A Chaotic World

Right from the start, Lu Tianzi had never been interested in a direct confrontation against Linye Caixia's overwhelming Burning Desolation Fist technique.

The only reason he charged forward earlier was to try baiting out the burning warrior from Linye Caixia's incomplete domain.

From what he had seen thus far, the burning warrior seemed to be formed at regular intervals, and always disappeared after throwing out a single attack.

Perhaps this was due to the limitation of an incomplete domain, or perhaps this was simply what her domain would be like when suppressed to the Third Cycle Origin Core realm.

Either way, Lu Tianzi had hoped to get it out of the way before making his move.

The last thing he wanted was to be interrupted when facing the terrifying flames from Linye Caixia's Burning Desolation Fist.

Now that he had bought himself some time, all that remained was to see how Linye Caixia fared against his own attack.

The jets of water fired towards Linye Caixia each carried an extremely powerful momentum.

This was the same technique that Lu Tianzi had used on the Blue-finned Razor Whales back at the Canal of Misery, where he first met Young Master Xuan Hao and Ruan Ling.

Back then, each jet of water was sufficient to send one of those huge beasts straight out of the water surface.

Now, all of them were concentrated upon a single target – Linye Caixia.

Not only that, but Lu Tianzi's cultivation level was also higher than before, so the power behind these water jets had only increased.

It was true bombardment of water.

Just like that, the countless jets of water slammed straight into the huge fireball that Linye Caixia had thrown out in front of her.

"Wha?!" Linye Caixia was visibly surprised.

Despite the might of the Burning Desolation Fist, she could still feel the sheer power behind the water bombardment.

The huge fireball in her fist trembled slightly. Under the bombardment of water from Lu Tianzi, the size of the huge fireball actually started to shrink!

This strength… it was not something that a Third Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist should possess!

Linye Caixia's expression of shock quickly faded away, replaced by her usual grin of excitement.

How thrilling!

This visit to the Blue Ember faction had really been worth her time.

However, this was still far from enough to take her down!

She's Linye Caixia, Fourth Ranker of the Heaven's Warrior List!

No matter how impressive the other party was, there's no way she will allow herself to be beaten by a mere Third Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist!

While adhering to the suppression of cultivation level, Linye Caixia drove her origin core to the limit, channelling all of her Essence energy into her right fist.

The huge fireball in her hands instantly flared up, expanding to a size even greater than before.

With a single punch, the fireball flew out from Linye Caixia's fist, heading straight for Lu Tianzi with an unstoppable momentum.

The multiple jets of water slamming against it did little to slow it down.

Lu Tianzi narrowed his eyes in focus.

It was too fast.

Even with the Flowing River Silent Strides, it was impossible for him to get out of the way in time.

There's no choice.

His only choice remaining was to try meeting force with force!

Two illusory green vortices shimmered into existence behind Lu Tianzi.

With the support of his Origin Totem, Lu Tianzi did not hesitate further, firing the huge globe of water towards the incoming fireball.

Even so, he understood in his heart that it was unlikely for this to work.

Sssss-!

The globe of water was instantly devoured when it collided with the fireball from Linye Caixia, turned into a mass of hot vapour. On the other hand, the huge fireball only slightly reduced in size, slowed down by a mere moment before continuing forward.

As expected, if he did not want to use his beastial bloodline transformation or his Limitless Mirror Eye, there was simply no way for him to turn this situation around.

In the end, his mastery of water techniques was still lacking.

When pitted against the Timeless Flame Sect's deep heritage of fire techniques coupled with Linye Caixia's profound comprehensions of the Law of Fire, he had no choice but to admit defeat.

"Elder Renhao," Xuan Qinshang muttered.

With a flash, a silver-haired old man disappeared from the side and reappeared between Lu Tianzi and the incoming fireball.

Holding his walking stick with both hands, the silver-haired old man raised it a little and lightly tapped the ground.

Rumble-!

The floor directly in front of the silver-haired old man started bubbling, seemingly having turned into quicksand as it slowly sank deeper into the ground. Not just that, but this sunken ground also started applying an extremely strong suction force on the approaching fireball.

Under the effect of this strong suction, the huge fireball was forcibly redirected from its original path and pulled straight into the ground.

Even after it hit the floor, the huge fireball did absolutely nothing to damage the carpet. Instead, it directly sank into the quicksand-like floor, disappearing harmlessly before everyone's eyes.

With another tap of his walking stick, the silver-haired old man returned the floor to its original level, looking as good as new.

And with a flash, he returned right back to where he came.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Had Lu Tianzi not been present to witness the entire process, he would never have imagined what just happened.

What was that move just now?

Was it an earth-element technique?

Lu Tianzi could not help but steal a curious glance at the silver-haired old man who was now standing at the side.

Yet another Overlord realm powerhouse.

No wonder he was able to neutralise Linye Caixia's attack with such ease!

"I win!" Linye Caixia announced with glee as she retracted her Origin Totem, as well as her incomplete domain.

Lu Tianzi immediately felt more comfortable, like the world around him had just returned to normal.

"Lady Linye truly lives up to your name," Lu Tianzi clasped his fists towards Linye Caixia while retracting his Origin Totem as well. "I have learnt a lot today."

But to Lu Tianzi's surprise, Linye Caixia's grin faded immediately.

"You are still hiding something, aren't you?" Linye Caixia asked. "You look too composed for someone who just lost."

"Lady Linye is overthinking things," Lu Tianzi shook his head. "Perhaps I appear composed only because I never expected to win anyway. If Lady Linye continue to say that, it will only make me feel bad."

"Is that so...?" Linye Caixia eyed Lu Tianzi in scepticism. "Why do I have the feeling that you are lying?"

"Hahaha!" Xuan Qinshang let out a hearty laugh, drawing everyone's attention. "Caixia, you have already started forming your domain, so how can someone at the Third Cycle Origin Core realm possibly beat you? Stop making things difficult for the young man, otherwise Hao might just misunderstand that you are deliberately targeting his friend."

"Well, I suppose Faction Leader Qinshang is right!" Linye Caixia appeared to be finally satisfied after hearing Xuan Qinshang's words. "Even so, you are not too bad! Senior Apprentice Brother Wen told me that Junior Apprentice Brother Hao has brought back a few interesting friends, including a talented inscription master. I thought that he was exaggerating as always, but now it appears that he might just be speaking the truth. I really should have just gone with him to meet you guys just now!"

"I am thankful for the kind words," Lu Tianzi answered nonchalantly.

At the same time, Linye Caixia's voice sounded out in Lu Tianzi's head. "I am letting you off this time. Next time we meet, you'd better do your best!"

"I don't know what Lady Linye mean. I always do my best," Lu Tianzi was unfazed as he replied via voice conveyance.

"Still acting? We shall see!" Linye Caixia scoffed.

While the duo were conversing on their own, they did not realise that everyone else present had fallen into deep thought.

This was due to what Linye Caixia just said about her Senior Apprentice Brother Wen.

They naturally knew who was this Senior Apprentice Brother Wen that Linye Caixia spoke of – Xuan Wen of the Yellow Spark faction.

He talked to Linye Caixia about Young Master Xuan Hao's friends, and had even gone to meet them in person?

As far as they knew, Xuan Wen was certainly not the kind of person who would go out of his way to do things that did not benefit him.

For him to have already met Young Master Xuan Hao and his friends, what exactly was he trying to achieve?

As for Young Master Xuan Hao, he could only sigh internally.

So it really had not been a coincidence that they met Xuan Wen outside the True Fire Tavern.

It seemed that even before he could officially announce that he would start taking this fight for the position of the heir seriously, Xuan Wen had already started to make his move.

He really needed to be wary from now on!

"Caixia, who is this talented inscription master whom Young Master Xuan Wen mentioned to you?" someone suddenly interjected.

Lu Tianzi remembered him as one of the two middle-aged men who had been standing alongside Linye Caixia on the carpeted aisle when they first entered the Grand Ember Hall.

Yet another Overlord realm powerhouse.

Dressed in luxurious long robes and with his hair combed back in a neat fashion, the middle-aged man gave off a dignified feeling as he slowly walked up to Linye Caixia.

Linye Caixia looked at him, then turned towards Young Master Xuan Hao who was standing behind Lu Tianzi. "Junior Apprentice Brother Hao, you heard what Grandmaster Xiqin said. Where is your talented inscription master friend?"

Young Master Xuan Hao felt the corner of his lips twitch.

He's the one you just fought!

But before he could answer, Lu Tianzi had already spoken up. "I dare not claim to be talented, but I am probably the person you are looking for."

"You?" the dignified Grandmaster Xiqin scanned Lu Tianzi from head to toe. "You are an inscription master?"

"Brother Tianzi is indeed a talented inscription master, his skills recognised even by the Grandmaster Artificers of Sacred Cliff City!" Young Master Xuan Hao quickly added.

Since this topic had surfaced, he definitely had to seize the opportunity to brag about Lu Tianzi.

That was the whole point of bringing him to meet his great grandfather after all!

"Oh? You are from Sacred Cliff City?" Grandmaster Xiqin revealed a look of surprise before clasping his fists towards Lu Tianzi. "Please pardon me for not recognising an expert."

"Please don't say that. I am hardly an expert," Lu Tianzi hurriedly returned the greeting.

"If there is a chance, let us come together and exchange some pointers as well," Grandmaster Xiqin said with an amiable smile. "Of course, I meant in terms of the art of inscriptions, not what you just did here."

"Oh? You sure are in luck today!" Linye Caixia said. "Grandmaster Xiqin here is the Head Inscription Master of the Yellow Spark faction. I'm sure you will be able to learn a lot from him if you are willing to spare some time."

"Haha, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Caixia. Who knows? This young brother here might actually be better than me," Grandmaster Xiqin rubbed his goatee with a smile. "Well then, you've had your fun, so shall we get going now? Time is of the essence."

"Ah, yes!" Linye Caixia turned around to clasp her fists towards Xuan Qinshang. "Junior Linye Caixia shall take my leave first."

"Farewell, Faction Leader Qinshang," Grandmaster Xiqin and the other middle-aged man followed suit.

"Mm," Xuan Qinshang nodded. "One last thing. I will be going into secluded cultivation soon, so for the item you borrowed, you can simply return it to Hao when you are done."

"Understood, Faction Leader Qinshang," Linye Caixia said.

The three of them promptly left the Grand Ember Hall.

But the moment Grandmaster Xiqin stepped out of the Grand Ember Hall, he immediately sent a voice conveyance message to the other middle-aged man in the group.

"Go find out everything you can about this inscription master friend of Young Master Xuan Hao. On top of information on his background, bring me some items that he has inscribed in the past. I want to know just how skilled he is."

"Understood!" the other middle-aged man answered.

The look in Grandmaster Xiqin's eyes turned cold.

Young Master Xuan Wen actually went to look for this kid?

Could it be that he is placing more emphasis on an immature kid like that than on myself?

What a joke!

I shall personally prove to him and everyone else that I, Grandmaster Xiqin, am the most skilled inscription master in the history of the Timeless Flame Sect!

Young Master Xuan Wen will regret not trying to recruit me while he still had the chance!