The Rise of the Black Plain

Following Aarav, Minos soon found himself in the most important part of the Pantheon of Honor's temple, the place where he had been tested years ago.

Arriving there, he first saw Julian talking to Wren, this white-haired, young-looking woman who had already lived for over 10,000 years.

When he got there, the three remaining council elders arrived almost simultaneously, all of them looking at him when they saw this young man.

Merritt, the most powerful elder there, looked at Minos with a gentle smile, pleased with the addition they had made years ago.

"Young Minos, you are growing up fast. You'll be on our stage in no time." He said as he came to Minos' side and greeted him with a few light pats on the shoulder.

"Yes, he's exceeded all our expectations," Wren said with a smile on her beautiful face. "He led us to believe that he would be a high-level Sage until the Continental Tournament, but it seems that he wanted to surprise us. That's not going to happen."

"The elders have already figured out my plans. Now, I can't surprise you anymore." Minos laughed as the old people looked at him.

"That's not bad. But now that you're here, it will be hard to surprise us anymore." Julian commented with a smile. "But that was enough to prove your worth to the temple, Minos. Now, you're no longer in danger of losing your rights here just because you're a Sage. I think everyone here understands your value."

Minos was now a de facto member of the Pantheon of Honor, with rights and responsibilities like any other. However, he still had to prove himself, at least until he reached the 10th stage. Until then, he could be kicked out of the temple at any time.

But that was no longer the case!

Wren agreed with Julian and commented. "Yes, you don't need to worry about surprising us any more than you already have. Everything you've done has been enough for us to understand your true value to the temple."

Everyone agreed, showing Minos he would no longer have to fulfill any requirements regarding his cultivation.

However, Merritt was curious about Minos' strength. "Young man, you said earlier that you would have 5 level 90 Demigods in your forces during the Continental Tournament. How many do you have now?"

"I can't say for sure, since I've been away from my state for a few years, elder. But I'm sure of at least 2. One is in the Black Plain Empire, and the other is with my group.

But considering the opportunities I've left for my men and the number of soldiers I have at peak level 89, I wouldn't be surprised if there are already 3 or even 5 new Demigods in my state." He said, looking into the eyes of the old white-haired man.

"Impressive." Two level 99 elders commented, seeing that Minos had fulfilled his promises regarding the experts under his command about 20 years before the end of his term.

Some of them looked at each other, with Wren looking at Julian and seeing how right that man's move had been years ago to bring Minos to the temple and then give the young man all the support he could to become a member of their organization.

Even though they had accepted Minos into their group, all the credit went to Julian!

Merritt then said. "Good. Keep working hard. When the ice age begins, it will be harder for you and your state to continue on this upward path of strength. So enjoy the good time before you.

But don't worry about the Gorgons. We can't wipe them out, given the laws that were agreed upon by the world leaders at the meeting you just returned from. Still, we will prevent them from entering the Divine Continent."

Everyone there already knew everything that had been decided at the meeting that had ended a few tens of minutes ago. But even without the decision of the world leaders, they would never exterminate the Gorgons for Minos.

That would be too much trouble for them to make a level 84 Sage happy.

Minos had a lot of potential, but they wouldn't go so far as to do such an atrocity to him now.

The situation would be different if he were a level 93 or 94. But since that wasn't the case, there was no way they would get involved in the extermination of a race for his sake, even before the world leaders had decided.

Minos had expected an answer like that and wasn't surprised.

"Just wait in our city for a week. That's all the time we need to talk to the powers on the continent and put the ban on Gorgon entry into effect." Merritt added.

Wren nodded and said. "You won't have to worry about them on our continent after this week. If any of them come after you, we'll take personal action and even visit their tribe to punish them."

"Thank you for your support, elders. I am very grateful to see how the temple values me and treats me well." Minos made a gesture of gratitude.

Julian smiled and added. "As for your condition, I already have men traveling to the Black Plain Empire. We can't guarantee your state's safety there, given the current war on the continent and our local partners with many problems to solve. Still, you will have our support there as well.

In any case, once the Gorgons realize that you're not alone, they'll probably stop pursuing your group. So rest assured, everything should work out fine."

After hearing the elders' decision and their promises, Minos thanked them once more before returning to his wives.

Now that everything was settled, they had to wait before returning to their exploration in search of new crew members.

Minos had recently lost four companions, so he intended to gather more than that number of new crew members before leaving the Divine Continent.

He had about two years to do this, enough to travel around the three major states of the richest continent in the Spiritual World!

And so days and weeks would soon pass, and a year and a half would pass in the blink of an eye!

This time, the journey of Minos and his group would be much more peaceful than the one on the Continent of Beasts, and the results would naturally be impressive!