A Chaotic World

It was one thing to fail the assessment, but Grandmaster Xilong actually announced to the world that his work was nothing but trash!

As an inscription master in his own right, how could Liheng ever take it lying down?

If he really accepted such an assessment, who would still want to find him for inscriptions in the future?

Wouldn't that be effectively ending his future as an inscription master?

"Oh?" Grandmaster Xilong raised an eyebrow in response, apparently more amused than flustered by Liheng's sudden outburst.

"Anyone can sit there and pretend to be all great, but do you even know how the situation was like earlier? I'm afraid that if it were you, you might have ended up just like the others, not even able to complete a proper inscription!" Liheng continued. "If you really believe you are all that, how about we exchange pointers right here and now?"

Under normal circumstances, Liheng would never have dared to act in such an unbridled manner during an event organised by the Timeless Flame Sect. However, Grandmaster Xilong had shown such utter disregard for his work that he simply could not hold back any longer.

If the only other option today was to have his reputation as an inscription master plummet to the depths of the abyss, then he might as well just gamble it all on this shot!

Hearing his words, everyone present could not help but look at Liheng in a mixture of shock and surprise.

This was truly unexpected!

Was the very first participant to be assessed already challenging one of the judges?

The audience then turned towards the host Xuan Ziying, only to find that she still had a carefree smile on her face, as though there was absolutely nothing wrong with the situation. From how she was just standing by and watching in silence, it was apparent that she had no intention to interfere, or at least not yet.

If the audience could see this, so could Liheng.

Seeing that the host was not stopping him either, Liheng suddenly felt emboldened. He stood with his head held high, glaring straight at Grandmaster Xilong.

"Exchange pointers? With just you? Hah, don't make me laugh! Someone like you doesn't deserve my time at all!" Grandmaster Xilong scoffed. "This thing here is nothing but trash, and I am just saying the fact as it is. If you are unhappy about my assessment, then go ahead and tell the Timeless Flame Sect to remove me as one of the judges!"

"You...!" Liheng gritted his teeth in anger.

By bringing the Timeless Flame Sect into the equation, Grandmaster Xilong was simply making it impossible for Liheng to continue the argument.

How would Liheng ever dare to say such a thing to the Timeless Flame Sect?

That would be equivalent to challenging the prestige of the ancient sect, something that even members of the other ancient sects would be hesitant to do!

As for Liheng, the Grand Pastures Mountain that he came from was just an average-tier influence. If he ever incurred the wrath of the Timeless Flame Sect, the Grand Pastures Mountain might just decide to kick him out the very next day to prevent any further implications!

Faced with Liheng's silent glare of hatred, Grandmaster Xilong smirked and crossed his arms in triumph.

That's right.

He was of a different level from this bunch of participants.

After all, he was a judge invited by the Timeless Flame Sect!

Those in the crowd who were supportive of Liheng could only sigh helplessly. They similarly understood that Liheng could no longer push this any further, and had no choice but to accept this conclusion.

Even many of those who did not know him personally could not help but feel a tinge of pity for him.

His reputation as an inscription master would be taking a huge hit from today's events. Who knows how long it would take for him to build it up once more?

In the end, participating in an event as grand as the Inscription Meet might seem prestigious and all, but it was not something that should be attempted without careful consideration.

If things turned out well, there were huge benefits to be obtained.

But if things turned out badly, they could really end up suffering for trying to bite more than they could chew!

"Let's move on to the second submission," Xuan Ziying said nonchalantly, as though nothing had even happened. "This submission is by..."

Following Liheng's submission, inscribed daggers were brought to the judges one after another.

No matter which submission it was, the Iron Fist Overlord always did the same thing. He would just pick up the dagger and immediately pass it down to Grandmaster Dongkuang.

It came to a point where no one expected any response from him anymore.

On the contrary, Grandmaster Dongkuang would examine the inscribed daggers with great care. The only problem with him was that his comments were rather short and simple. In fact, he had only given three comments in total – good, not bad, and good attempt.

These comments were rather vague in nature, but as time passed, everyone eventually came to understand what these comments truly meant.

Whenever Grandmaster Dongkuang said that it was a good attempt, he actually meant that the inscription itself was no good.

Whenever he said that it was not bad, he meant that the inscription itself was passable.

It was only when he said that it was good that he truly meant that the inscription was well done.

As for how the audience found out about that, it was naturally through observing and drawing a pattern from the reaction of the final and most outspoken judge – Grandmaster Xilong.

Grandmaster Xilong truly was someone who did not care about mincing his words when dishing out criticisms.

If he did not deem a submission to be of a passable standard, he would describe it to the point of not being worth a single cent.

But if a submission was decent in his eyes, his comments would be short and concise. Of course, such instances were rarer than rare.

Due to the effect of the energy disturbance field, too many submissions were inscriptions of below acceptable levels.

This was the problem with opening up the Inscription Meet to allow the participation of any interested parties.

The participants who still remained might have managed to overcome the energy disturbance field to complete their inscription, but it had still greatly impacted the quality of their work. In the end, only slightly less than half of the participants were capable of producing quality work under such circumstances.

The audience gradually became a little bored of hearing criticisms, so every time a submission was being praised, they would find themselves cheering in excitement.

However, when one of the submissions was being introduced, the crowds started cheering even before the assessments had been made.

"The next submission is by Grandmaster Xiqin of the Timeless Flame Sect!" Xuan Ziying announced with zest. "Judges, please begin your assessment."

The inscribed daggers were being assessed in a random order, and that was no exception for the two main characters of the event either.

Now, it was finally his turn to be assessed.

Grandmaster Xiqin did not only possess a stellar track record as an inscription master, but he had also shown his incredible speed of drawing inscription runes earlier. Therefore the audience was really looking forward to hear the judges' assessment of his submission.

Judging from her tone, it was obvious that even the host Xuan Ziying was excited for it.

Then again, it was only natural that she would support someone who hailed from the same sect, not to mention someone who commanded a high level of respect like Grandmaster Xiqin.

Grandmaster Xiqin smiled confidently upon hearing his name and shot a glance towards Lu Tianzi.

He did not only have absolute confidence that his inscription would be given a good assessment, he was also certain that he would be one of the eight who makes it through to the next round!

Of course, Lu Tianzi was still in his own world with his eyes closed, so Grandmaster Xiqin merely snorted in disdain before turning his attention back to the judges.

Even he was curious to see the judges' response to his work of art.

Once again, the Iron Fist Overlord slowly picked up the dagger and passed it along to Grandmaster Dongkuang. Even though the submission was from someone of the same sect as him, there was no change to his actions.

Grandmaster Dongkuang quickly began his detailed examination of the dagger.

After being inscribed by Grandmaster Xiqin, the dagger had completely changed colour and was now as black as ink. There were even some slight changes to the shape and contours of the dagger, causing it to give off a dark aura as though it was a malicious tool of evil.

To everyone's surprise, Grandmaster Dongkuang suddenly stood up from his seat and walked to the front of the stage.

This was the first time that he had left his seat throughout the entire assessment process, so everyone was wondering about the reason for the sudden change.

Fortunately, they were not kept guessing for long.

Grandmaster Dongkuang held the jet black dagger in front of him and channelled his Origin Force.

When the inscription symbol on the dagger lit up in response, everyone immediately understood what was going on.

Grandmaster Dongkuang was testing out the inscription skill on the dagger!

All other things being equal, inscriptions that provided an inscription skill were valued more highly than those that did not. However, they were also much more complex in comparison.

As for the effect of the inscription skill, it would be difficult to gauge it without actually putting it to the test.

At this point, everyone kept their eyes peeled, not wanting to miss a second of what was about to happen.

This was the reveal of the inscription skill of Grandmaster Xiqin's submission, so it had to be something incredible for sure!

And under everyone's watchful eyes, Grandmaster Dongkuang's figure started to fade away. In just a matter of seconds, he had completely vanished into thin air, as though he had been nothing but an illusion all this while.

Those present were all alarmed by this sudden development.

Many of them immediately started probing the area with their perceptions, only to find that they were unable to find any traces of Grandmaster Dongkuang whatsoever.

It was an incredibly high level concealing art, a perfect combination when paired with a dagger, which had traditionally been mostly used for combat techniques that emphasised on swiftness and stealth!

Just from that alone, one could tell that Grandmaster Xiqin was clearly unlike most other participants who were only eager to show off the inscriptions that they were most proud of. Instead, much thought must have been put into Grandmaster Xiqin's selection of the inscription itself, making sure that it would suit the item in question.

Even then, he did not end up compromising on the quality of the inscription, evident from how most people present were unable to detect Grandmaster Dongkuang after he activated the inscription skill.

Many of these people were powerful martial artists who had experienced countless battles. For them to be unable to find Grandmaster Dongkuang despite actively searching for him, even if it was just for a short while, it was more than enough proof of the inscription skill's effectiveness.

In terms of both suitability and quality, there was simply no fault to be found with Grandmaster Xiqin's inscription.

Such a result took the breath away from many among the audience.

At this point, Grandmaster Xilong's harsh words towards the inferior submissions earlier rang true in their heads once more, as they could finally relate to his thoughts.

As compared to this nigh perfect submission by Grandmaster Xiqin, not to mention those who were criticised by Grandmaster Xilong, even for the participants whose submissions had received relatively good responses earlier, all of them now appeared to be nothing impressive at all!

For an inscription master to deserve of being celebrated as skilled in his field, they had to at least be able to achieve what Grandmaster Xiqin had done.

Only then could they prove that they possessed the class of a true top tier inscription master!