Cultivating with Bragging System

He was one of the few who had survived the great war eight hundred years ago.

Although he never said it aloud or even admitted it to himself, he truly lived in the shadow of those past events. Perhaps even he didn’t know how profound the psychological impact and trauma of that battle had been.

He frantically sired children. He did it to deceive himself, believing that as long as their numbers grew and the Thunder Sect rose again, they could restore their former glory. He thought that even if another great war broke out, they couldn’t possibly be completely wiped out.

But now, after an experience that had nearly led to his demonic corruption, Ji Yan’s heart had grown heavy.

The Demon Race was strong—unfathomably rampant and terrifying.

The Sanqing Immortal Sect had been so glorious back then, yet it was still shattered to pieces. So much so that even after eight hundred years, the memory still stirred a tremor of denial in his heart that he refused to acknowledge.

Now that he had entered the Saint Manifestation Stage, his strength had surged. Yet, he also understood more profoundly just how terrifying those demons truly were.

Plenty of Saint Manifestation Stage experts from the Sanqing Immortal Sect had fallen in that war.

They weren’t strong enough! Far from it!

The higher he ascended, the deeper his unease grew. He didn’t know when the next great war would start, nor if the Sanqing Immortal Sect would even have a sliver of a chance at survival when it did. All he knew was that their step-by-step development was too slow. His disciples weren’t growing fast enough. They had to be faster, much faster!

「...」

A life-or-death battle was the best crucible for tempering a person.

That was why Ji Yan hadn’t intervened, nor had he allowed Venerable Wuji to do so. Letting Xiang Tiange and the others handle the few Venerables from the Demonic Path was perfect. It was enough to put them under pressure, but not so much that they stood no chance. Moreover, in a battle of this caliber, Ji Yan could maintain perfect control over the entire battlefield, ensuring no unexpected situations arose. It was the perfect training ground.

But clearly, Ji Yan had miscalculated. He had never expected that a turncoat was hidden among the disciples of the Hehuan Sect! The traitor had kept silent the entire time, only to suddenly strike, killing the Seventh Elder of the Ghost King Sect with a single sword stroke! Even the man’s Nascent Soul wasn’t spared.

What shocked Ji Yan the most was that the disciple’s disguise had completely evaded his own senses. One must understand, he was now a powerhouse at the Saint Manifestation Stage, not some lowly cultivator at the Emergence Stage! The gap between them was larger than his total number of children.

How bizarre!

Moreover, the youngster claimed to be a disciple of the Sword Sect, but the Wind-Thunder Talisman Sword Art that had eradicated the Seventh Elder’s Nascent Soul was clearly a Thunder Sect technique. Furthermore, his mastery of this sword art was exceptionally high, bordering on perfection—far more skillful than his hundred or so good-for-nothing children.

Ji Yan quickly thought of Wang Xiu, that prodigious monster who had learned the Heavenly Calamity Curse in just five days.

He couldn’t help but feel dejected. Is the Thunder Sect cursed? Why is it that the ones most proficient in our Thunder Techniques aren’t even disciples of the Thunder Sect?

「...」

With the Seventh Elder’s death, the Demonic Path was down one Venerable-level powerhouse, and the situation instantly shifted. The immense pressure on the Sanqing Immortal Sect disciples eased considerably. Lu Longshe was freed up to join forces with Huang Yunchong against Venerable Yu Jiao. Taking advantage of the defensive Formation, the two of them working together actually managed to suppress her.

"We can’t drag this on any longer!" Venerable Yu Jiao cried out, her eyes glinting coldly. "Stop holding back! End this quickly!"

Venerable Golden Lion and Venerable Red Tiger exchanged a glance and nodded. The situation was no longer in their favor. Most critically, the assassin hiding in the shadows was like a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. They had no idea when he might spring out and strike them. The sense of crisis was overwhelming.

It’s true that the more powerful a secret technique, the steeper the price. We can be reasonably sure that his previous two strikes were his limit; he can’t possibly unleash an attack like that again. But... what if he can? If we delay any longer, who knows what will happen. We might all be trapped here. And that would be the end of us!

"Prison of Myriad Demons!"

Venerable Red Tiger’s pupils blazed with a bloody light. As his hand signs changed, an overwhelming Demonic Qi swirled around him, conjuring an endless array of cages that descended from the sky. Behind him, a gigantic, blood-colored demonic tiger phantom stood tall, letting out a powerful howl to the sky. In that moment, the entirety of Limitless City began to tremble, and countless people were knocked unconscious by the shockwave.

He had already burned his Essence Blood. This attack had to succeed. This night has been far too humiliating! It’s time to end this!

At the same time, Venerable Yu Jiao and Venerable Golden Lion unleashed their ultimate techniques.

"Soul Devouring Extinction!"

Venerable Yu Jiao’s robes fluttered as dense, terrifying Demon Patterns spread across her face. Her once-delicate and charming features became twisted and horrifying as a thick black aura emanated from her body. Behind her, a giant, pitch-black vortex appeared. As it spun, it emitted a grating, piercing screech like the wailing of a million ghosts, powerful enough to tear a person’s spirit to shreds.

Venerable Golden Lion’s hair whipped about wildly as he raised his hands. Two huge yellow tornadoes materialized behind him, seemingly powerful enough to rip through space itself as he flung them toward the disciples.

"PERISH!"

「...」

"Not good!"

"Watch out!"

Li Zuoyue and the others paled and huddled together, their expressions incredibly grim. Their spirits instantly plummeted. A Demon Lord was a Demon Lord, after all. Their techniques were on a completely different level from ordinary demon cultivators. The three of them were attacking together, heedless of the cost.

Can we withstand this attack? It’s too risky! Follow current novels on novelFirｅ.net

At that critical moment, an imperceptible, invisible ripple spread out from the void.

HUM!

In an instant, Venerable Yu Jiao’s pupils flew wide and her body shuddered. "Achoo!"

Venerable Golden Lion: "Achoo!"

Venerable Red Tiger: "Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"

With a few consecutive sneezes, the Demonic Qi they had condensed instantly dissipated. Their secret techniques... had been interrupted!

Venerable Yu Jiao stared with wide eyes. Venerable Golden Lion looked as though he had seen a ghost. Venerable Red Tiger’s mind was filled with question marks.

What’s going on? Where’s my ultimate move? My huge, awesome ultimate move?!

The sneezes had forced their ultimate moves to fizzle out.

The disciples of the Sanqing Immortal Sect were also stunned.

"What’s going on?" Li Zuoyue asked, puzzled.

"They... seem to have interrupted their own Demonic Techniques," Lu Longshe said uncertainly.

"A mistake?" Xiang Tiange frowned.

"Perhaps!"

"Then what are you all standing around for?" Li Longhao roared, hefting his heavy sword. "They’re vulnerable! Let’s take them down!"

「...」

All powerful moves had a cooldown period. Simply put, the stronger the technique, the greater the strain on the body. If it failed to launch the first time, there was no way they could use it again so soon.

Faced with this predicament, Venerable Yu Jiao and the others felt a growing sense of urgency and unease. This is bad! We have to get out of here, now!

RUMBLE!

Almost simultaneously, the three Venerables burned their Essence Blood. Their auras skyrocketed as their Realms momentarily surged, approaching the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage. The other Demonic Path cultivators followed suit. In an instant, a sinister Demonic Qi blotted out the sky. Not a single ray of light could pierce the gloom, making the entire city feel as if it had been plunged into hell.

Furthermore, the Demon Cultivators’ fighting style turned savage. They abandoned all defense, opting to trade injury for injury. Venerable Golden Lion and the others even went so far as to sacrifice their own subordinates in kamikaze attacks, forcing Li Zuoyue and their group into a steady retreat.

The situation had suddenly become precarious.

「...」

From the void, Ji Yan watched this unfold and snorted softly.

Mutual destruction? In your dreams!

The battle had reached a point where the trial should be coming to an end. With that in mind, he flicked his sleeve, preparing to intervene, annihilate a few Demon Lords, and remind everyone of his presence.

However, just at that moment, the stirring, majestic notes of a zither suddenly rose into the night sky. The swirling melody sounded like the clash of steel and the call to arms. It was filled with deafening, impassioned war cries, and faintly, one could hear the roars of dragons and tigers thundering from the heavens, bolstering their resolve.

The disciples of the Sanqing Immortal Sect were all jolted. They felt their mana flow more smoothly as their fighting spirit surged like a rainbow, and their eyes began to gleam with brilliant light. Every single one of them became as fierce as a dragon or a tiger, their will to fight soaring to the heavens!

Ji Yan was taken aback. Is this... the Mountain and River Hundred Battles Song?

His gaze shifted to a nearby rooftop. There, under the moonlight, sat Qin Guangling, the chief disciple of the Sonic Sect. He played his zither with a serene smile on his face.

"Who says we have no robes? I will share my cloak with you," he called out. "My friends, listen now to the dragon’s roar!"