Daily life of a cultivation judge

"Imperial Secretary He Shan, have I kept you long?" asked Yang Qing as he made his way to where the Imperial Secretary moved.

Imperial Secretary He Shan who seemed to be in the middle of mumbling things to himself hurriedly looked up with a surprised look on his face as he said,

"No, Not at all, Branch Chief Yang Qing..."

Yang Qing made an inviting gesture toward the forest-filled illusory array.

"We can talk inside if you don't mind.."

..

Branch Chief Study

"So what is it, Imperial Secretary?" Yang Qing said as he poured himself and the imperial secretary a cup of ginkgo tea to help calm his nerves.

The Imperial Secretary seemed a bit hesitant at first, however, since the matter he had to ask could not be avoided, he steeled himself as he made the request.

"I sent your message to the king and the head of the Zhang family and they both agreed to your request to meet you personally,

but.."

The Imperial Secretary paused as a difficult look appeared on his face. He seemed to be wrestling heavily with something.

"But..?" 

The Imperial Secretary clutched the cup of his tea tightly before he finally gently placed the cup on the table with a resigned sigh.

"It's not something I should share, but I feel I should, considering the gravity of the situation.." he said as he sipped the ginkgo tea.

"I don't know how much you know about our present circumstance but you must know how delicate of a situation we are in....

Surrounded by wolves out there and surrounded by wolves within the kingdom. The royal family is beset on both sides and the reason for that has to do with the king's grandfather.." 

The Imperial Secretary looked like he had aged a few years when he made that statement.

Yang Qing could finally understand why he seemed conflicted. More than likely he felt he was betraying his liege by revealing what he was revealing.

Yang Qing didn't interrupt as he let the Imperial Secretary reveal what he wanted to reveal at his own pace.

"The king's grandfather has been a shining light to all within the kingdom for countless years. 

He was a dazzling genius in his youth both in terms of cultivation and matters of the state. One of the greatest kings the Deer Mountain Kingdom has ever had, his fame even rivaled that of the third king.." said the Imperial Secretary with a complicated light flashing in his eyes.

Seeing his look, Yang Qing could understand his mixed feelings about the third king. The third king's era could be considered the golden age of the Deer Mountain Kingdom, however, it was also their darkest period because that was the time they were almost driven to extinction when they triggered a massive war with other spirit beasts in the area in their bid to bring all the territory within the range under their control.

The devastation it brought could be felt to this day. Most didn't know what to feel about the third king. He ushered in a golden era, but he also invited calamity and brought in the dark era which he even paid for with his life.

Yang Qing quickly pulled his thoughts back when he saw the Imperial Secretary continue with his narration.

"The King's grandfather held up the kingdom singlehandedly when it didn't have any other support and was able to guide us forward to where we are today though he paid a price for that.

The price was his cultivation..."

The Imperial Secretary paused before he continued,

"I may not know how it was during the golden age of our kingdom but I am certain his talent would have shone back then as it did during his era.

An unparalleled cultivator whose sword singlehandedly ensured no enemies took advantage of us at our weakest.

No one dared stand against him. He invoked fear and awe in all, whether human or spirit beast.

The guardian sword of the kingdom they call him. The commoners loved him, even those nobles who have forgotten their place revered him and never dared to put a foot out of place when he was king.

But now.."

The Imperial Secretary clenched his fists in frustration till one could see the whites of his eyes.

"Sorry.." he said as he tried to compose himself.

"Because of how damaged our foundations were back then, he never had a chance to wholly devote himself to cultivation so it lagged than it was meant to despite having been one of the youngest people in the kingdom to ever achieve sword intent.

He did so at 16 years. He sacrificed what he could have been so he could help the kingdom wade through the darkness it was in, and when we were finally at a place where he could finally focus on himself, he was plagued with serious internal injuries that hindered his improvement.

He had already lost a lot of years, and he lost more to focus on healing those wounds. About 10 years ago, he was left with one, which if he successfully dealt with it he would finally be able to move on to be a seventh-stage palace realm cultivator.

However, a problem occurred and the remaining injury seemed to flare up as he was dealing with it which put him in a precarious position.

I don't know the exact details but the king said it was pretty dangerous and despite what resources they supplied, his state doesn't seem to improve.

Over the past fifty years, rumors have been floating around that the King's grandfather had succumbed to his injuries and those rumors have been gaining momentum every year that has passed since then.

And with him never making an appearance over the past 1,000 years at least, most are inclined to believe said rumors which is why they now have the guts to openly be at odds with the royal family and openly lay bare their greedy ambitions for the throne.

In their minds, the king's grandfather isn't there to hold their reigns while they still have predecessors from the same era as the king's grandfather which has given them the gall to push us around.

Those bastards don't have a shroud of dignity left!!" Imperial Secretary He Shan said as he gritted his teeth together in boiling anger.

His voice then turned low with a deflated and resigned spirit.

"After everything he has done. This is not the kingdom I love.."

"Despite the rumors, they are still uncertain so they dare not act too much out of line for fear that he may be alive and well.

But the same restriction is on the king too. He can't bring in outside help to advise and possibly help with his grandfather's situation for fear of alerting them.

Every movement he makes is closely monitored, so he can only handle it all by himself because even within the royal family he doesn't know who can trust. If the situation of his grandfather broke out, then we won't even have to wait for the fire adler bear to act, we would destroy ourselves..."

The Imperial Secretary's gaze turned solemn as he said,

"I know you said the Order can't involve itself in certain matters to maintain its neutrality, but I am afraid our kingdom's destruction is all but nigh if you don't step in.

I know it's shameless of me to ask this, but please help us. I am not asking for you to quell the unrest within our kingdom but please help the King's grandfather....Please.." the Imperial Secretary agitatedly said as he bowed his head.