Gunnar did not take his eyes off the mossback wolf.It stood taller than him, dark green moss clinging to its broad shoulders like weathered armor. Its brownish, amber eyes watched Gunnar without the slightest hint of fear.It was Gunnar.Gunnar could tell even though it wasn’t drooling.He took deep breaths, trying to stabilize his aura. He felt the need to do that after receiving the hits from the heavy-bodied wolf.“You can’t beat it,” Darius shouted from a distance. “Stop fighting and run!”The wolf growled, lowered its body, and exploded forward.Gunnar didn't retreat. “Split Step.” Aura burst beneath his right foot, and his body abruptly shifted half a stride to the left.The wolf's jaws snapped shut where his neck had been an instant earlier.Gunnar’s right foot slid some more as he got into the position and swiftly threw a punch.His knuckles landed firmly on the wolf’s face, but it moved his head away at the last moment, then pawed at him while rolling its body.Its claws str

Darius caught up with Gunnar. He put his polearm on his shoulder and walked next to him. “You look so young, but you are quite strong. How did you do that?”This was a question Gunnar never thought someone would ask him.“I’m not strong,” Gunnar replied.“You are being too humble,” Darius chortled. “You fought a mossback wolf that even experts won’t have an easy time against. Yet you managed to defeat it with your bare fists. What’s more, the technique you used was Stone Knuckle, wasn’t it? I have seen the fist clan members use it multiple times during competitions, but I’ve never seen it be explosive. Something about your technique or whatever it is… it’s clearly superior. What kind of a breathing technique do you use?”“I can’t tell you about it,” Gunnar said.“Haha, why not?” Darius looked at his glaive. “My clan members use the Heavy Heart breathing technique. When you hold a heavy weapon like this polearm and repeatedly swing it, it puts quite a lot of stress on not just your arm

“Who’s this, Brother?” Serena asked as Darius helped her get up.“He’s the one who saved me from the drumtail monkeys last night,” Darius said, surprising her very much.“What?” Serena keenly observed Gunnar.His face was strikingly handsome, with fair skin toned by the sun. Sharp eyebrows, as dark as ink, arched over a pair of deep brown eyes that appeared black until light hit them.His nose was straight and well-defined. But it was smooth hair that was blowing to the wind that caught her attention. That thick back hair, silky as midnight, with a few loose strands framing his face made Serena feel jealous.She had never seen a male with such lively hair before even though Gunnar’s hair wasn’t long now because his mother had made sure to cut his hair, probably predicting that he’d make many girls’ hearts drop otherwise.“He saved you?” Serena found it hard to believe. “What do you mean he saved you?”“I don’t know the full details, either,” Darius said. “But when I woke up this morn

“This doesn’t have any essence in it!” Serena kicked the blood rabbit’s face in frustration. “It was bigger than a pig, but it doesn’t even have some essence, let alone a core.”Darius finished extracting the scales from the lizard. “This thing doesn’t have an essence bag, either. I think it poured its essence into the crystals.”“Tsk, tsk, I was expecting more,” Serena went over to the lizard and kicked its face a couple of times. “You wanted to ambush us? This is what you get when you pick a fight with those out of your league.”“Stop hitting a dead animal,” Gunnar said.Serena stopped and looked at him. “Ah? What’s your problem if I hit it?” She kicked the lizard’s face again. “This thing just tried to hunt us. And you’re bothered because I’m hitting its ugly face after it died?”“You’re wasting time for silly reasons,” Gunnar said. “We should leave before another monster shows up.”“He’s right,” Darius said.“Tch, whatever,” Serena walked away empty-handed. Darius was right next

At Gunnar’s home.Dahlia woke up late because she had been meditating last night, trying to improve on channeling the aura to all parts of her body.She came out of her room, she lazily tapped her meridian points across the body using fingertips. This helped free up the body faster. “Did Gunnar come back?” she asked her mother.“No,” Minerva poured salted herb tea in an earthen cup.Dahlia picked up the cup. “Did he really go to the mountains again?” She took a long sip.“We don’t have enough people to spare, or I’d have sent a squad to find him and bring him back,” Minerva hissed.“I don’t understand it. Why did he go to the mountains now of all time?” Dahlia sighed. “He always does whatever he pleases. You can’t guess what he’s going to do tomorrow. What if he later refuses to marry into the Bluegrass clan?”Minerva didn’t say anything for a while. “In the end, your father will have the final decision.”“I guessed as much,” Dahlia said softly. “By the way, is Father still in the roo