Chapter 626 - 301: Profound Tier Spiritual Artifact

Xiao Yingluo shot Ke Dali a sideways glance, her face thick with mockery, and said,

"Senior Brother Ke is indeed impressive. Relying on that Spiritual Artifact, the Mountain-Suppressing Xuanwu Armor, you dared to go strutting around the Barbarian Race's territory all by yourself. You took care of quite a few Barbarians and even slayed a Tier Six Demon Beast.

"But to think that's enough to protect Junior Brother Chen is quite an overstatement!"

Qi Jianming added his own compliment, "Looking across the entire Northern Territory, among those below the Innate Realm, only Senior Brother Ke would dare venture deep into Cang State alone, slaying numerous Barbarian Race experts and powerful Demon Beasts. Such a feat is truly admirable."

However, he then changed his tune and said,

"It's just a shame Senior Brother Ke's luck was so bad. You just had to run into an expert like Demon Venerable Black Wind and get chased until you were pissing your pants, fleeing across more than half of Cang State.

"If you hadn't run to the defensive zone of my Qi Family's grand-uncle, would you even still be alive?"

The scoundrel went straight for a backhanded compliment, and the attack was devastating!

Ke Dali's face instantly flushed red. "Demon Venerable Black Wind is a Tier Seven Demon! Isn't it perfectly normal that I couldn't beat him?

"He was already active in Qi Guardian's defensive zone anyway. I was just luring him back to where he belonged."

Qi Jianming said, "So, Senior Brother Ke, are you finally admitting you can't protect Junior Brother Chen?"

With Chen Cheng present, Ke Dali clearly didn't want to lose face in front of Qi Jianming. The fat on his face quivered as he shook his head repeatedly and said,

"Of course I can protect him! So what if it was Demon Venerable Black Wind? He still couldn't break through my Mountain-Suppressing Xuanwu Armor!"

Qi Jianming scoffed, "Hah! You hid within the mountain's earth veins. Of course Demon Venerable Black Wind couldn't do anything to you.

"But if you run into another expert, like Kun Qiu, the Tier Seven Demon Venerable from the Three Saints Alliance who is skilled in Earth Escape, where would you hide then? I'm afraid you'd be turned into his blood-meal the moment you met!"

Ke Dali started to get riled up. Like a belligerent rooster, he glared at Qi Jianming and said,

"Junior Brother Chen will be on duty at the Border Region, where he only needs to defend against Tier Six Demon Beasts.

"And I won't be as reckless as before and go deep into Cang State's territory.

"How could we possibly run into a Tier Seven Demon Venerable?

"Once Junior Brother Chen advances to the Organ Refining Realm, with our combined strength, we might not even have to fear a Tier Seven Demon Venerable. When that time comes, we two junior and senior brothers might just get to feast on some Tier Seven Demon Beast Meat!"

Ke Dali had clearly gotten desperate and blurted out his true intentions without realizing it!

Qi Jianming, on the other hand, didn't want to truly anger Ke Dali, so he waved his hand dismissively and said,

"Alright, alright. Let's not talk about the Border Region rotations.

"Junior Brother Chen is afflicted with the Demon Thought Cage, so his path to the Puncture Realm is all but severed. The only way is to find a Grandmaster Level expert to dissolve it.

"Can the Peak Master of Four Symbols Peak actually convince a Grandmaster Level expert to help?

"And taking a step back, even if the Demon Thought Cage is dissolved, it's still incredibly difficult to reach the Puncture Realm by cultivating the Four Symbols Peak's legacy. Why suffer through that?"

Ke Dali snorted and retorted, "If Junior Brother Chen joins Four Symbols Peak, he can be directly promoted to True Disciple!

"Can he do that if he joins Five Elements Peak?"

Qi Jianming was stumped.

Afflicted with the Demon Thought Cage, it would indeed be difficult for Chen Cheng to be promoted to True Disciple!

At this, Xiao Yingluo glanced at Chen Cheng and said, "Junior Brother Chen, what benefit would joining Four Symbols Peak bring to the Chen Family?

"As a Martial Artist, you naturally have to consider your family. Even if you don't have immediate family, you should still have relatives and clan members.

"Although the Sect can provide protection for its disciples' relatives and clan, if a family wants to develop, grow strong, and continue its legacy, it must acquire all sorts of resources, expand its network, and develop its influence.

"Four Symbols Peak can offer very little of that, but my Xiao Family can provide it all!"

Ke Dali said, "Can the Xiao Family give Junior Brother Chen a spot as a True Disciple? You can't, can you? But Four Symbols Peak can!"

Xiao Yingluo was also at a loss for words!

Ke Dali was being truly shameless, and worse, she couldn't even refute him!

Unable to win the argument with Ke Dali, Xiao Yingluo turned to Chen Cheng with a pleasant expression and said,

"Becoming a True Disciple certainly grants you many privileges, and you'll receive a greater share of the Sect's resources, but compared to the responsibilities you have to bear, the gains don't make up for the losses.

"Junior Brother Chen, you need to think this through carefully."

Qi Jianming also chimed in, "Junior Brother Chen, even if you can't advance to the Puncture Realm, our Qi Family still holds you in high regard!

"I hope you'll consider it carefully."

'This damned sense of superiority from the disciples of major families!'

Chen Cheng sighed inwardly.

Neither Xiao Yingluo nor Qi Jianming were on the Earth List or the Beauty Ranking; their Martial Arts Talent was nothing to write home about.

'They probably got their positions as True Disciples through the back door. Among the many True Disciples, they have no real presence. The only reason they dare to talk so big is because of the family power backing them! Without their families to back them up, they're nothing. Ke Dali might not even be willing to sit at the same table with them, and I would have even less of a reason to have anything to do with them!'

'Shallow, arrogant, and self-righteous. Their understanding of the world seems incredibly limited, too!'

This was Chen Cheng's opinion of Xiao Yingluo and Qi Jianming.

In terms of bearing, even an Inner Sect Disciple of the Taiyi Sect like Zhang Daozong was leagues ahead of these two!

But Ke Dali obviously wouldn't have introduced Xiao Yingluo and Qi Jianming for no reason.

'The two of them must be useful to Ke Dali in some way.'

'And for Xiao Yingluo and Qi Jianming to be so eager to recruit me, they must also be after something.'

After a moment of thought, Chen Cheng said, "Senior Sister Xiao, Senior Brother Qi, the status of a True Disciple is very important to me."

This was undoubtedly a clear and polite refusal of the olive branch extended by Xiao Yingluo and Qi Jianming, and it was a reason they couldn't refute.

Only by becoming a True Disciple of a Major Sect could one be considered a true representative of the Sect when out in the world. It not only represented the Sect's prestige but also meant having the Sect as one's greatest backer.

If one were merely an Inner Sect Disciple, and they were inexplicably killed by an expert from another sect while traveling, then unless they had a powerful family to back them up, few would likely bother to investigate.