The trip to the temple took a few hours, in the meantime, I didn’t sense any rank 3 demonic beasts, and the lower-ranked demonic beast strayed away from me. They probably sensed the difference in power and I didn’t bother with them, what they protected wasn't probably worth my while.

The temple was strangely similar to the ancient Greeks’ ones. It had eight columns at the front disposed on two rows and above them rested a triangular piece of marble that continued forming the roof of the temple. Apart from the front only a row of columns surrounded the structure. The temple seemed composed of a singular big room.

Entering the temple I found it quite bare except for a stele with some carving over it. Examining it closely it seemed to describe a technique: something about a tiger descending the mountain and sweeping everything with their claws.

‘OK, but where is the technique? Not that I am interested since I am a bear, not a tiger.’

Thinking that I touched the stele.

I found myself in a black space. Then I heard a voice saying: “Welcome to the tiger claw technique inheritance. This technique was created thinking about the movements of a dark flame eye tiger. A figure will demonstrate the technique for you and you will even have the visual image of the dark flame eye tiger to help you out. You have one day to master the technique after which you will be expelled and you won’t be able to enter anymore. When you’re ready, think about starting.

‘Exit’

‘Out’

‘No’

‘Damn it’

‘I don't want to be stuck here for a day trying to learn this stupid technique. I probably can’t even learn it, I am a bear, not a tiger.’

I started brooding.

Then the realization

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‘Wait humans aren’t tigers either, hell I am more similar to a tiger than them. If a human can learn from a tiger's attack then surely I can too.’

‘OK start.’

Immediately a humanoid figure doing some sweeping movement appeared. I disregarded it and instead looked at the tiger figure. It was similar to a tiger but with black fire coming out from his back, the tip of his tail, and between his eyebrows.

The tiger descended from a mountain and as it descended its momentum augmented until it seemed like an avalanche. Then its claws took fire. It started sweeping and every time it launched streaks of dark fire cutting and burning everything in its path.

I seemed to pick up the concept: concentrating elemental qi with a certain balance on the claws and sweeping them to launch a ranged attack.

‘Yes! Finally a ranged technique. I’m starting to like this technique more and more, it’s simple and effective.’

I started practicing.

In the beginning, I had difficulty even coating only the claws with yin power: it always coated up all the paws. But, after an hour of failed attempts, I was able to do it.

The next hurdle was to perfectly shape the yin qi as a natural continuation of the claws. It took me another hour.

The final hurdle was launching the technique outside and letting it cut up everything. After three hours of failed attempts I realized my problem: I was still in the qi refining stage. A qi refiner can’t make the qi fly out of its body: it just dissipates. only a foundation establishment cultivator has condensed enough power to launch qi attacks.

I was already executing the technique flawlessly, I just was not meant for it.

As I continued to ponder my problem the hours flowed away.

‘!’

‘Eureka’

‘If the quality of my chi is not enough I will make out for it with quantity’

And so I started to overcharge the technique. I encountered the same problems as before: the claw wasn’t coated but the paw was, and how to make the yin qi a natural continuation of the claw. In the end, some little streaks of light were launched out from my claws and proceeded for 4 meters in the darkness before dissipating.

‘Hmm the conversion rate is atrocious: to reach initial mastery I need to launch an attack to 10 meters and I will need to use a quarter of my qi. In a battle, I will only be able to use it three times.’

I then charged up a quarter of my qi inside my claws and swept. Some much larger streaks of light were launched and reached the 10-meter mark.

I was instantly ejected from the stele.

I had used up 9 hours inside the place, I still had half a day before the end of the first day.