Night of the Broken Gliph

Golden threads of the morning sun woke the South Imperial City up, starting the day. 

Today was unlike any other day. It might be the well-prepared coaches stationed outside residences of all the clans and important officials, the Evergreen Palace that had opened its main door, indicating that the Emperor was leaving the Palace, or the fully armed soldiers on duty throughout the city. 

Whatever it was, nobody knew what was going on except the various clan leaders and important figures of South Imperial City. 

It was the day that an important figure would leave this world. If his life was written in a book, it’d be a legend. But this important figure didn’t care about such matters, insisting that he had only fulfilled trivial matters. Thus, his legendary life was only recorded in his clan’s internal records, his life remembered only by his descendants. 

To all of this generation, his existence had left a deep impression on them. He was a sly old fox to domestic officials and an ever-victorious general, a god of war, to military officials. He was a master of both the pen and the sword, the Emperor’s strongest assistant, a cold-blooded grim reaper to the Northerners who killed in the blink of an eye without any hesitation. 

Nevermind how others viewed him; he was a star that shined no matter where he was. 

He was none other than Chor Huet Zhin, whose name shook an entire generation, the cause of Northern children wailing at night, and why the Southerners could sleep peacefully at night. 

Yet, this legendary figure’s life was coming to an end. 

Unlike other elites who ignored worldly affairs, Chor Huet Zhin chose to enter politics. There were even rumours that one of the seven disciples of Cloud Palace commented that Chor Huet Zhin would’ve had a fifty per cent chance of breaking through to the five-chambered state if he had focused on his cultivation instead. 

But no matter what, this powerful cultivator, the legend of a generation, would bid the world farewell. Whether you loved or hated him, it was undoubtedly a pity. 

The Chor Mansion was in a similarly solemn mood today. Just as mentioned previously, Chor Huet Zhin was one of the most powerful clan leaders in the Chor Clan’s history. There had once been a five-chambered cultivator who led the Chor Clan in the past. But unlike Chor Huet Zhin, the cultivator only focused on cultivation and did not care much about the clan’s affairs. Things were so bad that the Chor Clan would’ve been doomed had it not been for his absolute strength. 

However, Chor Huet Zhin was equally powerful in different ways. He was the most powerful cultivator in the South besides Tse Chun, another four-chambered cultivator. Yet even Tse Chun wouldn’t dare to forcefully go against Chor Huet Zhin’s Bloody War Strike. 

He had guarded the Bloody War Frontier for more than five decades, starting as a military chef but eventually becoming a general, had goals related to the entire South, and became someone nobody could order around. 

Chor Huet Zhin then spent the rest of his life as a government official, working alongside Emperor Lam with his officials, keeping the Chor Clan in place while at the same time leading the clan to a better future. 

Even during the last two weeks of his life, Chor Huet Zhin worked to serve his clan. He called for the clan leader competition and decided on the new clan leader, taking care of various matters and making a secret deal with Chui Yim for the Chor Clan’s future. The previous fracturing clan instantly reformed because of Chor Huet Zhin in just two short weeks. 

All the men of the Chor Clan wore black armour and stood in two long lines from the Chor Mansion’s entrance to the Clan Leader’s courtyard. 

The black armour was a special armour of the Chor Clan. 

The entire Chor Mansion was overflowing with a strong murderous intent underlayed with a hint of slight sorrow. Only important figures could walk through the countless Chor Clan disciples and members. Lam Chun, the current Emperor, was one of them. 

Chui Yim stood at the side with the Chor Clan members. He had a special identity, and nobody knew why he was allowed to stand with the Chor Clan members except for Chor Shing Chit, Chor Chun Ping and Chor Chong Hoi; the latter was utterly shocked to find out the things that Chui Yim had done. 

The moment Chor Huet Zhin decided to let Chui Yim tattoo the gliphs for the Chor Clan using minerals, Chui Yim’s fate was tied with the Chor Clan. 

“Clan Leader Wong is here.” A low voice boomed as an old man with snow-white hair walked in. He held a dark wooden cane that towered over him.  

Chui Yim only glanced at him before being unable to take his eyes off the cane. That’s Helpless Wood aged at least a hundred… no! More than a thousand years old! My god!  

Sensing Chui Yim’s stare, the man turned to meet his eyes and flashed a smile. Perhaps because Chui Yim was just a boy, he looked away in no time. 

 Chor Shing Chit noticed this and heaved a sigh of relief when he realised that the old man only smiled back at Chui Yim. “That’s the clan leader of the Mad Tiger Wong Clan, Wong Pak. Their clan and our clan have different political views; it’s said that Mr Wong fought grandfather countless times. Him coming to send grandfather off is unexpected.” 

Who was Chor Huet Zhin? Those qualified to be his opponent would be equally powerful people. Besides the Chor and Wong Clan, the On Clan and Lee Clan were equally powerful military clans. By powerful, it meant that their military strength was significant as they represented the four generals under Emperor Lam. 

Of the four, the Chor Clan was the most powerful. When Chor Huet Zhin’s health used to be better, the other three generals had to join hands to prevent him from suppressing them. 

Clan Leader On and Clan Leader Lee didn’t come to send Chor Huet Zhin off, albeit sending someone just as qualified to attend. The representative of the Lee Clan was a woman in a long dress, Clan Leader Lee’s daughter, Lee Sin Yee. Meanwhile, an elderly woman came in place of Clan Leader On. She was Woo Wah of the Woo family, the wife of Clan Leader On.

Another man was standing a step behind on Emperor Lam’s left. He looked young when in fact he was forty years old. 

Forty years was a very young age for cultivators, but not for him, a commoner. 

He was Chui Yi, the current clan leader of the Holok Chui Clan and the current grand chancellor. It was said that Emperor Lam permitted him to use the teleportation gliph formation to come for the morning meetings and paid for all the resources and precious ingredients he needed. 

This was the reason why he was able to stand next to Emperor Lam. 

“Kan Hang is here.” 

Hearing this, everyone present, be it the important figures or Chor Clan disciples all shared glances with a weird expression on their faces. 

By right,  only those of appropriate status, power, and strength were qualified to send off Chor Huet Zhin. But because Chor Huet Zhin spent his life in politics, he didn’t have as many powerful cultivators as his friends; most attendees were officials. 

However, Kan Hang was an exception.