The Rise of the Black Plain

The day after Minos returned to the Spiritual World, 40,000 soldiers of the Black Plain Army, cultivators between levels 70 and 93, set off in over 100 spaceships towards The Adamant Land.

Many of the ships had been developed long before Minos' return, as the empire had achieved what was necessary to build these ships even before the War of the Worlds began. During the war, when the planet was defeating the Mechanic Empire, the empire of Minos had taken many damaged ships from the aliens and repaired them.

With the ships built over the last few months of peace, the empire now had 314 spaceships capable of carrying between 150 and 320 crew members each.

With The Adamant Land conquered and the short time they would have with the presence of Minos and the Sovereigns on their world, the empire's forces advanced their plans, immediately heading to that planet to begin their work there.

Minos had a chat with the leaders of the 40,000 soldiers before their departure, explaining that the robots working around that world were his subordinates and would help in the defense and reconstruction of the world's essential infrastructure.

With little ado, the group made their way through the universal wormhole that they would have to travel through for 10 weeks, a much longer interval than Minos' group needed, given that his spaceship was slightly superior to those of his state.

Meanwhile, Minos was in his capital, dealing with the results of his recent trip.

...

In a well-flowered and organized courtyard of the imperial palace, Minos was sitting in front of a fountain, with his three wives near him, but also the two level 102 Sovereigns and the level 103 robot.

Dillian, Oswald and Maisie were also there, each of them standing while silently listening to their leaders' conversation.

"While returning to The Adamant Land after the destruction of Irpoll, we had the chance to study a lot of interesting material from that civilization about a being that was watching them. The interesting point about this existence was their connection to the Upper Realm," Minos said to the companions who had been in Zocarro with him.

But even Abby, Gloria and the others there already knew what the Upper Realm was all about, the seraph that Minos had met in the Seraphim's Ancient Sarcophagus, among other things.

The robot already knew what Minos had discovered and told the two level 102 Sovereigns who were in the Spiritual World during their journey back from Irpoll. "The being behind watching Irpoll came from the Upper Realm. We don't understand exactly how they fell and why they left information in that druidic world, but they described a little of what it's like to enter and leave the Upper Realm, as well as the reality on the other side. There's some kind of map to reach that place."

"A map? I thought the Upper Realm was a kind of place where only by reaching a certain level can you reach it. I didn't think it was a physical place that could be reached," said one of the two Sovereigns.

"You got it wrong." Ruth corrected. "The Upper Realm really is intangible for those who haven't reached the requirements. This map is not something that will show us the way through the universe to the Upper Realm. It's more like a prescription of what's necessary to reach it."

Minos said. "According to what this envoy from the Upper Realm left behind, it's no use one reaching the supposed peak of cultivation to ascend to the Upper Realm. One needs to gain entry through tests."

"Tests?" One of those two Sovereigns asked. "What are these tests like?"

Ruth said. "There isn't much information about them. Supposedly, there are special areas around the universe where cultivators can find heirlooms or items associated with these tests. Only through them does one get the right to join such tests."

"Apart from that, it's impossible to reach the Upper Realm."

"That sounds a lot like a legacy inheritance," Oswald commented to the group, finding it curious. "This Upper Realm must work with some kind of system of inheritable slots for limited numbers of beings."

"Sort of, but not exactly," Minos commented as he looked into his grandfather's eyes. "The Upper Realm seems to work by nominations. A nomination is the right to join the competition for places. But everyone capable of reaching the Upper Realm has unique and unmistakable powers.

The interesting thing about the Upper Realm is what happens to those who can enter it. They become practically immortal, supreme beings with rights over large parts of the universe."

Everyone who hadn't heard about this was silent for a moment, imagining how fantastic it must be to enter such a part of the universe.

"One of the good things about entering the Upper Realm is that those of your lineage automatically gain access to it with the entry of one of your relatives into it," Ruth commented with a smile on her face, while everyone else there looked at Minos, understanding what this meant.

If he eventually gained access to the Upper Realm, those with blood ties to him, such as his mother, grandparents, and children, could automatically ascend to the Upper Realm along with him!

Maisie looked at the women of Minos and asked. "What about you?"

"The supreme beings of the Upper Realm can appoint people to follow them into that place. There's a difference between entering there by genetic rights and being appointed. But that's not such a big concern for us. We'll still be able to live together for a long time," Gloria said with a smile.

All they had to do was support Minos, continue to persevere in their cultivation and, eventually, they could move forward with him to complete any cultivator's goal.

Immortality!

Even those who had no way of being taken to such a place by Minos were happy about these possibilities, for their leader to reach such a place would already be magnificent.

That was the thought of Dillian, who didn't care about immortality and just wanted to see, or at least imagine, his leader's journey.

As for the Sovereigns around Minos, they couldn't help but imagine that they would still have the chance to pursue these rights to compete for places in the Upper Realm.

Their current life expectancies were too great for them not to give up on their dream of living forever, maybe one day becoming Supremes in Zocarro and then going in search of the Upper Realm!

"The problem with everything is just getting there," Minos muttered with a smile on his face. "It can take millennia for one to reach the minimum level needed to enter the competition. But even after that, it can take a long time for one to pass all the tests and actually enter the Upper Realm.

According to what we've gathered, the last person to make it into the Upper Realm took 100,000 years on their journey."