Night of the Broken Gliph

Madame Yuen looked around before continuing, “Two hours have passed, and today’s auction is ending soon. We are left with three items.” She waved as a muscular two-chambered glipher overflowing with energliph came on stage.

He was holding onto a huge box covered with a red cloth. It was half his height and seemed too heavy even for the glipher. After placing the box on the stage, he wiped away his sweat and bowed toward Madame Yuen before leaving the stage.

“Sculptors are rare in both the North and the South,” Madame Yuen spoke loudly as she looked at the crowd. “However, the appearance of a mysterious great master changed the entire industry. Today, I’m pleased to announce that besides the mysterious great master, we have another sculptor who will be debuting with this work, Flight in the Dark!”

Madame Yuen pulled the red cloth off, revealing the hidden box. It wasn’t a box, but a translucent cover made of white glass. The knowledgeable ones among the crowd could tell that the cover itself was worth at least a hundred thousand! But rather than noticing the cover, most were enraptured by the item held within it.

Mok Mukwatched this scene proudly.

There was a wooden bird sculpture standing in the cover peacefully. Its wings were down, and every detail was perfectly carved. It emitted a special aura which everyone could feel despite the aura being mostly contained by the glass.

It gave off the vibes of a forest.

“This sculpture is a beast from the Forbidden Forest near the North. The beast has an eagle’s body but a cat’s head. It’s called an owl, and this sculpture is of a grade four owl king. The master behind this work, great master Mok Muk, made this sculpture with the owl king as his inspiration.

“An owl is a nocturnal animal with a gentle character. But when threatened, it will show its ferocious side. Like the foggy night onyx eagle, an owl is one of the strongest animals among the bird species, but weaker than the foggy night onyx eagle, which is powerful both day and night.

“As a work inspired by the Owl King, it took its characteristics too. It can absorb the moon’s essence, creating a gentle energy covering over a thousand metres. All cultivators cultivating gentle styles can cultivate twenty per cent faster within its range!”

As soon as Madame Yuen finished speaking, many clan leaders shot up in disbelief. A gliph weapon or defence tool could only benefit one fighter or cultivator—but this sculpture can benefit an entire clan! Placing it in the centre of the clan could allow all its disciples to cultivate faster. This was how powerful a sculpture was.

Mok Muk had an extremely proud expression. He did not intend to keep his identity a secret and openly admitted who he was. Within no time, everyone turned to him, intending to get to know him; Mok Muk was a great master sculptor after all, and with sculptors already rare in this world, everyone was staring at him as if he was a grand master.

“The bidding shall start from one million five hundred thousand taels. Every bid must be an increase of at least fifty thousand taels!” Madame Yuen continued.

“The bidding shall start now!”

As soon as Madame Yuen finished her words, an elderly lady from a black grade room stood up. “Two million!”

Another woman from a black grade private room stood up. Chui Yim could identify her as Lee Sin Yee, Clan Leader Lee’s biological daughter, and their classmate Lee Bat Fan’s mother. “Two million and two hundred thousand!”

“The Lee Clan has been around for such a long time and has a sculpture that has been passed down long ago. Is there really a need for us to fight over this?” the old lady scowled.

“You can never have enough of such sculptures.” Lee Sin Yee shrugged as she smiled. It was as if she never grew old.

“Two million and five hundred thousand,”a gentle voice belonging to a middle-aged man rang out. Everyone turned towards the black grade private room simultaneously. He wore a green robe that made him look more like a scholar than a cultivator.

“The Snow Stellar Yik Clan!”

“He’s Yik Fung! The next clan leader!”

“He doesn’t look like much, though?”

“What do you know? He’s already a hundred-gliphic gliphist, and he might even reach the thousand-gliphic state in a hundred years’ time. When that happens, the Yik Clan will turn the world around!”

However, acting like he couldn’t hear them, Yik Fung watched everything calmly.

The elderly woman who bid first was an elder from the Great Book Academy. Besides her, the Lee and Yik Clans, many other clans bid for the sculpture too. However, Yik Fung looked unfazed as if the sculpture was already in his pocket.

After a few more rounds of bidding, the Great Book Academy elder watched Yik Fung win the sculpture with 3,100,000 silver taels. Despite his cultivation, Yik Fung looked ecstatic to win the sculpture.

The reason behind his determination was the sculpture’s ability. The Snow Stellar city had a strange phenomenon where clouds rarely formed. Every night, star and lunar energy was abundant, and he was confident that placing this sculpture in the city would up one’s cultivation by thirty per cent instead of the usual twenty.

This sculpture is as good as one made by a grand master!

Lee Sin Yee looked disappointed, but it didn’t bother her as much as the elder of Great Book Academy. The Lee Clan had been around for centuries and already owned such a sculpture. Moreover, she was here for the mysterious great master’s work. Mok Muk’s work might’ve surprised her, but it wasn’t necessary for her.

This brought Mok Muk to fame, and he was invited into Ying Fung’s private room to chat with him.

Even Madame Yuen wore a smile on her face. This was the most successful auction this year.

Even so, she didn’t stop. “The second last item. The Unnamed Fire Bead.”

A smiling girl walked onto the stage with a jade bottle. Madame Yuen took the bottle and started introducing the item without opening the bottle. “This item is similarly obtained from an ancient tomb. We know nothing of its name or effects, and even our best appraiser could not distinguish anything from it. Every time the appraiser tried to evaluate it, the bead would burst into flames and damage our equipment.”

Madame Yuen poured a bead out from the bottle. It was an ordinary-looking grey bead. But if one were to take a closer look, they would be able to see odd-coloured flames rising from the bead.

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