Eldritch Horror Theatre

The address on the invitation led to a courtyard estate built into the mountainside. It looked quite luxurious.

By the time Fu Qian strolled up, the time stated on the invitation was drawing near.

Under the glare of the vigilant guards, Fu Qian pulled out his invitation and handed it over.

Almost instantly, their attitude did a complete one-eighty, and they respectfully invited him inside.

Their deference was absurdly exaggerated; logically, there was no need to go that far.

Even though the guards were ordinary humans, they clearly knew the nature of this gathering. Facing a transcendent naturally instilled them with a psychological reverence.

Fu Qian deduced inwardly.

It was quite amusing when he thought about it—a gathering of transcendents using ordinary people as guards.

Following the route the guards provided, Fu Qian soon arrived at the designated room.

He had clearly arrived early. The room was still sparse, with the few attendees chatting in twos and threes.And sure enough, while everyone inside was dressed to the nines—making the scene indistinguishable from an ordinary cocktail party—a single glance confirmed that every person present was a transcendent.

The room overflowed with the aura of experts. Powerful and imposing!

”I’m glad you made the right choice.”

Right then, Rolden silently appeared by his side.

He had changed his outfit again since their last meeting, attending in full formal wear.

”Many have yet to arrive, but I believe you can already feel the difference.”

Rolden seemed highly satisfied that Fu Qian had arrived so early.

”I’ll introduce you to everyone later, so they know we’ve gained another very lucky new member.”

”Before you make those introductions, could I know what kind of gathering this actually is?”

Fu Qian asked, adopting a cautious posture.

”Don’t worry needlessly.”

Rolden seemed to see through Fu Qian’s concern.

”This isn’t some sinister underground gathering. If you must categorize it, you can think of it as an academic exchange.”

”An exchange?”

”Of course. Building a chariot behind closed doors is ill-advised, especially on the treacherous and unpredictable path of the transcendent.”

Rolden’s tone was utterly resolute.

”That is why we regularly organize these gatherings. We trade items and materials, and we exchange insights and experiences to resolve our doubts.”

”We don’t have many people, but our members are all happy to share. You will definitely gain something here.”

”That sounds quite nice.”

Fu Qian offered no further comment.

An academic exchange—that sounded interesting indeed.

If someone could just directly explain what the Inner Eye was later, it would be absolutely perfect.

He was inclined to believe Rolden’s explanation, but as a bewildered newcomer, he still needed to put on a show of doubting everything.

As the two conversed, more people continued to trickle in. Soon, the room held several dozen attendees.

It was clear that Rolden was very familiar with them; he greeted almost everyone who walked through the door.

While exchanging pleasantries, these people also observed Fu Qian—the unfamiliar face—before looking thoughtful.

The single exception was an acquaintance.

Dressed in an evening gown, Li Min walked in arm in arm with Rachel. She scrutinized everything around her with the exact same expression Fu Qian had worn moments ago.

She had only just arrived, and she was already attending a gathering with her close friend?

It seemed this exchange had quite a reputation.

Fu Qian nodded inwardly.

Rachel was another surprise. Originally sporting the look of a delinquent, she was actually dressed even more plainly than Li Min.

Not only was she wearing a solid-colored long dress, but she also wore a hat, doing her best to tuck her colorful hair out of sight.

Women’s styling choices truly were unfathomable.

”Excuse me for a moment.”

Catching sight of the two women, Rolden’s eyes lit up, and he headed straight over to greet them.

Fu Qian stood silently in place, making no effort to hide his scrutiny of Li Min and Rachel.

He was currently wearing the face of a greasy middle-aged man. If he stared at two beautifully dressed women with a gaze that was too polite, it would actually seem unnatural.

For a cautious veteran of the jianghu like Li Min, anything less would inevitably arouse her suspicion.

After all, he hadn’t even changed his clothes since yesterday.

And sure enough, Li Min only glanced in his direction with a hint of confusion before looking away.

It was obvious she didn’t recognize him, saving him the trouble of having to silence her to protect his identity.

”Everyone, most of our guests have arrived.”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries with Rachel, Rolden suddenly called out, drawing everyone’s attention.

”Before we officially begin, please allow me to introduce two newcomers.”

”First is Rachel’s friend, Ms. Li Min, who has just traveled here!”

Hearing this, Li Min politely greeted the crowd.

”The other is Mister Cha.”

Rolden then pointed at Fu Qian.

”A lucky man who has only just received a supernatural gift.”

Surprisingly, from the gazes of the crowd, Fu Qian could feel that he was drawing significantly more attention.

This was undoubtedly a bit abnormal.

As fellow newcomers, Fu Qian didn’t believe his current face was more attractive than Li Min’s.

The issue likely stemmed from the word ’lucky.’ It seemed situations like Cha Soon-young’s were not very common.

Mimicking Li Min, Fu Qian greeted everyone, casually evaluating the strength of these superhumans while he was at it—a room full of small fry.

What a pity. At a glance, there probably wasn’t a single person here capable of seeing through to his true strength.

Li Min’s level could at least be considered above average among this crowd.

It couldn’t be helped. Low-tier transcendents made up the vast majority to begin with.

Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

Without realizing it, he had become a powerhouse himself!

Still, this was a good thing. After all, a newcomer at the Demigod Realm would be far too terrifying.

If this group really got suspicious and ganged up on him, he would have to unleash his full power and clear the room.

After briefly introducing the newcomers, Rolden signaled that the group was free to trade items.

There was no legendary auction house drama—no deceit, no scheming, no murdering for treasure.

The attendees simply took out their collections, introduced them, and haggled. Their demeanor was hardly any different from buying groceries at a wet market, forming a stark contrast with their earlier sophisticated image.

As a newcomer, Fu Qian naturally had nothing to trade, so he casually looked around.

The goods were primarily supernatural materials and small trinkets with specific effects.

The most precious item among them was only on par with the ring in Rolden’s possession, which could cast a gravity curse. It genuinely failed to pique his interest.

It took nearly half an hour for this bazaar to finally wind down.

”Alright, I hope everyone has gained something. Next, let’s change the subject.”

Rolden scanned the room again with a beaming smile on his face.

”Recently, I discovered a ritual that might be effective.”