Daily life of a cultivation judge

"Senior Green Cocoon, is there any hidden overwhelming killing intent sent my way?' Yang Qing asked as he prepared himself.

The moment of truth had already arrived. The saint-grade artifacts he was clothed in, along with soul formation experts on the stage were all here for this moment. Chief Justice Lai Ning could be considered to be the only one who was purely here for his integral role in the ceremony and wasn't necessarily here for the protection of Yang Qing, even though having a powerhouse like him available wouldn't hurt Yang Qing's survival chances.

"There isn't any overly intense, it's just the normal kind. You're not well-liked are you?" asked Green Cocoon.

Yang Qing didn't quite know how to answer that question. While the Order did maintain balance and helped reduce the amount of chaos around the Southern Continent, not many cultivators looked at them in a favorable light, especially those whose interests were constantly being impeded by the Order. 

There were those who liked, those who hated them, those who hated them then liked them and those who liked them then hated them, when they got on the wrong side of the Order. 

.... 

"Daoist Mo Ye, your young judge looks like he has some unique attributes, the Order really lucked out in getting him. His attributes would have been perfect for our sect," said Elder Luo Yong with a hint of envy in his tone.

Even though most of Yang Qing's attributes were shielded by both Blue Universe and Veiled Destiny, Elder Luo Yong managed to glean a few things here and there from his base attributes, and they were so close in proximity. He would have let his title as a soul formation expert and an elder of a Holy Land if he couldn't guess a few things or two about Yang Qing.

This time as he was communicating with Vice President Mo Ye, unlike before he didn't use his soul formation spiritual sense to communicate his words but instead used real words which the disciples next to them were all able to hear, even Yang Qing who was at the center of the podium.

The 21-year-old peak palace realm disciple of the Flowing Valley Sect along with the other saint leaf disciple all had looks of interest flash through their eyes when they heard Elder Luo Yong's statement.

Elder Luo Yong was one of the most prominent upcoming inner core elders within their sect. His words bore a lot of weight, especially to youngsters like them. Him praising Yang Qing made them reevaluate him a bit. Unlike the elder, they couldn't probe Yang Qing especially with him being clad in saint-grade artifacts. Everything about him was hidden from their senses. So when they met, other than knowing he was a palace realm expert and was a judge of the Order, they knew nothing else, even his realm was hidden from them.

"Thanks for your appreciation Elder Luo Yong, the Order always ensures to commit itself wholly towards the nurturing of our talents. It's the same for Yang Qing or any other member that crosses the doors of the Order and becomes its member," Vice President Mo Ye casually said, but one could detect the faint warning in his tone on Elder Luo Yong against having any ideas.

"I'm sorry for speaking out of turn, Daoist Mo Ye," Elder Luo Yong politely said as he cupped his fists in apology. 

Luckily Elder Han Meng's intervening statement diffused the subtle tension.

"It seems the rest of the guests are waiting on us to kick start the next part of the ceremony. We shouldn't keep them waiting, Daoist Luo Yong," said Elder Han Meng as he stood up and walked over to Yang Qing. 

Elder Luo Yong followed immediately after, but not before offering another apologetic bow toward Vice President Mo Ye, who nodded and offered a few words of acceptance and it not being a big deal.

Yang Qing's eyes shone with excitement when he saw the two elders make their way over. They could be considered the biggest cash cows in this place. Being elders of Holy Lands meant whatever they gifted him would not be shoddy at all, maybe it might even be able to cover the cost of holding on to Blue Universe and the rest for a few more hours after the end of the ceremony, with no fear that his funds would be drained and his treasures repossessed.

"I wonder what they will give me?" Yang Qing excitedly thought as outwardly he gave out the humblest look he could muster. No eunuch or servant could match his current demeanor.

"Young judge Yang Qing, please accept this little gift. It's not much since we don't hold much with us at the Radiant Sword Sect that doesn't contribute to our understanding of the sword dao. But nonetheless, this iron stalwart dream stone should be of some use to you, especially in the tempering of your will and techniques," Elder Han Meng said as he handed Yang Qing a rust brown looking stone that looked like just a mere breeze would cause its erosion.

"If you channel your spiritual essence into the stone, a piece of your will, will be replicated in an arena within the stone, and inside that arena, there will be a guardian made of iron. As far as I can tell, that guardian is skilled in all kinds of combat arts just like our friends from the battle palace, however, it shows particular proficiency with the sword and spear, but its palm arts, fist arts, and movement arts are also decent.

Its cultivation realm will always match yours, and it seems to learn and adapt to your techniques every time you fight. There are occasions it might incorporate some of your techniques into its fighting style the more you fight with it, which makes it a thorny opponent and the perfect sparring partner. Sadly, the treasure itself, seems to have had its origin damaged, therefore the maximum level the guardian can reach is the first stage of the domain realm," said Elder Han Meng.

Yang Qing's heart was pounding with excitement. He already expected the figures from the Holy Lands to show the opulence of their sects but he didn't expect it to be this big. He could detect the tone of Elder Han Meng that was sincerely filled with lament like one would have over a broken toy.

"Just their scraps are this good?" wondered Yang Qing as he made a conscious effort not to compare himself to them.

"I am deeply grateful Elder Han Meng for your generous gift, this is more than I could have ever expected. I will treasure it greatly," Yang Qing said as he cupped his fist in gratitude with a slight bow as a show of respect.

Even if the treasure he was given had a damaged origin making its repair extremely troublesome, even in its damaged state, it could be considered a high tier ascendant grade treasure, especially with the learning attribute of the guardian, it meant Yang Qing could have a versatile opponent to train with any time he wished to and maybe he too would be able to learn the techniques of the guardian. If it could learn his techniques, he figured the reverse should be possible. Maybe it was one of the features of the stone.

The more Yang Qing thought about it, the more he felt the iron stalwart dream stone was a worthwhile treasure that no amount of spirit stones would be able to buy. 

To Elder Han Meng it didn't seem like much, but to someone of Yang Qing's level, the harvests he could make from the stone would be endless, especially towards refining his techniques and also sharpening his battle sense, which was much-needed, especially with the nature of their occupation.

Elder Han Meng's gift could be considered the perfect gift for someone from the Order, especially a judge or an inquisitor, more so the latter.

Elder Han Meng wasn't a man of many words, he just nodded and returned back to his seat.

"Congratulations Judge Yang Qing, please accept this Mountain spring gourd," Elder Luo Yong said as he handed Yang Qing an earth-brown gourd that had the depiction of the mountain on it, along with a river that flowed from its peak to the bottom, forming a spring at the bottom of the gourd. 

Yang Qing could see the river was really lifelike; its movement, the smell down to even the sound. This realism wasn't only reflected in his eyesight but even when he scanned it with his palace sense, he felt that mountain and river were very much real.

"It may not compare to what Daoist Han Meng has given you, combat-wise, but I feel its nature is more compatible with you. The gourd is suffused with the Dao of water and the Dao of earth, which makes it a great comprehension tool for those practicing both these forms of Dao. It can also double up as a storage treasure and unlike normal storage rings, it can accommodate live specimens. As for its capacity, it's about the size of a mountain.

It's also a growing treasure. If you attune with it, you may very well help elevate its rank from a low-grade ascendant-grade treasure to a saint-grade treasure if you ever reach the soul formation realm. It also has a few other passive effects which you can discover on your own later. All the best with refining it," said Elder Luo Yong.

"With your talent and the support of the Order, I'm sure you will be able to do it," added Elder Luo Yong as he turned and went back to his seat.

Yang Qing was too blown away by the treasure to even formulate the right words. By the time he regained his senses, Elder Luo Yong was already at his seat, sharing sunflower seeds with Vice President Mo Ye and Elder Han Meng from the Radiant Sword Sect.

"The Holy Lands really are filthy rich," thought Yang Qing with an envious sigh. The moment he held the Mountain Spring gourd he intrinsically felt as long as he mastered the type of Dao of water and earth that was on it, he would improve his palace realm. The gourd's dao seemed more in line with his path, and as for the attunement, he felt Elder Luo Yong's statement was right on the mark.

Attunement was a cultivator's ability to harmonize with a particular treasure. This state only came into play if the treasure's rank was at the monarch grade and above, where it had some will and spirit of its own. The greater the degree of harmonization, the easier the refinement and also subsequent influence and connection a cultivator had over said treasure.

Yang Qing felt his Dao of vitality would have great synergy with the Mountain Spring gourd.

If the gift-giving ended there, Yang Qing felt it would already be worthwhile. The two gifts had already exceeded his expectations. He had half a mind to end it here and reduce any further risk, but his greedy curious heart wondered what other things he may get.

The allure of potential gifts was slowly eating away at this caution.