The last Asura Sovereign

Punya went to the Skill pavilion directly from the supreme elder’s residence. It was morning and the sun had already cast its first light. The clan was bustling as usual, people doing their own chores. Around the Skill pavilion, there were already a few people clamoring to go inside. Although many departments of the clan were usually open all day and night, the Skill pavilion was usually closed at midnight and opened after dawn.

It wasn’t some type of rule or something, the fifth elder just liked it that way. And nobody could persuade him to do otherwise. It usually depended on his mood whether to open at the crack of dawn or a little bit later. And today he had decided to open a little bit later. When Punya arrived before the Skill pavilion, a few people bowed their heads and greeted him. When he asked how long they had been waiting before the pavilion they replied they were there queueing from the first light of the sun today.

He returned the greeting, nodded at them, and sent a message to the fifth elder saying to either open the door or he would break it down and if he still didn’t comply he would make the fifth elder be present while discussing every mundane clan matter in the clan hall. That was the fifth elder’s Achilles heel. He could tolerate everything but the clattering in the clan hall. The fifth elder opened the door quickly and invited Punya to the top floor.

Seeing Punya coming this early to meet him, he figured there must be some sort of emergency, so the top floor was the most suitable one for privacy. The fifth elder Bhimeshwor then set up a teapot and looked at Punya “Alright seeing you this early there must be something important. Spill the beans, don’t waste my time.”

Looking at the impatient elder, Punya sighed and replied “There is indeed something important. I was with the supreme elders and they asked me to discuss about something with you.” Hearing supreme elders and discussion, the fifth elder’s expression changed to serious. Although he may have taken the clan leader lightly, he didn’t dare to take the supreme elders lightly. Then Punya began to spill everything he had heard from yesterday to the reports he had received today as well as the discussion with the supreme elders.

The more Bhimeshwor heard the grave his expression became. Although he didn’t back down from a fight, he was a pacifist at his core. The most pleasurable time for him was when he could read in peace. He had had his share of fighting in his prime and now he just wanted to have a stable life in retirement away from the violence and noise, that was why he chose the Skill pavilion in the first place.

When it came to the part of the plan where he would take some of the children away, he just became dazed. Punya let him be and decide what he wanted to do. Although the brain of the fifth elder was telling him taking those children away was the best logical thing to do in case of any emergencies and there was no one better to lead them in the clan his heart was telling him something different. His heart was telling him to stay and fight, to bathe the clan grounds with the blood of their enemies.

His heart was telling him this would be the battle he would regret running away from, and his mind was telling him this would be the battle he would regret if he didn’t heed Punya’s words and prioritize glory before the future of the clan. He was not like the superficial cultivators who would care about their faces. Although the reputation is important, it isn’t too late for the gentleman to take revenge after ten years. Seemingly in a daze, the fifth elder’s expression looked conflicted. Punya knew it was a hard decision to abandon the clan when everyone was fighting.

After a few moments Bhimeshwor came to a decision and nodded towards Punya “Alright I will take the children away and if something happens to the clan at that time, I will teach them the arts of the clan and revive the clan once more. But you can’t stop me one day when I take my weapon for revenge.”

Punya nodded and replied, “You can go as berserk as you want as long as the bloodline is protected.” As if remembering something the fifth elder asked “What about Amrit?” Punya replied, “He chose to battle and said he would rather be the ghost of the clan than wait for ten years to get revenge.” Bhimeshwor nodded “A foolish decision but I can understand the sentiment of the youth.” He chuckled “Oh he had inherited her annoying trait. I remember the days when I had to bail out you guys from trouble due to her not backing down.”

Reminiscing about the past, Punya also let out a chuckle “She is still like that. She is only restraining herself nowadays because she can’t get a good fight in the city. Many of them are still traumatized.” The fifth elder also chuckled “You guys were a handful. Thank god this generation is not anything like you guys.” Punya replied, “Give it a time old man, they will surely be a handful given a chance.”

After dreaming of a better future the fifth elder asked “Okay for the question at hand. Have you selected the children? I don’t want to sound cruel but those without talent and good behaviors would only drag the rest down.” Punya also nodded and replied “When we first heard about the war, I have asked some of my subordinates to choose some potential seeds for the future. There are few talented kids and few who have high willpower.”

Bhimeshwor nodded and replied “That’s a good foresight. Have the kid’s parents informed that I will be teaching those selected personally. Make an excuse that I will train them for a while and if they pass my test, I will further continue imparting knowledge to them. Don’t announce this in public, just let the parents know in secret that I will be assessing them for half a month. Although the moles will find out about it sooner or later, I would be long gone by then. Even if the war doesn’t happen, those children will have faced hardship and it will be good for later, if the war happens, then won’t be losing everything. Also, ask the supreme elder for pills like fasting pills and cultivation pills. They will come in handy in the future.”