A Chaotic World

World Origin Energy in the surroundings churned as the twins activated their swords' inscription skills at the same time.

The sword in Xuan Meng's hands became shrouded in pure white mist.

This was the simplest inscription skill of the second round, but its power was clear for all to see. Against much flashier and more powerful-looking inscriptions, it had come out on top with no trouble whatsoever.

It was the perfect example of how having more was not always better, and having less was not always worse.

Yet even with this sword in hand, Xuan Meng did not feel like victory was already his for the taking.

Roar-!

A powerful shockwave erupted with Xuan Ming as the core, but Xuan Meng was prepared for it.

The sword of white mist paved the way forward as Xuan Meng continued his advance, ready to meet the expanding shockwave head-on.

The explosion of pressure continued unabated in all directions, but where it met the tip of the sword of white mist, the rate at which the shockwave expanded instantly slowed.

It was as though the tip of the sword marked the edge of a boundary of sorts, one that was capable of halting the advance of the shockwave.

This outcome caught almost everyone by surprise.

This was the first time that the eruption of pressure from Lu Tianzi's inscribed sword had been stopped by something apart from a proper barrier!

Nevertheless, the shockwave did not disperse just because of that.

This resistance from the sword of white mist might have temporarily stopped the advance of the shockwave, but Xuan Meng had to give it his all just to stand his ground. The shockwave continued to push against his sword like a caged beast trying to escape from its prison, threatening to engulf him whole the moment he relaxed even a little.

At this point, there was no turning back.

Xuan Meng was now standing right in front of the shockwave, with only the sword of white mist in between them. Even if he regretted his decision and wanted to move out of the way, it was already too late to do so.

It had now become a stand-off between Xuan Meng and Xuan Ming, between the sword of white mist and the explosion of pressure.

Xuan Meng could either overcome the shockwave, or be swept away entirely.

Lu Tianzi could not help but feel surprised when he witnessed such a scene.

Even though the Mortal Roar Inscription was a simplified version of what he had in mind, the power behind it had already been proven during the earlier demonstrations. For it to be stopped by a single sword thrust was something that he never would have expected.

Indeed, none of the participants here could be underestimated!

But little did Lu Tianzi know that this was only the start of the surprise.

The sword of white mist in Xuan Meng hands started creeping forward. Bit by bit, it was starting to resist the pressure from the Mortal Roar Inscription.

It was just like the confrontation against the fiery devil born of Grandmaster Xiqin's inscription. The sword of white mist similarly struggled at the start, but eventually overcome the seemingly impossible odds to obtain victory.

Then, it was a fiery devil.

Now, it was an explosion of pressure.

They might have been different in nature, but it mattered not before Inscription Master Guiheng's sword of white mist.

Plain, but effective...

And then, under the eyes of the numerous people present, the sword of white mist directly split the shockwave into two, rendering it completely harmless as it passed Xuan Meng by the sides.

The sword of white mist had finally overcome the explosion of pressure from Lu Tianzi's Mortal Roar Inscription!

Cheers erupted from the audience.

With this, the victor of the confrontation was decided.

Grandmaster Xiqin smirked in schadenfreude.

He might not be happy with being eliminated by Inscription Master Guiheng, but it definitely felt better now that other participants were suffering the same fate. Moreover, the person in question was Lu Tianzi this time.

Since they both lost to the same opponent, it would be difficult to tell whose inscription was better even if Lu Tianzi had gotten further than he did.

From the audience seats, Ruan Ling closed her eyes in resignation.

Beside her, Young Master Xuan Hao let out a helpless sigh as well.

It's over.

"Shit! He almost got it!" Longshao Wenqin cursed.

Nanlan Qianxue clenched her fists, but a smile remained on her face. Yes, it was a pity that Lu Tianzi lost. However, she was still proud of how far Lu Tianzi had come, and that was why she had to continue wearing a smile on her face.

She knew very well that Lu Tianzi could easily see her expression from where he was. If he ever did, she did not want him to see a look of disappointment on her face, because that would just make him feel worse.

The next few moments felt painfully long, so much so that the twins seemed to be moving in slow motion on stage.

Wait, that's not it...

Those who were faster on the uptake quickly realised that there was something wrong with what they were seeing.

Despite having already split apart the explosion of pressure, Xuan Meng did not seem relieved or have his actions sped up at all. Instead, he continued forward at the same pace as before, as if he was still desperately resisting the power of the shockwave.

Or to put it more bluntly, he was moving forward at a snail's pace.

The audience watched on in confusion.

What exactly was going on here?

Just like everyone else, Xuan Ming could see that there was something wrong with Xuan Meng. Despite his confusion, Xuan Ming rushed forward without hesitation, wanting to end it once and for all.

He appeared before Xuan Meng in a flash, and his sword pierced forward like lightning.

Bang-!

It was a collision of sword against sword.

At the very last moment, Xuan Meng had managed to break out of his daze and reacted to Xuan Ming's attack!

But at the same time, everyone could not help but notice that the white mist shrouding his sword had dissipated, perhaps having expended the energy that was sustaining it.

Without the help of the mysterious white mist, Xuan Ming and Xuan Meng were now locked in a contest of pure strength as they pushed their swords against each other's.

"Tch!" Xuan Meng gritted his teeth, his body was drenched in cold sweat.

He might appear to have broken out of his daze earlier, but to recover fully was easier said than done. Even now, he felt like his mind was moving slower than usual.

This would not do.

If this went on, he would definitely lose the contest of strength.

He had to do something about it!

World Origin Energy in the surroundings churned once more, gathering upon Xuan Meng. Xuan Ming reacted instantly, and the inscription symbol on his sword started to glow as well.

"Hmm?" Grandmaster Xilong raised an eyebrow from the judging seats. "They are activating the inscription skills a second time?"

"To do so at this distance... this might be a slightly dangerous," Grandmaster Dongkuang glanced at the Iron Fist Overlord, who slowly stood up from his seat.

"Enough."

The Iron Fist Overlord's solemn voice reverberated through the entire arena.

In the end, this was but a demonstration.

Even though the twins had to fight each other in order to determine which of the swords was superior, there was no need to risk their lives for it.

Upon hearing their Deputy Sect Master's instructions, the twins dared not continue either.

They instantly pulled back their swords and retreated a few steps. The World Origin Energy churning above them instantly dispersed as well, returning everything to the natural order.

If one looked closely, there was a look of relief on their faces as well.

"Wait! Why are we stopping the match?" Inscription Master Guiheng protested from beneath the stage.

Her inscription skill was one that thrived on close-quarters combat. The closer the twins were to each other, the more effective it would be.

The moment the two twins began to activate their inscription skills the second time, she had thought that victory was hers for the taking.

So how could she accept the match being halted at this point in time?

In fact, she had thought the same earlier when Xuan Meng split the shockwave apart, only to be frustrated to no end when Xuan Meng did not move in for the kill.

Now, she was feeling like she had been robbed of her victory twice in the span of mere moments!

But when Inscription Master Guiheng saw the Iron Fist Overlord looking over at her, she could not help but cower a little, slightly regretting her earlier outburst.

"If the match goes on, the demonstrators will be in danger. Such a result is not in the spirit of the Inscription Meet," the Iron Fist Overlord slowly articulated. "That being the case, I shall declare that the round is a draw."

"This..." Inscription Master Guiheng was obviously unhappy about the result, but she dared not retort against the senior.

Lu Tianzi was surprised as well.

He never thought that the judges would simply stop the match and declare it as a draw.

In this case, who would be entitled to the reward promised to the victor of the Inscription Meet then?

As though reading his mind, Xuan Yongheng spoke up from his seat. "Since we have already promised rewards for the victor of the Inscription Meet, it will not reflect well on my Timeless Flame Sect to not have any victors. Since Iron Fist has already decided that this match is a draw, I shall take it upon myself to declare both Inscription Master Guiheng and Manor Lord Lu as the two winners of the Inscription Meet!"

His words instantly drew the attention of everyone in the arena.

Two winners of the Inscription Meet?

It had to be known that the winner of the Inscription Meet had been promised an Overlord rank treasure!

Did this mean that the Timeless Flame Sect would be giving out two Overlord rank treasures as rewards then?

How extravagant!

Members of the audience had no complaints though.

Most of them were here either to identify talented inscription masters or bask in the atmosphere of the competition.

If there were two winners, then so be it.

As long as they did not have to fork out the costs for the rewards, it did not matter to them how many winners there were.

Even the supporters of the two finalists felt more of relief that the participant they supported had not been eliminated.

"Hmph! That doesn't mean our inscriptions are equal!" Inscription Master Guiheng said unhappily to Lu Tianzi. "Next time, let's have a proper contest to decide who is the better of us two!"

"Sure thing," Lu Tianzi replied with a nod.

He could sense no malice behind Inscription Master Guiheng's words. Instead, he actually felt that Inscription Master Guiheng was trying to conceal her excitement right now.

With that, Lu Tianzi looked over to the audience seats and smiled.

Where she sat, Nanlan Qianxue responded with a bright smile of her own and, after looking around to make sure that no one was looking, gave him a quick thumbs up.