The Rise of the Black Plain

When they saw what had just happened in the center of the fighting arena, many of the people watching the battle had strange looks on their faces.

Some people more skeptical felt that Abby had let Minos purposely beat her, perhaps to boost the morale of the young man with brown hair.

There were already those who thought that Minos indeed was a great fighter that could challenge stronger opponents. But, of course, being underestimated was also a great point that had undoubtedly helped him.

"That was too fast!" Someone said disappointedly. These people were here to see big fights, but today didn't seem like a good day for that...

"Hmph, what a shameless guy! He must have asked his girlfriend to let him win!" Then, a tall young man in the middle of the audience said it out loud.

"Indeed..."

And while people were discussing this fight, Abby's group had shocked expressions on their faces. They knew Abby would take it easy on Minos, but that was just so they could have a good fight!

There was no point in letting Minos win like that!

"It looks like he's stronger than he looks..." Mona said in a low voice while feeling bad that Abby had insisted on fighting Minos.

And at the same time, besides Ruth, only one other person understood how impressive Minos had been. That was the judge of the match. He was very close to the fight, so he felt that Minos' technique was suppressing Abby's movements, to the point that she lost much of her speed.

"What a challenging technique!" He murmured to himself. 'It's just a pity that he hasn't reached level 40 yet. Otherwise, he could be in the top 3 in the Spiritual Tournament!' The judge thought about it while finishing the fight and declared Minos the winner.

And while Minos was going in the direction where Abby had been thrown, the blue-haired girl had already risen from the floor and was fixing her dress. She had a look of shame on her face, not because she lost in front of so many people, but because she had acted as if she were stronger than Minos the entire time!

She didn't care about the opinion of strangers, but when she remembered what she had said to Minos, Abby felt ashamed that she thought she was the strongest.

Minos then approached her and asked. "Are you okay?"

Abby lowered her head and looked away from him while she answered quietly. "Hm, I'm fine."

She had not suffered any injuries since Minos had used a blunt sword and had not released much power in his attack. His goal was just to end the fight.

And as the two quickly left the center of the arena, Abby finally asked him. "Why didn't you tell me you were so strong before?"

"I tried, but you didn't allow me..." Minos said that after sighing. He couldn't understand Abby's behavior.

"Why did you want to fight with me so badly?"

"I wanted to help you focus more on your training than on other things. You and that woman shouldn't be wasting time on anything other than cultivating, especially now that the Spiritual Tournament is only a few days away." Abby said with a slightly flushed face.

She didn't want to have to say this to Minos, but he was friends with her, and she didn't want him to be dragged down by Ruth.

Upon hearing what Abby had said, Minos suddenly started laughing as he understood what Ruth had said earlier. 'Haha, so that was it!'

After bursting out laughing, Minos looked at Abby, who was walking beside him, and said. "Haha, I think you got it wrong here. I was the one who looked for it in the first place, not her."

Hearing Minos' words, Abby was even more embarrassed when she thought about what he had just said. 'Ehh? I can't believe he's like that! He was such a centered kid before. How did he become like that?'

"But Abby, don't tell me that you were jealous?"

Abby then looked away from Minos, still quite flushed. She said. "No, I just didn't want to see you being delayed because of something less."

"Haha, Abby, you only say that because you never tried it. Otherwise, you would understand our motives very well. You should try it..." Minos said provocatively.

"Rascal! Aren't you ashamed to talk to me like that?" She looked at him with a shock on her face. She couldn't believe what Minos was saying to her!

Abby didn't even talk about these matters with her best friend, let alone a man like the young Stuart!

"Haha, don't take it the wrong way. If you ever want to talk more about it, you can look for me in the Dry City. I'll be happy to help you..." He smiled ambiguously when he finally saw Ruth and Abby's group a few feet away.

He was dating Ruth now, but they were not married, nor did they have a more meaningful relationship.

If there were anything else in the future, well, that would be in the future and not now. Therefore, Minos would not miss the chance to make specific 'contacts' and go out with other women.

Of course, he wouldn't do that while he was with Ruth, but after she returns to the Flaming Empire... Well, let's just say that Minos doesn't have to hand his balls over to Ruth and wait until she returns...

The world was too big, and there might be no real feelings between him and Ruth.

Maybe Minos would fall in love with another woman, or even Ruth would meet another guy, who knows about tomorrow? So, Minos would take advantage of his opportunities without worrying about what he didn't have yet!

Understanding Minos' words, Abby stopped immediately, while she felt her body suddenly stop. 'I can not believe this! Did he just say he wants to do this to me?'

'But what a shameless person he has become! Even with another woman, does he still look at me that way? Even though I'm one of his best friends?'

While thinking about these things, Minos and Ruth suddenly said goodbye to the group while Abby stood there. The young Stuart had already assumed that she would be in that state for a while, so he just decided to leave while he had a smile on his face.

At the same time, as the two youths moved away from the group, Mona ran to where Abby was standing and asked curiously. "What happened? Why did you suddenly stop like that? Can't you accept defeat?"

Upon hearing her friend's words, Abby pushed her thoughts away and said quietly so that only she and Mona could listen. "That bastard of Minos, I thought he considered me a friend, but he even tries to flirt me!"

"What? And does he still do that while he's with another woman?" Mona put her hands on her lips as she tried to hide her shocked expression.

...

Meanwhile, Minos and Ruth were going to the Capital City Cultivation Tower, where they intended to return to their training routine. And as they did, the black-haired girl suddenly asked in curiosity.

"What did you say to your friend before?" Since Abby looked very embarrassed, she wanted to know about it, something excessive just for defeat.

"We were talking about sex!" Minos said without any change in his expression.

Upon hearing this, Ruth quickly stopped her steps and took Minos' arm while she squeezed with some force. "Oh? Try to explain that."

"I said that if she wanted to talk to me about it, I would be on pleased to..." Minos said as he looked deep into Ruth's eyes.

"Do you like her?" She asked with a serious face.

It was not uncommon for a man to have even several wives in the Spiritual World, let alone go out with more than one woman. As long as he respected their space, there wouldn't be so many problems.

"She is just a friend, nothing more." He replied dryly.

"And what am I to you?" Ruth asked with a slight flush on her face. She had a strange feeling for Minos, but only time would tell what that was...

"You are different from her, but it is still too early to talk about it." He liked Ruth, but he didn't know if that was just a passing attraction or something else.

'Hmm, all right. If she's just a friend, then I can accept that...' Ruth thought as she let out a deep breath. She thought about Minos a lot, sometimes even about what could happen in the future if they continued with this relationship.

Even if she had significant involvement with him, she was not wholly opposed to sharing him with others. But she also wouldn't accept any 'addition' made by Minos so easily.

Of course, that would depend on what kind of person the other party would be!

Anyway, after saying that, the two quickly followed their route, heading towards the large building that was a few blocks away from them.

In this place, there was a building with more than 15 floors, extremely wide and with many people coming and going. That was the best place to train in the capital of the Cromwell Kingdom, the Cultivation Tower!