A Chaotic World

The next morning, Lu Tianzi was greeted with an unexpected surprise.

At his doorstep stood a girl who possessed beauty that could easily put flowers to shame. Yet there she was, waiting patiently for him with a gentle smile on her face. Under the illumination of the warm morning sun, the girl could easily be mistaken for a fairy who had descended from the highest heavens.

Lu Tianzi had sensed the arrival of this lady halfway through his meditation, and had thus stepped out to greet her.

"Good morning, Inscription Master Nanlu Tianzi!" Nanlan Qianxue clasped her fists towards him with a smile.

"Eh? How did Miss Nanlan know about this?" Lu Tianzi was genuinely surprised.

Just how did Nanlan Qianxue already find out when he had yet to even report for his first day as an inscription master?

The day before, Lu Tianzi had returned to his accommodation immediately after the challenge by Nanqing Zhengxian. After recovering from his fatigued state, Lu Tianzi had not wasted any time and immediately immersed himself into the world of cultivation once more.

Little did he know that while he was busy cultivating, news about him had already spread throughout the city. At this moment, the fame he possessed could be said to rival even Nanlan Qianxue herself!

One was famous for her martial talent, while the other was regarded highly for his inscription talent.

"You really don't know how famous you have become, do you?" Nanlan Qianxue laughed. "You have no idea how surprised I was when my family suddenly sent me a message complimenting me for being the one to bring you into the Nine Suns Sect!"

"Is that so…?" Lu Tianzi's countenance grew solemn.

He had wanted to learn the art of inscriptions solely because of its benefits. If he had known that this decision would result in him drawing such attention, he would definitely have reconsidered.

After all, he had a huge secret that must never be revealed!

"Why are you putting on such a long face? This is a good thing!" Nanlan Qianxue nonchalantly entered through the gate, stepping into Lu Tianzi's courtyard.

"I guess so," Lu Tianzi could only let out a wry smile as he stepped aside to allow Nanlan Qianxue in.

"Now then!" Nanlan Qianxue suddenly spun around to face Lu Tianzi with a playful grin on her face. "Will Inscription Master Nanlu Tianzi be willing to grant me some pointers on the path of the sword?"

The playful grin on that beautiful countenance of hers was sufficient to melt the hearts of all men, and even Lu Tianzi could not help but feel his heart being slightly moved.

Lu Tianzi closed the door behind her, shaking his head as he followed Nanlan Qianxue to the centre of the courtyard, "When did you start acting this casually? Is it because I am now considered your junior apprentice brother?"

"Since you know that, then how about you start calling me senior apprentice sister as well?" Nanlan Qianxue teased.

"My cultivation level might be nowhere near yours, but if Miss Nanlan insists, then I shall gladly oblige," Lu Tianzi ignored her words entirely.

As he finished his sentence, he drew out a sword from his spatial ring.

Nanlan Qianxue might be at the Primary Essence Condensation realm, but Lu Tianzi was naturally not afraid of her.

"I shall not stand on ceremony then!" Nanlan Qianxue drew her sword as well.

When Nanlan Qianxue drew her sword, it felt like the temperature in the courtyard immediately dropped by a few degrees. Her sword was pale blue in colour from end to end. Even the hilt, along with the exquisite carvings on it, was no exception. Even from afar, Lu Tianzi could feel faint wisps of frost energy being emanated from its semi translucent blade.

This frost energy was born from the sword itself, and had nothing to do with Nanlan Qianxue at all.

Being capable of emitting energy on its own meant that even if this sword was not a treasure that was of the Origin Core rank, it would at least be at half-step Origin Core rank!

While he was working at the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, Lu Tianzi's knowledge about items had increased along with his knowledge about inscriptions. After all, inscription masters needed to understand the item in question before they could decide on which inscription was the most suitable.

Thus with just a single glance, he was already able to estimate the rank of Nanlan Qianxue's sword.

Lu Tianzi could not help but reveal a look of shock upon seeing such a precious treasure appear in Nanlan Qianxue's hands.

Even among Origin Core realm martial artists, not all of them were able to land their hands on an Origin Core rank weapon, yet Nanlan Qianxue actually had one in her possession!

"Is the ever cool Inscription Master Nanlu Tianzi finally surprised?" Nanlan Qianxue smiled in a triumphant manner. "This is my Frost Jade Sword, a Primary Origin Core rank weapon! This should be sufficient if I wish to take revenge for Nanqing Haowen's younger brother, shouldn't it?"

Her words caused Lu Tianzi to startle a little. He asked hesitantly, "How is the relationship between the Nanqing siblings?"

"I will tell you if you beat me!"

Nanlan Qianxue decisively pierced forward with the Frost Jade Sword.

Lu Tianzi narrowed his eyes in focus.

This Nanlan Qianxue was truly lived up to her reputation. Even though it was just a straightforward frontal thrust, her speed and stance made it such that any unprepared martial artist would be hard pressed to defend against this seemingly simple move.

Even Lu Tianzi was unable to find a way to counterattack immediately.

It had to be known that back then after the fight with Hu Shenwei in the cave, Lu Tianzi had realised for the first time how lacking his skills in the path of sword and sabre truly were.

Due to his inborn combat talent, Lu Tianzi might have been better than the average martial artist. But to a true practitioner of the sword, his swordsmanship was a complete mess.

However, this realisation only caused him to work even harder on his foundation, striving to improve his proficiency and mastery over the two weapons.

That was not all.

The heavenly sword avatar of the Formation of Heaven's Blade back in in Ivory Rock City harnessed within it a profound sword will, as though it was infused with the highest levels of sword arts.

When this heavenly sword pierced right through his body, Lu Tianzi had suffered grievous injuries that brought him to the brink of death. But at the same time, he was forced to undergo a mysterious baptism from the indomitable sword will.

This exposed him to the profound insights encapsulated within the heavenly sword, allowing Lu Tianzi's understanding of the sword to reach heights far beyond what he used to possess.

After obtaining the Eternal Wraith Sword Art, Lu Tianzi had even received multiple pointers from his master Xihuang Yuanfeng when he was practising with the sword.

All these factors combined resulted in his current level of swordsmanship having already reached a level far beyond his peers. Even his mastery of the sabre had been left in the dust.

Yet despite all that, Lu Tianzi was still unable to find a way to immediately defeat Nanlan Qianxue's opening move. This could be considered as quite an accomplishment on Nanlan Qianxue's part.

Lu Tianzi moved to sidestep the attack. But at this moment, he suddenly felt as though his movements were slowed. It was as if his muscles were in a half frozen state and were unable to function as usual.

The power of ice!

Was Nanlan Qianxue skilled in the Law of Ice? Or was it an effect of the Frost Jade Sword?

No, it was a combination of both.

In any case, sidestepping the attack was now impossible.

Lu Tianzi's eyebrows furrowed as he finally turned serious.

His sword moved, drawing a beautiful arc in the air before contacting the side of the Frost Jade Sword in the gentlest manner possible.

Ding-!

A soft metallic sound chimed throughout the courtyard as Lu Tianzi smoothly guided the Frost Jade Sword away from its original trajectory, buying him the bit of time required to create some distance between them.

"Isn't this supposed to be about swordsmanship?" Lu Tianzi asked unhappily. "Why are you incorporating the Law of Ice into your strike?"

"So this is the Law of Water?" Nanlan Qianxue rubbed her chin in contemplation. "It has a slowing effect just like my Law of Ice, but at the same time it still feels like they are two fundamentally different concepts."

"Are you really going to just ignore what I said?" Lu Tianzi pressed her for an answer.

"But only by exhausting all our means during practice will we be able to quickly improve, am I wrong?" Nanlan Qianxue tilted her head as though she was confused by Lu Tianzi's question.

Facing this senior apprentice sister of his, Lu Tianzi sighed helplessly, "What you wish to see is really just the sword strike on the Bronzehorn Rhino, am I right?"

"Are you going to show it to me then?" Nanlan Qianxue's face beamed with a smile.

But beneath that enchanting smile, she had already started driving her Slaughter Essence to the limit in preparation for the coming attack.

Facing that mysterious sword strike, Nanlan Qianxue felt a strong sense of unease. She knew that despite her higher cultivation level, she might have to give it her all in order to truly emerge victorious.

"On account of you recommending me to enter the Nine Suns Sect, I shall fulfil your wish just this once," Lu Tianzi answered and raised his sword.

Lu Tianzi spoke no further. Driving his Slaughter Essence, he decisively slashed out towards Nanlan Qianxue.

Howling Wraith Sword!

The very next moment, Nanlan Qianxue suddenly felt like she had been brought into a world of complete darkness. There was nothing in this world, nothing except for her and the approaching sword strike.

No, it was not a sword.

That monstrous thing in front of her was nothing but a ghastly apparition, a being of pure evil!

This ghastly apparition immediately took the form of the head of a ferocious devil, with gigantic horns and two sharp eyes that emitted endless nether energy. This nether energy seemed to be brought forth from the depths of hell, and contained within it the power of death itself.

Right before Nanlan Qianxue, the ghastly apparition rapidly grew in size as its jaws opened wide, revealing rows of teeth as sharp as swords, threatening to engulf her whole.

Just looking at it sent chills down her spine, causing her to involuntarily tremble in fear.

Facing such a monstrous entity, Nanlan Qianxue found that she was actually rooted to the ground, completely frozen in place. Unknowingly, she had already lost her ability to even move, much less put up any form of resistance!

All she could do was to stand there helplessly, watching in horror as the ghastly apparition drew nearer and nearer.

Without a doubt, she was going to die here!

Thud-!

A dull pain on her forehead shook her awake from her trance. Looking around, Nanlan Qianxue realised that she was suddenly back in Lu Tianzi's courtyard.

The world of darkness was gone.

The ghastly apparition was gone.

Even the dark and inexplicable terror that had restricted her movements seemed to be gone as well.

Nanlan Qianxue speechlessly rubbed her forehead that had just been flicked by Lu Tianzi's finger.

What just happened?

Was it all an illusion?

Even now, Nanlan Qianxue was still struggling to regain her senses.

Her heart that had almost stopped beating started up once again, going way past the normal levels as she thought back on what just happened.

She had been far too arrogant!

Before this, Nanlan Qianxue had firmly believed that with her higher cultivation level, she would definitely be able to suppress this Nanlu Tianzi's mysterious sword strike. The only question was how much of her energy she would have to expend in the process.

Never in her wildest imaginations had she expected that this Nanlu Tianzi would be capable of sweeping away her defences in such a manner!

He completely bypassed the difference in their cultivation level, launching a sword strike that could have easily reaped away her life.

Had this been a real life or death battle, there was no doubt that she would have ended up just like the Bronzehorn Rhino, dying without even knowing what happened to her.

Nanlan Qianxue could not help but continue staring at Lu Tianzi, unable to find the words to say.

Just where did this monster come from, and who exactly was his hidden master?

His achievements in the martial path were already sufficient to surpass her, and yet he was also the youngest inscription master that Bluenight City had ever seen?

Everyone in Bluenight City simply thought of this Nanlu Tianzi as an exceptional inscription genius. But at this very moment, Nanlan Qianxue became the first person to realise just how terrifying this Nanlu Tianzi truly was!