In the Asura realm, the mountains stood like the ocean as the setting sun was like blood.
The sky that was already red became dyed even further, like it was bleeding. The clouds in the glow of the setting sun seemed to be burning. It was a grand and magnificent sight.
It was as if daytime never existed, only sunrise and sunset.
Falling in battle when the sun set and coming back to life when the sun rose. Only the blood-red colour never changed.
That was a solemn melancholy, a valiant intensity, that those who lived under the blue sky and white clouds could never understand.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The ground rumbled; the mountains shook. A giant advanced with heavy steps, actually carrying a balance that resembled a small mountain on its back.
White towers and golden domes rose up from the palace. The scattered courtyards and corridors were dyed red by the light of the setting sun, like it was a glorious palace of a god.
It was more worthy of the name “god’s palace” than most palaces in the world too. Compared to those structures built from rock and clay, a living Asura Battle God occupied this place.
In the depths of a courtyard, a middle-aged man sat back leisurely in a seat, admiring the performance.
There was only one dancer, dressed in a sari with a veil on her face. A single, pointy, white horn extended from her smooth forehead.
Her movements were graceful, like a bird flying through the air, a peacock demonstrating its plumes. Her singing was soft and enchanting, silken and intangible, enough to leave people charmed. She turned the entire courtyard into a paradise within the woods.
The war cries from the distant battlefield were diluted by the singing as well, serving as an insignificant contrast in the background.
The man’s eyes were half-closed, also enchanted by her performance.
A robust figure suddenly leapt out of the space there, except he was an Asura Sovereign. He immediately dropped down on one knee and clasped his hands. “Esteemed god, the kid still refuses to surrender!”
The aura of slaughter from the battlefield suddenly disrupted the peace here. The dancer did not stop her performance.
Nidaum opened his dark-red eyes reluctantly. “Truly a ki?nara. It is a decadent sound, but it is still something difficult to part with!”
Ki?nara were one of the eight legions, renowned for their expertise in singing and dancing. They neither belonged to the Heaven realm nor the Asura realm, but they primarily lived in the Heaven realm. They were known as Music Celestials.
Often, during the wars between the Heaven realm and Asura realm, they were abducted by the Asura realm as “spoils of war”. Their singing was at the limits of amusement in the world. They possessed the title of the Goddesses of Singing.
Nidaum stroked his thick mustache and asked the Asura Sovereign, “If I offer her as a gift, will he surrender?”
“Esteemed god, I think that kid won’t surrender even if he dies in battle!” The Asura Sovereign seemed to recall something, becoming rather shaken, but he also demonstrated undisguised respect.
“Then she’s useless.”
Nidaum swung his hand casually, and the ki?nara woman’s head fell to the ground. Her headless body continued to dance, and her veiled head continued to sing, becoming even more sorrowful and sentimental, like cuckoos singing for their deceased love.
The Asura Sovereign immediately began to waver, struggling to control himself. He immediately stirred his fighting spirit and guarded his will. If he listened to singing like that for too long, it would definitely weaken his fighting spirit.
Nidaum twiddled around with the tip of his mustache. “If you put up a fight, you would have had a chance at survival!”
With her gentle steps, the ki?nara woman lifted up her head elegantly, continuing to sing away.
“To rather die from singing than in battle. How obstinate.”
Nidaum shook his head in pity. “I’ll check out this ‘little king Ming’ for myself!”
King Ming’s army, the central tent.
Rāhu Xiaoming dismissed his generals, facing a map alone.
Suddenly, his ears caught something. A sharp whistle approached from the distance, breaking through the army formations in an instant and entering the tent.
“We finally meet, little king Ming!”
Nidaum was as relaxed as if he was on a stroll, except his gaze was filled with an enthusiasm to subdue Rāhu Xiaoming as he stared at his back.
It was not because he leaned a certain way, but because talents like him were far too rare.
Even when he could not use the abilities and techniques of the Rāhu clan, the talent and strength that Rāhu Xiaoming demonstrated was still outstanding.
In direct combat, he feared no Asura Sovereign. When he commanded the army, he could hold off a mighty Battle God. At the same time, he was skilled in assassination, archery, and various other warfare tactics. That was what flowed in his veins.
With how long the war had lasted, all the Asura Sovereigns under Nidaum’s command recognised him too.
Nidaum understood his value better than anyone else. Battle Gods had to be bathed in blood as well for a chance to become a true Asura War God, and when it came to their opponents, there were only other Battle Gods apart from the Heaven realm.
If he had a general like him at the back, helping him command the army and gather the army qi, when he faced other Battle Gods, it would increase his chances of victory by thirty percent at the very least.
This is what the red heavens sent me! Nidaum praised the red sky as his gaze became even more fervent.
Rāhu Xiaoming turned around. He had a bristly stubble and a weathered face, but his eyes continued to shine like stars.
At that instant, he actually gave Nidaum the impression that he was a Battle God who could stand on equal footing with him.
“Battle God Nidaum, you can call me ‘Ming’, or ‘king Ming’.”
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Rāhu Xiaoming had specially dropped the surname Rāhu, as well as the “Xiao” that Li Qingshan had forced on him, only keeping the “Ming”. He made his subordinates call him “king Ming”.
In the blink of an eye, someone had forced the “little” back in front of his name, so he was very unhappy.
“King Ming! Wisdom King! How bold of you! Even I’m not brave enough to call myself that!” Nidaum mocked him. “If it weren’t for your name, I would have never noticed you so quickly.”
A King of Brilliance, or a Wisdom King, was an extremely celebrated title in the Asura realm.
After undergoing the seventh heavenly tribulation and becoming a true god, asura would go to the Western Paradise, Sukhāvatī, and meet with the buddha in Great Thunderclap temple on Vulture peak. Only after a series of tests could they earn the title Wisdom King.
By “ming”, it referred to wisdom and brilliance. By king, it referred to those who reigned above all else.
The Wisdom Kings manifested with their wraths, protecting the buddhist dharma and frightening off the demons. They represented the solemnity and dignity of buddhism.
An Asura Sovereign calling himself a Widsom King was equivalent to a Yang Soul cultivator calling himself a True Immortal. It was so arrogant that it was almost beyond belief.
“How can a sparrow know the aspirations of a swan?” Rāhu Xiaoming answered indifferently. He was just taking back everything that belonged to him. Yeah, Li Qingshan had used that phrase plenty of times when he boasted.
“Impressive, very impressive. I admire this part of you very much!”
“Why have you come, Battle God? Don’t tell me you’re preparing to take personal action?”
Nidaum cut straight to the chase. “Yield to me! Your status will only be below mine. I will even let you command the entire army.”
Rāhu Xiaoming raised an eyebrow as if he had never expected Nidaum to have this in mind.
He had just returned to the Asura realm. His cultivation was no longer weak anymore, so he really had not encountered anyone who had the right for him to yield to yet.
If this were in the past, it went even more without saying. As a god of the Rāhu clan, all asura were technically his subordinates. He did not spend a lot of time fighting and struggling at the very bottom like a regular asura either.
Nidaum thought he was tempted. He added to make him waver, “You’re still very young. You need further consolidation and training. Wage war with me and broaden your horizons. It’ll only be a matter of time before you become a Battle God!”
This truly was the best choice to regular Asura Sovereigns, but to Rāhu Xiaoming, yielding would definitely weaken his fighting spirit. What he lacked the most was time as well. His mother could be paying attention here at any moment, and as a Rāhu, he definitely could not yield to another asura.
He smiled coldly. “Even without you, I can still become a Battle God!”
Nidaum’s face sank, immediately becoming twisted and hideous. “There are no Battle Gods that will permit a figure like you to rise up so easily. Even if I have to take action personally today, I’ll keep you here!”
“You Battle Gods sure are stingy!” Rāhu Xiaoming sneered and shook his head. “Though, I never expected that in the beginning. So be it. You can talk about it with my boss!”
“Boss!?” Nidaum furrowed his brows. Was there supposed to be another Battle God behind him? That would make things troublesome. He had to end the battle fast and take him down.
Right when he was prepared to strike, a man suddenly walked out from a dark corner in the tent, patting his chest. “That’s right, it’s me!”
Nidaum was startled. He actually failed to sense when this person had appeared.
Rāhu Xiaoming said, “You’re too slow! I had to blabber a bunch of nonsense to buy time.”
“Is that how you speak to your boss?”
“Spare the nonsense. Can you or can you not?”
Rāhu Xiaoming questioned. The difference between a mere Origin Soul and a Battle God was not just a little.
“As a man, there’s nothing I cannot!” Li Qingshan’s eyes flashed. He pointed at Nidaum’s face and yelled, “Oi, grandsonny, before you wanted to take my little bro under your wing, did you ask me?”
