A Chaotic World

After the servant left, Lu Tianzi opened up the thin scroll to carefully peruse the content.

To a certain extent, he was representing Young Master Xuan Hao in the Inscription Meet, so he had to take it a bit seriously. And even if that was not the case, this was still a rare opportunity for him to find out just where he stood in comparison to the numerous inscription masters of the world.

Because of that, Lu Tianzi was planning to do his very best and strive to win the entire competition!

The scroll in his hands truly served to clarify matters about the upcoming Inscription Meet.

It would be a two-stage event.

In the first stage, all interested parties, regardless of their background, were invited to participate. For this stage, participants would be provided with a Primary Origin Core rank treasure – a dagger. They would then simultaneously enter a grand concealing formation that blocked out any external senses, allowing them to carry out the inscription process without fear of their techniques being stolen.

Since there was always a possibility that the inscription process could alter the appearance of the equipment, each dagger had been imprinted with a spiritual mark of the Timeless Flame Sect, preventing anyone from substituting it with another dagger that had been prepared in advance.

Once everyone was done, the inscribed daggers would be submitted for appraisal by three judges. The identities of these judges had yet to be revealed, but the Timeless Flame Sect affirmed that they would surely invite neutral and reputable characters to be the judges, so everyone had no need to worry about the matter of fairness.

No matter how many participants there were in the first round, only the top eight would be allowed to advance to the second round, and that included the two main characters of the event – Manor Lord Lu Tianzi and Grandmaster Xiqin. If either of them failed to make it into the top eight of the first round, they would not be given any special treatment and would be eliminated then and there!

The second stage was similar to the first, only that the participants would now be given a Peak Origin Core rank treasure – a sword.

This time, the determination of results was more straightforward.

The inscribed swords would be wielded by two martial artists of the same cultivation level and made to go against each other in a direct contest. These two martial artists would be carefully selected to make sure they possessed similar levels of strength, and they would not be informed on whose sword they were wielding.

Whichever side lost would be eliminated, and if the result was a draw, the judges would be invited to make a decision once more.

This sword vs sword confrontations would continue until only one participant was left, and he or she would be crowned the victor of the Inscription Meet!

Participating inscription masters would not be allowed to bring back any equipment that they inscribed during the Inscription Meet. But in exchange, the Timeless Flame Sect had promised to compensate the inscription masters according to the value of the inscribed equipment, so that should be good enough for most.

Moreover, the top eight rankers would all receive additional rewards.

Lu Tianzi nodded in satisfaction.

The rules were simple and straightforward.

There was only one point of contention – participants from the Timeless Flame Sect could still have prepared the equipment in advance, allowing them to sneak in pre-inscribed equipment.

On this point, others would just have to trust in the integrity of the Timeless Flame Sect.

It was not too difficult to do so either, considering that they were one of the four ancient sects and had built a robust reputation over the years. As for those who still had their reservations, they could simply choose not to participate in the event.

Of course, that was not really an option for Lu Tianzi at this point.

"A dagger and a sword, eh?" Lu Tianzi fell into deep contemplation.

He was not intending to immediately decide on the exact inscription that he was going to place during the Inscription Meet. After all, there were still two more days for him to do further research on the matter.

***

Young Master Xuan Hao eventually returned to the residence, but he barely had time to check if Ruan Ling was all right before once again being summoned by Xuan Qinshang for an internal conference.

As the leader of the Blue Ember faction, Xuan Qinshang was extremely concerned about the current situation where two of their most talented youngsters were found to be at odds, especially when it had already deteriorated to the point that the Heavenly Flame Hall had to get involved.

Before leaving, Young Master Xuan Hao told the rest that he would be fine and that they did not have to worry about him, but they still could not help but feel the seriousness of the matter.

Nevertheless, there was nothing they could do.

This was an internal matter of the Timeless Flame Sect. If they tried to forcibly get involved, they could even end up making the situation worse.

The next day quickly arrived, and Young Master Xuan Hao had still yet to return from meeting Xuan Qinshang.

"Let's not wait any longer. Shall we go?" Ruan Ling asked.

"Mm," Nanlan Qianxue nodded in agreement.

Back then after Longshao Wenqin helped out Ruan Ling and Nanlan Qianxue, Ruan Ling had offered to treat him to a meal as thanks. Today was the day that they had arranged to do so.

They had originally wanted to get Young Master Xuan Hao to join them as well, but the situation had changed, so that seemed to be a little difficult now.

Regardless, they decided to still go ahead with the meal anyway. Longshao Wenqin could be said to have put his life on the line to help them, and it would seem too petty for them to put off this matter just because they were worried about something that they had no control over.

Lu Tianzi, Nanlan Qianxue, and Ruan Ling quickly arrived at the agreed venue.

Without a member of the Timeless Flame Sect accompanying them, the group was unable to get a place at the True Fire Tavern. However, Ruan Ling was still a the young mistress of the Soft Stream Clan, so she was at least able to secure a private room reservation at one of the better taverns in Eternal Flame City.

The group arrived early, so they took their seats while waiting for Longshao Wenqin and his friends to arrive.

They did not have to wait for long either.

"This way, please," the waitress pushed open the door to show the guests in.

Lu Tianzi's group promptly stood up as Longshao Wenqin and his companions emerged from behind the door.

Upon entering, Longshao Wenqin immediately clasped his fists towards Ruan Ling. "Greetings, Senior. My apologies for being late."

They could be said to have gone through a battle of life and death together, so he could not help but feel a sense of connection with the other party.

However, his expression suddenly stiffened when he noticed Lu Tianzi's presence.

He knew that Ruan Ling and Nanlan Qianxue would be bringing a friend along, but he never expected to see another familiar face, not to mention someone whom he had fought directly during the war.

"It's been a while," Lu Tianzi said.

"It's been a while indeed," Longshao Wenqin forced out a smile in response. Even though he no longer bore any ill will towards Lu Tianzi, it was still rather awkward for Longshao Wenqin to suddenly treat him as a friend.

After all, this was someone who had once beaten him to the point of unconsciousness. Had it not been for the Cauldron of Draconic Force, he might even have lost his life in that fight!

It was then that Longshao Wenqin noticed something else.

Back then during the war, he was at the Second Cycle Origin Core realm while Lu Tianzi was only at the Peak Essence Condensation realm.

But right now, both of them were at the same Third Cycle Origin Core realm!

Just what kind of crazy cultivation speed is this?!

Longshao Wenqin was stunned for a moment, only snapping out of it when he heard his companions speak from behind him.

"What's wrong, Brother Longshao? Are you not going to introduce your friends to us?"

There were two people who came along with Longshao Wenqin, both dressed in similar clothes that represented the influence they hailed from. They wore grey long robes with the emblem of a hawk embroidered at the left chest area. Both of them exuded an aura of confidence, as though there was nothing in this world that could possibly intimidate them.

The one who spoke was a young lady who looked to be in her early twenties. She had a cultivation level of the Sixth Cycle Origin Core realm, one boundary higher than Ruan Ling's. She stepped forward wearing an amiable smile, her gaze casually scanning across the room.

"Haha, my apologies," Longshao Wenqin quickly began to make the introductions. "These three are Senior Ruan Ling, Nanlan Qianxue and Nanlu Tianzi. These two are Senior Xizhen Hui and Senior Xizhen Hancheng from the Thunder Hawk Sect."

Xizhen Hui was the young lady, while Xizhen Hancheng was a young man who stood silently behind her. His cultivation level was not low either, being at the Fifth Cycle Origin Core realm.

After exchanging greetings, everyone took their seats around the table.

"I heard about what happened from Brother Longshao. That was quite the dangerous experience," Xizhen Hui started off the conversation solemnly. "Pardon me for asking, but just what kind of enemy did you offend to end up being targeted like that?"

Ruan Ling glanced over at Longshao Wenqin, who hurried explained himself. "I wasn't intending to spread news about the incident. Senior Xizhen Hui saw my condition when I returned that day, and did not give up until I told her what happened."

"Don't blame Brother Longshao," Xizhen Hui said. "As he said, I was the one who insisted that he tell me what happened to him. After all, it is the mark of every great character to always want to know what is happening around them. Unfortunately, Brother Longshao was still rather vague in the end, probably not wanting to reveal too much without first gaining your permission. But if you don't mind telling me more, perhaps I can lend you a hand."

"Honestly, we are unsure of the details even now," Ruan Ling admitted.

The Heavenly Flame Hall was still looking into the incident, so Ruan Ling did not want to comment too much about the matter.

"I thought as much," Xizhen Hui shook her head in disapproval. "Such a situation is not uncommon here."

"It isn't?" Lu Tianzi raised an eyebrow in response.

"That's right," Xizhen Hui shrugged. "Eternal Flame City is a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Any seemingly ordinary person you meet on the street could actually belong to a powerful influence. You lot came from the east and are new to the central regions of the continent, so it is only natural that you are not familiar with how things work yet. Perhaps you accidentally offended someone with a substantial background, and the other party simply decided to teach you a lesson because of that."

"Perhaps, or perhaps it is something else entirely," Ruan Ling smiled bitterly.

"You really need to be careful here in Eternal Flame City," Xizhen Hui continued. "But don't worry, for you lot have lucked out this time. My Thunder Hawk Sect is a direct tributary of the Timeless Flame Sect and can be said to be quite the powerhouse. Seeing that you are friends of Brother Longshao, I can consider letting you join us until the Inscription Meet. That way, your enemies should no longer dare to take any action against you! But of course, there is no free lunch in this world. Since we are willing to provide you with much needed protection, you naturally have to show some sincerity in return..."