Ironhead Chu Yuan: Young Master Jiang, I Challenge You

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for pulling off a ‘hypocritically virtuous’ act. Host has gained 800,000 points.]

Jiang Che was too exhausted to even complain. Fine, you’re the boss when it comes to dishing out points, alright?

Still, this move of his had genuinely won him a lot of public support.

Vaguely, he sensed a subtle, almost imperceptible force flowing into his body, yet he couldn’t trace its origin.

"Bro, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go ahead and close the livestream, okay?" Jiang Ruoxu muttered under his breath.

To outsiders, he was the awe-inspiring "Preacher." Though his fans often roasted him in the livestream chat, it was mostly in good fun. When it came to actually cultivating spells... who wouldn’t address him as the "Ancestral Daoist"?

But this so-called "Ancestral Daoist" had absolutely no dignity in front of Jiang Che—he didn’t even dare raise his voice!

Pathetic, really.

[Ding! Host has pulled off a ‘spineless’ act. Deducting 50,000 pretentiousness points.]

See? Absolutely spineless!

"No need to close it yet. I’ll be transcending a Heavenly Tribulation in a bit," Jiang Che said casually.

He was already at the Half-Step Divine Transformation Realm. Once he overcame the tribulation, he’d officially break through to the Divine Transformation Realm.

With gates opening all over the world, it wouldn’t be long before hordes of "aliens" crossed over. He had to keep up with his cultivation!

Sure, Jiang Che had plenty of system tools to effortlessly crush even the most formidable experts. Even if Martial Gods or Nirvana-stage big shots descended, he had countermeasures ready.

Besides, once he reached the Divine Transformation Realm, his "masters" would instantly ascend to the Creation Realm. More trump cards? Easy.

"Heavenly Tribulation for Divine Transformation? Bro, isn’t that a bit too fast?" Jiang Ruoxu stammered.

"Not at all. You, on the other hand, need to step up your game." Jiang Che clapped a heavy hand on Jiang Ruoxu’s shoulder, nearly crushing him under the weight.

Suddenly, Jiang Ruoxu recalled his own words from earlier:

"The gap in talent only widens the disparity in cultivation."

The boomerang had come full circle and smacked him right in the face.

The speaker might’ve been careless, but the listener took it to heart.

Heavenly Tribulation for Divine Transformation!!!

In today’s Blue Star, the Divine Transformation Realm was practically mythical.

"Divine Transformation Realm??? Young Master Jiang is actually going to transcend the Heavenly Tribulation for it?"

"Old Master Jiang Yunhuang just overcame his Divine Transformation Tribulation, and now his grandson is doing the same? Is cultivation talent hereditary or something?"

"It probably is. My grandpa was terminally ill with cancer, but after the spiritual revival, he practiced the Human Emperor Scripture for a while. Not only did his cancer vanish, but his cultivation skyrocketed to the Soul Forging Stage. Now he’s been admitted to the Cultivator Academy, and our whole family of over a dozen has reached the Foundation Establishment Stage."

"Young Master Jiang is amazing! Do you need a bed-warmer? I’m 140 cm tall, with short legs, blue-and-white striped panties, and twin tails. Cute, obedient, and never talk back."

"Hey, upstairs, are you applying for grad school or something? Send a pic first!"

"By the way, Young Master Jiang, do you like gender-benders? After the spiritual revival, I transmigrated... and ended up in a girl’s body? My soul’s male, but if you’re into it, I can work through the mental block."

"Gender-benders? Pfft. I’m bound to a Peerless Trap System—it demanded I castrate myself right off the bat... Young Master Jiang, how about a femboy?"

Soon, the livestream chat devolved into a frenzy of simping for Jiang Che.

Even femboys and gender-benders popped up.

Truly, it was a showcase of biodiversity for Young Master Jiang.

"Absolutely bonkers," Jiang Che marveled.

Even if a self-castrated femboy were involved, Jiang Che wouldn’t entertain the idea. A gender-bender might look stunning, but their psyche was still male.

Most likely, the fans were just trolling.

...

At the Cultivator Academy, countless eyes locked onto Jiang Che.

The most shocked of all were the Chosen Ones.

"Holy crap, is this guy riding a rocket or what? He’s hitting the Divine Transformation Realm at such a young age?" Wang Teng couldn’t help but grumble.

He’d always been confident in his talent. In his eyes, Jiang Ruoxu—the Heaven Shattering Stage senior brother—was already a lofty goal. But now, here came an even more monstrous Jiang Che!

Wang Teng was only at the Celestial Origin Realm’s late stage, and someone was already transcending the Divine Transformation Tribulation?

And this Jiang Che looked even younger than him!

Chu Yuan, the possessor of the Chaos Immortal Physique, furrowed his brows.

"This can’t be right!!! How is this possible???"

"Jiang Che’s transcending the Divine Transformation Tribulation? Didn’t he have 100 million combat power? Why would he even need to?"

"Did my Combat Origin Stone malfunction? Is it giving faulty readings?"

Unconsciously, Chu Yuan pulled out a stone the size of an egg.

[Ding! Detection successful. Target combat power: 100 million.]

Then he pointed it at himself.

[Ding! Detection successful. Target combat power: 300,000.]

Next, he scanned other cultivators—all normal.

Only Jiang Che was an anomaly.

"I get it now! Jiang Che must have some artifact that interferes with the Combat Origin Stone!"

Chu Yuan had an epiphany.

No wonder, when he first met Jiang Che, that 100 million combat power reading nearly made him piss himself.

There was no way Blue Star currently had a powerhouse with 100 million combat power!

With this realization, Chu Yuan’s gaze toward Jiang Che burned with desire.

Jiang Che’s true strength was likely around Half-Step Divine Transformation. Chu Yuan was a student at the Cultivator Academy, while Jiang Che was the dean.

What if... he challenged Jiang Che?

Sure, he’d lose, but he didn’t even need to fight—just provoke him, then immediately surrender!

Exploit a loophole!

According to his Thick-Skinned System, the more suicidal the act, the more Thick-Skinned Points he’d earn.

Fortune favors the bold.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.

This was just an avatar with 50% of his main body’s power. Even if things went south, it wasn’t a huge loss.

Screw it—full send!

As the dean, Jiang Che wouldn’t hold a grudge against a mere student, right?

The once ultra-cautious "Survival King" had been thoroughly corrupted.

Mainly because the system’s rewards were too damn good.

The system shop was packed with treasures—Nine Revolutions Golden Pills, Immortal King’s Essence Blood, Immortal Emperor artifacts, or at the very least, miraculous elixirs... With such temptations, a little risk was worth it.

Without hesitation, Chu Yuan stepped forward.

"Young Master Jiang, I challenge you!!!"