Jiang Yunfan discovered two things in the week after returning from Thunder Ridge:
Inscription arts were very complicated.
Making them explode was surprisingly easy.
It started with curiosity.
The scroll Master Han had tossed at him contained rough schematics of basic runes: Stabilization Glyphs, Qi Flow Arrays, Flame Channels, and so on.
But Yunfan wasn't interested in balance or discipline.
He wanted something that could mess with people.
He spent three nights alone on the outer cliffs, carving test glyphs into spirit stone scraps using a sharpened spoon and sheer willpower.
After the fifth explosion, he finally had something: a rune that vibrated subtly with ambient thunder Qi. The moment someone with strong Qi pressure walked near it, it triggered a pulse that scrambled their meridians slightly just enough to make them stumble, or fart, or misfire a technique.
Naturally, he named it:
"The Laughing Nudge Glyph"
He tested it by carving one into the training platform during morning drills.
Senior Disciple Yuan tried to show off his new "Eagle Spear Dive"…
And instead launched himself sideways into a fish pond.
The sect roared with laughter. No one suspected Yunfan.
Well, almost no one.
"Are you the one behind these new… glyph anomalies?" a calm voice asked later that afternoon.
Yunfan looked up from his zither. "That depends. Are you the type to reward innovation or punish genius?"
The speaker was a woman in black robes, hair tied in a precise knot. She wore the emblem of the Sect Inscription Hall and carried a jade tablet full of complaints.
"I'm Instructor Lan," she said dryly. "And I punish stupidity. Innovators get a warning. You, however, will get three days of mandatory inscription studies."
Yunfan grinned. "Punishment accepted."
Three days later, he'd learned two more things:
Instructor Lan had no sense of humor.
He absolutely adored her for it.
On the fourth night, Yunfan created a new glyph: one that paired sound vibrations with a burst of sword Qi. It was crude and unstable, but functional. He linked it to a chord on his zither.
When struck, it shattered the entire practice dummy yard.
Instructor Lan scowled. "This is not what inscription was meant for."
Yunfan grinned. "That's exactly why it works."
That same week, the sect held a banquet to welcome Mu Qingxue and other elite guests from Snow Jade Pavilion.
The Heaven-Splitting Thunder Sect had little to offer in status or power, but Elder Thunderpeak insisted on appearances. Long tables were set. Spirit dishes were prepared. Wine flowed.
Yunfan showed up late, wearing slightly-burned robes and a smile.
He brought one gift:
"Thunderwine."
His own creation.
Made from lightning-charged spiritual grapes, fermented with inscription-based vibration arrays to speed aging, and spiked with a few drops of thunder Qi.
He handed a jar to Mu Qingxue and sat beside her like they were old friends.
"…I don't drink," she said, eyeing the jar.
"Don't worry," Yunfan said. "It drinks you."
She took a sip. Blinked. Then… flushed slightly.
"…What is this?"
"Chaos in a bottle," he said proudly. "Like me, but smoother."
The real chaos began when one of the Snow Jade Pavilion disciples raised his cup and said:
"To those who still call themselves a sect, may you find peace in retirement!"
The jab was obvious. Whispers rose.
Yunfan stood up, clinked his cup loudly, and said, "To those who still call themselves geniuses may you survive your next duel!"
A few people laughed. A few gasped.
The Pavilion disciple turned red. "You dare mock me, servant scum?"
"Not mocking," Yunfan said cheerfully. "I'm giving you a head start."
The duel was scheduled for the next morning.
The entire sect would be watching.
And Yunfan? He just kept drinking, laughing, and plucking his zither under the moonlight, faint glyphs glowing beneath his fingertips.