Night of the Broken Gliph

Chapter 461

However, Man Chin Hung’s journey to becoming a gliphist was not to be omitted from this.

Born to poverty, Man Chin Hung spent her childhood sewing for a living, struggling to make ends meet. She, who had an innate wind chamber, did not even dare to dream of having a famous master to guide her.

Things only took a turn when she broke through her innate chamber at the age of twenty-two. During her breakthrough, there were unusual weather phenomena that caught the attention of the previous Imperial Sunset Palace emperor living nearby. Afterwards, he took Man Chin Hung as his direct disciple.

It might’ve been due to her tough childhood, but her cultivation journey was abnormally smooth. Other than cultivating the divine style from Imperial Sunset Palace, Imperial Heaven Pure Sun, there wasn’t even a trace of the sect seen in her personal gliph.

Thus, she might’ve been the Imperial Sunset Palace empress, but she didn’t pick up any powerful skills from the sect. In other words, she, not the sect, paved her own way.

Therefore, that was how she taught Man Yee Ho. She only strengthened his foundation, physical strength, and speed of drawing gliphs but spoke nothing about how to build his own personal gliph.

She knew that Man Yee Ho was an extremely talented teen, one who even surpassed her because of how he could get out of her Thousand Miles Layered Yarn gliph at a young age.

Man Chin Hung was looking forward to what a world-shocking personal gliph her disciple would create.

When Man Yee Ho exited the classroom, he received many unhappy stares. The Southern clan leaders were unhappy with how he took so much time, and adding on the fact that he was a Northerner, it increased their unhappiness with him. However, this did not bother Man Yee Ho, who was expressionless as if he did not care as he returned to Yeung Tin Hun.

Lam Zaa knew it was his turn, thus he stepped out of the crowd.

“All the best, Siu Zaa.” Lam Chi said calmly from his seat, wearing a gentle expression.

This was weird for Lam Zaa, but he nodded in reply nonetheless. He couldn’t be blamed, since by the time he was old enough, Lam Chi had already been sent to guard a remote city at the end of the South called Southary.

On Kuet and Woo Hung were feeling awkward too, since they expected to make it to the Cloud Trials even if they didn’t end up getting selected, but the last thing they expected was to come across the stage named Cleanse.

Ranked seventh on the Blue Skies Rank, On Kuet was way stronger than the world perceived him. Yet, the Kirin Arm he inherited from his clan was the factor that got him eliminated.

The Kirin Arm was a fierce body form that came with strong power that was difficult for a child to control. From a young age, On Kuet had to consume different pills and g-food to get it under control, but this was also the factor that caused him to look older than his age. Only when he broke through his innate chamber was he able to learn to keep this power under control.

Therefore, he was disqualified at Hui Sai Cheong’s stage, but this did not upset him much as he was one of the first to feel the benefits of it.

“All the best, Your Highness!”

Lam Zaa nodded towards him and Woo Hung before scanning the other Cloud Trials participants. With that, he made his way into the classroom.

Lam Zaa stepped into the room.

He did not feel much seeing the now empty classroom that was once filled with tables and chairs.

He patted his jade, and a table appeared in the classroom with a white piece of paper sitting on top.

It was an ordinary paper with a calligraphy set sitting next to it.

“Oh? He’s going to write, Senior Brother,” Third Teacher Hui Sai Cheong said. “Isn’t this what Great Senior Brother is best at?”

Sung Tsz Hin only responded with a thin smile. He might be lowkey, but some things about him were still known to the world.

For example, the widely-known signboard of grass-refining grandmaster Choh Hang Sang’s Straw Hut. Even those who didn’t understand gliphism could feel its powerful aura.

Was this kid now going to write in front of First Teacher?

This was no different from displaying one's incompetence before a connoisseur!

To the Cloud Palace members, they did not care about the crown prince’s status. They did not care about worldly affairs, so status was nothing to them.

Lam Zaa picked up his pen while slowly regulating his breathing.

He was feeling nervous, which was a rare sight.

Well, it might’ve been because he practiced every night for years just for today. He studied the different calligraphy styles of famous calligraphists and even had the rare calligraphy by First Teacher in his Almighty Hall.

It was difficult to not be nervous when he had prepared so long just for today.

With a deep breath and determination, he started writing.

Whoosh…

He wrote at a quick speed as the sound of his brush coming in contact with the paper filled the room.

Every one of his strokes was perfect.

“Not bad.” Wong Kei, who was no longer bewitched by Man Yee Ho, sighed. His words were true; despite Lam Zaa’s young age, his words were filled with a style unique to him, and his characteristics were all clearly shown through his words.

The elderly normally said that a person’s character and behaviour could be deduced from their handwriting, and surprisingly, it was based on facts.

For example, Man Yee Ho and Yeung Tin Hun were obviously unprepared for the Cloud Trials. Their answers only casually showed their strengths, but not who they truly were.

However, Lam Zaa clearly wrote “himself” out on the paper!

His brush was like a sword fighting in the world of plain paper.

When his brush landed, it was as if the sword was fully unsheathed, showing its full strength. When he lifted his pen, he sheathed the sword and kept its shine.

Lam Zaa cupped his fist as a sign of respect and left the room with his calligraphy set, leaving only the table and paper behind.

Sung Tsz Hin reached out for Lam Zaa’s work.

His fingers landed on the painting and he moved his fingers apart. The world in the painting then landed on his hands. This unreal change would leave any other shell-shocked.

There was only one word clearly written on the paper. It was written so hard that ink was seeping through it. From just this one word, they could see Lam Zaa’s proficiency towards the control of his brush as well as how well he controlled his energliph. However, these were not the only factors that they considered.

“Senior Brother, how is it?” Hui Sai Cheong, who understood nothing about calligraphy, couldn’t help but ask when he saw Sung Tsz Hin was deep in thought.

“Erm… Let’s take another look later,” Sung Tsz Hin said after some thought.

Because the next candidate had already entered.

“All the best, Kam boy!” Chui Yim cheered for him, and the crowd couldn’t help but take a few more glances at him; more specifically, a few more glances at the horrifying wound on his chest that he gained from helping Mung Si block the dragon’s attack. Chui Yim had stopped it from bleeding with precious pills, and adding on his powerful body, it seemed to have completely healed.

Chui Yim ignored his wound and cheered for Kam Chin Kee, who only gave him a smile.