The Rise of the Black Plain

The semi-transparent creature, with a giant humanoid silhouette, observed his one thousand chosen ones from different parts of the universe.",

As this omnipotent and omniscient existence watched them, they all cleared their minds of thoughts to hear what he had to say.

The celestial being said, beginning an explanation to the group of a thousand competitors. "The Red Expanse is a dimension where the laws you're used to don't work according to logic. Here you can't manipulate space, fly, get stronger or gain new powers or abilities.

This doesn't mean that your thousand years will pass without you absorbing opportunities. All the advances and improvements you gain here will remain sealed inside your bodies until you leave. They will be revealed as soon as you return to the worlds you came from.

A thousand years here is equivalent to about 100 years on the worlds you came from, so be prepared to encounter enemies and allies stronger than those you left behind.

Finally, here you can only use your natural powers, that is, your innate abilities and your divine power you gained after advancing to the Divine Journey. On this great ancient battlefield, you must survive the next thousand years and acquire the 100 slots for the next phase of my inheritance.

Today you are all level 100 Sovereigns, newly transformed into Divine Journey cultivators. Those of you left alive in a thousand years can go back to the worlds you came from and prepare for the next event when you become level 115 Supreme beings.

Before we begin, I will send you to a thousand different positions around the edges of The Red Expanse. Your mission is to reach the center of these scarlet lands and hold out for as long as remains until my return.

Good luck to you. I wish your travels are as amazing as the destiny of the last one chosen. May the next Celestial shine on their way to the Upper Realm!"

As soon as he finished saying this, distorted spheres of energy appeared around the thousand cultivators of different races in that place, taking them to different positions, more or less the same distance from the central point of that plane.

The Red Expanse was over 10 million square kilometers in area, the size of an entire continent. But without being able to fly, manipulate space or even get stronger, the journey through this plane alone would be extremely long and difficult.

Besides its size and the characteristics signaled by the Celestial being, everyone in the group of competitors noticed the plane's strong gravity, which was stronger than the gravity of any planet in the universe.

Even the absurd gravity of Zocarro was no match for the gravitational pressure of The Red Expanse!

Minos clenched his fists as he found himself teleported away from that area where he had arrived alongside 999 opponents.

When he arrived at his destination, near one of the spatial distortions that surrounded the plane's boundaries, he felt he no longer had control over his wings, realizing there was a powerful seal preventing him from using them.

His techniques were also sealed, while even skills he had gained along his journey were unavailable to him.

His Bright Eyes were no longer working. His ability to convert enemy energy that reached his body into energy for him was also unavailable, along with the Dark Sea, which was sealed in his soul.

Not being able to connect to all these powers that had accompanied him for centuries bothered Minos a little, as he began to sweat, feeling the heat of the area affecting his body.

'I can only rely on Temporal Sands and my innate power to increase energy and steal cultivation from others.' He concluded about his current capabilities. 'I can also use my physical power. Even if I can't use something like Dragon's Gaze or this skill's evolution, my body is still as strong as a dragon's.'

He was currently at level 100, with a much larger cultivation base than the one he had before.

'If I advance to level 102, I might defeat a level 108 Sovereign even without my fusions.' Minos narrowed his eyes, becoming a little more confident despite being severely limited.

He moved forward, figuring that he had to start his way to the center of The Red Expanse as soon as possible. Unable to fly, to use his spatial manipulation skills and to use his movement technique, it could take him more than a century to cross the path to his target!

Because of the gravity of this place, the speed of Minos and everyone in this place was significantly reduced.

'I have to be aware of what might be here. That being said that we can take the opportunities we get here home... It might mean there could be things of high value for us here!' He concluded his thought, looking at the desolate, scorching terrain in front of him.

In the place he was in, he could sense absolutely nothing of value nearby. Even the energy of this place was strange, at once seeming much stronger than that of Zocarro, but also extremely difficult to absorb.

Minos still had to cultivate, but just from the feel of it, he imagined that even in 100 years there, he wouldn't be able to achieve enough to become a level 101 Sovereign.

However, he was certain that, if he fought, he would have enough energy to expose powers even stronger than those he could expose in Zocarro, as well as being able to recover quickly.

This made him understand the purpose of this place: fair fights and no advantages related to the background of the competitors.

Whether one had excellent weapons, high-standard techniques or inheritance from powerful experts, none of that mattered. The only relevant thing was the powers they were born with or gained upon reaching level 100.

Not only would Minos notice these factors, all the competitors would notice them on their first day in The Red Expanse.

But with everyone far away from each other, it would take some time for this red hell to absorb the blood of the first dead!