Three weeks later...
After more than a month since the action of Minos and his forces against the invaders from Albano, the entire region has learned of his deeds.
Few should have known about it, but when Gloria's mother passed on the information about Minos' action to the people in the Brown family in the temple where she had been, such news was no longer contained.
In the blink of an eye, the information that only a few dozen people outside the Black Plain knew about reached tens of thousands. Then someone passed it on to one of the local periodicals, alerting the region about Minos' advance to the 7th stage.
That had been a secret until then, which raised certain doubts about the region's future given the new challenges. But with this information, much had changed for the most fearful in these areas!
The powers that had already managed to send their youths to the Black Plain Army celebrated the news with vigor. As for those who did not yet value so highly the opportunity created by the previous tournament, they could not help but be determined to join this force.
Minos was only 30 years old, but even though he lived in the northern region, he had reached level 60.
What did this mean?
Well, that being on his side, many could reach this stage, even if at a lower speed than his!
For the people of this region, this was more than enough for them to put aside the sinister image of Minos in their minds to see him more favorably.
...
On one of the peaks of the Endless Snow Mountain Range...
In this place previously visited by Minos, Laura Cox, level 63, was looking at the white horizon in front of her while feeling cold winds passing through her body.
There, next to this woman, a young Spiritual King was holding some papers in her hands, having just told her leader about Minos' deeds.
"Sigh..."
"So, that crazy kid is already that strong, huh?" She muttered in disbelief, not understanding how Minos could advance so fast, even though he was in the weak northern region of the Central Continent.
'It took me ages to reach my level, even though I focused almost all my time on cultivation within this special place, but still...' She clenched her fists, remembering Minos' annoying face.
The girl next to her then asked. "Sect Master, what shall we do? He said he was coming back in the future..."
Hearing this, Laura put her nonconformity aside and said. "I'm glad we didn't piss him off. If I had refused to let him into our sect, he would surely slaughter us in the future."
"But... But what if he still decides to do that?" The young woman asked in concern.
"Our job is to protect this place, so we will do our best, even if it is from within another organization."
"Uh? What does that mean?" The young woman didn't understand.
"Carly, we have our honor and purpose. But just because of that, we don't have to give up our intelligence and ignore reality." Laura seriously looked at the disciple of her sect. "Defending this place by fighting to the death will only kill all of us and leave this area unprotected from people committed to our purpose."
"Then we will not try to stop a meteor with an egg."
"If he wishes to take us, we should just join his organization and try to get the best possible deal. That is the best we can do!" She said in determination, feeling there were no alternatives but for them to surrender to Minos.
Minos was already so strong when he was a mere Spiritual King, so Laura did not even want to imagine what kind of monster he had become. All that was left was to ensure the Immemorial Graves Sect's survival by accepting the Black Plain's dictator!
...
On the other hand, in the Flaming Empire...
At the headquarters of the Holy Sect, one of the three largest sects in this state, Troy and Ford Carline were sitting face to face in a common room, with a newspaper on the floor between them.
On that yellowed sheet of paper, the representation of Minos showed how far he had distanced himself from the other regional leaders by breaking through the barrier of the 7th stage.
And with the text that spoke of how the Black Plain forces had wiped out tens of thousands of Spiritual Kings, these two fellow sect members could not help but be momentarily silent.
They were both shocked!
Minos had been powerful before, and they knew their talents could not be compared to his. But not even in their worst nightmares would they have imagined that Minos would advance to level 60 so quickly while still living in that region!
They knew it would happen sooner or later. But they both judged that he would come to the Flaming Empire in the future to solve it. Not that he would ever move on while still being there!
So, Ford swallowed his saliva and took his eyes off that journal. "Troy, what do you think of this? Do we still have any hope?" He asked, worried that he could not get the image of Minos fucking his sweet sister out of his mind.
For Ford, just getting revenge on Minos, teaching him a lesson, could make him forget that terrible situation from years ago. But with this news, he was losing hope.
He had only reached level 56 after all these years, while his great friend in the empire, Troy, had recently reached level 59. Considering this difference, he no longer saw the light at the end of the tunnel for his revenge.
Troy closed his eyes and shook his head negatively. "Impossible. At this rate of his progress and considering his above-average fighting proficiency, he'll probably be able to fight Spiritual Saints in a few years."
"Do you see yourself doing that?" He opened his eyes as he asked that.
Gulp!
"No..." Ford lowered his head in a dejected manner. '8th stage... For someone like me, that's just a distant dream.'
"Sigh..."
"Never mind. After my embarrassing defeat to him years ago, I no longer see him as my rival." Troy commented after sighing. "On the other hand, my family members survived the war, so I have no reason to continue letting this fellow's results bother me."
"So, from today on, I will go my way without looking at him anymore!"
"Oh? Are you sure?" Ford asked in doubt. "I don't know if I can forgive him. The wretch ruined my sister!"
Upon hearing this, Troy wanted to laugh at the story Ford had told him years ago, after returning from the northern region depressed and lacking in willpower.
'Ah, good thing I don't have any sister...'
'I'm free from facing something like that!' Troy clapped one of his hands on Ford's right shoulder, comforting his old friend. "Come on, get over it. Kara is a grown woman now..."
"But if you think about it, if Kara gets closer to Minos, maybe..."
"Bastard! Don't even joke about that!" Ford pushed his old friend away, fearful of such nonsense happening.
...
While Ford was irritated at the possibility of his little sister turning herself over to Minos and becoming his wife, Kara also received the information sent by her family.
King Carline hated that Minos had defiled his little girl, that such a young man had made Kara do unimaginable things in the royal throne room of the Carline palace. But like it or not, it had all happened. And since Minos was so powerful, why not try to take advantage of the situation?
If Kara could get close to Minos, perhaps the future of the Kingdom of the End would be unstoppable!
Thus, he had found a way to send such information to the red-haired beauty in the Gray Clouds Sect.
"Spiritual Emperor, huh?" Kara finished reading the message in question and continued watching Minos's representation, remembering their adventures. 'I wonder how he is doing?'
Kara had reached level 58 after these years of hard work in Minos' family sect. Therefore, she already imagined the day when she would have the chance to advance from stage to become someone capable of flying and bringing glory to her family name.
With that, upon finding out about Minos' advancement, she felt happy for him and even more motivated to continue her power journey!
'He said he would come to the empire in the future, so I imagine it won't take long for us to...' She smiled, licking her lips as she imagined the emotions Minos had brought to her in the past.
"I can't wait!"
