A thousand silver coins for each treatment!
Which meant, if he performed the treatment three times, he'd receive 3,000 silver coins.
Though Veer had guessed that healers were wealthy, he hadn't expected them to be this rich.
Amar Singh, a senior member of the Mishra family, was only a ninth-level healer. Yet he spoke of giving Veer 3,000 silver coins as if it were no big deal.
Revati was also shocked upon hearing this.
Where each elder of the Mishra family received only 20 silver coins per month for their expenses, Veer was being handed 3,000 silver coins in one go.
Even the other elders were astonished by Amar Singh's offer.
All Veer had done was massage the senior's shoulders for a short while—and he was getting 1,000 silver coins for it...
"Senior... I can massage your shoulders too! In fact, I'll do it for two whole hours. Why don't you give me 1,000 silver coins as well?"
Ashutosh said to Amar Singh, the greed in his eyes completely transparent. He had found a new way to get rich. He looked at Amar Singh as if the man were a golden goose.
Senior Amar Singh was well aware of Ashutosh's nature. So he chose to ignore him. After a brief moment of thought, he turned to Veer and asked,
"Veer, where did you learn this method of healing internal injuries? Your treatment had a noticeable effect on my wounds. If you treat me twice more in the same way, I'm confident I'll be completely healed."
"Senior, I read about this method in an old book. But I don't remember the name of the book."
Veer said with a slight smile.
Amar Singh looked at Veer intently upon hearing his answer.
He understood that Veer was lying. But he chose not to press the matter further. Everyone has secrets they don't wish to reveal. And from Veer's tone, Amar Singh could tell he didn't want to talk more about it.
Was the senior really injured for all this time?
This question was now swirling in every elder's mind.
They also remembered that Veer had mentioned the senior's injuries even before touching him.
Now they all wanted to know—how did Veer know about the senior's internal injuries?
And even more importantly—how did he know how to treat them?
At this point, even Revati began to suspect Veer. But it was hard for her to understand just how much he had changed.
Only Diya wasn't surprised by him. She always knew Veer was different from everyone else.
"Aman, can I now challenge you to a bet?"
Veer asked while looking at Aman.
"Of course… If you're that eager to hand over your silver coins to me, who am I to stop you? I accept your bet."
Aman replied, wearing a fake smile.
Veer then approached Vardhan Singh and handed him 500 silver coins.
"Clan Chief, these are the 500 silver coins I'm placing for the bet. I request you to act as the witness to this match."
After a moment's thought, Vardhan Singh accepted the coins.
"These are the 500 coins for the bet between me and Ashutosh as well. Please hold them too."
Aman said, handing over another pouch of coins.
"Very well. You two may begin your match now."
Vardhan Singh accepted the coins and nodded at Veer.
Before entering the arena, Veer handed the remaining 500 silver coins to his mother Revati.
Everyone now focused their attention on the arena. After a long wait, the battle was finally about to begin.
"So you finally showed up to face me, Veer. I thought you were hiding behind the senior, trying to curry favor out of fear."
Abhijeet said with a loud laugh.
"And what makes you think I'm afraid of you? Seems like you have far too much confidence in yourself. You'd better come at me with everything you've got. If you lose today, your family will end up on the streets. Do you even know how many silver coins your father bet on you?"
Abhijeet's face fell upon hearing this.
He had no idea about the wager his father had placed.
"What are you trying to say?"
Abhijeet asked Veer.
"You'll understand soon enough."
Veer replied with a faint smile.
That smile unnerved Abhijeet. For the first time, he felt fear toward Veer. Something inside told him Veer was dangerous... but what exactly?
Abhijeet braced himself and began gathering energy in his body. Then he charged toward Veer.
"Veer! You broke my little brother Ravi's arm. I'm going to do far worse to you."
Abhijeet shouted as he charged.
He curled both hands and used his battle technique—Parna Punch, a mid-tier Yellow Grade technique.
"Parna Punch!"
"Aman, Abhijeet is truly talented. He's already mastered the Parna Punch at such a young age."
"I started training in it at the first level of the Physical Realm. But I didn't master it until the seventh level. Abhijeet's already mastered it by the fourth!"
"Indeed, Aman. He's a prodigy. Honestly, I'm a little jealous."
As the other elders praised Abhijeet, Aman began to smile with pride. His son was making him proud today.
"What technique is Veer using?"
Clan Chief Vardhan Singh suddenly asked in surprise.
Everyone turned to look at Veer.
They saw him pulling his body back like a drawn bowstring.
Just as Abhijeet's Parna Punch was about to hit, Veer twisted his body and stood directly in front of Abhijeet. He crouched like a panther, making no effort to dodge the punch.
THUD…
As the punch landed, Abhijeet's body trembled. Meanwhile, Veer was pushed back several steps, his face flushed red.
"Veer!"
Revati cried out in worry upon seeing his condition.
Aman too was shocked. He had assumed Veer wouldn't even survive a single punch from Abhijeet. Yet here he was—still standing. Not a drop of blood had spilled.
"Somdutt, looks like your 500 silver coins are gone. I must thank you for this generous gift."
Ashutosh said with a laugh.
He laughed at Somdutt as if the bet was already won.
As I thought... My body's still too weak to face a fourth-level warrior head-on. I need more training. But maybe... I can still win!
Veer thought, looking at the ring on his finger.
The ring was made from an inscription spell—a tool he had crafted specifically to fight Abhijeet.
"Veer, I didn't expect you to reach the third level of the Physical Realm. But it won't help you. You can't beat me. You broke my brother's arm. Today I'll break every bone in your body. You'll beg for death, but you won't get it. You'll spend your life lying helpless in bed."
Abhijeet yelled.
Hearing these words, Veer's eyes gleamed. He hadn't realized Abhijeet was this cruel.
When Ravi provoked him, Veer had shown mercy by breaking just one arm. But now, all that mercy was gone.
Abhijeet might be stronger—but Veer knew that if he used his ring, Abhijeet wouldn't stand a chance.
They were both disciples of the Mishra family. Initially, Veer had only wanted to defeat Abhijeet. But now… his intentions had changed.
"You want to cripple me, Abhijeet? You want me to live a life worse than death? Fine... But remember the words you just said. I hope you don't regret them later."
Veer said coldly.
"Regret? Me? Never. I stand by every word!"
Abhijeet shouted in anger.
He knew Veer was at his weakest right now. If he missed this chance, he'd never get revenge. So once again, he used Parna Punch on Veer.
But this time, Veer was ready.
From the first punch, he had studied the technique—its strengths and weaknesses.
Instead of blocking, Veer chose to strike back.
He curled his hands and used his own technique: Patana Punch.
Their fists collided. As before, Abhijeet's body trembled. Veer had been waiting for this.
He allowed the effects of the Parna Punch to subside and then landed a Patana Punch right on Abhijeet.
Abhijeet hadn't expected such a sudden attack. Still stunned from the previous clash, he stood unguarded.
Veer's punch landed—and SNAP!—Abhijeet's arm broke instantly.
The sound of cracking bones and Abhijeet's scream echoed through the arena.
Before anyone could even understand what happened, Veer stepped forward and struck again. This punch sent Abhijeet flying 3 meters through the air, landing near the edge of the arena.
Veer didn't give him a chance to get back up. He kept attacking—one punch after another.
Abhijeet realized his mistake. He had underestimated Veer. If he didn't act fast, he'd lose everything.
He tried to stand, but Veer kicked him in the stomach. Whatever strength he had left was now gone.
Tears streaming down his face, Abhijeet cried out—
"Father! Save me! He's going to kill me!"
Gone was the arrogance in his voice. All that remained was fear.
Fear of Veer. Fear of dying at his hands.
But Veer didn't stop. He kept punching—again and again.
"No! Stop! Let him go!"
Upon hearing his son's cries, Aman jumped from his seat and rushed toward the arena.
He knew—if he hesitated even a second longer, Veer would kill his son.
Seeing Aman run, Revati also sprinted toward the arena.
She knew exactly what Aman intended to do...