Chapter 664: What A Marvel!
The person who had toppled inside was an elder who was wounded and bleeding all over. The moment he fell in, he picked himself up again to cling onto Dong Tianleng's leg, crying out, "Young master, save me!"
Dong Tianleng growled, "Don't touch me... I've just changed my clothes..."
"Where are you going!" A handful of silhouettes shot over from a distance. The elder cried out before he picked himself up again promptly to escape through the window. He vanished in the blink of an eye, evidence of his excellent skills. The shadows pursued him relentlessly, hopping out through the window, hot on the heels of the elder.
Dong Tianleng stood up, cursing aloud, "F*cking sh*t! I am an otherworldly young master, but the world has to come and lay a stain on me. I just came out for a drink, but I got splattered with blood instead... This is really..."
As he spoke, he tried to clean himself up, while muttering in frustration, "That old bastard! Dirtying me with blood; how am I supposed to drink now? I'm terribly particular about... Hold on, what is this?"
He retrieved a tattered scrap of some unknown material from his robe. It seemed like a piece of leather...
"The f*ck... what is this?"
Dong Tianleng lifted the piece of skin to observe it carefully. "What's this revolting smell on it? It looks like it's been chopped... It's in two pieces? Let me see; f*ck, are these two pieces connected? There seems to be... What's this? Strange..."
Chun Wanfeng and the others grew increasingly intrigued as they listened to his monologue. They went forward to crowd around him. "What is it? What is it? Tell us!"
The guards of the four young masters knew that the situation was odd, but before they could do anything, Dong Tianleng had already been seen by one too many people inspecting the torn cloth in the air. The guards immediately turned pale.
'Oh, my young master... Can you have a little martial world common sense?'
'That old thing being pursued stuffed it in your robes, knowing that he can't escape... Why did you take it out? You could have just left it hidden!'
'Seeing as to how he was being chased after by so many experts, it can't be simply any ordinary item he left with you!'
'This will get us into big trouble!'
"Young master, keep it quickly!" hollered one of the guards, "This thing..."
"What could this possibly be? Stop being such a coward!"
Dong Tianleng laughed and said, "By the looks of it, they're, at most, one or two pieces of a treasure map - incomplete ones, at that. It's only a partial view. Based on my current identity, status, and cultivation base, in what way could I regard such a treasure map? I may lack many things, but wealth and capability are things I'm equipped with!"
"That's right! We're wealthy and capable. We are experts!" the other three young masters said, guffawing flamboyantly.
To be fair, it was not too much of an exaggeration based on the quad's current abilities. It was simply the truth!
The guards were stomping about in panic. Anxiously, they said, "Young master, your cultivation base has shot up, but your knowledge didn't... This is obviously a massive source of trouble!"
The guards then went closer to the young masters and said, "If it was just a normal treasure map, why was there such a pursuit earlier? The few pursuers were all Dao realm cultivators... Any one of them would be a rare find in the martial world - an awe-inspiring presence..."
Dong Tianleng was stunned. "What did you say? You mean... this thing is a rare gem? One that will cause a lot of trouble?"
The nearby tables of martial world people were already wearing shiny eyes as their ears perked up to listen with avaricious attention.
"Yes, young master. This cannot be treated lightly..." The guards were already quivering with anxiety.
Dong Tianleng's eyes flitted around before he said, "This is easy. That old bastard wants to frame me? Fine, I'll let him go for wool and come home shorn - left with nothing!"
"Bring me some fire!" Dong Tianleng was triumphant. "Let us burn it up. Let's see who's the one who gets hurt in the end. Manipulate me? What a wild wish!"
Dong Tianleng's plan was indeed reasonable. Whatever it was, he did not care; he would burn it up immediately. What could be done when he had already torched it before the public's eyes?
Without a single care, Dong Tianleng remained unmoved despite the generous outpouring of advice from all around. He lit the torch instantly. The warm light danced vigorously. Dong Tianleng picked the pieces of treasure map up using a saber and threw them into the flames without hesitation.
The pieces burned for a long time.
"What skin is this made of?" Dong Tianleng exclaimed in wonder, "They aren't affected by the fire at all. How rare..."
The families' guards were drained of all color again just as they began to regain some sense of relief.
No matter how rare a treasure map was, one had to be sufficiently capable to embark on a journey to look for the treasure. If one was not adequately capable, the map would only be the start of a disaster. While it was a pity to char it, it was indeed a brilliant approach to resolve the hidden dangers in front of everyone.
Nonetheless, the pieces were made of fireproof leather! What sort of skin could they be?
Racking their brains, everyone could only think of one possibility. Faraway legends had it that only the coats of divine mystical beasts were fireproof! Beast coats like those belonging to dragons, Kirin, and other wonders were able to survive the incineration.
This begged the question - what sort of treasure map would have to be made from the coat of a divine mystical beast?
The chief guard was about to shift from mere panic to absolute hysteria. "Young master, let's go quickly!"
Dong Tianleng finally seemed to be aware of the issue, as he said, "No worries. No problem. I have the treasured saber boss gave to me. Let us destroy this scourge right here, right now. Bringing it home will only bring more misfortune upon us."
While he spoke, he placed the pieces on the table and slashed at them with a wave of the saber.
Experience was needed to perform such a feat. While Dong Tianleng's solution was brutally simple, it was still the best course given the current situation - of course, the premise was that he could actually destroy both pieces of leather with his saber.
"Hack, hack, hack..."
Dong Tianleng exerted his full force and dealt more than three hundred slashes continuously. Yet, when he picked the pieces up, there was not even the slightest bit of the blade's traces upon them!
These were indestructible fragments of a treasure map!
The crowd was baffled.
How massive must a secret be to warrant the use of such precious leather to record it down?
The four noble young masters brightened up. It seemed that the trouble would be worth it if such a prize awaited them at the end of their trials.
Suddenly, drawn-out laughter erupted from thin air.
"No need to tire yourselves. Since the young masters do not wish to be burdened by such troubles, you may give it to me then."
A dark silhouette charged over like a bolt of lightning and grabbed both pieces of the treasure map. Laughing, the person swiftly made his escape.
"How dare you!"
"Are you seeking death?"
"Put it down!"
The four noble young masters and their sixteen guards lashed out at once, causing havoc and pandemonium to erupt in the venue.