The Rise of the Black Plain

For the next few months, the family would talk avidly about Rowan and Sarah's choices, with their mothers talking a lot with them about the opportunities of Zocarro, as well as the difficulties they would have staying behind.

As much as they wished well for the empire and the family left behind in the Spiritual World, they wanted their children to be close to them and have better opportunities to grow up.

Gloria, and especially Ruth, made it clear to both of them that once they were left behind, it could be more than a century before they had another chance to go to Zocarro. This meant they wouldn't be able to advance as many levels of cultivation while their siblings would improve rapidly, but also that they would have to deal with problems without their father's help.

Although things are going well now, there is a potential risk of external forces encroaching on Minos' territories in the next two to three decades.

As strong and influential as Minos already was, his power of intimidation might not be as effective against every kind of enemy that could get in his children's way. The two would have to prepare for anything, including facing a new mortal enemy who, this time, they couldn't count on the fact that their father was struggling to return.

Minos had already explained to his family that his advancement to level 100 would be special and he would be unable to move for a long time. During this period, his family could not go to Zocarro, but neither would they be able to return to the Spiritual World.

Only after his return to Armhands and the solidification of his family's position in the guild could they think about the possibility of returning to the Spiritual World to give more family members the opportunity to go to Zocarro.

Besides the many conversations Rowan and Sarah would have with their mothers and other family members, they would cultivate hard during this period, learning as much as they could from their parents while they were there.

As the world recovered, with the population returning to seeing the future in a positive light, the two would only become more and more certain of their decisions to stay behind.

Sarah was already trying to get pregnant, while Rowan, although not looking for a wife yet, was already considering choosing a good wife for himself.

Although he wasn't as much of a womanizer as Minos was, or as Kendrick is, he had his 'girlfriends' and had already experienced his adventures before the war began.

...

Time passed and there were only two months left until Minos and his group left the Spiritual World!

By now the planet's recovered infrastructure had reached 28%, an impressive figure considering that the War of the Worlds had ended less than two years ago, when much of the planet was already under enemy control.

Places like Elves Island and the Continent of Beasts were already recovered, as there wasn't much complex infrastructure in those areas.

The Central Continent was much further ahead than the Divine Continent, considering these lands had been less affected in the war and had more people working on its recovery.

The battalions of the Black Plain Army that Minos had ordered to be created were already in operation, establishing control over the entry and exit of people from the Spiritual World.

With Minos' subordinate and allied forces having already sent over 300,000 beings to The Adamant Land, the empire's government was opening up opportunities for those who wanted to migrate to that planet.

Leaving the Spiritual World to go to The Adamant Land wouldn't be cheap, but the fees weren't abusive either. The biggest problem would go from The Adamant Land to the rest of the galaxy.

That possibility wouldn't exist for at least the next 10 years, during which Minos' government would focus on developing the two planets and preparing for the actual start of his empire's space exploration.

But people and families were already leaving the Spiritual World to take advantage of the opportunities in The Adamant Land, a world superior to their home planet.

At the same time, the number of pregnant women in Minos' empire had jumped since his arrival, with the population beginning to reproduce at a much higher level than before the war.

With the departure of people to The Adamant Land and the improvement in the planet's conditions because of the end of the Ice Age, there would be no shortage of opportunities and food for the new members of this community when they were born.

With incentives from governments such as the Black Plain Empire, the entire population was stopping taking care of their reproduction, focusing instead on repopulating their planet and helping to colonize The Adamant Land.

Meanwhile, no new pregnancies had appeared in the imperial family of the Black Plain Empire, but the family was more prepared than ever for its future in Minos' absence.

Several members of the family had absorbed high-level resources he had got in The Adamant Land and Irpoll, and through them, they had improved their strength.

Zacorro's resources could do more harm than good as long as the cultivators used them in the Spiritual World, so the group couldn't let their local subordinates and friends take advantage of what they had with them.

In this way, those who were going to leave the Spiritual World together with Minos and his family were gradually moving towards the Dry City to join the group about to leave!

...

Vico had just arrived in the Dry City alongside the level 103 Sovereign who had accompanied him months ago when they returned to the Spiritual World.

Upon entering the local quasi-Spatial Kingdom, the two made their way to where the strongest people in the city were, both having already sorted out everything they had to resolve before their departure.

Vico had left his post as emperor of the Eastern Empire, having directed his state to become a kind of government without a defined leader, because practically everyone from the Travisani family had died in the war.

With Vico's departure, the Travisani family would end!

As for the level 103 man at Vico's side, this guy had reviewed those of his acquaintances who were still alive and visited the most important places in the Spiritual World.

"Aurae and Callie are in the city. Will they go with us?" this guy asked Vico when he noticed their aura.

"Let's find out," Vico muttered just before they reached the place where the two were waiting to meet Minos.

As soon as they saw them, they greeted each other, talking about some of the good things that had happened in recent months, until Aurae explained her decision.

"I'm staying in the Spiritual World. Since Sarah and Rowan are staying behind, I intend to join one of them and leave for Zocarro when they're ready. In the meantime, I'll help our forces develop harmoniously." The elf said firmly, fully resolved.

Callie was going to join Minos' group, so she liked what she heard from Aurae, more sure of the world's future with this being left behind.

Then, while they were talking about it, Minos' secretary called them into his office.