It dawned slowly in the Dry City when Minos and Ruth got ready to leave. This time, only the two would travel to the Cromwell Kingdom since the journey was too long, and Minos' soldiers would no longer be helpful in protecting him.
Minos almost reached level 37, so if he couldn't handle something, his soldiers definitely couldn't either. Of course, a large group could help him, but that would only delay them and even create some problems.
That way, traveling alone would help the two keep a low profile and be faster.
Butler Dillian would be in charge of the Dry City during this period. The two youths, who were in the Spatial Kingdom, have now returned to their families. Both took advantage of the training time and once again managed to increase their level.
It would not be long before the two reached a relevant role within the Black Plain Army with such speed.
In the past few weeks, the harvest had been made and sent to the army base on the coast of the Black Plain. Minos hoped that his products would begin to be sold on Stone Island in less than a week.
And according to his calculations, it would not be long before Elen sent his payment, which would allow the expansion of the actions of the Dry City. Because of this, Minos was very eager to go to and from the Cromwell Kingdom and then seeing all the changes that would take place in his territory.
After all, Minos' products would be sold for more than twice what he charged within his territories. So, it was pretty exciting for him to think of all the things that could be resolved with these extra crystals!
Finally, Minos and Ruth decided to leave the city as soon as the day cleared.
It would be better for them since the first town after the Dry City was almost a full day of travel, and with that, they could stop to rest in that place.
...
Right now, Minos and Ruth were on the south side of the town, saying goodbye to butler Dillian and a few other members of the Dry City government. There was also a large eagle with white feathers and a yellow beak waiting for them.
"Have a nice trip, young master. I hope you do well in the Spiritual Tournament." Secretary Mia said with a smile on her face.
Pyke then laughed out loud and said. "Hehe, considering the strength of the young master, I doubt if anyone is his match!"
He then continued. "But young master, how long will you be gone?"
"I think about four months, more or less. The Spiritual Tournament will take place exactly three months from now, and after that, I still have to travel for almost a month to get here." Minos said as he looked around and thought about the trip.
According to Ruth, it would take them three weeks to get there, but Minos was unsure what the trip would be. After all, he would prefer to go a little slower, taking time to train, than running nonstop to the Cromwell Kingdom's capital.
"It's a long time..." Dillian said with a thoughtful expression. "But this is a good opportunity for the young master."
After that, Ruth and Minos finished saying goodbye to all of them and finally climbed on the great white eagle. This bird was over 2 meters high and could easily carry up to 3 people in comfort.
As they climbed on the eagle, Minos realized a cell type where he and Ruth could sit. The young woman then said with a smile on her face. "You can sit behind me, but don't try anything funny!"
"Hmm, it's okay." Minos replied as he took his seat. Soon after, the bird leaped forward and started flying towards the south of the Black Plain.
When that happened, Minos, who had no experience with flying spiritual beasts, was startled and immediately hugged Ruth's waist.
"Hey! What are you doing?" She asked with a red face as she felt Minos' arms around her. They had already flown a few hundred meters, but the young Stuart had never released her.
"I'm holding on to you. Where else can I do that? Your eagle is fast, and I'm not used to it." Minos said with a slight smile on his face.
'Hmph, just apologies...'
Minos then changed the subject and asked her curiously. "Ruth, those three weeks of travel, you said, are you traveling slowly or just stopping to rest?"
"Stopping just to rest, don't you think we're already too late?"
"No, I think we even have too much time. We are going to make the trip little by little. I don't want to stop training for three weeks just to arrive earlier in the capital of the Cromwell Kingdom."
Minos had a good reason to do this. His techniques of Golden-grade, in addition to being more efficient, also demanded a more great domain for him to advance to the next phase.
He needed to train it for longer than other people with lower degree techniques. Consequently, Minos didn't want to stop training for three whole weeks, just because of a tournament that he didn't need to win!
His goal was to make some important contacts, but he did not actively participate in the competition itself. That was secondary to him, which would test his strength.
"Hmph, I know that you are powerful, but you are taken this very lightly. Look at my case, I am 18-years-old, and I am already at level 45."
"I will not participate in this competition because I am already a member of a sect of the Flaming Empire. Still, there may be others like me in this competition."
"With Silver talent, or even Black talent, we don't need outside help to get to the 5th stage, but many people don't care about that and the fact that pills always leave toxins in our bodies."
"Consequently, some people will use everything they have to raise their level quickly."
That was a fact in the world of cultivation. Those with high talent generally avoided taking pills or spiritual medicines at the early cultivation levels, as this had a delayed effect at higher levels.
When someone takes a spiritual pill, some impurities are deposited in that cultivator's body. But in the initial stages, the cleansing that the body receives from advancing between stages was minimal. Therefore, it was unable to eliminate all these toxins.
The most direct result of this was that these impurities would hinder the speed of cultivation and even the strength of these individuals.
That would be like someone who cannot perform at his maximum in a race because he has the flu or other illness that limits him. That is why intelligent cultivators like Minos and Ruth, who knew that to go further, it was necessary to be calm.
They did not use pills or spiritual medicines until they reached their first bottlenecks in cultivation!
But not everyone was aware of or cared about it.
In a region like the north of the Central Continent, a cultivator with Silver talent could quickly reach the Spiritual King stage before the age of 23 if they used external resources for this.
And as this was a region dominated by people from that stage, some individuals were in a hurry to reach level 50, using these non-recommended methods.
"I know that. You don't have to worry about that, Ruth. I am not going to try to be the champion. Sure, I'm going to fight seriously in the tournament, but I'm not looking for that." Minos said in a solemn voice as he continued to hug Ruth's waist.
Ruth had already gotten used to Minos' arms at this point, or rather, she was ignoring it with praise. She then said. "You have problems with my master, and she thinks that sending you to this tournament is a way for you to learn how big the world is. Don't you want to prove that she is wrong?"
Ruth said this provocatively. She wanted to see if Minos would be affected by this and try harder to win the Spiritual Tournament. After all, Minos was still a 16-year-old, and he must have had his impulsive behaviors...
He then asked. "And will she watch this competition?"
"Hmm, I don't think so. The sect usually sends a Spiritual King to do the recruitment work. Sending someone as my teacher would not be worth it."
"So, if I win, I won't be able to have the satisfaction of showing her that she was wrong. Hehe, it makes no difference." Minos said provocatively.
He knew very well what Ruth was trying to do, but it didn't work for him. Of course, he had his problems with his mother, but that wouldn't make him make stupid mistakes, just to prove something to someone he doesn't respect!
"Ah! You are very boring." She complained in a low voice when she saw that Minos would not fall into her trap.
...
Several hours quickly passed.
The sun was already setting on the horizon when Minos and Ruth began to approach the first city on their path since they had left the Dry City.