A Chaotic World

There was a short break for the judges to discuss their opinions.

Well, they said that, but it was mainly just Grandmaster Dongkuang and Grandmaster Xilong exchanging their thoughts while the Iron Fist Overlord sat by and listen.

There were more than a thousand submissions, and just the assessment of the inscriptions alone had taken hours to complete.

But among them, there were a few that obviously stood out from the rest.

Since the judges only had to select the top eight without having to rank them accordingly, it did not take too long for them to come to a consensus. After getting the nod from the Iron Fist Overlord, Grandmaster Dongkuang passed the finalised list over to Xuan Ziying.

"All right, I'm sure everyone is looking forward to this, so I shall not drag this out any further," Xuan Ziying announced. "Here are the participants who will proceed to the next round..."

The arena turned silent as everyone perked their ears up in anticipation.

After pausing for a moment just to build up the tension, Xuan Ziying announced the names.

The first two names were just as expected.

Grandmaster Xiqin – Timeless Flame Sect.

Grandmaster Xingyu – Unaffiliated.

Their performance had been nothing short of remarkable, displaying not just skills but also results that were indubitably ahead of the pack. Because of that, it came as no surprise that the two of them were going to proceed to the next round.

At this point, most believed that either of the two would eventually end up as the victor of the Inscription Meet.

Inscription Master Qianling – Divine Storm Sect.

This was a rare participant from another of the four ancient sects.

While the list of participants comprised inscription masters from all over the continent, the fact was that almost no members of the other ancient sects joined.

It was no wonder why they would be hesitant to participate as well.

As members of an ancient sect, it would be a slap to their faces if they were to obtain poor results under the assessment of another ancient sect.

Fortunately, Qianling managed to prove her worth, successfully progressing to the second round.

Inscription Master Nanmeng – Timeless Flame Sect.

Inscription Master Peilun – Timeless Flame Sect.

These two were inscription masters who belonged to the Red Cinder and Blue Ember factions respectively.

It seemed that other than the Blue Ember faction, the other factions had also sent out other inscription masters to take part in the Inscription Meet.

Seeing that one of their own had successfully clinched a place in the second round, Xuan Qinshang could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

Inscription Master Guiheng – True Dragon Forge.

Inscription Master Zengxi – Sacred Lotus Treasury.

These two were inscription masters who came from influences famed for their expertise in the art of artificing.

The True Dragon Forge was a reclusive influence famous for their artificing heritage. Throughout history, there had been many famous works from them that struck fear across the continent.

On the other hand, the Sacred Lotus Treasury did not require any introduction. Not only was it one of the largest producers of quality equipment and accessories in Sacred Cliff City, it also had multiple branches in many other cities.

As for the last slot...

"Manor Lord Lu of the Sky Snow Manor," Xuan Ziying announced.

It was not too surprising, considering how the pure power behind the inscription skill of his submission still lingered vividly in the memories of the audience.

However, there were still some who were rather unhappy with this decision, especially the participants who failed to go through to the next round.

"I have nothing to say about the others, but Manor Lord Lu's inscription is designed to only tackle the assessment standards the Inscription Meet. Even that can be considered a pass?"

"If our inscriptions were compared outside of Eternal Flame City, I'm sure mine will be better!"

"Isn't that cheating? Didn't he receive information beforehand so he could prepare something as ridiculous as that?"

"No matter how I think about it, that is not a proper inscription! What kind of inscription can only be useful in a certain location?"

These participants had come a long way to Eternal Flame City with hopes of being recognised by the world, yet their chance to progress to the next round had been robbed from them by what they considered mere trickery.

How could they possibly be happy about it?

Nevertheless, they could only grumble among themselves.

Not a single one of them dared to openly object against the decision, not even Inscription Master Liheng who had challenged Grandmaster Xilong earlier.

The reason for that was simple – the Iron Fist Overlord had approved of this decision.

If they were to question the final decision, wouldn't it be the same as questioning the Iron Fist Overlord?

None of them would dare to do so even if they were elsewhere, not to mention that they were currently in the territory of the Timeless Flame Sect!

Be it the eliminated participants or their supporters in the audience, all they could do was shoot looks of hatred towards the meditating Lu Tianzi.

As though he had sensed the indignance among the people present, Grandmaster Dongkuang spoke up from his seat.

"Manor Lord Lu's inscription is truly exquisite. Even after examining it again, I am unable to see through its mysteries. I am afraid that it would take at least days for us to even figure out how the inscription truly works," Grandmaster Dongkuang said, his voice reverberating throughout the arena. "The level of skill and knowledge needed to create such an inscription is obvious to all of us. However, we also understand that it is a situational inscription, and thus the intrinsic value is actually lower than it seems. To remove such an unfair advantage, we have decided to set a new rule – such an inscription will no longer be accepted in the second round."

His words immediately drew a huge response from those present.

"That's more like it!"

"It should have been banned from the start!"

Cheers of support rang out among the audience, while the participants sneered in schadenfreude.

Deep down, the participants all knew that what Lu Tianzi did was something beyond the means of most inscription masters. However, that did not change the fact that it was still a trick, or more specifically, an unorthodox path.

Since they believe that they had not been beaten on the same playing field, they were naturally unable to accept his ability as well. Given that, all of them were looking forward to see Lu Tianzi embarrass himself in the next round.

"Hahaha!" Grandmaster Xiqin burst out in laughter as he turned towards Lu Tianzi. "I have to admit that you truly surprised me earlier, but it looks like the trick you prepared for the Inscription Meet is going to be put to an end here!"

Lu Tianzi opened his eyes and looked at Grandmaster Dongkuang on stage.

Grandmaster Dongkuang caught his glance and smiled in response. "Manor Lord Lu, please take note of the changes for the second round."

"Understood," Lu Tianzi nodded with a frown.

He had thought that this might happen. But now that it was truly happening, Lu Tianzi felt rather indignant himself.

After all, it had taken him quite a bit of research to even come up with the idea for this inscription.

Grandmaster Xiqin was not wrong to say that he had prepared this trump card just for the Inscription Meet, only for it to be taken away.

Now, he would have to quickly think of something for the second round.

Unfortunately, he was not given the luxury of time.

"We shall be starting the second round shortly," Xuan Ziying announced. "The eight participants whom I called out earlier, please come forward towards the stage. As for the rest, we of the Timeless Flame Sect thank you for taking the time to participate today. Please follow my juniors and leave in an orderly manner. Of course, if you wish to remain and watch, we will not stop you either."

She said that, but not a single one of the eliminated participants chose to remain on the field.

All of these participants took pride in their skills, otherwise they would never have chosen to take part in the Inscription Meet.

Now that they had been eliminated, all of them could not help but feel embarrassed by the situation. So even if they wanted to keep watching, they would choose to do so from a corner of the arena.

Who would want to attract everyone's attention by staying on the field?

In the end, only eight participants were left on the field.

As they gathered before the stage, the participants could not help but give one another a quick lookover.

The second was also the final round of the Inscription Meet.

For many of them, it was a potential turning point in their lives.

As long as they managed to do well here, their names would resound across the continent. From then on, the level of prestige they enjoyed would never be the same again.

And now, the other seven remaining participants were all that stood between them and that new life.

Thinking up to this point, their eyes steeled with resolve.

They had to win!

"I believe that my juniors have already passed you the sword that you will be working on for the second round," Xuan Ziying said. "I am sure everyone has already rested up enough after the long hours of assessment earlier, so I shall not delay this any further. If there are no objections, may I invite Deputy Sect Master up once again?"

The Iron Fist Overlord slowly rose from his seat and stepped forward.

This time, everyone already knew what was about to happen.

Many among the audience narrowed their eyes, ready to see the intricacies behind the movement of his fist. Yet despite their preparations, it was still too fast for most to follow.

The Iron Fist Overlord's fist struck down like a streak of lightning, slamming onto the stage with a loud bang.

Just like before, this was the activation of the concealing formation specially prepared by the Timeless Flame Sect.

In an instant, the figures of the participants blurred out as though a thick mist had descended upon the field.

"Now then, let the second round of the Inscription Meet begin in earnest," Xuan Ziying announced. "This is the final round, so let's all do our best. Participants, you have three hours to place your inscriptions on the sword, and your time starts... now!"

The remaining participants immediately got to work.

Even Grandmaster Xiqin who had deliberately given everyone a head start in the previous round no longer dared to be careless.

It was no longer simply about being one of the top eight so as to earn the right to enter the next round.

This time, he would only be satisfied with being named as the very best!

The other participants shared the same thoughts. Only by being the victor of the Inscription Meet would their names truly resound across the continent, so all of them immediately put in their full effort.

Only, there was one participant among the eight who did not immediately start working on his inscription.

Lu Tianzi looked at the sword in his hand, then closed his eyes once more.

There was a reason why the other seven participants had progressed to this round.

Even though there was something strange with Grandmaster Xiqin's hostility towards him, the senior inscription master's skills were undeniable, and that was the case with the other six participants as well.

Now that the Eternal Flame Inscription and all similar inscriptions would no longer be accepted, what could he do here to stand out among this group of experts?

To do so, he truly had to dig deep and pull out everything that he had got.

Lu Tianzi took a deep breath to calm himself down.

After he cleared his mind of distractions, bit by bit, everything he knew about the art of inscriptions started flashing by in his head.