I add points to Indian martial arts.

As evening approached, the afterglow of the setting sun, like melting gold leaf, slowly bathed the sky and the temple spires, making everything appear somewhat soft. Women and girls held torches, illuminating the twilight sky. At this time, the selection of the Dacmansi sacred flower also began.

Typically, ten highly respected women are selected, who are usually very influential in the surrounding villages, and they are chosen by the women themselves.

Suleisa did not participate in the selection. She went up directly to explain that she was not feeling well and withdrew from the competition. Upon hearing this, four or five of the ten women secretly exchanged glances and then breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Her brother, Shah, had in fact spent a lot of money bribing several women in charge of the selection process, implying to them that the Raka family's wealth did not need to further enhance his sister's prestige this time.

They were prepared to refuse to use the Moyate family fortune to support Suleza when selecting her.

But to everyone's surprise, Suleisa abstained from the vote, which relieved the bribed women. This way, they got the best of both worlds: they received money from Shah and didn't have to offend Miss Suleisa.

With Suleisa's withdrawal, it was no surprise that Naprii, by virtue of being Piro's wife and having a relatively pretty face compared to the others, successfully won the Darkman's Holy Flower.

In fact, the Darkman's Holy Flower is just an ordinary white flower with delicate petals that are almost transparent in the torchlight, and there is nothing special about it.

But when she received it, Napriy was so moved that she shed tears. She had finally replaced Suleisa as the most eye-catching woman of the night.

Especially when she saw herself surrounded by everyone, praised, and held up the Dakhmansi flower in the center of the crowd like the focus of the world, with a respected woman singing hymns for her, and when she saw Suleisa, whom she had always looked up to, now standing properly at the edge of the crowd, clapping for her, she suddenly felt that this was how a woman should be.

She thought, "I may not be as pretty as you, or as rich as you, but I married someone better than you!"

Although Piro was a bit ugly and old, and didn't like to bathe, he was powerful and influential. She felt that what mattered for a woman in the outside world was maintaining a facade. It was fine to suffer at home as long as she could be powerful outside!

Suleza watched quietly from the edge of the crowd, feeling a little uncomfortable, so she began to daydream.

She imagined that in a moment, Napriy would trip and fall hard, landing right in front of her, her gorgeous sari covered in dust, and she would lower her head slightly, looking down at her disheveled state with calm eyes.

She imagined that Naples's current smugness was only temporary, and that perhaps in a few days, he would bow down to her.

She fantasized that Livi, her husband, was actually just a fallen Brahmin who appeared to be a Naga, but in reality, he was hiding his true identity and power, just like the story of Prince Amoma and the sandal girl.

Prince Amoma concealed his identity and strength, and went to live with the girl in the straw sandals. The prince wanted the kind girl to fall in love with him as a person, not with his strength or identity.

After the girl in straw sandals fell in love with the prince, the prince suddenly revealed that he was a prince from a certain kingdom.

Suleisa knew, of course, that her idea was absurd, but thinking about it wasn't illegal.

She thought that perhaps in just two days, Li Wei would no longer hide his strength, and in the duel on the last day of the Torch Festival, he would defeat Piro and Ganka to become the strongest in the region.

When that time comes, Suleisa will once again become the most honored woman in this region, not only the most beautiful, but also the most outstanding husband, who is not only handsome and of noble blood, but also powerful, making her virtually invincible.

At that time, Napri will have to bow down to her again.

"Sister Suleza, I was being silly the other day, please don't take it to heart." Suleza smiled as she imagined this scene.

"What are you laughing at, Sister Suleisa?" Suddenly, a sickeningly sweet voice, brimming with undisguised boasting, abruptly cut in, shattering all beautiful illusions. "Are my flowers...especially pretty?"

Napriy had somehow slipped away from the center of the crowd, holding the sacred flower, and walked straight up to Suleisa. The firelight illuminated her smug, slightly sweaty face, and the flickering, defiant flame in her eyes.

"Huh?" Suleisa realized that fantasy was just fantasy after all. She sighed inwardly, then forced a sweet smile onto her face. "The reason I'm smiling is because I'm genuinely happy for Sister Prii who has obtained the Darkman's Sacred Flower."

"real?"

"certainly!"

……

Suleza returned home feeling a bit down. Although she had seemed quite open-minded when she talked to Navia earlier, saying things like people shouldn't be too greedy and should choose what they like better, seeing Naples so smug made her uncomfortable.

Bang bang!

The sound of Li Wei practicing martial arts came from the neighboring yard next door. This made Suleisa feel a little gratified. Fortunately, Li Wei knew how to work hard. Even if he couldn't become a prince, it would be fine. If he continued to practice hard every day, in a dozen years, Li Wei's strength would be able to catch up with Piro, right?

Suleza thought to herself that she could wait for Napri to be smug for another ten years or so.

……

The next day, Li Wei got up early. He didn't plan to practice martial arts today. One reason was that it was the second day of the Torch Festival, and both men and women had to participate in joint activities, which were similar to visiting each other during the Lunar New Year. Every family would offer a sumptuous feast, and families would paint auspicious patterns called "Langoli" on their doors with colored powder. Then, relatives would visit each other, exchange grains of rice dyed red with turmeric and cinnabar, and say auspicious words to each other.

Secondly, because he is currently practicing martial arts, his Qi and blood cannot increase temporarily. Yesterday, when he was practicing the Naga Eight Steps Martial Arts, a reminder flashed on the panel that he had not officially completed the Brahma Skin, and his Qi and blood limit was only the power of one elephant.

The 0.1 HP he gains from honing his martial arts skills cannot be added back; he can only save it temporarily.

However, this is not a big problem. After he defeats Piro tomorrow and takes over his territory, he will be able to officially complete the Vanpi, and his strength will increase rapidly.

Li Wei estimated that after completing the Vanpi, his strength should be able to rival that of the Kshatriya nobleman in Tuli Town.

Thirdly, he noticed that Suleisa seemed a bit off yesterday. After practicing martial arts, Suleisa waited for him outside the door. When he came out, Suleisa started talking nonsense, her eyes were unusually bright, and she even asked him if he was hiding his identity, and if his true identity was actually a prince of a certain kingdom, which made him both amused and exasperated.

He sensed that Suleza was acting strangely, so he planned to spend the whole day with her visiting relatives and friends to cheer her up.

It was at this time that Shah got up early in the morning and came to Piro's house to discuss what would happen after Piro defeated Livy the next day.