The Rise of the Black Plain

"Now I can finally take the time to go to the Black Plain!" The black-haired girl muttered in a low voice as she indicated for her great eagle to land on the spot in that great city that lay ahead of her.

As she followed her path to that spot, this young woman had a sweet smile on her face as she thought of the person she most wanted to see right now. 'Oh, I cant wait to see you, Minos!'

'I'm preserving myself this whole time because of you…' She thought as her face blushed softly, and she felt a heat rush through her body.

That was the young disciple of Minos' mother, Ruth Miles, who had gone so long without giving news to this young sovereign.

She had returned to the Flaming Empire after the Spiritual Tournament ended. After that, she spent much of her time cultivating and training in the sect.

But that was not all, because, with the responsibilities that every disciple had, from time to time, this young woman had to go out to solve missions, like the one she had just finished.

Being a disciple of a large sect was not easy, and for talented people like Ruth, the demands were even greater than they would be for ordinary individuals.

But while this made life difficult for talented people, it also helped them reach much higher heights, helping them become experts much faster!

As a result of the training and missions she had enlisted to complete, this young woman had already reached level 50 for over six months. It would only be a matter of weeks before she reached the next breakthrough!

'Ahh, if it weren't for this mission, I'd be in the Dry City by now...' She thought inwardly, feeling a little anxious about meeting Minos.

In the time she had passed, this young woman had discovered that she had deeper feelings for Minos, something that wasn't just a sexual desire.

In fact, Ruth had previously thought that after she went back to her sect, she would probably be interested in other men and that maybe Minos was just a passing, casual relationship.

Ruth was pretty attractive, and even before meeting Minos, she was already being courted daily by many disciples in her sect. And such a thing had not diminished after this young woman returned from the Black Plain!

However, after more than two years without seeing that young man, she had not taken him out of her mind and had not taken any interest in the many who tried to court her.

And with that, she had made it her personal goal to reach level 50 and then head to the Black Plain to see Minos again...

But for such a thing to work, in addition to reaching this level, the minimum necessary for her to travel out of that state, she also had to perform some missions. That's because, in the Gray Cloud Sect, disciples like Ruth had to perform a certain number of missions annually.

And, to ensure that her time with Minos was uninterrupted, this young woman had completed several missions ahead!

For this reason, she hadn't left for the Black Plain immediately after reaching level 50.

Anyway, after some time, that eagle started to descend near a city in what appeared to be a big neighborhood, surrounded by trees and several different fields.

That was the home of the Gray Cloud Sect!

And it didn't take long for the young woman to head towards the mission hall, where she had to report the results of her missions.

After spending four months outside the sect to solve these missions, Ruth had finished her responsibilities and could leave this place after a few more days. She was so excited by the prospect of seeing young Stuart again that she hadn't even bothered with the rewards she'd earned by recording her achievements.

And just after she finished receiving her rewards, Ruth heard a female voice calling out her name, in the middle of that place where missions were registered in the Gray Cloud Sect.

"Ruth! Have you finally returned from your missions?" A young woman with red hair asked her, at the same time, as she was gradually approaching Ruth, walking alongside a young woman with blue hair.

Turning to see who was calling her, Ruth wasted no time seeing the two women she usually helps and who could be considered her friends in the sect.

"Hmm, I'm done solving all my issues for the next two years." She commented as she looked in Kara and Mona's directions.

These two young women had participated in the last edition of the Spiritual Tournament, along with Minos and Abby, having joined the same sect as Ruth.

After that, Abby's young friend Mona and the young redhead who had finished third in that competition had gotten close to each other.

Two of them had come from the impoverished northern Central Continent, and they had still had some contacts with each other during that tournament, along with Minos and Ruth. So, with that, it hadn't been difficult for the three of them to become friends in this place.

And after coming to the Flaming Empire, both girls had improved a lot, with Mona reaching level 45 and Kara level 47.

Finally, upon hearing Ruth's answer, Kara then asked her with a smile on her face. "So, are you truly going to Minos' territory? Are you in love with him?"

"Hmmm." Ruth responded, with her face slightly flushed. She had already told these two that she would take a long trip to the north of the Central Continent to spend time with Minos after performing these missions.

Mona then stared at Ruth for a moment and then asked curiously. "I understand you want to go visit him, but why do you want to spend so much time there? Don't you mind having your cultivation delayed because of that?"

"I don't care. It will only be a few months... So, it won't make any difference." She said promptly without any hesitation.

"And where is his territory? You never told us anything, even after we've been friends for so long…" Kara complained as she pouted her pink lips. "You could at least tell us his real name."

Obviously, Ruth would not betray Minos' trust by talking about these essential things with anyone other than his mother, Maisie.

As much as these two were far from their families and had a good relationship with Minos, one letter would be enough for young Stuart's peace to end!

"You'll find that out in the future, hehe." She commented, closing her eyes for a moment and smiling. 'Ahh, I imagine he's already stronger than me right now...' She thought inwardly, feeling that he would be the one to help her in training and not the contrary.

She then played with the two young women. "Maybe I'll take you two there when you reach level 50, hehe..."

"Oh? But wouldn't that be a bad thing? Minos would probably only see how much better we got when we came to the Flaming Empire while he stayed in that backward place..." Kara commented with a slightly frustrated look.

For her, a young man like Minos should be in the best places in the world, getting stronger and becoming someone dominant who defines his own destiny.

That was the kind of man who attracted her!

But Minos had made the disappointing choice to stay in that place...

"I think he'll be fine..." Ruth commented vaguely with a smirk at the corner of her mouth. "But what about your brother? Do you have news of him?"

"Yes, haha. Ford seems to have been accepted as a disciple of one of the elders of his sect. Because of that, he has already reached level 46!" The red-haired girl commented proudly.

"This is amazing! By the way, Kara, that Spiritual Tournament finalist, Troy, is in the same sect as your brother. Do you know what level he's at now?" Mona asked with slight redness on her face...

"About this..."