While Eda stood there in her place with an angry face and Abby looked confused by Minos's offer, the young Stuart was quietly in his place, eating as if nothing much was happening.
He then took a piece of the fish to his mouth, at the same time as he watched the two women from the opposite side of the table where they were.
After a while, he finally broke the silence and said, looking at Eda. "You talk like I'm asking her to betray her family and spit on her ancestors..."
"And isn't that basically what you asked for?" She snapped.
"Of course it is not. A few months ago, ehh, that other girl from the Miller family, what was her name again?" He looked at Abby and asked.
"Mona."
"That's right, Mona. Didn't she go to the Flaming Empire to join one of the sects?"
Hearing this, Abby gave Minos a strange look, as if she were asking him to stop joking.
How ridiculous, he was now comparing the Black Plains Army to the sects of the Flaming Empire!
"You weren't arrogant before…" She sighed inwardly, regretting the personality the young Stuart had acquired… Not only did he want to court his own friend, but he also had delusions of grandeur.
At least that's what Abby saw...
She then decided to speak, trying to suppress her displeasure. "It's completely different. The sects of the Flaming Empire are high-level powers and do not require their members to abandon their families!"
Soon after, Eda completed Abby's speech. "Not to mention that they are much stronger than the families in our region! It is an honor for any power in these areas to have one of its members join one of the sects of that empire!"
Meanwhile, Dillian stood there sipping a glass of wine, intently watching the three of them talk. In a way, he was even having fun with it.
After the initial surprise caused by Minos's sudden offer, the butler had regained his bearings. After all, as he knew of the young Stuart's potential and how far the Black Plain could go in the future, that proposal really wasn't arrogant.
In fact, the sects of the Flaming Empire could be proud that Minos was comparing them to him!
But Dillian understood that these two women from the Miller family wouldn't see it that way and would even think Minos was too arrogant.
After all, they were in the impoverished north of the Central Continent!
Even if the Black Plain was improving and even though Minos' cultivation speed was excellent, it would certainly be limited at some point.
For them, when Minos reached the 6th cultivation stage, Spiritual King, his cultivation speed would be significantly reduced, and he probably wouldn't make it to level 60 unless he left the region and went to an empire!
This is because there were no regions of high spiritual concentration in the area where they were. Therefore, there were no natural resources in the region that was capable of helping Spiritual Kings to break through to the next stage of cultivation.
That's why, for them, Minos would stop being so impressive in the future!
And as for the Black Plain, however, good things were going, this region would still be limited by the level of this part of the Central Continent. Since, typically, places like this didn't increase spiritual concentration overtime for no reason...
Anyway, Minos then looked at Abby and spoke again. "It's not as different as you think. I'll give you the same rights you would have in one of the Flaming Empire sects..."
He stopped for a moment and smiled. "No, not really. If you went to one of the sects, you would be one of tens of thousands of young people with Black talent. You would receive attention from these sects that would be even lower than what people with Blue talent find in families in our region."
Hearing this, the two of them could not put their thoughts of discontent aside, as they agreed with that thought.
People with Black talent in the rest of the Central Continent had as much influence as people with Blue talent in the north of this continent!
Because of this, young people with this kind of talent who went to the sects of the Flaming Empire would probably have a lot of difficulties there and would live an intense competition for resources.
Obviously, this was worth it, just as it was worth it for people with Blue talent to join noble families in the Minos and Abby region. It was challenging to get good spiritual techniques outside the prominent families here or the sects of the empire there.
So, even if these chosen youth were going to have many difficulties, as long as they persevered and survived, they might even make it to the 7th stage of cultivation someday!
Meanwhile, Abby and Eda looked thoughtful, but Minos didn't give them much time to think and soon continued his speech.
"But that would be different in my army. Here, in addition to receiving the same perks you might find in the sects, you would be completely valued, as we don't have many Black talented members at the moment."
"Hmph, even if the last part is true, what exactly are you talking about?" Eda questioned with an uncertain expression and still a hint of disapproval.
"I talk about resources, opportunities, and rules. Even at present, it's not difficult for Plain Black to nurture several people with Black talent up to level 59."
This was something Abby and Eda were already well aware of. They already knew about the fields of crops of high spiritual concentration that were being planted in the region of Minos.
With that, as long as they had enough workforce, the resources would undoubtedly be abundant around here!
Minos didn't even have to risk telling them about his Silver-grade cultivation techniques. With just the amount of crystals he could earn in this place, it would be enough to buy pills, arrays, weapons, etc., all sorts of items that could improve one's cultivation!
"And as for the rules, you could stay in your family as well as happens in those sects. Of course, as long as their family doesn't turn against us, we'll never act against them either, and we might even have a good relationship in the future."
"Oh right, I almost forgot, you won't be able to leave the Black Plain either until you reach level 50 either." He finished with a smile on his face. This would also help him prevent Abby from accidentally leaking information from this place, at least in the short term.
And even if her bodyguard joined the army with Abby, even if she wasn't far from level 50, she could never go back to the Miller family without being with her mistress, whom she was supposed to protect!
Anyway, after he finished talking about it, Minos bit into another piece of fish, tasting the sharp taste of the meat and fat of that soft, succulent meat.
At the same time, Eda and Abby were standing there, not knowing what to say. They weren't impressed that Minos could make this kind of investment in people with Black talent, but he even wanted to follow the same limiting rules the sects used!
Eda then looked at Abby but said nothing. She had a thoughtful expression as if to say that doing what Minos proposed was a bet. 'At best, his forces will be on a par with our Miller family!' Eda thought about it.
And if that were the case, it wouldn't make sense to her that Abby would 'betray' her family for equal power. After all, her family leaders would never look kindly on it unless Minos' forces were more powerful than the Miller family.
Dillian then took the initiative and said. "Young Abby, you don't need to answer that right now. Won't you stay around any longer? Think about it during this period." He then chuckled and massaged his chin. "But if you don't want to fall behind your friend Mona, then joining our army will be the best thing for you, hehe."
Hearing this, Eda immediately understood Dillian's ploy, looking at him a little angrily, as if she was saying she would settle down with him later...
Abby was just a young girl and didn't have Minos' maturity. With that, Eda knew she could end up being influenced by Dillian's earlier words. After all, no one would want to be left behind!
After that, the group dinner continued quietly, with them changing the subject and talking about trivial and unimportant things.
However, before they said goodbye and went back to their respective areas, Minos suddenly had an idea and said. "Abby, I will soon be going on a mission with the Black Plain Army. Although it involves certain risks, if you follow me, it could be good training for you, we will be fighting some 5th stage cultivator groups on this mission, and that can help you a lot."
"Oh?" Upon hearing this other offer from Minos, Eda, this time, she didn't think what he had said so bad. After Mona left for the empire, Abby had no real fights, just regular training.
But for high-level cultivators, risk-free matches weren't enough to improve one's proficiency. Only a bloodbath, with a real risk of death, could make one reach high levels in the cruel journey of cultivation!
"Huh?" On Abby's side, she also ended up enjoying this suggestion a lot. Going out and training with a friend was very satisfying for her, so she was much more comfortable with this suggestion from Minos.