Chapter 422 - Eliminated (1/2)

Roar-!

A majestic roar reverberated across the arena once more, just like when Xuan Ming activated Inscription Master Qianling's inscription earlier.

However, there was a distinct difference between this and that.

While Inscription Master Qianling's inscription sounded like the menacing roar of countless beasts, Lu Tianzi's inscription let out a roar that seemed to come from a single apex predator, one that stood at the very top of the food chain.

And along with this majestic roar came an shockwave of overwhelming pressure that erupted with Xuan Ming at its epicentre.

The Iron Fist Overlord reacted immediately, vanishing from his seat and reappearing in the air above the twins before anyone could react.

He pushed downwards with an open palm, and an invisible barrier of pure energy formed around the twins.

When met with the expanding shockwave, the barrier shook violently as ripples appeared all over it. Yet despite how risky it looked, the barrier still held strong in the end.

This stopped the shockwave from propagating any further, preventing it from reaching anyone in the audience seats.

Unfortunately for Xuan Meng, he was trapped in the barrier created by the Iron Fist Overlord, and was thus unable to hide behind it for protection.

He was caught completely by surprise as he ran straight into the explosion of pure pressure, with a boost in his speed no less.

Since he was part of the demonstration, he naturally had to deal with it himself. But by the time he realised what was going on, it was already too late for him to turn around.

The overwhelming pressure swept over him, and he almost screamed in pain.

It felt as though he had ended up in the hands of a divine giant, and the pair of hands were closing upon him, fȯrċɨbŀƴ crushing him into mincemeat.

His face contorted as he desperately tried to retreat.

However, something that would have usually only taken him a split second to do took much longer to complete this time.

Under the effect of the inscription skill, his reflexes drastically slowed.

No, it was not just his reflexes.

His psyche had taken a direct hit, causing even his thoughts to slow down.

The audience watched on in confusion as Xuan Meng grimaced in pain, yet continued standing there like a fool.

Just as they were wondering that, Xuan Meng finally seemed to have regained his senses and started retreating.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

The sword inscribed by Lu Tianzi landed on Xuan Meng's shoulder, pressed against his neck.

It was over.

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

This time, her announcement was met by silence, a huge contrast to the applause and cheers that had filled the arena when the previous victors had been announced.

Why?

It was because the audience did not fully understand the events that just transpired.

All they saw was Xuan Meng rushing towards Xuan Ming, followed by a loud roar when the latter activated his inscription.

It was obvious what Inscription Master Peilun's inscription did, but when it came to Lu Tianzi's inscription, the audience could only guess even after seeing it in action.

Even the more perceptive ones could only fall into deep thought as they carefully contemplated the different possibilities of what could have happened.

Meanwhile, the more cynical ones even suspected that Xuan Meng had deliberately thrown the fight by not reacting like how any Eighth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist should!

Of course, just like before, they dared not openly voice out their unhappiness for fear of being blacklisted by the Timeless Flame Sect.

Lu Tianzi closed his eyes and secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Despite it being an simplified version, the inscription seemed to be working well. The only question now was whether it would be enough to last till the very end.

Seeing his look of relief, Grandmaster Xiqin snorted in disdain.

To already be struggling this much before facing him... how pathetic!

This time, the twins were given a longer time to rest than before.

Fortunately, the Timeless Flame Sect had no lack of capable physicians.

After taking a good rest and some rare medicine, Xuan Meng had recovered well enough to fight at his maximum potential.

The audience had no complaints about this either. It was only normal for the demonstrators to have to rest up after each round. That was necessary to ensure the fairness of the Inscription Meet.

On top of that, now that all inscriptions had been revealed, members of the audience were busy discussing among themselves, each trying to predict the overall victor of the Inscription Meet.

”Thank you everyone for the wait,” the arena quietened down at Xuan Ziying's words. ”Now, let us take a look at how the submission from Grandmaster Xiqin fares against the submission from Inscription Master Guiheng!”

Anticipation built up among the audience once more.

It was time for the confrontation between victors of the first round.

Grandmaster Xiqin glanced over at Inscription Master Guiheng and said with a smile. ”May the best man win.”