Daily life of a cultivation judge Chapter 3 3: Last Week As A Superior Core Court Judge (3)

The pair swiftly entered the immense hallway of the building, its black tiles mirroring the exterior. The square hall was adorned with walls featuring mysterious, hazy liquids in various colors: one at the front, and others to the left and right.

These liquids shifted in consistency, sometimes appearing misty, other times gelatinous, and occasionally flowing like a waterfall. The left wall displayed two such liquids: a deep blue and a dark gold. Within the dark gold liquid, glowing glyphs shuttled back and forth. Above the blue liquid was a blue plaque labeled 'core,' and above the dark gold, a dark gold plaque read 'palace.'

The front wall was entirely covered by a pure white liquid, lending it an ethereal quality, with the word 'spirit' inscribed above it. To the right, a black liquid blended seamlessly with the building's color. Only the glowing glyphs and the word 'domain' above it indicated its presence.

This special treasure was known as mimicry chaos sky metal. Its unique property allowed it to morph its state while preserving the formation arrays etched upon it. Its most valuable feature was its capacity to magnify and stabilize spatial arrays.

The Order utilized this metal to construct spatial gates connecting various parts of the building. Each judge, inquisitor, and official received a fragment of this metal, enabling them to use the spatial arrays. Since each chaos sky metal was unique, only fragments broken from a specific piece would function with the arrays created from it.

The color-coding of the liquids corresponded to the courts they linked to: blue for core courtrooms, dark gold for palace courtrooms, black for domain courtrooms, and white for spirit courts. This color scheme also distinguished the judges. Their robes mirrored these colors; Yang Qing wore blue robes, while Yi Jie's were red and blue. Inquisitors wore robes half red and half the color of the court to which they were assigned.

They proceeded towards the blue liquid. As the glyphs brightened, they were transported to the core court hallways, from which they navigated towards one of the numerous courtrooms marked 'superior.'

Just as Yang Qing and Yi Jie were about to enter their assigned courtroom, they noticed the back of a black-robed man standing before it, hands clasped behind his back. He was of medium, slender build, with his silver hair tied in a half-bun.

Upon seeing him, Yang Qing froze, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated fear, the earlier playful grin completely vanished.

"It seems you've managed to arrive just in the nick of time, Yang Qing?" the black-robed man inquired, his tone unhurried and calm.

To Yang Qing, however, this sounded like the grim reaper's voice beckoning his soul. He wasn't entirely certain, but he detected a hint of disappointment in the man's tone, causing him to question it.

"Why would Supervisor Lei Weiyuan be disappointed that I arrived on time instead of being pleased?" Yang Qing mused internally, dismissing it as his imagination.

"Aaaaah, Supervisor Lei Weiyuan, is that you? Of course, I would arrive on time. What sort of person do you perceive me to be? I would give my blood, sweat, tears, and all my Qi to repay the Cultivation Order for all it has done and entrusted me with.

I, Yang Qing, possess many gifts, but one of my most exceptional qualities is my unyielding will and tenacious spirit to see the Order's cause fulfilled, no matter the cost," Yang Qing declared, his tone laced with a measure of piety and fanaticism, as if he were ready to destroy the world at the Order's command.

Yet, those present were aware of his true nature. Yang Qing only displayed unyielding will and a tenacious spirit when he was actively pursuing his agenda of slacking off and evading all troublesome situations.

The black-robed man turned, revealing a middle-aged face with a stern demeanor, complemented by a matching silver medium beard and sharp silver eyes.

He cast a penetrating gaze upon Yang Qing, who at that moment was still engrossed in his monologue, recounting his contributions to the Order with some embellished details. For instance, he emphasized breaking through to the palace realm at great personal risk to alleviate the courts' burden, conveniently omitting that he had previously lied about his breakthrough and consequently served as a superior core judge for an additional three months.

"You'll be late, Yang Qing the Tenacious," Lei Weiyuan interjected, his expression straight, to interrupt Yang Qing's ceaseless rambling.

Lei Weiyuan held the esteemed position of supervisor for all superior core court judges and the palace court judges. His primary duty involved overseeing the quality of their work, ensuring that integrity remained paramount. Much like his colleagues, Lei Weiyuan harbored high expectations for Yang Qing, remaining unaware of the young man's true nature.

Yang Qing commenced his career as a direct entry judge, a status reserved for individuals demonstrating exceptional work and conduct. His early performance was commendable, but after a few months, he began devising schemes to minimize his workload. While some of these plots succeeded, others faltered, leading to him being placed under constant personal supervision.

Upon his advancement to an inner core court judge, it appeared Yang Qing had genuinely reformed. He consistently arrived on time, exuding an aura of seriousness and dedication to his duties. His commitment seemed unwavering, and within a few years, he attained the rank of superior core court judge.

This particular rank was by no means insignificant. Individuals at the pinnacle of the Core Formation realm might not necessarily qualify to become a superior core court judge; a prerequisite was possessing either a gold or purple core.

The cores formed by cultivators in the Core Formation stage varied in color, reflecting the quality of their cores. These colors ranged from red, the weakest, to orange, blue, gold, and finally purple, the strongest.

The color of one's core was determined by the type of pillars they established during the Foundation Establishment stage. Those who formed red pillars typically ended up with a red core, unless they utilized specific rare natural treasures or alchemy pills to enhance it to an orange hue. However, certain gaps were insurmountable even with treasures, specifically when aiming for a gold or purple core, which could only be achieved by forming gold or purple pillars, respectively.

Yang Qing ultimately achieved a purple core. This remarkable feat, beyond his inherent talent, was significantly aided by the meticulous guidance of his instructors. After a millennium of experimentation on countless prodigies, they had identified certain fundamental requirements for forming a purple core. These included possessing a diamond or peerless jade body and reaching the perfect Qi completion stage, officially designated as the 13th stage of Qi refinement, even though the Qi stages were officially recognized as having only 12 levels. Without the Order's intervention, Yang Qing would never have discovered the method to attain this stage.

....

Yang Qing abruptly snapped out of his introspective musings. He offered a respectful bow to the supervisor before proceeding towards his courtroom. Just as he was about to enter, he heard Lei Weiyuan softly utter a few words.

"Blood, sweat, and tears. Interesting..."

Hearing this, Yang Qing swiftly turned back, catching a glimpse of a faint smile gracing Lei Weiyuan's face as the supervisor walked away.

Waiting until Lei Weiyuan was out of sight, Yang Qing seized Yi Jie by the shoulders, his voice laced with undisguised worry. "Yi Jie, did you just hear what that old demon said?!!!"

Yi Jie deftly extricated himself from Yang Qing's grip and entered the courtroom, leaving the agitated Yang Qing behind. With an innocent expression, he replied, "I believe he mentioned blood, sweat, and tears. Your speech must have deeply resonated with him. Well done, Yang Qing."

Yi Jie followed this with a grin mirroring the one Yang Qing had worn while contemplating the impending revival ceremony for 'Soft Life, Yang Qing,' giving him a thumbs-up.

Yang Qing entered the courtroom with a profound sense of desolation, his expression utterly vacant. Even corpse cultivators possessed more vitality than he did at that moment.

He mechanically made his way to his podium, a structure crafted from 50,000-year-old red dragon wood, emblazoned with the insignia of a golden eagle.

He completely overlooked the striking, fair-skinned young lady seated at the desk directly below him. She was clad in similar blue robes, her possessor of round, purple eyes that seemed to harbor shifting clouds within them. Her name was Mao Yunru, and she served as Yang Qing's judicial assistant and trainee.

All judges at his standing were mandated to mentor a subordinate who would eventually succeed them upon their promotion. Mao Yunru was slated to become his successor once he transitioned to the palace courts.

"What's wrong with him? Did he tamper with the arrays in the carriage again, trying to manipulate time so he could sleep longer?" Mao Yunru inquired, her gaze fixed on Yang Qing's listless demeanor as he repeatedly muttered, "No, he didn't say that, no, he didn't say that..."

Yi Jie, relishing the opportunity, eagerly recounted the entire preceding event. He made a point of loudly emphasizing the phrase 'blood, sweat, and tears,' ensuring Yang Qing could hear it, which elicited a noticeable shiver from the poor judge. Judging by his reaction, 'Blood, sweat, and tears, Yang Qing' was poised to emerge, replacing 'Soft Life, Yang Qing.'