Daily life of a cultivation judge

"A palace realm expert..." Yang Qing threw a curious glance in Duan Hu's direction. Based on the foundations Wu Mingli had, Yang Qing was inclined to believe that the person who handed him that recording was indeed a palace realm expert, a quasi-palace stage expert would not have been able to sneak on him undetected, after all, just from the undulations he released, Yang Qing could already tell that Wu Mingli was someone with a gold core.

With such foundations, a quasi-palace stage cultivator would find it difficult to sneak on him undetected. Anyone with a blue core and above would have a robust spiritual sense, courtesy of their spiritual core.

For someone to sneak up on Wu Mingli without his awareness, during its first instance, someone could maybe make a case that it could have happened because he was distracted. He was back home, bombarded by the place's strong emotions and memories. In such a state, being distracted is expected, but the figure managed to disappear as easily as he appeared with Wu Mingli unable to sense or do anything about it.

For someone to be able to do that they had to be vastly more powerful than him, or had a powerful treasure on them that gave them that ease. That same person also managed to record the deal between the commander and the store owner of the Green Dragon General Store.

The recording had enough clarity to the point that one could sense the strengths of the individuals recorded in it. Shao Ren and the Commander of the city guards were both quasi-palace stage experts, and they both had no clue they were being recorded.

This was what convinced Yang Qing that the culprit was more than likely a palace realm expert. Only they would be able to sneak up on two quasi-palace realm experts, and a peak stage gold core expert without any of them being aware of it.

And if it was a palace realm expert, then the suspect pool was a small one. The Red Maple Empire didn't have that many palace realm experts to begin with. They only had five, and he could already eliminate Duan Hu from those five, leaving four; the Mo clan patriarch, the Zheng Clan patriarch, or one of the two remaining palace realm experts from the Duan royal family.

Whoever it was, it was evident they had something against Duan Hu. Otherwise, why leak the information?

"It seems like he has some ideas as to who it might be," thought Yang Qing as he caught the former emperor's subtle reactions.

...

After the recording was done, Yang Qing took custody of the slip as per Wu Mingli's wishes, who no longer wanted to keep it.

He had replayed that recording over and over till it became an obsession which quickly evolved into a heart demon. Everything from this point was geared towards the elimination of that obsession if he ever wanted to have a life or reach the palace realm.

Today's proceedings were as him seeking reprieve for his father, and at the same time laying him to rest thus laying the groundwork for the life that lay ahead.

"I could hardly come to terms with what I saw neither could I believe it. I replayed that recording over and over, my disbelief, and denial growing with every replay. I kept thinking to myself, surely this has to be a lie. Yes, the empire is messed up in more ways than one by letting the subsidiaries however they pleased, but surely they would not resort to even selling out one of their own.

But the cold hard evidence was there, staring me in the face and I could not believe it. I only accepted it as real when I took the slip back to my master and he and his colleagues verified that it wasn't doctored and that everything written there was real.

The moment I got the confirmation, it was like a rewind switch had been hit, and I was mourning my father over again. .." Wu Mingli said with sorrow in his voice.

"I still struggled to believe it or understand it, but I buried those feelings, and only came to revisit them seven years later when I reached the quasi-palace realm expert.

Whatever doubts I had, there was one sure way of confirming them and that was asking the people involved. I couldn't reach the Emperor.." Wu Mingli said with a coldness to him.

"But I could sure as hell reach Shao Ren or so I thought. By the time I had made up my mind to seek him out, he had already left the empire, that left me with only other choice, that was to seek the commander.."

Duan Hu's pupils instantly constricted, as he asked,

"It was you?.. You were the one who killed him?"

"Yes.." Wu Mingli softly answered with an apathetic demeanor about him.

Wu Mingli's look turned reminiscent.

"Given his roIe in it, I would have still killed him, but the events that transpired leading up to his death were all his doing.

He asked for a duel to the death. If he won, then he would have eradicated a potential thorn in the empire's back, but if I won, he would verify the truth of the recording I was given through a soul stone.

I won and I got the soul stone.." Wu Mingli said as he politely nodded his head to Yang Qing who produced a milky white stone that looked to have been made of a gelatinous substance and was dancing with silver, golden, azure, and cyan lights, giving it a mystical charm.

Said item was a soul stone, a unique natural treasure that someone could use to store memories. Soul stones were mercurial in that before they were used, they looked no different than a pebble, and when it came to durability, they were as fragile as glass, but once someone branded it with their soul, and poured their memories into it, the stone would achieve a transformation, into what it was now. An object of ethereal beauty, and when it came to hardiness, it could self-

repair itself, and the only way to destroy it was if the power used was vastly superior to the full strength of the person whose soul was branded on it.

In the case of the soul stone in Yang Qing's palm, for it to be destroyed, it could only be at the hands of a palace realm expert. If it was Yang Qing's soul stone, it would need the strength of at least a middle-stage expert.

When the stones were branded, they not only absorbed the memories they were branded with but the qualities of the person's soul, and in Yang Qing's case, his soul stone would be tainted with a dense aura of vitality.

The commander's soul stone was similar in that regard too. Owing to the red maple spirit's bloodline that flowed within them as a result of the deal between the red maple spirit and their ancestor, every Duan clan member had a dense life aura, and that soul stone showed signs of it.

"Emperor Duan Hu, and the team from the Golden Bamboo Pavilion, please feel free to examine its contents. The Order verifies that the contents of the soul stone have not been tampered with in any way.." Yang Qing said as he passed the soul stone over to Duan Hu first for his perusal.

Using a soul stone was just as similar to reading someone's soul for the memories branded within, except it was less intrusive and had fewer risks, however, they were also prone to tampering, if one was skilled enough.

It took a moment for Duan Hu to compose himself. He still looked visibly shaken from the revelation about the death of the commander. When he passed, it triggered a storm within the empire.

Because of the growing line of betrayal within the Empire, he could never pinpoint who did it. He suspected the other clans of the deed just as much as he did his own clan, after all, the commander had been one of his persons, and he wouldn't put it past the rival faction within the clan to have him killed to deprive him of loyal helpers and support. He had even killed a few royal members as a result of it.

Pushing the complex emotions that were brewing within him to the side, he quickly poured his spiritual essence into the soul stone, examining its contents.

The process was swift and smooth. In three minutes or less, Duan Hu was already done and was handing the soul stone back to Yang Qing who passed it over to the side of the Golden Bamboo Pavilion team, before handing it to Deng Wei out of courtesy.

All parties present were in agreement that the soul stone had not been tampered with, and the memories contained within were authentic. Those from the Golden Bamboo Pavilion may not have known the commander, but they did know Shao Ren, and looking through a soul stone was no different than reliving the commander's memories.

Everything he felt or sensed was contained in its raw authentic form within that soul stone and as for Deng Wei, he may not know anyone within that memory, but he was a domain expert. It was child's play for someone of his rank to authenticate the memory of a quasi-palace realm expert, whether he knew the person or not.

Duan Hu was the surest of all that the memory was real, after all, he was featured in that memory. The memory did contain the version of events as showed by the jade sip Wu Mingli had produced, but it also showed the events that happened before and after which was him signing off on Wu Fang being handed over to Shao Ren and the meeting that happened after, when the commander reported that the deed had been done.

It was an otherwise damning indictment of his role in the whole affair.

Once everything had settled, Wu Mingli spoke.

"Every debt has a debtor, and as the son, it falls on me to collect on the debt owed to my father.." Wu Mingli said as he turned to face Duan Hu. Even without hearing what he had to say, just from his looks, Duan Hu already knew Wu Mingli's goal.

"My father's only crime was being loyal to a nation that did not deserve it. Instead of being awarded for his integrity, he was punished for it.

I may have not had the ability to do anything about it back then, but I do now.." he added as his gaze trailed over to Lin Guiren and the rest.

"A life for a life, that has always been the rule of the world, and my father is owed one. With the Order serving as the witness, you said Shao Ren should be out of seclusion in three years or less, right?

I will give him an extra year to solidify his foundations, so he has no excuse. In four years, with the Order as the witness, I challenge Shao Ren to a life-and-death duel.

Of course, he is free to refuse it, but if he does, I will still come for him, and if your pavilion interferes..." Wu Mingli paused as he took out a scroll that radiated with an otherworldly energy. The source of that energy came from the binding on that scroll. It was a white branch that stirred the spiritual qi around them, almost as if breathing life and wisdom into it.

Lin Guiren, his wife, the Imperial household manager, and even Deng Wei had a sense of seriousness to them as their attention fell on the branch.

Wu Mingli muttered an incantation that reacted with the branch as it opened itself, allowing the scroll to be unfurled. The scroll was revealed to be blank, without any writing. Not a second later, the branch branded itself onto the scroll, and a drawing of a majestic white tree filled with leaves that abounded with wisdom was produced, as colorful lights were produced by those leaves.

One could hear the voices of sages and scholars discussing countless mysteries and truths of the way of the dao emanating from those leaves. Those present could feel their spirits stirred, and their minds racing, guided forth by a transcendent power that was as old as creation.

"If the Golden Bamboo Pavilion interferes, then the Jade Leaf Academy will involve itself in the matter.." said a voice, coming from one of the leaves within the scroll. The voice was akin to a whisper of wind, trailing countless eons, containing the essence of countless secrets and truths collected throughout those eons.