Chapter 8: Another conflict in front of the Martial Arts Pavilion
The sun was rising, casting golden rays, but it was unable to dispel the deep chill beneath the night glass stone wall.
After a night of practice, her aura had become completely stable, and her cultivation in the middle stage of the Spiritual Awakening Realm was smooth and transparent. With the unexpected help of the Samsara Mirror, her control over spiritual energy was even further improved, and she could faintly feel the charm of "precision".
Today is the day for the family competition.
Fighting in the ring wasn't simply a test of strength; martial arts, physical skills, and on-the-spot reflexes were all essential. The original owner had no foundation, and the secret techniques she had mastered in her previous life required at least the Spiritual Mansion Realm to perform, making them completely useless now.
She needed a technique that was suitable for her current state and could maximize her combat awareness.
Target, the family martial arts pavilion.
The Ye Family Martial Arts Pavilion, nestled in the heart of the clan, was a three-story, ancient tower with flying eaves and brackets, exuding a solemn aura. Family elders took turns guarding the area, and ordinary members were forbidden from entering.
At this moment, a number of young men had gathered in the open space in front of the Martial Arts Pavilion. Most were about to participate in the Grand Competition, hoping to find a last-minute martial art or to sharpen their skills before the battle. The atmosphere was a bit noisy and tense.
When Ye Li appeared in front of the Martial Arts Pavilion, the originally noisy atmosphere stagnated, and all eyes instantly focused on her.
Surprise, contempt, curiosity, disdain...it's too complicated to describe.
"She really dares to come?"
"You're not still thinking about joining the Martial Arts Pavilion, are you? Even if you're a useless member of the side branch and have the bad luck to reach the Spiritual Awakening Realm, how can you be qualified to learn advanced martial arts?"
"What a joke! Is the Martial Arts Pavilion a place she can enter?"
Whispers were heard without any concealment.
Ye Li walked straight toward the heavy, black ironwood door of the Martial Arts Pavilion, expressionless. Sitting at the doorway was a sleepy, white-haired old man, dressed in a gray elder's robe. He exuded a deep, reserved aura. He was the elder on duty at the Martial Arts Pavilion today. His eyes were slightly narrowed, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding clamor.
According to the rules, to enter the Martial Arts Pavilion, one must show his identity token and register.
Ye Li had just approached, before she could even salute the on-duty elder, when several figures, with sinister expressions, blocked her path. Leading the way was none other than Ye Lang, whose face was gloomy and eyes shone with resentment! He was flanked by Ye Ming, Ye Liang, and several other loyal lackeys.
Ye Lang had suffered a loss in the market that day and had been holding a grudge against her ever since. He had already sent people to keep an eye on Ye Li's movements, waiting for her to show up.
"Stop!" Yelang's voice was cold and harsh, with undisguised malice. "Ye Li, what are you doing here, you loser? Do you think you can set foot in the Martial Arts Pavilion?"
Ye Li stopped, raised her eyes, and looked at him calmly, as if she was looking at a barking dog.
This attitude of disregard completely infuriated Ye Lang. He took a step forward, almost pointing his finger at Ye Li's nose and scolding her, "Don't think that just because you've had some kind of rotten luck and reached the Spiritual Awakening Realm, you have the right to act so arrogantly! Which of the techniques and martial arts in the Martial Arts Pavilion isn't a precious family inheritance? How could a worthless collateral branch member like you have the right to covet them? Even if I let you in, would you understand them? Would you be able to practice them? Don't waste the family resources!"
"That's right! Brother Wolf is right!" Ye Liang chimed in, his voice sharp. "You'll only pollute the air inside if you go in! Maybe he's got some dirty tricks and learned something!"
"Go back quickly! Don't embarrass yourself here!" Ye Ming also echoed loudly.
Their words were extremely harsh, filled with insults and belittling. Many of the surrounding disciples looked on in amusement, and no one spoke up to stop them. The bullying of collateral branches by the direct descendants was commonplace in the Ye family.
The white-haired old man on duty still had his eyes slightly squinted, as if he were truly asleep, oblivious to the conflict before him. As long as the internal family competition didn't get too out of hand, these old men usually wouldn't interfere.
Despite such humiliation and obstruction, Ye Li's expression remained unchanged. She didn't even bother to glance at Ye Lang and the others. She passed them by, looking directly at the elder on duty, who seemed to be dozing off. She spoke clearly and calmly, "Elder, I, Ye Li, am at the mid-level of the Spiritual Awakening Realm. According to family rules, I am eligible to enter the first floor of the Martial Arts Pavilion and choose a martial art. Please grant me permission."
She directly brought out the house rules and ignored the barking of Night Wolf and others.
Yelang was so angry that his face turned blue, and he wanted to curse again.
At this moment, the drowsy white-haired elder's eyelids seemed to move ever so slightly, and a voice as subtle as a thread reached the ears of Ye Li and Ye Lang: "These are the rules. If you want to come in, come in, and don't make any noise."
The voice was old and plain, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty.
Yelang and the others felt as if their throats were being strangled. All their curses stopped abruptly, their faces flushing red, but they dared not act presumptuously again. They could bully the collateral branch, but they would never dare to openly disobey the elders and family rules.
Ye Li bowed slightly: "Thank you, Elder."
Then, without even glancing at Yelang and the others beside her, whose faces looked as ugly as if they had eaten a dead fly, she walked straight through them, pushed open the heavy black iron and wooden door, and her figure disappeared into it.
"Damn it!" Night Wolf stared at the closed door, his fists clenched so tightly that they made a creaking sound, his eyes practically spitting fire. "Bitch! Wait! I'll make sure you pay in the competition!"
Inside the Martial Arts Pavilion, the light was dim, and the air was filled with the scent of old books and a faint scent of insect repellent herbs.
The first floor was quite spacious, with rows of tall bookshelves neatly arranged, housing countless scrolls, jade slips, and even books wrapped in animal skins, arranged in various categories. A few disciples wandered among the shelves, selecting books intently.
Ye Li's eyes swept over quickly.
The martial arts techniques here were mostly of low and mid-range human-grade, suitable for those at the Spirit Awakening and Meridian Condensation stages. The neatly arranged, polished-looking items were mostly commonplace items or common techniques that had been reviewed and modified by many people.
She didn't linger in these areas. The powerful spiritual power spread out like invisible tentacles, carefully sensing the energy fluctuations and traces of time throughout the entire layer.
What she is looking for is not those "hot" items that are sought after by everyone, but ancient fragments that have been forgotten in the corner, covered in dust for a long time, but may contain unique artistic conception.
She walked past rows of bookshelves, her fingers occasionally sliding across dusty scrolls. Her senses skimmed over countless pieces of information on cultivation techniques, most of which were mediocre.
Suddenly, at the bottom of a most remote and almost unused bookshelf in the northwest corner, her spiritual perception was attracted by an extremely weak, yet extremely tenacious and condensed energy fluctuation.
The fluctuation was not strong, but it carried an ancient charm, as if it had survived the test of time and remained unchanged.
She squatted down, brushed aside the thick dust, and found a dark yellow animal hide booklet, buried underneath several worn-out items. The edges of the booklet were severely damaged, and it didn't even have a title. There was only a faint, strange footprint pattern painted in the corner of the cover, as if it had melted into the wind.
She pulled the book out and blew away the dust. It felt heavy in her hand, made of a unique animal hide that, though old, hadn't decayed. She flipped it open and saw the writing inside was written in some ancient ink, some of it blurred, and the contents were clearly incomplete, only about a third of the way through.
The label next to it read: "Fragments of an unnamed body technique, of unknown origin, extremely incomplete, extremely difficult to practice, and very likely to damage meridians. Rating: Human-grade low grade (incomplete)."
It is precisely this rating and annotation that has caused it to be abandoned here and ignored.
But as Ye Li's fingertips touched the rough hide, her mind and soul were completely immersed in that ancient and tenacious artistic conception. She seemed to see a vague figure strolling leisurely amidst countless attacks, its body swaying like a ghost, not even a leaf touched!
This was definitely not some low-level human-grade trash! The movement and artistic conception contained in this fragment were exquisite, far surpassing any human-level technique she had ever seen! It even touched upon a hint of "momentum"! The complete version was at least above the Earth Rank!
The reason for its low rating is, firstly, that it is so incomplete that future generations simply cannot complete it; secondly, it requires an abnormally high level of comprehension, physical coordination, and timing from the practitioner! Ordinary people practicing it would be impossible to even reach the threshold, let alone master it. Instead, they would strain their meridians by forcing themselves to imitate the obscure power-use method.
But for Ye Li, this is not a problem at all!
She possesses the combat awareness and experience of a supreme being from her previous life, and her microscopic control over her body far surpasses that of ordinary people. Furthermore, fragments of the Samsara Mirror occasionally enhance her comprehension and perception! This fragment, with its extremely high threshold, is tailor-made for her!
"That's it." Ye Li held the tattered animal skin booklet tightly in his hand without any hesitation.
When she walked to the registration desk at the door with the dusty and tattered-looking "Unknown Fragment", she attracted attention again.
The white-haired elder on duty finally opened his eyes. They looked cloudy, but in fact, they were extremely deep. He looked at the animal-skin booklet in Ye Li's hand, paused for a moment, then looked up at Ye Li, a hint of subtle surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Are you sure you want this?" The old man's voice remained calm. "This chapter is severely incomplete and dangerous to practice. For many years, no one has been able to master it, and some have even been injured. Have you thought it through?"
"Elder, disciple is sure." Ye Li said in a firm tone.
The old man said no more, picked up the pen and wrote "Ye Li, fragment of the nameless body movement" in the register, then waved his hand.
Ye Li bowed, took the booklet and turned to leave.
After she walked out of the door, the white-haired old man looked at her from behind. A thoughtful glint flashed in his cloudy eyes, and he murmured to himself, "Interesting... She can actually sense that thing... This little girl has extraordinary spiritual perception..."
Outside the Martial Arts Pavilion, Yelang and the others hadn't left yet, clearly waiting to see Yeli's jokes continue. When they saw the tattered old booklet in Yeli's hand, where even the name couldn't be clearly seen, they were stunned for a moment, then burst into even louder laughter.
"Hahahaha! What did I see? A piece of trash? Which trash dump did she dig this out of?"
"You're such a loser! You're only fit to pick up this unwanted junk!"
"That's hilarious! You treat a tattered book like a treasure! Ye Li, are you crazy because of poverty?"
Ye Li turned a deaf ear to their taunts, as if they were nothing but air. She carefully placed the animal-skin booklet in her arms, as if she had found some priceless treasure, and walked straight past them, heading towards the back mountain.
Her attitude of complete disregard, as if the other party was the clown, made Yelang and others more uncomfortable than any rebuttal.
Yelang's smile froze on his face. Looking at Yeli's receding back, the hatred in his eyes almost turned into reality.
"Crazy! Keep going! I want to see how you can beg for mercy with that crappy book of yours during the competition!" He growled with gritted teeth, the murderous intent in his heart growing stronger.
Ye Li, on the other hand, had already begun to silently comprehend the mysterious footwork contained in the fragment.
The wind seemed to begin to gather under her feet.
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