Daily life of a cultivation judge Chapter 1495: The last test (2)

All eighty-seven lost part of their bodies in that onslaught. Thirty-eight ’died,’ or were counted as dead, because they would have, had the instructors not stepped in and whisked them away to the Medical Valley. Those unfortunate thirty-eight would have to go through that test again the following year until they passed, or forfeit, and with it, various positions within the Order would be forever closed off to them, regardless of what they achieved in the future.

To be accepted as a Special Inquisitor or Roaming Inquisitor, you needed to pass that test. To become a Superior Core Court Judge, one of the requirements for admission was passing it.

Yang Qing was part of the group that passed. But whether it was him or the remaining forty-eight who passed with him, none of them celebrated it or considered it a pass, because while they made it to the end, they only did so by surviving for the set time, not because they defeated the opponent. Given enough time, actually even just a few minutes more, they would have all been eliminated and failed the test. Yang Qing had the highest level of endurance and capacity for recovery in his class, and yet, the instant the instructors announced the test was over, he fainted forty-five seconds later, and by that point he was the only person still conscious. Kang Huilang had long fainted. So had Xia Boqin. So had Yi Jie.

The only person who had come close to staying awake long after Yang Qing, that is, was Feng Xin, and it was at twenty-four seconds. The only reason he had held on for so long was because of the bet they had with Yang Qing, that whoever was the last person standing would be treated to crimson boars for an entire week.

But alas, even the frenzied food lover who would trade his lifespan for a delicious meal, even he, under the very spirited motivation of free crimson boar for a week, could only hold out for twenty-four seconds.

That test was the greatest dose of humility and reality for them, and at the same time, also taught them a few things, one of which was that it was against everybody else.

Their opponent wasn’t someone they could face alone. That Quasi-Palace Realm prisoner wasn’t at his best, but the frenzied desperation he had ensured he would not hold back at all. Not to mention, the prisoner was specially chosen. Broken or not, that prisoner had a certain level of talent and experience that made him get singled out by the Instructors for the test. It wasn’t just for their Quasi-Palace Realm cultivation base, or their brutal methods, but also their talent and aptitude that gave the Instructors confidence that that one single individual, even with a broken body and mind, had the ability to push eighty-seven talented early-stage Core Formation experts to their deaths.

Had that prisoner eliminated forty students instead of the thirty-eight he did, Yang Qing was not sure they would have been able to drag out the clock as they did in that test.

That was one of the lessons the instructors used that test to painfully drive home. As talented as they were, they had to come to the reality that there were battles they had no chance of winning alone, no matter how talented they were. Some battles required a group, like that one. The more of them who survived, the greater their chances of enduring until the end. And the fewer they were, the less those chances became.

They poured everything into surviving. And it required everyone, pouring everything they had learned in those four years, to survive, where survival was deeply tied to one another. They used everything, from pills and potions to arrays, talismans, weapons, and spells. Anything they could use to drag out the fight, they used.

In the end, they survived...

And as for their opponent... since then, Yang Qing had been burning an incense stick every now and then, hoping that he was receiving special attention and dedicated "care" from the guards in Requiem. It was the least Yang Qing could do, after the special care he had received from him.

Forty-nine motivated early-stage Core Formation experts, and the best they achieved in that three-hour desperate struggle was making him break a sweat and maybe a shallow bleed or two on the hands and chest, whereas they all lost a limb or two, with some losing four, like Kang Huilang.

....

"Thousand Flavors Restaurant, was that the name?" Chen Yu said to Yang Qing as they were about to part ways, with Yang Qing preparing to leave with Li Gang in the direction of the Bluefin Escort Agency.

"Yes, Thousand Flavors Restaurant," Yang Qing confirmed. "Whoever your guide is, they will know it. I will meet you there once I am done with Li Gang, and then I will take you to meet that friend I mentioned."

In the ride over, Chen Yu had shown great interest in meeting that ’friend’ Yang Qing had mentioned, whom they shared similarities with, and Yang Qing was only too eager to fulfill the request and let the two sides meet, and see what happens. As such, one of the first places Chen Yu was all too eager to see was none other than Yang Qing’s abode, to meet his friend, whom Yang Qing had not yet revealed the true origins of. That was a little surprise he was saving for both sides to uncover when they met.

"I will wait for you there," Chen Yu said eagerly, before turning to bid farewell to Li Gang. "It was a pleasure, Branch Manager Li Gang... I suppose it will not be Branch Manager for much longer," Chen Yu self-corrected.

"I have not yet been to Yue State. When I pass by, I will be sure to inform you so you can show me around.

And when you do decide to start, do not forget to invite me as your very first guest appraiser."

"I will," Li Gang said, his eyes beaming with excitement, smiling from ear to ear.

Li Gang could not help but feel thrilled. He already had Yang Qing’s promise: that he would come in his official capacity as a judge of the Order to authenticate sales and bind them with his authority. And now, he had an appraiser too, and not just any appraiser, but one from the illustrious Jade Leaf Academy. He was of half a mind to start his merchant company right this moment.

The two bid goodbye, and then Yang Qing and Li Gang headed to the Bluefin Escort Agency.

...

"They are not around," Yang Qing said in surprise, frowning as he looked at the closed entrance doors and felt the faint fluctuations of a blue-grade array that had already been activated to cover the grounds of the Bluefin Escort Agency.

"They left two hours ago... and in a rush," came a familiar voice from the right side of the street.

Yang Qing turned his face in that direction, catching a Silver Eagle Guard of similar age to him, with brown hair, a simple look, walking toward him.

"Fei Chen," Yang Qing said, addressing his former classmate. "You said they left. Did they say where they were going? Or why were they leaving in a hurry?"

"They left for the Sunset Bank Manor in Emerald Spring Kingdom," Fei Chen answered once he reached them. "As for why they left, they said it was because they received a letter telling them to go pick up their colleagues from the Sunset Manor.

They did not tell me more than that. Not that they even had the spare moment to do so, given how much of a hurry they were in."

"Is it good or bad?" Fei Chen asked seriously.

"I do not know yet. I guess we will just have to wait and see when they come back... if they come back," said Yang Qing, sighing.

"Seems like you made a wasted trip," he said, turning to Li Gang with a dry smile. "I could hold on to the items for you and deliver them on your behalf to them when they arrive, or you are welcome to wait at the Order and complete the delivery yourself, if you are not in a hurry," Yang Qing suggested.