Night of the Broken Gliph

The forearm-length black object is neither metal nor wood. Right after it landed in front of them, the Chor Clan disciples were blinded by a bright light, forcing them to come to a stop.

“Ahh!!”  

Chui Yim and Kam Chin Kee were nowhere to be seen when the light dispersed.  

“Ridiculous! What the heck is that!” Chor Kwong Laan cursed and picked up the item that had now lost its shine, which looked like a piece of trash, and broke it forcefully! 

“Don’t worry. That kiddo will go to the Cloud Palace outer sect. If Young Master Chor blames us for that, just say that it was an act of impulse. We didn’t do anything anyways. He’ll pay for it someday,” Chor Fung said expressionlessly, with jealousy and madness swimming across his eyes. 

“Huff… Huff… Huff…” Kam Chin Kee and Chui Yim were so surprised that they ran around the city aimlessly. They finally stopped in a dark alley to catch their breath. 

“What did you throw at them?”  

“None of your business!” Chui Yim glared at him unhappily. 

It was a big loss for Chui Yim. That was the last of Chi Ping’s treasure that he broke into five parts and made into a one-time use weapon! He had used two when facing the Yellow Spring’s Lady, one where he was nearly assassinated back at the Tse Clan, and one was given to Lam Zaa as a gift. 

The one he used just now was the last one he had!  

Chi Ping might have been fishing for fame and reputation unscrupulously, but the light his treasure produced still saved their lives. However, he had already used them up.

It’s all because I’m not capable enough to protect myself! Chui Yim grunted and thought about how to deal with the Chor Clan kids.  

“Brother Chui, do you need help?” Kam Chin Kee spoke up again. 

“You useless kid! You said the same thing just now, but you ran faster than everyone else!” Chui Yi raged on hearing Kam Chin Kee. 

“As gliphists who have yet to break through our innate chamber, it’s impossible for us to fight… But I do have some tricks up my sleeve. Doesn’t brother Chui have tons of traps and mechanisms in your courtyard? I also possess some knowledge about them.”   

“You?” Chui Yim stared at him suspiciously.  

After reading so much, he knew that this world didn’t have a deep understanding of such mechanisms. Yet Kam Chin-Kee is saying that he’s proficient in them? 

“If brother Chui doesn’t believe me, we can go back to the residence for me to prove it.” Kam Chin Kee patted his chest with a confident smile. 

“Dream on! I haven’t repaired the traps after those guys destroyed them yesterday! Tell me about your idea first,” Chui Yim replied, pondering.  

They were back at Chui Yim’s residence.

“Genius! Such genius!” Chui Yim exclaimed as he looked at the blueprint in front of him. “It’s so precise that it’s a work of art! What’s even better is that it looks simple yet is extremely difficult to make!

“If I’m right, this mechanism will require a blacksmith of at least great master rank to forge, right?” 

Kam Chin Kee looked at Chui Yim seriously. He drew the blueprint intending to probe Chui Yim, but it was beyond his expectations that Chui Yim could understand it. 

“I can give you one of these mechanisms.” Kam Chin Kee got increasingly sure of his speculations. “But on one condition. Let me stay at your residence.” 

“There’s no need to. I can make them myself,” Chui Yim rejected him immediately.  

“You can?” Kam Chin Kee was so shocked that his eyes nearly popped out. Chui Yim said nothing and headed to the forging table while humming as he started working. Ten minutes later, the smithing table was covered with various components.  

“You can forge?” Kam Chin Kee blurted.  

“Of course! Can’t you see the huge smithing table?” Chui Yim yelled, but he didn’t stop. A palm-sized cylinder was slowly taking shape. 

“Wow…” Chui Yim looked at the ordinary cylinder, which was a powerful weapon. “What’s this mechanism called?”  

“Thousand Mechanism Arrow.” Kam Chin Kee looked at Chui Yim with a complicated look.  

Kam Chin Kee returned to the palace with mixed feelings. Unlike how calm he usually was, he was feeling complicated and lost as he felt things might be different in this life. 

Lam Ming Sum was waiting for him in the Imperial Garden. Seeing him, Lam Ming Sum waved her hands. “Brother Chin Kee!”  

Her voice brought Kam Chin Kee back to earth, who looked up with a forced smile. “It’s Ming Sum. What’s up?”  

“What do you mean what’s up?” Lam Ming Sum pouted angrily. “You promised to have dinner with me yesterday but didn’t turn up! Where did you go?”  

“I met an interesting person, and it slipped my mind.” Kam Chin Kee shrugged it off. “C’mon, let’s eat.” 

“Great!” Lam Ming Sum clapped and pulled Kam Chin Kee into the Ming Sum Hall.  

Both of them failed to notice the shadow hidden around the corner.  

The next day, at the Cloud Palace outer sect.  

As usual, Woo Nim came to class forty-five minutes earlier. Being on time was simply her character; precise and well disciplined.  

After the greetings, Woo Nim asked about their day yesterday, which she rarely did. “Mister Cheuk’s lesson was great, right?”

Kam Chin Kee could spot her small smirk at the corner of her mouth. 

“Mister Cheuk was greatly shocked, and he’s currently requesting to be transferred away.” 

All the students in the class turned to Suet Sing Fuk subconsciously, who smiled embarrassedly. “Mister Cheuk is such a knowledgeable cultivator that I couldn’t help but pay my respects to him.

“Yes.” Woo Nim agreed. “Mister Cheuk hasn’t properly introduced himself, right?”  

All the students were taken aback after hearing Woo Nim. Yesterday, Mister Cheuk immediately fell asleep after telling Woo Nim to leave. The amazing lesson then unfolded, which showed off his great knowledge of gliphism. However, he never introduced himself. All the students knew was that he had the surname “Cheuk”. 

“His name is Cheuk Kwun, theguardian of the Cloud Palace’s Cloud Forest Library.“ 

Cloud Forest Library? 

Leaving Chui Yim aside, even the students from prestigious backgrounds and Lam Zaa were confused. It was a foreign name to them. 

“It’s normal that all of you are unaware. Outsiders won’t know much about the Cloud Palace. I’m sure you all know what Cloud Rank is?” 

“The Cloud Rank is the world’s ranking,” a student answered immediately. 

“Yes.” Woo Nim nodded. She spoke slowly, every word pronounced clearly. “Other than the rank for cultivators, there is another Celestial Weapon Rank for weapons. These are the two main categories of the Cloud Rank. The cultivator’s rank is divided into the Blue Skies Rank and the Divine Skies Rank.” 

“Miss Woo, why are only cultivators below the three-chambered state ranked on the Cloud Rank?” The insolent Wong Chow Yip from the Mad Tiger Wong Clan suddenly spoke up.