Daily life of a cultivation judge

The couple looked up as they sensed the graveness in Yang Qing's tone.

"Before I say anything else, I'd like to let you both know something. It's more of a promise really.." Yang Qing said as he straightened his spine.

His presence seemed to have shifted, as the couple could feel the force of the world being released from his body.

"How could his body contain so much Dao force within it.." thought Bai Zhen in surprise as he felt the ethereal and majestic force swirling around Yang Qing.

Even though the density of it wasn't the same as his, with Yang Qing still being an early-stage palace realm expert, the dao force within him felt more ancient, more primordial like something that had been there when the world was being born.

Bai Zhen couldn't help but suspect that Yang Qing had mastered a superior Dao which he used to breakthrough to the palace realm. 

While he couldn't investigate it further, but he felt it bore the same weight as the dao of the flood dragon whose treasure bone they used.

He couldn't help but sigh. Over the past few days, he had seen things that he would have never imagined and it was all centered on the Order.

"Maybe I should have gone out more like Su'er asked..but..none of that matters now.." Bai Zhen thought with a sigh.

"The Blue Soul Flame Syndicate will pay for what they did to your daughter and our people.

All involved will face death or worse and the organization itself will face our wrath.." firmly said Yang Qing.

"Many thanks for that, Branch Chief.." Bai Zhen said with an air of awkwardness around him.

He wasn't the only one, as Bai Su's gaze drifted a bit in shame when Yang Qing said the words 'our people'.

The two had done a number on them, and Bai Su had even eaten one of them.

"But here is the thing.." Yang Qing's tone turned low as his gaze fell on the two.

"The Blue Soul Flame Soul Syndicate owes you a debt for killing your daughter and in that same vein, you owe the Order a debt too.

You killed one of our own and her name was Xie Wen.." 

A sense of heaviness descended in the area.

"We lost two of our own that day. One died at the hands of one of the deacons of the Blue Soul Flame Crow Syndicate and another died at yours...the one you killed.." Yang Qing paused.

"Her name was Xie Wen.." he added in reiteration.

Two inquisitors had lost their lives in the battle against the Blue Soul Flame Syndicate and the two obsidian serpents.

One was Xie Wen and the other was Liu Bai and they had both been at the peak stage of the core formation realm. They both had blue-grade cores.

In most branches spread about the continent the lineup of the Deer Mountain Branch could be considered an outlier as all its members had blue-grade cores. Usually, it would be one or two with the rest having quasi-blue grade cores but because of the dangers of the Deer Mountain Range and the lack of control by the kingdom, the Order stacked up the branch from top to bottom with talented personnel.

From what Yang Qing read about them, he knew Xie Wen was close to becoming a blue-grade talisman maker, while Liu Bai had improved in leaps and bounds in his herbology skills. Most of the herbs growing around the branch had been personally nurtured by him.

Had any one of them reached the palace realm, they would have been relocated to either become a branch chief, or chief inquisitor or they would have been sent to top-tier branches that had a peak palace realm branch chief or domain level branch chief.

But, alas, both, died.

"You owe us a life and in as much as we understand the circumstances that led to it, a debt is a debt and it must be collected..."

Yang Qing couldn't help but sigh.

"Usually when we lose someone, the path we need to take is clear. We eradicate everyone and everything involved but your case is a rather complicated one.

Others out there might think us champions of justice, or nosey do-gooders ruining the order of things by protecting the weak from the strong.

But in truth, we only do those things to not bring shame to our home. To us, it's us against everyone else whether we saved you or punished you.

Of course, within our ranks, there are definitely those who truly believe in the cause but even for them, none of it bears more weight to them than the wellbeing of their fellow compatriot. We are all we have of each other against the rest of the world.

This is why, whenever something like this happens to one of us, we are no different from any sect, clan, cultivator, or spirit beast out there, who will do anything by fair means or foul to avenge them..."

The Order just like any other institution filled with people, was not completely perfect. It was not without its internal disputes here and there but it was just surface level and never festered and the reason for that was the bond they shared or rather the foe, they shared.

It was them against the entire continent. They never treated the continent as something to save but as an enemy, they had to defend against.

It was an unnerving reality to carry, and the only thing that made it easier to shoulder was the thought that they were not alone in it. Every person within the Order helped each other carry, which was why when death occurred from a member of the Order, even if they may not personally know them, the heaviness of it was no different than losing kin.

It was why they would never let anyone off, no matter the cost, they would exact their vengeance on the matter.

The Cataclysmic Star Sword Sect, an ancient rank 1 sect with a deep heritage fell from grace because of that very reason. It had stood the test of time for almost 200,000 years. Though Yang Qing didn't know the full story, he did hear they did something to a member of the Order, which brought the full wrath of the Order on them.

17 soul formation experts were slaughtered that day and two-thirds of the sect along with all their allies who stood up to defend them were razed to the ground. Whoever and whatever was left of the sect got sealed and the seal has remained there ever since, a constant reminder and deterrent to all, on what the Order would do to them.

The Order did pay some cost for what they did, but there was no regret and they would do it over again. This was a tale told to all students just as they were about to graduate. A lesson for them to look out for each other above everything else.

"Because of the unique circumstances surrounding the events, the collector of your debt can only be someone with a close relation to your victim, Xie Wen. 

Whatever they decide, goes. If they were to ask for your execution at this very moment, it would be done. 

They could decide to hold off on it and take your lives themselves, wherever that may be and we would abide by it. No matter what achievements you may make working for the Order, it would not change it..."

"But...!" the Bai couple couldn't help but stammer when they realized the implications of Yang Qing's words and why he had said that their daughter's grievance would be addressed.