Night of the Broken Gliph

After succeeding as clan leader, Chor Chun Ping had a simple dinner with his father, wife and son. This was their first family gathering in two decades, and it was happy yet upsetting.

Chor Chun Ping would only leave for the Southern Bulwark half a month later, and Chor Huet Zhin was exactly the reason why; he only had that much time left in the world. 

Despite Chor Huet Zhin having gone through countless life and death encounters, Chor Chun Ping and Chor Shing Chit still couldn’t face his impending departure. After all, Chor Huet Zhin was a family member they loved deeply. 

The next morning, Chui Yim came to the garden after completing his daily physical training and cultivating the Nine Levels Of Heaven’s Flame. Chor Shing Chit was already in the garden, receiving pointers from Chor Huet Zhin on his cultivation.

Chor Huet Zhin’s cheeks were pink as he looked even healthier than before. One without any medical skill would believe that he was recovering.  

“Grandfather can’t say much about tattooing gliphs with minerals as I don’t have any information on it, but from what your little friend Chui said, the powerful burst of your energliph does have a price,” Chor Huet Zhin said. It was then that both he and Chor Shing Chit spotted Chui Yim. 

During their family dinner yesterday, Chor Shing Chit told his family members about his time after leaving the clan. Chor Chun Ping listened to his son with an unchanging smile despite having heard about it before. When he reached the thrilling incidents, like how Chui Yim, a gliphist who had yet to break through, managed to tattoo a gliph on him using minerals, he made his mother let out a shriek. 

Thus, Chui Yim greatly impressed Chor Huet Zhin as he saved his grandson’s life a few times. “Little friend Chui, you’re here. We were just talking about you.” 

Hearing him, Chui Yim hurried over. “I overheard your conversation. Mr Chor has deduced the same theory as I did. There’s nothing free in this world, just like tattooing a gliph onto one’s chamber would decrease a glipher’s will to battle if a gentle ingredient like gliphic plants were used. On the other hand, tattooing a gliph with bestial ingredients would slowly turn the cultivator ruthless. 

“As for minerals, I guessed that it would help gather the will to battle and energliph constantly, resulting in the cultivator being calmer. There are times when the cultivator’s potential would erupt, but his will to battle would decrease after that, and more changes would occur to the glipher’s characteristics. However, there shouldn’t be many changes to a Chor Clan disciple who’s more quiet to begin with.” 

Chor Huet Zhin laughed at Chui Yim’s words. He found Chui Yim interesting, but who was Chor Huet Zhin? He was a sparkling talent of his generation and a monster that killed without blinkings to the northerners, known even to this day. 

He had experienced so much but still couldn’t refute the fact that Chui Yim was a monstrous talent in medicine, gliphism and alchemy. It was as if there wasn’t anything that Chui Yim didn’t know. 

“Little friend Chui,” Chor Huet Zhin spoke up after some time. “If I say I’d like little friend Chui to pass his methods of tattooing gliphs with minerals to the Chor Clan, what would be your opinion?” 

Chor Shing Chit stopped training and turned to his grandfather in disbelief. Both he and his grandfather knew the price of this. Everything came with a price except knowledge. 

Gliph weapons, treasures, and precious ingredients all had a huge price tag, but not knowledge—it was simply priceless. Yet what Chor Huet Zhin was asking from Chui Yim was more than simple knowledge. For example, tattooing gliphs using minerals was like Chui Yim creating a brand new gliph. A gliph that originated from him and benefited others that study it. Moreover, this method of tattooing gliphs was brand new! 

It wasn’t an official method, but Chor Huet Zhin, Chor Shing Chit and even Chui Yim saw the potential it held. Even if most precious gliphic minerals were unsuitable for tattooing gliphs, there must be thousands of other minerals that could be used. 

This was different from the Southern plantae faction and the Northern bestial faction, but a brand new mineral faction! 

If the Chor Clan possessed this method before anyone else, they would leave a huge mark in history. At the same time, this was still a very new method with countless unknowns; there wasn’t any way for them to identify any possible side effects like a shortened life span.

Therefore, this was the largest and last bet Chor Huet Zhin made before he left this world! 

Chui Yim was deep in thought.  

In fact, this wasn’t Chui Yim’s idea; it was derived from Chui Tin’s teachings.  

Chui Tin once talked about his thoughts and predictions on tattooing gliphs using minerals in his lessons with Chui Yim, but because he wasn’t going to experiment on a human and it wasn’t something he cared about, he didn’t research or study it further.  

It was only under grave unforeseen circumstances that Chui Yim was forced to try it, making Chor Shing Chit the first person to have a gliph tattooed on him using minerals and being the technique’s first guinea pig.  

However, Chui Yim never thought of passing the idea off as his; he knew that if the method worked, it would greatly impact the world. 

“I can provide the method to the Chor Clan first,” Chui Yim only said after a long time. “But I have too little information on it; I won’t publicise it until I’m sure it doesn’t have any bad side effects.” 

Chor Huet Zhin nodded as he watched Chui Yim admiringly. He’s indeed Doctor Odd Ping Chi’s disciple, to restrain the urge to tell the world about this shocking discovery till he’s confirmed its side effects to ensure the people’s safety. This should be the moral and ethics of a doctor!  

The more Chor Huet Zhin thought about it, the more he felt it was destiny.  

Shing Chit left home for twenty years and returned with this extraordinary talent as his friend, the first person in the world to be of the mineral faction. This must be fate! 

“Of course. But little friend Chui, what are your conditions? We might not be the imperial family, but there aren’t many in the South that can match us. Our clan has numerous gliphic weapons, treasures, alchemy stoves and even ancient gliphic tools. I can consider it as long as we have it.” 

“I want to learn the gliphility you performed yesterday.” 

Both Chor Huet Zhin and his grandson were left speechless. Chor Huet Zhin couldn’t believe his ears.   

Chor Huet Zhin’s Bloody War Strike was considered a powerful gliphility in both the North and South. Only a few institutions would possess gliphilities superior to the Bloody War Strike. It was a grade four gliphility… but in the end, only a gliphility. Just that for a technique that would impact history greatly, passed down through many generations. This and the identity of being the mineral faction’s first members was enough to make any clan pay greatly for it, yet Chui Yim only asked for a gliphility in exchange?