The Rise of the Black Plain

A few months passed after Minos' meeting with his vassals.

The empire continued to grow smoothly, with more new Spiritual Sages and better and better results coming from every part of the state.

Amidst the war between the Western and Southern regions, a group from Sista arrived in the capital of the Black Plain Empire this afternoon.

Upon arriving in this peaceful and 'neutral' state concerning the war in the south of the continent, the group of three people, two Demigods and a Sage of level 85, spotted the local defensive dome.

"That's a pretty advanced defensive measure." One of the Spiritual Sage's guards commented, noting how far Minos had gone to secure his capital's defenses.

They could sense how strong this dome was, which could threaten even low-level Demigods!

As Minos' powers grew, he could upgrade the level of his domes around his state, raising their characteristics significantly.

The level 85 Sage looked at this place with his eyes narrowed and then altered his appearance, changing the color of his brown hair to black, while his facial contours altered enough that no one would recognize him.

"Let us report to the entrance of this place." He said as his guards watched him change his appearance. "Don't treat me as usual. Just call me young master from now on. Also, avoid speaking even in private of our origin.

We will live in this place for a while as long as the war lasts, so I want to avoid as much as possible that the local powers or even our enemies outside this state find out where we come from.

No one knows who will win this war, nor when it will happen, so let's be cautious."

"OK... Cough! Young master!"

The two men, one level 93 and the other level 94 said simultaneously, knowing it would be best to avoid unnecessary danger.

They were from Sista, so being in a state protected by Maximillian could create complications for them.

But as long as they didn't act locally against Minos, they were confident they wouldn't attract trouble.

No one could say for sure how true Maximillian's words were when he said that he would protect the Black Plain of Demigods. Still, even if those words were 100% true, as long as they did not act against that state, their situation should not become problematic.

As far as they knew, there were already Demigods passing through the Black Plain, fleeing from the southernmost areas of the continent.

Not being the first, they certainly weren't taking the biggest risks there.

With that in mind, their group quickly moved, lowering their altitudes until they landed in one of the satellite cities of the empire's capital.

Following this, they soon obtained new documents, registering as immigrants.

During the last few years since the beginning of the war, the empire had been very accepting of powerful people entering its territory.

Powerful people could bring trouble, but they also had a lot of potential to bring wealth and raise the speed of advancement of the local population.

As such, anyone above level 70 interested in joining the empire would find it very easy to do so these days!

Of course, these people would not easily gain access to the largest cities, domed protected cities like the capital, nor would they have access to the marine expansion of the state. But they could easily gain social rights that would allow them to open accounts at the Bank of the Black Plain, buy property in lesser cities compared to these major cities, and much more.

A merchant would easily get a license to start operating locally, build their stores and have a range of opportunities at their disposal.

This was valid for all kinds of high-level professionals, so these three easily got identifications while passing through that satellite city.

While looking for a place to live in this part of the Black Plain since they could not access the capital for the time being, these three were walking along a major avenue when they suddenly saw a crowd of people near a square.

Seeing that, the level 85 young man said to his two guards. "Stay here. I want to see what it is."

He then moved, overcoming the many people crowded there until he reached a position from where he could see what was happening.

At that spot outside the wormhole port, several people, army soldiers, ordinary citizens, and tourists, were watching the scene while a beautiful young red-haired woman was standing at a distance on one of the platforms in the area.

Seeing Sarah's red hair and brown eyes, this level 85 man asked someone on his side. "Is this crowd on her account?"

He realized that there were some high-level cultivators next to that young Spiritual Emperor. But judging by their positions, they were just bodyguards, while she was the important person in the group.

"Don't you know her?" A low-level Spiritual Saint asked without looking at this man, imagining that this was yet another man fleeing from the war. "That's Princess Sarah, His Majesty's eldest daughter! She has just returned from a trip and is returning to the capital.

You're lucky to get here now, friend! Haha, seeing her is by no means easy."

"Is it?" That fellow from Sista asked in a low voice, smiling as he looked at that young woman.

Meanwhile, Sarah ignored the many eyes watching her and soon followed alongside her group to the vicinity of the defensive dome of the Dry City, not staying there for long.

As she returned to the side of her guards, that young man had a curious expression on his face, impressed but also uncertain of a certain promise made by Minos.

"Who was that?" One of the two guards asked.

"Sarah Stuart, the princess. It seems she has a lot of fans locally." He muttered.

"That's only natural. She's the daughter of a monster." The strongest Demigod commented, recognizing Minos' strength.

Minos hadn't left the interior of the Dry City in over 3 years. So few people knew his current level. But everyone on the continent already knew that he was a Spiritual Sage, one of the youngest to reach that stage in the entire history of the Spiritual World.

Due to his many feats accumulated over the years, no one doubted that he was a prodigy, even compared to the most talented and powerful in the world.

"Hmm, but although her advancement has been impressive, I don't know if the emperor's promise will be fulfilled by the time of the Continental Tournament. She is only a Spiritual Emperor... Will she be able to manipulate space as Minos promised Her Majesty?"