Daily life of a cultivation judge

"The Golden Bamboo Pavilion will not interfere. Shao Ren will be informed of the matter after his breakthrough.." said Lin Guiren, his expression regaining a sense of calm.

Upon getting the confirmation, Wu Mingli nodded, cupping his fists in gratitude.

"Thank you pavilion master for your accommodation.." Wu Mingli said with a tone that was neither too servile, nor overbearing.

He may have a vendetta against Shao Ren but he still had to show a modicum of respect toward Lin Guiren, he was, after all, a domain expert. The world still deferred to the strong, otherwise, why would he have asked for a guarantee from the Jade Leaf Academy?

Without their backing, even if he had the achievements he had today, he would have had to employ other means to get his vengeance.

With his affair against Shao Ren already settled, Wu Mingli turned his attention toward Duan Hu, who though had a taciturn expression from years of experience of masking his true thoughts, was inwardly panicking.

"As for you, Emperor Duan Hu, For the respect my father once held for the Red Maple Empire, in honor of his feelings for it, I will give you two choices.." Wu Mingli coldly said.

"The first option is similar to Shao Ren's, which is a fight to the death in three years, or the second option, I forego the duel and in exchange you right all the wrongs born from the mess you created by behaving like my father did, and punish the wrongdoers and help the oppressed.

Give justice to all oppressed within your empire, like Lin Fei was. Address every grievance be it a recent incident or something over a thousand years ago. For as long as the perpetrator is within your territory, they need to be punished for it.

You may have turned a blind eye to everything that happened, but I am sure as the emperor, you most of all are well informed of every single one of those misdeeds.

As long as you swear here on the heavenly dao that you will right all those wrongs, and give reprieve to those harmed by your inactions, then whatever grievances I have against you can be considered settled..."

"Is the second option a real option?"

Duan Hu's expression visibly showed the disbelief he was in. He would never have predicted Wu Mingli's second option would be that. Even replaying it over his head, a huge part of him felt that the young quasi-palace stage expert had mentioned it in jest just to torment him, but the austere look he had on, as he said it, made the previous emperor think otherwise.

"It is real, Emperor Duan Hu.." Wu Mingli said, especially enunciating the 'Emperor' part.

"It's about time you acted like a true emperor to your people for all the times you did not or if you feel the burden is too much to bear you can always choose the first option.

Personally, on a selfish side, I hope you choose the first option, but this is not for me.." Wu Mingli said with a sigh, as his gaze fell on his mother briefly.

She might not say anything, or show it, but he knew she was deathly worried about today's events and the repercussions it may have on him. She only had him, and as for him, he had her, his master, his two senior brothers, and one senior sister. If anything were to happen to him, she would truly be alone, and he had no doubt she would sooner join him and his father than spend the rest of her life alone.

He had to avenge his father, that was non-negotiable, but he also had to be considerate of his mother. That was in part the reason he made a concession when it came to the previous emperor, Duan Hu, by offering him a second option.

The second option was the middle ground he had come up with as a way to honor both his father and mother. Forcing the Emperor's hand to give justice to the oppressed was his way of honoring his father's spirit of service and protection of the weak, and when it came to his mother if the Emperor chose the second option, then his mother would not have to worry about him fighting a third stage palace realm expert.

Even though he wanted to end the Emperor's life himself, like he did the commander, the second option was a compromise he could leave with. It was only when it came to Shao Ren that he was unequivocal in his choice. Shao Ren had to die, and by his hands at that.

It took a few seconds for Duan Hu to compose himself, and immediately after he did, he already had the answer to the option he would pick. He had already picked that option even long before Wu Mingli asked him to do so.

Just as he was about to give his response, someone else beat him to it.

"He chooses the second option.." a gentle voice sounded, which though gentle sounding, had a firmness that served as a warning to Duan Hu.

"Why?" Duan Hu asked in confusion, his question directed to the gentle-looking Deng Wei.

"You were about to choose the first option, weren't you?" Deng Wei softly asked, adopting the demeanor of a parent questioning a child, a question they already knew the answer to.

Though Duan Hu didn't answer, his body language, more or less confirmedDeng Wei's guess was right on the mark.

Wu Mingli smirked slightly. He wasn't too surprised that was the option Duan Hu would go for. If he picked the second option, that was no different than becoming an enemy of all the subsidiaries of the Golden Bamboo Pavilion.

Almost every single one of those subsidiaries had bloodied their hands with the citizens of the Red Maple Empire at one point or the other. Very few were not marred with the stain.

If Duan Hu chose the second option, he would have to punish all those organizations, which would in return leave the Red Maple Empire at loggerheads with the Golden Bamboo Pavilion. While they might not necessarily care too much about their subsidiaries, Duan Hu punishing three-quarters of them would likely not sit too well with them.

While strength was king, face was its mistress. Some people sought greater strength all to gain face, and in certain spaces, strength equates face and vice versa, which was why most powerful organizations went to great lengths to preserve theirs, and he felt that was likely true for the Golden Bamboo Pavilion.

But why had he given Duan Hu that choice despite knowing full well he was likely to refuse it because of its implications attached to it? The reason for that was sentiment. It was something his mother had told him one day when he was having a fit and blaming his father for acting selfishly.

Deep down he knew that his words and thoughts were wrong, but the pits of grief had long robbed him of sanity and replaced it with bitterness, anger, and resentment at everything and everyone.

It was in one of those fits, that his mother told him something he would never forget.When tyranny becomes law, then rebellion becomes duty. While his father's actions may have seemed selfish on the surface, but in its truest essence, it was a reflection of his convictions. Duty had always been a part of who he was and in some sense, it mattered more to him than his life.

Wu Mingli had this childish hope that maybe that spirit had been inherited. The second option was born out of that desire. He hoped maybe if it came down to it, maybe Duan Hu would choose duty instead of avoidance.