The Rise of the Black Plain

As Ruth's eagle descended into the sky, Minos could see the city lights getting closer and closer.

That was an even bigger city than the Yellow City, with more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Minos had obtained this information from the butler Dillian before they left Dry City. According to the information he had received, this city had a slightly better spiritual density than the Yellow City and had no problems with criminal groups.

And this place was not recognized as a burden by the noble families of the Cromwell Kingdom. After all, with the tax levied by the local sovereign, it was still possible to earn more than half a million crystals a year in this place. And there was local agriculture, which yielded another slice as big.

Because of that, the family that was the sovereign of this region had someone managing and even investing in the city.

Of course, it was nothing impressive, but at least there were investments here, unlike the Yellow City and the old Dry City before Minos arrived.

But it was not only that. This town had two large regional rivers passing through here, which facilitated access to exports and imports from the region and facilitated people's lives.

That was also very useful for the crops planted here in this city.

Thus, due to the geographical characteristics of this region, this place was known as the City of Waters, where two great rivers of this part of the continent converged and went together towards the ocean.

Elena had told Minos to attract the people of this city to his territory. Still, he realized that she did not know precisely the reality of this place...

Because even though this was a border region with the Black Plain, there were no problems with the local soil. The population could cultivate the land in the area, and the spiritual density was slightly better than that of the Dry City, even after the spiritual arrays.

All of this made it more difficult for the Minos region to recruit people from this place. But he would still try this since that was the best alternative that remained after the Yellow City. And if only the unemployed population left the city, perhaps the sovereign family would not go so far with this...

Finally, Minos and Ruth descended from the north side of the city, where there was one of the entrances to the town. When they arrived at this place, there was almost no movement.

After all, it was already night, and it was not advisable to travel after that time. Some cultivators wore clothes with the same pattern on this site, which looks like a crown with three teeth.

That was the symbol of the royal family of the Cromwell Kingdom.

'Oh! The royal family of this kingdom even dispatched soldiers to this place…' Minos thought about it when he saw the guards' uniforms, who were standing at this entrance to the city.

Having soldiers of the royal family in border cities was very common.

After all, this was how the kingdoms had to control the entry and exit of people from their realms. But, of course, that didn't happen in the Yellow City because it was too insignificant for the Kingdom of the Waves. Still, there would certainly be a post with royal guards in the next city.

"Good night, and welcome to the Cromwell Kingdom. If you are allied merchants in the kingdom, there is no entry fee. Otherwise, you must pay a tax of 400 low-grade spiritual crystals per person." A guard said as he looked at Ruth strangely. It wasn't every day that he saw such beauty!

But immediately, the guard's expression froze when he saw young Ruth takes a red medallion from her spatial ring. That was a significant symbol that any guard in this kingdom would recognize.

"The flaming medallion?" The guard said in disbelief. He could not believe that he had looked luxuriously at someone who came from the Flaming Empire and had a medallion from one of the prominent sects.

That was an item used by members dispatched by the great sects of that empire to observe the Spiritual Tournament.

They even had the power to invite someone into the empire!

Therefore, someone with possession of this item would be treated in the best possible way in any kingdom in the north of the Central Continent.

"Sorry, madam, there is no need to pay any fees." He quickly said as he looked at the floor.

"Hmph, let's go, Minos." She coldly said as they entered the city. She didn't want to waste her time teaching that guard a lesson just because he pissed her off a little.

Minos then quietly said so that Ruth would think he didn't want her to hear. "That's the problem with being so pretty..."

'Hmm.' Upon hearing this, she smiled slightly in satisfaction.

In the meantime, they proceeded to the central part of the city, where Ruth said there was a decent hotel for them to spend the night. As they walk through the streets of the City of Waters, Minos could see how lively this place was.

Many people came and went on the streets, with several low-level spiritual beasts and even a few carriages!

The place also had many lighting arrays on the streets, making it more pleasant to walk around this place at night than in the Minos' city.

That is because there were not many lighting arrays in the Dry City yet. After all, Minos needed to invest in more urgent matters at the moment. And also, because there was nowhere where these items were sold before the deal that he made with the merchant Lance Cohen.

Because of that, the Dry City was still a lousy place to stroll at night since most of the city had to be lit by whale oil lamps!

But Minos had already planned to change that as soon as possible. With the arrival of the Cohen family store, that could certainly be changed in a few months, when his forces had the budget to do this.

Finally, after passing through some buildings and public squares, Minos and Ruth arrived at the hotel. This place had a large 6-story building, with several terraces and a name written on the top of the building, saying, 'Midnight Hotel.'

There was no outside or living area, just a place to park carriages before stopping there. Shortly after that, Minos and Ruth entered the reception and were attended to by a middle-aged man.

"Good night, welcome to the Midnight Hotel. Can I find out if you have a reservation?" The man politely asked while sitting on the opposite side of a long counter.

Ruth then said. "I don't have a reservation, but we are only going to spend the night. I think two common rooms are fine for us."

"Oh! Then, that's it. Let me see how the availability is..." The man said in a low voice as he turned to look at a frame with many numbers and staples. But there was only one key in one of the clamps...

"Unfortunately, I only have one room left..." He said in disappointment. "Are you going to want this room?"

Upon hearing this, Ruth blushed and said. "I think we're going to look for another hotel."

"I understand, but I truly recommend that you keep this room."

Minos then looked at the man and asked. "Why do you say this?"

"Ehh, well, you must know about the Spiritual Tournament that is going to happen in a few weeks in our kingdom, right? Because of this, many people are passing through the city right now. After all, not only are competitors going to this tournament..." The man said sincerely.

He was trying to help Minos and Ruth since they might as well be left with no options if they left.

"OK, I understand. So, let's keep this room." Minos said quickly.

Upon hearing this, the man at the front desk turned to get the keys to the room, while Ruth was frozen and utterly embarrassed beside Minos.

Although sexuality in the Spiritual World was quite libertine, Ruth was a lady who was still a virgin and had not been interested in anyone in the past.

She also lived most of the time within the Gray Cloud Sect, where she was 'protected' from many of the world's problems.

So, it was pretty embarrassing for her to sleep in the same room with a man. And even if she thought a lot about Minos, it was just something related to his achievements and the mysteries involved with this young man ...

...

After receiving the key and directions from the receptionist, Minos pulled Ruth and went to their room on the 3rd floor of the building.

Upon arriving in the room, the two saw a large double bed, in the middle of the room, with a beautiful red carpet covering the sides of the bed and some decorative furniture, with an armchair near the balcony.

The room was very cozy, with a bathroom and a small kitchen. After closing the door, Minos said with a smile on his face. "If you want, I can sleep in the armchair..."

"No, you have a weaker cultivate than mine. You must be more tired from the trip. I sleep in the armchair, and you have the bed." Ruth replied, with her face still hot from the situation. Her heart was beating rapidly, and her breathing was gradually increasing.

"No, if that is the case, we can both sleep in the bed. I can't let a woman spend the night in an armchair!"

"But..." She wanted to reject that, but she didn't know what to say.

Minos realized that she was very nervous, so he approached Ruth and hugged her while saying in her ear. "Rest assured. I would never force anything. We're just going to sleep in the same bed. That doesn't mean that something has to happen."