Daily life of a cultivation judge



"I don't know if Yang Qing explained to you the particulars more specifically with respect to Deng Chao and the Crystal Palm Jade Sect, but in case he has or hasn't, I think my take would help provide further clarity on the matter.." said Meng Chao.

"Would you all like something to drink?" asked Meng Chao as he took out a white porcelain teapot that was in the shape of a majestic crane.

Zhang Qingee shook her head sideways saying she was okay while Yang Qing hurriedly nodded and immediately grabbed the kettle from Meng Chao's hands to be the one to serve.

He looked like he was wary that Meng Chao would take back his offer.

Dai Chen on the other hand with one part embarrassed, and four parts hopeful asked if wine was available.

How often do you get to sample the wares of a peak domain expert, especially one at the highest court there is?

Someone of that stature was bound to have quality product, thus the duo thickened their faces and decided to take advantage of it.

With a light smile, Meng Chao took out a wine jar and poured Dai Chen some, who would have drunk it from the jar, given the chance.

With the duo each pleasantly consuming their refreshments, Meng Chao resumed his explanation.

Meng Chao looked at the trio with a nostalgic smile on his face.

"Back then when the Order had just started, I wanted to be an inquisitor more than I wanted to be a judge. 

I liked how free it seemed at the time, I still do. You get to travel from place to place and see different things. You may have unimaginable encounters during your cases.

For example, you may stumble in the birth of a spectacular treasure, a ruin lost in the void for countless years suddenly makes an appearance, and some mysterious realm bursts into light revealing itself.

All these were coincidental occurrences I dreamt of encountering ever since I was little and embarked on my cultivation journey. 

The thrill of exploring dangerous places, fighting powerful cultivators and testing your mettle against them, improving your cultivation by leaps and bounds all in a bid to see how the view is from the truly powerful.

I was always curious how the powerful saw the world and also the more powerful you are, the more places you can visit, for example exploring the bottom of the Millionsfold treasure ocean, dipping your toes in the never-ending fights in the Bestial Churning Sea, and visiting other perilous locations and maybe even other continents.

In a different life, I think I would have joined the Horizon Odyssey Guild.." Meng Chao passionately said.

His speech had inadvertently made Yang Qing almost choke on his tea.

"Does senior Meng Chao have a death wish? What's his fascination with all those death spots? 

No amount of treasure could get me to visit those places, even as a soul formation expert. What's there to see? Just another treasure I can buy with spirit stones if I'm lucky in some cultivation open market scale, as for fighting other cultivators to test my skills, I'd rather be a salted fish with a long life.."  thought Yang Qing, as he adjusted his seating position and pulled back a few more inches away from Meng Chao.

In the survival and adaptation classes, one of the instructors had said, that the closer you were to cultivators who attracted trouble, the more likely that stink would rub off on you even after you left them.

After hearing Meng Chao's speech, he was sure he was one such person. Yang Qing had taken great care all his life to ensure he had as few problems and dangers to deal with as possible, and if Meng Chao's death-seeking air infected him, he shuddered at the thought of how bad the troubles he would attract because of it, would be.

Better to be safe than sorry.

His movement, though, covert, was easily noticeable in such a large office with so few people. However, the people present chose to ignore it. Yang Qing already had a reputation for doing odd things, so certain things he did, were brushed off as Yang Qing being Yang Qing.

"So it wasn't a surprise when I joined the Order, I wanted to be an inquisitor. Back then there were no distinctions like there are now of special inquisitors, roaming inquisitors, and court-attached inquisitors as we have now.

It was just one type who did it all, though if I'm being honest, back then with the Order just starting out, every inquisitor could have been considered a special inquisitor, because all we did back then were executions and purges.

Come to think of it, there was no distinction between being a judge and inquisitor either since both were on the field all the time and when it came to the conduct of their duties, they were more or less similar.

Inquisitors made on-the-spot judgments at certain times, while judges conducted investigations of their own cases continually.

It wasn't as it is now, so we all needed to be out there to spread the name and build the reputation of the Order, and it wasn't received well, even by those who had come together and suggested its formation.

Everywhere we looked were enemies who were not afraid to attack be they from heretic organizations, or normal ones, back then they all had one thing in common, which was to stifle this new upstart organization that was trying to change how the continent had worked for millions and millions of years..."

Yang Qing and the rest had solemn expressions as they pictured how chaotic it must have been back then.

It wouldn't have been a stretch to say that back then it was basically the Order vs the entire continent, and back then, the Order didn't have a terrifying reputation as it does today, which was sufficient enough to deter some.

They had nothing to their name, and for them to have the reputation they have today, it must have come at an astronomical cost.

How many lives did they have to reap for them to have the reputation they have today? How did they manage to even survive and etch out a pathway that led to today, back then when their enemies were everywhere?

The three judges shuddered at the thought. Their eradicating a single Ice Emerald Sect had an impact on them, especially Yang Qing, but back then, how many Ice Emerald Sects did Meng Chao, Jia Bohai, and the rest have to deal with?

Dai Chen had been shaken by Lai Lei's injury, which hadn't even been that tragic since with the Medical Valley's means, Lai Lei was able to be restored, however, he was still affected by it even now, but back then, how many companions and close friends had Meng Chao seen gravely injured and even die? It was likely too many to count.