The Gentleman at the End
Chapter 554 - 552 Condensed Face

Chapter 554: Chapter 552 Condensed Face

The Abyss dwellers, who were just forced to clear the plaza area due to social phobia, merely moved away from the square and did not go far.

As the ground trembled and the sound of bending tree trunks carried over, their gaze was drawn back again,

unexpectedly, the black tree person, Lord Karim, who hadn’t made any major moves in several months, bent his body at this moment to invite the young man who had just been there into his body.

Such a tree hollow invitation hadn’t occurred since three years ago, it seemed.

Rumors had it that the invited Abyss dwellers not only completed their Condensed Face but also finished their Pilgrimage to become the highest level of Abyss Envoy, enjoying freedom of movement in this area and the right to execute any outsiders who might threaten the Abyss.

While the Abyss dwellers were staring at the tempting tree hollow, drooling greedily and wanting to step forward, the image of the young man, too afflicted with social phobia to come close, popped up in their minds.

They chose to watch from a distance, knowing that once the invited young man stepped in, they too could return to the square and continue their Condensed Face.

But, as time ticked away, no figure could be seen stepping into the tree hollow.

In the face of the black tree person, Lord Karim’s kind invitation, that young man seemed to have given no response at all, even maintaining his seated posture.

"What is that guy thinking? Once you enter the tree hollow, you’re bound to complete your Condensed Face, so why not go in?"

Not only were the Abyss dwellers puzzled but Lord Karim felt the same way. His invitation was absolutely sincere, and once inside the tree hollow, one would share his personally devised method of Condensed Face.

Seeing that the young man remained motionless, Lord Karim continued to speak:

"Did you not hear, or do you have some thought, young man! Since becoming a guardian, I have only invited seventeen people, all of whom have achieved a very high completion rate of Condensed Face, and ten of them have even completed their Pilgrimage to become envoys.

You should feel honored enough to receive my invitation just by being here, so why not hurry in and listen to my experience."

William, who was meditating bare-chested, responded with disdain, "You are really annoying, why should I acquire the experience of failures?"

At these words, the entire tree began to tremble, and the corpses hanging from it like fruit constantly fell off, many landing around William.

The Abyss dwellers on the outskirts of the square were almost shocked to their core by William’s words.

They couldn’t believe that a Patient who had not yet completed his Path dared to speak to Lord Karim like this, considering the Lord was one of the earliest Pilgrims, given enough regard by the Abyss to serve as a guardian here.

Facing William’s scornful words, Lord Karim held back his anger and as calmly as possible retorted, "Am I a failure?"

"If you were a success, would you be here gatekeeping? Don’t talk about how you chose to be a gatekeeper willingly, unless your soul was branded with pitiful servility at birth.

Is it so hard to admit your failure, Lord Karim?

I may have spoken too harshly, but I have absolutely no interest in your experience... All right! The accumulation of Abyss material inside me is just about sufficient, and next comes the important phase of mask creation."

As a gatekeeper, Lord Karim naturally adhered to the rules of this place.

Even though the young man in front of him was insolent, he had not committed any infractions. If he were to execute him without proper cause, the Abyss might hold him accountable.

"Let’s see what kind of mask you can create... If its quality is lower than mine, that would be truly laughable."

"Then please, Lord Karim, no more noise. I’ve managed to clear this area after much difficulty to get such a quiet square. Less talk, more action."

The provocation William offered in his words wasn’t just for show or temporary satisfaction,

from the moment he came to the square, he had been observing the ’Abyss Watcher’, never once regarding him as just a tree, nor as some being that needed to be worshipped or pleased.

William had instantly seen through Lord Karim’s self-important demeanor upon arrival, arrogant and aloof,

He looked down upon all the Abyss dwellers in the square as if observing lower life forms, watching their agonizing struggle during the Condensed Face phase and their eventual disintegration.

Occasionally, he would see an outsider like William, who had some talent, and wished to benevolently offer help, yet he never realized that he himself was a failure.

Being pointed at and directed by such a hypocritical guy, the Condensed Face process was bound to be disturbed.

This manipulation of words not only stripped the opponent’s hypocritical mask but also made Lord Karimus hold his tongue, ensuring complete silence for the upcoming Condensed Face process.

"Little Grape, keep an eye on the outside for me. If this guy becomes enraged and tries to interfere or attack during the Condensed Face period, burn him with the Evil Sun."

"Got it."

William sat down cross-legged, and the moment he closed his eyes, he also filtered out all external information.

Social phobia acted up for more than two hours and cleared the area, perhaps due to the proximity to the Abyss, the Abyss Pathogen cultivated within his body had reached large-scale directional cultivation.

Moreover, Madness Brain had finally completed the analysis of the Pathogen,

The lethal illness born from the Tenth Abyss essentially belonged to a single-strand RNA Virus with high degrees of freedom, adaptability, and variability.

From the moment William lifted the Black Curtain until now, he had allowed the virus to develop, even using the "Perfect Birth Body" as the virus’s ecological Cultivation Base, guided by Madness Brain in a way that didn’t affect its development.

After a long time of internal cultivation and guidance from Madness Brain,

The Abyss Virus had copied various high-quality genes from William’s body, as well as fragments of various illnesses.

Unlike other Patients, who often only possess one characteristic of an illness, or at most three,

William’s illnesses were numerous - he had two types of Death, the "Dead Plague Fog State Bacteria" and the "Dead Sea Black Liquid" he carried from before death, not to mention the skin disease corresponding to Yellow Skin, the neurological disease corresponding to Thorny Iron Chains, the epilepsy syndrome corresponding to Madness Brain, the Platinum Blood corresponding to Stargazer, and so on.

The Abyss Virus could be said to be encountering such a diversified Patient for the first time, totally clueless about which part was the optimal gene, hence it had to copy them all.

In the end, the Abyss Virus not only failed to maintain its autonomy but was also trained to take on the shape of William due to the general copying of all traits and advantages.

As for what kind of mask would form, even William himself didn’t know.

Creak, creak~

Under the guidance of Madness Brain, strand after strand appeared on his face, resembling capillaries, muscle fibers, wool threads, and convoluted like brain grooves.

It wasn’t just protruding from his facial features, but William’s pores were also stretched open as the strange thread-like objects overflowed incessantly from them, like breaking seeds,

Compared to other masks of those in Condensed Face, William’s mask lines were finer, denser, and the complexity doubled.

William was also Thinking freely, using Madness Brain to personally weave these threads, attempting to construct an Abyss Mask that was structurally flawless and could fully express his own traits.

Just as this process was going smoothly, an ill-intentioned voice came through.

"William, you were quite amusing back in the square earlier. How come you’ve become so conservative at such a critical moment? This is the Dark Zone of the Old World, uncontrolled, filled with the malignant disease of chaos and disorder. Being too orderly is not a good thing.

As I walked along, I’ve been Thinking and Observing, and my understanding of Condensed Face is different from yours. So, let me share with you a memory about ’masks’."

"Yi Chen!"

Before William could react, a Memory was forcefully stuffed into his mind—a Memory William had never experienced before,