Cultivating with Bragging System

The wall of the secret room suddenly flashed with light and became transparent.

Heh heh heh! You old codger! Now I've finally got some dirt on you, don't I? he thought with a wicked smirk.

The scene inside gradually came into focus before Ouye Feng's eyes. In the next moment, he was utterly dumbfounded.

...

Inside the secret room, Gongshu Wumao was shirtless and drenched in sweat. With one hand moving in a rapid blur, he wielded a large hammer condensed from mana, continuously striking the pieces of Crimson Water Xuan Metal before him. Crimson Water Xuan Metal was an auxiliary material often used for crafting high-grade, water-attribute Magic Artifacts.

But under Gongshu Wumao's swift hammer strikes, the ten pieces of Xuan Gold continuously fused, their impurities being purged as they gradually became one. Immediately after, a brilliant new radiance shot out from before Gongshu Wumao.

"Holy shit!!!"

Ouye Feng pressed himself against the transparent wall, his forehead planted firmly against the cold surface as if trying to get a clearer look.

Xuan Yuan Water Gold Essence! The best primary material for making mid-grade, water-attribute Spiritual Artifacts. How is this possible? Is this old codger performing some kind of magic trick?

He rubbed his eyes and squinted, staring intently, wondering if he was seeing things. But the result was undeniable. As the head of the Artifact Sect, how many materials had he dealt with in his life? Sometimes he didn't even need to look; merely by sensing a material's inherent aura, he could identify it.

That... was definitely, unequivocally Xuan Yuan Water Gold Essence! There was no mistaking it!

But what on earth was going on? That old codger Gongshu Wumao actually fused ten pieces of Crimson Water Xuan Metal into two pieces of Xuan Yuan Water Gold Essence?

SMACK!

Ouye Feng slapped himself. It hurt a little. This wasn't a dream! He was even more dumbfounded now, pressed against the wall as motionless as a gecko.

...

Inside the secret room, Gongshu Wumao trembled with excitement. "Incredible... this is so incredible!" he exclaimed, holding the two pieces of Xuan Yuan Water Gold Essence as if he had reached a new peak in his life.

I succeeded! It really worked! This isn't a dream! The Primordial God Refining Technique is freaking awesome! With this divine art, how could the Manipulation Sect not prosper?

Growing more and more excited, like a child with a new toy, he pulled out another pile of low-grade materials and began practicing the Primordial God Refining Technique again, completely forgetting to eat or sleep.

The Primordial God Refining Technique was, after all, a smithing art from the Primeval Era, with forging principles vastly different from those of the present day. Consequently, Gongshu Wumao was essentially learning from scratch, and his success rate was not high.

When his feel for it was off, he would only succeed once or twice in ten attempts. But as his experience grew, his technique became more adept and masterful. Gradually, he was able to succeed three or four times out of ten.

An unknown amount of time passed. By the time Gongshu Wumao had exhausted the pile of materials before him, he had managed to achieve a fifty percent success rate when fusing low-grade materials.

Gongshu Wumao let out a long breath. "Whew... that kid is a real monster!" he couldn't help but exclaim.

I originally thought that with my level of attainment, delving into this Primordial God Refining Technique would be, if not a complete breeze, at least relatively easy. I figured the gap between Wang Xiu and myself was merely one of genius insight, not of actual ability. But... the deeper I delved into the Primordial God Refining Technique, the more I came to appreciate the immense wisdom it contained. This Primordial God Refining Technique is so damn difficult. Even after studying it for so long, I can only barely guarantee a fifty percent success rate. And that's just for fusing low-grade materials. How on earth did Wang Xiu research and create this from nothing?

However, even with only a fifty percent success rate... one has to remember that once a fusion is successful, the material's value skyrockets by more than tenfold! So even with the loss of some materials, it's still an absolute, bloody profit!

He felt his previous evaluation of Wang Xiu had been too low. Becoming one of the Holy Ancestors? That's not enough to describe him. None of the figures in the historical records who became Holy Ancestors were capable of creating a heaven-defying secret technique like the Primordial God Refining Technique at an age as young as Wang Xiu!

And now, his confidence was soaring higher than ever before. "I'm going to revive the Manipulation Sect, and not even the Jade Emperor himself could stop me!" he declared, his eyes shining with feverish excitement.

Suddenly recalling something, he made a gesture with his hand. A hidden compartment opened not far away, and a spherical object shot out. It hovered in front of Gongshu Wumao, where it began to stretch and deform, transforming in the blink of an eye into the figure of an expressionless woman. She looked so lifelike she was indistinguishable from a real person.

Gongshu Wumao looked at the Puppet, an unprecedented tenderness in his eyes as he gently caressed her face. "Fang," he murmured, "do you know how long I've waited for this day? You'd be happy for me, wouldn't you?"

The Puppet remained silent, but Gongshu Wumao's gaze grew thick with emotion. "You're always like this, silently supporting me from the shadows. Come to think of it, we haven't had a proper chat in a long time. Since no one is here to interrupt us today..."

As he spoke, his hands began to undo his belt.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Just as Gongshu Wumao was getting into the spirit of things, a furious pounding echoed from the door of the secret room. Someone was outside, slamming on it with all their might.

Startled, Gongshu Wumao jumped. He hastily pulled up his belt and shouted irritably, "Who the hell is it?"

He flicked his fingers to form a hand seal, and the wall turned transparent once more. He immediately saw a flustered and enraged figure outside, wielding a large cauldron and repeatedly slamming it against his door! CLANG! CLANG!

"Brother Ouye?" Gongshu Wumao recognized the man and was completely baffled.

What is he doing here?

...

Ouye Feng's current mood was... complicated. He was questioning his entire reality. And then questioning it again. And for good measure, questioning it some more.