The Rise of the Black Plain

When the audience finally understood what had just happened at the center of the fighting arena, many of the spectators of the battle had strange expressions forming on their faces.

Some of the more skeptical bunch even believed that Abby had intentionally let Minos purposely beat her, perhaps to boost the morale of this brown-haired youth.

And there were also some who thought that Minos indeed was an exceptional fighter who was capable of challenging opponents stronger than himself. But, of course, being underestimated was also a great point that had undoubtedly helped him for gaining a victory.

"That was just too fast!" someone exclaimed with disappointment. These people here were expecting for a thrilling battle to take place, but this day didn't seem like a good day in that regard...

"Hmph, what a shameless guy! He must have asked his girlfriend to let him win!" A tall young man from the audience grumbled out loud.

"Indeed..."

And while people were having many conjectures about this fight and discussing them, Abby's group wore shocked expressions on their faces. Although they knew that Abby would take it easy on Minos, it would only be so that they could have a good fight!

It served no purpose in letting Minos win like that!

"It looks like he's stronger than he looks..." Mona softly muttered, feeling regretful that Abby had insisted on fighting Minos.

And at the same time, other than Ruth, there was only one person who understood just how impressive Minos had been. The person was the judge of the match.

Since he was very close to the fight, he could feel that Minos' technique had suppressed Abby's movements, to the point where she had lost most of her speed.

"What a challenging technique!" he murmured to himself. 'It's a pity that he hasn't reached level 40 yet. Otherwise, he could easily be in the top 3 of the Spiritual Tournament!' The judge thought while concluding the match and declaring Minos as the winner.

Meanwhile, Minos headed to the direction where Abby had been thrown, the blue-haired girl had already stood up from the floor and was fixing her dress. But she bore a look of shame on her face, not because she had lost in front of so many people, but rather it was because she had acted to be stronger than Minos all this time!

She couldn't care about the opinion of strangers, but when she remembered what she had said to Minos, it made Abby feel ashamed for believing that she was the strongest.

Approaching her, Minos asked gently, "Are you okay?"

Abby lowered her head, averting her gaze from him as she quietly answered, "Hm, I'm fine."

As Minos had used a blunt sword and had restrained much of his power during attacking her, Abby had not suffered any injuries. His goal had been just to end the fight and not harm her in the slightest.

As the two quickly headed out of the center of the arena, Abby couldn't help but ask him, "Why didn't you tell me you were so strong?"

"I tried, but you didn't let me..." Minos sighed before replying, he just couldn't understand Abby's behavior.

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

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

She didn't wish to say this to Minos, but he was her friend, and she didn't want him to be dragged down because of Ruth.

Upon hearing Abby's remark, Minos suddenly burst into laughter, finally understanding what Ruth had mentioned earlier. 'Haha, so that was it all about!'

Still chuckling lightly, Minos turned to Abby, who was walking beside him and said. "Haha, I think you have got it wrong here. I was the one who looked for her in the first place, it was not the other way around."

Hearing his words, Abby got even more embarrassed as she pondered 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?" Minos asked.

The young Stuart's question caused the young woman to avert her gaze once again while her cheeks were still flushed red as she hurriedly replied, "No, I just didn't want to see you being distracted just because of something less important."

"Haha, Abby, you are saying that because you have never tried it before. Otherwise, you would have understood our motives very well. You should try it sometime..." Minos suggested provocatively with a teasing grin.

"You rascal! Aren't you ashamed to talk to me like that?" Abby looked at him with shock. She just couldn't believe that it was Minos who was saying to her!

Abby hadn't even talked about such 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 Dry City. I'll be happy to help you..." He smiled ambiguously when he finally noticed Ruth and Abby's group a few feet away.

While he was dating Ruth now, their relationship progressed where they thought of marriage or anything more meaningful.

If anything else happened in the future, well, that was going to happen in the future and not now. Therefore, Minos wouldn't miss the opportunity to make certain 'contacts' and socialize with other women.

Of course, he wouldn't do that while he was still with Ruth, but after she returned to the Flaming Empire... Well, let's just say that Minos didn't think to hand his balls over to Ruth and wait for her return...

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

Perhaps he might fall in love with another woman, or maybe Ruth would meet some other guy. Who knew what was going to happen tomorrow? So, Minos would take advantage of his opportunities without worrying about what he didn't possess yet!

Understanding Minos' words, Abby's steps came to a sudden halt while feeling as if her whole body had frozen. 'I can't believe this! Did he just say that he wants to do this with me?'

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

While she was lost in her thoughts about these things standing there, Minos and Ruth bid farewell to the group. The young Stuart had already anticipated that she would remain in that state for a while, so he just decided to leave while having a smile on his face.

Meanwhile, as the two youths departed from the group, Mona rushed to Abby and asked curiously. "What happened? Why did you suddenly stop like that? Weren't you able to accept defeat?"

Upon hearing her friend's question, Abby pushed her thoughts aside and murmured quietly enough that only she and Mona could listen. "That bastard Minos, I thought he considered me a friend, but he even tries to flirt with me!"

"What? And he does that while still being with another woman?" Mona gasped while putting her hands on her lips as she tried to hide her astonishment, this young man was definitely not in anyways similar to what her friend had told her about.

...

Meanwhile, Minos and Ruth were heading towards Capital City Cultivation Tower, where the duo intended to resume their training routine. And as they walked along the way, the black-haired beauty suddenly asked with curiosity.

"What did you say to your friend before?" Since Abby looked very embarrassed, she wanted to know about it, wondering what might have caused her to have such a reaction, something that was more than defeat.

"We were talking about sex!" Minos responded nonchalantly, without any change in his expression.

Hearing this, Ruth's steps abruptly came to a halt as she took Minos' arm while squeezing it with some force. "Oh? Mind explaining that to me."

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

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

In the Spiritual World, it was not uncommon for a man to have several wives, let alone be involved with more than one woman. But as long as he respected their space, this wouldn't raise many problems.

"She's just a friend, nothing more," He responded dryly.

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

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

'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 her relationship with Minos a lot, sometimes she would even about what could happen in the future if they continued with their relationship.

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

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

Anyway, after their small conversation, the two quickly followed their path, heading towards a towering building that was a few blocks away from them.

The building was massive, having more than 15 floors and was extremely wide, with many people bustling in and out of it.

This was the best place if one wanted to train in the capital of the Cromwell Kingdom, the Cultivation Tower!