Daily life of a cultivation judge

"I seem to have turned to Yi Jie. How many cups of different wines have i drunk this past month or just even the past few days.." thought Yang Qing with a wry smile as he poured a clear green wine that was the jade bamboo dew wine, which was one of Yi Jie's handiwork.

It had an earthy, mellow and refreshing taste to it, the kind that farmers would enjoy in the evening when the sunset had just set in and their bodies were seeking reprieve and comfort from the day's labors.

Other than the taste, Yang Qing loved the wine for the simplistic feeling it evoked on all who drunk it. Just like the farmers, one would feel like the pressures of all the labors of the day get washed away by the wine. Yang Qing may not know what was going on in Wen Yingjie's mind but over the years he had gotten pretty good at reading the silent emotions. The things the body says without saying anything, and Wen Yingjie's body spoke of a burden, a type of burden Yang Qing was all too familiar with, especially for the past few months. The burden of responsibility and the uncertainty of it on whether you would be able to uphold it.

From the first time the rogue cultivator stepped into his courtroom, he knew he had a story. A rogue cultivator whose background was from a famous clan with a palace realm expert that was held with great repute even with the ruling family, and the rogue cultivator was one of the prized talents of said family, but he up and left one day and became a rogue cultivator, and despite his talents that would make him attractive to most organizations, still chooses to remain a rogue cultivator.

Someone like that had to have a story and his face and body language spoke volumes of it, but Yang Qing wasn't Mao Yunru, he had enough of snooping around people's stories. And if he was being honest, he was slightly terrified of it now, especially from recent events and happenings in his life, they left him a little wary.

"So how does it feel.." Yang Qing asked with a smile after picking up his wine cup which was the excuse Wen Yingjie had been waiting for to pick up his. Even though he was slightly reserved, other than his love for the saber, wines were a close second, and just from what he was picking up, he could tell the jade bamboo wine was a quality brew, the kind that even his grandfather who loved him dearly would never let him take a whiff.

Holding his wine cup with fervent admiration, Wen Yingjie said,

"I thought I was ready for the pain Chief Inquisitor Yi Jie mentioned, but I realized I had severely underestimated how excruciating it would be. It was thanks to the stygian soul bonding spring in the cave that I was able to endure the process and the cultivation he shared with me, made the integration process proceed faster.

I doubt I would have been able to survive without either.."

Wen Yingjie's hand that was holding the wine faintly shivered as the harrowing experience of the past four months flowed through his mind. He had thought with the hardy life he led, what storms hadn't he seen in his time as a general of the Blue Oak Kingdom or as a rogue cultivator, more so the latter.

He felt that no matter how painful the process of splitting his soul would be, he thought he would be able to endure it. The first time he made the attempt, he passed out before completing the process, and it needed several tries before he could even maintain his consciousness.

Then there was also the matter of feeding his saber intent into the embryonic spirit of his saber. The process on a normal day was demanding enough as any slip-up and the fragile spirit would be permanently damaged and he had to do so with the same breath as he was nurturing the spirit with his soul. It was only thanks to the abilities of the three hearts celestial octopus art that helped him split his concentration three ways like he had three clones operating different tasks and the healing powers of the stygian soul bonding spring, which eased the pain of splitting his soul whilst also boosting his concentration.

It was only thanks to the two conditions that he could successfully nurture his saber, and even then he barely made it.

But no matter how painful the ordeal had been, Wen Yingjie couldn't help but smile as he said,

"No matter how painful the ordeal was, what I got at the other end is truly more than I could have ever expected. I would gladly go through it a thousand more times."

His gaze admiringly fell on the saber nestled in his legs.

"My dream of reaching the palace realm isn't just something in the clouds anymore. It's something possible, and I also have a dependable partner. I won't have to weather the storms of life alone.." he added with a faint smile as he turned to face Yang Qing.

"I could never repay what you have given me. The 6,000 high-grade spirit stones terrified me at the time, but now it seems like it doesn't even quite cut it for what I have gained, and for that, I am truly grateful to you all.

I know it doesn't mean much, but should you ever need help with anything, I would be more than happy to offer my services. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, truly.." Wen Yinjie said with his words slightly shaking from his intense emotions.

Only he knew the true impact the past few months had on him. Taking half a step to the palace realm might not be much or having a weapon that was about to be a monarch-grade weapon, yes, the latter could be considered a price-worthy achievement, but to Wen Yingjie, it was much more than that.

The changes that happened to him were like a person almost dying of dehydration in a desert suddenly stumbling onto an oasis. When he left the Blue Oak Kingdom, he was mired in disgrace and all sorts of slander due to the death of the fourth prince he was in charge of protecting. The golden spear became an object of ridicule in the public's eye, a tool used by his family's enemies to besmirch their reputation.

The prince had been a traitor working with the Black Jade Syndicate, as to what ends he didn't know. He ended up dying at the hands of that syndicate, and the royal family could not let it get out that one of their own had been working with a nefarious organization against his kingdom. Such information was bound to create insurrection amongst the masses, which the ambitious would likely take advantage of.

There was only one option, and that was to bury the truth in glory, which was to paint the prince as some hero and not the traitor that he was, while Wen Yingjie, would have to live in shame, the one who let the beloved prince and quite possibly the next king, die. In death, the prince's dishonor was rewarded with glory, while Wen Yingjie, in life, lived with honor and was rewarded with infamy and disgrace.

The Wen family was known for its loyalty to the crown, and if the crown asked, they would willingly fall on the sword for them if it was asked, and they asked, to which Wen Yingjie gladly ran himself through with it. He wasn't sure if it was out of a sense of duty and honor, or regret for failing to notice the prince was a traitor, or letting others be the ones to fell him,but when he was asked if he was willing to bear the weight of the coverup, he gladly took it.

His grandfather, at the time, had told him it would not be easy, that wearing that story would cost him something, but at the time, he didn't understand it. He was blinded by regret, regret for failing in his duties, and regret that his failures had brought shame to his family, something that he held in high regard even more so than his life.

Seeing the toll it was taking on him, his grandfather advised him to leave the kingdom and go travel the world before he was consumed by the voices that had flooded the kingdom. Though the voices that came from his own mind were the loudest. That period had been the darkest period of his life, and it nearly broke him. His mind and his heart were going, and he could feel those heart demons growing in number and strength the longer he lingered around the kingdom.

So when his grandfather made the suggestion, he took it, leaving with only a spear in hand, the one his grandfather had gifted along with a few partying words.

"One of the keys to living is knowing that which needs to be carried and held onto, and that which doesn't.."

He hoped that the journey would help enlighten him on which, and in some part, Wen Yingjie realized some of the wisdom in it as being a rogue cultivator and the countless dangers it brought, he was forced to abandon a spear and pick a saber to keep his life, and it turned out that was where his true talents lay.

He had been using the spear because he idolized his grandfather who had proven his dao with his spear talents alone, and he hoped to replicate the same feats to honor him. However, after he left, every time he used the spear because of the guilt and shame welling within him, he could never use that spear well, and his skills even seemed to regress, and it wasn't long before he decided to switch because he couldn't handle looking at that spear, or using the spear arts his grandfather taught him not after the mess he left them with.

After he left, tales were still being sung about him, the Blue Oak's broken spear, the prince's bane, the blind sentinel, the spear of regret and lamentations, and the like.

The reputation his grandfather had built as the indomitable golden dragon spear of the kingdom had quickly been tarnished by his tales, and it was unbearable for him as he had grown idolizing and relishing with pride of the heroic tales that surrounded his grandfather's exploits. He felt deep pride for being the golden dragon spear's grandson, even though the man in question loved being a grandfather who liked to take his grandson hunting more than the man spoke of in those tales.

But all that changed. After he left, he sneaked back after a few months to see if the stories were dying down, only to find the flames were still burning strong with his trip being called a banishment, among other things, with the crowds calling for reparations from his family for his failures.

He left immediately after, swearing he would never come back until he was a palace realm cultivator, while also bringing to justice the true culprits behind the whole thing, the Black Jade Syndicate. As a palace realm cultivator, he felt he would have the heart to face his grandfather once more, and it was the only way he could accomplish his second goal, which was the elimination of the Black Jade Syndicate as the head of the syndicate was at the palace realm along with his three deputies.

His naivety fueled by anger and regret blinded him to how difficult it would be to reach the palace realm, and that was when one wasn't plagued by countless heart demons, luckily for him, life as a rogue cultivator had a way of bringing things into perspective and wearing away anything superfluous.

The voices of others were losing their sway on him, everything that was the young scion of the illustrious Wen Clan had been eroded and he became just Wen Yingjie, a rogue cultivator, alone in the world trying to find himself. He no longer tried to imitate his grandfather or held himself to the ambitions of the young Wen Yingjie, he dropped the spear and picked up the saber, and slowly by slowly he cut away the mold that he thought was him and leaving only a skeleton of his former self, and reforged himself, in blood, tears, desperation, all the while trying to grasp at clarity, acceptance, and peace and his place in the new reality.

His grandfather's words rang true, and with time he grew to realize what to carry and hold on to and what to let go. Though he was still figuring it out, he managed to find a bit of what mattered, and what didn't, and for what didn't, glory was on the list. Glory from men was worth nothing in the end. People were capricious in the end, and if you built yourself from it, it was a road to doom. He had been glorified as a genius and later a scourge that had betrayed the heavens. He truly came to understand why his grandfather never cared much for the stories being told about him.

Find yourself, be yourself, and in the end, that's all that matters. For him, it was a few things, his family, his honor, and now his path. He would seek out the Black Jade Syndicate, but not to avenge the prince, or the royal family, or to appease the public to rectify his reputation with them, but to protect his home and family, and if he was being honest, satisfying vengeance too. He no longer wanted to reach the palace realm because he wanted to see the gratifying smile of his grandfather, which he would love, but he was now pursuing it for himself and now the saber that lay in his lap, his new companion and see the wider world that he had been oblivious too all this time. The broken spear had turned into a free saber.