The Rise of the Black Plain

Meanwhile, Emperor Evergreen's eldest son, only 80 years younger than his father, was in the Green City Temple, handling his affairs within the Spiritual Church.

He, Duncan Evergreen, level 99, was the current Supreme Pontiff of that organization, someone who had left the imperial family of this state to serve only the Church.

Because of this, he was no longer part of that family, although he was a close ally of House Evergreen.

In any case, he was more talented than his father, so he was at the peak of level 99, not far from reaching what was necessary to attempt his advancement to the 11th stage for the first time.

His father was also supposed to try to do this in the future. Still, even though he was younger, Duncan would go into seclusion before his old man within the next 80 to 90 years.

Therefore, he was siding with his disciple of this generation, who he wanted to take over his duties within the Church when he left.

"Forrest, you must win the dispute over the northern region. That place will grow considerably in the coming decades, and whoever owns the area will have significant support when I leave." This blond, strong, tall man said to the junior beside him.

Not only were these two walking with there, but some of Duncan's former disciples were also with them, as they were part of the Supreme Pontiff faction, among the most powerful of that group.

One of them, level 97, said to the level 92 'young' man. "Forrest, this Minos Stuart is worth having on your good side.

He will suffer from pressure from all sides. So it might be good for you to try a different approach than the others with him.

As the master said, conquer those domains from the other major factions. But, in the meantime, help this Minos in some way against those factions that will try to make his life difficult."

Forrest Howell, black hair, with a mustache even bigger than Dillian's, heard that and thanked his superiors for their recommendations. "I will do my best regarding that region."

"Very good." The Supreme Pontiff clapped one of his hands on this fellow's back as he stood beside him, walking through the Seraph Hall, where a giant statue of the founder of the Church stood. "Before I leave, we will have another chance for you to strengthen yourself. Soon the ancient Dragon Spatial Kingdom will open one of its gates on the continent, and you should take the opportunity to strengthen yourself.

I hope that with this, you can reach level 94 before my departure."

They didn't talk about the Continental Tournament since that special competition only had openings for heads of state to send people to participate. Unfortunately, the leader of the Church was not a head of state, so the most he could do in this event was bet along with the other world leaders.

So Forrest didn't have to worry about competing in this contest.

At the end of their walk, they arrived in front of a large gate, where Spiritual Demigods, level 96 or stronger, guarded the surroundings.

There at that gate, there was nothing in place of doors, only a spatial distortion that made it seem as if a liquid separated this place from another.

Those people followed the Supreme Pontiff, passing through that distortion until they reached a special place where the energy density was considerably high.

The Spiritual Church's Spatial Kingdom was the core of this organization, where the greatest experts and members of this force trained, studied, or cultivated.

That was also where the Saint medicine plantation of that organization was, as well as the three Divine medicine plantations.

Two would take more than 200,000 years to finish maturing, but one was already not far from reaching its maximum!

In a maximum of 100 years, it could be harvested!

...

Two and a half years later...

Time passed for the Black Plain Empire, slowly bringing new problems to this area, but nothing grand as the past threat of Abe Vogel, Mortimer Burgess, or the criminal raids of Albano.

Spiritual Sages now flew through this region without hiding, landing in cities in Minos' territory and sometimes doing business alongside 8th-stage underlings.

Others of these experts came to the region to train their weaker organization members, sometimes to create outposts of their forces or search for lost items in the region.

The traffic of specialists in the area had increased dramatically during this period, exceeding a few dozen times the movement that had previously existed, which was associated with the passage of specialists heading towards Elves Island.

It was not good to fly in beasts or by oneself by sea or via wormholes, so experts usually traveled by boat to Elves Island. Since this place was closer to the Snow Kingdom than to any other state in the Central Continent, that was where experts passed through.

But the number of experts making this trip was low in the past. They always avoided contact with locals to avoid being bothered by people who had never seen 9th or 10th-stage individuals.

But with the changes brought about by the pressures against Minos and Gloria, many 9th-stage individuals were showing themselves in this region lately, and even these travelers were changing their habits.

That brought some problems for the local people, particularly for Minos. But it was undeniable that the passage of more specialists through the area was also stimulating trade and the development of this territory.

The region was experiencing a golden moment in its contemporary history, with the regional citizens slowly becoming accustomed to the presence of beings above the 80 level throughout the region.

That was true, especially for the areas farthest from the core of the Black Plain, places where even level 70 cultivators were still viewed somewhat differently before. But with the increased movement of high-level cultivators, even in the region's weakest places, it was becoming common to see or feel powerful auras nearby.

Already in the core of the Black Plain, although this area was not suffering as much external pressure as others around Minos' domain, the local population was also becoming accustomed to Spiritual Sages.

Not only because of the constant visits Minos was receiving from envoys from other states and the Spiritual Church but because of his strongest experts, the high-level elders of the Gray Clouds Sect.

After more than two years of seclusion in the Spatial Kingdom, two of these experts advanced to the 9th stage!

...