A Chaotic World

While the announcement of added rewards caused most audiences to cheer in excitement, those who possessed a greater understanding of the situation were surprised for a different reason altogether.

The ancient Hundred Ghouls Canyon was not a simple place at all.

Even if one proceeded with absolute caution, it was still extremely easy for martial artists lose their lives there, and this applied even to Overlord realm powerhouses.

For Linye Caixia, a Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist, to have not only gone in but also left with numerous rewards, it was truly a miraculous feat.

Then again, perhaps it was as expected of the young genius ranked fourth on the Heaven's Warrior List.

It was no wonder that the Timeless Flame Sect was so eager to announce this matter to the world, even deciding to give out an Overlord rank treasure just to celebrate the occasion.

After all, this was an achievement that even the young geniuses of the other ancients sects would find hard-pressed to replicate!

"So that's why Senior Apprentice Sister Caixia needed to borrow the Impervious Thunder Banner!" Young Master Xuan Hao exclaimed in realisation.

"I guess that makes sense," Ruan Ling added with a bitter smile. "The Hundred Ghouls Canyon is known to be infested by evil spirits and dark energy. Being of the lightning alignment, the Impervious Thunder Banner is indeed a good measure against many of the existences within."

Hearing about Linye Caixia and the Impervious Thunder Banner made her remember how the elders of the Blue Ember faction were hoping for Young Master Xuan Hao to get closer to Linye Caixia.

As Young Master Xuan Hao's partner, this naturally put a bitter taste in her mouth.

At this moment, Ruan Ling felt a cold hand rest upon hers and looked up in surprise, only to see Nanlan Qianxue looking back at her with a smile.

After Lu Tianzi was called to join the other participating inscription masters, Nanlan Qianxue had gone to meet up with the rest of them.

Ruan Ling felt a sense of warmth in her heart, and smiled back at Nanlan Qianxue to reassure her that she was all right.

"One thing to note is that for Young Lady Linye Caixia's expedition into the Hundred Ghouls Canyon, our Grandmaster Xiqin played a big part in its success," Xuan Ziying continued. "Young Lady Linye Caixia specifically asked me to thank Grandmaster Xiqin for his useful tips, and said that she will be rooting for you during the Inscription Meet!"

"It is nothing much. This is ultimately still Caixia's own achievement, and I am only glad that I can be of some help to her," Grandmaster Xiqin projected his voice such that the entire arena could hear him. "That said, help me thank her for her support. And tell her that I will definitely not let her down."

His words naturally drew ire from the other participants, especially those who were rather confident in their own capabilities.

He will definitely not let her down?

What does that mean? Is he already claiming that he will emerge victorious?

How arrogant!

"I am sure Young Lady Linye Caixia will be happy to hear that," Xuan Ziying said with a smile. "Now, it is finally time for us to begin!"

"Did you hear that? Even Caixia, the pride of the sect, publicly announced her confidence in me winning this whole thing," Grandmaster Xiqin said towards Lu Tianzi once more. "It is still not too late for you to concede your inferiority now. At least that will show that you have a good understanding of the difference in our levels. But once the competition starts in earnest, you will no longer have any excuses for losing!"

Lu Tianzi heard his words, but chose not to respond.

To be honest, he still had no idea why Grandmaster Xiqin was so antagonistic towards him.

Was it because he was Young Master Xuan Hao's friend, and was an obstacle to whoever Grandmaster Xiqin was supporting?

Or was it just a feeling of competitiveness?

Regardless, the reason no longer mattered at this point.

Since things had already come to this, all he had to worry about was doing well at the Inscription Meet itself.

As for all the minute details beneath the surface, he would just leave it to Young Master Xuan Hao to figure out.

"Now then, I believe everyone is already feeling impatient," Xuan Ziying teased. "But don't worry, it is finally time for the Inscription Meet to begin. May I invite Deputy Sect Master up to start off the event?"

Some muffled groans could be heard coming from the crowds.

Normally, they would have been excited that the event was about to start. But it was precisely because of this burning anticipation that they were feeling depressed right now.

Inviting the Deputy Sect Master to start off the event?

After the Iron Fist Overlord's entrance just now, how could anyone not know just how slow he was?

Nevertheless, nobody dared to complain out loud as the Iron Fist Overlord stood up from his seat and slowly made his way to the front of the stage.

No matter what, the other party was one of the highest ranked officers in the Timeless Flame Sect. Nobody wanted to risk getting on his bad side.

However, there was someone in the crowd who failed to rein in her feelings at this moment, albeit for a different reason altogether.

"Shit! What is happening?!" Xizhen Hui cursed out loud.

She was none other than one of the members of the Thunder Hawk Sect that Longshao Wenqin had tagged along with while coming to Eternal Flame City.

"Mind your words!" a young man beside her immediately snapped. "If you offend the Timeless Flame Sect in any way, I will not be able to shield you from the aftermath!"

This man was Xiluo Pingzhi. He was not only reknowned for his firm martial heart, but he was also the named successor of the Thunder Hawk Sect. For the Thunder Hawk Sect's current expedition to Eternal Flame City, Xiluo Pingzhi was appointed as the leader of the group as well.

"I-I'm sorry, Senior Apprentice Brother Xiluo," Xizhen Hui hurriedly apologised. "I was just surprised by something else."

"Hmm?" Xiluo Pingzhi frowned. "What is it?"

"Those two men standing right in front of the stage... are they supposed to be Grandmaster Xiqin and Manor Lord Lu?" Xizhen Hui asked hesitantly.

"They should be," Xiluo Pingzhi nodded. "They are the main characters of the event, so it is only natural that they are positioned right at the front. What's so surprising about that?"

"Hancheng, look..." Xizhen Hui nudged the young man seated to her other side. "Doesn't that Manor Lord Lu look familiar?"

"Do you know him?" Xizhen Hancheng looked over as told, then immediately widened his eyes in shock. "It's him!"

"As expected, I didn't remember wrongly," Xizhen Hui swallowed a mouthful of saliva nervously.

"What? Do the two of you actually know Manor Lord Lu?" Xiluo Pingzhi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He never would have thought that these two juniors of his would actually know someone from the Timeless Flame Sect, much less one of the two main characters of the Inscription Meet.

"I-It's nothing much. We just saw him on the streets the other day..." Xizhen Hui forced a smile in response.

By now, she had already recognised Lu Tianzi as one of Longshao Wenqin's companions whom they met at the tavern the day before.

However, she was extremely hesitant to tell this to her senior apprentice brother.

After all, she had completely snubbed the other party during their previous encounter. Who knew what Xiluo Pingzhi would say if he got to know about this?

"I see," Xiluo Pingzhi said patronisingly before turning his attention back to the stage. He had absolutely no interest in anything as trivial as having merely seen a famous person from afar.

On the other hand, Xizhen Hui and Xizhen Hancheng exchanged meaningful glances before coming to a tacit understanding.

What happened the day before must be kept a secret at all costs!

After five minutes, the Iron Fist Overlord had finally managed to make his way to the front of the stage.

Unlike the event host Xuan Ziying, the Iron Fist Overlord was a man of few words and did not waste time speaking, much to the relief of the crowds.

He slowly raised his fist before slamming it back down onto the stage.

Contrary to his usual movements, when his fist come slamming down, it was as fast as lightning, barely visible only to the experts among the audiences. Most had to be at least of the Fifth Cycle Origin Core realm before they could even see the shadow of his movement.

Lu Tianzi could not help but frown as he watched this from below the stage.

If anyone were to attack him at such a terrifying speed, even he would be hard pressed to defend himself!

The movement might have been too quick for most to catch, but the resulting sound was clear for all to hear.

Bang-!

It was a thunderous boom that reverberated across the entire arena. Yet despite such an impact, the stage remained absolutely intact.

Instead, everyone could feel the World Origin Energy around them start to stir as the ground slowly lit up with a beautiful glow.

An emblem of light rose up from beneath the ground, forming into a grand formation that covered the entire arena field. Along with the activation of the formation, a mysterious wave of energy started spreading across the ground, quickly encompassing all the participating inscription masters.

Lu Tianzi immediately channelled his Origin Force to guard his inner world.

It would be strange for the Timeless Flame Sect to make use of an event as grand as this to plot against the participants. But as far as Lu Tianzi was concerned, he was not going to take any chances.

On the other hand, the other participants embraced this mysterious wave of energy, allowing it to wash over them.

Before everyone's eyes, the participants' figures started to blur, as though a thick mist had descended upon the field.

"Everyone, please do not be alarmed," Xuan Ziying said. "This is a special concealing formation that will mask energy fluctuations within, making it completely unrecognisable to anyone else, even to us of the Timeless Flame Sect. So participants, you can go ahead and bring out all the stops today without fear of your techniques being stolen."

As she said that, there were many curious individuals who tried sending their perceptions into the grand concealing formation just to test it out. But once their perceptions entered the range of the formation, it felt as though they were lost within a maze, rendering them completely unable to tell left from right, up from down.

In such a situation, it was simply impossible to glean any useful information using their perceptions.

How interesting...

Just like many others, Lu Tianzi tested the concealing formation and was rather fascinated by its effect. Even under Formation Master Beimu's charge, he had never come across any formations like this.

It did not block perceptions, but confused them instead.

This was probably an results obtained from combining the concepts of an illusory formation and a concealing formation.

"Now then, we are all set to begin the Inscription Meet in earnest!" Xuan Ziying announced. "Participants, you may now bring out the dagger that has been given to you earlier. You have three hours to place your inscription on the dagger, and your time starts... now!"

Gong-!

A loud gong sound reverberated across the arena, signalling the start of the Inscription Meet.

This was met with loud cheers and applause as the crowds rallied in excitement, all of them eager to see how this event would play out.

The participating inscription masters wasted no time in bringing out the dagger that had been passed to them earlier. Three hours was not a long time at all when it came to placing a high tier inscription, so they got started right away.

Flashes of light appeared across the entire field as thousands of inscription masters started drawing inscription runes at the same time. Each inscription rune had a glow of its own. Under the fog-like effect of the concealing formation, this created a magnificent scene that resembled the appearance of countless beautiful stars.

However, as the participating inscription masters began working on their own inscriptions, they quickly realised that there was an unexpected problem.

All inscription masters were used to working behind closed doors as that was how they could create the best possible environment for doing so. But now that they were working on their inscriptions all in one place, each of their works were actually causing energy disturbances that interfered with one another.

And with this many inscription masters doing so at once, it created a field of energy disturbance upon the arena grounds, making it such that anyone with a slightly lacking control in energy would find it impossible to even continue.

Upon realising this, the participating inscription masters could not help but frown.

With that, the level of difficulty here had just gone up by one notch!