666 The Incredibly Great— (1/2)
”Brothers, do help a brother out this time...” As he spoke of his woes, Dong Tianleng wiped his tears away which were quickly replaced by new ones. His face was full of mucus and tears – he did not resemble even the slightest bit of his lawless, unruly self back. ”I-I can't bear to live anymore...”
The mustard was truly effective!
The crowd was clearly astounded by his bizarre antics as they mused beneath their breaths. ”Has this boy gone out of his mind?”
”Sigh... it is hard to explain in just a few words...” Dong Tianleng continued to blubber. ”Perhaps I have been spending to much time in the limelight recently, inciting jealousy at every corner. I'm not saying that only a dimwit wouldn't incur envy of course, but… sigh, it was just yesterday when I was targeted by ill-intentioned men. The two pieces of a treasure map… they were gone within a single exchange of glances… sigh…”
Reaching this part, his face was already full of tears and unspoken sorrow; his acting was truly on point.
”What then?” Everybody clearly prioritized their curiosity more than anything else. Whatever had happened to this chap yesterday was already public knowledge; his reaction to it had everyone impressed to the core - how much more stupid could he get?
”I didn't pay much mind at first, but it was only after some inquiries that I realized how big of a mess I have created...” Dong Tianleng cried out in frustration. ”The fur hide yesterday was indestructible and impenetrable. From the looks of it, it seems to be the fur hide of a mythical beast from the legends, and if I am not mistaken, it could be dragonhide...”
Gasps of astonishment could be heard from the masses.
”I believe everybody present today are knowledgeable, learned seniors, so you must have heard of this item that has been mentioned since the beginning of time in the land of Tiaxuan, be it in official documents, personal recounts, or even in the records of novels - a treasure map carved out of dragonhide, the one and only one in the world…”
Dong Tianleng's face was now full of remorse as if a treasure had landed on his lap and had been taken away at the very next moment. ”How precious! How rare! And I... I-I'd just...”
He could no longer bear to continue upon reaching this point, his tears raining down in torrents.
A young master amongst the crowd could not hold in his curiosity any longer. ”What sort of treasure map is it? Why does Brother Dong seem to know a lot about it? A piece of news this tantalizing has to be shared right this moment!”
”Absolutely! You have to tell us everything – from the beginning, please – for us to help you! What kind of help do you need? How can we help?”
”What's happening? If you don't explain it clearly, how do we participate? How do we get involved? It would be bad if our help worsens the situation or causes it to fall into even more trouble than it already is in!”
....
Opinions rose and fell incessantly.
Dong Tianleng calmed his emotions down. After half a beat, he proceeded to explain himself amidst tearful sobs.
”To protect myself at this point, I cannot help but be more thick-skinned by seeking help from my brothers… I have no qualms about telling everyone about this, but please, help me - don't just leave me be! I only knew about this after inquiring more about it; the dragonhide treasure map was rumored to have originated from one of the legendary beings who appeared on our land eons ago. This legendary being was also known as the Seventeenth Master of the Abyss…”
”The Seventeenth Master of the Abyss… !”
”Hiss—”
”Hiss—”
”Hiss…”
Waves of sharp inhalations could be heard.
A solemn expression was suddenly etched upon every face in the room.
The original owner of the dragon hide treasure map was the Seventeenth Master of the Abyss? Now it did not seem too strange that the treasure map was carved out of dragonhide!
This was an incredibly esteemed, legendary character!
The so-called Unrivaled Experts, Unrivaled Swordsmen, or those of similar accomplishments were worth nothing when compared to the Seventeenth Master of the Abyss - they did not even resemble the dregs of society!
...
After the era of the Gods, it was the time that civilizations developed, and the continent was undergoing a massive change. Land was first discovered and the birth of humankind came after; any earlier traces had already been erased by the ever-changing seas and scape, deeply buried beneath this land.
Yet, in one fateful month of a random year, a person emerged out of the blue, calling himself the Seventeenth Master of the Abyss – his legend was thus created!