Discreet Gathering

"Li Yuemei? Who is that? I've never heard of this person," someone in the crowd said.

"It's strange to see an unknown name suddenly appearing so high on the celestial list," speculated another person.

"Oh, wait, I remember this name! Li Yuemei, if I'm not mistaken, was on the silver list of the celestial list, and her position was high. But how did she suddenly rise to the golden list?" said another person.

"Oh, now I remember! Yes, Li Yuemei, from the Sacred Land of the South. She is the main disciple of the Sacred Land of the South, the 8th force among the top ten forces," someone recalled, though Li Yuemei's name was not widely discussed as she came from a different continent.

"Li Yuemei? The one with a celestial physique? It makes sense for her to be on the silver list based on her potential alone; considering her physique, her potential is greater than almost everyone on the list. The only thing she lacked was time and strength," said someone who seemed interested.

"It makes sense for her to be on the silver list, given that her potential and talent are among the greatest, if not the greatest, on the list. But her strength was one of the lowest because, despite everything, Li Yuemei is extremely young. So how did she suddenly rise to the 63° position on the golden list?"

"Unless her cultivation underwent a tremendous breakthrough suddenly, maybe a treasure or something, that allowed her to break through several realms," speculated a man.

"Possibly, but it's probably something else. Celestial physiques are also known for one thing. Their awakening, when it happens, further increases their potential, especially their strength, which increases tremendously. This could be the reason for her sudden appearance so high on the list…" said a man, trying to analyze the situation.

…

..

A lengthy conversation took place in the city that day. Regardless of everyone's theories about how Li Yuemei had suddenly risen on the list, people would start paying more attention to her and see her as a future power in the world. Her name began to be discussed among everyone and would soon spread to other cities.

In the same city, a little later after these events, a man with long black hair, an imposing appearance, and a serious expression walked slowly among the crowds on the streets. However, for some reason, despite his striking appearance, no one on the city's streets looked at him. In fact, it was as if he didn't exist to any of them, and they didn't see him.

After walking to a small, simple, and old-looking house, he opened the door, emitting a thread of black Qi, and then entered the place.

As soon as he entered, a completely different environment from what was expected appeared. Instead of a small, simple cottage, a large, dark staircase appeared, with only stones and a faint red light emanating from the walls.

He climbed the staircase slowly until he reached the end after some time, and a large square door made of a dark material with a heavy appearance appeared. In front of the large door, two women with ordinary appearances stood like statues.

As the man approached the door, the two women bowed simultaneously, speaking with emotionless voices.

"Welcome, Master Shen. Everyone is already inside waiting, and you are the last one."

The man said nothing and just opened the door unhurriedly. After that, the women behind the door returned to their statue-like positions.

Upon entering the door, an environment of constant tension was present. A large room with its dark and minimally detailed walls was adorned with what seemed to be sword strike marks and other weapons' marks.

In the center of the large room, there was a large round table made of black wood. Numerous symbols and ancient inscriptions were carved all over the table. On the ceiling and walls, there were some old lamps emitting dim and soft lights, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

The man's eyes then swept over everyone in the room, and he began to walk to his place, lazily sitting in one of the chairs, drawing disgusted looks to his face.

"So, why this meeting all of a sudden? I'm a busy person, and I had to drop many things to be here today," Mestre Shen said with an arrogant tone.

"Tsk, some people really think they're special," sarcastically said a man with orange eyes and hair sitting on the other side of the table from where Mestre Shen sat, known for being impatient.

"Compared to you, fire worm, who seems to have so much free time, I really don't feel that special," Mestre Shen said with an ironic expression and a self-satisfied smile on his face.

As he said that, an immense pressure with a terrible killing intent and intense heat filled the room suddenly. The man on the other side of the table stood up from his chair, his pupils transforming into snake eyes, and thousands of fire serpents appeared, writhing around him with a look of hatred.

"How dare you disrespect my realm and my name? Do you want to die?!" exclaimed the man with intense fury.

"With just that strength? I fear you'll be disappointed," Mestre Shen said as he also stood up, with a killing intent many times stronger than the other man surging. A frighteningly dark energy emanated around him, as the room seemed to be divided between fire and darkness Qi.

Their auras seemed to equalize on the surface, and it appeared that a fight would happen. But before it could escalate further, a sudden snort was heard from another chair at the round table.

An extremely old man with white hair and a long white beard opened his eyes, and suddenly, the pressure exerted by the other two was cut off. A slight thread of sword Qi emanated from the old man's sharp eyes, instantly dispelling the fire and darkness Qi in the room. Then a serious and commanding voice sounded from the old man as he looked at them with his sharp gaze.

"If you want to kill each other, do it on another occasion and far from my sight, but for now, calm down and sit immediately."

Suddenly, silence fell in the room as Mestre Shen and the other man removed their auras entirely, retreating back to their seats, slightly frustrated in their minds. The tense atmosphere from before diminished, but the room's meeting climate was still heavy.

After the two sat quietly, the old man began to speak again to the six figures sitting in the room, after briefly looking at the empty seventh chair.

"You must all know the main reason for this meeting, so let's begin."

"The Su family has once again taken one of their unbearable actions that cannot be ignored. After the snowstorm that fell all over the world and, our forces sent people to investigate the Frozen Abyss. But they returned empty-handed because those ambitious members of the Su family have locked the Southern Continent completely," the old man said calmly.

Then a female voice came from one of the six figures at the table. "They are selling information about the abyss in the same way they did on that previous occasion. So it's certain that something significant happened in the Frozen Abyss that can affect the ten forces and the world. I think we should pay for this information, even if it increases their wealth."

"Tsk, the Su family is planning something again, those bastards," said the man who had confronted Mestre Shen earlier.

Another figure in the room sighed lightly and said doubtfully, "In such a short time, they are already considered the 2° force among the ten. Their wealth and strength have increased even more in the last fifteen years, and we can't understand how. Now, another opportunity to strengthen themselves has appeared. Should we really give them even more strength by buying this golden information?"

"Their strength is indeed increasing rapidly, but I think we have no choice. Something significant happened for them to lock the continent so quickly. It's as if they were already prepared for it. I feel that what happened there is of extreme importance to all of us and our forces," the last figure among the six, excluding Mestre Shen, expressed their opinion.

They all fell silent for a few moments, deeply pondering, until Mestre Shen looked at the old man, who seemed unconcerned with the situation.

"Old Bai, what do you think about this? You wouldn't have called us just for this reason; tell us what you really think."

So they all looked at the old man with white hair, but with a sharp look, waiting to know why they had been gathered, although they didn't exactly get along.

"It wasn't me who called everyone here this time, but I was also called by someone else, and I was tasked with gathering everyone because of that person. That person will arrive soon," Old Bai said, looking briefly at the empty seventh chair.

So everyone suddenly became confused, looking at the empty chair, wondering who this person could be who made Old Bai appear at such a meeting and invite them all.

While they were confused and trying to think of someone, Mestre Shen suddenly gave a mysterious smile as he said.

"Oh, now I understand why you appeared, so who actually gathered us was probably that man," he said, looking at Old Bai, who showed no reaction. At that moment, all four other figures in the room thought of someone in their minds. And before they could say anything, suddenly, in the seventh chair, a being appeared mysteriously, leaving everyone perplexed.

In the seventh chair, a middle-aged man with an extremely ordinary and forgettable appearance appeared out of thin air like a ghost. There was no trace of Qi in his body or around him when he appeared, as if he had always been there.

The man had disheveled gray hair and a stubbly beard, giving him an extremely unkempt appearance. His face bore a monotonous expression. Along with his simple, old, and worn-out clothes that seemed faded as if they had been worn for years, with stitches and patches.

The expressions of all six people in the room, as soon as they saw him suddenly appear among them mysteriously, changed to perplexed and solemn. Despite the seemingly ordinary appearance of the man, they all knew that this person was far from ordinary.

After appearing, the man remained silent and motionless, as if waiting for something, while the other six wondered why this man had gathered them on this day.