Unrivaled Martial Emperor

Chapter 3 - Forcing Through to the Second Floor

Chen Fan followed a pathway and arrived at the Martial Arts Pavilion.

The Martial Arts Pavilion sat on a cliff, surrounded by blossoming mountain flowers and green trees. It was a tranquil place.

Chen Fan had come across several fellow outer sect disciples on his way there. They were each carrying a manual in their hand, treating them like treasures as they left. These people had just picked out a martial art they fancied from the Martial Arts Pavilion and were in a hurry to go practice.

A few onlookers cast mocking glances at Chen Fan, and a teenager in yellow clothing jeered, “Trash, what are you doing here at the Martial Arts Pavilion? Are you trying to slip in and steal martial arts while the Pavilion Guard Elder is drunk?”

“Audacious! You dare look down on the Pavilion Guard Elder? You should be punished for your crime!” Chen Fan shouted back.

The retort caught the teen in yellow by surprise. Not only the teen but even the other passersby got caught off guard.

“Trash, you dare shout at me!?” shouted the teen after returning to his senses, looking embarrassed and angry. He had intended to ridicule Chen Fan, but the latter had unexpectedly shouted back in retaliation, stunning him.

“Hmph, what kind of a place is the Martial Arts Pavilion? And have you forgotten how formidable the Pavilion Guard Elder is? Even a fly wouldn't dare try to sneak past him, let alone someone like me. And yet, you accuse me of trying to steal martial arts while the elder is drunk? What are you, if not looking down on the Pavilion Guard Elder!?”

The yellow-clothed teenager turned pale, glancing at the old man guarding the Martial Arts Pavilion’s entrance.

The old man was leaning against the steps, his head hung low, and his hand holding a gourd filled with wine. They could smell the strong scent of alcohol emanating from him, but they weren’t sure if he was truly drunk or just sleeping.

The teen in yellow released a sigh of relief after realizing that the elder was paying them no attention. Chen Fan’s words sounded true, but the teen really wasn’t looking down on the elder.

“Slander! Trash, don’t you dare accuse others! My respect for the Pavilion Guard Elder is endless, with no contempt toward him! You’re just slandering me!”

Chen Fan said in disdain, “Slander? You? Do I need to? Pavilion Guard Elder is magnanimous, so I won’t bother with you this time. Get lost!”

“Trash, just you wait!”

The yellow-clothed teenager glared at Chen Fan with hatred, then shifted his gaze toward the elder. Worried that continuing to argue would disturb the elder and lead to severe consequences, he hastily departed, leaving behind a threatening remark.

Chen Fan didn’t take the yellow-clothed teenager’s words to heart. He was no longer the same person as before; he wouldn’t let anyone humiliate him.

He strode forth in the Martial Arts Pavilion’s direction. Some people still hadn’t left, waiting to watch Chen Fan embarrass himself. After all, a Body Refinement trash wanted to enter the Martial Arts Pavilion. It was nothing but wishful thinking!

The Pavilion Guard Elder guarded the Martial Arts Pavilion, but its entrance and each floor were protected by a layer of light that only allowed those with the required cultivation level to pass through.

Chen Fan was only in the Body Refinement realm, which wasn’t even enough to enter through the Martial Arts Pavilion’s gates. So, they all waited eagerly for Chen Fan to embarrass himself.

“Hey, Kid, your brown-nosing is a little too much,” the elder blurted when Chen Fan approached him, his head still hanging low.

Chen Fan rubbed the tip of his nose upon hearing the elder’s words.

Indeed, he had borrowed the elder’s name to humiliate that teenager earlier, but he had no idea that the elder had heard it all. The elder had been pretending to be asleep and completely drunk.

“Please judge wisely, Elder. This disciple said nothing but the truth,” Chen Fan hurriedly explained.

The elder snorted, waved his hand dismissively, and said, “No need to get nervous. While you went a bit overboard with your flattery, I found it quite amusing. Anyway, according to our sect rules, those below the third level of the Qigong realm can only choose martial arts on the first floor.”

“This disciple understands,” Chen Fan nodded, saluted the elder, and stepped into the pavilion.

The outer sect disciples waiting to watch Chen Fan embarrass himself were stunned when they saw him talking briefly with the Pavilion Guard Elder before entering the Martial Arts Pavilion.

What had happened?

The trash of the outer sect had actually entered the Martial Arts Pavilion. Had he advanced to the first level of the Qigong realm?

“The Pavilion Guard Elder must have let him enter as a favor!” said someone viciously.

The Martial Arts Pavilion was enormous, spanning several hundred meters in diameter. It housed countless bookshelves, stacked row upon row, containing a staggering variety of martial arts manuals and cultivation techniques—at least ten thousand volumes in total.

Martial art manuals had four main tiers— Dirt, Profound, Earth, and Heaven. And each tier was further divided into Lower, Middle, and Upper.[1]

The outer sect’s Martial Arts Pavilion was restricted to the outer sect disciples and primarily contained martial arts manuals for the Qi Gathering realm. The highest-tier martial art manuals available were at the upper-dirt tier, located on the third floor, and required a seventh-level Qigong realm cultivation to access.

The first floor only had lower-dirt tier manuals, and it had them in abundance. Chen Fan browsed through them roughly. Their powers were limited, so he felt they weren’t good enough. He glanced at the stairs leading up to the second floor, desiring more.

The higher the martial art manual’s tier, the greater its might. Chen Fan wanted to pick a middle-dirt tier martial skill to practice. Since he had started at a disadvantage compared to others, he sought to catch up as quickly as possible.

“Although I am only at the second level of the Qigong realm, my strength is at 2,600 jin, comparable to a late-stage, second-level Qigong martial artist. The elder said only third-level or above Qigong martial artists can enter the second floor, but... Let’s give it a try. If I fail, I’ll just choose a martial skill from this floor.”

After pondering briefly, he walked toward the stairs to the second floor.

Just as Chen Fan started up the stairs, he encountered an obstacle. A transparent barrier materialized in front of him, blocking his path.

Chen Fan was not surprised by this.

With so many disciples coming in and out of the Martial Arts Pavilion every day, the Pavilion Guard Elder couldn’t possibly keep an eye on all of them and determine who should be allowed on the second floor and who should stay on the first floor

This membrane functioned as a filter, allowing only those who met the required cultivation level to pass through. Chen Fan's second-level Qigong cultivation fell short of the standard, preventing him from advancing to the next floor.

Chen Fan wasn’t discouraged, however. His primeval qi swelled and surged out, pushing the membrane, trying to penetrate it and enter forcibly.

Chen Fan pressed forward, step by step, indenting the membrane with each step. However, the membrane was incomparably tough and wouldn’t break. Moreover, the force of the recoil kept increasing, trying to eject Chen Fan.

Chen Fan gritted his teeth and pushed forward with all his might, fighting against the rebounding force. His veins bulged, his face flushed, and his blood pumped rapidly as he summoned every last bit of his strength.

Outside the Martial Arts Pavilion, the Pavilion Guard Elder lifted his wine gourd and took a swig. Some wine spilled out from the corners of his mouth. A strange light flashed in his eyes as he mumbled, “Strong-willed and resilient. A decent seedling. Seeing as you tried to suck up to this elder, I’ll help you a little...”

Chen Fan was about to reach his limits; suddenly, he heard something rupturing and saw fissures appearing in the membrane, spreading like spiderwebs. Immediately after, he noticed the rebound from the membrane diminishing rapidly, so he took a fierce step forward.

With a poof, the membrane holding him back shattered. Due to the inertia, Chen Fan staggered forward, nearly falling.

Chen Fan steadied himself and realized he had already reached the second floor. As he glanced back, a peculiar light flickered across his eyes.

Earlier, Chen Fan had clearly almost reached his limits and would have been repelled by the membrane's accumulated rebounding force. However, the membrane's rebounding force had unexpectedly weakened, dropping to a level comparable to a third-level Qigong cultivator. This allowed him to pass through the membrane unhindered.

“What’s going on?”

Chen Fan was a little confused. However, overcoming the membrane’s resistance and being able to pick out a martial skill on the second floor was great news to him.

He didn’t bother thinking too deeply about it and rushed up to the second floor in just a few steps.

1. The martial arts tiers are based on the excerpt “天玄而地黄” found in an ancient Chinese divination text, Yi Jing or I-Ching, usually translated as Book of Changes or Classic of Changes. Multiple meanings can be understood here. The Heaven is colored Black (A very deep blue close to black), incredibly distant, or deeply Profound, unable to be comprehended, while the Earth is Yellow. Yellow could be interpreted as the color of Dirt, human skin, and millet (ancient China's most important food grain). Here, I have to decide which word to represent the two lower ranks. Black or Profound, and Yellow or Dirt. Profound sounds good and is a common word in cultivation novels, but calling a martial art Dirt rank sounds a little iffy, and using Profound/Yellow seems odd to have a random color in the rankings. What are your thoughts? ?