Night of the Broken Gliph

“The Cloud Palace holds a special place in the South… or should I say, in the entire world. Nobody knows how long Cloud Palace has been around, all we know is that it existed even before the birth of the Lam dynasty. In legends, it was said to have existed even before gliphism became widespread. In the end, legends are just legends. The only fact that nobody in the world could deny was…

“That Cloud Palace is the most powerful organisation in the world.

“Most powerful?” Chui Yim furrowed his brows. 

“Yes, not one of them, but the most powerful,” Bak Wun replied straightforwardly. “They are the most powerful.” He stressed his words again. 

“Cloud Palace is a special existence,” Chor Shing Chit continued, ignoring Bak Wun. “They never poke their noses into worldly affairs, but their existence itself already has a great impact on the world. The golden rule of ‘whatever happens in the institution stays there’ that South dies by originated from the Cloud Palace.

“The North had always been eyeing the South like a tiger, but they never dared to join forces to take down the Lam dynasty all because of Cloud Palace. No comments were ever made by them, but their existence itself was enough to make the North fear. That’s how powerful they are.”  

“What organisation are they? They are so powerful that they could suppress three organisations alone.” From the books, Chui Yim knew that the Blazing Skies Mountain, Imperial Sunset Palace and Four Season Mountain were all guarded by five-chambered and thousand-gliphic state elites. 

“Erm… The Cloud Palace isn’t an organisation to be exact, but an institution.” 

Chui Yim was left speechless by this comment. So the Cloud Palace is the most influential institution in the entire world?

“The Cloud Palace’s power originates not only from their elites, but also its graduates. More than five of their alumni are of five-chambered or thousand-gliphic state.” 

Chui Yim spread out his fingers, counting. There’s not more than ten known elites in this world of the state now, though. 

“The Cloud Palace only takes in seven, never more, disciples per generation. Thus they have a small cohort of seven disciples every generation. The selected disciples have never failed to turn out as a one of flying colours. And amongst the seven, there would definitely be one who tops the cohort.” 

“That’s where I plan to bring you to,” Bak Wun interrupted. “You’re qualified to give the enrollment test a try, little monster.” 

“The enrollment test will take place in two years’ time. With your talent, it’ll  be good to give it a try. However, nothing is absolute, as talent and ability aren’t the only factors they look out for. I failed when I tried previously, twenty years ago,” Chor Shing Chit wore a complicated look as he said to Chui Yim.

Chui Yim was clear that Chor Shing Chit could definitely be regarded as a talent; he was only in his thirties, and three-chambered gliphers have a lifespan of at least a hundred years. It wouldn’t be a demanding task for him to reach the four-chambered state, nor the five-chambered. 

Even someone like Chor Shing Chit was not selected by Cloud Palace? 

“The Cloud Palace only wants weirdos as their disciples, not talents. What’s so great about talents? Weirdos are more rare!” Bak Wun said lazily. 

“I see that the principal knows the Cloud Palace well.” Chor Shing Chit turned to Bak Wun with a meaningful look. 

“Of course,” Bak Wun replied proudly. “Or why do you think I named my institution the Riding Clouds Academy? My aim was to have a student from my institution ride my clouds into the Cloud Palace.”

“And you happen to be the student who has the best chances,” Bak Wun said, his sight landing on Chui Yim. “You could tattoo a gliph even before you stepped into the single-gliphic state, and moreover, it was a Spiral Dragon gliph. At the same time, you’re great at medicine. You’re weird enough for the Cloud Palace to like you.” 

Yet Chui Yim only wore a frown on his face and patted his bald head hearing Bak Wun. Cloud Palace is such a legendary institution, so why did Chui Tin not recommend it to me? Did he think that I would definitely fail the enrollment test? Determination washed over Chui Yim’s face at the thought of this. I must leave him thunderstruck! 

“Okay, Cloud Palace it is!” 

The evening arrived, ready to end the day with a sun-soaked orange sky. Warm rays of the evening sun cast down on the Lion Dance Inn, sending a relaxing vibe across the place. 

Two people sat on the highest level of the inn, looking at the sunset through the window. “Brother Chui, are you not going to stay anymore?” 

The pair was no other than Tse Yu Bak and Chui Yim. Tse Yu Bak was sincerely thankful for Chui Yim. Without Chui Yim, he would never be able to cultivate, nor become a one-chambered state glipher within a day. It could be said that Chui Yim gave him another life. 

“I will not bear to leave this place if I stay here for too long.” Chui Yim laughed. He sounded kiddish, but it gave Tse Yu Bak a weird illusion that he was drinking with a senior. 

“Big brother Chui, you’re most welcome to stay here for as long as you want.” Tse Yu Bak looked like he had just swallowed a fly. Did I just address a twelve year old boy as big brother? 

As if not aware of what was going on in Tse Yu Bak’s mind, Chui Yim swirled the drink in his cup and shook his head. “It’s fine, the route of giphism is like going against the current. It’s too easy and comfortable here that my sharpness is about to be worned out.” 

Tse Yu Bak said nothing, taking in Chui Yim’s words slowly. He only took up his cup after some time. “Alright, never forget this. The Night Lion Tse Clan is brother Chui’s friend forever.” 

“Hahaha! Who cares about the Night Lion Tse Clan? My brother is Tse Yu Bak, not the Tse Clan.” 

“Come!” 

“Cheers!” 

Night fell. Chui Yim dragged Tse Yu Bak back to the Tse Mansion.

“I can still drink…” Tse Yu Bak mumbled to himself. Even though he consumed wine to relieve his sorrows, it was only in small amounts, unlike Chui Yim who downed jugs at a time. It was an extremely tiring task to get Tse Yu Bak back, so tiring that poor Chui Yim even suspected that he would trigger his heart deficiency if the trip back to Tse Mansion took a longer time. 

Immediately after entering the mansion, servants came to fetch Tse Yu Bak seeing how drunk their young master was, also not forgetting to thank Chui Yim. All of them gasped silently at how a child was even a better drinker than their young master. But that was all in their head; nobody dared to say anything in reality. 

After handling Tse Yu Bak over to his servants, Chui Yim returned to his room, slightly dizzy. 

Creak. 

He opened the door to this room to be welcomed by a sweet scent. The scent made Chui Yim drowsy, it felt like he was in a flower bush. 

This made Chui Yim’s eyes shoot open immediately, and he was now fully awake. Being profound in medicine, he had come in contact with many medications and gliphic plants under Chui Tin’s teaching. 

This is the… nightmare bloom! 

He took a step back immediately. At the same time, a figure dashed out from the shadowed parts of his room, moving towards Chui Yim at lighting speed. Chui Yim was able to catch the light on both the person’s feets in the dark. 

A two-chambered glipher!