Chapter 38: Clan Meeting II

Upon hearing the words of the first elder, Punya felt the tension in the air dissipate. He realized that despite the conflict with the fifth elder, he now held the upper hand. In a magnanimous gesture, Punya chose to pardon the fifth elder and decided against the earlier plan to replace all the heritage jades and have the elder engrave them. However, he decided to reserve this punishment for a future occasion when the actions of the fifth elder might once again test his patience. At this moment he could draw out the arguments and suppress the elders but it could backfire in the future and create internal conflicts. So giving them a leeway and throwing Keshab under the bus seemed the better option to end this farce.

 So he replied to the first elder "The supreme elders found these inheritances three years ago when they said they were going to seclusion. Although they initially claimed to have gone into seclusion just to mislead outsiders, they had actually found a map to the cultivator's abode and secretly went to the Bareback mountains to search for the inheritances. However, all they found that was beneficial were the inheritances of auxiliary professions. The cultivation technique they found was of incomplete spirit grade and was aligned with demonic techniques, so they destroyed it. This is why some of the contents within the inheritance are a little unorthodox. Over the past two years, they have studied the inheritances and destroyed some of the unorthodox ones for the clan." Punya told what was discussed with the supreme elder before. Keshab even went as far as to create top-tier arrays and put traces to make it look like there was really a cultivator's abode just in case. Some of the traps (he made) were left in the abode and were still functioning. Keshab was cautious and had plans for several scenarios. This was how he was able to lead the clan to rise for the second time.

This answer quelled the hearts of some elders and deacons but some of them were still suspicious. This response eased the concerns of some elders and deacons, but some of them still had their doubts. Even though the supreme elders had placed the inheritances in the Skill pavilion, who was to say they hadn't set aside the best ones for themselves? It's human nature, these elders had overlooked just how much the supreme elders had sacrificed and contributed to the clan. Although the elders wanted to inquire more about where the supreme elders found the inheritances they thought it wasn't a good idea to question about supreme elders. After a while, another elder asked Punya "Clan leader can you decrease the contribution points required for the high-grade inheritances?" Punya thought for a while and replied "You should make an improvement from what you have redeemed from the Skill pavilion. If you guys show significant improvement in your field I will plead to the supreme elders to reduce the points required by four-tenths."

Hearing the first sentence the elders were disappointed but after hearing the second sentence, their eyes lit up. Although it will take some time to show significant improvement, it was tolerable. Reducing by four-tenths will save them a notable amount of contribution points. Since the supreme elders were generous enough to provide them the knowledge they decided to first improve themselves. It was not hard for them to gather contribution points, it was just tedious work and took some time. They decided to go all out from now on. To the elders and the deacons, it was kind of a competition to see if they were limited by their talents or resources. The one to make the most improvements can boast every time they meet.

As the elders accepted his proposal, Punya also felt a sense of relief inside. They could make all the inheritance free, as everyone was from the same clan. They were related in one way or another so giving them the inheritance for free was also for the betterment of clan. But it might cause the elders and the clan members to lose their drive, as you appreciate what you have worked for. You might enjoy what you have been given for free, but you cannot replace the feeling of accomplishment. This feeling is what motivates one to move forward. If everything is provided for free one can become lazy.

After discussing some other clan matters the clan meeting was concluded. Punya had thought today would be a busy day and the elders would try to suppress him. But who would have thought that the fifth elder would diffuse the situation so easily and gave the upper hand to Punya. It was a sweet move. Remembering the punchable face of fifth elder Punya didn't want to admit it but he owed the elder a great deal. If the situation today escalated, when the war came the internal strife within the clan would mark its destruction. Although the news gathered from the spies in other clans wasn't concrete, Punya was ninety percent sure war would happen in the near future. This was because if the other clans didn't attack them within few months, in less than a decade the Rijal clan will devour them completely.

 While the meeting in the clan was action-packed, Amrit was still sleeping under the spirit fruit tree. It was well past lunchtime Radha didn't wake him up. She knew that Amrit was practicing really hard for a week barely resting. So seeing him sleeping peacefully, she just prepared lunch and informed the supreme elders. But it turned out they too were busy so she just put the food in a container that was covered in arrays that kept the food fresh. It would maintain the freshness of food for a few days without decreasing the temperature, texture, or even the taste of food. The food containing spirit energy only spoils after a few days if left in the open but the temperature declines which may cause a change in texture and taste. After storing food, Radha went to the training room for more practice. A few hours passed and the sun began to set dying everything into a golden hue.

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