Daily life of a cultivation judge Chapter 1523: Three Sects, One Manor (2)

That Grand Elder, feeling at the time that the Sunset Bank Manor had become too big for its own good, and also, given his reputation for being tyrannical and greedy (The whole sect had that reputation to be fair, and understandably so, given their forceful entry into the Emerald Spring Kingdom), sought to establish the sect’s prestige and, at the same time, enrich both himself and the sect by absorbing the rapidly growing Sunset Bank Manor. However, he ended up exposing its hidden strength when he was beaten to within an inch of his life by the Vice Chair of the Sunset Bank Manor. It was rumored that the only reason the Grand Elder wasn’t killed was to prevent a full-blown war with the Dragon Water Palm Sect.

As much as some of the other parties might welcome such a conflict, they would also be apprehensive given the destruction it would bring, especially the damage it would inflict upon the Emerald Spring itself.

That Spring was also one of the factors behind the long-held peace in the Emerald Spring Kingdom. The Spring, from which the Emerald Spring drew its name, was a Dao Treasure that manifested as a spring whose waters formed several rivers crossing the entire kingdom. Those rivers possessed mystical qualities that varied from region to region, with some overlapping shared properties. They had healing properties and profound effects on cultivation by allowing cultivators to enter deep meditation and sense the profound laws of the Daos around them, with the waters showing better effects with water-related Daos.

Their waters could also improve the chances of forming high-quality foundation pillars, and one could easily stabilize their cultivation realms with their waters immediately after breaking through, greatly shortening the time needed for stabilization.

The spring’s waters were also an excellent alchemical ingredient that functioned no differently from a Sea Jade. The waters allowed for easy mixing of ingredients, on top of increasing the quality of the potions brewed with them, not to mention reducing the difficulty of brewing complex potions.

Those waters had countless wondrous uses that would leave cultivators salivating with greed, and it went without saying that the Emerald Spring, or rather those Emerald Spring Rivers, were the foundation of the Emerald Spring Kingdom. All three parties—more so the Royal Family, the Seven Noble Houses, the Hidden Spring Sect, and the Stillwater Breathing Sect (which was the name of two of the three sects)—owed their success and entire foundation to the Emerald Spring. As such, they held it in great regard and would do anything to ensure its preservation, including even tolerating one another.

For as wondrous as the Emerald Spring was, it was fragile and susceptible to destruction. Unlike the Southern Continent, which had grown resilient enough to heal from any damage over time, the Emerald Spring lacked such resilience. If a serious war broke out, the Emerald Spring would be forever damaged, and in the worst cases, disappear completely, like a cracked egg.

During the early periods of the Emerald Spring Kingdom, that Spring was a lake with countless rivers. However, wars of vying for hegemony and subjugation during that time turned the very large lake into a spring, and the hundreds of rivers shrunk to about eight. Since then, those that depended on its waters restrained themselves, while at the same time trying to rapidly grow their strength, because the only true way to restrain another cultivator’s actions is to be so strong that your presence forces them to control their actions.

That interaction eventually led to the balanced peace seen today. So, after the Grand Elder of Dragon Water Palm Sect got injured, his sect couldn’t immediately avenge him, given the strength the Sunset Bank Manor had shown and the fact they were the aggressors.

Not to mention, outside of the need to protect the Emerald Spring, the other ruling organizations, from the Royal Family to the Seven Noble Houses, the Stillwater Breathing Sect, and the Hidden Spring Sect, all had a unanimous dislike for the Dragon Water Palm Sect and more than welcomed the beating their Grand Elder took. The sect knew this, and as such, they had to restrain themselves, as much as they were not known for it, lest they give those organizations a reason to gang up on them.

The sect also had the Sunset Bank Manor to worry about, more so its head. If the Vice Chair was that powerful, what about the Chair of the manor?

The head of the Manor was a mysterious figure who had never been seen, though her presence had surely been felt, as she was acclaimed to be responsible for leading the Sunset Bank Manor to what it was today.

Of note, the Flying Shadow Hawks, despite their extensive network, didn’t have much information about her either, other than knowing she was a woman and that she’d left the manor in search of an opportunity to break through to the domain realm. The Vice Chair had been her personal disciple, which led one to assume that the Chair might be a saber cultivator herself.

Her mysterious presence and the strength the Sunset Bank Manor had shown allowed the Manor to be accepted into one of the ruling factions of the Emerald Spring Kingdom.

What they accomplished showed that the Manor was not a simple merchant organization. No merchant organization, at least among the more established ones, ever was.

Yang Qing could argue it was much easier for the royal family of the Emerald Spring Kingdom to establish itself and grow into what it was, or even the Seven Noble Houses and the Two Sects that had been there since the beginning, than it was for Sunset Bank Manor to grow into what it was. By the time the latter had established itself, the Kingdom already had a firmly set ruling system, which meant it was very hard for a new variable to rise and establish itself, unless one took the Dragon Water Palm Sect route and used force to oust one of the established organizations and take its place, which they did when they annexed one of the sects in the Emerald Spring Kingdom.

But the Sunset Bank Manor didn’t do that. They slowly built their strength right under the noses of those parties, and by the time they realized it, the Sunset Bank Manor had garnered enough strength to have a seat at the table.

That, for Yang Qing, was harder and showed great acumen, and also proved the Manor might actually be the most terrifying of all, which meant their members were unlikely to be simple figures, especially those in high positions, like the Directors.

Would Dong Ping really be able to get anything of value from such an organization and that Director (Elder Mui Bingwen)?

Dong Ping might have a higher cultivation base with his Quasi-domain realm cultivation, and Elder Mui Bingwen only being at the Tenth Stage of the Palace Realm, but in terms of cunning and maneuvering, it was anyone’s guess who would get the better of whom in that matchup.

Strength trumps all, but Dong Ping didn’t have an outright dominating force over the Sunset Bank Manor. He might have enough to scare them a little, but was it enough to terrify them into revealing what they knew?

Yang Qing didn’t think so. Not with that mysterious Chair, or the collective strength of the Manor. Who knew how many trump cards the Manor had.

A softer, wiser approach would be needed.

And if that was the case, then he’d be the better choice. His backing as someone from the Order might compel the Manor to reveal what they knew.

But... Yang Qing sighed. Several pressing matters prevented him from immediately handling it himself. One, with an approaching deadline, was the resettlement of Ma Yuan and his daughter. They were scheduled to leave today, and Yang Qing wished to personally oversee their relocation to the Summerfield Kingdom, where Ma Yuan had finally decided to settle, choosing it over the White Baobab Kingdom.

Given these circumstances, Yang Qing couldn’t leave to handle the Sunset Bank Manor matter himself, and all his inquisitors were in seclusion. The two roaming inquisitors assigned to him were also occupied with other matters; he hadn’t seen so much as their shadow in quite some time. The strongest evidence of their likely absence at the Order was the lack of notices from the Soup Garden. Xia Ting, that voracious, insatiable soup glutton, regularly saddled him with her tab from the Soup Garden.

It had been a while since he received a notification that someone had used his membership card for soup, indicating the freeloader soup glutton wasn’t around. Otherwise, there was no way she’d go an entire day without drinking soup on his card, let alone weeks.

choice," thought Yang Qing.

Answering his earlier question, Fan Mei said, "A rogue cultivator who clawed his way to the point where he is now knocking on the doors of the Domain Realm means he is not a simple figure either.

To achieve what he has is no less remarkable than what the Sunset Bank Manor has achieved."

Smiling, she added, "Let’s trust him. In my dealings with him, he has delivered more often than he has failed. That’s why I went to him first on this one...

Not to mention..." she paused meaningfully.

"Not to mention what?" said Yang Qing, smiling.

"Merchants handle merchants best, and he could be considered a merchant of sorts," said Fan Mei, putting her quill down as she reached for her tea. "He knows people everywhere, from all walks of life, who owe him favors. Who knows, maybe one of those favors might have a connection with Sunset Bank Manor.

How good is your luck?" she asked, smiling.

Yang Qing chuckled at the teasing question. He glanced at his left sleeve briefly before returning his gaze to Fan Mei, where he smirked playfully, puffed his chest, and said, "I have been told I have dragon’s luck at the moment."

After laughing at the display, Fan Mei said, "Then let’s wait for the good news."