The Rise of the Black Plain

"Eleven steps to go! Stick to it, or you'll lose your years of effort!" Minos encouraged, giving the creature a push upwards, surprising the being.

"If you have the strength to go ahead, why do you want to steal my cultivation?"

"If I can go to level 6 on my own, then with your help I can go to level 7, maybe dream of level 8 of the pyramid. Why settle for just level 6?"

With these words, Minos would help that being reach step 597 with just his encouragement, until he reached this point in his ascension, feeling his bones making cracking sounds, while the pain was excruciating enough for him to scream.

He gathered all his strength and jumped forward, throwing himself over the alien's body to take him to the entrance of level 6.

When he reached that level, Minos did what he had promised his ally, stealing the alien's cultivation base to strengthen himself.

"Enjoy your cultivation at level 6. Good luck!" Minos felt his energy improve substantially before he threw that alien's body into the area where only one competitor was meditating right now.

That alien felt his strength reach level 99, but luckily, inside that cultivation area, he was in no danger of suffering from the previous pressure. As long as he waited for his cultivation to return to level 100 again, he could start taking advantage of the opportunities on level 6 of the pyramid.

Minos moved forward with the steps in front of him, quickly reaching step 666 without realizing it, given his present conditions while he was temporarily at level 102.

When he reached step 699, his level would drop to level 101, enough for him to still continue forward if he wanted to.

But as he felt the pressure of step 701, Minos realized he wouldn't even make it halfway until his strength returned to level 100 and he was in a precarious position.

Instead of continuing onwards, he entered the cultivation area of level 7 of the pyramid, being the second to arrive there since the pyramid had begun to be explored decades ago.

'It looks like someone got here before me...' Minos looked at the alien who was meditating there, who couldn't help but pause what she was doing to see the man who had disturbed her 10 years ago when he entered the pyramid. 'That's the man able to raise his level with the forces of others?' This woman with great mental power, a body similar to that of a human woman, but with a tail on her back, fangs on her feet and hands, and large, hairy ears, looked at Minos meaningfully.

But she had only been there for two years. Seeing Minos ignore her and start meditating, she returned her attention to doing the same.

There was no point in taking a chance on this guy. Minos was the favorite contender to win the inheritance phase in The Red Expanse. Going against him instead of taking advantage of the opportunities in the area would be foolish.

The best she could do was focus on herself and leave it to compete in the next selection event when they became Supremes. Until then, there would be a long road and different conditions for the remaining competitors!

Minos was soon meditating, also with no intention of returning to fight in this dimension. Although he was favored by the rules of this inheritance phase, he imagined once there were only 100 remaining competitors, one could not act against the other. Otherwise, there would be no point in a test to select just 100. Someone like him could try to kill all the competitors already in the first part of the inheritance!

Imagining he couldn't reduce the number of his opponents even if he wanted to, Minos began to meditate in order to seek even better improvements than those he had achieved at level 5!

'At my current rate, it's possible that I'll raise my capabilities with my techniques and other skills by over 10 times when I return to The Enchanted Realm!' he thought with a smile on his face, before turning his focus to self-improvement.

...

Two years after Minos reached level 7 of the pyramid, the last remaining competitors arrived at it, challenging those already in the area.

To the misfortune of the members of the group that arrived last, those in the area had made deals with each other before. By the time this last group arrived, they could only try to defend themselves as they were attacked by over 20 creatures.

In less than 5 minutes in the area, more than half of them died, leaving only 2 competitors, protected by a red aura similar to that of the Celestial being behind this inheritance.

Those two saw death up close, but sensing they were still alive, they heaved a sigh of relief, being the last of the 100 competitors to move on to the next stage of the inheritance!

The remaining men outside the pyramid wondered for a moment why the senior was protecting those two, but then they understood why.

Just as he had 400 years ago, the Celestial being appeared again to his heirs, appearing in the same place where he had presented them with The Red Expanse at the beginning of the Millennium Massacre.

"My chosen ones, you have had a long journey so far, surpassing many of my expectations. Congratulations, you are the last 100 competitors in The Red Expanse.

Because of your voraciousness in the competition over the last few centuries, I have shortened the Millennium Massacre. From now on, you have 50 years to take advantage of the opportunities in my pyramid. Good luck with your cultivation. In 50 years, I will send you back to your worlds."

With these words from the Celestial being, those outside the pyramid understood they had to hurry to enter that building, hurrying their steps towards its stairs.

Those inside the pyramid, also aware of the Celestial being's warning, saw that they didn't have all the time they thought they would have to cultivate there.

Their opportunities would be limited to the next 50 years. They couldn't falter or they would waste the magnificent chances of cultivating at the pyramid's highest levels!