Cultivating with Bragging System

"Is that really true?" someone in the crowd asked, their eyes shining as they stared at Wang Xiu with bated breath.

Wang Xiu nodded. "Of course!"

"You’ll keep your word?"

"A gentleman’s promise, once given, can’t be retrieved even by a team of four horses! Naturally, I will keep my word!"

"Are you really not joking?" some still asked in disbelief.

The news simply sounded too unreal.

Wang Xiu smiled. "We of the Divination Sect never make idle jokes!"

The crowd immediately burst into an uproar, and their gazes toward Wang Xiu began to change. They suddenly felt that perhaps their past views on the Divination Sect and Wang Xiu had been somewhat extreme.

The once-detestable Wang Xiu, they now realized, wasn’t so hateful if one looked past their prejudices. In fact, he had a handsome, noble air, eyes like brilliant stars, and the disposition of a celestial banished to the mortal realm. He exuded an aura that made people genuinely want to draw near.

***

「In the Task Hall」

Xiao Qingyu sat behind the counter, her graceful figure leaning slightly forward. She propped her cheek with one hand, her beautiful eyes gazing with a trace of worry at Wang Xiu, who stood amidst the crowd outside. This kid, he can’t be this reckless even if his family owns a spirit stone mine!

Wang Xiu’s "Immortal Sect Loan" required no collateral, and the interest rate was frighteningly low. There were absolutely no measures to mitigate risk. To put it bluntly, even ignoring inflation, if a disciple of the Immortal Sect were to fall on the path of slaying demons and monsters, the loan would unquestionably become bad debt!

And such incidents were far from rare. Everyone knew that the disciples of the Sanqing Immortal Sect had a high mortality rate; they would throw their lives on the line the moment they encountered demons, charging in with ferocious abandon.

If the bad debts pile up, even if his family owns a mine, they won’t be able to sustain such a losing business indefinitely! While Wang Xiu’s actions could greatly ease the tensions between the Divination Sect and the other branches, isn’t this price far too high?

***

The smile on Wang Xiu’s face was as warm as ever, but now, the people read something different in it.

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They saw the bitterness and helplessness of being misunderstood by the world. They saw the feigned ease, an attitude born from being scorned for so long. And beneath it all, a firm, unwavering resolve.

The disciples couldn’t help but reflect on how they had treated the Divination Sect all these years. They had ignored them, treated them with cold contempt. If they ever ran into a member, they felt as though they would be betraying their status as Sanqing Immortal Sect disciples if they didn’t utter a few words of ridicule. Occasionally, they would see Wang Xiu descending the mountain alone for missions and would laugh, cursing that he deserved his solitude.

But upon careful reflection, what had Wang Xiu ever done wrong? The catastrophe of the past had nothing to do with him. He was just a pitiful orphan who had been brought back to Spirit Turtle Peak.

If they put themselves in his shoes, after so many years of such treatment, even if they hadn’t devolved into a twisted, paranoid state of hating all other disciples, they would likely refuse any interaction with them. They would prefer to live out their lives as strangers. Someone more extreme might have even fallen to the demonic path.

Yet, Wang Xiu had done none of that. Instead, he had consistently held to his principles, and this time... he had even brought back such a great blessed land for the Sect.

At this thought, the hearts of many of the more sentimental disciples quivered as they looked at Wang Xiu on the high platform.

If we’re not mistaken, Junior Brother Wang Xiu is only at the Core Formation Realm. In the youngest generation of the Immortal Sect’s disciples, that’s considered elite. But a blessed land is something even Saint Manifestation Stage powerhouses would fight to the death for! It’s impossible to imagine the hardships Junior Brother Wang Xiu must have endured, the inhuman torment he must have suffered, to secure this blessed land from a Demon Cavern for the Sect.

And this blessed land, which he and his master risked their lives to obtain, he didn’t keep for himself. Instead, he took out the Spirit Stones from within it and lent them so generously to his fellow disciples. "Lent," indeed. But with such a ridiculously low interest rate and no need for any collateral, how was it any different from a handout? The amount lent would essentially be the amount returned. Where in the world could you find a loan like this? This is pure charity! This is repaying grievance with virtue! A true great benefactor! Noble! So incredibly noble! Compared to Junior Brother Wang Xiu, we’re nothing but despicable villains!

Thinking this, many of the Elders and disciples who had just voiced their doubts fell silent, their faces flushing with shame. They couldn’t help but want to slap themselves.

Damn it! What was I saying? I really deserve to die!

***

In the crowd, Ji Jinglei’s eyes were bloodshot as he recalled every moment he had spent with Wang Xiu. My junior brother is so easygoing, so bright and cheerful, he makes people instinctively want to be close to him. And his talent is exceptional, no less than my own!

He then recalled all the slander and gossip he had heard about the Divination Sect and Wang Xiu since he was a child. "Scum of the Immortal Sect"? "Shame of Sanqing"? They called him all sorts of vile things. How cruel is it for such words to be aimed at a bright, cheerful young man who has never harmed a soul?

He looked at Wang Xiu on the high platform, still wearing that faint smile. From his appearance alone, one could never tell the terrible things he must have gone through. An immense wave of protectiveness surged in Ji Jinglei’s heart, and before he knew it, tears welled in his eyes.

Blinking back the moisture, he suddenly stepped forward and shouted, "Junior Brother Wang Xiu and I are kindred spirits, and like me, he is a rare prodigy of this world! Not only that, he is my younger sister’s lifesaver! From this day forward, anyone who dares speak a single ill word of Junior Brother Wang Xiu will be my, Ji Jinglei’s, lifelong enemy!"

Hearing this, everyone was shaken. Becoming Ji Jinglei’s enemy wasn’t the most terrifying part. The real issue was his claim that Wang Xiu had saved the life of the little princess of the Thunder Sect. That was a major revelation!

Who didn’t know? Ji Zidian had ninety-eight older brothers, each more formidable than the last. Her eldest brother was over eight hundred years old, a Great Ability of the Emergence Stage! To offend her lifesaver... well, even begging for death would be a luxury.

***

Before the echoes of his voice faded, a sharp clang rang out from the other side of the crowd.

CLANG!

The cry of a sword echoed. Li Longhao drew his greatsword and plunged it into the ground before him, declaring loudly, "Junior Brother Wang Xiu also saved the lives of us three brothers! From this day forth, my life is at his command, and my body is his shield!"

Li Longyou snorted and took a step forward. "I may not be talented, but I am willing to share weal and woe with Junior Brother Wang Xiu, to live and die together! Whoever dares say half a bad word about him is picking a fight with me!"

After speaking, he fiercely thumped Li Longji on the head.

Startled from his nap, Li Longji looked at his two brothers with a dazed expression, then cupped his hands and said, "Same here!"

Everyone: "..."

***

In the crowd, the disciples and Elders who had previously questioned Wang Xiu stepped forward, their faces full of remorse.

"Junior Brother Wang Xiu is magnanimous! We were wrong to judge a gentleman by our own petty standards!"

"We are ashamed. We hope Junior Brother Wang Xiu can find it in his heart to forgive us!"

"..."

Seeing some take the lead, more and more people bowed toward Wang Xiu with guilty expressions, apologizing for their earlier doubts and inappropriate words.

Of course, a few Elders who held old grudges against the Divination Sect merely snorted coldly, flicked their sleeves, and left without another word.