The Rise of the Black Plain

While Minos' group was on its way to the Yellow City region, several groups arrived at a large camp north of that city.

In that southernmost part of the Kingdom of the Waves, in a semi-desert area, was the large camp set up by the Spiritual Church branch of this state to accommodate the ceasefire negotiations.

The Church was hosting this big event since no one else in this part of the continent could make the different parties in the conflict talk.

And precisely because this location was the closest to each of those involved in the conflict, this camp had been set up there.

In any case, the place was huge, but there were not many people around. Instead, only the strongest Spiritual Generals and Spiritual Kings from each organization involved in the war had come to this place.

But since this area had been built to accommodate each of the royal entourages comfortably, this camp was massive, and to anyone looking from afar, it looked like a small village and not just something temporary.

However, while there were not many people in the surroundings, from time to time, winged beasts appeared in the skies over there, bringing more and more people to this historic meeting.

And some of them were arriving just at this moment, landing on different sides of that area.

...

"Luke, are you sure about this? I thought you had given up on returning to the empire..." The Spiritual Emperor who had brought the young master of the Nash family back to this region asked this in doubt.

Upon hearing that, the young man standing next to Oriel in this man's beast nodded in agreement as he looked at the camp they were about to land.

"Yes, I thought that by coming back here, things could go back to the way they were before, but I was wrong..." He was sincere. "If it is to live an ordinary life, I would rather risk my life in the Western Empire given the small chance of success I might have there."

"Oh?" With surprise, that man expressed, feeling satisfied with that young man's answer.

They had left Stone Island a few days ago to observe the negotiations that would occur in this place built by the Church since things like this did not happen often.

Hell, even in other parts of this continent, such surreal events could take tens of thousands of years to happen!

After all, it was not every day that an emerging force rose up against the established power and tore the other side apart to the point that ceasefire negotiations were necessary.

Negotiations like this even happened frequently, but they always involved powers of similar levels!

However, Oriel Holt had found an irregular situation in this northern region of the Central Continent. Here, a weaker power than its many opponents showed signs of victory!

So, how could these two who had short life expectancies relative to the river of time not take advantage of the opportunity to participate in this event?

It would be absurd to miss such an opportunity!

Because of this, the two were here to accompany the Stone Island royal family entourage, both curious to know what would happen next.

Young Luke, in particular, was the most interested. After finding out about the deeds of Minos, whom he still had a certain resentment for what had happened years ago, this young master wanted to see such a person.

At the very least, this could confirm his greatest fears, which would help him move on with his life in the Western Empire.

'Looks like this young man has finally matured a bit, huh?' Oriel looked down on young Luke, pleased at the change in such a person's decision.

He knew that the empire was not for everyone and that Luke was probably saving his own life by returning to this region. But as cultivators, they should not fear the danger that exists on the journey of power!

No, when they accepted their destiny as cultivators and learned their first techniques, each person would unconsciously begin to walk this long and cruel road of life.

But without power, without commitment, such people could only depend on those who dominated the road. However, not all dominators would do good...

Thus, in this expert's view, Luke's change of mind was necessary for him to mature concerning his dark situation.

And with his thoughts regarding what was necessary to survive in this cruel world, Oriel finally noticed those presences in the surroundings and said to Luke. "Well, if you are sure, we will return to the empire in a few weeks."

"I want to see the immediate results of this meeting that has so many regional experts."

"Is that so?" Luke smiled, interested in the idea of being able to stay a few more days in this region. "Will they fight here? I'm curious to know how strong Minos and the regional kings are."

"Hahaha, me too."

"In any case, I believe it won't take us long to find that out..."

"Almost everyone is already here."

...

In a lovely structure of that camp, Jade Carline was meditating on her cultivation cushion while she had a charming smile on her face.

She had received a message from her husband only three days ago, giving the orders for her to go ahead with the deal with Minos.

However, what made her the happiest was the prospect of seeing again that rude young man who had dominated her in a way that only she could comprehend.

Minos had resolved years of sexual frustration from this regional specialist, which now that she was about to meet him was making her more and more anxious.

'Minos could be here any moment now... I hope he has time to visit me privately.' She bit her lower lip sensually, feeling shocks in her little sister, who, after her first meeting with Minos, was living moist, despite the previous decades of almost complete dryness.

'Anyway, I'm glad Kara finally continued her journey towards the empire.'

'That will give me less trouble to hide my forbidden relationship with Minos!' She smiled, remembering that her daughter had insisted on staying at this place until Minos arrived.

Kara was unsure if Minos was in Dry City due to this ruler's recurrent journey through the region. And considering that she knew he would come to this place, she had tried to stay in this area until at least his arrival.

However, upon finding out that of his arrival in Dry City days ago, she had immediately left for that place, where she intended to stay for a few days close to Minos.

As for Ford, he did not even stop at that place when their group arrived here days ago. Instead, he simply continued his journey back to the empire, hoping to find inner peace and forget about what he had seen and heard.

Anyway, while Jade was silently meditating in that place that looked like a room, suddenly someone came bringing a piece of information to her. 

"Your Majesty, the leaders of our allied army are already here." A middle-aged woman said this as she looked at the ground, mentioning the people on the Black Plain that the queen had demanded their presence in this place.

"Very well, I will go talk to them in a minute," Jade said as she stood up and headed towards the closet.

'Well, I will leave everything ready for the withdrawal of our troops from the Black Plain for the completion of these negotiations.'

'Minos seems like a reasonable person, but it's best not to take any chances with him.'

'As for those who will have their cultivation crippled, we can only mourn for them.' She sighed and thanked heaven that Linette had not killed anyone during her months on the Black Plain.

Otherwise, not only King Carline but the entire royal family of that state would be weakened with that woman having her spiritual cultivation destroyed.

...

As Jade made her way towards her subordinates and vassals, a relatively young man with black hair and a beard of identical coloration landed on the south side of that camp.

'Sigh!'

'I finally made it to this damn place!'

'I hope all these people have arrived here by now, or I'll have to stay even longer in this poor region.' He silently thought about this as he descended from his giant winged lizard, which displayed a peak 6th stage cultivation.

...