Night of the Broken Gliph

Dismay washed over Wong Kwan’s face slightly as she let out a soft sigh. She had been handling the situation with ease, but compassion took over her when she saw the Stars Unite Education Centre’s group in danger. Never had she thought that her kindness would be repaid with betrayal. 

The metallic smell of blood triggered the sharp-toothed lion pride behind her, making them speed up. Seeing that she was about to be caught up, Wong Kwan sighed. 

Is this fate? Twenty years later, it’s still the Engraved Mountain Range. Maybe, I was destined to die here back on that day. 

She stopped exerting energliph and turned to Ha Yu Bing sadly. “Run, go as fast as you can. I’ll block them here.” 

Being a girl full of emotions, Ha Yu Bing welled up in tears as memories of what a great teacher Wong Kwan had been to them flooded her mind. 

Unlike the glipher from Stars Untie Education Centre, Wong Kwan was an actual member of the Great Book Academy. After graduation, she stayed at the institution and took up the role of a teacher. Behind her ice-cold facade was an exceptionally caring teacher of her students. 

“Hurry, do you want me to die for nothing?” Wong Kwan said. Despite the current situation, she still spoke to her students softly. 

As the leader, Ha Yu Bing gritted her teeth before leaving with her fellow classmates. “Let’s go!” 

There was a reason why Wong Kwan chose to stop at this spot. She was currently about a hundred metres away from the lion pride, and it would take about a few seconds for the dashing lions to reach her.

A few seconds was enough for a ten-gliphic gliphist like her. 

Wong Kwan reached out her pale, slender hands, waving them in the air along with her white sleeve. Many snow-white gliph strings arose from thin air and took shape just before the lion pride reached her. 

Freezing Gale gliph. 

When the gliph took shape, gale howled as countless fist-sized ice balls went for the lion pride. The gale was so powerful that it stopped the lions in their tracks. At the same time, there was blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. 

Wong Kwan had used up all her energy to activate this gliph with the Snowy Wind style. When an ice-type gliph was activated by the Snowy Wind style, it increased the gliph’s effectiveness. Moreover, Freezing Gale gliph was Wong Kwan’s personal and most familiar gliph, thus she was able to control more than a hundred sharp-toothed lions’ movements all at once

But that was her limit. 

The pride rolled back hard, but soon stood up to launch an attack at her once again. Numerous sharp-toothed lions roared, staring at Wong Kwan with their blood-red eyes and determination to kill. 

Pff! 

The gliph blocking in front of her broke. Wong Kwan vomited blood and the Freezing Gale shattered into pieces. The lion pride gained freedom and pounced at Wong Kwan without hesitation! 

Rather than fear, Wong Kwan was composed and even felt a slight relief as the lions came at her. She knew well that the ten-gliphic state would likely be the furthest she could get to in her life. Not because she wasn’t talented enough, but the sore point and the two shadows in her heart. Wong Kwan looked up; she could see the slim figure that stood in front of her years ago. 

When she looked closer, the slender finger overlapped with a buff man who carried a bald boy on his back. The bald boy was even flashing a smile at her. 

More than a hundred sharp-toothed lions were now in front of him, and behind him stood Wong Kwan. There wasn’t any choice left for Chor Shing Chit. He did not retreat nor attack, but to stand on the spot looking as if he was going to hold back the lion pride on his own.

 Chor Shing Chit was feeling oddly annoyed. Ever since Chui Yim tattooed the gliph for him, he felt that there were changes taking place within his body. Ingredients for tattooing gliph always held a strong importance, so important that it caused the world to be divided to a state beyond salvage. 

Using gliphic plants as the main ingredients would not cause huge changes to the glipher’s body. However, if one were to use gliphic beast as main ingredients, the ferocious nature of the gliphic beast would affect the glipher, especially those with poor willpower. Their temperament might even turn upside down. 

On that day, Chui Yim had tattooed a gliph with minerals onto Chor Shing Chit. Nobody in the world had ever done so, and nobody knew what the consequences would be. 

Therefore, Chor Shing Chit never once activated the gliph on his heart chamber ever since he stepped into the three-chambered state, yet he had now diverted all his energliph to his heart chamber subconsciously. 

Suddenly, Chor Shing Chit yelled loudly. The black dragon head on his chest, hidden beneath his shirt, shot open its eyes. It looked up with its mouth open wide as if letting a soundless roar. 

“Get lost!!!” 

Invisible soundwaves spread forward with Chor Shing Chit as the centre, and Chui Yim who was hanging on his back let out a yelp, grabbing onto the drumstick while covering his ears with his empty hand.

“You’re so noisy!” 

Om! 

It’s a word, a wave of sound, but it turned out more like a signal. 

The sharp-toothed lions in front of Chor Shing Chit stood rooted to the ground with their legs turned jelly from Chor Shing Chit’s shout. The shout was so powerful that the cubs even fell to the ground and wet themselves. 

Chor Shing Chit did not have the time to figure out what was wrong with himself. He dashed to Wong Kwan and carried her up immediately. “Hurry!” 

“Hurry!” 

Twenty years ago, it was this boy who picked her up and escaped without hesitation. 

“You’re… Shing Chit!” In Chor Shing Chit’s arms, tears started flowing down Wong Kwan’s eyes. She had just dealt with a near-death situation cool headedly seconds ago, but she couldn’t hold back at the sight of Chor Shing Chit. 

Despite Chor Shing Chit’s poker face, Chui Yim felt his surging emotions. 

So she was the reason that shocked him back at the restaurant! Not that girl, but this one! Is she his ex?

Curiosity burnt in Chui Yim. He was dying to find out what exactly happened between them, but he did not dare ask when other gliphic beasts started chasing after them. 

Along with both of them, Chor Shing Chit sprinted off at an ever faster speed. He felt strange. It was as if he had triggered some switch upon the previous yell, and he had never felt so good. It suddenly crossed his mind that amongst all six chambers, the heart chamber mainly improved one’s body and mental state. 

He felt an endless pool of energy in his body. Every time his feet touched the ground, mud splashed. He looked just like a ferocious beast that was charging forward. 

Ha Yu Bing was filled with despair. She might be drawing Light Wind to speed her and her friends up, but she was just a single-gliphic gliphist after all, and her other two friends were just one-chambered gliphers, not to mention the other two that had yet to reach the single-gliphic state. 

Very soon, they felt the ground behind them shaking violently. Ha Yu Bing guessed that it must be a huge beast from the rough motion. 

“Let’s try our best!” Ha Yu Bing stopped in her tracks and turned to the two other gliphers. Both of them were boys who had a crush on Ha Yu Bing for a long time. Now that Ha Yu Bing came to a stop, they did the same and shouted. 

“Let’s give it our all!” 

Their juniors who had yet to break through could only hide behind them, shaking in fear. 

“Eh?” But all Ha Yu Bing saw was a strong man ahead of the rising gust and had their Ms Wong in his hands, whom all of them thought had already sacrificed herself. 

“Ms Wong!” Ha Yu Bing let out a cry in pleasant surprise. 

“Why are you still standing there?” Wong Kwan asked anxiously. She might be seriously injured, but she still had enough energliph to spare and pulled her students along with her. 

Chor Shing Chit did not even slow down slightly. He was no saint; Wong Kwan and Chui Yim were all that he wanted to save. Since Wong Kwan pulling along the five students did not affect his speed, he made no comments about it. 

Outside the Engraved Mountain Range, cultivators gathered around, ready to fight.  

Being assigned here was no different from serving as a soldier. The Lam dynasty would pay them a salary and provide them with cultivation resources while they worked for the Lam dynasty. 

It was simple to guard the Engrave Mountain Range. There was not much work to be done and one could focus on cultivating. However, one might come across the sudden beast tide if he was out of luck. 

The last time a beast tide took place was twenty years ago. There was nobody who thought that he’d be so unlucky. Hearing the roars belonging to different beasts, all their expressions changed drastically. 

“Get ready to fight,” an old man said. All cultivators got ready upon hearing his words. The old man’s name was unknown to everyone, but they addressed him as Old Dan with respect. 

Old Dan was a hundred-gliphic gliphist who had guarded the defence line set up by the Lam dynasty at the Engrave Mountain range for more than a hundred years. He had experienced a fair share of the beast tide, and this didn’t come as a shock to him. 

As the ground grumbled, Old Dan thought it belonged to a beast, but much to his surprise, it was a man—a weird man who had a bald boy on his back and a gorgeous woman in his arms. The woman was holding onto gliph strings, dragging five children like kites behind her. The group ran across the defence line. Seeing that they were humans, the cultivators made way for them immediately. 

Old Dan’s face changed slightly. He could feel how powerful the man was. As a hundred-gliphic gliphist, Old Dan straight away identified that he had an extraordinary gliph tattooed in his heart chamber, or else he wouldn’t possess such a strong physique. 

But Old Dan only took a glance before looking back at the beast tide that was coming for them after the man passed the defence line. 

He stared at the beasts coldly. “Twenty years have passed. How dare you do it again? Do you really think I’m dead?” He exerted a huge amount of energliph and braved the beast tide fearlessly. 

Neither Chor Shing Chit nor Chui Yim cared about the fight that was taking place right behind them. None of them were saints after all. Despite being the one who started it all, Chui Yim did not even feel the slightest guilt. 

I didn’t do it on purpose! Who would’ve known that this would happen after taking a glance at the stupid gliph! I didn’t even have my lunch! 

Eh? Lunch? 

The thought of lunch made Chui Yim’s stomach grumble. Chui Yim was not the only one who felt hungry; the five other kids who were dragged like kites felt the same too. All of them had their eyes stuck onto Chui Yum’s drumstick. 

I’m so hungry! 

Feeling their stares, Chui Yim snorted and took a big bite of the drumstick. 

I was being thrown off by this drumstick, why would I let you guys have it! But wow, it tastes so good though! 

They might look like kites that were being pulled violently, but other than using energliph to drag them, Wong Kwan blocked off external shocks with her energliph too. Dizziness was all they felt. 

When the danger passed, all five kids started to feel hungry as they now felt safe. Ha Yu Bing had been staring at the drumstick for a long time, and she could smell the aroma. She wasn’t the most popular girl in Great Book Academy, but with her talents and pretty looks, she gained many suitors in the entire South Imperial City. 

To her, as long as she willed it, the bald teenager would give it. And Ha Yu Bing did signal to the bald boy. She stared at the drumstick hungrily, which the boy saw.

But instead of letting her have the drumstick, the teenager ate it and even stared at her triumphantly. This made Ha Yu Bing’s blood boil. 

On the other hand, Chui Yim only had his attention on the delicious drumstick. After eating meals made by Chui Tin and Lam Ming, Chui Yim had turned into a picky eater, and the worst time in his life was when Lam Ming left and he had to eat the bad canteen meals. Furthermore, Lam Ming always spoke about g-food, making Chui Yim somewhat an expert in this area. 

But this drumstick was the most delightful food he ever had! He could tell that not many cooking skills were used in making this drumstick; it was only cooked over a fire with some salt. The drumstick itself was what made a huge difference…

He stared at the drumstick in confusion to realise that it was no normal drumstick. A normal drumstick was only of palm size, but this drumstick was as big as half an adult arm.

Why did I not realise it after holding it for such a long time? 

Moreover, the parts he bit on were in a faint golden colour. The shiny parts were so eye-catching. Chui Yim soon gave up on trying to figure it out and munched on the drum as if he had starved for days. He even chewed loudly, making the kids behind him all the more hungry, and sending Ha Yu Bing cursing. However, her words drowned in the wind caused by Chor Shing Chit who was speeding off. Chui Yim did not even care about them and stared at them smugly.