Chapter 415 - The First Assessment (1/2)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 circ.u.mstances, without a product to show, it was already set in stone that they were going to be eliminated.

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.