The Rise of the Black Plain

After Minos used his sword to counter Emlyn's tails, her movements slowed slightly, allowing young Stuart to land the final blow of the fight.

He used his two hands to hold that medium-level grade-2 sword, using it to defend himself and keep Emlyn's tails away from his body. At the same time, he took the opportunity created by the suppressing effect of his technique to deliver a strong kick to his opponent's chest!

Pow!

"Au!"

And after hitting his target, young Stuart finally saw his opponent being thrown backward for about 10 meters as she let out a weakened noise.

Emlyn already had her tongue out at the moment, completely tired due to this high-intensity activity. On the other hand, even if she had no severe injuries, she felt various discomforts around her large body. 

And at a moment when she was already practically out of energy, such pains were already enough to make her unable to maintain a good performance against Minos. 

As such, it didn't take long before she finally gave up!

"Au! Au!"

"I admit defeat..." Emlyn said in a low voice as she breathed in a rush and felt exhausted in a way she hadn't felt since she had fled from the pirates who had taken her freedom.

'If he hadn't held his hand in this fight, it would have been even harder for me...' Emlyn thought to herself as she sat down on the ground and began to relax.

This beast knew very well that if Minos had used the Spatial Sword from the beginning of the fight, her chances would have been far less. Hence, she was aware that her opponent had not used everything he had against her.

'But it's good that he has reached this level... Now at least he should be safe in this region, where these low talent humans can barely make it to the end of the 6th stage.' She thought about this in satisfaction as she closed her eyes just after seeing Minos approaching her.

"Well, rest for a while. I'll keep an eye on the Spatial Kingdom while you recover..." He said as he massaged Emlyn's large neck.

After that, he turned towards where most of those soldiers were standing. There he could see several countenances of admiration and satisfaction.

Seeing a fight like the one he had had was not easy in this impoverished northern region of the Central Continent. After all, Spiritual Kings didn't usually do friendly fights open to the public. On the opposite, they would usually only fight in open places when they wanted to kill each other...

And this was even more true for those powerful beings with combat proficiency near the end of the 6th stage, as in the cases of Minos and Emlyn.

So, many of the soldiers there who were fight enthusiasts were more than happy to be able to witness such a high-level battle!

But not only that, cultivators could use nature's energy to strengthen their attacks. Because of this, a fight in a cultivation sanctuary was much more impressive than it would be in a poor place like the case of the Black Plain.

Consequently, the show had not only been more impressive to these soldiers, but it had also inspired them even more in their understanding of cultivation!

Anyway, seeing that his soldiers had probably gained from watching such a challenge, Minos smiled and then said aloud. "Well, now that you have seen me fight, it's time for me to watch you!"

"We have 99 soldiers here. So, let's have a battle royale between the groups of the 29 strongest and the 70 weakest."

...

A few hours passed in the Black Plain region, and by now, night had taken over the local skies.

As night set in, the town was in a festive mood, with many families out on the streets, sharing food and drink with neighbors and friends as they talked about the future.

After several hours since Minos had advanced to the 6th stage, this information had already spread throughout the city!

The ordinary citizens who had already reached the 5th stage and the many Sergeants of the Black Plain Army noticed Minos' new level by seeing him walking the local streets before.

The citizens above level 40 already did this whenever they saw Minos on the streets. They were all curious to know how strong this young man was and how solid this city would be in the future.

His level was constantly discussed in the city's bars, where people of all kinds made bets and predictions about the local future, considering this factor.

On the other hand, the soldiers above level 40 usually didn't do such a thing so often. After all, many of them saw Minos daily, and they were more or less already aware of how strong their leader was. Hence, there was no need for them to analyze his spiritual strength every time they saw him.

However, a level increase to a higher stage was something that would always be eye-catching. Consequently, many of those soldiers who saw Minos on his return from headquarters to the mansion had been curious and probed the strength of this sovereign.

And when they found out that Minos had risen at his cultivation stage, citizens and soldiers had soon spread the news among friends and family. After that, it didn't take long for this information to reach the ears of tens of thousands of people!

In short, this was happy news for the Dry City, something that would bring this place much closer to safely achieving its independence. And as much as most of the population didn't know about the problems the local force was dealing with, many understood that such a place would have to go through some trials.

Consequently, thousands of citizens had concerns about the long-term stability of this city, something that was directly related to the possibilities they had encountered here.

In other words, if Minos succeeded in his plans, became stronger, and had more support, this would result in many positives for the ordinary citizens of this place. So, the tens of thousands of local workers could not help but be pleased with the news of Minos' progress.

For this, they celebrated. For better opportunities that would come in the future, and for the much-desired assurance that they would not lose everything they had earned!

...

"Hahaha, finally, lord Minos has reached level 50!" A middle-aged man said while holding a large mug filled with a golden liquid.

Around him were four other men, all dressed as farmers, sitting around a table in one of the most popular bars of this town.

"Previously, lord Minos was already as strong as Spiritual Kings, even though he was only at the 5th stage back then... But now that he has reached such a level, I believe he must already be one of the strongest in our region!" Another man said while wiping the foam that was on his gray mustache.

"A toast to lord Minos!" 

"Toast!"

At that moment, a person from another table said this loudly, causing all the people in that bar to hear it. However, upon hearing such a voice, not only did that person's drinking companions raise their mugs in the air and shout, but nearly everyone else did as well.

And instantly, upon witnessing such a spontaneous reaction in a place where the majority of them had never met, several of those people laughed until tears streamed down their cheeks.

"Hahaha, that young man has already drunk beyond his limit, huh?" One of those five men from before said in a low voice while laughing and looking back.

After hearing this, one of his companions, a worker of the crystal mines of the Dry City, smiled and said. "But he's not wrong. Lord Minos' cultivation speed is so incredible that we should make a toast for his advance!"

"Hmm, that's true. I heard that he reached that level in just five years of cultivation! That's truly impressive!"

"Oh? Then why don't we make toasts regarding his others improvements? We owe 49..."

And it wasn't long before more people raised their mugs with drinks in the air and once again toasted together, causing the festive mood to spread throughout that place.

....