Chapter 150: Chapter 150: The Ten Million Temptation

Xiao Gu’s disciple, Yuan Sheng, and his followers challenged Jiang Chen.

With Yuan Sheng and his group deliberately spreading the word, news of the challenge instantly swept through the entire Alchemy Master Guild, until nearly everyone knew.

It wasn’t just the Alchemists below the rank of Steward—even those at the Steward level and above were intrigued by the challenge, and they all flocked out to watch.

Even Master Qin was alerted.

Clearly, Yuan Sheng and his group had put a lot of effort into spreading the word.

"Sir, this is a letter of challenge for you."

Jiang Chen was meditating with his eyes closed when his attendant suddenly rushed in and handed him a letter of challenge.

He opened his eyes, clearly displeased.

He glanced at the attendant and said coolly, "Give it to me."

The attendant immediately and respectfully handed the letter of challenge to Jiang Chen, then excused himself.

Jiang Chen held the letter, but before even looking at it, he frowned in silence.

’It must be Xiao Gu stirring up trouble again.’

He snorted inwardly and slowly opened the letter.

A single glance was all it took for him to understand.

He had guessed correctly. It was a letter of challenge from Xiao Gu’s disciple, Yuan Sheng, and his followers.

They wanted to challenge him, Jiang Chen, to a contest of Alchemy Skill.

’A mere First-Grade Alchemist dares to challenge me?’

Jiang Chen’s eyes narrowed, a hint of disdain in them.

After all, with his abilities, competing against a First-Grade Alchemist in Alchemy Skill felt suspiciously like bullying the weak.

Even if he won, it would be a hollow victory.

But the hateful words in the letter made his blood boil.

"Jiang Chen, if you’re not a coward hiding in your shell, accept my challenge."

The more Jiang Chen read that sentence, the more furious he became.

He might look down on his opponent, but that didn’t mean Jiang Chen was without a temper.

He slowly rose and walked to the second-floor window. Peering out through the crystal glass, he saw a large crowd gathered in the plaza, pointing and chattering excitedly.

Meanwhile, Yuan Sheng and his followers stood off to one side, looking incredibly smug.

They were confident that this simple, brutish method would force Jiang Chen to come out.

They had even gone so far as to issue a formal challenge letter to Jiang Chen.

Without a doubt, Jiang Chen had no choice but to fight.

’Heh, a bunch of rabble-rousing clowns. If I don’t slap you all down, you’ll really think you can walk on air.’

Jiang Chen clutched the letter, but for the moment, he made no move.

"Steward Jiang, you’re certainly keeping your cool."

"Don’t you know you’ve been challenged?"

A man who was also a Senior Steward walked in.

He held a challenge letter.

The very same one Yuan Sheng issued to Jiang Chen.

He had one too.

This man’s name was Chen Zhe.

Jiang Chen recognized him. However, seeing the gloating expression on the man’s face, Jiang Chen knew this was another one of Xiao Gu’s cronies.

He was here deliberately to provoke him.

Chen Zhe brought the letter over to Jiang Chen and said loudly, "Take a look at this. That kid, Yuan Sheng, is far too arrogant."

"He’s simply outrageous! I can’t even stand to watch it anymore."

"Steward Jiang, as a fellow Steward, I’m itching to go up there and compete with that kid myself, just to show him the might of a Senior Steward."

As he spoke, he looked over at Jiang Chen.

Seeing Jiang Chen remain unmoved, Chen Zhe cursed inwardly at how composed he was.

He was part of Xiao Gu’s faction and was, in truth, very displeased with Jiang Chen.

But he was relatively shrewd and didn’t show it on the surface.

Now, however, he was trying to egg Jiang Chen on to compete against Yuan Sheng and his group.

Clearly, he just wanted to see Jiang Chen make a fool of himself.

After all, many people now knew that Jiang Chen was just a substitute who had taken his master’s place and had no real strength of his own.

It wasn’t just Chen Zhe waiting to see him become a laughingstock; there were many others as well.

Jiang Chen had already taken note of Chen Zhe’s expression.

But he wasn’t angry. Instead, he said flatly, "Just because someone challenges me, I have to accept?"

"If a dog bites me, am I supposed to chase it down and bite it back?"

"Ridiculous. Ignorant vermin."

He spoke with utter disdain.

He had even subtly included Chen Zhe, who stood before him, in his tirade.

Chen Zhe heard Jiang Chen call him ignorant vermin and Yuan Sheng’s group dogs, and a flicker of anger crossed his face.

But he concealed it masterfully.

His purpose in coming was to anger Jiang Chen into action, but Jiang Chen was completely unaffected by the goading.

Instead, it had caught him off guard.

He had thought Jiang Chen wouldn’t be able to resist taking action.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Jiang Chen hadn’t yet reached that level of irrationality.

"Fine, forget I said anything."

Having failed to get a rise out of him, Chen Zhe turned and left.

He returned to the plaza.

"He’s not taking the bait. Cursing him out is useless."

Chen Zhe said to Yuan Sheng and his group.

Hearing this, Yuan Sheng and the others were unwilling to accept it.

If they couldn’t force Jiang Chen to act, then no matter how much of a scene they made, it would all be for nothing.

If they couldn’t compete against Jiang Chen in an Alchemy Skill contest, they couldn’t humiliate him.

Finally, Yuan Sheng sneered, "It seems he’s not angry enough yet."

"I’ll make him act."

With that, Yuan Sheng stood in the center of the plaza.

Looking at the crowd, he boomed, "I, Yuan Sheng, may be untalented, but I have the courage to challenge Steward Jiang Chen!"

"It’s just a pity that Steward Jiang is too timid and cowardly to show his face, which is a true insult to the dignity of us Alchemists!"

"I’ll put up ten million yuan crystals right here! Whoever can get Steward Jiang to compete against me, Yuan Sheng, in an Alchemy Skill contest, these ten million yuan crystals will be theirs!"

To force a competition with Jiang Chen, Yuan Sheng pulled out his trump card.

He offered up ten million yuan crystals.

Ten million yuan crystals was no small sum.

Even an ordinary Steward couldn’t produce such an amount.

But Yuan Sheng simply reached out and tossed out a Qiankun Bag, which contained the ten million yuan crystals.

BOOM!

The crowd instantly erupted.

"Yuan Sheng really is something else! He’s scared Jiang Chen into hiding."

"And now he’s even put up ten million yuan crystals!"

"I’m gonna go give it a try."

Someone couldn’t hold back any longer; ten million yuan crystals could buy a lot of materials.

Being an Alchemist was, by its very nature, a profession that consumed vast amounts of materials and money.

Especially during Alchemy, it was easy for a Pill to explode, wasting all the materials.

Therefore, money was also extremely important to Alchemists.

Immediately, people began heading to the Steward Hall to find Jiang Chen.

Some even carried copies of Yuan Sheng’s challenge letter.

"Steward Jiang, Yuan Sheng wants to compete with you in Alchemy Skill! Everyone is waiting for you to show yourself!"

Someone shouted from the doorway.

One after another, Alchemists tempted by the ten million yuan crystals took the risk of coming to Jiang Chen’s door.

Jiang Chen’s expression turned odd.

His attendant couldn’t stop them at all; there were simply too many people.

The attendant ran back inside, looking helpless.

"Sir, it’s getting more and more out of hand out there."

"What should we do? We can’t let this go on, can we?"

The attendant was still very respectful toward Jiang Chen.

It was just that Yuan Sheng and his group had gone too far, getting so many people to come and shout for Jiang Chen.

They looked like they wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted.

Jiang Chen, however, appeared very calm.

He asked, "What’s the situation now?"

The attendant explained with a grave expression, "Well, Yuan Sheng put up ten million yuan crystals. He said that if someone can get you to come out and compete with him, he’ll give that person the ten million. So, a lot of people have gone crazy over the money."

Jiang Chen was momentarily speechless. Then, he said calmly, "Ten million, you say? Alright. Xiaoba, go get that ten million for yourself."

The attendant, whose nickname was Xiaoba, was stunned when he heard Jiang Chen’s words.

"Sir, do you mean... I ask you to come out, and then I get the ten million?"

His heart hammered in his chest. Xiaoba was just a guard, not even an Alchemist. He normally only received a fixed salary from the Alchemy Master Guild.

It wasn’t much at all.

Ten million was an absolute fortune to him.

Now, it seemed an opportunity to become rich overnight had just landed in his lap.

Jiang Chen nodded. "That’s right. Keep the goodies in the family. That ten million is yours."

Xiaoba was left completely dumbfounded.

"This... could work, but I can’t take the money."

He tried to refuse. After all, if Jiang Chen decided to show himself, it was entirely his own decision.

He was just an attendant; it was even more inappropriate for him to take the money.

But Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively. "I’m not short on cash. Just think of it as a bonus. You work hard running around after me. It’s settled. Go on, this is a sure-fire deal; there’s no way to lose."