the sky as countless rays of celestial light descended like an inverted river of stars. The Spiritual Energy here was far richer than in the outside world, even more concentrated than the Ancient Sanctuary had been. Divine light shimmered everywhere, and fine trees grew in lush abundance. As far as the eye could see, exotic, fragrant, and rare treasures bloomed, constantly pulsing with essence. The scene was breathtakingly beautiful, like a corner of the Immortal Realm.

"HUFF—I'm dead tired! Brother Wang, you run way too fast! You didn't even wait for me!" a familiar voice called out from behind.

Wang Xiu turned to see it was Yu Xiaolong. He was currently drenched in sweat and panting heavily, looking completely drained. The moment he set foot on the island, he collapsed onto the ground without any regard for his image, took out a handful of elixirs, and poured them directly into his mouth, chewing them like candy beans.

After a long moment, he finally recovered and began to complain, "Brother Wang, you two were moving so fast I couldn't even hope to catch up..." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Wang Xiu stared at him with a faint smile. "You weren't slow either! I thought it would take you at least half an hour to get here!"

Although he himself hadn't used his full strength, that punk Wu Ming had genuinely sprinted with all his might and paid a considerable price for it. Yet this fellow, Yu Xiaolong, had arrived not much later, only appearing a bit tired.

Yu Xiaolong waved a dismissive hand. "I wouldn't dare lag behind. Don't be fooled just because I'm a young master of the Yu Family. There are plenty of people here who'd love to see me make a fool of myself! If I don't stick close to you, who knows what might happen..."

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Wang Xiu asked.

Yu Xiaolong chuckled. "Be more confident and drop the 'is it'! Although I, this young master, have always been widely acquainted and friendly, never one to make enemies easily... this world is full of people who can't stand to see others doing better than them!"

[Ding!]

[Detected someone boasting nearby. Congratulations to the Host for gaining Mana +999!]

Wang Xiu laughed. "Jealous of the rich?"

Yu Xiaolong grunted. "They're jealous of me for everything. Some say I'm nothing, that I was just born lucky, and then they resent me for all sorts of things. You probably wouldn't believe it, but since I was a child, at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, people have wanted to kill me for such absurd reasons. It's a good thing I'm hard to kill!"

Wang Xiu chuckled softly and said no more.

A short while later, Yu Xiaolong recovered his strength. He stood up, scanned his surroundings, and then fixed his gaze on the top of the cliff. "Is the path up there?"

Wang Xiu slowly shook his head, staring at the center of the waterfall. "It's below."

Yu Xiaolong followed his gaze and saw it. Behind the cascade of water, there was a faint shimmer of light, like an ancient rune branded upon a massive gateway.

"Is this a seal?"

"It should be..." Wang Xiu said, his eyes narrowed slightly.

The rune was severely damaged, and it was clear its creator had been in a great hurry. The seal was exceptionally crude. Despite this, it had existed for countless years and still emitted a soul-trembling aura.

Yu Xiaolong's expression grew excited as he rubbed his hands together. "This seal must have been placed by Dragon Emperor Ao Lie when he fell... To think he still remembered to seal this place in such a dire moment. The Origin of Zhulong must be behind that gateway! Brother Wang, it's just the two of us now. Should we go for it? Maybe we can just take the Origin of Zhulong right now!"

Wang Xiu shook his head, his face grave. "It's not that simple. It is, after all, a seal left by a Quasi-Emperor. No matter how damaged, how hastily made, or how many ages have passed, it's not something we can easily break."

He used the Supreme Sensing Chapter to observe it carefully, confirming that with his current Cultivation Level, it would be impossible to breach the seal alone.

"Let's wait," Wang Xiu said. "We'll see what happens after everyone else arrives."

Yu Xiaolong's face fell with disappointment. "We have to wait for them? Then why did we rush to get here in the first place?"

Wang Xiu only smiled faintly and didn't reply. If not for the incident with Wu Ming, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to reach the island. He had already noticed that the Proud Children of the Nine Heavens from extraordinary backgrounds had all remained calm, carefully preserving their strength instead of sprinting ahead like Wu Ming. Clearly, they knew something about Longhuang Island and concluded that arriving first offered no significant advantage. Otherwise, they would never have been so composed.

Thinking of this, Wang Xiu couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yu, didn't your family provide you with any information? Do you really know nothing about Longhuang Island?"

Hearing this, Yu Xiaolong hesitated, looking a bit embarrassed. "Well, they did, but... before I met you, Brother Wang, I had no expectations for Longhuang Island. I didn't even look at the information, figuring I'd just show up and go through the motions..."

The corner of Wang Xiu's mouth twitched. He decided not to say anything more.

***

Before long, the other Proud Children of the Nine Heavens began to arrive.

The first to appear were several that Wang Xiu didn't recognize, but their auras were powerful and their Realms were exceptionally high. Upon landing on the island, they couldn't help but size him up, their expressions complex.

Among them, a pure-looking girl in pigtails studied Wang Xiu with curiosity before walking up to him. "Hello!"

"Hello, miss," Wang Xiu replied with a smile.

The girl, her large eyes full of spirit, blinked and asked, "Did you really defeat Wu Ming? How did you do it?"

Wang Xiu gave a placid smile. "A bit of luck, I suppose."

She pouted. "You're not being honest. That Wu Ming guy is no pushover. There's no way it was just luck."

Wang Xiu smiled and was about to speak when one of the men accompanying the girl stepped forward and pulled her back. "My apologies," he said apologetically. "My sister is young and doesn't know any better. Please forgive her presumption."

Wang Xiu waved his hand, indicating it was no trouble.

A moment later, the faint sound of a whispered conversation drifted over from a distance.

"How many times have I told you not to speak so freely?"

"What did I say?"

"Stay away from him. Offending Wu Ming means offending the Wu Clan. The karmic debt is too great!"

Wang Xiu sat on a waterside stone, his expression unchanged, as if he had heard nothing, letting the wind blow past him, unperturbed.

***

Gradually, the area grew crowded. He spotted a few familiar faces, like Zhao Qingyu. Wang Xiu didn't see Zhang Zhong and the others; perhaps they had taken his advice and left. However, many who had traveled with them were still here, clearly intent on trying their luck.

Wang Xiu said no more. Everyone makes their own choices.

"Wu Ming won't die so easily! He's protected by a measure left by the Wu Clan Ancestor!"

A soft voice, gentle as a breeze, reached Wang Xiu's ear.

He looked up and met Zhao Qingyu's gaze. She was also looking his way and blinked playfully, her eyes seeming to say, "Another bit of good karma!"