Chapter 195 - 97: War God Palace, Succession of the Upper Vein

Chapter 195: Chapter 97: War God Palace, Succession of the Upper Vein

The Chen Family took Jiang Xuan quite seriously.

When he arrived at the entrance to the Chen Family’s estate, Chen Chengguang was already waiting to welcome him, accompanied by a fully recovered Chen Qianjun and a young woman from the family’s direct lineage.

However, when they saw the three from Four Seasons Valley accompanying Jiang Xuan, all three members of the Chen Family frowned slightly.

This was especially true after they learned the identities of the trio from Four Seasons Valley; an unusual look they could barely hide flickered in their eyes.

The Chen Family then tried to lead Jiang Xuan inside alone, inviting him to their family’s secret treasury to select a treasure, but Yu Xian stopped them.

"It’s only a single Treasure-Level item. Why go inside? Just bring it out to us."

A tense silence followed his words. The Chen Family knew their plot had been seen through by Four Seasons Valley, and any chance for subterfuge was gone.

Since it had come to this, Chen Wandie simply arched a brow and shot Chen Qianjun a look, signaling for him to lay everything out in the open.

Catching his father’s signal, Chen Qianjun stopped beating around the bush. He got straight to the point with Jiang Xuan, "Brother Jiang, do you know why I passed up the chance to go to the Daozi Courtyard and stayed to cultivate in the Lower Court instead?"

"Wasn’t it to build up your momentum?"

Jiang Xuan knew a little about the Chen Family’s Core Cultivation Method. It was a Technique that prioritized combat and willpower, but above all else, it valued victory.

With Chen Qianjun’s Talent and status, he could have easily gone to the Daozi Courtyard. But if he had, he would have had absolutely no chance of reaching the top. There were too many monsters there. It wasn’t just about outstanding Talent; in the Daozi Courtyard, some students had elders who were at the Purple Mansion Golden Core Realm, or were even the direct descendants of True Masters of a higher level. These people had far more resources at their disposal than Chen Qianjun did.

Originally, Jiang Xuan had assumed Chen Qianjun stayed in the Yin Daoist School to dominate the Lower Court and build his momentum one victory at a time. But now, Chen Qianjun’s question made him realize there was likely more to the story.

And soon enough, he learned his premonition was exactly right.

"There’s more to it. I did stay in the Lower Court partly to build momentum, but the main reason was to build our reputation." Chen Qianjun began to explain, his voice solemn and serious. "My Chen Family has been part of the Shenxiao Sect for a thousand years. All this time, besides building up our family’s strength, we have been cultivating in the War God Palace. And now, the War God Palace itself has reached a critical juncture..."

As Chen Qianjun continued, Jiang Xuan began to understand the full scope of this complex scheme. Their Dharma Vein, the War God Palace, was at a critical juncture in its bid to become an Upper Vein.

Chen Qianjun had remained in the Lower Court so that he could, as a Lower Court disciple, achieve a spectacular result in the Hundred-Day Exam. This was meant to create an impression throughout the Sect that the Chen Family and the War God Palace could punch above their weight, even overpowering an Upper Vein.

Of course, the hierarchy of Dharma Veins within the Shenxiao Sect—especially a shift in power involving an Upper Vein—could never be shaken by something as simple as one Sect exam for a few Spirit Core Stage Cultivators.

The contest between two major Dharma Veins was like a struggle for supremacy between two powerful nations in the mortal world. The competition was always a test of comprehensive strength across all dimensions.

In the mortal world, such a contest would be for cultural supremacy, economic dominance, military might, technological superiority, and ultimately, control of the global narrative. Here in the Cultivation World, within the Shenxiao Sect, the equivalents were the Realm and Cultivation of the Vessel Master and their protective authority; the peak combat strength of its disciples and Elders; the depth of its talent pool and their potential; and the reputation, prestige, resource control, and foundational lineage the Dharma Vein had built within the Sect over centuries.

In other words, to have one’s Dharma Vein promoted to an Upper Vein, one had to fight for every advantage in every area, unless their power was simply overwhelming.

And the Chen Family had planned to use Chen Qianjun to score a victory on the fronts of disciple achievement and prestige.

Such a victory, though small, was essential. Just as great rivers are formed from tiny streams, only by stringing together a series of such victories could they build an unstoppable momentum. Only then would a Middle-Class Dharma Vein have any hope of replacing an Upper Vein and achieving a promotion in Grade.

Furthermore, this endeavor held immense benefits for both Chen Qianjun and the Chen Family.

The War God Palace, with its real prospects of being promoted to an Upper Vein, was not a place where the Chen Family held absolute sway. They weren’t even the strongest faction within it.

Under these circumstances, if their plan had succeeded, they would have been credited with a great contribution to the War God Palace.

This would have paved a smooth path for Chen Qianjun’s future while simultaneously elevating the Chen Family’s prestige and influence within the War God Palace.

After hearing the full story, Jiang Xuan’s gaze toward Chen Qianjun and the other family members grew wary.

’If I were in their shoes,’ he thought, ’having a grand plan toppled overnight, I would be furious.’ And for that reason, he had to be on guard against the Chen Family flying into a rage from the humiliation and trying to assassinate him in secret.

Fortunately, the laws of the Shenxiao Sect still held sway, and the Chen Family had no intention of making powerful enemies for no reason.

After confirming their plan’s failure, they didn’t fly into an impotent rage. Instead, they immediately changed tack and devised a new plan: to pull Jiang Xuan into their game.

...

Having laid all their cards on the table, Chen Qianjun extended a hand to Jiang Xuan and made a sincere invitation, "Jiang Xuan, join our Chen Family. Join the War God Palace."

"It’s inevitable that the War God Palace will become an Upper Vein. If you join now and fight for our Dharma Vein’s promotion, you will go down as one of the key figures who made it happen..."