A Chaotic World

It was only after he was left alone in his room that Longshao Wenqin finally snapped out of his daze.

At this point, he finally understood what was going on.

Ruan Ling, Nanlu Tianzi, and Nanlan Qianxue were actually friends with someone from the Timeless Flame Sect. On top of that, this person – Young Master Xuan Hao – was even someone with an extraordinary status within the ancient sect.

An heir candidate.

This was someone who could potentially end up becoming the sect leader!

If that ever came to fruition, he would become a character that none would dare to offend!

To people like this, those from the Thunder Hawk Sect actually dared to speak with such arrogance?

Longshao Wenqin could not help but feel embarrassed for them, as well as thankful that he had made what he believed was the right choice back then.

But at the same time, he could not help but wonder about one matter.

Just who in the world would dare to send assassins after the friends of an heir candidate of the Timeless Flame Sect?

***

After returning to the Timeless Flame Sect, Lu Tianzi immediately returned to his room, and Young Master Xuan Hao passed down instructions for none to disturb him.

There was only one night left before the Inscription Meet, and it was time for Lu Tianzi to finalise his preparations.

He needed to be in his best condition, be it mentally or physically so.

Only then would he be able to perform to the best of his abilities, and that was infinitely important if he wanted to stand a higher chance against the top inscription masters coming from all over the continent.

Young Master Xuan Hao then sat Ruan Ling down to tell her about what the Blue Ember faction was planning to do from now on.

After a long round of discussion with the top members of the Blue Ember faction, Xuan Qinshang came to the conclusion that there were two great factors that would determine how things would play out from now.

First would be the result of the investigation.

The moment it was confirmed that someone had instigated the Jade Shadow Gate to attack Ruan Ling's group, the perpetrator would immediately be subjected to the harshest of punishments. Xuan Qinshang had vowed that such a despicable move against fellow members of his faction was not to be condoned.

By meting out the punishment themselves, the Blue Ember faction was also trying to prevent the intervention of the Heavenly Flame Hall or the other factions, making it such that they could minimise the damage done to their faction.

This way, they could at least get the matter over and done with so that they could quickly start with the rebuilding of their reputation and influence. After all, the longer this matter dragged on, the greater the impact on their prestige, and the larger of a disadvantage they would have as compared to the other factions.

For Young Master Xuan Hao himself, he was not allowed to leave Eternal Flame City as long as the investigation had yet to come to an end. If it was found that he had knowingly provoked the perpetrator beforehand, he could be in for some trouble himself as well.

Nevertheless, Young Master Xuan Hao was confident that such a matter would not come to pass.

He had never provoked anyone for no good reason, and therefore had nothing to fear!

Second would be the result of the inscription meet.

For something that started out as a personal challenge between Lu Tianzi and Grandmaster Xiqin, this had ballooned into an huge competition that drew the interest of the entire continent.

As it was now, whoever came out on top of the Inscription Meet would gain the recognition of the masses as a top tier inscription master.

Therefore, it was not difficult to see that having the winner of the Inscription Meet on their side would be a huge boost to their influence level, giving them an edge over the other factions.

On top of supporting their faction's inscription masters with all that they had, they would also be keeping a look out for any vagrant inscription masters with great potential.

If they could spot a potential winner, they would definitely try and recruit them before the end of the competition.

Before this, the Blue Ember faction had already sent out many of its members, spreading them out all over the city to gather information on the inscription masters who had arrived in the recent days.

With that information in hand, they would be keeping an eye on the more outstanding inscription masters so that they could be the first to act when the time comes!

That night, Eternal Flame City was filled with excited whispers and anxious minds. Everyone was looking forward to see just how the events of the following day would unfold.

With that, the darkness of the night gradually receded, and the warm rays of the sun shone upon the lands once again.

The day of the Inscription Meet had finally arrived.

***

Boisterous music roused the city from its dreams. It was loud enough to reach every corner of Eternal Flame City, yet surprisingly, it also carried along a melody that soothed the heart and moved the soul.

Overnight, the streets of the Eternal Flame City had been lined with beautiful banners depicting the drawings of various inscription symbols.

It was as though Eternal Flame City had suddenly become a city that celebrated inscription masters.

This grand and magnificent display made it such that the various inscription masters who had travelled to the city could not help but feel proud of their own occupation, while the others could not help but feel envious.

At least for today, inscription masters were the main characters of the world.

Right now, there was a common topic on everyone's lips, and that was the Inscription Meet.

"Who do you think will be the winner of the Inscription Meet?"

"Is there a need to ask? Of course it is Grandmaster Xiqin! He is the Head Inscription Master of the Yellow Spark faction for good reason!"

"That's not for certain. Do you think that Manor Lord Lu will accept the challenge without a certain level of confidence?"

"I heard that he is much younger than Grandmaster Xiqin. Isn't he just trying his luck, or maybe trying to use the Inscription Meet as a way to elevate his status?"

"Actually, I heard that Grandmaster Xingyu has come to participate as well. Perhaps he will be the eventual winner!"

"Grandmaster Xingyu? Isn't he that famous unaffiliated inscription master? Is he trying to take this opportunity to join the Timeless Flame Sect?"

"It is not just Grandmaster Xingyu. Many famous inscription masters have arrived to participate in this Inscription Meet as well. With so many inscription masters participating, it is very likely that one of them would end up winning this entire thing!"

"Looks like we audiences are in for a treat!"

From a bird's eye view, one would see that people from all corners of Eternal Flame City were converging towards the centre like ants drawn towards a pot of honey.

Everyone put aside whatever activities they had planned for the day, wanting to personally witness the events of the Inscription Meet.

The Timeless Flame Sect had already anticipated such a great response, and had thus made the necessary arrangements to make sure that they could accommodate as many people in the audiences as possible.

Just for today, the gate of the Timeless Flame Sect was opened to the public, with servants ushering the visitors in an orderly manner towards the venue of the Inscription Meet.

The visitors were only allowed to move in accordance to the servants' guidance, not anywhere else. Naturally, no matter how curious they were about the other parts of the sect grounds, no one dared to voice any complaints or make trouble for the servants.

After all, this was the Timeless Flame Sect.

Not even those from the other ancient sects would dare act arrogantly within its sect grounds!

The Inscription Meet was to be held in a huge arena originally meant for sect members to test their combat prowess, one that was large enough to accommodate tens of millions within its audiences.

For such a large number of people, even if they started streaming in since early morning, it would already be about noon by the time everyone could get seated.

"Is it really okay if I follow you?" Longshao Wenqin asked hesitantly.

"Brother Xuan Hao said that it is not an issue, so stop worrying about it," Ruan Ling replied with a smile.

"Yeah, it is just an additional seat," Young Master Xuan Hao affirmed. "As the organiser, the Timeless Flame Sect has plenty of seats available to us."

"Then I shall not stand on ceremony," Longshao Wenqin nodded. "But what about Nanlu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue? Are they not coming to watch as well?"

"That reminds me, there is something that has been bothering me," Ruan Ling replied. "Why do you keep calling him Nanlu Tianzi?"

"Hmm? What does Senior Ruan Ling mean?" Longshao Wenqin blinked blankly. "Isn't that his name?"

"Is that his name?" Young Master Xuan Hao was surprised to hear that. "Did he tell us a fake name then?"

"That shouldn't be the case. Even Sister Qianxue calls him that way," Ruan Ling shook her head. "It is more likely that Brother Longshao got it wrong. After all, they used to be enemies."

"Eh? Is that not his real name?" Longshao Wenqin asked.

"It is not," Ruan Ling replied. "Instead of Nanlu Tianzi, his name should be Lu Tianzi."

"Wait, Lu Tianzi?" Longshao Wenqin was struck by a sudden bolt of realisation. "Does that mean...?"

"It seems you have finally realised," Ruan Ling grinned. "That's right. Brother Tianzi is also known as Manor Lord Lu, one of the two main characters of the Inscription Meet. The reason he is not coming with us is because he will not be joining as part of the audience. Instead, he will be a participant in the Inscription Meet itself!"

"What?!" Longshao Wenqin widened his eyes in shock.

Someone from the Scarlet Moon Kingdom actually ended up being in the centre of such a huge event in the central regions?

"And Sister Qianxue is there to accompany him," Young Master Xuan Hao chuckled. "Well then, let's go. We need to go early to make sure that we can get a good seat as well."

It was rather amusing for him to see that Longshao Wenqin did not even know who he had been dealing with.

***

Lu Tianzi sat cross legged with his eyes closed, remaining in a state of light meditation as he continued to regulate his breathing.

As one of the two main characters of the Inscription Meet, he had a preparation room allocated just for him.

After letting out a long deep breath, Lu Tianzi slowly opened his eyes to see a beautiful young lady with an extraordinary countenance seated before him.

"How are you feeling?" Nanlan Qianxue asked.

"How can it not feel good to open my eyes to such a pleasing sight?" Lu Tianzi remarked with a smile.

"It seems that our Inscription Master Lu isn't feeling nervous at all, eh?" Nanlan Qianxue rolled her eyes.

"There is nothing to be nervous about," Lu Tianzi shook his head. "I can only do my best. If that is not enough to win, then it just means that I would need to work harder from now on."

"That's true," Nanlan Qianxue nodded. "There is no need to give yourself undue pressure."

"Qianxue, after we are done with this, let's head to the north," Lu Tianzi said.

"Suddenly? What's in the north?" Nanlan Qianxue asked.

"I heard from Brother Xuan Hao that there is a famed sacred cultivation ground in the north named Frostguard Mountain," Lu Tianzi explained. "Judging from its name, it should be a snow-capped mountain. Isn't it your dream to taste the snow at the peak of every mountain in the world?"

"That was when I was still a kid!" Nanlan Qianxue retorted.

Lu Tianzi snickered in response. "Regardless, the place is still a famed sacred cultivation ground, so it should be interesting to go take a look."

"Mm," Nanlan Qianxue nodded. "Let's go there then."

At this point, a knocking sound came from outside the door.

"Manor Lord Lu, the Inscription Meet is about to begin. It is time to head over to the competition grounds."

"Understood," Lu Tianzi called out as he got to his feet. "Well then, shall we go?"

"Okay," Nanlan Qianxue got to her feet as well. "Go do your best!"