As Minos proceeded to the entrance of the main ruin, the soul fragment followed beside him.

“Good luck in your attempt at my challenge and in your effort not to advance a level here. Regardless of your outcome, I’d like to make a deal with you,” she proposed, holding back the effects of the first level challenge while she spoke.

“A deal? What do you want?” Minos asked, raising his eyebrows as he scrutinized her closely.

“If you succeed in my last ruin, I will do as I promised and clear the way for you and your group to leave. However, there is one last condition. You must accept my full inheritance and master a technique that replicates my powers.

And I want you to undertake a mission. Follow Uzira until you reach the sovereign family of the continent. Approach them and research about Odibrand Redwound. If you find any trace of him, follow it and ensure that nothing of him, including his lineage, remains in this world.”

Minos detected a subtle murderous intent in the soul fragment, her irritation almost tangible in her words.

“Am I supposed to know more about this Odibrand Redwound?”

“Know that he was, or is, a powerful Supreme of the highest level, an enemy who led to my downfall. He went into hiding in the end, and I could not secure his demise before my death.

Go and finish what I couldn’t. In return, you’ll receive all the information I have about the continent, as well as my technique. When my spirit body dissipates, you or one of your women will inherit all my knowledge to aid you in your goals.”

That was even better than a technique that he didn’t know what it could do. What he needed most at the moment was not exactly power, but knowledge about this strange land of Uzira.

“All right. We have an agreement. I’ll do what you want when I leave your dimension.”

“Hmm.” She nodded at him with a smile, satisfied that she could finally dissipate serenely. “I won’t last long in my form, so I’ll have to go back to the obelisk. I’ll monitor you from there. Take advantage of your opportunities and don’t die before you advance in level.”

With those words, she disappeared, stopping to suppress the effects about to take over the surroundings of the chamber where Minos was, the start of the first of the 15 challenges in ruin 1. There he would only have to endure one minute of each test, but, as he had known even before entering it, this was a challenge capable of killing mid-level Supremes!

However, Minos had prepared well for this. Having developed an entirely new method of storing energy over the last 200 years, as soon as the effects of the test appeared in his surroundings, he revealed his trump card to the soul fragment.

A piece of tree trunk the size of an adult human appeared next to him, glowing green, while the spiritual fluctuation of a living being left its wooden body.

On that special log was the cultivation of a level 116 creature, something artificially nurtured by Minos to serve as an artificial battery for him.

‘I can’t bring any of my companions with me, nor can I use Abby’s corpses in these dimension challenges. However, this is just a log that I’ve inscribed with runes to absorb spiritual energy.’

Minos smiled as he used his skill on the log, stealing its cultivation while temporarily raising its power to a new level. Quickly reaching level 116, the limit he could go because he was still a Sovereign, all his powers reached a new limit, his sensory, physical and Spiritual abilities reaching a level he had not yet displayed in the ruins of this dimension.

‘Tsk! What a clever guy.’ The soul fragment watched from inside her obelisk as Minos stood the test of pressure trying to crush him.

The walls of the chamber moved against him, while Minos could only rely on his powers to withstand the 60 seconds he had to stay under the pressure of the level 1 ruin attacks.

This was only the first of his tests in the last ruin of the dimension, but he could already see the seriousness of the soul fragment.

His face turned crimson, veins bulging as sweat poured from his pores. He moved his arms and legs to withstand the surreal pressure, having only endured it for 15 seconds, yet already feeling overwhelmed.

Despite this, Minos possessed more mental resilience than he was often credited for. He maintained his position as the walls of the area seemed to crush him, his body convulsing as he felt his bones cracking.

The thought that this ordeal would eventually end and he would benefit from it later filled his mind during moments that seemed interminable, even as his super-regeneration struggled to heal his accumulating injuries.

…

As Minos passed through the beginning of the challenges of the last ruin, a consciousness superior to that of the soul fragment was also observing him.

However, this existence was several steps above the level of the owner of that dimension, able to spy on this area without being detected by anyone.

‘One more candidate close to advancing to level 115, my lord. Counting him, 67 should be ready for the next phase of their selection in a few more months at most. The rest of the 100 contestants will finish their advancement in 100 years at the most.’

‘That’s good. Keep watching my pupils. By the way, how many of them won’t be able to move on?’

‘Five of them have died so far, my lord. They all fell to opponents, but they didn’t have their True Celestial body parts absorbed by others. This brings us to the situation that we will only have 95 competitors in the second phase of the selection, if no one else falls until the last of them advances to level 115.’

‘That’s not bad. Let’s wait for the final result. I’m looking forward to seeing each of them in their own dimension. In particular, I want to see how this human boy will deal with his opponents after winning the first challenge.’

The True Celestial and his subordinate looked at Minos, aware of all the changes he had undergone over the last few centuries, but also aware that Minos’ opponents had grown as much as he had.