The Rise of the Black Plain

"Very good, Sarah. Go get your rewards." He said as he massaged his daughter's head, seeing the smile on her face.

"After that, I will play with my little brother for a bit..." She said as she left there, missing that chubby little guy she always loved to play with.

She might be an adult, but as the daughter of Minos, there were few people with the courage to approach her. At the same time, she was very attached to her family and enjoyed spending more time with them than with strangers.

She was still not interested in men, and besides fighting and getting stronger, her hobby was teaching her little brother to be a good boy.

With that, she left there so she could quickly be with Kendrick, this boy who was already beginning to learn who his father and family were.

But Kendrick was still too young to understand the Spiritual World, so he had not yet started studying at the Dry City Preparatory Academy.

Anyway, now and then, Minos would show his son his routine, just as he had done with Sarah since he hoped his children would help him rule his empire in the future. But on this day, he would not do that, going instead to take care of some business after seeing his daughter leave.

Abby, currently level 74, was supposed to watch for Kendrick, while Gloria, level 77, was at the Dry City Temple, dealing with the pressures on her faction. Then Minos went to the headquarters of the Black Plain Army, where Ruth, level 75, was looking after the affairs of the empire when not in the Spatial Kingdom.

In that place, Minos came across his mother working alongside Ruth, as this level 78 woman was the leader of the Coleman family, an important arm of the local army forces.

The Gray Clouds Sect was slowly disappearing from this world, with its members joining the organizations created by Minos on the Black Plain.

Some were slowly joining the Black Plain Army, others the empire government, the associations, and guilds of spiritual professionals, etc. Even the Bank of the Black Plain had welcomed these high-level people by local standards.

Because of this, the sect was disappearing within this state, merging with the local forces.

But this sect would not disappear completely, as it would still exist in the Flaming Empire.

After meeting his mother and Ruth, Ivory, level 76, and Ivy, level 75, Minos greeted them and soon started talking about relevant matters.

"How is the situation in the Snow area?" He asked.

The former Snow Kingdom was the main stopping point for cultivators above the 8th stage. That was because of the proximity of this area's territory to Elves Island and the regional changes.

With the change in the behavior of the experts passing through this region, several external powers were setting up staging posts on the coast of the Snow area to make it easier for people to pass through.

Previously this was not necessary, as experts didn't even stop there. But with the recent change, it was now worthwhile for states around the continent to open outposts there.

That could help their traveling members to rest and have a safe place to spend a few days and do business with people from other states.

With several power stations from different parts of the continent, this place could host meetings and agreements between travelers.

That could benefit those states, and even those powers that were not so interested in going to Elves Island had begun investing in that area ruled by the Snow family.

If high-level people were to stop in the area, the commerce of the area needed to develop to provide the services that these people needed!

Ivory then said to Minos. "We have begun to invest more in the Snow area, but it will take us a while to overcome the foreign suppliers in the area. Those powers have a lot of resources and are quick to make changes..."

"Besides, their products are better and cheaper than ours," Ivy commented.

She was responsible for the trade in that area, so she had a worried expression on her face.

"Luckily, our products are selling well enough for us to make a profit, and we make our mark there because of the virtual crystals." Ruth sighed.

With the Bank of the Black Plain, this state not only had the option of gathering crystals from its inhabitants to make investments. It also had the option of removing most crystals from the streets.

Since Minos was no fool, he had forced all the assemblies of the territories of the ancient kingdoms in the northern region to change their local policies so that crystals would no longer circulate in commerce. If they wanted to receive heavy investments from the Bank of the Black Plain, they would have to force local commerce to accept virtual crystals.

Because of this, the population of the areas where powerful foreigners were operating still resisted buying foreign products because most of their resources were invested in the Bank of the Black Plain. Only using virtual crystals, could they make voluminous purchases.

Because of this, the stores of the empire, merchants supported by Minos, still maintained their sales, even with the competitive prices of foreign products.

Minos then said. "Hmm, for now, we must accept these product invasions into our territories. But this will be solved in a few years.

Our experts and professionals are improving their levels and skills, and the local quality is evolving as well."

Maisie nodded positively. "With the elders of the Gray Clouds Sect becoming stronger, it will only be a matter of a decade before we offer products as good as foreign ones.

Our other advantages will cause these powers to lose their chances in our territory by then.

My mother is already at level 79, and as a spiritual professional, she can help the empire quite a bit when she becomes a low-level grade-4 doctor."

Patience had cultivated extensively during her husband's imprisonment in the Flowers Kingdom, so she had come quite close to Oswald's level.

On the other hand, Angelica, Minos' aunt, was currently at level 75 and, along with Ruth's family, Talia Miles, level 73, and Elise Fitzgerald, level 75, had been helping local families in the Snow region to make it harder for those citizens to buy into foreign produce.

They knew they were doing their best to prevent losing control over that population, so they merely talked about whether these actions were effective.

So far, they seemed to be working, but it would take time before these actions would solve the problem generated by the external pressures on their territory.

Then they would merely observe the situation again in a few months to see if they should change anything in their plans.

Minos continued settling matters with those women at his army headquarters.