Daily life of a cultivation judge



"All we can do now is wait as we wish Jiang Fu a smooth breakthrough to the palace realm, hopefully soon. I have rather missed his tea.." Meng Chao said musingly with a smile.

"I have, too.."

"Me too.."

"Me too. He can't get here fast enough..."

The mood lightened with light smiles all around.

The trio were still slightly shaken by the information Meng Chao had revealed to them.

Yang Qing wasn't immune to the surprise even if he had a bit of prior knowledge. All he had been expecting was maybe Deng Chao and Jiang Fu were part of some clan that wasn't around anymore, having fallen for obvious reasons.

However, just like most, he thought the Crystal Palm Jade Sect had been destroyed because of the saint-grade treasure Deng Chao had found in the Millionsfold treasure ocean.

A saint-grade treasure was a saint-grade treasure, it didn't matter whether you were from a Holy Land or some impoverished sect or clan, you would covet one the moment you laid your eyes on it.

One could establish a long-lasting dynasty as long as one had one, more so if one got an offensive or defensive-based treasure. Deng Chao had survived precisely because of that saint-grade treasure, that not only saved his life but it has also continuously nourished and anchored his soul. If he were in the soul formation realm, his soul could easily exist outside his body with no repercussions, but as a quasi-soul formation expert, there were risks to that, and eventually, his soul would dissipate without a body.

However, 900 years passed since his sect was destroyed, but he was still alive and well, and it was thanks to the efforts of the saint-grade treasure he had on hand.

But as it turned out, his guess was off, and it was because of his million-year heritage with the Li family. Surviving that long was nothing to scoff at, nor was it something easily achievable, yet they had done it. 

Who knew how many storms they had weathered in that time period? Though with the facts at hand, there was no doubt the Spirit jade turtle was a huge reason for it, because when it disappeared they didn't last that long, though internal division had likely been key to their demise. 

Still, the whole information was a shocker to Yang Qing nonetheless and whoever the mastermind was behind their demise, they were clearly beyond the abilities of three palace realm cultivators. 

They could destroy a rank 2 organization in three days and were able to capitalize on the division of the Li family and its eventual destruction. This was a clan that had a history that was likely longer than the two present-day Holy Lands in Radiant Sword Sect, and Flowing Valley Sect.

The fact that they were able to bring down such an ancient clan meant they were not in the least, in terms of resources, reach, and cunning since even someone as lofty as Meng Chao couldn't decipher their identity even now.

Today's event was the second time in the week the trio had realized their own limitations in the larger scheme of things. Even with the Order's backing, there were things they could not be involved in, only their seniors could, and for this case, it was even more so, since it involved powerful figures from the Order in the likes of Meng Chao and Dean Zhu Lao, and still their investigation was slow. 

That spoke volumes of the opponent they were dealing with because of those two, one was a paragon domain user which Yang Qing still didn't know what that meant, and the other could break apart and remodel cultivation techniques with the same ease as breathing. Yet one felt the need to break through to the soul formation first before proceeding further despite his already terrifying abilities.

Yang Qing could still remember how terrified he had been when exposed to the depiction of the paragon domain realms in the dark valley. While he didn't know which one was Meng Chao's, the fact that he was known to have one, was enough. Though Yang Qing had heard he was a sword user, of the few paragon domains he was exposed to there was one in particular he felt likely belonged to Meng Chao, the one that was so tyrannical that it almost killed him the instant it appeared, had it known be for the swift intervention of Lei Weiyuan.

The one with the mountain of swords could very well be his, thought Yang Qing.

The trio exchanged a few more words with Meng Chao before they got up to leave. As they were passing through the door, Yang Qing suddenly turned back to Meng Chao as he asked a question that had been ruminating on his mind since he stepped into the hallways of the domain courts.

"Uhm, senior Meng Chao, pardon my insolence, but could I ask something?"

"What is it?" asked Meng Chao with a raised brow at Yang Qing's current obsequious look.

He looked like a child asking for permission to play after being caught in a mistake a few days prior. There was that sense of unease in him.

Yang Qing took a deep breath before he asked his question.

"Are the domain courts usually this empty?" 

Meng Chao was taken aback by the question as he blankly stared at Yang Qing before he dryly laughed.

"Figured you would ask that.." he said with a knowing look which drove Yang Qing to embarrassment as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Well, one doesn't get many cases when they get into the domain courts. Organizations with domain experts are much more reserved. They have much more to lose in comparison to the lower organizations, so they are very careful in their overall conduct.

Besides, mostly when they get in conflict, they resolve it themselves, and when it comes to fiendish cultivators, those at the domain level are much more cunning and resourceful in their conduct.

They are more than capable of covering their tracks, which is how organizations like the Scarlet Blood Ghost Hand Syndicate, and the remnants of the Dark Helminth Ghosts have been able to evade us.

They are extremely careful, and usually leave fewer clues unlike 500 years ago going back when they were much more direct.."