The Rise of the Black Plain

After summoning his new sword from his spatial ring, Minos immediately watched that item in joy, feeling that he could use all of himself once again.

Until now, he had never dared to summon that weapon in front of Gloria since it would be suspicious if he, a level 52 cultivator, could handle that item.

After all, he wanted to appear mediocre in Gloria's eyes, at least for the moment.

That did not help some of his interests, but since the Black Plain was his priority, he had to handle such a matter with other approaches. And with that, only on a few occasions, Minos had 'played' with that sword, just out of curiosity to sense how such a beautiful weapon would feel in his hands.

Besides the dark red blade about 1.4 meters long, it had a simple pommel, which was composed only of a red stone that looked very much like a ruby. In addition, the handguard looked like two beautiful golden wings, the same color as the remaining items of this sword.

On the other hand, this sword given to him by Gloria was, on average, about three times heavier than the medium-level grade-2 golden-bladed sword he still had in his spatial ring.

And sensing such a thing as he admired its beauty, Minos smiled, satisfied, feeling that his power was even more suited to this item than before.

'It doesn't match me perfectly, but I feel that we will have a good time together!' He thought about this as he danced with such a sword.

But Minos was not using his technique focused on this type of weapon to play with it. After all, if he were to practice while in that room, he would probably destroy the entire inn!

Such a thing would also draw Gloria's attention, and all his efforts up to this point would be wasted.

Hence, Minos was merely using some of his energy to circulate his energy in his Indestructible Body to bear the weight of that sword more easily.

Such a thing was not consuming him as it had been the other times he had switched weapons. But even so, activating that technique was still necessary, as his body still lacked the physical strength needed for such an action.

Anyway, while playing with his new weapon, Minos analyzed how much power he would have if he fought with everything he had right now.

'A standard high-level grade-2 weapon should have a 12.5% more efficient conversion of spiritual energy into attack than a medium-level grade-2 one.'

'That means that, in total terms, a spiritual attack launched with this sword has 38% more power than it would have if I used the same amount of energy without a weapon.' He pondered this, thinking about this characteristic of spiritual weapons.

Spiritual weapons could increase the potency of attacks, in a sense, by improving their energy efficiency. That was something that all of them, of whatever ranks, could do.

There was also the possibility that items of the type could have more than just energy efficiency improvements, but that was still beyond young Stuart's capabilities.

And thinking about it, it did not take Minos long to conclude what his current limit was now.

'Thinking in terms of regional opponents, I fear that only a level 62 Spiritual Emperor could put me in danger. But, on the other hand, I should be able to easily defeat an opponent who uses Black-grade techniques and is at level 60.'

'As for level 61 opponents, I would probably have trouble beating him, but he wouldn't be a danger to me!' He considered this, feeling that this should be his new reality.

'But regarding people with more affluent backgrounds, as in Gloria's example, my limit is probably level 60.'

'I probably wouldn't lose if I faced someone of that level!'

"Very good!" He muttered in satisfaction at the development of his power.

"I still have to be on the back foot against people like her, but that's enough for now!"

Minos then smiled as he looked to one side of that room, where there was a wall with nothing on it, but which was the division between his room and hers. 'It will probably take me about ten years to overcome you...'

'But it will happen, dear Gloria!'

...

While Minos was adding a new goal in his mind, Gloria was cultivating in the room next to his, sitting on a black cushion while in a lotus position.

But as she felt the difficulties of cultivating in this region, something characteristic because of the lack of spiritual pressure, she did not let Minos' advancement go unnoticed.

'Oh?'

'So, he just advanced, huh? That was faster than I expected...' She thought about it with a smile on her face, curious about 'Albert's' strange case.

'Although he doesn't attach importance to his combat techniques, he truly is very responsible about his cultivation level.'

'And he might even be considered a prodigy...'

'Not bad!'

'But it's a pity that he's a member of one of those decaying sects...' She pondered as she thought about Minos' lie, about him being a member of one of the organizations that lived in seclusion in the Endless Snow Mountain Range.

Unlike most people in this region, Gloria knew very well of the existence of these powers and their origin!

Unlike the few people in this region who knew about such organizations thought about them, most of them were not families who had turned away from worldly problems to live in the wilderness.

The opposite of this, these organizations were not emerging powers that wanted to distance themselves from the madness of power, but rather sects from the northern region of the Central Continent!

Not only that, these sects were the oldest organizations in this region!

Many were already around these areas even before the local map got the current configuration with six kingdoms.

In fact, such powers were so old that even some Flaming Empire sects, such as the Gray Clouds Sect, were not as ancient as the main one of these organizations in the Endless Snow Mountain Range!

And thinking about the agreements made between the Spiritual Church and these organizations in the remote past, Gloria could not help but lament that 'Albert' was from one of these organizations.

'If it weren't for that, I could try to persuade him to join the church!' She thought about it disappointingly.

She did not want to bring Minos over to her side because she had some kind of chemistry with him or for the sake of a simple good relationship. Quite the contrary, she found the idea of bringing him into the church interesting because of his talent for cultivation!

With less than 24, he was already at level 53... If he continued at this pace, Gloria thought he could reach her level before he was 100-years-old.

And that would be something incredible anywhere in this vast world, something that the church valued and that she, someone who had her power interests, could benefit from.

After all, she did not want to be an Archbishop for the rest of her life!

And in thinking about the positions she might reach in the future, it would be fascinating to have people as talented as Minos on her side.

So, she was lamenting that Minos was out of her limits!

'But it seems that the decaying sects still manage to produce good talent despite everything...'

'Impressive!'

'Maybe I should pay them a visit in the future...'

'I wonder if they still keep those corpses?'

But after thinking about these things, it did not take long for her to clear her mind of these thoughts concerning Minos and finally focus on her Golden-grade cultivation technique.

...

And so, the night quickly gave way to the day, as the animals in that village began to make noises, indicating the beginning of the day to many of their owners.

Despite the fact that they were not from that area, Gloria and Minos had awoken early, not only because the sound of the animals was loud, but to continue their journey.

"Good morning."

"Hmm, morning." They greeted each other briefly as they headed out of that inn, preparing to get something to eat and then continue on their journey through the forests for a few more days.

Gloria then said. "Well, I have decided to accompany you to the end of the trip, even if we no longer have to travel together."

"Oh?"

"Considering our current position, it will no longer make a difference if I hurry or continue traveling with you."

"Then you can have the pleasure of continuing to travel by my side." She smiled at him.

"Hehehe, good to know..."

...