Daily life of a cultivation judge

Almost immediately two figures stood up simultaneously as they bowed deeply similar to the king, echoing his words.

"Please, branch chief Yang Qing, intervene on behalf of our kingdom in this time of peril.."

The two figures were the eldest prince Zhou Yu and the third prince Zhou Guang.

Immediately after them, the remaining princes and princesses all stood up making the same plea.

It all happened too fast and Yang Qing was slightly taken aback by it but he still retained his composure.

The circumstances snowballed even further when finally the current head of the Zhang family stood up.

Some of his features could be seen in consort Zhang Quifen who showed an even more drastic reaction of dumbfounded shock when she saw him stand up.

He had a slender build, and a handsome face, and looked to be in his early forties. He had the sharpness of a warrior that had slain countless, and the calmness of one who had seen and endured plenty, and a bearing worthy of a clan of heroes.

His movements drew the eyes of all around him even the other heads who had inscrutable expressions on their faces when the king stood up, finally had visible reactions, and it was one of surprise. The third prince who was already bowing had the same look of shock as his mother, along with his sister who had bowed a few moments after him.

Even the austere queen had a change in her eyes. Other than surprise, Yang Qing noted there was also respect in her eyes.

"He seems to have the same impact on those around him as the king, if not stronger.." muttered Yang Qing as he saw the head of the Zhang family stand up. Other than the king, he had one of the highest cultivation bases of everyone present, he was a third-stage palace realm expert.

Even though he reigned in his cultivation base, Yang Qing could tell from the momentum force of his body down to his every gesture, his foundations were firmer than anyone present, even the king's. Yang Qing surmised at the very least he had a deep blue core during his core formation realm when he broke through from the core formation realm to the palace realm.

After standing up, he immediately cupped his fists. It was a warrior's salute of respect. The Thousand Hall Battle Pavilion had a similar greeting by those who acknowledged each other's skills. It was a form of recognition, acceptance, and respect.

"Our clan's customs forbid us from bowing to anyone other than our parents. While the king is right, in front of life and death, things like dignity and honor do not matter only the result does. On this, for our clan, we value the code set by our ancestors more than our own lives.

While I can't bow, I can still plead. On behalf of the kingdom I love, the kingdom those before me willingly and gladly gave their lives for, I am asking the Order for any help they can give to help us protect it.

The Zhang family will remember the debt and will repay it to the last man, woman, and child if need be, should a need ever arise. That is my solemn oath as its head and a member of the Zhang family.." said Zhang's family head, with a soft tone but within it, it carried enough momentum to part the seas and the clouds.

"Zhang Ru, you?" King Zhou asked in surprise.

"I love this place, same as you.." replied the Zhang family head replied with a smile.

"You're putting me on the spot here, some of you are my seniors here. There's no need to bow.." Yang Qing said with a rueful smile when he saw the imperial secretary, the chancellor, the other high officials, and the other family heads who looked like they were just about to replicate what the king or the Zhang family head were doing.

"Please sit down.." Yang Qing implored.

Yang Qing's gaze turned solemn after they had all sat down.

"You should all know the Order's stance in these matters. We can't directly intervene in certain things otherwise it might be misconstrued by others as us overstepping our bounds.

If we step in directly, us along with you will draw the ire of countless and some may even be more dangerous than the fire adler.

We can take the hit, but can your kingdom handle it? It won't only be dissatisfied organizations that would eye you with malcontent but other fiendish organizations similar to the Blue Soul Flame Crow Syndicate will set their sights on you, because in their minds for us to break our own rules to help you it means we have a deep connection.

Since they can't target us lightly, you would be the easiest target for them to vent their frustrations. 

Trust me, what they can do to you is a thousand times worse than anything the obsidian serpent couple or the fire adler could do to you.." said Yang Qing.

It felt like the room they were in had been plunged into an abyss. The air seemed colder, and darker, with grim and worried expressions being shared all around.

Yang Qing wasn't lying to them with the statement. The Order no matter the situation unless it involved fiend cultivators, taboo powers, or anything that violated their guidelines, wouldn't intervene. The best they could do was give notices and warnings here and there and offer suggestions, but direct involvement was forbidden.

The continent was already rife with organizations accusing the Order of overstepping their bounds even when they were they were within their rights to do so, let alone something blatant as this. 

It was why they couldn't touch the Striding Falcon Sect no matter how they treated their outer sect disciples, the best they could do was give those disciples a choice; to leave or to stay, anything beyond that and they risked drawing supporters for the sect, even those who didn't agree with them.

The Order operated on an unfamiliar minefield every single day and on the matter of retaliation by other organizations if they do decide to be direct with their help, there were hundreds of organizations engraved on the walls of reflection within the mausoleum grounds of the Order.

These organizations had a deep closeness with the Order. Every one of them paid the price for it. They were all destroyed for it. The Order created a monument in their memory but on that monument was a vivid description of how they were destroyed. 

After graduating, every student would be taken to the mausoleum and read those details. Helping was an admirable virtue to have but one had to exercise an abundance of wisdom and discernment and judge whether their help would save them or drag them into damnation.

Those monuments were a painful reminder of that.