The Rise of the Black Plain

Time flew by quickly, and it was time for the group of Minos to determine who would move on to that final spot in the fourth stage of the Spiritual Tournament.

After hanging out with Ruth for a while, Minos had already returned back and gone straight to the area where the participants had to gather before proceeding to the stage where the battle would take place.

Currently, Minos was dressed in a specialized battle outfit which enhanced his movements. But surprisingly, he wore no armor or had any support items.

At his current stage, the young Stuart didn't think that it was necessary to use these accessories other than his weapon. His defensive technique was excellent and offered an even better protection to his body than a low-level grade-2 armor could offer!

Unless Minos' rivals had techniques that were as good as his, there really would be no need for him to use such accessories.

Anyway, with that in mind, Minos leisurely strolled towards the stage under the gaze of several of his competitors who were observing him carefully with mixed feelings about his strength since all they knew was something told by others.

So, there was a little fear, but there were also some who had doubts in their hearts. 'This guy doesn't even wear armor...'

Contemplating their thoughts, the group finally climbed onto the center stage of the arena. As they appeared before the thousands of spectators who were eagerly waiting to witness the fight, the commotion surged to new levels as the audience saw Minos calmly getting to the stage!

"Look, Minos is already on the stage! I think the fight is about to start!"

"I wonder if he will be faster than young Troy?"

"Perhaps, but it is difficult to compare the two since they have never fought against each other before..."

Amidst the numerous dialogues that were taking place throughout the crowd, Troy was already adequately seated in the stands. He wore a big black robe and a large hat on his head.

He then turned his gaze to the direction where Minos was standing and then muttered to himself, "Finally, I am going to see this guy's power!"

Troy was very curious about Minos' abilities. After all, it was challenging to wholeheartedly believe in something he had not yet witnessed with his own eyes.

There were many people everywhere who enjoyed tinkering with stories or even fabricating a whole new one. And even though he acknowledged that the rumors were probably true, since many people were talking about it, Troy still couldn't get an understanding of what Minos' fighting proficiency truly was.

Anyway, a few seconds later, the match referee stepped forward, ensuring that everything was right. He then gave a signal for the fight to begin!

"You may start!"

With these words, the middle-aged man moved away from the center of the stage, leaving all the 124 youths encircling the young Stuart. They had no other strategy, if Minos was indeed what they had heard, then their only option was to confront him head-on.

Seeing the scene, Minos' expressions did not change in the slightest. Instead, he simply activated his defense and support techniques while taking out a blunt sword out of his spatial ring.

He chose not to use the low-level grade-2 sword for two reasons. Firstly, using that sword gave a heavy toll on his body, and he wouldn't be able to last that long when fighting against so many opponents if he were to spend all his energy on some relentless attacks.

Secondly, Minos did not want and could not kill in this part of the competition. So, to ensure the best possible result, using a lower-level blunt weapon would be enough for him.

Among Minos' group, there was only one competitor at level 41, while all the others ranged between levels 37 and 39. Therefore, if Minos were to use a high-powered weapon with his current cultivation level, it would prove difficult for him to control his own strength.

As a result, the number of casualties could be significant, even more so when considering that his techniques would be very effective against these opponents.

Spatial Sword!

As activated his attack technique, he simultaneously saw many competitors running towards him, attacking with a substantial portion of their energies while screaming in emotion...

"Ahhh!"

Zuum!

Suddenly, a black ring started to materialize on top of the stage and as it spun, it emitted a strange noise. The ring expanded, covering more than half the stage while dimming the arena.

Meanwhile, those competitors who were closest to Minos were instantly frozen in their places overwhelmed by a powerful oppression from the surroundings.

They couldn't do anything and felt helpless, it was as if the time itself had come to an immediate standstill, however, they could still see the surroundings!

Minos then sprinted towards the young man at level 41, making several swift gestures directed towards him with the sword.

Swooish!

Numerous Air blades materialized, cutting the distance from Minos to the young man in just a millisecond!

Noticing this, the young man, who was barely able to move, felt a chill in his spine when the blow approached his chest. 'Shit, how can he affect me so much?'

And as Minos struggled with the strongest among the group, the entire audience was left shell-shocked by the turn of events!

Many of them had already seen Minos fight in the second round of the Spiritual Tournament, but seeing this firsthand was a very different experience!

Of the 124 youths fighting Minos, nearly half of them were left completely immobilized, as if they were trapped by something.

Meanwhile, the rest of these participants were either being affected to a lesser extent by Minos' technique or were hesitating to attack because of this unbelievable scene right before their eyes!

And even though Minos' attack technique did not freeze several of them, they could still sense that their spiritual energies were gradually being sucked away at an alarming rate!

And if it continued at such a speed for another 5 minutes, they might as well not have left with any energy to attack, regardless if Minos did anything!

'What a terrible monster!' One of the participants thought while being trapped and was unable to move and continually lost his spiritual energy.

Boom!

By now, the level 41 youth was finally hit by Minos' technique and sent flying in the opposite direction.

He was already unconscious, while a trail of blood could be seen by the corners of his mouth.

The young man's armor also bore numerous cracks, indicating just how strong Minos' attack had been.

'Phew, now I just have to deal with the others...' Minos thought to himself as he observed that young man from before colliding hard against one of the walls next to the fighting stage.

The young Stuart had used a portion of his strength against that young man since he was much stronger than the other adversaries and could cause problems if he were to be dealt at the last.

After finishing dealing with the strongest guy from the group, Minos turned his attention to those who were still standing, sending a series of rapid blows in multiple directions.

Swooish!

Swooish!

These blows were not so strong, just sufficient to get these competitors out of the fight. Moreover, with the energy that he was absorbing from these opponents, Minos scarcely needed to spend his own!

...

As Minos continuously threw his opponents off the stage one after the other, the crowd watching this had fallen into complete silence at this point. The situation was such that apart from Minos' blows, there was no other sound in that area!

Minos' technique was very challenging, and no one in this place, except for Ruth, could comprehend how this was even possible. Even the specialist sent by the Gray Clouds Sect had their mouths opened in shock and awe.

'What kind of technique is this boy using? Does Mrs. Maisie have such strong techniques?' She could only speculate that Minos was receiving remote support from his mother...

Although she had heard that he had never received anything from the sect, now she found it a bit hard to believe it!

Meanwhile, Troy also had a glimpse of shock on his face.

He could understand that Minos was draining his opponents' energy, but he couldn't fathom how the young Stuart was able to do that to so many people!

'This is truly complicated...' Troy pondered for a moment while trying to visualize what would happen to him if it were him who was fighting at the moment. 'His technique would surely be very irritating for me to deal with!'

...

Boom!

Another explosion reverberated when the defenses of one of the youths finally crumbled.

'Oh shit!'

Swooish!

Another blade hit him and he could do nothing but receive the attack before being thrown away from his spot.

Minos had already eliminated over 100 competitors at this point in the fight, however, he had also finally started to feel his spiritual energy diminishing.

After all, many of Minos' opponents were already eliminated from the competition and were beyond the reach of Devouring Art. Therefore, the energy that was reaching him at this moment was less than what he had to expend in order to fight.

Swooish!

However, this fight was already won!

It didn't take long before all the opponents who were still standing surrendered, unwilling to receive these merciless attacks from Minos any more!

Seeing this, the referee, who had been observing the entire fight with his mouth agape, finally snapped back to reality and went to the center of the stage and declared the result of the battle.

"I declare the fight is over. The competitor Minos is the winner and will advance to the last round of the competition!"

With his words, the referee broke the silence that had prevailed in the arena since the beginning of the fight as the crowd finally regained their senses.

"Fuck! I never thought he would dominate his group so thoroughly!"

"Hmm, seeing the strength of young Minos in person is even more fantastic than watching it through a screen..." remarked an old man with white hair who was closely following this fight.

"Haha, I'm already getting excited to see the battle between Minos and Troy!" screamed a young woman, her voice resonating throughout the arena.

After all, this was the battle that everyone eagerly anticipated right now!