Daily life of a cultivation judge

The couple were two rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators who had hung up their wandering boots after discovering they were with child.

They left behind their nomadic lives and settled in a small town within a rank-four kingdom. The kingdom, however, soon fell on hard times as unrest spread throughout its territory. The cause was a growing discontent among a faction of the kingdom's soldiers, primarily those of commoner birth, who felt they were treated unfairly compared to their noble-born counterparts.

At first, the outcry was minor, easily ignored by the ruling elite. That changed dramatically when a rising star among the kingdom's military, a commander of common birth whose exceptional abilities had allowed him to climb the ranks, took a drastic step. He killed one of the princes charged with suppressing what the nobles derisively called the "rubble rebellion." His actions lit the spark for a full-blown uprising.

The rebellion unleashed a long-simmering resentment that had been bubbling beneath the kingdom's surface for decades. Soldiers—young, seasoned, and even retired—rose up across the land, joined by their families and communities, all of whom had endured years of frustration under the kingdom's oppressive class divide. Before the royal family could react, the rebellion engulfed the entire kingdom, and the town where the retired rogue cultivators had made their home was drawn into the chaos.

As is often the case in such upheavals, the darker side of human nature emerged in full force. Looting, banditry, murder, and kidnappings became rampant. Among the many victims was the couple's young child, who was abducted by a group of marauders seeking to profit from the kingdom's turmoil.

The marauders were opportunists, targeting villages and towns to pillage goods and abduct people. Their captives were either ransomed or forced into service for their cause. The couple's son, along with other children from the town, was taken to be retrained as an initiate in their gang. The marauders spared the families of their young captives, not out of mercy but as a calculated move. They used the families as leverage to ensure obedience from the children during the brutal initiation process.

At the time of the kidnapping, the rogue couple had been powerless to stop the marauders. The gang's overwhelming numbers included numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators and even a few Core Formation experts, which was a key reason they thrived in the chaotic kingdom.

This was where one of the founders of the Silver Frost Eagles stepped in. Chaos on such a large scale always draws mercenaries, particularly when there's a sizeable share of the spoils at stake. The Silver Frost Eagles had been hired by a noble to bolster his forces, and the town where the retired rogue couple lived happened to fall within that noble's territory. The mercenary company was tasked with protecting the noble's property, and it was during the course of these duties that the founder encountered the plight of the couple and others in the town whose children had been abducted.

The couple, along with the other desperate townsfolk, pleaded for the founder's help, offering everything they owned—wealth, possessions, and even their lives—if he would save their children.

While the Silver Frost Eagles were officially contracted to safeguard the noble's property, the noble made it clear that "property" did not include the people under his rule. This indifference was one of the reasons the rebellion had spread so rapidly throughout the kingdom. With no support from their ruler, the couple and the townsfolk had no choice but to rely on their meager resources to buy the mercenary's aid.

Why the founder of the Silver Frost Eagles ultimately agreed to take on the job remains a mystery. His decision came with great personal risk, as the noble canceled his contract upon learning the founder had accepted a commission from his "subjects."

Despite the risks, the founder and his team tracked the marauders to their hideout. After a dangerous and bloody confrontation, they successfully rescued many of the captives, though not all had survived their ordeal. Thankfully, the couple's child was among those saved.

That Silver Frost Eagle's founder likely never imagined that his single act of kindness would secure the future of his organization for generations to come. The child he rescued grew up to become a hall master in the Thousand Battle Hall Pavilion, one of the most feared and renowned rank-one organizations in the world.

Years later, the Silver Frost Eagles faced a calamity that threatened their very existence, only to be saved by the very child they had once rescued. By that time, the child had risen to prominence as a seeded pupil of the Thousand Battle Hall Pavilion—a rare title reserved for the most gifted talents, groomed for leadership and ultimate mastery.

The disaster began when the Silver Frost Eagles, during the execution of a commission, inadvertently offended a Palace Realm cultivator. That cultivator, leveraging his association with a scion from a rank two clan, rallied additional forces to exact his revenge. The mercenary organization soon found themselves targeted by an overwhelming coalition: 12 Palace Realm cultivators, over 100 Core Formation experts, and the looming influence of a rank two clan's scion.

At the time, the founder who had rescued the child was still alive and had reached the Palace Realm himself. Alongside three other Palace Realm cultivators within the Silver Frost Eagles, he mounted a valiant defense. Yet, their combined strength was no match for the onslaught they faced. The odds were impossibly stacked against them, and their destruction seemed inevitable.

But salvation came in an unexpected and unforgettable form. The child they had saved all those years ago, now a towering figure in the cultivation world, personally intervened. In a display of unparalleled might, he singlehandedly annihilated 11 Palace Realm cultivators and deliberately spared one: the instigator.

The instigating Palace Realm expert, desperate to save his own life, invoked his connection to the rank two clan's scion as a shield. However, his efforts proved futile. The child—now a battle hall master in all but name—crippled his cultivation and then marched straight to the scion's doorstep to demand an explanation.

The Thousand Battle Hall Pavilion's reputation alone was enough to silence dissent, but with one of its prized pupils taking a stand, the outcome was inevitable. Even the rank two clan, for all its resources and influence, paled in comparison to the power of a single battle hall.

That clan acted exactly as one would expect in such a situation.

They offered to pay whatever the prized pupil required, no matter the cost. True to the ruthless nature of cultivation clans—especially when it came to preserving their legacy—they even offered the head of the scion as part of the bargain.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—for them, that prized pupil refused to collect on their offer. He simply killed the palace realm cultivator after proving that his backing meant nothing, then left the matter at that.

From that moment on, it became widely known that the Silver Frost Eagles were under the protection of a prized pupil from the terrifying rank-one organization, the Thousand Battle Hall Pavilion. That pupil now serves as one of its Hall Masters, and is a peak Domain expert, as only those who have reached that stage can hold the post of Hall Master.

The founder of the Silver Frost Eagles, who had saved the child, had already passed away long ago, but his act continued to protect the organization. The association with the Thousand Battle Hall Pavilion ensured that the Silver Frost Eagles were always in high demand, their services booked solid year-round.

That single encounter transformed the organization's fortunes. It not only guaranteed their longevity and prosperity but also reshaped their mission. Perhaps inspired by what they had gained from saving that rogue couple's child, the Silver Frost Eagles chose to specialize in one area: Search and rescue.

For the past 30,000 years, they have upheld that singular focus, building a great reputation as specialists in their field.

Yang Qing agreed—they were the perfect choice to track down clues about Bai Chen and Jiang Hao. With their specialization, there was no doubt about their skill.

However, their prestige and backing made Yang Qing slightly uneasy. He worried whether they could even be slotted in for the task, even with someone from the Order making the request.

After all, the Thousand Battle Hall Pavilion's reputation across the continent was no less than that of the Order itself.