In the Evalereth tribe's coliseum, all the spectators who had come at the call of the battle melody previously leaped from their seats, fervently howling at the scene they were witnessing in the arena.
The ground trembled under the public's cheers, who were astonished by Gus's large-scale attack.
That also included Aggi and her parents, who, despite remaining seated, did open their eyes in surprise at such a display of power.
"Oh, I see. This is the whip our son has been secretly forging for several months" said Aggar, bringing his hand to his chin.
Aggro and Aggi nodded. They remembered when they saw Gus working hard in his workshop with materials he collected himself from the forest without his parents' permission.
"The level of that whip is in no way inferior to the weapon crafted by our ancestors. It has reached a level that even escapes our teaching" said Aggro, letting out a slight sigh.
In the arena, Nulambart also had his heart racing. He had hoped Gus would have a style similar to his sister's, but he couldn't let his rival see his nervousness.
He took a deep breath, then slowly released it to adjust his heart rate and clear his thoughts.
I think I'll have to use my speed to avoid stepping on those things, and hopefully I can escape the damage from the explosions if I make a mistake.
He knew his speed would be key to dodging the explosive bushes that covered almost the entire arena.
I'll look for a route to get closer.
Moving his legs skillfully, Nulambart, who had managed to see a route to approach Gus, ran forward, trying not to step on any bombs.
However, by doing so, he was predictable and slow in Gus's eyes, who watched him with a smile.
That foreigner doesn't know my plans, could he be stupid?
He exerted his power again, this time in a more limited way, and simply made his weapon return to its original whip appearance. However, the whip was 10 meters long. In the next instant, he made his move.
"Let's see what you can do with this" Gus said to Nulambart, while extending his whip and striking the bushes near his rival's position.
Nulambart could only see the whip touch a bomb, which exploded near his position. This caused two other nearby bombs to detonate very close to Nulambart.
A burning sensation struck Nulambart's back as he circulated his soul energy to try to cushion the imminent impact.
This was a basic martial cultivation technique that anyone could use, called "Body Barrier."
Despite his effort and the common skill, Nulambart was sent flying upwards by the explosion, with half of his torso exposed and visible light burns.
In the next moment, luckily, he fell heavily in the same location, now free of bombs.
"Nulambart!" Aggi shouted from the stands, watching Nulambart lying on the ground.
Nulambart, already on the ground, could feel the burns on his torso, despite the body barrier, as well as a general pain in his body from the fall.
Thanks to the body barrier, I can keep fighting. Luckily, I remembered how to perform it after seeing Elena do it so many times with my father.
Nulambart silently stood up, adjusting his condition, and then tried to think of a plan to defeat Gus.
It must be remembered that he was a person who, although he had received sword lessons from his father, did not have real experience as a martial cultivator, beyond surviving against the beasts and the guardian.
Thinking about Aggi, the girl felt a chill down her spine.
"Ufff... Why do I feel like I forgot something important?" Aggi said softly in the stands, looking up at the sky. Beside her, her parents simply kept watching the scene attentively.
Gus, for his part, was calm, knowing he dominated the battle.
That kid really won't be able to do much more against me. My sister told me that Nulambart fought at close range, so I used my large-scale attack to control his movements and prevent him from getting close.
The robust boy prepared to launch another attack, this time using his dual-colored energy to stretch his whip and attack Nulambart, who was within his attack range.
Nulambart saw the weapon approaching rapidly. He concentrated his soul energy to use it in his feet and used another basic martial cultivator technique, a "Basic Displacement Technique."
These basic techniques were what Nulambart was able to use after improving his cultivation following the fight against the Quasi-spiritual beast, but he hadn't been able to use them against the semi-human guardian because he hadn't had time to process all the information.
Everyone saw a scene of Nulambart precisely dodging all of Gus's attacks. Because of this, Gus aimed at the bombs again.
As expected, Nulambart, being surrounded by bombs, simply couldn't find enough space to dodge them all, so he was severely hit by several explosions, but luckily, he had his body barrier.
Despite clearly being at a disadvantage, everyone in the village showed expressions of astonishment, as these were techniques that had never been seen before in the village.
Aggro and Aggar also discussed the basic techniques of Nulambart.
"The boy is using soul techniques like us, but he performs them in a subtle, organic way, while we use them in a purer or more tyrannical manner," said Aggar, who kept his eyes fixed on Nulambart's abilities.
"Those must be basic techniques in the outside world, since even a child like him can execute them… I'm afraid we'll have to ask him to teach us," Aggro continued, looking at Aggi with narrowed eyes.
Aggi nodded to her mother with a trace of subtle fear.
Tired and injured, Nulambart quickly fled the range of the attacks.
Right now, in that location, Nulambart was able to find some time to calm his breathing and his thoughts.
I don't think I can hold out much longer without an attack plan. I have almost no soul energy left.
He decided to think of a countermeasure using his opponent's advantages against him.
In the next moment, he used his displacement technique to try to get progressively closer to Gus. The boy responded with the attack that had served him best, using his whip against the bombs on the ground.
Explosions were heard on all sides of the arena, covering the air with dust, making it difficult to see clearly, but Gus did not cease his attacks until he could see virtually nothing in return.
Nulambart, who had suffered from the various explosions while running across the battlefield, was already quite tired, but he decided to attack the defenseless Gus while he couldn't see him.
He ran towards the defenseless Gus, who couldn't see anything through the smoke screen in front of him, and when he managed to locate his position safely, he threw a punch with another of the basic martial cultivator techniques, "Simple Body Reinforcement," which was simply the use of aura in a condensed manner in certain parts of the body.
It was a technique that Nulambart mastered quite well, as he had seen his sister use it several times in training, and he had also used a similar version, although clearly weaker, when he still had the cultivation of a primary cultivator.
Nulambart threw the punch towards Gus's face, but when Nulambart was in the air a few meters from Gus, he could see that his face remained expressionless.
"Nulambart, don't think that just because you have some skills, you'll have the chance to defeat a master craftsman like me," Gus said calmly, still not knowing where Nulambart was.
In the next instant, Gus circulated his aura with greater intensity, so the dual-colored waves of his aura were simply visible to the naked eye. It could be seen that one of the two runes on the weapon broke, releasing a powerful aura coming from a spiritual beast into the weapon he held in his hand.
That aura is similar to that of spiritual beasts. Nulambart felt an aura very similar to the quasi-spiritual beast he had faced, but stronger.
In the next moment, the whip changed shape to form a shield 1 meter high and wide, which had a seal in the middle with the head of a spiritual wolf.
Nulambart couldn't retract his attack, hitting the shield with his fist. However, he felt a force that immediately repelled him, sending him flying ten meters.
Upon feeling the impact against the ground, Nulambart felt a pressure in his chest as he spat out a large mouthful of blood.
After a few seconds there, the sky of the arena had cleared again, revealing the state of the two combatants.
Everyone was astonished by such a scene, as they did not expect the strength of both fighters.
"That boy made a good move, but even I didn't expect Gus to be able to do that with his low level of cultivation," said Aggro, who, with his cultivation level, had been able to see everything that was happening.
"You're right, normally those abilities can only be exerted by you, who entered the realm of the sacred avatar" said Aggar, watching attentively.
"Parents, it's surely because of those runes his whip had, since now there's only one... Poor Nulambart... Wait..." Aggi said seriously, as she remembered a small detail when talking about weapons.
"Oh no, I forgot to ask Nulambart if he needed a weapon," Aggi said with wide eyes and both hands on her face.
The parents rolled their eyes at their daughter's words, but it didn't last long because they continued to focus on the fight.
Nulambart was on the ground as he felt his back burning in an almost unbearable way, as he had been burned several times by the explosions, and now he had landed squarely on it.
However, it wasn't his biggest concern, because when he wanted to circulate his soul power through his body again, he felt his chest about to burst, vomiting a second large mouthful of blood.
This was accompanied by a sensation of electricity in his brain, which led him to put both hands on his head. Nulambart knew what his problem probably was.
My soul is on the verge of collapse, I can't keep fighting for long with the techniques I used, and I can't use my trump card either.
Nulambart let out a sigh full of regret, as this was a battle he couldn't afford to lose.
If I lose now and have to leave the tribe, I probably won't be able to find the herb for my loved ones... and I won't be able to fulfill my promise to Aggi.
Nulambart was almost at his limit in terms of the amount of energy he could release with his damaged soul, but his strong desire to protect his family made him reluctant to give up so easily.
I wouldn't mind losing my dignity on the battlefield, but I can't let them steal the opportunity to save them.
Nulambart tried to find solutions, but the only thing he could think of was to try to find his master in his inner space. He carefully observed Gus's condition to see if he had a chance to have some time available.
Gus was holding the imposing shield in an obvious defensive position, while drops of sweat fell rapidly down his face.
He's tired, I think I can go.
Nulambart projected his consciousness inward, and seeing the golden lotus on one side of the place, he tried to speak to it to ask for some kind of help. He received no response from his master, so he simply fell to his knees, clenching his hands.
I'll have to go outside... I'll use Temporal Divergence even if it costs me my soul.
However, before he could leave his inner space, he heard a sound that blanked his mind for a few moments, as it didn't come from the golden lotus.
The white cat that had been asleep inside him the whole time sleepily opened its eyes.
"Miaaaaaaaaaaaau"
Nulambart looked at this white cat, which seemed to be a young cat, and felt a sense of familiarity arise within him, as it exuded the same blue aura that emanated from his body when he exerted his soul power.
The cat began to walk slowly until it stood still, looking at Nulambart, still kneeling in his inner space.
Nulambart felt a strong urge to hug and touch this white cat that seemed to be looking at him with its small head tilted to one side.
He stretched out his arm, and he could easily touch his little feline friend, who readily accepted Nulambart's caresses.
After petting it for a few seconds, an electric shock jolted his chest, and his soul trembled strongly.
"Miaaaaaaaaaaaau"
The white cat moved, began to rub its head against Nulambart's hair in a gesture of comfort.
Nulambart felt the cat's aura enter the darkest corners of his soul, delving into his past and present feelings and insecurities, as well as his deepest fears. Nulambart could hear the cat in every corner of his soul, but he decided not to interrupt the passage of the cat's energy until he could understand what the animal was doing.
"Do you want to make a pact with me?" Nulambart asked, looking at the white cat that was linking its soul with his.
The white cat nodded its head cheerfully.
"Okay, little guy... Then we have to choose a name for you... Mmmm. How about the name Snow?" Nulambart said to the cat.
The cat jumped happily, cheerfully sealing the pact, and a small jade blue collar appeared around its neck with the word "Friend" on it.
Nulambart, on the other hand, also obtained a small pendant, with a jade inside of the same color, which he put around his neck. The jade had an aura extremely similar to that of both human and cat, and with the word "Friend" carved on it.
When both accessories manifested, the white cat transformed into small particles in the form of a blue aura and then integrated into Nulambart's pendant.
Nulambart, while he didn't know with absolute certainty what was happening, did have suspicions about it.
"It seems I have become a spirit tamer," Nulambart said serenely, before leaving his inner space towards the combat ground.