Daily life of a cultivation judge

Yang Qing gave it a few seconds before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Good morning, I will try to keep this as brief and clear as I can for all of you here, so please make sure to commit every word that I say to heart and I hope you have done so with the words my colleague Yu Gen has likely shared with you before coming here on how you should conduct yourself whilst here, and the procedures of this courtroom..."

Yang Qing took a brief pause as he eyed each and every single member present.

"My name is Yang Qing, and I am an outer palace court judge of the Order. I will be in charge of the deliberation and the passing of the sentence on all matters concerning the case put forth against you.

May the head of the Chen family, Chen Zian, please step forward.." Yang Qing said as he addressed the group.

"Greetings Judge Yang Qing, I am Chen Zian.." answered a middle-aged man walking forward to the center of the courtroom, the fidgety crowd summoning whatever strength they had to let him through.

The middle-aged man had on black robes with no adornments on it, but even plain, anyone could tell the robes were made of quality material. The robes looked to have been made of a gem-like silk which gave it a certain quality that made it seem like it was dancing with the lights of the courtroom.

That robe seemed to complement the air around the middle-aged man which was one of elegance and composure. One look at him and you could already tell, he was someone important. Unlike most of his group, he was one of the few who was composed in the courtroom, almost as if he was nothing but a spectator to the whole thing.

Once he was at the center, Chen Zian respectfully cupped his fists to Yang Qing in greeting and acknowledgment of where he was.

"Yu Gen has filled you in on why you are here?" asked Yang Qing.

"He has.." Chen Zian succinctly answered.

"Good, but for the sake of procedure, I will need to reiterate it..." Yang Qing said as he brought his palms together.

"Your clan stands accused of breaking a couple of rules from the agreed-upon southern continent cultivator base cultivator conduct charter.

These are the charges brought forth against your clan;

Your clan stands accused of using pill slaves and human cauldrons in the nourishment and growth of your spiritual plants. The specifics will be made after when I bring the charges against the specific individuals involved. Also regarding this matter, your clan has been shown to be in collusion with another organization, the Red Flaming Lotus Alchemy Pavilion.."

No sooner had Yang Qing mentioned that name than a disturbance occurred from within the crowd.

"Your excellency, judge, we are innocent! my pavilion is innocent! we have been slandered!!" frantically yelled one of the cultivators who had on dark orange robe that was embroidered with the symbol of a flaming red lotus on the chest

That cultivator was thin, with black hair tied in a daoist top knot, and a well-maintained short mustache. He looked like someone who took great care on his appearance and he was the owner of the Red Flaming Lotus Alchemy Pavilion. His name was Song Bo, and of those present, he could be said to be the only one who was at the same station as Chen Zian be it in terms of status or even cultivation bases. Though in terms of demeanor, he showed to be clearly inferior to the clan patriarch of the Chen family.

Just like Chen Zian, he had a cultivation base that was at the peak stage of the core formation realm, and when it came to status, the Red Flaming Lotus Alchemy Pavilion was a subsidiary of the Golden Bamboo Pavilion just like the Earthvine Restaurant was.

After the outburst, Yang Qing narrowed his gaze on Song Ba as a formless pressure was released from his body stifling everyone present, even Chen Zian who looked like a still boulder that would not flinch even if the world collapsed, looked visibly daunted by the fearsome pressure Yang Qing was releasing, let alone Song Ba who was the target. His knees looked just about ready to give in.

"Owner Song Ba, on account that you're clearly agitated, as you should be in this situation, I will allow the outburst just this once, there will not be a second time, and this warning goes to the rest of you.

To those directly related to the case, you will have the chance to defend yourself, but that is only if I have permitted you to do so. Each of you will have a chance to state your case as is your right but there is an order to things which I am sure my colleague must have explained to you.

Any more sporadic outbursts and you will immediately be subjected to the penalties associated with it. Do we have an understanding, Owner Song Ba.."

"WwWe dOo, pARdon my outburst.." said Owner Song Ba, stammering as he did so, still visibly shaken.

"Good," Yang Qing said as he dispelled his pressure bringing a much-welcomed relief to the group.

"Now where were we?... Yes, certain members of the Chen family stand accused of using human cauldrons in the growth and nurturing of specific spiritual herbs, and the evidence also shows the Red Flaming Lotus Alchemy Pavilion to be involved in the matter..." Yang Qing paused slightly as his gaze lingered on Song Ba briefly, who did well to control himself, which was more out of fear with how pale he looked.

Once Yang Qing was sure there would be no interruption, he continued,

"I will give out the specifics of the matter which includes the collected evidence once I am done mentioning the charges..."

Chen Zian nodded in understanding.

"The second charge is your clan has been found to have deep ties with the Black Scorpion Gang, which records show to gave received a lot of support in funding and resources to help it grow to the level it is today.

While your clan backing a gang is none of the Order's business and should fall under the purview of your kingdom, it does fall under our purview when there are a lot of deaths of innocents.

Evidence shows your clan using the gang to murder, kidnap, and do all sorts of atrocities for you. Evidence shows the human cauldrons and pill slaves you have been using have been sourced by them.

This is but one of the things they have done for you. Just like the previous charge, I will be bringing up the specifics momentarily..

Your presence here, Clan Patriarch, is to bear witness to the charges against your members, and should you wish to speak on their behalf, as the clan patriarch, you will be allowed to do so, but if they wish to speak for themselves, they will be allowed that too, as is their right.

Is everything clear, Patriarch Chen Zian?"

"It is.."