The Rise of the Black Plain

Minos then carried out a smooth sword movement that  looked like he was cutting through the air.

Soon after, a wave of energy was created from this movement that looked like a blade of air, which, although small and somewhat transparent, was something that anyone could see.

Swooish!

Jov felt a chill run up his spine as he saw this and immediately activated his defensive technique, Transcendent Shield, which created an energy barrier in front of him.

Crack!

When Minos' attack finally came into contact with Jov's defense, cracks immediately began to appear on the guard's shield!

"Ahh!"

Jov's defenses were wholly broken in a fraction of a second, and he was sent flying from the spot while letting out a shocked scream.

Minos had won!

Of course, despite the difference in level, Minos had 5% more energy than someone at his level, but that was not responsible for this victory.

No, the quality of the techniques was!

Minos trained Golden-grade techniques that were 200% efficient. At the same time, Jov used Black-grade techniques, which allowed him to be only 70% efficient over his energy expenditure.

That meant that even if Jov had twice as much energy as Minos when he activated his techniques, he couldn't even use all the power spent. On the other hand, Minos managed to unleash an attack with the doubling of energy he had used!

Anyway, the quick end of the fight surprised all the spectators around the courtyard. None of them could believe such a thing.

'Unbelievable. I never thought that someone could be so strong at level 21.' Thought one of the level 28 guards.

"It's a great achievement, but I believe that if Jov had attacked with everything from the beginning, without giving the young master a chance to attack, then the result could be different." Said another guard.

"Hmm, Jov didn't attack with all his might at first, and that put him in a precarious situation." Said Pyke with a thoughtful face.

But even if he used everything he had, Pyke thought Jov would still have a tough fight ahead of him, and this guard couldn't defend himself from an attack like the one he received. So, he had to dodge with all he had.

Therefore, trying to defend would be too risky.

After a few seconds, Jov recovered from the shock and the attack.

He wasn't badly hurt. In fact, he only had a few scratches. That's because, although his shield had broken, it had still absorbed most of the damage.

"The young master won. Even if I hadn't made the mistake of underestimating him, it would still be a difficult game." Jov said with a disappointed look.

Even if Minos has better techniques and was their leader, it was still very embarrassing for many people to lose to someone with inferior cultivation.

"It doesn't matter. Yet, it's good for all of us to improve our behavior in battles. Underestimating the enemy is often one of the biggest reasons for the death of cultivators." Said Pyke while massaging his chin.

"Hmm, Commander Pyke is right. Anyway, that's it for today. Tomorrow we will have two matches." Minos said with a smile on his face. He was pleased with this start!

And after a while, they all dispersed. Then, Minos returned to the Spatial Kingdom and concentrated on cultivating and training his techniques. He genuinely liked to fight and wanted to do his best in his next matches!

…

The day passed, and Minos was ready to face his first match of the day.

Today's opponent is called Yel, 29-years-old, level 27. He was not very tall, with 1.7 meters and a full beard.

This time, there weren't many people in the courtyard.

Aside from Minos and Yel, there were only three more people, one of them being Commander Pyke. The other guards, as much as they wanted to watch the fights to prepare themselves better, they still had responsibilities in the town.

Anyway, Minos and Yel then faced each other, while one held a sword and the other held a war hammer. Next, Pyke finally started the fight.

Immediately Minos activated his Spatial Sword because today, his opponent would already be waiting for it. That way, he didn't want to give him any chance to this guard to prepare himself.

The space at a radius of 20 meters around Minos was then frozen, slightly slowing Yel's speed.

Meanwhile, Yel activated his innate ability, Physical Strength, which increased the defense and the user's attack. This ability was not a technique but a characteristic of Yel's Warrior-grade Physique.

As is known, the Physique in the Spiritual World was classified in 5 degrees, being: Common, Warrior, King, Saint, and Divine. And regardless of the degree of the Physique, all people will have an innate ability.

In the case of Minos, it was a skill that increased his energy. For Yel, one that raised his physical strength.

As for the quality of the skill, depending on the Physique's rating that the cultivator had.

Swooish!

At the same time, Yel tried to deflect the blade of energy coming towards him. Yet, it was too fast, and he was slowing down.

Then Yel activated his defense technique, Stone Body, which could increase the body's hardness in many folds.

Hong!

An explosion sounded when the blade hit Yel's shoulder.

But this time, Minos' opponent wasn't defeated in a single move!

Yel had felt the blow, but he had deflected part of the attack, and his defense had dissipated most of the damage.

He only had discomfort in his shoulder and felt a little tired from having almost consumed half of his energy just to defend himself!

'Ahh, at least now I have my chance to attack. He must be almost out of energy!' Yel thought as he regretted not being able to dodge the attack.

Then, Yel activated his attack technique quickly, without leaving much room for Minos to counterattack.

Hammer of Heaven!

That was a technique that used a hammer to crush enemy defenses. It could also send a wave of energy when activated from a distance from the enemy.

Whack!

When Minos saw the surge of energy coming his way, he immediately burned half his energy and activated his defense technique.

Indestructible Body!

No visual changes appeared, but Minos often felt stronger than usual. He was prepared to receive Yel's full blow to his chest while he was in a 'vulnerable' position, ready to strike back!

And since he was confident in his defense, he was already activating his attack technique simultaneously!

He wanted to receive the enemy's attack and immediately end the fight.

Puff!

A hollow sound was heard. It was as if Yel's attack had entirely dissipated when it touched Minos' body.

At that moment, Yel's mouth opened in disbelief. He couldn't believe it!

However, he didn't have much time to be surprised. In a fraction of milliseconds, a blade of air was almost hitting him!

Swooish!

He didn't have time to activate his defensive technique, and soon a sound was heard.

Hong!

After that, Yel's body was thrown for 6 meters before finally falling to the ground. He was not unconscious, but he was exceptionally shocked.

Minos won the fight. Yet, he was also completely exhausted!

Despite being on his feet, if his opponent weren't exhausted too, then he would have no resistance.

'Fantastic, young master won again!' Pyke thought as he analyzed what had happened.

"It seems that someone at level 27 cannot break the young master's defense." Said one of the two guards who were watching the fight.

"Hmmm, it will be much more difficult than we thought to win that Silver-grade technique..." The other guard commented.

…

After that, Minos continued to fight each guard of level 27 for the next three days. In these matches, only one surprise happened. One of the guards had a Warrior-grade Physique, with an innate ability that increased his speed!

This made it possible for him to fight Minos and get a victory!

After that, Minos fought with the four guards at level 28 in two more days. This time he had two draws and two defeats.

But he wasn't discouraged. After these fights, he understood his strength and the difference between the levels. He also learned the importance that Physique had in battles.

An innate ability that could be used in battles could unbalance a fight in the blink of an eye!

Anyway, after these six days of fighting, he would rest for a day and return to his fighting routine in the next week.

…

Minos was in the Spatial Kingdom cultivating on location in front of the lake. A few hundred meters away, it was also possible to see Dillian and the two youths, Lee and Alison.

Dillian was training in his healing technique while the two youths cultivated. They were already at level 4 and were constantly improving!

And for Minos, he was also currently at level 22!

After a week of fighting and hard cultivation, he had made progress. With this increase in strength, the fights next week would be even more favorable for him.

He was confident that, at least, he would beat a level 27 opponent and those two-level 28 opponents with whom he had drawn. As for the other two, he still wasn't sure, but he wanted to reach a draw at least.