"Diya, what kind of sword do you want?"
Veer asked Diya while walking toward the market.
This time, he was going specifically to buy a sword for Diya. She had been practicing the Icy Sword Technique for the past month, and to master this martial art, she needed a sword.
Technically, Diya needed to enter the Chakramadhya Mandal (a cultivation realm) first. But Veer wanted her to learn swordsmanship beforehand so that using the sword after her entry into the Mandal would be easier.
Anyway, the sword was a weapon used by nearly all warriors.
"Master... I don't know much about swords, so I'd prefer you choose one that you think would be easy for me to use."
Diya said in a soft voice.
Veer thought her response was reasonable.
After a while, they reached the Mishra family's market. All eyes in the crowd were on them. Veer quickly realized the reason: they weren't staring at both of them, just at Diya. Her beauty had captivated them. Many began feeling jealous of Veer.
Not wanting to invite any trouble, Veer took Diya's hand and quickly entered a nearby shop.
"Veer... You're here! Tell me, how can I help you?"
As soon as Veer entered the shop, a boy around his age rushed up and asked why he was there.
"You know me?"
Veer asked the boy.
"Of course! How could I not know you? I even took half a day off from the shop today just to watch your duel with Abhijeet. You're incredibly strong—Abhijeet was nothing compared to you!"
The boy said, praising Veer.
"It's nothing like that. I was just lucky, or else I might have ended up in Abhijeet's place. Anyway, let's skip that. Tell me—do you have any good swords? I need to buy one."
Without wasting any more time, Veer got straight to the point.
"Veer, is this sword for you?"
The boy asked curiously.
"No, not for me. I'm buying it for my Diya."
Veer replied.
Hearing Veer call her "my Diya", Diya's face flushed red with embarrassment. She couldn't believe he had just said that.
"I do have some swords you might like. Please come with me."
The boy glanced at Diya first, then spoke to Veer.
After looking at Diya, he quickly averted his gaze, afraid Veer might get angry at him.
He led Veer and Diya to another room and laid out several swords. Though he tried not to, he kept glancing at Diya now and then.
Thanks to his inherited memories of Laksh, Veer could instantly evaluate the quality of the swords. It didn't take him long to find one he liked.
The sword was small and shiny, but that wasn't the only reason Veer chose it. The real reason was the "Ukku".
Ukku was a type of iron known to make extremely powerful weapons. It was also exceedingly rare. Finding Ukku in any mine was nearly impossible. It was the purest form of iron. Just 10 grams of Ukku were worth more than 1,000 silver coins. According to weapon-smiths, 10 grams of Ukku could be used to create weapons with the strength of 60–70 grams of regular iron.
Seeing such a rare metal before him made Veer's heart race.
"Veer, this sword is a bit more expensive than the others because it's shinier. It's made using other metals along with iron, which makes it stronger than the rest."
The boy said while describing the sword's features.
"Other metals along with iron..."
Hearing that, Veer laughed internally. He hadn't expected to find Ukku in this shop—and the shopkeeper had mistaken it for an ordinary alloy.
Ukku might resemble metals like aluminum or steel in appearance, but the difference was immense. A sword made from Ukku could destroy 500 aluminum or steel swords. And if a warrior used inner energy with a Ukku sword, defeating him would be nearly impossible.
Veer's luck was incredible—he had found this rare metal with ease.
To be fair, it wasn't the shopkeeper's fault. Very few weapon crafters even knew what Ukku was.
"What's the price of this sword?"
Veer asked, calming his excitement.
"200 silver coins. But since you're from the Mishra family, I won't lie. This sword is slightly weaker than steel ones. So I'll give it to you for 180 silver coins."
The boy said.
"Diya, how do you like this sword? Do you want it?"
Veer asked.
"Master... it's too expensive. Are you sure you want to buy it?"
Diya did like the sword, but she was also aware of Veer's financial condition. She didn't want him wasting so much money on her.
Veer laughed at her response. Diya thought 180 silver coins was too much for a normal sword. She had no idea it was made of Ukku. If she had known, she wouldn't have stopped him from buying it.
"Alright… I want to buy this sword. But I don't have that much silver on me right now. How about you give it to me now, and I'll have my mother pay you later?"
Veer asked the boy.
"Sure! I have no problem with that."
The boy nodded without hesitation. Veer was the son of Elder Revati of the Mishra family—he had no reason to doubt his word.
"Diya, this is your first sword. You must take good care of it. For any warrior learning swordsmanship, their sword is the most important thing."
Veer said, handing her the Ukku sword.
"Yes, Master."
Diya replied softly. She truly liked the sword—but more important was the fact that Veer had bought it for her. Anything related to Veer was precious to her.
After buying the sword, Veer bought a few more things Diya needed and began walking back home.
Just as he was about to enter his house, he noticed a shadow. That shadow had been following him the entire day—from the Mishra family's market to the sword shop, and now even here. The moment Veer looked directly at it, the shadow disappeared.
"What happened, Master?"
Seeing Veer frozen in place, Diya asked.
"Nothing."
Veer replied, deflecting her concern. He didn't want her to worry unnecessarily.
The shadow had hidden itself very well, but Veer had still managed to identify it. It was someone from the Ahuja family, keeping an eye on him.
Veer didn't want that person to realize he'd been discovered, so he acted as though he hadn't noticed a thing.
He took Diya's hand and entered the house.
At the same time, in one of the rooms of the Mishra family estate, a meeting of all the elders was being held. Clan Head Vardhan Singh and Senior Elder Amar Singh were present. Aman was also there, glaring at Revati with anger.
"I'm glad you all came. Today's agenda is the duel between Veer and Abhijeet. You all saw how Veer broke Abhijeet's spine. Abhijeet was the future of our family. I want to know what you all think about this."
Clan Head Vardhan Singh asked objectively.
Hearing this, all eyes turned to Senior Amar Singh. Everyone wanted to know his opinion. If he remained silent, they could easily blame Veer.
Feeling their gaze, Amar Singh said:
"I believe Veer should be punished. He's already so ruthless at such a young age—who knows what he'll become later?"
"Senior, you truly are the embodiment of justice. I fully support your decision."
Ashutosh praised Amar Singh. He occasionally glanced at Somdatt too. It was hard to tell whether he was doing it because of Veer—or the silver coins he'd lost on a bet.
Ashutosh continued:
"Today, Veer broke the family's rules and harmed one of his own. If we let this go, he'll repeat the mistake. Who knows—tomorrow it might be one of your sons he injures. We must punish him as an example, so no one dares attack a fellow Mishra again."
Hearing this, the elders looked at one another.
"Ashutosh, we've discussed this before. If Veer hadn't kept pressing, Abhijeet would have seriously injured him. If Abhijeet had simply accepted defeat, none of this would've happened. But he didn't want to lose. He thought he could win—so he kept taking hits."
Somdatt spoke in Veer's defense.
"So, Somdatt, according to you, if two warriors fight, the one who nearly kills the other shouldn't be punished as long as the other survives? That means they can do anything? If that happens, all disciples will become sworn enemies!"
Aman replied angrily.
A broken spine meant permanent disability. The spine balanced the body—without it, walking, standing, or sitting was extremely difficult.
Revati, meanwhile, remained completely silent. Unlike others, she said nothing. Somdatt had hoped she would support her son, but she remained mute.
"Does anyone else want to speak?"
Vardhan Singh asked after hearing everyone out.
"Clan Head, we believe Veer should be punished. We agree with Aman."
Some elders supported Aman.
These elders appeared neutral and thoughtful—but they weren't selfless. No matter how close someone is, people don't help without benefit. That was human nature.
To them, Abhijeet was family—Veer was not, no matter how talented.
"Very well. Then let's decide this matter through a vote."
Vardhan Singh said.
"Clan Head—"
Suddenly, Revati broke her silence.
Everyone looked at her intently. No one had expected the long-silent Revati to speak up.
"Revati… do you have something to say?"
Vardhan Singh asked, slightly displeased at her interruption.
"You all know that Veer was very weak a month ago. So how did he suddenly become so strong? Many of you must think he got his hands on something valuable. Well, let me tell you—you're right. Veer did find something valuable."
Revati spoke, capturing everyone's attention.
Her words silenced even Ashutosh and Aman. They, too, were now curious: What exactly did Veer find to become so powerful?