Ah Zhong brought his muzzle to the ground inhaling, the faint fruity scent brought him back to his den. After dinner to his amusement, An Ling had proposed to play various games around the forest. He was following her scent in order to find her hiding spot when he was abruptly knocked to the ground by an adult earth elemental wolf.

「Move it!」

The wolf gave a brief glare in his direction and swiftly followed after the two other wolves. Ah Zhong was slightly jarred by their collision.

「Ouch...」

He grumbled and stood, as he lifted his head he was met with his mother's enraged face. He tucked his tail between his legs and flattened his ears. With her face as it was, he assumed that he was in trouble. When someone earned his mother’s ire she was as intimidating as a dragon.

「Ah Zhong, my little one.」

He flinched at her soft tone lowing his head.

「Y-Yes!?」

「In a few days time, you will travel to nightstar valley and participate in the affinity test.」

She paused and licked the unruly fur on top of his head, she had actually used this opportunity to fuss at him. He was confused with the somber look in her eyes. She gave him no words of encouragement had she not any expectations of him?

✦

The moon was up, painting the world silver, an imperceptible concentration of moonlight overhead fell, then dispersed. A delicate tide seemed to lap against the intersecting branches and drop to the grassy earth. These leaks of light only served to intensify his obscured surroundings, with his expressive imagination the wilderness roused with extrinsic shapes, looming, eerie, and uniquely distorted. The wind rushed through his pelt, his body trembled from its rawness.

He curled his body inward to conserve heat only letting his muzzle remain distended. His ears twitched at every sound alert as the forest grew silent his eyes fluttered and he fell into a deep sleep. When he woke his stomach was grumbling, the last days he had gathered berries and nuts that he came upon, it was barely enough to suffice.

「Hungry...Got to keep moving.」

He stretched his sluggish body from the ground. From the west, a faint smell of blood entered his nose. Ah Zhong was immature he was only thinking of his stomach at the moment he followed the scent he didn’t think the danger would follow him.

「There!」

He spotted the corpse of a white deer, the body was slightly ripe two or three days dead at most. This species of deer was called a Vlek is known for their thick timber antlers. However, this particular Vlek was missing one of its antlers.

《 How powerful! 》

He was in awe at how powerful this creature's jaw had to be in order to be able to tear the antler from the Vlek’s head. His stomach growled again, he bites into the meat of its leg pulling the body with him. Like that he took his leave, what he didn’t know was he nearly lost his life. As he left a robust orange beast with black stripes and horns protruding from it’s back emerged.

This beast was called a Ryr and even this adolescent could take down an opponent that was twice its size. Ah Zhong had been lucky, had this Ryr been fully grown it might not have let him leave with his life. In the eyes of the Ryr emotion swirled it was amused at the smaller black wolf that had stolen its meal. It turned on its paws and left maybe if it was fated they’d meet again.

✦

After five days of grueling travel, he had finally arrived at Nightstar Valley. The clearing was brimming with elemental wolves from young to old. Multiple wolves had the same color pelt ranging from red, blue, yellow and the rare orange or dark green. The elements were comprised of the five main elements, wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Following these were the rare elements such as ice, wind, electricity, space, time, magma, gravity, light and darkness.

As he wandered the valley he felt plenty of eyes on him he felt his pride swell as these eyes held shock and awe. They were all gazing at his jet black fur thinking the same thing, did this young wolf pup have a rare element? The only wolf in the pack that held a rare element was the alpha excluding his daughter who was exiled. Yet, they didn’t recognize this young pup was he the son of a returning wandering wolf? They looked to the alpha who was resting on a rock with his Luna.

「Listen up! All year old pups are to assemble for the affinity and talent test. 」

A red fire elemental wolf standing next to the alpha Gu Zhan shouted he was the known beta of the pack. From the large pack, ten to twelve youth’s and himself gathered under the rock.

「Welcome young wolves today we will be testing both your talent and affinity. Good luck to you all」

Gu Zhan stood up briefly to talk to them before whispering in the red wolves ear. The red wolf glared at the young pups before speaking again.

「This orb will tell us your result. Just place your muzzle against it like so.」

The red wolf placed the tip of his nose against the large orb that stood next to the alpha’s rock. A strange humming noise came from the rock displaying the beta’s results. Superior medium grade qi talent, element fire. The younger wolves looked up with awe in the gathering of hundreds of wolves medium talent was the highest talent within the pack. Qi was the key to cultivation without it, you could not cultivate. The higher talent you had the more qi you could gather.

The first pup looked at the orb with anticipation before placing his nose against it. Once more the orb hummed and displayed the result, High minor grade qi talent, element fire. The young pup with a cocky smirk looked down on the other wolf cubs. This particular wolf pup was the beta’s son, Yu Zhan.

The beta was smiling as he nudged his son.

「Well done!」

Gu Zhan also had a happy expression after all the pup was his other grandson and the beta was his son how could he not be proud.

「Wen Zhan, with your son’s talent he could surpass me and become the next alpha.」

「Thank you father.」

Although his son’s talent surpassed his own he wasn’t bitter, if he could become the next alpha he’d be delighted. With the young cub’s talent it had become a barrier that others couldn’t follow, the mood of the other youth wolves shrank. Several tests followed yet none could measure up to Yu Zhan.

「Next.」

Ah Zhong turn was next he stepped up to the orb. He touched his nose to the orb yet the orb only made a short hum before stopping. Low minor qi grade talent, element none. It was deathly silent no wolf made a sound this had only happened once before at the testing of the alpha’s daughter’s mate.

With low minor grade talent one could only hope to become a cultivator and by the time they did they’d be an elder. Even the pack only expected those who had a talent for low superior grade talent anything lower could only hope to wish to become a cultivator. Most of the wolves that lived in the valley were blue to red level spirit cultivators. Even Yu Zhan was a second stage spirit initiate cultivator.

「 A trash’s son can only be trash. 」

Zu Zhan snickered and stood haughtily in front of Ah Zhong. He held his head down burning with shame.

「 You thought you were something special with that rare pelt color, think again!」

Bright flames flickered on Zu Zhan’s red pelt, they were powerful and hot.

「You don’t deserve to wear it.」

When the black cub had shown up Zu Zhan had seen how he was proudly displaying his pelt as if he had mastered the element it corresponded to darkness. At that time Zu Zhan had been seething in jealousy. The flame’s flicked then gathered charging the young black cub. As the flame’s toughed his pelt he caught fire.

All Ah Zhong felt was heat and pain as it razed his whole body. He yelped and rolled on the ground in an attempt to douse the flame.

「Now leave, outsider!」

As he saw Zu Zhan preparing another flame he was scared witless if he stuck him again he could possibly die. He turned and ran leaving the valley. He’d vowed to get revenge on Zu Zhan one day otherwise his pride would never recover.