A Chaotic World

Chapter 415: The First Assessment

Grandmaster Xiqin could not help but frown when he noticed Lu Tianzi joining the fray, especially when the junior inscription master attracted so much attention the moment he did.

Right from the start, he had never treated Lu Tianzi as a worthy adversary.

In his head, someone as young as Lu Tianzi would never be able to match him in the art of inscriptions. The only reason Xuan Wen was interested in Lu Tianzi would have to be because of the youngster's future potential.

However, future potential was just that, something that could only be realised in the future.

As of now, the difference between them was still as vast as the ocean. The moment Lu Tianzi accepted his challenge, the victory was already his for the taking.

Even now that he had witnessed the speed at which Lu Tianzi was drawing inscription runes, his confidence did not waver.

After all, which inscription master was incapable of drawing inscription runes quickly?

The issue would only come when these inscription runes were put together into an inscription. An inscription that was hastily put together without much thought would never be able to compare against one that was created with care.

And even if Lu Tianzi was just like him, capable of drawing these inscription runes quickly and in a solid manner, so what?

In any case, he was still faster than Lu Tianzi!

Grandmaster Xiqin had no doubt that the victor here would be him. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that people were actually cheering on Lu Tianzi. That made him extremely uncomfortable.

He was the one whom people should be cheering for!

The only one!

Despite his indignation, Grandmaster Xiqin did not allow this to affect his work. Instead, it only spurred him on to perform his techniques with greater precision and speed.

From his seat, Xuan Qinshang finally let out a sigh of relief.

Lu Tianzi had him worried initially, but everything was good now.

With Lu Tianzi's current display of skills, considering the fact that he was much younger than Grandmaster Xiqin, it would not be too embarrassing for their Blue Ember faction even if he lost in the end.

While the participants did their best to produce the best inscription they could, members of the audience watched on with varying thoughts.

Some were palpitating with excitement, while some were in despair along with the participants they were rooting for.

One by one, the participants completed their inscriptions, carefully placing them upon the daggers that they had been issued with.

Just like that, three hours passed in a flash.

Gong-!

A familiar loud gong sound reverberated across the arena.

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This gong had signalled the start of the Inscription Meet earlier. And now, it appeared once more to mark the end of the first round.

"Time's up!" the host Xuan Ziying announced from atop the stage. "Participants, please stop with whatever you are doing right now. We shall be releasing the concealing formation so everyone can take a look at the results."

With that said, even the participants who had yet to complete their inscriptions dared not continue any longer.

The moment the concealing formation was released, everything would be revealed to the audience.

If they stubbornly continued to work on their inscriptions, they would only end up revealing their personal inscription techniques to the world.

For most inscription masters, these personal techniques were their secrets of the trade, something that defined them as inscription masters.

It was one thing if doing so allowed them to eventually obtain first place in this Inscription Meet and secure a place in the Timeless Flame Sect, but what if they ended up revealing their techniques and still failed to progress to the next round?

That would be a terrible loss on their part!

Poof-! Poof-! Poof-!

The moment these participating inscription masters stopped their work, the incomplete inscription arrays that they had created from numerous inscription runes collapsed in an instant.

With that, all of their hard work in the past three hours had effectively gone up in smoke.

Then again, they could not entirely be blamed for this failure.

Not many had expected the energy disturbance field that came about from thousands of them working on inscriptions at the same place. Under such unexpectedly harsh conditions, it was understandable that they would fail to exhibit their true prowess in the art of inscriptions.

Unfortunately for them, the result was all that mattered here at the Inscription Meet.

No matter how good they were under normal circumstances, without a product to show, it was already set in stone that they were going to be eliminated.

Thinking about this, they could only sigh in regret and lament the fact that they had missed a great opportunity to prove their worth.

But while there were participants like them who were filled with disappointment, there were also those whose current feelings were right on the other end of the spectrum.

"Hahaha! This is my best work yet!" one of the participants exclaimed out loud as he admired the dagger in his hands. While working under pressure, he had actually managed to surpass his previous limits, producing a masterpiece beyond anything he had ever created!

His words immediately drew the envy of many around him.

It took great effort for most other participants just to produce something that matched their usual standards here, so they could not help but feel a slight hint of jealousy towards this participant.

Then again, there were also those who were unaffected whatsoever.

These were mainly the ones who were truly excellent.

Unlike most others, it did not take long for them to get used to the energy disturbance field, allowing them to display their skills to the fullest.

Because of that, they naturally had absolute confidence in their products.

"Participants, please pass your inscribed daggers over to my junior apprentice brothers and sisters who are going around right now. Don't worry, we will not mix up your work with anyone else's," Xuan Ziying instructed with a smile. "As for participants who failed to complete your inscriptions, we of the Timeless Flame Sect thank you for taking the time to participate today. Please follow the instructions from my juniors to hand over the daggers and leave in an orderly manner."

In the end, this was a world where one's abilities mattered the most.

For those who failed to even complete their inscriptions, the Timeless Flame Sect really could not be bothered to keep them around any longer. All they received was a casual thank you from the host before being asked to leave.

Thankfully, most of the participants possessed a certain level of skill, so less than half of them were forced to leave then and there. After the eliminated participants had been led out of the arena, there were still over a thousand participants who remained waiting for the first assessment to begin.

"Thank you for waiting. Now, the judges will start assessing the daggers inscribed by our participants," Xuan Ziying announced. "Please bring the daggers onto the stage!"

With that, a member of the Timeless Flame Sect brought a tray of inscribed daggers up the stage and placed it on a table that had been set up in front of the judges.

At this point, Grandmaster Xiqin could not help but turn towards at Lu Tianzi.

"What now, brat? Still feeling as confident as before?" Grandmaster Xiqin asked with a smirk.

Lu Tianzi currently had his eyes closed.

Despite hearing Grandmaster Xiqin's taunt, he remained unmoved, not bothering to even look over for a brief moment.

Now that he was done with his inscription, Lu Tianzi had wasted no time before entering a state of light meditation. He simply could not wait to start assimilating all the gains he had from observing everyone's inscription techniques earlier.

This was a vast wealth of knowledge that would be considered a priceless treasure to any inscription master.

When stacked against such a matter, not to mention Grandmaster Xiqin's taunt, even the result of the Inscription Meet itself suddenly seemed all so petty in comparison!

Faced with such an indifferent attitude from Lu Tianzi, Grandmaster Xiqin was not angered at all. On the contrary, the smirk on his face only grew wider.

Very good, stay cocky for as long as you can.

That will only make it better when you are finally forced to realise just how inferior you are in comparison!

In his head, Grandmaster Xiqin could already picture the look of despair and disappointment that would be showing on Lu Tianzi's face soon enough.

No, not just Lu Tianzi.

When the results are released, be it Xuan Wen, Sect Master Xuan Yongheng, and even the numerous inscription masters all over the world, all of them would have no choice but to acknowledge his abilities!

Come to think about it, he might even have to thank Lu Tianzi for recklessly accepting his challenge. That was the sole reason why things had escalated into such a grand event, giving him the perfect avenue to show off his skills!

"First submission is by Inscription Master Liheng of the Grand Pastures Mountain," Xuan Ziying read off a note that was passed to her by one of her juniors. "Judges, please begin your assessment."

The first judge to receive the dagger was the Iron First Overlord.

This was the very first assessment of the Inscription Meet, so all eyes fell on him as both the audience and the participants waited in anticipation for his comments.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the Iron Fist Overlord slowly moved his hand over to place it on the dagger.

He picked it up and, without saying a single word, slowly moved it to his left to place it on the table right in front of where Grandmaster Dongkuang was seated. That was when he slowly retracted his hand and placed it back on his lap.

The arena fell silent for a moment.

"Eh? Is he not going to assess it?" someone finally voiced out in curiosity.

"What's going on?"

"Did the Iron Fist Overlord just pass on his turn?"

A slight commotion started among the audience as everyone began to discuss about the strange scene that had just unfolded before them.

Of course, nobody dared to comment too harshly since this was the Deputy Sect Master of the Timeless Flame Sect they were talking about.

Grandmaster Dongkuang who was seated beside the Iron Fist Overlord was rather surprised as well, but he did not lose his cool.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Grandmaster Dongkuang picked up the dagger that had been placed in front of him.

Unlike the Iron Fist Overlord before him, Grandmaster Dongkuang carefully scrutinised the dagger at different angles, his hand tracing every contour of the weapon.

Grandmaster Dongkuang's reputation as a genius appraiser did not come from nowhere.

Many people assumed that his ability to obtain such accurate results with his appraisals was solely because of his talent, but that was only part of the reason why. On top of that, he was also extremely careful with each of his appraisals.

Every time he was tasked to do an appraisal, he would really examine the item down to the most minute details. Only when he was sufficiently sure of his conclusion would he put down the item in hand.

But this time, after just a minute or so, a meaningful smile appeared on his youthful face as he placed the dagger back down onto the table.

"Good attempt," Grandmaster Dongkuang said while pushing the dagger over to in front of where Grandmaster Xilong was seated.

This time, the audience was similarly baffled.

Good attempt?

That's it?

The audience could not help but feel disappointed, especially since they had been eagerly anticipating the comments from the judges.

Then again, there was at least some sort of evaluation from him, unlike the Iron Fist Overlord who did not seem to have even the slightest bit of interest in the dagger.

Next, Grandmaster Xilong picked up the dagger with his burly hands.

He closed his eyes to feel the dagger with his perception, and a frown immediately appeared on his face.

Grandmaster Xilong opened his eyes and carelessly tossed the dagger onto the table with a snort. "Good attempt? Grandmaster Dongkuang sure is kind with your words. If I really have to comment on the inscription placed on this dagger, then the only word I have is this trash!"

Grandmaster Xilong did not control his volume at all.

Hearing his words, the audience immediately broke out into a huge commotion. Those were extremely harsh words, but this was the kind of drama that most people loved to see.

After all, it wouldn't be interesting if every participant performed well.

There had to be foil like this in order to show the greatness of the true talents!

On the other hand, some among them, especially those who were supporting Inscription Master Liheng, were furious at what he said.

No, even more so than those supporting Liheng, there was someone who was filled with absolute rage right now.

From among the participants, Liheng himself clenched his fists and stepped forward.

"How can you say that with just a feel? From what I see, you simply have no idea how good my inscription truly is!" Liheng shouted in indignation. "Are you even capable of anything better than this?!"