The Rise of the Black Plain

When they entered Kilburn, Minos' group soon attracted the attention of practically every being in the area, many of whom were similar from their point of view. But to the people of Kilburn, the people in Minos' group were the ones who really resembled each other.

They were very strange and ugly to the locals, with a fragile appearance, strange clothes, and unnecessary hair that only got in the way.

The locals watched them as if they were wild animals coming to civilization, but most didn't try to approach them or get their attention. They were merely curious about these unknown specimens.

But everyone there was a strong enough cultivator to realize that there were about 30 individuals at the end of the Mortal Journey and one Sovereign at the beginning of the Divine Journey.

There were no Sovereigns in Kilburn, so even though Minos' group was unknown, no one would casually take a chance on them.

"We're really interesting to the locals..." Ruth commented in a low voice as her group looked at the beings watching them.

Strin said. "Don't get me wrong, but you're very strange. Some of my kind will feel deeply uncomfortable just being around you... Some find it very difficult to accept beings like you. But don't take the looks of these natives personally. They'll stop looking at you that way in a day or two."

Minos didn't mind and asked. "What are the cultivation levels of the Mortal Journey and the Divine Journey?"

"I don't know all the levels of the Divine Journey. The Divine Journey is special, and less than 1% of cultivators who are able to reach it have a chance to enter it. But that's just to enter it. Most of those who begin the Divine Journey end their lives at the Sovereign level. The few who make it to the highest level have little chance of going beyond it. As for what's beyond that, I personally don't know.

You'll have to find a place where there are Supremes and ask someone powerful..."

Maximilian listened carefully and saw that there was not only a whole stage above his current level but also something beyond it.

Strin continued. "As for the Mortal Journey, there are five stage in it. The first is the Apprentice Warrior, then comes the Intermediate Warrior, followed by the Senior Warrior, then the Master, and finally, the Grandmaster.

Grandmaster has 10 levels, the same number of levels as the Master stage. The Apprentice Warrior and Intermediate Warrior stages have 15 levels each, and the Senior Warrior stage has 20.

The Sovereign level is said to have 15 levels, while the Supreme is said to have 10. Beyond that, I don't know, but there are rumors that the levels of each stage of the Divine Journey are less than the previous stage. So it's likely that the 3rd stage of the Divine Journey has between 5 and 10 levels.

The division of levels in the Mortal Journey surprised the group because it was nothing like their cultivation rank.

"Why are the differences in the stages of the Mortal Journey so strange?" A robot asked.

The people of The Adamant Land also had different names for the cultivation levels. However, they divided the 10 levels below Level 100 in the same way as the people of the Spiritual World.

That meant that there were 99 levels of cultivation below level 100, while in Zocarro, strangely enough, there were 70 levels.

In both the Spiritual World and The Adamant Land, there was a logical reason for the division of levels. Therefore, the group couldn't help but ask themselves the same question that the robot had asked Strin.

"How do you divide your cultivation levels?" Strin asked, trying to find the best way to explain it to them.

Someone quickly summarized the cultivation levels they used as a reference and explained to Strin why there were differences between levels ending in 9 and those ending in 0.

Understanding the differences, Strin explained. "Even the weakest Zocarro races are born with the cultivation of what you call a Spiritual Warrior. We call it level 0, which comes before the first level of the Apprentice Warrior stage.

The difference between what you call a level 39 Spiritual Warrior and a level 40 Spiritual General is insignificant. Cultivators in our world usually pass through these two levels on the same day or in the same meditation.

That happens a lot in the first 40 or 50 levels of the Mortal Journey, so the first stages naturally have more levels. But the Master and Grandmaster stages should be more or less the same as what you call Spiritual Sages and Demigods.

What you call Gods must be what we call Sovereigns. I can't explain why there are more levels in the Sovereign stage than in the Grandmaster. It must be a limitation of the Mortal Journey. As for the Divine Journey, the Sovereign is the beginning of it, so it's natural that it has more levels than the subsequent stages.

Minos' group understood, and each of them quickly realized there shouldn't be much difference for them since the big difference was in the starting point.

This world was more powerful than theirs, so the starting point for cultivation was higher. But for them, who were already strong, it wouldn't make any difference because their levels were the same as what they could find at the end of the Mortal Journey or the beginning of the Divine Journey.

"So there are 15 levels in the Sovereign stage... What level am I at?" Maximilian asked Strin. "Can you tell me that?"

"You must be at the first level. I personally can't judge you because I am much weaker than you. But your aura is very similar to that of a newcomer who left the Mortal Journey to begin the Divine Journey.

So, if we're going to use your rankings, you should be between levels 100 and 101."

Strin noticed Maximillian's look and said. "Don't worry, you'll know when you've progressed. Just as something happened in your world during your breakthrough, it will happen here. It's the same for cultivators on both the Mortal and Divine Journeys. If you haven't felt it yet, it means you're still at level 100."

"I see..." Maximilian thought it made sense since the people in his group had advanced only two levels at most. So he, the strongest of them all and had the largest cultivation base, couldn't have advanced by even one level.

Anyway, while the group understood the local power ranking better, they arrived at the center of Kilburn, where most of the local businesses were located.

Any developed intelligent civilization would reach the point where the exchange of resources or services took place in special places where you could use a common currency to get what you wanted.

That was the natural path of evolution, so even the "insects" who seemed somewhat primitive in this place traded and had commercial establishments.

The only differences there from what existed in the spirit world were the quality of the products, the beings who sold them, and the way the products and shops were constructed.

The group didn't mind, and soon, they had a better understanding of what they would find in this world.