Daily life of a cultivation judge

From what Yang Qing could detect she was already at the peak of the first stage of the foundation establishment realm and it was stable. Yang Qing could also tell from the brief scan that the age she was depicting was her real age. She looked to be about 37.

Even though a 37-year-old early foundation establishment cultivator was nothing much when compared to other high-ranking organizations, it was something major in a small family such as the Murong family which only had ageing qi refinement cultivators who were at death's door.

Those who break through to the late stages of the qi refinement realm usually get a lifespan of about 200-300 years and from what Yang Qing could detect the majority of the elders present had all reached the 250-year mark.

Only the clan patriarch, Murong Jie seemed younger at 150 years. While they may have the highest cultivation bases excluding the lady, their age meant their hopes of reaching the foundation establishment stage were slim to none.

A decrease in vitality meant their sensitivity to qi and also their internal energy had dwindled so much that it made their journey to the foundation establishment stage an impossibility. And those who by some miracle do reach a point of attempting a breakthrough, suffer the risk of dying in the process due to how much energy and concentration it requires in a person.

But having such a young foundation establishment member ensured they would atleast guarantee their survival as a rank 5 clan for atleast 1,000 years without risk of demotion. A lot could change within 1,000 years, especially with the one quota given where they could have one of their members trained at the Order every three years since every member receives a three-year training period at the Order.

That means in 1,000 years they could have 300 of their clan members train at the Order which would qualitatively change their power composition. And who knows maybe in the 300 members they may actually get other foundation establishment members.

However, all this was predicated on the assumption the lady before him would forever remain at the foundation establishment realm. While breaking through to the core formation realm wasn't easy, especially with lightning tribulations appearing from that realm, Yang Qing thought the odds of her breaking through was much higher considering how young she was.

As long as she took her time solidifying her cultivation base every step of the way she would breeze through it. Most, at the Order even sleep through it, it's only when they are breaking through to the palace realm do they have to be a tad bit serious.

"The only thing that may hold her back is her cultivation art but if she is the one who gets the quota to come to the Order she will be training in an orange-grade art for free and depending on her aptitude she may get the high ranking one," thought Yang Qing.

Even though she'd be forbidden to share it with her clan members, she could continue to use the art even after she completed her training. And if the Murong family paid the equivalent price they could even buy the rights to use it with no restrictions.

The Order didn't have any shortage of Orange grade arts so they had no scruples about selling them considering the tradeoff. They'd get to sow goodwill with these organizations all at the mere price of an orange-grade art.

A lot of new rank 4 and a few rank 3 organizations grew from that single opportunity.

"Maybe next time I come here it will be for a rank 4 promotion and then the balance of power in the southern continent will become even more chaotic," Yang Qing thought as he chuckled inwardly.

….

"Clan head Murong Jie where would you like to conduct the evaluation," Yang Qing asked once he pulled his thoughts back.

He had already confirmed everything he needed with his palace sense and the evaluation he would be conducting was more perfunctory.

"Let's do it in the clan assembly hall," Murong Jie calmly said trying to hide the excitement in his tone. The elders behind him were already trembling and the other clan members who had been gawking by lit up once they heard the words evaluation. Some even ran to call their friends.

"Okay," said Yang Qing as he nodded.

"Envoy Yang Qing, can the rest of the clan members watch? I promise the clan hall has a huge space and the members present won't be many just a hundred or so. It's such a huge occasion and I'd like the young ones to be present too so they could get motivated. It's too late for us but for them..," Murong Jie hesitantly asked as he cupped his fists in a plea.

"I don't mind, you can bring them in and it doesn't have to just be a hundred, bring as many as can fit into the hall. It's a celebration for you all, you should all be there to witness it and the evaluation process doesn't take much time either," Yang Qing lightly said.

His response caused a massive wave of roar from the young clan members who had been eavesdropping on the whole thing from different sides all around. It was only when they were glared at by the elders did they calm down.

Zou Yi and Zou Liqin were taken aback by the atmosphere and mood. With their age and prior starting point, they still couldn't understand how important and life-changing such a moment was to the Murong family.

To them, it may just be a normal recognition but to the Murong family, it is the fulfillment of the countless generations of Murong members and the start of a new journey where something special may happen like maybe thousands of years later they may turn into a rank 3 family and the catapult for that journey was the evaluation happening today.

…

A few minutes later they made their way into the clan assembly hall. It was archaic looking in a dome shape with a few spirit-calming incense sticks burning.

From its size, it could easily fit a thousand people comfortably. There were cultivation cushions neatly spread about the hall room and a slightly raised platform on the north side of the hall. It had a hint of mysticism that made it stand out in the whole hall room.

Yang Qing, the Zou siblings, the elders, and the young lady all made their way to their platform as other senior members went to maintain order in the entry of other members to make sure they didn't cause a ruckus.

After a couple of minutes, the whole hall room was completely filled though it didn't feel congested. Young and old were all excitingly looking straight at the platform afraid to even blink fearing they may miss a single moment of it.

There was not a single member who was left out. Since the Murong family wasn't a large clan the hall room that had a capacity of a thousand fit everyone perfectly and even left a few spaces for others.

If they knew Yang Qing's date of arrival they may have invited a few other organizations they had a good relationship with to celebrate but Yang Qing's impromptu visit made it so that only the clan members would be in attendance.

"Let's begin," Yang Qing softly said as his robe transformed into his official deep blue judge robes in all its grandeur.