Daily life of a cultivation judge

Other than the long black-haired lady no one seemed to have noticed the brief interlude between the two.

After a few minutes, the last piece of the rapid snapper cotton mouth had been sliced into thin vertical strips of meat that were now being placed over a grill mesh with orange glowing charcoal at the bottom.

Feng Xin took over as he dutifully dipped the thin strips in chili oil and dropped them over the mesh with chopsticks made from radiant autumn oak.

In the meanwhile, Yang Qing went to his storage room and came back out with a medium-sized wine gourd that had the emblem of a vermilion bird drawn on it.

"GREAT," Feng Xin joyously said as his eyes lit up when he saw the wine. Yi Jie who was checking the hundred-leaf sugarcane wine had a greedy glint flash in his eyes when he saw the gourd.

Unlike those two, Yang Qing had a pained look in his eyes. How could he not when this was the only vermilion fruit wine he had? He had won it in an auction after paying close to 300,000 middle-grade spirit stones and trading a few treasures so he could afford it.

The wine was so potent that if a foundation establishment cultivator were to consume it they would explode from its turbulent and potent energy. The main ingredient was vermilion fruit whose grade depended on the stage of the tree and how ripe the fruit is. A vermilion tree that had properly matured would at the bare minimum reach the saint grade which is the equivalent of a soul formation cultivator. However, it needs stringent measures to reach maturity one of which is a place blessed with an ancestral dragon meridian spirit vein.

When it came to spirit veins they were usually graded into low-grade, middle grade and high-grade spirit veins. However, there was a level above that where the spirit vein is so rich that it develops some sort of pseudo-spirit. That spirit usually appears as a dragon hence the spirit veins become known as dragon spirit veins which are further divided into three classes i.e. the lesser dragon, the mature dragon, and lastly the ancestral dragon. Most holy lands are supported by an ancestral dragon spirit vein.

The vermilion fruit wine Yang Qing had on him was made from a vermilion fruit harvested from a young vermilion tree that was at the peak of the monarch grade which is equivalent to the peak of the palace stage in terms of cultivation. As for the supplementary ingredients they were all at the very least peak of sky grade. This vermilion fruit wine could be considered one of his most prized treasures along with the eclipse tree, purple lightning bamboo, and the green flame tree.

Feng Xin and Yi Jie had both teamed to force it out of him as that was the only way he could get the various types of meat Feng Xin had on him and part of Yi Jie's wine supply.

Cao Ying was the next to show up with three other friends of similar age around 15 years. Two of them were guys and last was a lady with orange curly hair and orange eyes. They had all worn the standard institute's robe which was a black coat with dark orange robes that were embroidered with two symbols. One was a blue robin and the other was the golden eagle. The blue robin wasn't the smartest or the most powerful spirit beast but it was the most adaptable to unfamiliar surroundings. This signified the Order's hope for its students to always be adaptable.

….

"Cao Ying it's great that you made it and your friends too," Yang Qing cheerfully said as he went to greet them like a dutiful host. He made sure to bring the vermilion fruit wine with him as he didn't trust Feng Xin or Yi Jie around it.

Cao Ying was the only one who seemed perfectly at ease as his three friends were all fidgety and nervous like young chicklings as they huddled together. They seemed both excited and nervous to be among their seniors from the Order.

"So who are your friends?" Yang Qing gently asked as he tried to ease their moods with a polite smile.

"This is Fu Ye, Yao Fang, and lastly Chen Zhilan," Cao Ying said as he pointed to them.

Fu Ye had a small build with tiny beadlike eyes that seemed to hide enormous intelligence in them. He had short black hair matching his eyes.

Yao Fang was medium built with dark grey hair that was tied into a half bun while Chen Zhilan the only lady in the group had orange curly hair and matching eyes, with a slender and tall build. She was the tallest of three and given a few years she would be toppling nations with her beauty and charm.

Yang Qing greeted them all with a polite smile which seemed to have had an effect on them as they seemed a bit calmer than when they came in. However, that calmness was soon disrupted by the guests that just showed up behind them.

"Yang Qing you're too shameless. You'd throw a party and not invite us?" said a yellow-haired youth who just appeared in a group of five. Three guys including the yellow-haired youth and two ladies.

"You're the only one I didn't tell Huilang," Yang Qing answered with mocking eyes of his own.

"Where's my spirit stones? It's already the end of the shift," Yang Qing said as he unceremoniously stretched his hands.

"Here, it's just two thousand middle-grade spirit stones," Kang Huilang said as he slapped a storage ring on Yang Qing's hand like some nouveau-rich young master. He had on a yellow coat whose sleeves were rolled back, a white-robed short sleeve shirt, and yellow shorts with yellow straw sandals seemingly mirroring Yang Qing's current look except Yang Qing's was green and his yellow.

"How are you acting so smug when I'm the one who loaned you the amount? You better pay me back in a month with interest," Xia Boqin calmly said. He still looked like a noble immortal with his pristine white robes and smoothened long flowing hair.

"I see you brought the good things out. Thanks in advance," Dai Chen greedily said as he dangerously eyes the vermilion fruit wine in Yang Qing's hand which made Yang Qing flinch as he felt he was being stared down by a dangerous beast. Dai Chen had on a black coat, a matching black shirt, and black shorts with sandals.

"Thanks for the invite Yang Qing," Yu Huifang who had worn a white dress that highlighted her cherry pink hair lightly said with a smile.

"Yes, th..a..n..k you Yang," Zhang Qingge the last of the group nervously said. Her breathtaking beauty and small stature made her stand out which was further accentuated by her shy looks.

"You can grab one of the tables there, Huilang you can sit in the backyard somewhere," Yang Qing politely and impolitely said.

"Oh yeah Cao Ying you can grab a table with your friends too," Yang Qing said when he noticed Cao Ying's friends rooted on the spot. Meeting one judge had already made them nervous now being surrounded by five with two of them being palace court judges made them too nervous to even move.

Cao Ying had to drag them away with an embarrassed smile on his face. He couldn't help but shake his head as he laughed as he remembered he was just like them a few months ago when he started working at the Thousand flavors restaurant. The first week he couldn't get any orders straight because of how nervous he was but over time with how easygoing Yang Qing and the rest were he adapted and got used to them.

"Now then with everyone here, I'd like to say one or two things. The Order has become a very important home for us, yes we occasionally disagree on a few things, but at the end of the day, this is where we can truly be ourselves.

It's a place that subverts the norms of the cultivation world. Here you can find a domain expert sharing laughs with a core formation expert, we don't have to backstab each other for resources yes the Order is a little stingy and could do better but it is still better than most places, and best of all fairer.

Haishi, Bolin there's not much I can say to you as I want you to judge with your own eyes and decide for yourselves what this place will be to you. But what I can say is as long as you are with us we will always look out for you as you are both now one of us and we look out for one of our own.

All I ask is never sully the Order's fundamental creeds even to your death.

With that WELCOME TO THE ORDER HAISHI, BOLIN," Yang Qing jubilantly with the crowd echoing his cheers as they raised their wine urns in welcoming them.