Daily life of a cultivation judge

As for the remaining families; the Chu family had never hidden their ambitions for the throne. Even back then when the kingdom was just in its infDancy stage, the founder of their clan constantly squabbled with his ancestor for the throne. That spirit has been continuously passed down to the present generation. 

They have always eyed the throne. He couldn't do anything about them since they had an almost similar foundation. The Zhou royal family would end up with a pyrrhic victory if they decided to eliminate all sorts of cordiality with them. Other than that their family had the best weapon refiners and artifact makers within the kingdom. If a gold-grade artificer was to appear within the kingdom, it would be from their family. They were vital if they ever hoped to restore the Ebony Twilight Sanctuary Array.

Besides to him if he was asked which family he was least wary of among the five, it would be the Chu family. He knew where he stood with them and they never hid it, and they always did their things in the open.

It was the Meng, Song, and the Shi family he was most wary of. On paper, the Meng family was the only one of the peak clans that had allied themselves with the royal family, their loyal supporters, but King Zhou Luan never quite trusted them. He was only thankful that he didn't have that same worry when it came to consort Meng Zhi. She was deeply infatuated with him to the point that she would willingly betray her father without hesitation.

"Zhi'er, I hope she recovers from this.." he thought.

As for the Song and Shi families, the Song family was the one he considered the most dangerous of the five families. It wasn't because they had eyes for the throne or showed dissatisfaction with the royal family.

Of the five, they were the ones that didn't seem to care about all that and it was the part that King Zhou Luan considered dangerous. They were cordial with the royal family, the five peak clans, and other aristocratic families. He wasn't sure if it was him being overly sensitive or too paranoid, but he always felt the Song family was different compared to the rest of the families.

The four families despite their designs and inclinations to the throne, all had a level of concern for the welfare of the kingdom as a whole, but when it came to the Song family, King Zhou Luan always felt that to them it didn't matter a whole lot whether the kingdom lived or died, they would be okay with either outcome.

He always found it hard to read them, and he wasn't the only one who felt so. His grandfather, who was currently the strongest expert in the kingdom as a sixth-stage palace realm expert always told him to be cautious of the mercurial Song family. Back in his day, he could never see through the Song family head of their generation, and some part of his instincts always told him despite always having a higher cultivation base than the head, he always felt there was a chance he would lose if he fought him.

The king always kept close vigilance on them, even his gentle-looking consort. As for the Shi family just like the Chu family, if the Deer Mountain Kingdom was ever to get a gold-grade alchemist, it would be from their clan. Because of their trade, they had a lot of resources and connections that extended all over, they were sufficient enough to make King Zhou Luan wary of them.

Over the past few years, he felt he was walking a very tight and lonely rope. He couldn't trust the families that were meant to support the kingdom with him, and that distrust extended even to some of his children connected to those families. The Zhou royal family that was his backing was also fragmented into different factions instead of being a united front against outside forces they were constantly undermining each other.

And now they had a catastrophe to deal with. He wasn't sure the kingdom could weather it through as they did so countless times before, not as they were.

Just as he was sinking into despair, he felt a warm touch on his hands. A touch he knew better than his own that was always able to keep him afloat. He held on to it tightly as a slight smile appeared on his face thanking the owner of that hand.

"Thank you, Mei'er.." he said via his palace sense.

The queen didn't respond as she kept the same silent look of a seasoned war veteran, albeit there was one change to her which was her slightly reddened lobes.

No one noticed the hand-holding or the exchange between the couple.

"Does he seem livelier.." wondered Yang Qing as he noticed a faint ripple in the king's wizened-filled eyes.

He didn't dwell too much on it as the matter at hand didn't permit him to do so.

"Please speak frankly your majesty.." Yang Qing gently said as he took a sip of his wine.

"Considering the circumstances we are in, I know we are not in any position to request it, especially with what happened to Branch Chief Xue Wang and his team, but I have no option but to ask.

Could the Order please intervene with the obsidian serpents and the fire adler bear, I beg you.." said King Zhou Luan as he stood up and bowed his head deeply.

"Your Majesty you mustn't!!!" 

Both the chancellor and the Imperial Secretary frantically stood up to stop the king, but a pressure released by the king held them in place. The other high officials, the princes and princesses, consort Zhang, and consort Chu all looked just as surprised by the king's actions.

He was the highest figure in the kingdom both in station and even as a cultivator if he was compared to those of his generation but here he was begging. It was a shock to them who had idolized him or saw him as different from themselves.

As for the five family heads, they all hid their thoughts well. Other than a few flickers in their eyes, no one could tell their thoughts on the matter.

"Hui, Hei Shan, this is what I must do. If my bowing my head can save my kingdom then I would gladly do it a thousand times over.

Dignity and honor don't matter where life and death are concerned. Do well to remember that.." impassionately said the king.