BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power

Chapter 126 - 125 – The Lords of the Gathering

I had been given what I wanted... and yet...

Why had things happened the way they did?

That man didn’t seem like someone with a sense of humor.

I had been completely certain he’d given me something else...

Was this his idea of a surprise?

Presenting the expected as though it were completely unexpected...

What a strange man.

I held the feather in my hand.

A second-level item.

It might seem equal in rank to a second-level healing flower...

But it was completely different.

Mental fortification tools and weapons containing attributes for the same purpose...

Were practically nonexistent.

The real market and the shops had swallowed them all long ago.

Simply possessing a second-level item was a victory in itself.

Now it was time to use it.

I tightened my grip around the feather...

Then activated it.

Immediately, the strands of the feather began separating one after another.

Thread after thread...

Until the feather became a floating mass of threads suspended in the air.

The strands moved in perfect synchronization.

They rose toward my head...

Then latched onto it like lice.

A sudden heaviness struck my head.

Then...

The strands slowly vanished from sight.

I closed my eyes.

And began to feel them...

Inside my mind.

I couldn’t describe the sensation.

It felt as though the strands were moving through my brain...

Then planting themselves deep within my consciousness like roots.

And in a single moment...

Every strand sprouted.

The heaviness pressing on my head disappeared completely.

I opened my eyes.

"This...?" I whispered.

I wasn’t somewhere different.

I wasn’t standing in peaceful fields in the wilderness of Switzerland.

I was still inside that hotel room.

And yet...

My mind felt unbelievably calm.

As though I had entered the deepest state of relaxation imaginable.

"So this is the effect..." I whispered.

Then closed my eyes again.

I didn’t open them...

Until the next morning.

The morning was cloudy.

Quiet.

Without the noise of the market.

I stood quickly.

A fast shower, breakfast...

Then preparation for the awaited day.

The Sect Gathering.

Ever since receiving that invitation, it had occupied my thoughts.

This was my first gathering.

I didn’t know how these meetings usually worked.

Were there specific rituals?

Special clothing?

All I knew...

Was that the place would be filled with fighters.

The moment I left the hotel...

My eyes lifted toward the sky again.

The heavens were covered in rainless clouds.

A sleepy, gentle breeze drifted through the air.

Perfect weather for walking outside.

But...

I wouldn’t be walking to the destination.

A carriage was already waiting for me.

After more than half an hour of travel...

The carriage began heading toward the outskirts of the city.

Gradually, the roads emptied...

And signs of our destination appeared.

Hundreds of meters away...

Three golden towers rose into view.

Each tower stretched an enormous distance upward.

A wave of surprise hit me instantly.

The towers were taller than anything in Sunrise City or Sunset City.

Yet...

"Why didn’t I notice them before?" I whispered.

No answer came.

As we approached further...

My astonishment only deepened.

The three towers emerged from atop an emerald palace made of five floors.

Each floor stood over ten meters tall.

{ Palace of the Golden Domes – Fifth-Level Item. Impregnable Defensive Fortress }

"So that’s how it is..."

Things like this exist here too... hahaha.

Good.

Maybe I can obtain one someday.

The carriage stopped before the outer gate.

It wasn’t allowed to proceed farther.

To my left and right...

I stood alone before the gate.

"Am I late?" I murmured.

Then stepped forward.

It didn’t take long before I stood before the palace itself.

Its gate was wooden.

Massive.

Absurdly massive.

Perhaps...

Its height alone reached half the palace’s size.

Before my hand could touch it...

The gate slowly opened.

A heavy, creaking sound echoed through the air.

Behind my mask, my eyes narrowed sharply.

The doors fully opened.

"Ooooh..." I whispered.

A colossal wave of energy rushed toward me.

It wasn’t hostile.

But it was dense.

Compressed.

Like an ocean trapped inside a lake.

I stepped forward.

One step... then another.

Before I advanced farther, gazes began turning toward me one after another.

"No need to worry about the others," I muttered internally.

I looked upward.

The first floor’s interior was far larger than it appeared from outside.

It resembled an enclosed football stadium.

And inside...

There weren’t eleven players.

Nor twenty-two.

The hall contained over three hundred masters.

"Where do I go?" I wondered internally.

All I knew was that I had arrived at the gathering.

Anything beyond this point...

I had no idea.

I’d just stand here and see what happened.

Suddenly—

"Ivory Mask Master," a voice called from the side.

I smiled.

"You’re here too, sir?" I said.

The White-Eyed Master smiled and approached my side.

"Why the surprise? We’re hosting the gathering this year. Of course some of us would be here. Is this your first time?" he asked.

"You could say that. Can you explain what’s happening here?" I asked, glancing around before adding:

"I feel quite a lot of eyes on me."

"Everyone’s curious..." the master replied.

"To see the master who possesses that powerful wind attack."

I smiled.

As expected...

My dramatic entrance into the city had attracted far more attention than anticipated.

Well then...

Time to see what this Sect Gathering truly meant.

.

.

"What do you think?" a distant feminine voice whispered.

"It seems the news spread widely," the man replied.

His green eyes turned toward the woman as he added:

"It seems Lady Forest Bird is wearing the Guild attire today."

The woman smiled.

She wasn’t hiding her wings today.

Softly, she whispered:

"Black Lightning Master... seems you came alone. Need company so you don’t feel lonely? Hahaha."

The black-robed master narrowed his eyes.

Smirking mockingly, he leaned closer.

"Should we tell everyone what happened the other night?"

"Shut up," the woman replied.

The man smiled before shifting his gaze back toward the White-Eyed Master and the Ivory Mask Master.

"So... do you think the city has already won his favor?"

The woman glanced toward the side.

A massive table stood there...

Surrounded by many empty chairs.

"Maybe..." she answered.

"Or perhaps Snow Master standing close to him is merely a warning to everyone else."

The Black Lightning Master didn’t respond.

Instead, his eyes suddenly lifted upward.

As did everyone else’s.

.

.

"Here, at the Guild Gathering, many agreements and exchanges take place," the White-Eyed Master whispered.

"So that’s how it is..." I murmured.

"Who’s supposed to sit in those chairs?" I asked.

Then suddenly—

In the center of the vast hall...

The ceiling suddenly seemed endless.

The atmosphere darkened instantly.

A towering void swallowed the entire space.

Gigantic black pillars rose upward until they vanished into the darkness above.

Meanwhile, the golden torchlight reflected across the polished marble floor like the surface of a still lake.

Whispers spread through the hall.

Hundreds of masters and fighters stood silently in rows.

But the silence wasn’t calm.

It was tense.

Heavy.

As though everyone were waiting for something that would completely overturn the atmosphere.

Then...

Above them...

Five points of light appeared.

At first, they seemed tiny.

Incredibly distant.

But they gradually grew larger...

Until they became blazing white suns flooding the hall with harsh brilliance.

Groans and murmurs spread.

Everyone raised hands before their eyes.

Some stepped backward.

Others instinctively lowered their heads beneath the pressure of the aura descending from above.

Even the air...

Became heavier.

Then suddenly—

The light vanished all at once.

And in its place...

Five massive cloaks appeared, floating in the endless void overhead.

Nothing supported them.

No floor.

No platform.

Yet they stood firmly, as though the wind itself had become ground beneath their feet.

Black, white, and red cloaks drifted slowly within the overflowing aura surrounding them.

Their faces remained hidden in shadow despite the overwhelming light around them.

I slowly raised my head.

My eyes narrowed.

From the moment I entered the palace...

The Predictor ability had already begun working.

The auras of the masters appeared before me one after another.

First rank...

Second...

Third...

Then fourth.

I could sense them.

Distinguish their strength.

Estimate the danger they posed.

But...

Before these five...

The Predictor was completely useless.

No numbers.

No estimates.

Not even a clear sense of their power.

Only a vast emptiness.

As though my ability itself refused to look at them.

I swallowed slowly and whispered:

"Without a doubt... they’re fifth-rank masters."

Beside me...

The White-Eyed Master answered without taking his gaze off the figures above.

"Yes. They are."

The white light reflected within his pale pupils as he continued in a low voice filled with both respect and caution:

"The masters of the five sects overseeing the annual Sect Gathering..."

Silence filled the hall briefly.

Then he added:

"Each one of them... possesses immense power."

"So that’s how it is..." I whispered.

Inside my mind...

Only one thought dominated everything.

While everyone in the hall looked upon the masters with respect, reverence, and fear...

My mind held only a single thought.

"I must... reach the fifth rank quickly. I must... witness this power with my own eyes."