A few days later, at the headquarters of the Gray Clouds Sect...
In the home of the master of that organization, Oswald was lying next to his wife, relaxing after the nightly 'romp' he always did with his old woman.
He might be over 5,000 years old, and many of his worldly desires had already disappeared. But this fellow still took daily care of Maisie's mother, always satisfying her and leaving something in the hope of a pregnancy.
But such a thing was challenging at the age and level of these two, so the focus of the whole thing was really on the satisfaction they still felt...
Anyway, whenever they finished their evening's fun, they talked a bit about various subjects, especially those related to their family.
And they were doing that at the moment.
"Recently, little Maisie advanced to level 71. Aren't you happy, Oswald? If she keeps growing like this, she might get enough to replace you in a few decades." Minos' grandmother commented with a smile on her face as she hugged her husband.
"If all goes well, we can retire and still have time to roam the Spiritual World, as we have planned in the past."
"Oh? That's what you're interested in, huh?" He laughed, making his beard stir as he looked down at the head resting on his right chest.
"Of course! Or do you want to die as master of this sect?" She looked at him with a stubborn look. "Not to mention that if we get the chance to live for ourselves, we can go to the Divine Continent and keep growing."
Maisie's mother was much younger than Oswald, but she was already worried about her survival since she was already more than half past her current life expectancy. Since she also did not want to have to live without this man, she already had plans on how to pursue the 9th stage for both of them to continue in this world.
"Hmm, that's true." Oswald agreed before stating his opinion on the matter. "But I don't think Maisie will be the most suitable to replace me."
"Oh? And who would that be, dear? Would you by any chance want Angelica to do that?"
"Minos." He said as he remembered the young man who always gave him surprises. "I recently went to the Black Plain to look at his situation and saw that our grandson has already reached level 60."
"Minos has reached level 60?" She asked in surprise, turning to look into her husband's eyes.
"Yes, that girl, Ruth, has also reached level 60. In fact, he already has a dozen Spiritual Emperors on his side."
"It's pretty impressive." He laughed, satisfied.
"How? How did they do that?" She asked, still not understanding the situation.
"I don't know. He must have found a great inheritance after his coma." Oswald commented on his suspicion. "In any case, at his current growth rate, Minos will become a Spiritual Saint before Maisie reaches my level."
"Then I think we'd better pin our hopes on him completing that goal of yours, Patience."
Patience made a doubtful expression, not believing that would be enough. "Do you think little Minos at level 70 will be stronger than his mother at level 79?"
"I think so..." He smiled and then remembered how impressive the Black Plain had become in just 15 years under Minos' control. "Even if he isn't, his skills in managing and developing his force are better than mine."
"Actually, I don't think I could do what he did in that place."
"Then I believe Maisie is not the best candidate to replace me."
Minos' grandmother's mouth dropped open upon hearing this from her husband. "That..."
"What if he doesn't accept?"
"Why wouldn't he accept? Is there any reason for him to refuse to gain control of a sect with dozens of Spiritual Saints, tens of thousands of Spiritual Emperors, and millions of Spiritual Kings?"
"For him, this will be the chance for the Black Plain to continue growing towards, who knows, a level higher than the imperial family..." He said that part in a low voice, afraid that the walls would hear him.
"And what is the advantage for the sect? The elders won't just accept this if they realize that the Black Plain will be the biggest beneficiary..."
He laughed and said. "The advantage for the sect is precisely the rascality of that young man, his cleverness in developing his territory. He did all that with only resources from that region, so what would his potential be with resources from the empire?"
"The elders will see that when the time comes, so I'm not worried about them."
"Sigh..."
"Do what you want, but Maisie will be extremely disappointed. She has always strived for that position, and her ambition even made her let little Minos grow up with his father in that region. If she hadn't grown up with those expectations on her shoulders, she might not have made the same choices."
Oswald closed his eyes momentarily and said. "I have already spoken with her, and she agrees. As for that problem, Minos is just a child. Naturally, in a few centuries, he will forget about it and forgive his mother."
"You are right..." She sighed and rested her head on her husband's chest again. "So, you intend to hand little Minos a sect with or without problems? Who knows how long it will take before our current problem with that sect ends..."
"Maisie told me that he already has an enmity with the Saints Killing Sect... So, won't it be perfect for giving him a chance to participate in the conflict?" He laughed, feeling his blood heat up as he imagined the battles he would have in the future.
Just like Minos, or rather, this young man had inherited the hot blood of his grandfather, this guy who loved the feeling of battle. Hence, Oswald did not feel bad about fighting a war, although he preferred peace.
And considering what he knew of Minos' accomplishments, he was sure that his grandson would love to join him in dealing with that sect in the future.
"Tsk!"
"You're crazy!"
"How can you think up such grand absurdities, Oswald? Do you want to hand over the sect to Minos to deal with your unfinished problems? And still, make a child fight for us?" Her blood heated up too.
"I..."
"I don't want to hear a word from you. You will sleep on the sofa tonight!" She pushed him out of bed, irritated at her husband's lack of zeal for their family.
'Our daughter can only have inherited her bad side with you!' She thought as she threw things at her husband. 'If it had only been up to me, I would have kidnapped that fellow who got my daughter pregnant and made him live here!'
'If Maisie weren't as hard-headed as you are, Minos would have grown up next to me and not in that poor place!'
Amidst his wife's fit of rage, Oswald gave a bittersweet smile before heading toward the sofa.
...
While Minos' grandparents were arguing, a young man of level 66, with hair and eyes red as blood and a vertical scar on his forehead, was sitting in a coffee shop in Albano's capital.
In that place where many people gathered in groups, he sat alone next to a large window while reading some information in a local periodical.
'Black Plain, huh? It looks like this place has become a big kingdom in the northern region...' He thought about the article that talked about regional curiosities, which featured the Black Plain royal family in that edition.
'Interesting!'
'I wonder if this information I heard recently is true? If so, this place is much better than these periodicals make it seem.' He looked down the street where this establishment was, thinking of the Black Plain. 'Sigh, but no big local organizations are moving, so maybe it's not true...'
'I'll wait a little longer to decide whether to go there or not.' He made up his mind but suddenly remembered something. 'Come to think of it. I think I've read about this Minos somewhere...'
