Daily life of a cultivation judge

Avoiding further eye contact with the woman who looked like she wanted to tear him limb to limb, Yang Qing's gaze moved toward the man walking a few steps behind her.

The man looked to be in his late thirties to his early forties with light grey hair that added to the scholar's charm that surrounded him. There was a sense of ease, confidence, and grace to him, that even while walking, it almost seemed like he was gently gliding across the room. It went without saying that he had a visage that looked like it had been carved from the finest jade by the finest craftsmen which went perfectly with the scholarly air he had about him.

Yang Qing may not know who that person was, but from the elegant-looking white robes that were probably made from better materials than the robes Yang Qing had on, Yang Qing guessed he had to be simportant figure, and with how close he was to Lin Guiren and Cai Hong, it had to be one of the two guests Lei Weiyuan had mentioned to have srelationship with Cai Hong.

"Is he from the Silver Leaf Empire?" wondered Yang Qing before his question was answered a moment later when he saw a silver leaf pin on one of the pins the man had used to hold his hair in a daoist topknot.

Trailing a few steps behind them were the remaining two people who were walking side by side, though one of them seemed to be purposefully walking a few inches behind the other, almost as if he was deferring to him.

Yang Qing's eyes narrowed as he felt something within him stir when his eyes fell on the guest walking a few inches in front of the other. The guest looked to be in his late thirties, composed with a sense of tranquil gentleness that paired perfectly with his auburn hair and matching eyes.

Looking at him, Yang Qing felt a sense of familiarity with him, which at first he couldn't understand where that sense of familiarity was coming from. But, after a few seconds, it clicked for him as he recalled feeling the sway when he first laid his eyes on the saint-grade treasure, Green Cocoon.

That mercurial saint-grade treasure had not spoken much to him when compared to Universal Robe, or Veiled Destiny, but of the three, he had felt a natural affinity to Green Cocoon.

The sense of familiarity he felt now with that guest when he dug further into, it almost felt similar to what he felt when he interacted with Green Cocoon, though it wasn't exactly the same.

"Who is he?" wondered Yang Qing as he saw the man smile at him.

Yang Qing had no doubt based on the look the man was giving him, he had felt the sthing, probably even more defined than Yang Qing considering how the disparity in their abilities.

Yang Qing deciding to shelve the matter moved his attention to the final person. Earlier, Lei Weiyuan had mentioned there would be two additional guests, but as it stood, there were three additional guests. Clearly, Lei Weiyuan didn't think it pertinent to mention the third person, and seeing him, Yang Qing could understand why.

Of the five, he was the only one that Yang Qing could actually gauge his strength. The other four were complete enigmas to him. When he looked at the four, he couldn't tell their cultivation base at all. It was like they were mortals with no cultivation albeit he felt a subtle form of weighty force coming from within his soul wherever he looked at them.

But that feeling was nigh negligible and if it wasn't for his powerful and highly sensitive soul, that sensation would easily overtake him.

The fact that he couldn't feel any cultivation from them could only be an indicator of the gap in their abilities and considering the sensation he felt from them was the sas he had with Lei Weiyuan and Hou Dehui, it could only mean all four were bonafide domain experts. Even without Lei Weiyuan telling him of it beforehand, it would have beceasily evident to Yang Qing the moment they stepped into the courtroom.

But when it cto the last person, he could tell his exact cultivation base. The last person, just like him, was at the second stage of the palace realm. He looked to be in his late fifties with a rough look to him with black hair, and a firm build to him. One look at him and one would feel like they were staring at a heated anvil.

Yang Qing's gaze flashed with an inscrutable glow as his eyes went from the middle-aged man with the rough appearance to the young man he felt the sense of familiarity. From the way they were walking, Yang Qing felt those two knew but didn't know each other at the stime. Though he could feel a sense of veneration coming from the rough-looking man.

"Could it be..."

Yang Qing's trail of thought was cut short when Hou Dehui and the rest of the guests arrived at the center of the courtroom, joining Lei Weiyuan in the process.

"Fellow daoist Lin Guiren, you and your team can take that side, while fellow daoist Deng Wei and Gong Jie can take the other.." Hou Dehui politely said as he pointed to his left and to his rest.

Lin Guiren nodded, as he moved to the left side, while the young man, that Hou Dehui called Deng Wei moved to the right side along with the right side.

Though Yang Qing didn't show any outward change in emotion, still wearing an impassive and slightly amiable look, inwardly waves of shock were cascading within him.

"So it was him?!"he thought as he felt his wild guess from a few seconds earlier get confirmed.

"I can't believe he is alive, and a domain expert at that, and him.." Yang Qing's gaze fell on the rough-looking man once more.

"Last I read, only the Zhang, Mo, and the royal family had palace realm experts. Of the remaining three founding families in the Chen Clan, Gui Clan, and Gong Clan, none of them had one.

Who is he? Is he related to them or is he just someone coincidentally sharing the snwith them and happens to coincidentally be standing next to someone sharing the exact nas one of the founders of the Red Maple Empire?

What's happening here?"