A Chaotic World

Chapter 279: Main Event of the Healers’ Meet

Beiwei Jinguo did not say a word on their way back to the inn. Even for the few days following their return to the inn, Beiwei Jinguo continued to hole himself in his room.

However, Lu Tianzi was not too worried.

After the incident at the Fireaxe Inn, what Lu Tianzi had felt from Beiwei Jinguo was not sadness and disappointment, but anger and indignation.

It was clear that Beiwei Jinguo's fighting spirit had been riled up because of Xiquan Chong's actions. But whether it was for better or for worse, it was something that remained to be seen.

A stronger fighting spirit was certainly good for improvement, but too much of it could easily give birth to recklessness.

Lu Tianzi hoped that this incident would not cause Beiwei Jinguo to become overzealous in his pursuit for good results. But even if it did, Lu Tianzi would simply accept it.

There were certain things that he could help Beiwei Jinguo with, but shaping his psyche was certainly not something that Lu Tianzi was capable of doing.

Quite a few days had already passed since they arrived at Wondertrap Mountain, and the next few days went by just as quickly.

During this time, apart from Beiwei Jinguo, Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue spent the majority of the time in their respective rooms as well.

In the privacy of his room, Lu Tianzi took this opportunity to ponder over the vast amount of knowledge that he had gained over the past few days.

This included what he had gotten to know from Beiwei Jinguo, as well as the things that he had seen for himself in the open markets, digesting all that information to form a stronger framework of herbalism in his mind.

Before they knew it, it was already the day of the main event of the Healers' Meet.

When Beiwei Jinguo exited his room for the first time since the incident at the Fireaxe Inn, Lu Tianzi was surprised to see the bright expression in his eyes.

It seemed that Beiwei Jinguo had managed to clear up his mind over the past few days.

"I'm sorry if I worried you over the past few days, Brother Tianzi," Beiwei Jinguo scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

He knew just as well that he should not have shut himself in without saying a word. That was simply too irresponsible of him.

"Don't worry about it," Lu Tianzi shook his head with a smile. "Shall we head out then?"

"Of course," Beiwei Jinguo nodded. "We definitely have to be there!"

This time, Nanlan Qianxue came along as well.

Although she had long gotten bored of listening to the concepts behind herbalism and the poison arts, she was still interested in checking out the main event of the Healers' Meet that everyone was here for.

On this day, the private area was finally opened up to the participatants of the Healers' Meet.

Of course, participants were still restricted to a certain boundary within the private area. They were ushered straight down a road that led towards an open area, an area wide enough to accommodate the couple thousand people present and had space to spare.

Here, wide stone tiles served as the flooring and hundreds of small tables were lined up in neat rows, with a small jade slip resting on each table.

Tall stone statues towered over each corner of the wide square, all four of them resembling one of the Four Symbols the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North.

Every one of these statues looked grand and imposing, but they were not nearly as simple as they seemed.

Each statue was emitting waves of energy that resonated with the other three, forming some sort of profound net that shrouded over the entire square.

With a single look, Lu Tianzi was able to guess that this was a silencing formation, relatively harmless other than the fact that it would restrict the use of voice conveyance. A simple test after stepping within only proved his conjecture to be right.

At the end of this open area was a slightly elevated wooden platform, where the many elders of the Healer Circle were already standing in wait. The handsome Wuye Mingxuan could also be seen among them.

"Welcome, fellow seekers of knowledge," Elder Xiquan's voice sounded out across the open area after people finally stopped streaming into the open area. "You have been waiting over the past few weeks, and now it is finally time for the main event to start!"

The crowds responded with enthusiastic cheers.

Elder Xiquan was definitely right about them waiting. But now, the highlight of the Healers' Meet was finally about to begin!

"The format of the main event will be the same as before, but I will explain it again for the sake of those who are here with us for the first time," Elder Xiquan continued. "Participants will be separated into two groups. Those below the Origin Core realm will have to undergo a simple test to assess your theoretical proficiency in the poison arts. The top eight will then engage each other in Poison Showdowns, proceeding in a knockout fashion until the champion is crowned! Those of us at the Origin Core realm will serve as judges. At the same time, you are welcomed to share your ideas and questions with everyone else here so that we can all benefit from the discussion."

Lu Tianzi rubbed his chin in contemplation.

This format explained the need for the silencing formation.

Without the silencing formation, it would be simply impossible to truly gauge the participants' theoretical proficiency in the poison arts. After all, the participants would be able to simply ask their peers through voice conveyance if they ever encountered a problem that they did not know the solution to!

"If there are no questions, may I invite the participants below Origin Core realm to take a seat at any table of your choice?" Elder Beilan said. "As for everyone else, kindly step to the side for now."

After wishing Beiwei Jinguo good luck, Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue stepped to the side as instructed. They did not have an invitation to begin with, so they naturally would not be allowed to participate even though Nanlan Qianxue had a cultivation level below the Origin Core realm.

Then again, even if Nanlan Qianxue was allowed to participate, she would not have wanted to. She had zero chances of getting any decent results anyway.

At this moment, Elder Ximo appeared beside Lu Tianzi. "Lady Qianxue, Sir Tianzi, would you like to join us on the platform? The view is much better from there."

Originally, Elder Xiquan had asked Elder Ximo to arrange for him to meet Lady Qianxue. But two days ago, Elder Xiquan suddenly asked him to do away with this arranged meeting.

Elder Ximo had no idea why Elder Xiquan would give up a chance to get acquainted with an Overlord, but it did not matter.

As long as he could help it, Elder Ximo would still try his best to maintain a good relationship with Lady Qianxue and Sir Tianzi.

"You want us to join you on the platform?" Lu Tianzi revealed a look of surprise. "That is not too nice, is it?"

Just a casual look at the platform and it was obvious that only the elders of the Healer Circle and Wuye Mingxuan were there.

The Healer Circle was the organiser of the Healers' Meet, so they naturally had the right to stand a higher point. Wuye Mingxuan was a supreme genius from the central regions that Elder Xiquan had personally invited over, and thus it was not too surprising that he had been allowed to join the organisers on the platform.

But as for Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue, just what kind of status did they have?

Even if they had some sort of friendship with Elder Ximo, it was certainly not something that could justify them joining the rest of the people on the platform.

For them to do so while the rest of the Origin Core realm martial artists watched from below, that would be far too high profile a move for Lu Tianzi to be comfortable with it!

"I'm sure nobody will complain," Elder Ximo responded with a meaningful smile.

After all, who would dare to question them for allowing an Overlord up on the platform?

"I thank Elder Ximo for the kind intentions, but it really is fine," Lu Tianzi declined once again, this time a bit more firmly.

"This" Elder Ximo looked troubled for a moment. "If Sir Tianzi insists, I shall not ask any further. But you have to at least allow me to accompany you here."

"What?" Sir Tianzi was startled. "There's no need for Elder Ximo to do so!"

By now, he could already sense the gazes of those around them. It was simply too conspicuous to have an elder of the Healer Circle accompanying him.

However, Elder Ximo insisted on staying there no matter how Lu Tianzi tried to convince him otherwise. Lu Tianzi could only give up in the end and try to ignore the strange gazes being directed at him.

In any case, having only the people around him stare at him like this was still slightly better than going up onto the platform and grabbing the attention of everyone present.

Before they knew it, all the participants had taken their seats behind a table.

"Before we start, there is something that I would like to announce," Elder Xiquan's voice reverberated across the open area once more. "This year, the main event of the Healers' Meet will include a visit to the the unexplored tomb of an ancient poison master. After studying the tomb, we expect that it might contain a profound heritage that dates back to before the Healer Circle was even founded. If anyone is lucky enough to obtain this heritage, he or she will also be able to receive a great reward from the Healer Circle!"

Excited murmurs immediately broke out among the crowds.

Knowledge was power, especially to poison masters like them.

An ancient heritage like that could contain records of poisons that none others know a cure to, making it a truly lethal weapon.

Conversely, it could also contain cure methods that no one had ever heard of.

Or ideally, it could contain both!

How could they not be excited about the prospects of obtaining such a heritage?

"Unfortunately, this ancient tomb does not only contain benefits," Elder Xiquan continued, this time with a much more solemn tone. "Our initial probes have revealed that the tomb is laden with traps. In view of the danger, we will only allow Origin Core realm poison masters to enter, that is, apart from the top three rankers of those below Origin Core realm. For these three participants, we of the Healer Circle will make an exception and bring you in. Of course, you will be allowed to bringing a maximum of five helpers as well, though we will not be held accountable for anyone's safety. That's all I have for now, so let's proceed to see our talented young poison masters at work!"

Beiwei Jinguo's eyes burned with determination.

His teacher had always told him that knowledge was the most important attribute of a poison master. With such a rare opportunity placed before him, he definitely had to land one of the top three ranks!

At this moment, Beiwei Jinguo heard a familiar voice from the table beside his. "What's with that hope in your eyes? You want to enter the ancient tomb? Stop dreaming."

Turning over, Beiwei Jinguo saw Jiesheng, one of Xiquan Chong's lackeys who was also at the Fireaxe Inn the other day.

"The higher the hope, the greater the disappointment. A mere Essence Building realm martial artist like you should know your place and just be contented with being allowed to participate!" Jiesheng sneered.

Jiesheng had never liked how Beiwei Jinguo was gaining such fame despite having such a low cultivation level. After the day when Beiwei Jinguo challenged Xiquan Chong, Jiesheng's impression of Beiwei Jinguo only plummeted even further.

Right now, just the sight of Beiwei Jinguo was enough to disgust him.

However, Beiwei Jinguo only shot him a sideglance before turning back to face forward. He simply could not be bothered to answer.

"Tch! Arrogant prick!" Jiesheng turned back upon seeing that he had been ignored.

The main event of the Healers' Meet started soon after.

Under the instructions of Elder Beilan, the participating poison masters picked up the jade slips on the table in front of them and sank their perceptions within.

Apparently, there was some sort of test within the jade slip that would assess the poison proficiency of these poison masters. As a signal for completion, each of these jade slips would light up when the test inside was cleared, making it relatively easy for others to know of their progress.

In such a manner, the top eight would be determined by the speed at which they cleared the test, allowing them to proceed to the next round!

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