A Chaotic World

"Time's up! Participants, please stop whatever you are doing right now. We shall be releasing the concealing formation so everyone can take a look at the results," Xuan Ziying repeated what she said from the previous round.

The difference this time was that by the time she spoke, all eight of the remaining participants were already done with their inscriptions.

This time, there would not be anyone left with nothing to show for their efforts. That alone showed how the remaining eight participants were a class above the rest.

Along with the deactivation of the concealing formation, the thick mist shrouding over the field receded as well, revealing the eight participants and the confident looks on their faces.

Yes, all eight of them had absolute confidence in the inscription that they had just created.

The number of participants had drastically reduced as compared to the first round. Because of that, there was no longer an energy disturbance field that affected them.

This meant that all eight of them were free to perform to their best abilities, in a condition where they no longer had to adapt to external influences.

Naturally, this also meant that the quality of their products would only be higher than before.

"Now, let us begin the assessment for the second round," Xuan Ziying announced after the inscribed swords had been collected from the participants. "For those who don't know, the assessment for the second round will be different from the first. The inscribed swords will be wielded by two martial artists of the same cultivation level, and made to go against each other in a direct contest. Whichever side that lost will be eliminated. If the result is a draw, the judges will be invited to decide on the victor. This will continue until only one participant is left, and that participant will be crowned the victor of the Inscription Meet!"

The audience took in deep breaths in anticipation of what was to come.

This was the last leg of the Inscription Meet.

After this round of assessment, the victor would finally be decided!

"For fairness, we have asked our judges to pick eight tablets in a random order earlier. The order in which these tablets have been picked will determine the order in which the inscribed swords will be assessed," Xuan Ziying continued. "Now, let us first take a look at the submissions from Grandmaster Xiqin and Inscription Master Qianling!"

Two martial artists slowly walked up the stage, over to the judges' table where all eight of the inscribed swords were laid out neatly.

Neither of these two young men could be considered the eye-catching type. But when they walked together, others would almost certainly do a double take.

That was because the two of them looked exactly the same.

Be it their height, their features, their build, or how they carried themselves, all of it was identical. Even their cultivation levels were both at the Eighth Origin Cycle.

"The assessment of the second round will be carried out by my juniors Xuan Ming and Xuan Meng," Xuan Ziying introduced. "They are identical twins who have shared similar traits and abilities since their time of birth. As for their strengths, neither is stronger than the other. Because of that, they can be considered the ideal people for the task."

By the time she completed her sentence, Xuan Ming and Xuan Meng had already picked up their respective swords, and stood facing each other on the stage.

Lu Tianzi carefully observed the duo.

It was indeed as Xuan Ziying had said, the two were identical in almost every single aspect. As long as both of them put in the same amount of effort, it would be difficult to fault this assessment in terms of fairness.

Their cultivation level at the Eighth Cycle Origin Core realm was ideal for this round as well.

Unlike the first round where they inscribed Primary Origin Core rank daggers, this time they had worked on treasure swords at the Peak Origin Core rank. Given that, only those with cultivation levels nearing the limits of the Origin Core realm would be able to properly exhibit the strength of these weapons.

Good, this was exactly what he wanted.

Only under the same conditions would he be able to see the difference between his creation and that of others.

"I am sure everyone in the audience recognises which sword was the submission of which participant," Xuan Ziying said. "For the sake of fairness, we have made sure that our two demonstrators do not know which sword they are holding. So I will have to ask everyone to refrain from saying anything unnecessary during the course of the assessment. Well then, let the assessment begin!"

After placing the inscriptions, there had been subtle changes to appearances of the test swords, so they looked slightly different from one another. This allowed the audience to easily match each sword to the participant who placed the inscription.

Xuan Meng had been given the sword inscribed by Grandmaster Xiqin, while Xuan Ming had ben given the sword inscribed by Inscription Master Qianling.

The two demonstrators did not waste even a single second, immediately taking big strides towards each other with their sword in hand.

World Origin Energy in the arena churned as the inscription symbols on their swords lit up. Both parties had activated their inscription skills at the same time.

Roar-!

The roar of countless beasts could be heard as Xuan Ming's sword by Inscription Master Qianling started emitting an aura of menace. Blurry figures of numerous beasts appeared behind Xuan Ming, as though the spirits of the beasts themselves had risen to join him in battle.

At the same time, Xuan Meng's sword by Grandmaster Xiqin suddenly burst into flames that slowly formed into the shape of a fiery devil. With a single slash of the sword, the devil rushed forth towards Xuan Ming with open arms.

Not the least bit intimidated, Xuan Ming pierced his sword forward as well, and the figures of the beasts charged ahead.

A flaming devil against numerous beast spirits.

As the two sides collided, the flaming devil wrapped its arms around figures of the beasts, pulling them into its fiery embrace. The numerous beast spirits struggled with all their might, but subjected to the intense flames that formed the body of the flaming devil, the figures of the beasts eventually lost their power and vanished.

In the end, it was the flaming devil that emerged victorious.

Grandmaster Xiqin smiled, while Inscription Master Qianling clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

"The victor – Grandmaster Xiqin!" Xuan Ziying announced promptly after getting the nod from the Iron Fist Overlord.

The audience immediately erupted with cheers.

This was what they were here for!

Even though the fight itself did not last long, it was still the action that they craved!

There were even chants of support for Grandmaster Xiqin that started among members of the audience.

The victorious Grandmaster Xiqin could not help but shoot a glance towards Lu Tianzi with scorn in his eyes.

Eternal Flame Inscription?

With just that?

Let me show you what is an inscription that truly deserves that name!

"Now, let us take a look at the submissions from Inscription Master Guiheng and Inscription Master Zengxi!" Xuan Ziying moved on quickly.

Inscription Master Guiheng was from the True Dragon Forge, while Inscription Master Zengxi was from the Sacred Lotus Treasury.

This time, it was a match between the two inscription masters who both came from influences famed for their expertise in the art of artificing.

After resting up a little to recover to their peak states, the martial artists Xuan Meng and Xuan Ming went at it once more with new swords in hand.

Inscription Master Guiheng's inscription might not be anything flashy, but it was certainly effective. Its inscription skill brought forth one focused strike that the other party was unable to defend against.

Just like that, victory was decided in an instant.

Following which, the unaffiliated Grandmaster Xingyu also managed to claim an easy victory over Inscription Master Nanmeng from the Timeless Flame Sect, living up to his supporters' expectations and further consolidating his position as one of the hot favourites for winning the Inscription Meet.

In a flash, it was already down to the final pair – Lu Tianzi against Inscription Master Peilun of the Timeless Flame Sect.

Seeing this matchup, Xuan Qinshang let out a helpless sigh.

Inscription Master Peilun, and Lu Tianzi to a certain extent, could be considered representatives of his Blue Ember faction. No matter who won, it would mean that one of his own would be eliminated.

Then again, perhaps it was a good thing as well.

After all, this meant that at least one of them would proceed to become one of the top four. That way, he would still be able to keep his head up in front of the other faction leaders.

On the other hand, Young Master Xuan Hao and the others were not nearly as conflicted in their hearts despite being related to the Blue Ember faction as well. They naturally hoped that Lu Tianzi would be the victor.

Lu Tianzi looked at Xuan Ming who was holding his inscribed sword.

Right now, he was more eager than anyone to see the result of his inscription.

As opposed to the inscription that he had wanted to create, this was just a lesser version, something that he had improvised on the spot.

Given that, would it still be enough?

He was about to find out.

"Well then, let the assessment begin!" Xuan Ziying announced, and the twins activated their inscription skills without hesitation.

Everyone watched with bated breaths, their eyes peeled in concentration.

This was the last of the first four matchups. With this, all eight inscriptions for the second round would be revealed.

While the second round was of an elimination format, wouldn't the end result already be obvious by the time the inscriptions were all revealed?

Whether one inscription was superior to the others, those with keen eyes should be able to tell to a certain extent.

That was why this last matchup mattered.

Once all eight inscriptions had been revealed, the audience would be able to make their own conjectures about the eventual victor of the Inscription Meet.

Weng-!

Xuan Meng's sword hummed as his entire figure started to blur out.

The inscription by Inscription Master Peilun focused on the swiftness of the blade, giving a huge boost to the speed and agility of the user the moment the inscription skill was activated.

This allowed Xuan Meng to reach a speed so fast that his figure only appeared as a blur to most.

Inscription Master Peilun smiled in satisfaction when he saw how Xuan Meng used the sword.

He was not exactly a humble person, but Inscription Master Peilun still knew his limits.

No matter how he looked at it, he would not be able to emerge victorious in the Inscription Meet by relying on just his skills alone. Grandmaster Xiqin, for one, obviously far exceeded himself in terms of their skill level in the art of inscriptions.

So if he wanted to win, he would need to outsmart the others somehow.

In the previous round, most participants' inscriptions focused on elusiveness and stealth for the dagger.

Now that the subject was a sword, Inscription Master Peilun was almost certain that everyone would change their focus onto pure power instead.

And this led him to one answer – speed.

No matter how powerful the opponent's attack, it would be useless if it could not touch him.

Since that was the case, why bother contesting them in what they did best?

With absolute speed, victory was assured.

After all, the assessment for the second round was all about defeating the other party in combat. While the quality of the inscription mattered, it was not exactly the main area of assessment.

As long as his inscription could catch the others by surprise and attain victory in combat, he would be the eventual victor of the Inscription Meet!

His eyes lit up in excitement as Xuan Meng rushed over towards Xuan Ming, his figure a complete blur even to Inscription Master Peilun himself.

At this speed, it would be nigh impossible for Xuan Ming to block his attack.

But right at this moment, the inscription skill on Xuan Ming's sword finally activated.

The mirage of a single white wing stretched out from behind Xuan Ming, and an overwhelming pressure erupted from the sword in his hands.

Xuan Meng, who had been rushing towards him, ended up running straight into this explosion of pure pressure.