The Rise of the Black Plain

The day dawned in the Dry City while the birds sang and the cold morning wind blew. There was no cloud in the sky, just a beautiful bluish view, which gave a feeling of satisfaction to anyone who took the time to observe.

If a cloudy day made people more reserved, homely, a beautiful sunny morning could liven up anyone!

And even if it was a little cold at the moment, it was nothing excessive. Certainly, no one would lose their vigor for it.

Soon the town started to get agitated, with many people moving towards the southern region of the Dry City.

Because few areas were remaining in the city's central district, the arena was built on the city's south side.

Not only that, the arena was massive and needed a wide-open area. With that, it was not interesting to build such a building in a part of the city that was already so tight...

The central part of the town still had some open spaces, but that was for smaller services, which could be built in the future. After all, this was the heart of the city, where the population could go to find almost everything they needed.

Finally, there were not only people going to this part of the city but also other places. There was a considerable population in the Dry City at the moment, and not everyone could be at the arena's opening. 

Consequently, many would do their daily affairs, like going to work in the fields, going out to hunt, training in the cultivation tower, etc.

Children went to the city's spiritual academy while soldiers patrolled the streets in small groups. There was a lively climate in the Dry City, very different from what it was when Minos arrived at this place.

...

Right now, while the inhabitants of the Dry City started another day, Minos was in the Spatial Kingdom. He came to train here every morning before finally leaving to take care of the Black Plain's matters.

In addition, he currently did three training sessions a day, one of which, in the middle of the day, he just trained his battle techniques.

In the 5th stage of cultivation, his techniques needed even more training than before. For example, his attack technique now demanded that he activate it almost 100 thousand times before moving on to the next phase!

It was arduous work to get ahead in his techniques, but that was an important point for him. When he reached the 6th stage, and his techniques advanced to another phase, he would finally achieve some essential things he had been looking for since he learned some of these techniques.

For example, the two techniques that affected a particular region of the space around him would finally be used on specific individuals.

Until now, Minos had been unable to control his techniques to such extent, but that was getting closer and closer to being changed.

And with that, he could finally use his subordinates in the best possible way during group battles. After all, long-range strikes were not yet as effective as short-range strikes.

Eventually, Minos finished his cultivation session and sat in a chair outside the big house in the Spatial Kingdom, near the lake, while eating spiritual fruits.

He then took the 3-tailed fox, which was no longer so small, and placed it on his lap while running his hands over her back.

Kyla was a lot smarter than before, but she was still a glutton who loved to eat.

"Au! Au! Au!"

While watching this, Emlyn smiled inwardly, seeing how her daughter got along with Minos. In fact, for tiny Kyla, the young Stuart was like her father figure. Even if her mother said no, it was still complicated for a young spiritual beast to set aside certain relationships.

For low-level spiritual beasts, someone who feeds them was generally seen positively by them. So, Kyla truly liked Minos and trusted him profoundly, to the point of even lying on his lap and sleeping.

At present, apart from the three, there was no one else in the Spatial Kingdom. The two youths were with their families, and Dillian was working on his own business.

Minos then looked at Emlyn and asked. "Do you feel bored staying here all the time?"

Upon hearing this, she shook her big head and said. "Well, a little, but this is the best for my daughter and me. Any spiritual beast would sacrifice centuries of its life if it could live in a place like this."

After all, it would be better to endure a time without much emotion while enjoying this great opportunity!

After that, she would still have thousands of years to enjoy herself, so she didn't mind staying in this place all the time.

"Hmm, it's true. But when you reach the middle of the 6th stage, if you want to go out during my travels in the north of the Central Continent, it won't be much of a problem to us." He said while massaging Kyla's belly.

"OK, I'll keep this in mind..."

...

A few hours passed, and it was time to open the Arena of the Dry City!

Minos had already returned to his mansion and was ready to head towards the city's southern region. He was also happy with yet another goal being accomplished.

Not long after this, he was already planning to visit the City of Waters.

The Black Plain was already working almost to the limit, and it would not be long before there was no more room for improvement in the plantation area. So, this was a matter that had to be dealt with once again.

But in the meantime, he would take advantage of today to watch the opening of this arena. That was not just an opportunity for the inhabitants of the Dry City, but it could be considered a test for some of Minos' soldiers.

The opening of the arena would be done through a small competition between the soldiers, which would be suitable for Minos to check the strength of his subordinates.

And Minos did not take long to prepare and soon left his residence, following in a carriage towards the city's south side. In addition to him, the butler Dillian was there, too, along with the young secretary Mia.

And it was not long before Minos' carriage arrived in front of the city's arena. The place was packed with people outside, crowding into one of the many entrances to that place.

Other than that, the arena was shaped like a coliseum, with several arches divided into four floors.

It was indeed a magnificent building, in red color and with four entrances, at each cardinal point of the building.

Finally, Minos' carriage stopped at its exclusive entrance. Then, he and his group went inside the building quickly, without worrying about any queue.

And in doing so, Minos' group saw some items that were inside this building.

That was a vast place, and on each floor, there were many restrooms, food courts, with the presence of spaces for restaurants and other stores that could be found in a place like this.

The place was also very well lit, with many glass arches that gave a view to a part of the city with an excellent space to stop and talk with friends in this place.

There were also large screens at several of these points, where the fights could be broadcast to anyone in those areas, while there were screens with the rankings of that place.

But unlike the ranking of cultivation, the hierarchy of the fighting arena was not divided by talent but by the stage of cultivation. And as only cultivators above the 4th stage of cultivation could fight, so at the moment, there were only two rankings in that place, for the 4th and 5th stage.

The prizes would also be similar to that of the other ranking. With the possibility of obtaining a place in the army for those who stayed at least one month in the first place of each ranking and, of course, the same reward crystals.

There were also possibilities for special prizes in the future, such as spiritual weapons, but that would not be done for the time being.

On the other hand, some rules prevented an arena fighter from refusing a match. After all, it would be very convenient to take the first place and then not accept any more fights...

And after some time walking around the place, Minos, Mia, and Dillian finally arrived at a VIP room not far from the fighting stage.

This room was like some of the ones that Minos had already been in the Cromwell Kingdom, but it was not exaggerated. After all, Dry City didn't have so many resources yet, that it could overspend on unnecessary luxuries.

But the place was excellent. There was a good space with a living room, kitchen, two private toilets, and several decorative pieces of furniture.

There were also various delicacies arranged on a table. At the same time, a few leather seats could be seen on the balcony of this VIP area.