"Master... Master, I... I don’t have a Nourishing Divine Pill!"
When Jiang Ruoxu uttered these words, his entire body bent over, resembling a defeated dog with its spine ripped out.
Apart from the System... who in this mundane world could possibly possess a Nourishing Divine Pill?
Forget the Nourishing Divine Pill—even a Soul-Nourishing Pill was considered a supreme treasure on present-day Blue Star. A perfect-grade Nourishing Divine Pill was so rare that it would rank among the top-tier elixirs even in some cultivation realms.
Only the System could save his master, but now even that last sliver of hope had completely vanished.
[What? It’s gone?]
Mo Lianxing instantly panicked!
[You wretched disciple, this is no joking matter! Don’t you have a System?]
Mo Lianxing was clearly different from most masters—she didn’t want to die!
Hearing this, Jiang Ruoxu felt even more ashamed.
He broke down into uncontrollable sobs, helplessly falling to his knees. "Master... your disciple is useless. The System has run out of perfect-grade Nourishing Divine Pills. Only the supreme-grade ones are left now..."
"But... but a supreme-grade Nourishing Divine Pill costs 5 million Pretend Points. I only have 1 million..."
Mo Lianxing froze for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
After a long silence, a soft sigh escaped her.
It carried a hint of resignation, yet one could still detect a trace of unwillingness beneath it.
"Such is fate. I don’t blame you, my disciple."
Mo Lianxing’s translucent figure flickered, growing even more ethereal.
She didn’t want to die. There were still so many things left undone, so many grudges left unavenged. To perish like this... it was truly unbearable.
But there was no other way. After all, she was a master—she couldn’t stand by and watch Jiang Ruoxu suffer.
"No—there must be another way!"
Jiang Ruoxu wailed in despair. The inner energy within him surged violently, and without realizing it, he broke through another martial realm, advancing to the late-stage Grandmaster level. His martial domain expanded hundreds of meters, and though he was only a late-stage Grandmaster, the pressure he exuded rivaled that of a peak Grandmaster.
And Jiang Ruoxu was only 16 years old. A 16-year-old late-stage Grandmaster was something unimaginable even in the ancient martial world of the past.
"System! System, get out here! I want to buy a supreme-grade Nourishing Divine Pill—lend me 4 million Pretend Points! I’ll pay you back tenfold, no—a hundredfold! I’ll repay you with 400 million Pretend Points!"
But the only response was a cold, mechanical voice.
[This System does not offer credit.]
"Can’t I just borrow it? You won’t even accept a hundredfold repayment?" Jiang Ruoxu protested bitterly.
Just then, the void trembled.
"Who needs a loan?" A booming voice rang out as Loan Hero, clad in a blue suit and red tie, made a flashy entrance!
"You... how did you appear?" Jiang Ruoxu was terrified, his eyes wide with shock.
[What the... how did he get here?] Mo Lianxing was equally stunned—even she hadn’t noticed his arrival.
"You... what do you want?" Jiang Ruoxu asked, his voice trembling. Was this middle-aged man some kind of manifestation of his System?
Loan Hero smiled warmly. "Hand me your phone."
"I... I don’t want money. I need System Points. Do you have System Points?" Jiang Ruoxu sounded as naive as a child.
"System Points? You’re a Chosen One?"
Jiang Ruoxu didn’t know what a Chosen One was, but his heart skipped a beat—he had just exposed his greatest secret.
"System Points? You can borrow those too!"
"I can help you top up System Points, but repaying them might be... complicated. It involves major karma. Hand me your phone—fill out this form and sign the waiver..."
Jiang Ruoxu was dumbfounded. System Points could be topped up by someone else?
This was downright insane!
"Here... take it. Can you top up 4 million points for me? I’ll be forever grateful!"
Jiang Ruoxu handed over his phone. Loan Hero took it and fiddled with it for a moment.
But suddenly, his expression twisted in horror.
"Holy—there’s something unclean here!"
The next second, Loan Hero vanished without a trace.
Thud! The phone fell to the ground, nearly shattering into pieces.
Jiang Ruoxu: "..."
Mo Lianxing: "..."
As expected—outsiders couldn’t be relied on!
Left with no choice, Jiang Ruoxu turned his hopes back to his System.
"System, I’m begging you..."
[...]
"Then at least give me a solution! Please!"
Jiang Ruoxu was an immensely proud Son of Destiny. Aside from the occasional setbacks he faced against Jiang Che, when had he ever been this desperate?
[1 million Pretend Points.]
Jiang Ruoxu froze for a second before erupting in wild joy.
As long as the System had a solution, there was still a way to strive for it.
"I’ll pay! Just tell me the method! Hurry!"
[Look at you, always in such a rush.]
Jiang Ruoxu: "..."
How could he not be in a rush? His master’s soul was on the verge of dissipating—in this state, she might not even last three days.
[Ding! Host has spent 1 million Pretend Points to acquire information. System is scanning for the optimal solution...]
[Ding! Search complete!]
[Tip: Your family.]
Jiang Ruoxu: "???"
Jiang Ruoxu frowned. His family?
Did it mean his grandfather, Jiang Yunhuang? But the old man was only at the Sky-Shattering Realm—how could he possess such a treasure? Unless he’d been hiding something?
Once, Jiang Yunhuang had been Jiang Ruoxu’s greatest idol, the undisputed strongest in the ancient martial world of Dragon Country, a peak Grandmaster.
But now, with the guidance of his "big sister" in the ring and the System as his golden finger, Jiang Ruoxu’s horizons had broadened. His once-idolized grandfather was now a relic of the past.
"Then who could it be?"
"Damn System, I paid for this—stop speaking in riddles!"
Jiang Ruoxu was frantic.
The System wasted no more time and coldly delivered two words:
[Jiang Che.]
In an instant, Jiang Ruoxu’s expression stiffened.
"Jiang Che?"
How could it be him?
But after a moment’s thought, it made sense. His older brother did possess extraordinary abilities, and it seemed Jiang Che also had a master of unfathomable origins.
Even his own master, Mo Lianxing, had spoken highly of Jiang Che.
Suddenly, Jiang Che became his only lifeline.
"Master! There’s still someone who can save you—there’s still hope!" Jiang Ruoxu exclaimed excitedly.
"You mean... your brother, Jiang Che?" Mo Lianxing said.
"Yes! He seems to have a master with an incredibly mysterious background. If I beg him... he’ll definitely help!"
Mo Lianxing fell silent but didn’t respond.
Her impression of that young man, Jiang Che, was deeply etched in her mind. The day he casually pulled out a supreme-grade Marrow-Cleansing Pill had nearly given her a heart attack!
Generally speaking, while Body Tempering Pills are quite common, an alchemist capable of refining them to supreme-grade is undoubtedly a top-tier master—one who might truly possess something like a Soul Nurturing Pill.
Mo Lianxing’s heart, which had already sunk into despair, reignited with hope.
“I’ll call Brother Jiang first and ask.”
Suppressing his excitement, Jiang Ruoxu shakily pulled out his phone and dialed.
On the other end, Jiang Che had been waiting for this call for a long time.
That’s right—the mastermind behind everything was none other than Jiang Che!
Even Jiang Ruoxu’s system had been a gift from him. Playing with Jiang Ruoxu was child’s play for Jiang Che.
He could mess with the kid precisely because Jiang Ruoxu was gullible. No matter how blatant Jiang Che was, Jiang Ruoxu would never connect the system to him.
After all, Jiang Ruoxu was naive and easy to fool. If it were someone like Zhou Fan… Jiang Che wouldn’t dare pull such tricks. Zhou Fan was too sharp—the slightest hint of suspicion would put him on high alert.
...
“Brother, what are you up to?”
Jiang Ruoxu’s voice wavered with hesitation and nervousness the moment the call connected.
Mo Lianxing’s soul form, hidden within the ring’s space, eavesdropped anxiously.
“Out with it. What do you want from me this time? You never call me ‘brother’ unless you need something.”
Jiang Che’s lazy voice carried through the phone, making Jiang Ruoxu flush with embarrassment.
“Brother… are you free lately?”
After stammering for a while, Jiang Ruoxu managed to blurt out the most useless question.
[I swear, disciple, could you stop wasting time and just ask him directly?]
Mo Lianxing was practically fuming!
This idiot disciple wasn’t just lacking in brains—his emotional intelligence was even worse!
Jiang Che had already seen right through him, yet here he was, still hesitating like a fool.
How had she, Mo Lianxing, ended up with such a hopelessly dimwitted apprentice?
Any system bound to him must’ve been cursed for eight lifetimes!