Chapter Fourteen: Bright Moon Pavilion (Part One)

On this day, Chen Fan left the Star Pavilion and joined his fellow disciples—Senior Brother Zhang Fan, Chi Liuguang, and others—to dine at a restaurant in the outer courtyard of the Martial Institute.

The Martial Institute occupied a vast area; its outer courtyard was equipped with all kinds of facilities, much like a small town.

Zhang Fan, his eyes bright with excitement, said, “Have you heard? The new season’s Universal Mirage Realm assessment has begun. Within three days, all disciples can participate and the rankings will be reset!”

Chen Fan spent his days immersed in relentless cultivation, rarely interacting with others. Zhang Fan, on the other hand, was quite active—he had even joined several small groups spontaneously organized by disciples within the institute.

The Universal Mirage Realm rankings were the most important measure of prowess in the Martial Institute, with each quarter lasting three months. During the three-day assessment, every disciple could participate and the rankings would be recalculated.

Both Zhang Fan and the others were eager for the challenge. Though newly admitted, their strength had improved, and as ordinary disciples, they naturally hoped for an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

Chen Fan, too, wished to enter the environment and battle with the beasts, though he lacked confidence in improving his ranking. Only a month had passed, and his strength had scarcely grown. Within the top four hundred, advancing further was a daunting task.

His cultivation was still some way from reaching the fifth stage; his Nine-Star Origin Core technique was just shy of breaking through to the second level. Although he frequently visited the Mirage Hall to comprehend the essence of thunder and light, he still had much progress to make before achieving the Unity Realm. Only his Three-Foot Sword technique had reached the stage of basic perfection.

Thinking of the Three-Foot Sword, his eyes suddenly lit up. “I wonder if slaying beasts in the Universal Mirage Realm could help me push the Three-Foot Sword technique to the subtle mastery stage?”

Still, he didn’t hold much hope; the gap between illusion and reality was vast. No matter how realistic the beasts, they were ultimately illusions, and knowing he wouldn’t suffer real harm made his mindset and attitude fundamentally different.

...

The three proceeded together to the Universal Plaza. During these assessment days, the plaza was constantly abuzz with disciples undergoing their trials. The Universal Vessel displayed the rankings of the top three hundred disciples, which had already shifted many times.

Chen Fan and his companions waited for half an hour before an opening appeared, allowing them to step forward and begin their assessments.

Chen Fan felt a brief daze of the spirit, then found himself once again in the Universal Vessel’s testing space. This time, he chose a sword for the trial. He started, as before, by facing beasts of the fourth stage.

The basic perfection of the Three-Foot Sword proved formidable; in terms of power, it was slightly inferior to his Great Mastery of the Nine Yang Tiger King Fist, but it was far more lethal in combat.

Slaying fourth-stage beasts was effortless. The advantages of a long-handled weapon became strikingly apparent in battle.

Yet, no matter how many beasts Chen Fan slew, it did nothing to advance his Three-Foot Sword technique; its green progress bar didn’t budge.

“My mindset is completely different. I’m only slaying illusory creatures—how could I possibly break through?”

Though he’d anticipated this outcome, Chen Fan couldn’t help but feel disappointed. However, despite using a technique of lower mastery, his cultivation had improved since the last assessment, allowing him to defeat enemies even faster and quickly reach his previous limit.

Sixth-stage beasts began to appear.

Chen Fan struggled with his sword technique, managing to slay four fifth-stage beasts before being torn apart by a sixth-stage beast, leaving his ranking below the top four hundred.

Of course, it wasn’t that his performance was worse than before. In fact, he had slain one more beast than last time. But with the rankings recalculated and others having grown stronger, the overall competition had advanced, so his placement naturally slipped.

...

Opening his eyes, he saw that his two senior brothers had also completed their trials, their faces radiant with excitement, clearly having made gains.

Chi Liuguang’s eyes shone. “If I keep improving at this rate, I have confidence I’ll enter the Star Pavilion within two years!”

At present, Chi Liuguang had yet to break into the top thousand. But his high-level martial technique gave him access to more resources, offsetting his weaker cultivation; his strength rose, and his ranking climbed faster than most. Maintaining such progress, however, was difficult—the two-year goal was an ideal scenario.

Zhang Fan said nothing, his eyes gleaming, clearly pleased with his own gains. As a disciple of Dong Guzhi, his foundation and cultivation far surpassed Chi Liuguang’s, and he was younger—his potential greater still.

Chen Fan smiled and nodded. “Then I wish you both an early entry to the Star Pavilion.”

“We’re still far behind you, Brother Chen,” Zhang Fan and the others replied, modest in his presence.

...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and after the rankings were reset, not a single new disciple had entered the Star Pavilion due to overwhelming strength. Even the most gifted disciples required three or four quarters of tempering before they might break through.

Among those who had joined the Star Pavilion on exceptional merit, aside from Chen Fan, only Yan Linzu’s ranking had improved since the previous month—but he had yet to break through the fourth stage of cultivation, still trailing far behind Chen Fan.

Nonetheless, Chen Fan’s ranking had not advanced but regressed, giving Yan Linzu hope of catching up.

With the rankings settled, Chen Fan finally received notice: because of his unprecedented performance in the entrance assessment, he was granted special admission to the Bright Moon Pavilion.

“At last!”

The Martial Institute had deliberately waited for the rankings to be recalculated and the division of pavilions before allowing Chen Fan into the Bright Moon Pavilion, so as not to forcibly place someone and risk dissatisfaction among its disciples.

...

It had only been a month, which Chen Fan found acceptable. If he’d had to wait several more months or half a year, by then he might have broken through to the fifth stage, advanced his Origin Core, and perhaps entered the Bright Moon Pavilion by merit alone—making Ye Wuji’s intervention unnecessary.

Chen Fan had just received news of his admission. Before he could enjoy the privileges of a Bright Moon Pavilion disciple, a streak of spiritual light floated through his window into his room.

“Who sent me a communication talisman?”

Communication talismans were a special means of transmitting messages within the Martial Institute. They were swift and accurate, though not absolutely secure. Being low-level talismans, they were easily intercepted or destroyed in more complex environments, unsuitable for use outside, nor for long-distance communication, and not appropriate for confidential information.

Chen Fan caught the talisman, raising his brow.

“Ye Wuji wishes to see me?”

...

“Director Ye!”

In the presence of this elder, Chen Fan naturally adopted a respectful demeanor.

“You are the first disciple in our Martial Institute’s history to be admitted to the Bright Moon Pavilion on exceptional merit.” Ye Wuji smiled at Chen Fan, finding him more pleasing the longer he looked.

Chen Fan clasped his hands in gratitude. “I owe it all to Director Ye’s resolute support!”

Ye Wuji smiled.

“The Bright Moon Pavilion is not like the Star Pavilion; fifth-stage martial artists are rare, most are sixth-stage, and you are only at the fourth stage. Upon entering, you may become the focus of many; you must keep your composure, work hard, and quickly improve your strength!”

“The director has promised: if you can advance a hundred places in the rankings within a year, breaking into the top three hundred, you shall be awarded an Earth-grade pill—the Jade Rejuvenation Pill!”

Mao Wangchen had actually produced another Earth-grade pill! Though it was merely an incentive, and Chen Fan might not be guaranteed to obtain it, the gesture showed how much the Institute valued him.

Chen Fan had seen the Jade Rejuvenation Pill at the resource exchange. It was a healing medicine—not quite capable of reviving the dead or regenerating flesh and bone, but it could swiftly restore true energy, making it quite precious.

Even grandmasters found it highly effective. Obtaining the Jade Rejuvenation Pill would be a trump card for the future—something that could save his life in a critical moment.

“I will do my utmost,” Chen Fan replied, clasping his hands, determined not to miss the opportunity.

Ye Wuji nodded with a smile, then added, “I called you here not only to advise you, but for another important matter closely related to you. Tell me, have you ever heard of Huaqing Pool in the ancient Ming County?”