The Rise of the Black Plain

"Serve the Spiritual Church?" Not only Minos, but every single person in that area, where the breakfast dishes still left a yummy smell in the air, said simultaneously.

They all had negative tones in their voices, feeling that such a thing was awful for their plans and the Black Plain. After all, if Minos joined this organization, would he not have to abandon his role as a local leader?

Minos then said. "That is impossible. The Spiritual Church won't limit me, and I don't intend to stop being the King of the Black Plain until this place becomes the strongest in the Spiritual World!"

"The strongest?" Margot could not even be bothered by Minos' refusal because of this audacious goal.

Gloria was also surprised to hear that, since she did not understand where this interest of Minos came from, something impossible to accomplish in her humble opinion.

At that moment, Maisie, who Margot had already released, was also surprised at Minos but spoke up in his defense. "Mrs. Frost, my son is the future of the Gray Clouds Sect. You can't do this! My father has already chosen him as the heir to his position."

"What?" Ruth exclaimed in surprise.

Minos had not even been a member of the Gray Clouds Sect for a second. So how was he going to become the master of that sect?

Maisie knew that both her son and disciple must have been in doubt about what she had just said and expressed. "Minos, Ruth, the Gray Clouds Sect master is my father, Oswald Coleman."

"That old man?" Minos muttered in a low voice as he remembered the Spiritual Saint who had talked with him and Ruth during their trip to the Spiritual Tournament about 14 years ago.

"That..." Ruth was shocked to discover such information, not expecting that Minos was the grandson of that mighty fellow.

Margot listened to all this dialogue in silence, realizing that it would be difficult for her to force a successor of another organization to join them. After all, unlike the humble Black Plain, the Gray Clouds Sect was big enough to make noise.

"Even if he is the heir of that old man, he will still have to commit himself to the Church! The Patriarchs will not simply accept that Gloria is taken from us and have a son not committed to our cause!" She said to those people.

Gloria then suggested. "Mother, just you keep that information from the Church. I will have my son with Minos and continue to live in the northern region as a representative of the Church. So, if we take a little care, no one will find out..."

"What are you saying?" Margot did not like her bold daughter's suggestion. "Do you tell lies now, Gloria? How did you become like that?"

Gloria replied in an irritated manner. "Now I'm going to be a mother! I have to take care of my family!"

"That's..." Margot saw the way Gloria was massaging her belly and felt confused.

She loved her daughter and would love to have grandchildren. So, she could not help but feel her heart soften at seeing her daughter like that.

But unfortunately, she had already told Gloria's father everything before coming to this place. Because of this, she could not simply hide this situation from the Church since her husband was one of the three great Patriarchs of the Temple of Payton in the capital of the Flaming Empire.

"I can't. Your father already knows everything, and he only didn't come here because I decided to settle the matter myself."

Hearing her mother's voice, Gloria looked in defeat at Minos, feeling she had brought trouble on him. "Minos, I..."

Minos then brought her into his arms and hugged her. "I know it's not your fault, don't worry..."

He then looked at his mother-in-law and said. "I will not stop being the King of the Black Plain and stop acting for my own interests. On the contrary, I intend to continue using what I build and what I develop in the future to influence the region or the continent."

"I don't believe in your ideals and never will. Nor do I accept that Gloria will be taken away from me or punished."

"If you can do something about it following those conditions, I don't mind helping the Church as an outside member or something like that."

"But if that's not possible, forget it. I'm not leaving my position!"

"In any case, I can guarantee Gloria's safety, even if the Church considers her a traitor for not following their rules," Minos said, making that woman tremble with his words full of confidence.

'I have never seen anyone this arrogant in my almost 6,000 years!' She felt like hitting Minos but managed to hold back. "You're a good talker, huh, kid? Where does this confidence of yours come from? Or is that just good acting?"

"Do you want to bet with me?" Minos determinedly looked at her.

"Oh?"

"Give me 20 years, and I will become a Spiritual Saint. If I don't achieve this in that time, I will leave the Black Plain, join your Spiritual Church, and accept any condition you wish." He calmly said while the people who knew about the Spatial Kingdom began to relax, reassured that he did not intend to leave this place.

"Are you that confident?" She thought such a thing was ridiculous. Even her daughter, with Golden talent and Golden-grade cultivation technique, would probably not reach that stage until she was 70. But there was Minos, saying that he would reach the 8th stage at less than 50.

To make matters worse, this fellow seemed to want to stay in this barren place. How could he achieve such a feat in this region? Even in a high-level empire, it would be difficult to do that. Just imagine in the Black Plain?

"What if you win?" She asked in curiosity.

Minos smiled. "If I can win the bet, the Church will forget about this matter and release Gloria. She will be totally mine and will no longer represent your organization."

"Uh?" Gloria exclaimed in surprise. She was a follower of the Church, so she had no desire to leave that institution. Even more so considering that she had the ambition to become the Supreme Pontiff one day...

Margot frowned her eyebrows. "That won't work. I can guarantee you won't be punished, but Gloria is not leaving the Church just because of a bet."

"Hmm, well, if she can stay by my side, that's good then."

"OK. But what about in the meantime? Gloria's father won't be happy to allow you to go unpunished for 20 years."

Minos thought for a moment and said. "In the meantime, I won't be a member of the Church, so I won't be limited. But I can help as an outside member who does services for the Church from time to time. I will even defend your ideas and bring some glory to you."

As she heard this, Margot thought about it cautiously, thinking it was not a bad idea to follow this bet.

Minos definitely would not be able to fulfill that requirement, so in the end, he would still have to become a member of the Church and serve alongside Gloria. Besides, 20 years was nothing. He was already a Spiritual Emperor, so he could still serve the Church for at least 3,000 years, even if he never reached the 8th stage.

So, this bet was not terrible for her!

On the other hand, while his mother-in-law considered that, Minos was making his plans. 'I wasn't thinking of getting involved with the Spiritual Church, but since they want to stand in my way, maybe I should conquer them...'

'With Gloria in that institution, I can turn her into the Supreme Pontiff and then control the whole organization!' He smiled as he hugged his beautiful woman. 'That will make the Black Plain even stronger!'

"All right!" Margot said.

"Hmm, perfect!" He internally laughed as Gloria looked into his eyes, trying to understand what he had in mind.

He then added. "Since we are going to follow this agreement, I want one small request of mine to be fulfilled. I want Gloria to be considered my wife from the signing of our agreement and be able to keep her husband's secrets, even if it harms the Church."

It was an old custom in the Spiritual World that husband and wife, recognized by the two organizations behind them, did not have to testify or hand over information regarding each other to their respective forces.

That, in practice, meant that even if one spouse had an impactful secret for one of those organizations, members of such a power could not question that person's husband or wife about that person's secrets.

Margot saw no problem with Minos' request since her organization did not care about the secrets of a mere level 60 junior. But she did find his concern strange. 'Is he one of those who thinks he is more than he is? Don't tell me my grandchildren will be the children of someone like that?'

"OK, you and Gloria will be recognized as husband and wife."

...