The last Asura Sovereign

Punya woke up groggily and cursed the three generations of the person who woke him up. He looked outside and saw a hooded man waiting. ‘What kind of style was this ringing a sleeping man’s door at midnight wearing a black hood’ Punya thought. He went to the door and opened it, signaling the man outside to enter. As the man entered the house and closed the door he removed the hood revealing his face.

Punya looked at him, his expression changing asked “Why are you here at the midnight and in this funny dress? Why have you left the outpost?” In the clan, there were very few people Punya trusted wholeheartedly. One of them was the fifth elder and another one was a deacon named Suraj. He was the strongest member in the outpost except Radha.

He was of a similar age to Punya. Although his cultivation talent was a little poor he was strong in battle. If not limited by his talent, Suraj would have broken through the middle stage in the foundation building realm years ago. But now with the help of pills and training, Suraj had reached the fourth level of foundation building realm. He had already reached the peak and was about to break through the fifth level. Punya and Suraj had been together since childhood and he was one of the most trusted subordinates, Punya had.

This was why Punya had sent Suraj to become the leader of the outpost. He had to make sure the resources gathered there were not embezzled or misused. And later he sent Radha there because he knew with Suraj, she would have an easier time managing things. Suraj looked at Punya and replied “Radha sent me here. She gave me a jade slip and asked me to approach the clan covertly. I came through the hidden passage.” Suraj gave the jade slip to Punya. While looking through the messages, Punya furrowed his brows as he read the part where the deacons of the two clans were behind this.

Even the deacons were not brave enough to make a move against the Rijal clan, so it was probably just to make them a scapegoat if things escalated. After he finished reading, Punya realized how efficient the Battle hall members were, in a matter of few hours, they had found the perpetrators, crippled them and found the fleeing ones, and had interrogated and killed them. The decision to create the Battle hall was proving to be one of the best decisions they had made.

Looking at his childhood friend, Punya slapped his thigh and exclaimed “Oh right wait for me. I have something for you.” Saying this he went to the kitchen and brought a few dishes. Looking at the dishes brought by Punya, Suraj couldn’t help but laugh. Even with the ongoing pressure seems like his old friend hasn’t changed. When they were young, Punya was a foodie while Suraj didn’t have much interest. But during their adventurous years, due to the influence of Punya, he had also developed some acquired taste. Even in the Bareback mountains, Suraj would send some exotic beasts they had caught or hunted for Punya.

Suraj started eating while Punya watched him as if he was waiting for compliments. After the first bite, Suraj was stunned. He had never tasted such good food. Even the meat of those exotic beasts paled in comparison to this food. Seeing his shocked face Punya laughed “It’s good right? Are you surprised?” Suraj nodded and asked “What kind of meat is this? And those vegetables how are they so good?” Not many people in small cities were fortunate enough to taste second grade food. Punya looked at him and smugly replied “That is just a regular nine tailed spirit chicken and those are common spirit vegetables.” Looking at the face of Suraj who seemed like he wanted to ask the questions Punya waved his hand. “Don’t ask where I got this. This clan leader’s means is beyond your understanding.”

Looking like a mighty immortal answering some mundane questions to a mortal, Punya replied. Seeing the irritating face of Punya, Suraj wanted to punch him but held back. This was Punya’s old habit, when he accomplished something great, he would only act like this in front of a few people who were very close to him. Suraj just scoffed and gorged on the food. Seeing him not asking more questions Punya just shrugged and went to the kitchen to bring more dishes. When he went for dinner this evening, he had swiped several dishes and stored them in his storage ring. After bringing a few more, the two sat in silence and continued eating

. After finishing the food Suraj asked Punya “What do you want me to tell Radha? You know how she is; I won’t be able to hold her back if she decides on something.” Punya looked at him and replied “You don’t have to tell anything to her. Even I won’t be able to hold her back if she truly decides on something. She had already held back, she just wanted me to know that.” Suraj stood up sighed and said, “Alright then I will head back now.” Punya nodded he had wanted to converse with his old friend for a while but he knew that it would be impossible to catch up for a while.

Only after this situation settles can they have time to drink and chat. ‘Speaking of drinking, Amrit should have some recipes. I should ask him to make some good wine for me’, Punya thought silently. Suraj covered his face with his hood once more and walked out of the door. Punya looked outside and saw the moons at almost the center of the sky. It should be midnight, Punya thought and went to sleep. After half an hour later, Suraj returned to the outpost and reported to Radha. Seeing he had brought no messages she understood and let him go to the training ground. She was still correcting their poses and commenting on their imperfections.

Due to the battle in the illusion, they were improving rapidly. Their cultivation was also improving satisfactorily. With time they will be the formidable blades of the Rijal clan but she knew they may not have much peaceful time left. When the war begins they will be lucky to catch a breath. She was following the ideology of it is better to bathe in sweat now than to shed a drop of blood on the battlefield. Since the Sixth elder was coming there tomorrow to negotiate peace, she could just let them be. The outcome would not affect her or the Battle hall. If they decided on the war, the Battle hall would be prepared, if not they would continue training.