Another four days went by, and Minos' group was already close to Dry City.
They passed quickly by Maritime City since none had anything to do there and thus continued their journey without stopping for a rest in that place.
As for Minos who stayed at level 33 a longer than usual, he finally had a breakthrough three days ago and was now at level 34, which would allow him to finally use the grade-2 sword that he had purchased more than a month ago.
Of course, although to do that, Minos would have to use all of his techniques in combination, which required a lot on his part, it would be worth it.
Given his current level and this sword, it was even possible to defeat someone at level 42!
Incidentally, spiritual weapons were not just instruments used as a support for techniques. No, if it were the case, they would not be so expensive!
These spiritual weapons could have various effects, but in general, they could help increase the strength or spiritual conversion of the technique that was being used by the wielder!
That is why these weapons were valuable. If not then it would not have been a problem for cultivators to as well use sticks or stones during a fight. Of course, such things could also be used as a weapon but that would have no amplifying effect.
Some weapons could also have innate attributes, but this only happened in weapons that were above grade-3…
Anyway, the sword that Minos had bought didn't have an attribute, but it could still increase his proficiency in fights.
Without it, he could only fight someone with at most level 41.
The difference could be slight, but that was because Minos had not even reached level 40 yet, where he could use the sword without any limitations.
Anyway, when they were on Stone Island, none of Minos' soldiers made any progress. It was not easy for someone like them to move as fast as Minos!
To get an idea, even talented people, and with many resources at their disposal, would take five months just to make progress with a single level at the Spiritual General stage!
So, it was not easy for these soldiers who only had Blue talent and did not have large amounts of resources to support them.
Although they had excellent salaries in the Black Plain Army, they lacked resources like spiritual pills or arrays in Dry City. And during the period that they were traveling, with the prices charged in Stone Island, they could at most buy three pills, even with all the crystals that each one had.
So, until Minos managed to attract several alchemists to Dry City, who would charge more affordable prices, these soldiers could not increase their cultivation speeds much.
…
Hours passed, and the group of carriages quickly approached Dry City.
Though they were a few dozen kilometers away, seeing some details from this distance was not difficult for cultivators like them.
Soon, Elen and Eduard, who were in another carriage, spotted a large patch of green near Dry City. There were different types of plants being grown on the land, and not far away from it there was a lake almost as big as the city, not far from it.
"Wow! This place truly grew a lot and changed completely in just over a year," Eduard exclaimed in awe while observing the landscape from a distance.
"Hmm, surely. When we came here last year, farming was just starting in this place, but now it has reached that point in such a short time!" young Elen agreed as she analyzed the situation which had developed significantly.
It didn't take long for the beasts that pulled the carriages to travel the distance remaining for the group to reach the eastern entrance of Dry City.
This was a control region, created during the numerous transformations that Dry City had undergone. About 30 soldiers were guarding this spot which was the entrance to the city. Anyone who wanted to enter the city would have to pass through them.
"Look, it's the young master's carriage. He's back!" one of the soldiers standing at the checkpoint exclaimed loudly letting everyone know of their sovereign's return.
"Hehe, it looks like the forces of the Black Plain Army will soon increase!" another soldier, who was at level 39 in cultivation and had a Blue talent said anxiously.
He was one of the several soldiers who had reached the bottleneck in cultivation, with a similar talent and so they could only continue to grow stronger with outside aid.
And that was what Minos was bringing!
Upon entering the city, Elen and Eduard had a big surprise for them. The Dry City before them was completely different, almost as if they had entered a different town!
Now this place didn't look as humble as it used to, there were some well-organized avenues to facilitate contact between the various parts of the city and enough space for the passage of many carriages simultaneously.
And although there were none other than those of the Minos group going through it at the moment, in the future, there would be. So, building such an infrastructure in advance would certainly facilitate the future development of this place much easier and without any trouble.
There were also several trees scattered all around the city giving it a much more pleasant feeling when looking around.
'Wow! It seems that Mr. Minos truly spared no effort to improve this place!' Elen thought to herself, feeling even more secure with her partnership with this young man.
With so much determination to improve the Black Plain, she didn't doubt that Minos would be unable to succeed. And along with that, she would also gain a lot by having such a reliable partnership with him.
Although Minos did this to increase the city's attraction and to expand his force, he also wanted to create a pleasant place for him to live.
Some rulers may think of just exploiting their territory, investing the least in the place, and taking almost all the resources to themselves. But Minos didn't think that way.
He didn't want to limit himself to just his mansion. He wanted the whole city to be pleasant to be in.
He certainly had goals that would compel him to travel throughout the Spiritual World, but in the end, he would still spend most of his life in this city. And when he had accomplished his goals, he would like not to travel to other parts of the world to get what he wants as it would be better if he just had everything in his territory that he would want!
That was the comfort and quality of life when the standard doesn't change as you leave your mansion and walk through the city.
If you can only find comfort in your home, then even if you have millions of crystals, you will still have your life negatively affected by your own corruption.
The group then arrived at the beautiful mansion that was redesigned in the meantime that Elen had come here and now.
"Ms. Elen, now that my residence has been expanded, we have some areas for visitors. You don't need to stay in a hotel in the city. You are welcome here," Minos said with a smile.
Not only was he polite to beautiful Elen, but it was also because there was no hotel chain like the Olson in Dry City. And after the redesign of the city, there was only one hotel left in the entire town!
Many of the earlier locations were changed into residential buildings for residents who lived in other parts of the city who were unaffected by the spiritual gathering arrays. As a result, the few hotels in the entire city were decreased to just one, the Four Seasons Hotel.
And as a result of that, it could be possible that there were no vacancies available for Elen and her bodyguard and that was why Minos had to make this polite offer.
"Hmm, thanks for that," Elen answered sincerely.
After that, the group split up. Elen and Eduard were guided to the area reserved for visitors while Minos and Ruth proceeded to the administrative part of the building.
The soldiers who accompanied Minos on this trip were also released from their services and received a few days off for rest after the long, tiring trip.
...
Not long after, Minos spotted secretary Mia.
The young beautiful secretary looked even younger and more beautiful than before. That was because she had reached level 30 during the span when Minos was in Stone Island.
In the past year, she had reached level 29, and in just over a month that Minos was traveling, she finally managed to break through to the beginning of the Spiritual Warrior stage!
As for why she looked younger, this was due to the several changes that her body had undergone which normally occurred at each stage and due to this, her vitality had doubled, resulting in an even younger and more beautiful appearance than before.
Previously, Mia looked like a young adult woman, but now she looked like a teenager. However, this was completely normal as everyone was going through such changes in this world.
For example, the butler Dillian who looked like a middle-aged man, if he were to level 50 now, his appearance would be considerably rejuvenated!
"Oh! With the change in your appearance, you must have moved on to the next stage in cultivation. Congratulations, Mia," Minos felicitated with a smile on his face as he headed towards his office.
"It is good to see you again, young master. And thanks for that," Mia replied cheerfully with a lovely smile.
She was pleased by her progress. Getting stronger was excellent, but the change that someone's body went from one stage to another was just delightful.
Imagine if you have been feeling discomfort for years, and suddenly it goes away. That was the feeling brought by having your cells improved by the spiritual energy and expulsion of toxins.
It was as if life had become much more comfortable and easier!
In addition, there was also a considerable increase in the life expectancy of the cultivator. And that was the main reason why people cultivated. After all, who wouldn't want to live longer?