While Nulambart fought Gus in the dueling arena of the tribe residing in the Elvereth Forest, nearly a week had passed since he had left the basement with Ana.
In Nulambart's village, beneath the mayor's house, in the cellar where the village's elites were hiding, Valin, after several days of training with the other geniuses, sat cross-legged next to George, his grandfather, meditating.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes with satisfaction and looked at his grandfather, saying,
"Grandfather, I've managed to raise my cultivation level, so I'm now in the incipient avatar realm, level 6... Haha! I just hope I can meet Ana and show her my results," Valin said with a smile on his face.
"Don't be so complacent, Valin. The important thing in your case isn't what cultivation level you're at, but how your sword demon body evolves," said Mayor George.
"I understand, Grandfather... By the way, do you think Ana is still alive?" Valin asked.
"She is stronger than you think. She's a powerful spirit tamer, so you shouldn't underestimate her contracted beast, as even in the three neighboring cities, it would be highly valued," said George.
"Of course, Grandfather, that's why she will be my future wife... But well, changing the subject," Valin said.
Valin deliberately omitted mentioning Nulambart and changed the topic of conversation to avoid talking about the subject he hated.
"How long do you think you can maintain the barrier? I've seen since yesterday that you're straining yourself more than usual," Valin said.
"Probably one more day, Valin, so we'll have to prepare the people to leave," George commented, before explaining to his grandson how to do it.
Meanwhile, in Nulambart's house, Axel and Saya, his parents, lay peacefully in the bed where he had left them earlier. Nevertheless, their faces had lost much of their color.
Ana, who was sleeping beside them, slightly moved her eyes before opening them with difficulty.
"Elena... Nulambart..." Ana murmured drowsily.
After thirty minutes of trying to regain control of her movements, Ana managed to get out of bed, though she held a hand to her head.
"What am I doing here?" Ana wondered, looking towards Nulambart and Elena's room.
Then she saw that in the other bed in the room were Nulambart's parents, as well as the vase they had used before. With this, she could remember what had happened.
"My soul is damaged, but it seems Elena's parents have been saved," Ana said with a faint smile.
"They are fatigued from lack of food and hydration," Ana said softly, examining the condition of Nulambart's parents.
She then decided to check Nulambart's house, managing to find food that she subsequently crushed, as well as water to give to Axel and Saya.
"I can't find Nulambart anywhere... He probably went out to seek help, but he's still a normal person who couldn't escape that guard," Ana murmured, frowning.
Returning to the Elvareth Tribe, in the combat arena, everyone saw how suddenly Nulambart, who had previously been lying on the ground, stood up valiantly, emitting a dual aura (golden and blue), but in which the deep blue color now had prominence, swirling in vortices several meters above his body.
The world seemed to tremble for a moment when, in the next instant, the blue jade pendant materialized on Nulambart's chest.
Everyone present in the stands simply fell silent at the intimidating spectacle they were witnessing.
In the stands, Aggi and the village leaders were equally surprised.
"Mom, do you know what's happening right now? How is Nulambart so amazing right now?" asked Aggi, who looked at Nulambart with his mouth open.
"The truth is, we don't know what's happening," said Aggar, who attentively watched Nulambart's condition.
"Whatever happens, we'll soon find out," said Aggro, who was preparing to see what would happen next.
Nulambart felt power coursing through his body. His soul had a vague sense of being connected to his new companion, so he unconsciously touched the blue jade on his neck.
Upon making contact with the jade, Nulambart vomited a large mouthful of blood; however, everyone felt the power of his feline friend wanting to emerge.
"Let's see what we can do together, Snow," Nulambart murmured, smiling.
The blue aura that Nulambart was emitting concentrated on his pendant, allowing Snow to materialize in the form of an aura beside Nulambart.
"By forming my contract with you, I've risen a level on the natural primary path and am now at level 2. Thank you, my friend," Nulambart said, smiling, feeling that his body could contain a little more aura.
"Meeeeeeeeew," Snow replied, wagging his tail cheerfully.
I have no idea how I can be a spirit tamer at my cultivation level, since only those in the avatar realm can do so... But that must be why I can only endure this battle for a short time.
"I probably can't maintain the summoning for more than ten minutes," Nulambart said softly to his feline friend, feeling his renewed soul power rapidly being consumed.
"Let's attack, Snow. It's our turn to counterattack," Nulambart said, so that in the next moment he ran across the arena already cleared of explosives.
Gus, on the other side of the arena, watched all the changes occurring in his opponent and thought many times about trying to stop everything; however, he knew he couldn't do it in his current condition.
The robust young man was panting slowly with his wolf shield, which seemed to be costing him more than expected. He could only watch as Nulambart approached with a white cat towards his location.
"Don't think that by gaining a companion you can easily defeat me," said Gus, who stood firm with his shield.
Nulambart and Snow approached Gus's position and decided to attack simultaneously, so Nulambart used a reinforced fist strike, while Snow used his claws with extreme agility.
They attacked from various directions, appearing like flying shadows to the present audience. Nevertheless, Gus proved to be surprisingly agile with his shield and managed to block every combined attack from his rivals.
"Hmmp... I see that's all you're capable of, Nulambart," said Gus while enduring the fierce blows.
"Don't worry about telling me more, Gus. Let's just see who can withstand this battle longer," Nulambart said, smiling, who, with renewed confidence, had a clear plan to seek victory.
Gus's shield is extremely resistant, but it looks tired. Let's see who lasts longer, Gus.
After five minutes of fighting, neither of them retreated, but both were already extremely tired. One for attacking dozens of times while maintaining a summoning, while the other agilely blocked the attacks.
However, Gus's shield, every time it made contact with Nulambart, slowly numbed his hands.
On the other hand, Snow seemed to withstand the impacts of the shield better; however, his presence weakened as the minutes passed.
"He's falling into the trap... He doesn't know that my shield not only repels impacts but also emits vibrations that will numb his entire body," Gus said to himself.
Although Nulambart didn't know about the properties of the shield, he knew that he could only withstand the uneven fight in terms of cultivation levels because Gus didn't have the basic knowledge of martial cultivation.
Gus could have easily defeated me with his cultivation level, as he was easily dominating me. However, he didn't know how to maintain that advantage because he didn't know how to control his soul.
It seems he only knows the Ethereal Eternal Pillar, but he doesn't know about the other fundamental pillars of martial cultivation.
Nulambart saw that he simply exerted power in a rudimentary way, wasting his energy. That's not counting the fact that he didn't have the basic techniques of martial cultivators.
Gus, on the other hand, looked with new eyes at the rival in front of him, as he had given him a hard time; however, he had a backup plan.
In the next instant, Gus circulated his soul energy towards the last rune of his weapon, which caused it to break, releasing an extremely tyrannical aura, similar to a spiritual beast.
The red aura combined with Gus's dual-colored energy, causing the shield to change shape once more, transforming into a dark red one-handed sword, but also having a pauldron and bracers that protected his entire right side, making him look imposing.
While this was happening, Nulambart, who was watching the situation, couldn't let it pass, so he also got to work.
"Snow, I feel like our souls are almost one. Shall we try to go a little wild?" Nulambart asked, looking at Snow intently.
Nulambart closed his eyes and focused his energy on the blue jade. An icy current ascended his right arm, as if thousands of ice needles were piercing his skin.
When he opened his eyelids, his forearm glowed with a dense and vibrant aura: spectral snow claws extended from his knuckles, and luminous feline patterns danced from his elbow to his shoulders.
"Snow, let's go!" he shouted, feeling the cat's consciousness intertwined with his own.
The aura wasn't complete armor, but a bestial extension that pulsed to the rhythm of his heart. Each movement left blue trails in the air, like the footprints of an invisible feline.
Little by little, Nulambart's brown hair began to take on whiter tones, and his eyes shifted between a mix of elegant green and enigmatic blue that made Nulambart look intimidating.
Both transformations occurred in the same instant, so the waves emanating from their auras filled the entire coliseum.
In the stands, for a long time, Aggi's family had stood up with wide eyes, attentively watching the battle since Nulambart had summoned his friend.
"It should be impossible for Nulambart to summon a beast with his cultivation level! Not only that, but I also have no idea how he made that transformation," exclaimed Aggro, who couldn't hide his astonishment.
Aggi and his mother simply nodded with open mouths at such a situation.
Nulambart's brown hair, now with white streaks, fluttered in his aura around his body, which had now taken on a completely blue color, as he looked at his rival.
"Gus, these last few minutes will decide everything... Let's go all out and without regrets," Nulambart calmly stated to his opponent, feeling his new power.
"Nulambart, let's see who is stronger: the beast tamer or the Master Artisan," Gus replied, smiling.
At some point in the encounter, Gus began to call Nulambart by his name, as respect had gradually overcome contempt.
The coliseum seemed to stop for an instant, as in the next moment Gus ran towards Nulambart, leaving a trail of residual aura in his wake.
He brandished his sword to attack Nulambart, who waited in a defensive stance. The sword aimed directly at one of Nulambart's sides; however, he managed to dodge it in time.
The attack, which seemed simple with the sword, left a crater several meters deep in the ground.
All the spectators cheered at such a display of power.
Nulambart had gained speed with the transformation with his friend, and his senses had expanded to even greater levels, so he chose to analyze his current capabilities, leaving his rival the initiative to attack.
Gus lunged at Nulambart several times in a dangerous exchange for the latter, as after two minutes, he already had several light cuts on his body.
"That weapon of yours is incredible, Gus. Even though I can dodge it, the attack still impacts from afar," Nulambart said to his rival.
"Your speed makes it difficult for me to land my blows, I'll grant you that," Gus said solemnly.
Both seemed to be at a standstill at this point; however, there was a big difference between them.
"Your body is trembling more than usual, Nulambart... You can surrender now if you want," Gus pointed out.
"Don't worry, Gus, we don't have much fighting time left," Nulambart replied.
The winner of this encounter will be decided in the next few minutes.
Even with the transformation, Nulambart had to admit that his rival was at an extremely high level, and he had only managed to avoid defeat due to his experience practicing with his father.
Gus simply shook his head, and the branches that gave his sword life twisted, moving to form a fine and delicate rapier, which Gus pointed directly at Nulambart.
Then he attacked directly with skill towards Nulambart's limbs, who couldn't dodge all the blows that were now faster, so he ended up being pierced several times in his arms and legs.
Nulambart felt that if it weren't for the fact that Gus seemed to lack much knowledge of his weapons, he could have finished him off in a few seconds.
Determined to change the course of the fight, Nulambart decided to use all the energy he had left to start attacking Gus, who was panting, trying to end the fight quickly.
Nulambart's blows now carried the weight of a predator: fast, precise, and deadly.
Then he attacked a surprised Gus, who could only watch as three claw-shaped lines of blood formed on his chest, and he flew back several meters before landing on his feet.
Without giving him time to recover, Nulambart continued to unleash attacks, but Gus quickly regained his composure, and they began to exchange hundreds of blows rapidly.
The coliseum rumbled, while gusts of aura flew in all directions, leaving only a cloud of dust with the smell of iron in the air.
Soon, after a few minutes, both combatants were panting deeply, while their fatigued bodies struggled to stand.
The light claws flickered... Nulambart felt Snow's energy receding into the jade as a large mouthful of reddish-black blood escaped his mouth.
"My soul probably can't take much more," Nulambart whispered, his hands clenched on his chest.
Looking at the state of the fighters, Aggi couldn't bear the anguish any longer and asked,
"Father, that's enough, make them stop fighting!" exclaimed Aggi, his brow slightly furrowed.
Aggro, who had been watching the way both combatants fought, hadn't noticed the condition they were in, so listening to Aggi, he inwardly agreed and prepared to end the fight.
Booooooooooooom
"Wrooooooooooowh"
However, before he could do so, an explosion was heard throughout the Elvareth tribe, and in the next moment, a giant spiritual bird flew over the coliseum, to the astonished expressions of everyone present.