Daily life of a cultivation judge



A few minutes later there was another guest at Yang Qing's abode who seemed like he had timed his visit perfectly to when Yang Qing was eating his meal. It was Feng Xin.

When he came he didn't talk much and just poured himself the wine on the table and took a few of the dishes that were spread about.

The two ate in silence for almost half an hour and when they had finished all the dishes on the table, Feng Xin stood up to leave.

"Feng Xin, there's no need to hold back anymore. I don't know why you did, Yi Jie isn't one to care about it.." Yang Qing muttered as Feng Xin was walking away halting him in his tracks.

"I know.." Feng Xin softly said.

"I'm headed to the mountain today, I've already left my cases to them.." he added as he left.

"All the best. Later you can tell me how the lightning tastes like, if it's any different from the rest.." Yang Qing said to the fading silhouette of Feng Xin.

"Feng Xin.." he couldn't help but shake his head as he said this.

He had long discovered Feng Xin was purposefully holding back his cultivation, which Yang Qing could only guess was on account of Yi Jie, either that or Feng Xin delayed breaking through so it would take away from the time when he could be eating. 

Some part of him felt the odds of the latter were slightly higher.

The rest of his team, as if by design came at different times, with each not saying anything. They just stayed there with Yang Qing and then left.

After Su Jinjing left who was the last inquisitor to come in, the final visitor of the day was Mao Yunru, who unlike the rest couldn't mask the worry and sympathy in her eyes.

"How are you finding your new role?" asked Yang Qing when he saw her worried look.

"It's okay, I'm adapting well. I had a good teacher after all. Not many people are lucky enough to have someone known as the world's canvas as their teacher.." Mao Yunru cheekily replied trying to rouse her spirits with humor.

"Don't you forget it," Yang Qing smugly replied.

After that another awkward silence ensued between the two. Yang Qing played around with his wine urn, while Mao Yunru kept pulling at her purple scarf trying to align it perfectly.

"I'll be okay.." Yang Qing finally said when he saw Mao Yunru seemed to be getting nervous by the second.

Mao Yunru for the first time since she walked in, her eyes stopped darting around as she stared at him. When she saw the calmness in those green eyes that carried the essence of a whole ocean in them, it seemed to have affected her as she too started calming down.

"Okay, then..."

A sense of harmony and calmness pervaded the area as they resumed the silence, which unlike before was warm unlike the bundle of nerves and awkwardness it was, moments earlier.

After some moments passed, Mao Yunru stood up to leave after exchanging a few words with Yang Qing. 

She had walked away a few steps when she hurried back and kissed Yang Qing's forehead and said,

"Take care," and immediately bolted after with reddened cheeks leaving a stupefied Yang Qing.

"What just happened?" he absentmindedly muttered to himself as he gently touched his forehead.

A small smile appeared on his face, however, the moment was immediately ruined by the celestial nesting weaver that had dropped from its nest with its arrogant gaze falling on Yang Qing.

"You finally realized how amazing I am, little Qing.." it pompously said as it emphasized the last two words.

"You bastard.." Yang Qing yelled as he immediately pounced on it, throwing a flurry of punches.

After ten minutes of the two thrashing about, the two lay exhausted in the grass next to the courtyard.

"I'm going to have a talk with the crab you brought over and take a look around this dump. You can have the nest.." the celestial nesting weaver arrogantly said as it rolled its rotund body towards the pond where the starlight crab was staying.

"It has a conscience after all," Yang Qing muttered with a smile as he headed to the nest.

After he arrived, he immediately took out the two arts pertaining to the Frozen Serenity Scripture and started going through them.

About two hours later Yang Qing put both arts down.

"The Frozen Serenity Sect really was something," he muttered with admiration in his tone.

While he hadn't fully cultivated both techniques to any degree at all and was just studying their ins and outs, the bit he had managed to glean in those two hours left him marveling at its intricacies.

It was generally known that yin arts were best at building up the soul and were extremely poor at strengthening the body but the frost fire art had managed to do something that most yin arts couldn't, which was strengthen not only the soul but also the body in equal regard.

The art produced a blue-white flame known as frost fire which was a flame conjured by the energy of the soul, the art strengthened the soul first then used the energy produced to refine the body then with the body strengthened, the energy it generates is partially absorbed by the flame which then feeds back to the soul, creating a tied cycle between the two.

The Winter's embrace was just as amazing. The meditation art was founded on maintaining a calm heart and mind by deriving warm comfort even in desolation. When mastered to perfection, one would be immune to all arts that influenced the mind that were in the blue grade, not only that it increased the odds of a cultivator entering a state of epiphany by 35%. It also increased the cultivator's understanding of their own soul and spiritual sense.

The benefits derived from it were truly huge. However, Yang Qing had not picked them up so he could cultivate them. The time he had on hand was too short for him to even reach the emergent phase of it. 

What we wanted to ascertain was the essence of it. Since the two arts came from the same source, even though they are two different arts that target different things, their core essence should be similar, which was what Yang Qing wanted to study.

"As I thought…..this shard feels completely different for something related to the Frozen Serenity Scripture.." he said as he fiddled with a blue shard in his hand.

He stared at it for a full minute before he burned it away with a pure white flame. Black smoke was produced from it along with a sizzling sound which made Yang Qing's face turn grimmer.

"Just what have you all been doing? The essence seems completely different...

But none of that matters, after tomorrow, the Ice Emerald Sect will be no more..."

Yang Qing exhaled like he was releasing whatever pent-up emotions he had and closed his eyes in silent meditation. A colorful mist filled with stars, oceans, animals, plants, and land, immediately surrounded him.

Just like that, the night passed, followed by the next day without Yang Qing moving.

...

Skies in the southeastern side of the southern continent.

"Are you ready, Yang Qing?"