Cultivating with Bragging System-Chapter 689 - 336: Tao Battle_1

"I said long ago that I did not want to be the head of this family!"

By the window, the drooping branches of an ancient willow filled Yu Xiaolong's eyes with a verdant, almost unsettling green.

The person outside the window spoke with some displeasure. "Why are you saying this again?"

Yu Xiaolong gave a self-deprecating smile. "I can't even say it? How am I supposed to be the family head?"

The person outside responded, "No matter what, you must always remember that you two… are true brothers. Never let an outsider shake your bond!"

Yu Xiaolong chuckled sardonically. "True brothers… I suppose you're right. After all, my blood flows in his veins!"

"Xiaolong!"

The voice outside suddenly became shrill, losing its pleasant tone as if it had brushed against some great terror.

Yu Xiaolong fell silent for a moment. All emotion drained from his face as he lowered his head to continue reading the Jade Slip in his hand. "Tell him to withdraw all the people around me," he said indifferently. "I'm not a bloodthirsty man, so stop forcing me to do things I dislike… It's happened too many times, and it's getting very annoying!"

Silence fell outside the window.

A long time passed before a sigh was heard. "Understood."

"Thank you, Auntie," Yu Xiaolong said.

Complete silence returned from outside the window.

…

Not far west of Wutong Garden lay an even more elegant courtyard. There were not many flowers or plants here, but the number was just right. They dotted the lawn beside the pebble path, resembling a few lonely stars in a darkening sky.

In the center of the courtyard stood a fountain, its gushing column of water reaching a height of about ten feet. It was crystalline and transparent, refracting the daylight.

Jade Ruyi appeared nearby, standing with his hands behind his back as he gazed at the fountain. "Did you hear all of that?"

SPLASH!

The crystalline currents of water pulsed, gradually coalescing into a human silhouette. Its features were indistinct, but its aura was exceptionally powerful and unique, as if the very world trembled with each of its breaths.

The figure slowly walked out of the water, its form sharpening into that of a young man. He looked unremarkable—neither exceptionally handsome nor ugly. His eyes, however, shone with an intense brightness, as if they held divine spirits, brighter than any star in the night sky.

"He resents me," the young man said, glancing in the direction of Wutong Garden.

Jade Ruyi looked at him. "Sooner or later, he will understand the difficult choices you've made." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Yu Tianlong shook his head. "I detest that sentiment. It always means someone has to endure hardship and resentment… He's bound to hate it, too."

But what did it matter if he hated it? He had to do this. That was the most helpless part of it all.

Jade Ruyi remarked with feeling, "Fortunately… he is also growing. He has done very well over the years!"

A touch of pride finally appeared on Yu Tianlong's face. "Of course. He's my brother!"

Jade Ruyi smiled knowingly.

Only those familiar with Yu Tianlong knew that he always remained calm, no matter how much others praised him. In his own words, with his talent, nothing he accomplished was worthy of shock or exaggeration. It was not a matter of how great Yu Tianlong was; it was simply that the heavens favored him.

It was only when Yu Xiaolong was being praised that this chosen son of the heavens, who had been the focus of the Nine Heavens since birth, would reveal the pride of a young man. Even when the Yu Family's second son was at his most wild and unrestrained, Yu Tianlong would often secretly admire him. My brother has incredible taste. Every woman he picks is more beautiful than the last!

He had never uttered a single word of criticism against him.

Suddenly, Jade Ruyi remembered something and said with a helpless sigh, "Regarding the collaboration with the Yi Clan… from Xiaolong's reaction, it seems he doesn't want to proceed."

The smile on Yu Tianlong's face vanished, replaced by a careless expression. "Then cancel it."

Jade Ruyi said, "The Yi Clan has had a difficult time these past few years. They are being pressed hard by the Xuan Tian Sect and desperately need this shipment… If we cancel the collaboration, their situation will become even worse."

Yu Tianlong's gaze was indifferent. "Then let them suffer. They made my brother unhappy, so why shouldn't they suffer?"

Jade Ruyi looked helpless. If outsiders knew that the two brothers, whose relationship appeared average on the surface and who had rarely even met, were actually this close, they would surely be astonished. If the Yi Clan had known this back then, they would never have acted so ruthlessly, if only out of respect for Yu Xiaolong's connection to Wang Xiu.

But alas, there are no 'ifs'.

Many things could not be said. And given Yu Tianlong's status, there were many things he could not do, lest they lead to even greater trouble. Both Yu Tianlong and his brother despised the phrase "the bigger picture." Yet, the problem was right there, and one of them had to face it.

…

「Celestial Province. The Yi Clan Residence.」

Yi Zhongtian had been toying with a cup of hot tea for a long time but had not taken a single sip. He would occasionally lift his head to look outside, his Divine Sense constantly blanketing the surroundings. What in the world is wrong with the Yu Family? Are they really backing out of such a huge deal?

The thought of the urgent Jade Talismans arriving from the front line these past days made him unable to suppress a wave of anxiety.

Although the Yi Clan was a major clan in the Yaoguang Domain, its members were inherently arrogant, possessing a bone-deep disdain for everything. Over the years, they had accumulated many enemies, and friction with neighboring powers never ceased. Ordinary sects and noble families, intimidated by the Yi Clan's power, dared to feel anger but not to voice it. But those who constantly courted trouble were bound to get burned eventually, and they had provoked a considerable number of powerful opponents over the years.

Fortunately, everything was still under control and had not yet reached an unmanageable point.

Until over a decade ago.

Members of the Yi Clan had clashed with a subsidiary force of the Xuan Tian Sect over the rights to a mineral deposit. This sort of thing was quite common, typically amounting to little more than a minor scuffle. But for some unknown reason, when the Xuan Tian Sect learned their opponent was the Yi Clan, they dispatched a large contingent of Saint Realm experts to the battlefield, their posture suggesting they were prepared for a fight to the death.

The Yi Clan, accustomed to being domineering, was certainly not about to be intimidated. If they backed down, how could they hold their heads high in the future? So, both sides began calling for reinforcements, and the commotion grew larger and larger.

The situation escalated until the Yi Clan sent out an Earth Immortal, hoping to mediate and sit down with the Xuan Tian Sect for a calm discussion. They never expected that the moment the Xuan Tian Sect saw the Yi Clan's Earth Immortal appear, they didn't even wait for him to speak. They immediately sent a Jade Talisman to the Holy Land, requesting to initiate a Dao War.

A so-called Dao War was a conflict where two major powers selected an uninhabited area to battle without restraint until one side emerged victorious or conceded defeat. As long as it was guaranteed not to harm innocents or cause widespread devastation, the Holy Land generally approved such requests.

And so, a Dao War that shocked the entire Yaoguang Heavenly Realm began in this muddled fashion.

With the mineral vein at its epicenter, a region spanning ten thousand miles was transformed into a battlefield. It has been raging for fifteen years.

No one understood. What had gotten into the Xuan Tian Sect? What treasure in that mineral vein could possibly be worth such a desperate struggle?

Only a handful of insiders had a vague inkling of the truth. It was said that when the Saintess of the Xuan Tian Sect, Zhao Qingyu, was awakening an extremely ancient physique, she had unexpectedly developed a Heart Demon. If this Heart Demon was not purged, not only would her cultivation stagnate for the rest of her life, but her very life would be in peril.

And this Heart Demon was faintly connected to the man from the Lower Realm who had been forced into the Savage Wilderness Forbidden Land by the major powers all those years ago.