Night of the Broken Gliph

The trio found a random rock at the inn’s courtyard and sat on it. 

“Twenty-one years ago, we were still sixteen.” Lamenting and looking back at his youth, emotions swam in Chor Shing Chit’s voice. It was a rare sight to see. 

“I was still a student of the Great Book Academy, while Shing Chit was a student of the Metallic Blood War Gate. Being the most outstanding students of our respective academies, the overconfident us who viewed ourselves as rare talents came to the Engraved Mountain Range secretly, without the accompany of any elders or teachers.” 

Chui Yim frowned at her words. After yesterday, he was aware of how perilous the Engraved Mountain Range was. Even powerful cultivators like Chor Shing Chit and Wong Kwan returned full of scars; how would it be suitable for a sixteen-year-old duo to enter alone? 

As if being able to read Chui Yim’s mind, Wong Kwan looked bitter too. “I must admit that we thought too highly of ourselves. On day three, I met Shing Chit, and her…” 

Speaking about the mysterious her, both adults had a complex expression on their face. 

“She’s a young girl,” Wong Kwan continued after a long pause. “A year younger than us, but better than us in terms of both cultivation and knowledge. We became close within no time and continued the journey together. 

“All three of us were brimming with confidence as we came with maps we got from different places, allowing us to avoid all kinds of dangers. We were able to kill grade one gliphic beasts, and weaker grade two gliph beasts if we joined forces. On day seven, we arrived in front of the mountain.

“There was no gliphic beast to be found there, and it was an unknown spot.” Wong Kwan sounded like she was mimicking the ruffles of leaves. “We randomly passed by it but was thrown off our feet when we found the gliph on a stone wall. When we realised it, the gliph had already vanished into thin air. All three of us were aware that we were in luck to come across the legendary natural gliph. Yet the next minute came the beast tide.” 

Chui Yim could imagine the situation they were in because he experienced the same thing yesterday. It also came to him why Chor Shing Chit looked so uncomfortable when he overheard Ha Yu Bing saying that she was out to search for the gliph. 

Because Chor Shing Chit knew what would come with it—a beast tide. 

“We were aimed by a herd and took off in a sorry figure. Back then, I was already in the single-gliphic state, so I was able to speed up with the help of Light Wind and my strong body. As a one-chambered glipher, Shing Chit had the best stamina amongst us. But who would have thought she would be the fastest.” 

Chui Yim didn’t even know who she was, but he can tell that she was no normal person. 

“The beast herd behind us were speedy, and if that went on, she’d be the only survivor. Me and Shing Chit would never have made it out. However, at the critical point, she stood behind me and Shing Chit, blocking us.” Wong Kwan trembled. 

“She blocked the beast tide despite not even stepping into the single-gliphic state for a few seconds. She shot out like a sandbag after that, and Shing Chit caught her. This gave us the time to breathe, and it was that interval which helped us survive till Lam dynasty’s soldiers came to save us.” 

“So what happened to her?” Roughly guessing the sequel, Chui Yim asked. 

“Injured her spine and was never able to walk again.” Chor Shing Chit’s cold voice rang across the place. 

Huff…

There was a cool breeze. It was supposed to be cooling, but Chui Yim felt chills run down his spine. She was paralysed because of that incident? 

“After that day, we went our separate ways, returning to our academies, and never met again, until the enrollment test of Cloud Palace.” 

Chui Yim shot up. He did not expect Cloud Palace to be involved in the story. It had been nineteen years, but Wong Kwan was still filled with disbelief. “Me and Shing Chit were known as the geniuses of our generation, and we were expected to pass the enrollment test by our elders. But that was the day we met her again. 

“She had proprioception loss on her legs and came to the Cloud Palace enrollment test with a cane in a sorry figure. However, she passed.

“After that day, I knew that I could no longer stay in the South Imperial City anymore.” Chor Shing Chit felt nostalgic. “Thus I left the institution, my clan, and lived incognito in Southary.” 

The fact that the woman was selected as a Cloud Palace disciple despite her being paralysed blew Chui Yim away. He couldn’t help but ask for her name. “Who is she?” 

Chor Shing Chit and Wong Kwan exchanged a glance, wearing a complex look on their face. She was not one of, but rather, the most outstanding youth of their generation that talents like Wong Kwan and Chor Shing Chit were nothing when placed next to her. 

“The current fifth teacher of Cloud Palace, Wat Suen.” 

Somewhere near the edge of the North. 

If one were to travel north from here, he would arrive at the unpeopled North Pole where it was unsuitable for living, also known as the heaven of gliphic beasts but a forbidden area for humans. 

The painfully cold wind blew through. 

Slowly, the wind dispersed when it reached a thousand miles away from this certain area which possessed the temperature of the South. The further one ventured into it, the higher the temperature was. All because this was the home to a volcano, which caused this area to be scorching on at all times. This was not the best spot to live, but numerous cultivators flock towards this place, the Blazing Skies Mountain of the North. 

The mountain reached the skies, and there were sparks up there at some point of time if one were to look up. The sparks were the speciality of the Blazing Skies Mountain, the Shooting Stars Fire. It was a high quality ingredient for fire-type treasures, gliph weapons, gliphs and many more. 

Shooting Stars Fire shot out of the volcano from time to time and landed on the ground randomly. During unlucky times, damages to the residences at the foot of the volcano came with it. Thus the Blazing Skies Mountain set up a formation around the foot of the volcano which sucked in Shooting Stars Fire to drop into a net and turned them into their gains. The Mung Clan was the clan maintaining the formation made out of innumerable g-strings.  

Mung Clan was an affiliated clan of the Blazing Skies Mountain. Even though they were an affiliated clan, Mung Clan was a powerful organisation no matter where they were. Blazing Skies Mountain was known for their gliphers who were great in battle that even Four Season Mountains could not compare to. This was the reason behind the huge demand for gliphists in Blazing Skies Mountain. 

And Mung Clan who was famous for nurturing gliphists made up for their weak point.  The clan leader of the Mung Clan, Mung Sam Siu was a hundred-gliphic gliphist. 

Currently, Mung Sam Siu was smiling at a teenage girl in front of him. The girl had a tanned skin tone, looking like a healthy girl. The way she had her eyes shut tight and bit her lips showed a touch of unyieldingness. In front of her were five gliph stings intertwined together, which turned into a gliph within no time. 

Whoosh! 

A fire snake appeared in front of her and wiggled lively. Others could hardly tell it was made of energliph. 

“Very good.” Mung Sam Siu smiled thinly like a kind, old man. Even he could not point out the weakness of this unyielding, smart and hardworking girl in front of him. She became a single-gliphic gliphist at the age of sixteen, and within a few months, she was able to congeal five gliph strings. At the rate she was going, she would step into the ten-gliphic state in her twenties. 

The teenager opened her eyes abruptly and smirked. The fire snake took her order and pounced at Mung Sam Siu. 

“Nonsense.” Mung Sam Siu laughed softly and shook his head. Without any movement, the fire snake turned into sparks and dispersed. 

“It’s time. A year later, Cloud Palace’s enrolment test will take place. You should get going now to familiarise with the place and the South’s culture.” 

“Yes, clan leader.” The teenage girl bowed in response. 

“Are you confident this time?” Mung Sam Siu asked with a meaningful look. “The Cloud palace is the most powerful place in the world. There’s a saying that songs, all gliph stings in the world make up Cloud Palace. If you succeed, you might be the next Wat Suen.” 

The name Wat Suen made the girl’s face lit up; this name was no stranger to her. 

Wat Suen, a girl who ended up with paraplegia after an incident at fifteen, broke through to the single-gliphic state at seventeen with hard work and ended up as the fifth disciple of the Cloud Palace. When she turned nineteen, she made a trip out of the Cloud Palace to cultivate. She was challenged no matter where she went, but still, she won against all cultivators of her generation and returned to the Cloud Palace as the strongest in the world. 

At times, some would come across her outside of the Cloud Palace. But other than that, nobody ever saw her. Even so, the name Wat Suen was recorded in history, and she was the idol to most female cultivators, just like the girl from the Mung Clan. 

Even the arrogant girl turned respectful when Wat Suen was mentioned. “I dare not compare myself to the Fifth Teacher.” 

“Do not belittle yourself.” Mung Sam Siu waved his hands. “You’re the genius of our clan, and no less than Wat Suen in terms of talent. It’s just that your generation is filled with talents, like the Lam dynasty’s crown prince, Four Season Mountain’s double innate chamber successor and Imperial Sunset Palace’s Imperial Empress’s direct disciple. They are all strong opponents. 

“Mung Si, I’m confident in you. You must not underestimate your opponents, but you must be confident with yourself too. Neither haughtiness nor belittling yourself makes  success. 

“Head to the South. This will be an important event in your life as a cultivator.” 

“Thank you, clan leader.” Mung Si bowed again.

She left her clan leader’s room and looked up to the sky filled with Shooting Stars Fire. She was unsure what to feel. 

Am I going to leave my hometown now? But very soon, determination took over. “The Cloud Palace, is it?”