A Chaotic World

"I am Xuan Ziying. On behalf of the Timeless Flame Sect, I welcome everyone and thank you for gracing us with your presence today. This is the first Inscription Meet organised by our Timeless Flame Sect. For this event, we have invited all interested inscription masters to join in the fun. Previously, we have already announced the rules of the Inscription Meet, leaving only one aspect unmentioned – the judges. Now that it is already the day of the Inscription Meet itself, it is finally time to reveal the identity of the judges. So without further ado, let us give a warm welcome to the three judges of the Inscription Meet!"

The host of the event was a beautiful young lady wearing a tight fitting gown. Her manner of speech was soft but clear, each word pleasing to the ear.

She stood in the middle of the stage, which was essentially a raised platform positioned at one end of the arena, right in front of the guests of honour.

There were only four seats placed on the stage itself. One of it was for the host, while the other three were reserved for the judges of the day.

Today, the judges were the only ones who would have a say in the result of the event.

Xuan Ziying's prompts did not go unignored, and the audiences erupted into thunderous applause.

"First, we have the Deputy Sect Master of the Timeless Flame Sect – the Iron Fist Overlord!" Xuan Ziying announced. "Most people here should be familiar with the Iron Fist Overlord. He is an esteemed inscription master in his own right, and has dedicated his life to the study of the art of inscriptions. With his deep expertise, few will be more appropriate than him when it comes to being the judge for today's Inscription Meet!"

As she spoke, a man who looked to be in his seventies started making his way up the stage.

A nice way to put it was that his movements were slow and steady, but a more crude expression would be that he moved like a snail.

If one judged by his movements alone, he would appear no different from a mortal grandfather nearing the point of death.

However, only the foolish would dare to underestimate this man because of that.

Those who had heard of his exploits knew just how powerful and ruthless the Iron Fist Overlord had been when he was young. Even though he had not acted openly in the past few centuries, just the fact that he could retain his position as the deputy sect master of the Timeless Flame Sect was enough proof of his strength.

Step by step, he slowly walked to the centre of the stage before carefully taking his seat.

By then, almost ten minutes had already passed since his name was announced.

"Thank you, Deputy Sect Master. Next, we have Grandmaster Dongkuang!" Xuan Ziying continued. "Grandmaster Dongkuang is a well-known appraiser who hails from none other than the City of Artificers – Sacred Cliff City. He has a grand track record of having appraised tens of thousands of rare items, establishing a reputation of pure perfection in his appraisals. Known as a genius in the field, his keen eye will be of great importance today as he plays a part in determining the winner of the Inscription Meet!"

As she spoke, a confident young man started making his way up the stage.

His appearance and mannerism were miles apart from the earlier Iron Fist Overlord. Each of his steps was firm but graceful, the smile on his face radiant like the sun that illuminated the lands.

It was extremely difficult to link this handsome young man to his status as a grandmaster-tier expert in his field, one who commanded respect and admiration from the rest of his peers.

Grandmaster Dongkuang stopped in front of his seat and waved to the crowds, taking in the applause for a good few moments before finally sitting down.

"Thank you, Grandmaster Dongkuang. Last but not least, we have Grandmaster Xilong!" Xuan Ziying announced. "As an inscription master who often worked with the White Tiger Immortal Sect, he has little need for any introduction. Since his abilities are recognised even by the White Tiger Immortal Sect, he will definitely be able to channel that immense knowledge of his to help determine the winner of the Inscription Meet!"

A burly middle-aged man started making his way up the stage.

His tight robes did little to hide his muscles underneath, and his stoic face carried a hint of arrogance. Nevertheless, he made an effort to give a gentle smile to the host Xuan Ziying before taking his seat.

As Xuan Ziying said, he was an inscription master who often worked with the White Tiger Immortal Sect. That alone caused his reputation to soar to the sky, with countless people trying to curry favour with him wherever he went.

But with the rise of his reputation, so did his sense of pride.

Even though he had started out with humble origins all those years ago, the current Grandmaster Xilong could no longer be deigned to interact with anyone whom he deemed below his status.

That said, there were two main reasons why he accepted the invitation to participate as a judge in the Inscription Meet.

One was obviously to establish good relations with the Timeless Flame Sect. That was something that nobody would shy away from if given the chance.

However, the second point was more tempting to him, and that was to show off the fact that he was one level above all these participating inscription masters!

All these talented inscription masters had to compete against each other, while he stood above them as the judge.

Just how amazing does he look right now?

After today, even more would come to understand the difference between him and other talentless inscription masters!

Of course, he was not nearly tactless enough to let others know about those thoughts of his.

"Now that the judges are seated, it is time to meet our participants," Xuan Ziying continued. "Inscription masters, enter the arena!"

On her signal, thousands of people started streaming into the arena from various entrances, eventually gathering before the stage in neat and orderly rows under the guidance of the members of the Timeless Flame Sect.

The inscription masters intending to participate in the Inscription Meet had been told to express their interest earlier, and had thus been brought out from the audiences to wait in a separate area. It was only at this moment that they were allowed into the arena, entering simultaneously in a grand fashion.

These inscription masters did not just hail from various parts of the continent, but were also made up of people of all ages, from aspiring young inscription masters to experienced old ones.

There were those who belonged to established influences, as well as those who were unaffiliated to any.

Some of them were here for the fame, some for the experience.

Some were eyeing the material reward, while some saw this as an opportunity to join the Timeless Flame Sect.

Regardless of their origins and motives, these inscription masters were destined to be competitors who would be pitting their skills against each other on this very day.

For that reason, despite entering together, the many inscription masters were not acting friendly by any measure.

Stern and cautious gazes were being shot around, everyone sizing up others however they could.

But while they were cautious about everyone else, the majority of their attention was still focused upon a select few – the participants who had already made a name for themselves in the world of inscriptions.

No matter where they went, these extraordinary individuals would have been received with great admiration and respect from others, so their entrance naturally drew much attention from everyone, the audience included.

Strictly speaking, there were no more than ten of them. Without a doubt, they would be the top contenders for the crown today.

But even among them, Grandmaster Xingyu was largely regarded as the one who had the highest chance of winning.

He was an unaffiliated martial artist who had relied solely on his own capabilities since the very beginning, advancing step by step to carve out a name for himself in the world of inscriptions. His combat prowess was relatively low because of his focus on the art of inscriptions, but his connections alone made it such that few would dare to offend him.

Just a word from him would be able to send countless experts after his enemies. After all, there were many who wanted him to help out with their equipment's inscriptions.

And then there were Grandmaster Xiqin and Manor Lord Lu.

As the two main characters of the Inscription Meet, they required no extra introduction.

By now, everyone in Eternal Flame City knew that one of them was the Head Inscription Master of the Yellow Spark faction of the Timeless Flame Sect, while the other was a young inscription master who recently rose to prominence in the City of Artificers.

On this day, among the thousands of participating inscription masters, the duo were ushered to stand right in front of the stage, such that they would be at the centre of attention.

"What great weather!" Grandmaster Xiqin exclaimed with a smile on his face before turning towards Lu Tianzi who was standing not far from him. "It really is the perfect day to crush some arrogant kids who don't know their place!"

Lu Tianzi glanced over at him, then turned back towards the stage.

At this point, there was no longer any point in sparring with words. The Inscription Meet itself was about to begin, so they could just let their results speak for themselves.

If he ended up losing in a fair judgement, then he could only admit that he was inferior to the other party.

At least for now.

"Heh!" Grandmaster Xiqin scoffed before turning his attention back to the stage as well.

In his eyes, his victory over Lu Tianzi was assured.

After today, Xuan Wen would see just how competent he was in the art of inscriptions. With that, there was a high chance that he would be recruited into the future main faction of the Timeless Flame Sect when Xuan Wen eventually takes the position of sect master.

At that point, he would become a figure that even members the other ancient sects dare not take lightly!

Cheers erupted from the audiences as the thousands of inscription masters gathered before the stage.

Many among the audiences came as supporters, so they would naturally cheer for whoever they came to root for.

Even for those who came just to join in the fun, they could not help but be affected by the great atmosphere in the arena, as well as the grand sight of thousands of inscription masters gathered from all over the continent.

"I know that everyone is excited for the Inscription Meet to start. But before we begin, I still have one more announcement to make," Xuan Ziying said. "Earlier, we have announced that participating inscription masters will be compensated according to the value of their inscribed equipment, and the top eight rankers would all receive additional rewards. Originally, the Timeless Flame Sect has already decided on the rewards for the top eight rankers. But something important happened, so we have decided to change this up a little."

"Hmm?"

"Oh?"

Exclaims of astonishment sounded out from the crowds.

Not only did the participating inscription masters perked up their ears. Even the audiences quietened down to hear what she had to say.

What could possibly have happened to make the Timeless Flame Sect change their mind?

"Ahem," Xuan Ziying cleared her throat before continuing. "Late last night, the pride of our Timeless Flame Sect – Young Lady Linye Caixia – made a triumphant return from the ancient Forest of Malice, bringing back with her numerous treasures. To celebrate such a joyous occasion, Sect Master Xuan has agreed to put up one of her spoils as reward for the top ranker of the Inscription Meet. Everyone, this is an Overlord rank treasure! So do try your best to obtain that top rank position!"

Cheers erupted once again, and the participating inscription masters felt their hearts racing.

An Overlord rank treasure, and on top of the previously arranged rewards to boot.

Whoever managed to come up on top today would be in for a great haul!