'Urslurus Nightfurs?' Tristan thought of that strange name and began to read the tale.

| The Incredible Territorial Dispute Between the Bronze Wolves and the Urslurus Nightfurs |

⟨...

When I was younger, during one of my many adventures, I witnessed a confrontation that, even after so many years, remains clear in my mind.

At that time, your grandfather was thirsty to uncover the mysteries of this world. From east to west, I traveled alone, relying only on my power to survive the countless threats I encountered along the way.

By chance or fate, I wandered into a territory that was in the middle of a struggle for dominance between two tribes of beasts.

On one side were the Bronze Wolves fierce creatures that lived in large packs led by a single, imposing alpha. They had dense, metallic brown fur, and their fangs were sharp as blades, capable of cutting even the hardest rocks. They were brutal but also organized beings.

On the other side were the dark Urslurus Nightfurs, those enormous beasts that seemed like hybrids of bears and felines, like shadows materialized. Masters of stealth, they were light and slim, their eyes glowing with the intelligence of a cunning predator. They usually lived in small groups led by the elders of the tribe.

These creatures typically lived in distinct ecosystems, so encounters between them were extremely rare. Something must have happened in one of their territories, forcing them to migrate and cross paths with the other tribe.

And I arrived just as the situation was about to unfold.

At first, the outcome of this battle seemed predetermined. The Bronze Wolves were stronger and lived in much larger groups. The Urslurus Nightfurs had a strong connection with Darkness, which amplified its negative effects. Their birth rate was much lower compared to other beast species, and their development was much slower. Most of them were about half the height of an adult human, and only a few managed to surpass that.

...⟩

Tristan paused after reading the first part of the tale. He needed to reflect on what he had just read.

'Increasing elemental connection also increases its negative effects?' He thought about the consequences if that were true.

image [https://i.imgur.com/CJALaUN.png]

Surprisingly, the following days passed quietly. There were no further incidents involving any beast tribes.

'Did they leave?' He wasn't sure whether to consider the situation anticlimactic or a harbinger of something worse.

Fortunately, it wouldn’t be his problem anymore, as a letter from the sect leader had arrived, instructing them to return.

'The sect lost many valuable disciples in just a few days; this could complicate things in the tournament.'

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

However, from the information he received, the disciples from other sects hadn’t fared much better.

Tristan decided he should put more effort into mastering his movement technique in the coming days, as something he had learned from the last encounter was that his abilities were still very limited.

image [https://i.imgur.com/CJALaUN.png]

A few days had passed since the events at the city wall. Tristan was now at the library of the Flying Sword Sect.

He approached the receptionist, who was seated behind a desk with a bored expression on his face. The man’s skin was wrinkled, and his hair and beard were gray, almost white. He looked well past 70 years old.

As Tristan approached, only the old man’s eyes followed his movement; his head remained still.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the old man asked in a low, raspy voice.

Tristan’s keen eyes noticed a subtle expression of confusion on the old man’s face, and he sighed at the lack of recognition. He frequented the library so often that he had lost count of how many times he had to introduce himself.

"Good morning, honored elder. I am Dusk, a disciple of the Second Flying Dao." He gave a respectful bow.

"I would like access to the third section of the library."

Tristan lifted the yellow robes of his uniform and the red sash at his waist, ensuring the old man saw that he belonged to this sect.

"Since when does the sect allow foreigners to invade this sacred place? You think you can fool me, boy?" the elder said, his sagging skin around his mouth curling in disgust.

After spending much time convincing the elder of his identity, Tristan finally gained access to the library.

The tomes and scrolls were kept in metal safes embedded in a massive wall.

He took an old copper key reluctantly given to him by the library receptionist and opened one of the safes.

Lifting the top lid, he reached inside and retrieved several yellowed scrolls with brownish tones.

Tristan glanced at the first scroll, seeing six points arranged in what he assumed to be a random pattern.

The next scroll showed an amateur drawing of two human legs with six highlighted points on each leg.

'So these are the twelve meridians of the Light Steps technique.'

The third scroll contained drawings of the movement sequences required to perform this technique, which was not versatile, meaning its movements had to be executed precisely as instructed.

The following scrolls contained tips and theories on how Qi could be manipulated to open these meridians.

He spent some time studying the meridians of this technique and the tips on the scrolls.

After doing so, he left the library and headed to one of the sect’s training rooms. Opening a meridian could be very dangerous, so disciples usually did this in special places where they were watched over by elders.

When he opened the door, he saw other youths meditating on mats, most with frustrated expressions on their faces.

Choosing a spot for himself, he sat down and closed his eyes.

After controlling his breathing and repeating the mantras in his mind, he felt his connection to Darkness strengthen. He focused on his legs and began searching for the primary meridians.

One, two, four… eight. After so much practice, he could now find the eight primary meridians with little difficulty. He was developing several techniques simultaneously, and this was the one he had made the most progress with.

Tristan suspected that the Light Steps technique could be combined with one of the movement techniques he was trying to develop.

He imagined a black mist piercing a membrane. The membrane was resistant and flexible, fighting against his will.

But then he strengthened his mind and pierced the membrane, causing one of his meridians to fill with dark essence, growing much larger. Or so he envisioned with this mental visualization method.

One after another, eight meridians exploded with power. At this moment, Tristan searched for the meridians of the Light Steps technique. Once he found them, he began to nudge them gently.

Using his intuition, he sensed that two of them responded well to the other eight, so he chose those.

He swallowed hard at the next step.

This would be the most dangerous part, the first time was the most likely for a meridian to explode, potentially crippling a cultivator's energy circuit, possibly forever.