The Rise of the Black Plain

"Is that so?" That Spiritual Sage was surprised to see this talented young man showing such confidence in Grant's words.

He thought it was nonsense, an invention of a tired and traumatized mind. But he would say nothing to his old friend.

As for Minos, he merely gave advice. "Well, if you believe and are okay with it all, good luck. I would only advise you to be careful about following Grant's ideas.

He has suffered a lot, and his mind may have made up some of what he claims to have seen...

So he may even be able to tell lies that he himself believes to be true."

"I appreciate the elder's concern," Minos said without taking those words to his heart.

Minos would not need to tell this man for such a person to know that he would not follow any advice. Then this Spiritual Sage sighed as he saw Emperor Stuart's countenance, trying to put this 'lost' matter aside.

"Well, that was all I had to say concerning Grant's message... But seeing you and this city, I must say that the stories about you do not exaggerate at all, young man." He commented, taking a brief look at the capital of the Black Plain Empire.

He knew who Minos was and the accomplishments of this emperor, which had already drawn the attention of even high-level empire families.

"The elder flatters me. I have worked hard to reach this current state..." Minos said, without pulling too much subject, since he preferred people of that fellow's strength to stay away from his city.

"I wonder...

Anyway, when you go to the empire to visit Grant, come see me." He tossed a pendant in Minos' direction. "That is my symbol. You can use it to reach me. I will guide you through the capital once you go there for the first time."

Minos accepted that without any problems, soon after watching that individual leave with the giant beast that served as his mount.

He wouldn't use his space skills to leave. Instead, he would just enjoy the ride back in his mount.

With that, he would soon return alongside Gloria to his imperial palace while the elders of the Gray Clouds Sect made their way back to where they had come from.

They were all aware of who Grant was, and with that expert's departure, there was nothing to worry about.

In the meantime, Gloria asked him. "What are we going to do with this information?"

"For the moment, nothing," Minos replied. "Grant lost his cultivation when he was level 70, and even the strongest of his group, level 76, died in that situation in the North Sea.

So we can't get involved with that for the time being."

"And when will be the time for us to do something about it?"

"When I reach level 80, at least... Anyway, we already have several other problems to deal with in the short term, so let's put this information from Grant on hold.

First, we'll deal with Mortimer and then the Flowers Kingdom."

"What about the issue of the Blood Triangle Pirates?" She asked.

"When I am in the Flowers Kingdom, I will try to get more information about that. Then, I will try to develop the elders of the Gray Clouds Sect and the Black Plain Army soldiers a bit more.

Only when those two forces reach a new level will I search for the truth about that map!"

"Are you already planning to go after it?" She was surprised since Minos had previously seemed to plan to leave this for much later in his plans.

But he was hurrying as more and more people wanted it. "Yes, we will be able to do that in about 5 to 10 years."

...

That way, Minos would continue for a few days in Dry City, solving local problems at Gloria's side. After that period, he sent her to the Spatial Kingdom and returned to the Flaming Empire.

No one else from the Gray Clouds Sect had advanced this time, so Minos did not intend to make any personnel exchanges at that organization's headquarters.

He simply headed toward Payton, where he would begin living temporarily in this state while dealing with the threat called Mortimer.

...

In Payton...

The atmosphere of tension in this city was not small, even considering that no attacks had happened since Minos had left.

But everyone in this city, even those who were not important individuals for the imperial family, already knew about the local drama, about the risk of one of the sects rebelling against the local sovereign.

As such, the movement in the streets was less than normal, while worried looks could be seen from imperial guards' faces to those of ordinary commoners.

Amidst this place's bad and cloudy weather, Minos arrived at a local teleportation port, dressed in dark golden armor, his countenance neutral but attractive as ever.

"Sect Master Stuart!" Someone shouted as he identified Minos in that square.

People in the surrounding area stopped what they were doing to look in Minos' direction. Still, unfortunately for most there, when he heard the first individual identifying him, the Stuart Emperor disappeared from the area without a trace.

His speed could only be understood by high-level Spiritual Saints. So the ordinary inhabitants of this city could only see him disappearing from the area as if he had never been there.

Also, due to Minos' speed, he was in front of the imperial palace in the blink of an eye!

"Sect Master Stuart, how nice that you are back!" A level 75 guard shouted as he saw Minos entering the interior of Isabella's family palace. "Are you going to see Her Highness? Or are you in search of the supreme elder?"

"Unfortunately, I will have to see that elder..." Minos smiled bitterly, as he would rather deal with the beautiful and tolerable Isabella.

But since he was there on official business, he had to search for the person with more extraordinary powers locally first.

After hearing Minos' comment, the imperial guard smiled, knowing that this sect master and the supreme elder did not get along.

Anyway, with Minos there, this guard and all the others in the surrounding area breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that they would be safer now that he was in their city.

In this way, it didn't take long for Minos to come face to face with that old fellow, who welcomed him better this time, given the local circumstances.

"You really didn't take that long to return..." The supreme elder said as he saw Minos and felt better that someone so strong was there to put up with the local challenges alongside him.

"I told you it wouldn't take long..." Minos replied, noticing the difference in the treatment he received from this man. "Has something happened regarding Mortimer?"

"No, but he has visited more than half of the prominent sects and families in the empire... In any case, have you brought some of your weapons?"

"No. But I have the necessary devices to create one or another of them..." Minos said calmly.

"Good. I believe we will soon need them to ensure the empire's security!"