Night of the Broken Gliph - Chapter 540
The carriage was pulled by a large bull in a fiery red hue, its two pointed horns resembling flames at first glance. Hung Tin Ming played his part as a friendly host well, showing no hint of the arrogance he previously displayed. “This is the mount exclusive to the Hung Clan, the fire-horn bull. Please take a seat, my guests.”
“I heard that fire-horn bulls are born as grade-two gliphic beasts and reach grade three as they grow. I didn’t expect the Hung Clan to use them as mounts.” Kam Chin Kee continued the chat with a smile as he boarded the carriage.
“It’s the clan that’s capable, not me. And at the end of the day, it’s just a beast.” Hung Tin Ming waved his hands.
Chui Yim listened to their conversation silently with his eyes shut as he caressed the bump on his chest.
A barely audible cry rang out shortly, to which Chui Yim nodded his head in response.
Same, I dislike him too.
Indeed a special beast, the fire-horn bull reached the martial arts school shortly.
On the lintel was carved the word “Daybreak” in a huge font, and there was a red palm marking on the bottom left hand side – the Hung Clan’s crest.
This was also the emblem required for all members of the Hung Clan when they established a martial arts school. It bore the Hung Clan crest, serving as a guarantee of confidence. Parents in Great Wisdom City would feel more reassured when sending their children to the school.
The guards greeted Hung Tin Ming immediately as he alighted the carriage. “Owner Hung!”
Hung Tin Ming nodded and stepped aside, letting Suen San Kuk and the rest alight before leading them into the martial arts school confidently.
“This way, please.”
As a martial arts school, the Daybreak Martial Arts School only consisted of a gigantic training ground.
It was consistent with the Great Wisdom style; the entire training ground was constructed with wooden planks polished to a mirror-like smoothness.
Countless youths and teenagers were kneeling on the cold, hard floor quietly, patiently waiting for the final assessment to start. This time, the victor would represent their school at the Silver Waterfall Festival, the dream of every young cultivator in Great Wisdom City.
The festival was a platform to showcase their talents fully!
Hung Tin Ming walked in with his guests as per normal, leading them to a platform two tiers above the wooden planks of the training ground. There were about twenty cushions on the platform; Hung Tin Ming took the middle seat while the rest of them sat next to him.
Suen San Kuk and the rest sat in an appropriate position except Chui Yim; he sat in an extremely ugly manner, but due to his status, Hung Tin Ming and his servants turned a blind eye and made no comments to it.
“Today is assessment day for our school, as well as the day to showcase the hard work you have done over the past year.” Hung Tin Ming announced brightly.
“There will be two segments to the assessment, and there will only be twenty finalists who will be considered to have passed the assessment. Lower level finalists will immediately be promoted to the higher level, while higher level finalists will receive an endorsement letter from the school. The school established by me might not be widely renowned throughout Great Wisdom City, but at least it holds some influence, and we will have your back no matter what your future plans are.
“Those that fail the assessment can choose to remain for another year.
“Lastly, we will choose a winner out of each level to represent the school in the Silver Waterfall Festival that is set to take place in two weeks!
“Today, I have specially invited a few well-known cultivators as guests for our assessment.” Smiling confidently, Hung Tin Min directed the attention to Suen San Kuk. “This is Brother Suen, the second disciple of Metallic Blood War Gate’s current principal, Sze Fung, and also the skipped-generation descendant of the powerful style that once shook the world, Graceful Footwork. Welcome, Brother Suen San Kuk!”
“Wow…”
The teenagers were excited to see a famous cultivator, and they were staring at him with admiration. Not only that, but his story of persevering in martial arts despite being born in a city like Southern Ping that practiced alchemy and medicine made many filled with determination and look up to him! His mentality and how he made his way to South Imperial City alone to join Metallic Blood War Gate fueled the teenagers.
Seeing the excitement of his students, Hung Tin Ming smiled. “Not only that, but we also have the current sixth teacher of Cloud Palace, Sir Kam Chin Kee, next to Brother Suen!”
“Oh my god!!!”
“It’s Cloud Palace!?”
“The owner is impressive! How did he get a Cloud Palace teacher as a guest for our assessment?”
At this moment, all the students could not contain their excitement and were dying to rush up to Kam Chin Kee. They wanted to touch him and see what Cloud Palace members felt like. This put a huge smile on Hung Tin Ming’s face.
“Beside him is the seventh teacher of Cloud Palace, the modern day genius of forging, Sir Chui Yim!”
However, the crowd did not view Chui Yim with the admiration they had for Kam Chin Kee. Chui Yim looked no different from a country bumpkin with the way he sat, unlike Kam Chin Kee who looked immortal!
Only now did Chui Yim and the rest know that only one-chambered and two-chambered gliphers were enrolled in martial arts schools, and from the three-chambered state onwards, they were allowed to teach in schools. What was important was that all gliphers beyond the two-chambered state took different paths, making it tough for teachers to guide them.
The assessment was about to start. Twenty students stepped out, greeting Hung Tin Ming and the others on the platform politely.
“Only four out of twenty will make it to the next stage,” Hung Tin Ming announced, and the students took this rule well as this was what martial arts schools usually did; conducting assessments in groups of twenty and only allowing four to move up to the next stage.
The assessment started, and the one-chambered teens fought each other. Despite their power level, this assessment was interesting to Chui Yim due to the fancy and exquisite styles of Great Wisdom City.
Every round ended with the winner cheering happily, while those that failed to make it felt down as tears rolled down their cheeks. However, this was how cultivation was; every elite had countless weaklings as their stepping stones.
Time flew by, and soon, it was the end of the third round while the participants for the fourth round got ready.
At the same time, Chui Yim frowned.
He saw a slender teenager amongst the group of participants. He was so slender that he looked seriously ill, but he had bright eyes that looked like the sky after a thunderstorm. Chui Yim sensed that he was in the one-chambered state, and he made it forcefully. Moreover, he was more than fourteen years old, which meant that he most likely would not be able to break through to the two-chambered state for the rest of his life.
He was just like any other ordinary, shabby kid, but his eyes caught Chui Yim’s attention.
“Four will be chosen out of twenty. The round starts now.”
As soon as the assessment started, the person beside the slender kid smiled evilly and sent him a punch.
Boom! He flew out like a cannon, but nobody cared as he was the school’s weird student, and they long knew how incapable he was. With him at the side, the other nineteen participants fought each other.
Yet Chui Yim was still paying attention to the kid.