CH353 The Universal Void

***

Three days had passed since the end of the Auction Festival.

Many were sad to see the event conclude—especially the low-level artisans and craftsmen who had made a healthy profit from the sales of their crafts during the festival.

Although the Enclave had stepped up its purchase demands for low-grade crafts from them to meet bulk-sale agreements with various parties, since the Enclave's agency acted as an intermediary and took a cut of the profits, it wasn't nearly as lucrative for the artisans as it had been during the festival.

Still, profit was profit. It was far better than the days when they couldn't sell their wares at all.

It was, undeniably, a period of significant growth for the local economy of the DragonHold Enclave. The Enclave's Finance Department was determined to keep it that way—rolling out projects and initiatives to sustain economic stimulation and keep funds circulating after the auction.

Pinchcoin would be damned if he allowed money to sit idle in anyone's pocket without generating value.

The gnome felt invigorated. For the first time, he could truly display the full extent of his financial genius and economic management prowess now that the Enclave's economy was well out of the red.

Enjoying an even greater boom, however, was none other than the Golden Palace.

Having been at the forefront of the Auction Festival, the company's gains were far beyond the massive revenue it reaped. Its brand value skyrocketed.

Old bureaucratic and administrative roadblocks across various noble territories—which had previously hindered its expansion—were now gone. Many territories were scrambling to become the Palace's next partners after witnessing firsthand the profitability such a partnership could bring.

While other merchant companies and chambers of commerce tried to replicate the initiative, few managed to gain traction. Most noble territories preferred to work with the Palace, even knowing it wouldn't be hosting such an event again in the near future.

Within a short span—under a year—the Golden Palace was expected to cement its place as the premier authority for organising large-scale economic festivals and entertainment hubs. After all, the nobility would rather trust an established hand than gamble with an untested one.

That said, this was only a short-term phenomenon.

Other businesses would soon be able to break the Enclave's monopoly once the hype died down a bit. By then, the Enclave needed to have turned that hype into hegemony.

Alex wasn't particularly worried about the Golden Palace, though. The company was in good hands with Haggleworth and his capable team at the helm.

He could rest easy knowing his cash cow—or rather, his golden goose—would continue to grow strong in the near future.

The Golden Palace would soon complete its transition into a full-fledged marketplace company. The burden of producing new products would be shifted to a network of shadow subsidiaries being discreetly established across the continent.

The plan was simple but effective: Haggleworth would either acquire or covertly set up various artisan companies and guilds that would each hold public recognition for Alex's products going forward. The Palace, in turn, would maintain trade partnerships and alliances with these groups to distribute their "exclusive" goods.

This arrangement ensured that neither the Palace nor any single organisation would attract too much attention as the sole distributor of Alex's products—helping them avoid the scrutiny of major powers and organisations.

Of course, there was still a chance that some of these subsidiaries might draw unwanted eyes, but the risk was far smaller than the alternative.

It was an expensive strategy upfront, but both Alex and Haggleworth believed it would pay back in the long run—in wealth, stability, and peace of mind.

With his financial and political powerbases now firmly stabilised, Alex could finally turn his full attention toward his first Interplanar Expedition.

Thanks to the profits earned by the Golden Palace, his funding pool for the expedition had grown immensely.

In truth, his only limitation now was how much he could reasonably bring with him—not how much he could afford to spend.

He could only carry so many resources into another plane.

By nature, interplanar expeditions were complex undertakings.

He would first have to lead an expeditionary unit into the unknown plane, secure territory to establish a stable base, and then accumulate enough of that plane's Providence to erect a functioning portal—all without drawing the attention of the plane's semi-sentient consciousness.

Only once the portal was successfully anchored could he begin transporting large amounts of resources between worlds—marking the true start of massive investment and expansion.

Until then, however, the maiden voyage had to be financed carefully. Every move had to be precise. Recklessness could make him an enemy of the world the moment he set foot within it.

Thanks to the Golden Palace's rapidly expanding reach, anything that couldn't be discreetly procured within the DragonHold Enclave was quietly acquired elsewhere under the cover of the Palace's massive trade orders.

Thus, Alex was able to gather all necessary supplies for his Interplanar Expedition without attracting outside attention.

The only other major necessity now was manpower.

His father had already assured him that a group of specially trained operatives—individuals handpicked to serve as his direct party members—would soon be dispatched to the Enclave. In addition, he was to receive a modest military unit from the Fury Army itself—for a price, of course.

But unfortunately, neither had arrived yet, and he couldn't plan around them.

That left one last major consideration—time.

The most critical and most expensive resource in Interplanar travel wasn't gold, nor any other currency—it was time itself.

According to the scholars of Pangea, the universe was one vast, ever-expanding void, with countless realms constantly rising and falling within it.

It was widely believed that the closer a realm was to the centre of this cosmic expanse, the stronger it became—since proximity to the centre meant closeness to the source of universal laws and primordial energy –the virgin form of all energies.

The nearer a world was to this source, the greater its access to pure energy and refined laws.

For cultivators and professionals whose power stemmed from absorbing planetary energies—be it mana, qi, or any other force—and comprehending the laws that governed them, this meant that proximity to the centre directly correlated with potential.

That was why some worlds, such as Pangea itself, were inherently stronger than others. Their strength lay not merely in their people or resources, but in their very position within the grand hierarchy of realms.

Powerhouses who reached the Legendary Realm often departed their home worlds for higher ones—realms closer to the universal core where the laws were denser and purer.

A world's distance from that centre determined its power ceiling.

In realms that could only support cultivation up to the Legendary stage, those who sought further advancement had no choice but to leave—to seek higher planes with stronger or entirely new laws that could replace their old ones and allow them to continue their ascent on the path of power.

But in all of this—distance, strength, ascension—time remained the ultimate constraint.

**(3/70)**

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