A Chaotic World

"This...!" Grandmaster Xiqin gaped, unable to believe what he just saw.

How could his inscription have ended up losing to a junior's?

That simply did not make any sense!

In his head, he had already prepared the words that he would say when he was conferred as the victor of the Inscription Meet.

Who knew that things would turn out like this all of a sudden?

He was not the only one flabbergasted by the current situation either.

Across the entire arena, the majority present had their breaths taken from them, shocked by the events that had just transpired.

Even the host Xuan Ziying stared wide-eyed at the victorious Xuan Ming, momentarily unable to find the right words to speak.

The situation earlier had looked so optimistic for Grandmaster Xiqin. The gigantic fiery devil seemed so much grander than the plain white sword, and the pressure coming from it was enormous as well.

Yet...

Never in her wildest imagination would she have thought that the Head Inscription Master of their Timeless Flame Sect's Yellow Spark Faction would be eliminated here!

"Is there something wrong? Why are you not announcing the result?" Grandmaster Guiheng asked unhappily.

She had been excited about winning, but seeing everyone's reaction definitely dampened her mood.

Did most people think that she should have lost?

How infuriating!

The flustered Xuan Ziying turned towards the seated Iron Fist Overlord, who gave her an assuring nod. Only then did reality finally sink in for her.

"The victor – Inscription Master Guiheng!" Xuan Ziying announced, albeit with a tinge of regret in her tone.

A huge commotion immediately broke out among the audience.

This was a huge upset.

After all, the Head Inscription Master of one of the Timeless Flame Sects' factions had been eliminated in an event that they organised themselves, and he did not even manage to reach the finals!

To a certain extent, it was also a hit to the prestige of the ancient sect.

But for the unaffiliated audience, this was simply drama worth talking about for years to come!

Grandmaster Xiqin felt his face burning up, but there was no longer anything he could do about it at this juncture.

The Iron Fist Overlord had already agreed to the decision. If he were to question it any further, not only would it do nothing to help, it would also seem petty on his part.

He took in a deep breath to calm himself down before turning towards Inscription Master Guiheng with a smile. "That was a good plan; you really caught me by surprise this time. Well done, kid."

"I didn't plan anything at all. This is merely the difference in our skill levels," Inscription Master Guiheng snapped back.

She was already unhappy enough with everyone believing that she was inferior to Grandmaster Xiqin, so how could she not feel angered when spoken to with such a condescending tone?

Kid...?

She might be younger than Grandmaster Xiqin, but how dared he call her a kid after losing to her?

"Hahaha, the brashness of youth..." Grandmaster Xiqin forced a laugh before turning away, his face redder than before.

No one could see how hard his fists were clenched under his long sleeves.

Not only had he been eliminated by someone he deemed inferior, but to think the other party even dissed him in front of everyone... it was taking him everything he had just to stop himself from stomping out of the arena in frustration!

None of them said anything out of consideration for Grandmaster Xiqin's feelings, but it was a long and awkward wait for those from the Timeless Flame Sect.

The earlier confrontation had been rather intense for the twins, so they took quite a while to recover.

It was only when they were done that Xuan Ziying finally let out a sigh of relief.

"We have made everyone wait. Now, let us take a look at how the submission from Grandmaster Xingyu fares against the submission from Manor Lord Lu!" Xuan Ziying announced.

The clamour in the arena died down almost instantly.

Now that even Grandmaster Xiqin had been eliminated, everyone finally understood that their earlier predictions meant nothing.

Every participant here at the Inscription Meet was a genius in their own right.

When they put in their all, anything could happen.

No one wanted to miss a single detail of the events that were about to unfold, not to mention the fact that there was one other thing that they wanted to figure out.

All eyes fell upon Xuan Meng when he stepped forward with Lu Tianzi's inscribed sword in hand. It was almost as though Xuan Ming was completely invisible.

The earlier Eternal Flame Inscription might have contained a trick, but the power it released could not be denied. Thinking back to that made everyone feel even more curious about the inscription that Lu Tianzi had submitted for the second round.

What could be the exact ability of this inscription that had even prompted the Iron Fist Overlord to make his move?

"Begin!"

Upon Xuan Ziying's prompt, Xuan Meng and Xuan Ming charged towards each other while channelling their Origin Force into their respective swords.

World Origin Energy in the surroundings churned as the two inscriptions were activated at the same time.

Hiss-!

Dark energy burst out of Xuan Ming's sword and formed into hundreds of shadow snakes that pounced aggressively towards his opponent. They were like living creatures with thoughts of their own, each attacking with a different pattern and from a different direction.

But Xuan Meng was not intimidated even when faced with such a fearsome sight, for he had already experienced firsthand just what the sword in his hands was capable of doing.

Roar-!

The same roar, along with the same explosion of pure pressure.

Some people could not help but look towards the Iron Fist Overlord, wondering if he would make a move once more.

But this time, the Iron Fist Overlord remained unmoving in his seat.

That was because without anyone realising it, several members of the Timeless Flame Sect had already gotten into position around the stage. They made a few complicated hand seals, and a barrier appeared on the stage, surrounding the twins.

They had already seen what Lu Tianzi's inscription was capable of, so it would be negligent of them not to have made preparations for it this time.

After all, they could not possibly trouble their deputy sect master to control the situation every time.

On stage, the numerous shadow snakes clashed with the expanding shockwave... and were instantly annihilated.

No matter how many there were and where they were attacking from, the explosion of pressure propagated in all directions, eliminating every possible blind spot. It continued unhindered as it swept through every single shadow snake, until it finally engulfed Xuan Ming himself.

Xuan Ming gritted his teeth in pain, unable to do a thing as Xuan Meng came forward to point the sword tip at his face.

It was over in an instant.

"The victor – Manor Lord Lu!" Xuan Ziying announced.

Upon hearing her words, many turned their attention towards Grandmaster Xingyu, wanting to see his reaction.

For the second time in a row, one of the hot favourites for winning the Inscription Meet had been eliminated. The only consolation was that the opponent this time was one of the two main characters of the event, so perhaps it would be easier for Grandmaster Xingyu to accept the loss.

To everyone's surprise, Grandmaster Xingyu showed no signs of resignation or anger.

Instead, he was simply rubbing his chin in deep contemplation. From his calm expression, it almost seemed as though he had already expected such an outcome.

Then as though struck by some sort of epiphany, Grandmaster Xingyu turned towards Lu Tianzi. "Pardon me for asking, Manor Lord Lu. But this inscription of yours... there is definitely more to it than just pure spiritual pressure. Is it decay?"

Lu Tianzi was surprised for a moment by the sudden question, especially since Grandmaster Xingyu's guess was extremely close to the truth.

No, since this was but a simplified version, decay was just about the right word to describe it.

"You can say that," Lu Tianzi nodded. "I see that Grandmaster Xingyu truly lives up to your name."

These words were not mere pleasantries either.

To be able to guess this much from just watching twice, Grandmaster Xingyu's perception was truly incredible.

"So that's the case. It can't be helped then," Grandmaster Xingyu let out a helpless sigh. "Your earlier inscription did not have a name. What about this one?"

"Neither does this," Lu Tianzi shook his head. "But if I were to give it a name, then it shall be the Mortal Roar Inscription!"

"Mortal Roar Inscription..." Grandmaster Xingyu revealed a look of surprise. "To conquer the mortal world with a single roar, eh? I willingly admit defeat today. If Manor Lord Lu is willing to accommodate my selfish request, I would love to have a good chat about the art of inscriptions in the future."

"You are always welcome to do so," Lu Tianzi answered with a smile.

As per the rumours, this Grandmaster Xingyu seemed to be genuine about pursuing the peak of the art of inscriptions.

Given that, Lu Tianzi naturally would not object to discussing the art with him since it would surely be a mutually beneficial experience.

"There are only two participants left! Who will be the ultimate victor in the Inscription Meet? We are about to find out!" Xuan Ziying said. "Xuan Meng, Xuan Ming, take your position!"

Her manner of speech had returned to the pleasing tone from before, seemingly having recovered from the shock of Grandmaster Xiqin's elimination.

It was as she had said.

Now, only Inscription Master Guiheng and Lu Tianzi were left in the running.

Neither of the two had been favourites to win from the start, and that was the case even though Lu Tianzi was one of the two main characters.

Most people had expected him to be crushed by the more experienced Grandmaster Xiqin, but things turned out completely different from what they expected.

Not only had Lu Tianzi managed to progress to the finals, but Grandmaster Xiqin was actually unable to meet him there.

Instead, it was a veiled beauty from the True Dragon Forge who ended up defeating all competition to reach this point. A veiled beauty, but also one who was exceptionally skilled in the art.

Ruan Ling silently held Nanlan Qianxue's hand, both of them watching on intently.

Beside them, Young Master Xuan Hao clasped his fists together.

They were all nervous for Lu Tianzi, hoping that he would be able to overcome this one last hurdle.

Even Longshao Wenqin who was seated with them ended up being influenced by the atmosphere, and started feeling anxious about the result as well.

Lu Tianzi felt Inscription Master Guiheng's glance landing upon him, and responded with his own.

Their gazes met, but it was nothing confrontational.

Instead, it was a look of recognition, as though they were silently acknowledging each other, congratulating the other party for having reached this stage.

When they turned their attention back to the stage, Xuan Meng and Xuan Ming simultaneously made their moves, almost as though the twins had been waiting for their signal.

Xuan Meng wielded the sword inscribed by Inscription Master Guiheng, and Xuan Ming wielded the sword inscribed by Lu Tianzi.

This was the last confrontation.

At the end of this confrontation, the victor of the Inscription Meet would finally be revealed.