The Rise of the Black Plain

After the Dry City Public Library opening, two days passed quickly, but the place was still vibrant. In this period, more than 6,000 inhabitants of the city had passed through this building, and there were constantly queues in the region where the library was.

And while the citizens of the Dry City took advantage of this new service, visitors to the Yellow City were also super excited to move here. With that, they could pay the annual tax of 1 low-grade crystal and get their identification array to access this library.

Because of this, those visitors who were still getting to know the city, after learning the library's rules, left in a hurry to return to their hometown.

They no longer wanted to waste time, bringing their families to the Dry City as soon as possible.

...

Meanwhile, the two old friends who came from the Yellow City found out the rumor about this place and were now walking through the Dry City streets while they talked.

"Ehh, it looks like this Minos is even more impressive than we thought. I've never seen anything like this before! Even the royal family of the Kingdom of the Waves, one of the strongest in this region, would never give their Blue-grade techniques to the common population!" Old Lance said with a serious look on his face.

"Hmm, if before I had no choice, now it got even worse... Hehe, at this rate, it is only a matter of time before the Yellow City is completely abandoned. You can't compete with that." The old alchemist said with a smile on his face.

He had nothing against moving to the Dry City, but he was amazed by the 'aggressive' measures that Minos was taking.

Did he want to raise the population level without worrying about them being his subordinates? Or was he so confident in his strength that he could do it without fear of the people going against him?

After all, retaining Blue-grade cultivation techniques was a measure to concentrate power in the hands of the dominant families in the north of the Central Continent. That is because these families had few Black-grade techniques.

Therefore, what defined regional power was the Blue-grade techniques!

If numerous cultivators with Blue-grade techniques decided to rebel... Even the most prominent families in this impoverished part of the continent could be completely wiped out!

A cultivator with better techniques could deal with several enemies. Still, if the number of enemies were too high, it would only be a matter of time before defeat happens. For this reason, noble families generally retained many techniques to avoid civil war.

"Hmm, I was thinking about letting my grandson take over, but it looks like I'm going to have to make the first contact. Otherwise, another person from the Kingdom of the Waves could partner with him before us." Lance said with a concerned look.

For the old merchant, this library and agriculture in the Dry City, together, could attract the entire population of the Yellow City in a few months. And not only that, it would not take long, and other places would also start receiving news from here. So, if he didn't take advantage of this moment to meet Minos, then he could only regret it in the future for missing out on this big chance.

"Why don't you come back and make your grandson come here then?" Edric asked curiously. He then continued. "I am sure that the Dry City will still be a few months away from undergoing major changes."

"I know that, but little Todd is already traveling to the Cromwell Kingdom to participate in the Spiritual Tournament, so he should only be returning in almost seven months." Old Lance said proudly. His grandson had a Black talent, level 38, at 18, and it wouldn't be long before he passed his grandfather's level.

"Oh! I almost forgot about that. I hope he does well in this competition. He can have an even better future with that." Edric said as he massaged his mustache with a smile on his face.

After talking all the way to Minos' mansion, the two finally stopped when they entered that busy place. There were currently people coming and going in droves all day in that place. After all, the mansion was the center of operations, which controlled the army, farmers, the library, city administration, and the spiritual academy.

So, having a few hundred people coming and going at any time of the day was very typical for this place now.

After asking the soldiers on guard at the mansion for directions, the two old men soon arrived in the area where Minos' office was located.

At this point, there was almost no movement, with only a comfortable waiting room, with sofas and a decor that could entertain those who pass by. There was also a reception where a young woman with a voluptuous body was working.

That was Mia.

Upon noticing the two old men in the room, Mia soon put aside what she was doing and came to receive them. "Hello, welcome to the Dry City government mansion. How can I help you?"

"Hm, hello, young lady. We want to speak with the local sovereign. My name is Lance Cohen, and this is my friend, Edric. We came from the Kingdom of the Waves, and I believe that we can do business with this city." Lance spoke politely, without any arrogance.

"Oh! So, that's it. I'm going to talk to the young master right now and see if he can meet you." Mia said before leaving for Minos' office.

...

"Young master, about the development of the base..." A soldier was speaking when Mia suddenly entered the room and went to Minos' table.

"Young master, I'm sorry to bother you, but there is a person from the Kingdom of the Waves asking to see you. He says he wants to do business with our city."

Upon hearing this, the butler Dillian who was also in the office, smiled and said. "Haha, that was pretty quick."

"Oh! Then, that's it..."

After that, Mia informed Minos about the names of these visitors and then went out to bring them to Minos' office.

The young Stuart was always willing to make new allies!

A few seconds later, Minos dispatched the soldier who was up to date on constructing the base on the coast of the Black Plain while waiting for the two old men.

Soon after, a man with a white beard and another with a mustache and white hair entered the room.

Seeing how young Minos was, the two could hardly believe it. They expected to find a young adult or something, but that sovereign was even more youthful than Lance's grandson!

After looking in shock at Minos for a second, Lance finally tried to fix himself by stirring his beard and said.

"Cough! Nice to meet you, Mr. Minos. We heard about you for the first time in Yellow City. I just didn't think you were that young!"

"Hmm, nice to meet you too. I already expected something like this to happen... But anyway, what business did you come to talk about?" Minos asked in curiosity.

Considering that these old men probably already got a good look at the Dry City, there were many possibilities for that. Still, Minos was not sure what they wanted. So, he was curious about these two.

"To the point, I like it. There are many possibilities. I can supply items for spiritual arrays, medicines for alchemists, I can sell your products in the Kingdom of the Waves, etc."

"I understand... As for selling my products in the Kingdom of the Waves, this may take a few years to happen since I am already supplying to another region. And I am not able to assist elsewhere for so soon."

"But my city certainly needs an array shop, or a blacksmith shop, etc. We need more alchemists too, and of course, the resources for that."

Lance then smiled and said. "So, that's it, well, we can open a store in your city, where the population or the government itself could buy and order all of these items."

"As for bringing array masters here, this is not easy. I recommend that you visit the Kingdom of the Waves and negotiate directly with the array masters. Our kingdom has many experts in this area, so you can find someone who agrees to make a deal and come to this region."

"Oh! That's good, having a store in our city can make things easier for us. As for visiting the Kingdom of the Waves, I will do so in the future."

After that, the group chatted for a while, with Lance introducing Edric as an alchemist. Upon learning this, Minos immediately made the same offer to Edric that he had made to Davis.

After all, Devis alone would not be able to suppress the demand for pills in this ever-growing city. And when he heard Minos' offer, Edric immediately accepted it, being very happy to have come with his friend Lance.

Otherwise, no one in the Dry City would do business with him since the price difference would be truly huge!

With that, it was agreed that the Cohen family would open a store in the Dry City, where items related to alchemy and arrays would be sold and ordered.