Daily life of a cultivation judge

Yang Qing slightly raised his eyebrow when he saw the eight Zhang clan members show emotion, and it was one of relief when Zhang Guiren acquiesced to whatever Zhang Su wanted to say.

"First of all, just like I've just told our vice clan leader, whatever punishment the court deems fit, we wholeheartedly accept.

We all knew what we were doing, and we didn't necessarily go to great lengths to hide it either, otherwise, there'd have been no witnesses if we were looking to hide it.

I say this with utmost sincerity if the war with the Five Clover Kingdom ended today or even tomorrow, or whenever it ended, we would have voluntarily turned ourselves in.

I don't excuse what we did, but what we did, we did out of necessity.." Zhang Su calmly said.

"Judge, can I ask you something?"

"You can.."

"Why do you cultivate? To you what do you think the purpose of cultivation in its whole, especially when it comes to cultivation arts?"

"You want my personal opinion on the matter?"

"Yes, I would..."

"For me, it would be.." Yang Qing paused as he held his chin, his eyes and mind seemingly going elsewhere before clarity colored the eyes again.

"For me, it would be to live, and if I was to boil it down, it would be survival.." Yang Qing said as the memory of his younger years flashed in his mind when he was desperately clinging to dear life trying to survive his grandfather's experience, and later when he joined the Order, it was to survive the fiendish instructors, and presently it was surviving the storms raging outside the Order, within the Order, and within himself.

At the core of it, what fueled him was the desperation to survive.

Zhang Su was slightly surprised by Yang Qing's response which prompted him to smile as he nodded.

"The Order is embroiled in a bigger battlefield, of course, our thoughts would align.." Zhang Su said softly.

"I happen to think so too. However, for me and my brothers.." Zhang Su paused as he pointed to the seven clan members behind him.

"Our survival is hinged on murder. Another person needs to die for us to live, and for me, cultivation is nothing but another tool to ensure just that. It's a tool for murder.. which is how I managed to rationalize using blood fiend arts.." he said with a wry smile.

"After all, our core art thrives in a field of slaughter, would using blood fiend arts be any different? We were using it on our enemies, not innocents. We were using it on those who would kill us.

Surely it's not wrong if I used it that way, right? They were all questions we asked ourselves to make what we were doing, okay and if I'm being honest, some part of me doesn't regret using it either.." Zhang Su said with a sincere smile on his face.

"The Zhang family, the spear of the Red Maple Empire, the river that separates the Empire from the terrors that lie on the other side, is what most within the Empire sing about us, and for us who came from such a clan... when we are small, all we do is obsess, fantasize, and romanticize about the day we too will get to step up on that stage and uphold the honor of the clan and have our exploits sung throughout the empire.

For us, there is no greater honor than being a Zhang family member on the front lines of war. When you're small, you don't think about the demands of war, all you think about is the glory it brings, it's only when you're there, in the thick of it, is when you see the side that those bards don't sing about, the ruthlessness of it.

There are seniors from the clan who talk to us about the seriousness of war, and touch on what it would demand of you, but when you're so young, who listens? We are all indomitable heroes and immortals in our stories, up until the absolute slap of reality smacks in the face and opens our eyes.

War takes a lot from you, even if you're prepared, and even living on the battlefield for years on end, doesn't take away the sting one feels when war collects its dues..." Zhang Su paused to rub his forehead, as a melancholic sigh escaped his lips.

"I've been there for sixteen years, and even now I've never been able to stomach seeing many of my clansmen die at the blade of the enemy.

Each loss cuts deeper, and it's even worse now..."

Flames of fury burned in his eyes as he clenched his fist.

"The Empire that we bleed and die for, the empire that countless Zhang clan members have given their lives to protect for thousands of years, is no more than a rotting corpse filled with greedy worms looking to tear each other up.

While we are at the border fighting, dying by the hundreds almost every other day, our fellow countrymen are busy squabbling with each other, letting their greed for power lead them, trying to devour each other at every turn, ignoring the fact that what they are doing is no different than a pig serving itself up to a pack of wolves.

They've completely ignored the wolf that is already at our doorstep, waiting to lunge at us and devour us whole.

Whatever is happening at the border, leave it for those brute bloodthirsty Zhangs to handle, they murmur in contempt..." Zhang Su paused as he took a deep breath to calm the erupting emotions raging within him, his emotions mirrored by his fellow clansmen who looked to be seething in anger too.

"We are continually paying the price for the Empire's greed, selfishness, and foolishness. Our cultivation base thrives in war but it doesn't mean we want to live there forever. I don't want to stay constantly surrounded by the death of my relatives and clan members, but that is what the so-called Red Maple Empire has consigned us to.

Before when the war started, the entire empire rallied as one united force and bared its fangs against its enemies, but now,.. but now those fangs are turned to each other.

The war would not have lasted this long had the Empire acted collectively and not entirely left the burden to us. The Five Clovers Kingdom even with the support of the Zou family would have never been able to gain the ground it did, as fast as it did, if we didn't give them the opportunity to, when we let our greed dictate our actions.

But look where we are now, struggling to maintain a stalemate with a kingdom we would have conquered years ago if only we did what we were supposed to.

The Chen Clan, a clan born from a peerless swordsman hides within its walls as they fight amongst themselves, instead of baring their edge against the empire's enemy. No wonder their sword hearts have rust, and are now moving to alchemy.

The Gui clan no longer supplies the potions needed for the war front, instead choosing instead to sell their wares to the highest bidders to rapidly amass their wealth and influence. They're more merchants than alchemists now, and it surprises them why they have never produced a blue-grade alchemist to date. If we all die out, and the border is lost, will they even be able to protect that wealth they are hoarding?

The Mo Clan spending all its time and effort trying to compete with the Duan Royal family for dominance and heritage, instead of trying to establish their prestige at the border.

The Gong family....they are the only ones who remained uninvolved in the rot, and while they still support the borders with armaments they provide, with the way the wind is blowing and how they have been distancing themselves from the other families including the royal families, I wouldn't be surprised if some time tomorrow there is news of them leaving the Red Maple Empire for good..."Zhang Su paused to relax his tense body as his presence turned tranquil.

"The Empire isn't called the Zhang Empire, but we are the ones bleeding for it. I stopped fighting for that empire a long time ago and started fighting to ensure my clan members don't die for that dying tree.

Left with no other option, we turned to blood-fiend arts. We didn't do it so we could grow our strength, we only did it because it was the only option in front of us that would help us protect our fellow clansmen.

It is why in as much as I feel sad for bringing the shame of being a blood fiend cultivator to my clan, I don't regret it. I would rather be a villain and ensure my clan members don't die a thankless death in that place.

Neither do they. Thank you for your time. I needed to explain why we did what we did and we gladly accept the punishment deserved for our acts. Be it death or any other form, we willingly accept it.." Zhang Su said as he solemnly cupped his fists.