The Rise of the Black Plain
Chapter 101 - 101: An Old Friend

Seeing that her old friend had recognized her, Abby beamed as a wide smile appeared on her face while she came over to hug Minos.

Meanwhile, Ruth and Abby's group stood there, looking at the two friends with a bit of skepticism. It was a common situation for someone to be 'out of focus' when an old acquaintance appeared. After all, during these moments, other people were often ignored...

And while the four people looked at each other, exchanging uncertain glances and waiting for an explanation, Abby exclaimed with a hint of joy. "I didn't know that you had recovered. I am very glad about that. I thought you would never come back!"

"Hmm, thanks. Let me introduce you to my traveling companion, Ruth Miles," Minos said while signaling to Ruth, who stood beside him and then continued. "Ruth, this is an old friend from the spiritual academy, Abby Miller."

"Hello, nice to meet you." Ruth smiled while acting friendly, but it was hard to say if it was real or fake.

"Oh! The pleasure is mine," Abby responded. "Well, the ones with me are my friend Mona, the protector Eda and Russ." Abby introduced her group without much ado.

After exchanging greetings, Abby finally couldn't help but ask Minos curiously, "Minos, what are you doing in the Cromwell Kingdom?"

He smiled wryly and hinted, "I think it's probably the same as you..."

"Ehh? Will you participate in the Spiritual Tournament too? But how are you going to do it..." Abby stopped midway as she finally decided to probe Minos' level.

Having reached level 40, Abby could sense the free energy in nature. She was 17 years old and had a Black talent. This was an excellent cultivation speed, but considering that the Miller family was the richest in the Brown Kingdom, such a possibility was already expected for one of its members.

As she scanned Minos' body, Abby suddenly let out a cry of surprise after noticing his cultivation.

"Ahh!"

Hearing her jolt, the three people in her group looked at her in shock while the middle-aged woman asked, taking a step toward the young woman, "Ms. Abby, are you okay? What happened?"

Realizing that she had attracted a lot of attention, Abby blushed and replied, "It's nothing. I was just a little scared after remembering something..." She then thought while covering her slightly open mouth with one of her hands, 'How can this be possible? As far as I know, he had been unconscious for years! So, how did he get to level 37 so quickly?

Perhaps the heavens have blessed him after the misfortune he had suffered?' Abby contemplated in silence, trying to understand Minos' cultivation speed.

Breaking the momentary silence, she then said, "Well, you surely cultivate very fast! I hope that you get a good place in this competition. After all, this will be an excellent opportunity for you."

Abby believed that Minos would have a decent chance in the Flaming Empire since he had no family ties in the north of the Central Continent, and so had no reason to stay in this place.

Thus, it would be a much better approach for him to simply live in an empire while taking advantage of the opportunities that such a place would be able to offer him.

That would have been her strategy if she were in his shoes!

After a few decades, perhaps he could return back to the north of the Central Continent, establishing his power in the region.

However, instead of agreeing, Minos said something that impressed both Abby and her fellow travelers. "It doesn't matter. I'm simply going to the Spiritual Tournament to test my strength and meet some new people..."

"I truly don't mind going to an empire..." he added humbly...

Among this group of people, apart from Abby, all thought the same thing. 'An excuse! But at least he acknowledges his own limitations, and that can already be considered a good trait when compared to the other few!'

However, for Abby, who was aware of the time Minos had been unconscious, this comment was more arrogant than self-conscious. 'Ehh? Does he mean that the Flaming Empire doesn't matter to him? How confident...'

After that, the group continued to chat for a few more minutes when Abby finally asked, making some hand gestures and smiling. "Minos, don't you want to travel with us? It would be great to know more about each other. So many things have happened all this long."

Minos then looked at Ruth for a moment and replied, "Thank you for the invitation, but I am afraid that it won't be appropriate..."

"But we can meet before the Spiritual Tournament starts. It's still over a month away, so we will have plenty of time to talk a lot when we reach Capital City." Minos politely refused, wearing an apologetic smile on his face.

Currently, he was at a time when he wasn't in the mood to spend time with other people. Although he valued friendship... Well, that could wait for the time being.

As for his fun with Ruth, it had a time limit!

And hell, only they knew how good this fun was!

Once the Spiritual Tournament was over, Ruth would have to return to the Gray Clouds Sect, and it was also possible that years could go by without them being able to see each other. And although they don't have a more significant relationship, Minos has no other partner for his 'adventures.'

Elena lived on Stone Island, and Ruth resided in the Flaming Empire. Minos' daily life in Dry City was very monotonous. The only woman he interacted daily with was his secretary Mia, and while she was undeniably attractive, Minos would never get involved with her.

You know how it goes, right? Don't shit where you eat!

A romantic relationship between a boss and a subordinate could lead to many problems. Hence, Minos would try to avoid that with all his strength.

Finally, when she heard that Minos was not interested in her proposal, Abby smiled, masking her discontent. She indeed was a good friend of his and would like to talk more to find out what had happened in the meantime they didn't see each other.

She also noticed Minos' gaze at Ruth and the slight flush on the black-haired young woman's face. She then clearly understood what was going on. 'Hmph, so this is why... You put your old friend aside for the sake of a woman!'

She sighed. She could vaguely sense Minos' scent coming from Ruth. Despite the fact that she was not a high-level cultivator, as her friend and Ruth had done it so much that it was easy for her to notice, especially given that Abby had spent several years with him, making her able to recognize the young Stuart's scent...

"Well, since that is the case, we'll see you in Capital City. But you better not neglect your cultivation because of some lesser things..." Abby said before bidding farewell to Minos.

Hearing this, Ruth clearly understood her final words when Abby had steadily glanced in her direction as if to say that she knew what was happening between her and Minos.

Ruth blushed and looked away and thought while Minos said goodbye to Abby's group. 'What a nosy woman!'

Minos and Ruth went back to their business in the city and were walking away. Ruth couldn't help but ask, "Minos, how close were you to that woman?"

Scratching his head, Minos replied sincerely, "I think we were as close as a 9-year-old boy and girl can be. Why?"

"Nothing. I just didn't like her behavior. I don't like people who put their noses in the private lives of others..." she said, giving him a sharp glance.

"Private life? What are you talking about?" Minos asked with a curious look. He hadn't paid much attention to Abby's final remark. For him, Abby must have been trying to cheer him up since his cultivation was still lower than hers...

Ruth sweetly smiled while trying to hide her twitching lips, "Nothing, it's just my impression..."

...

While Minos and Ruth strolled through the city, Abby and her group were heading to eat at a restaurant when her friend Mona asked her a question.

"Abby, don't tell me that you like that boy?"

"Ehh? No, why did you ask that?" Abby asked after being taken aback by her friend's question.

"You seemed annoyed that those two seemed to be together..." Mona pointed.

Abby then shook her head in denial, saying, "It is not that kind of irritation. Minos didn't want to travel with us because of that woman. She probably bewitched him!"

"I don't care about others' private lives, but I don't believe that people our age should waste time on such things. We can live so long. So, why spend the best years of our cultivation on mundane things like sex?" Abby finished with a resolute look.

In fact, this was a widespread thought among many women in the Spiritual World. Although sexuality is quite liberal in this world, many women dedicated their early decades of life to cultivation and training to hone their battle techniques.

Someone at Abby's level could live for about 850 years, so why miss out on the best years of cultivation on something that they can do later? That was a very rational thought, especially for women.

And therefore, it was not uncommon to find some virgins who were over 300 years old in this world...

But that was not so common among men, no... These individuals were very 'active' in this type of area...

Unbeknownst to Abby, Ruth had an almost similar thought not long ago. It was just that she met Minos...

"Ahh, I see..." Mona nodded.

After that, the two young women continued to talk about Minos since the young Mona was very interested in learning about his story with her friend.