Daily life of a cultivation judge

"What does that mean?" Liu Ying asked, her voice trembling, her eyes wide with unease.

"I don't know yet," Yang Qing replied, his tone softening as he noticed both Liu Ying and Duan Ting visibly tense. Though Duan Ting managed to maintain a semblance of composure, Liu Ying's distress was far more apparent.

Yang Qing couldn't fault them for their reactions. They had been carrying the weight of uncertainty for some time now—fearing both the known and the unknown. The torment of helplessness in the face of such mysteries was a burden anyone would struggle with.

"As you can tell from your soul lanterns, your soul imprints usually carry some variation of the yin energy—it being the dominant essence of the soul and all—but that's not the only component that's usually present in there," Yang Qing began, gesturing toward the golden-orange flames burning gently within the lanterns belonging to Liu Ying and Duan Ting.

"The body carries yang and the soul carries yin—or so the common saying goes. But in reality, it's not so simple. While the soul is predominantly yin in nature and the body predominantly yang, if you look closely, you'll find traces of yang energy within the soul and yin energy within the body. Not only that, but you'll also find other unique attributes within both."

He paused, his gaze settling on the lanterns before him.

"Your 'fingerprints'—the qualities that make you, you—are imprinted on both your body and your soul," he continued, rising to bring the two lanterns belonging to Liu Ying and Duan Ting to the center of the table.

"For instance, in this lantern…" Yang Qing pointed to the one on his left. "The attributes contained within this soul imprint indicate its owner has proficiency with water and metal attributes—or perhaps cultivates an art rooted in these elements. Judging by your auras, I'd wager this one belongs to you, Escort Supervisor Duan Ting."

Duan Ting froze, startled by the accuracy of Yang Qing's assessment. He paused briefly, collecting himself before nodding in response.

"Yes, it is," Duan Ting said, unable to hide the surprise on his face as his gaze shifted between Yang Qing and the lantern that belonged to him. Yang Qing's deduction had been spot on. His cultivation revolved around the manipulation of water and metal elements.

Still unable to fathom how Yang Qing had done it, Duan Ting used his spiritual sense to probe his soul lantern. As expected, all he felt was an ethereal warmth and lightness emanating from the flame. There was no trace of water or metallic essence within it—just warmth.

He repeated the process with Liu Ying's lantern, but the result was the same. Unwilling to give up, he turned his focus to the two lanterns belonging to Jiang Hao and Bai Chen. Once again, the outcome mirrored his earlier findings when he'd first examined them after realizing the two had gone missing. The dull grey flames felt void—completely devoid of warmth or any discernible sensation.

They felt no different than the flame Yang Qing had conjured earlier to demonstrate the characteristics of a _heartshade candle_.

At that moment, Duan Ting had wanted to point out that the flames in Bai Chen and Jiang Hao's lanterns felt identical to the one Yang Qing had shown. But when Yang Qing mentioned the presence of dense yin energy within them, Duan Ting held his tongue. Even now, probing the two lanterns with greater focus, he still felt nothing.

His investigative trance was interrupted when Yang Qing turned his attention to Liu Ying's lantern, continuing his explanation about the 'attributes' of soul imprints.

"Yours, Liu Ying, is predominant in earth and wind energy," Yang Qing said, placing his hand gently atop her lantern.

Liu Ying looked equally surprised, though having seen Yang Qing demonstrate it with Duan Ting first lessened the shock—albeit only slightly—as she still trembled faintly.

Ignoring the states of the two escort supervisors, Yang Qing removed his hands from their soul lanterns and reached out for the ones belonging to Jiang Hao and Bai Chen instead.

"Do both Bai Chen and Jiang Hao cultivate the same art?" Yang Qing asked, his focus never leaving the lanterns.

"I don't think so," Duan Ting replied with firm certainty. "Brother Jiang Hao didn't cultivate the sword like the boss. His specialty was in spear arts, and its nature was explosive—of a lightning attribute—whereas the boss's cultivation art was fluid. If I'm not mistaken, it was water-based. Though, come to think of it..." Duan Ting trailed off, his eyes lighting up as if struck by realization.

"His moves, whenever we sparred, always carried some hint of yin energy in them..." he said, unable to hide his growing excitement.

"Could it be..." he added, his gaze shifting to the two lanterns with renewed vigor.

Liu Ying seemed to have had the same guess as him, as her reaction completely mirrored his, be it in excitement or urgency as she quickly turned her attention to the two lanterns, her eyes passionately fixed on them as if Bai Chen and Jiang Hao would jump out of them at any moment.

Yang Qing had just explained that soul imprints carried attributes unique to their owners, a fact he effortlessly demonstrated using Duan Ting and Liu Ying as examples. Now, with Duan Ting revealing that Bai Chen's cultivation art possessed a yin attribute—and Yang Qing having confirmed sensing yin energy in Bai Chen's soul lantern—hope began to stir within them. Yang Qing had mentioned detecting the same attribute in Jiang Hao's lantern, but Liu Ying chose to ignore that detail for now, focusing solely on their boss.

If the yin energy was merely a side effect of Bai Chen's cultivation art, then perhaps it explained the strange appearance of the flame. After all, yin energy was often associated with gloomy phenomena like a dark, cloudy night with a sudden drop in temperature. It wasn't far-fetched to imagine it manifesting as a somber flame within a soul lantern.

Neither Liu Ying nor Duan Ting had ever seen this phenomenon before in Bai Chen's soul lantern, but at this point, they would cling to any explanation that offered a glimmer of hope. The thought that their boss might still be alive—his flame reflecting an attribute tied to his cultivation—was enough to steady their frayed nerves, if only momentarily.

They knew they were clutching at straws, but if you were drowning and straws was what was standing between you and drowning, then without reservation you would grab hold of those straws for dear life.

Yang Qing, however, couldn't help but inwardly lament for asking the question that had set off their hopeful speculation. Their line of thinking wasn't entirely wrong, but it was misguided.

Yes, Bai Chen's art had a yin-based foundation. It was, after all, a subset cultivation method derived from the Frozen Serenity Scripture. However, despite this connection, Yang Qing was certain that the nature of the yin energy within the soul lanterns was fundamentally different from that of the Frozen Serenity Scripture.

What gave Yang Qing such confidence in his deduction was the brief glimpse he'd had of Bai Chen executing his cultivation technique during the fight against the bloodwing vulture. Though brief, it had been enough for Yang Qing to gauge its essence. Combined with his familiarity with the two subset arts of the Frozen Serenity Scripture owned by the Order, he had a rough yet attuned understanding of its Yin properties.

And the Yin energy within those flames was not it.

The Yin energy in the flames felt like a bottomless, dark cave—a void laced with a biting chill. In contrast, the Yin energy of the Frozen Serenity Scripture carried a gentle brightness and tranquil stillness, concealing its lethality beneath layers of calm. It had an all-encompassing quality, as though it could accommodate and harmonize with other energies.

But the Yin energy in those flames was entirely different. It radiated hunger—an oppressive, devouring nature that seemed as if it would consume anything in its vicinity.

Yang Qing's gaze lingered on the hope-filled expressions of Liu Ying and Duan Ting. He hesitated, debating whether to shatter their fragile optimism. As much as he wished he could let them cling to it, he knew it would only hurt them more in the long run.

Steeling himself, Yang Qing chose to break their illusions.

Raising both hands, he conjured two distinct flames. On his right palm danced a gentle blue-white flame, while on his left burned a deep black flame.

The moment they appeared, the room's temperature plummeted. Frost patterns bloomed across the walls, spreading along the table and chairs. A cold, oppressive aura filled the space, as if the flames themselves carried the weight of winter's chill.

"Of these two flames, which best represents the Yin energy you felt from Bai Chen?" Yang Qing asked, his gaze shifting between the two flames dancing in his palms.

If one looked closely, they would notice an unusual phenomenon in his eyes—one pupil glimmered with the radiance of a full moon, while the other seemed veiled in shadow, resembling an eclipse.

The flames in his hands mirrored two distinct Yin energies: the blue-white flame on his right palm embodied his understanding of the Frozen Serenity Scripture's Yin properties, while the dark flame on his left palm emanated the oppressive chill he sensed from the soul lantern flames.

Duan Ting felt a tremor ripple through his soul as he stared at the two flames. He steadied himself before responding, his voice measured but firm.

"It is that one," he said, pointing to the blue-white flame in Yang Qing's right palm.

Just as he and Liu Ying began to wonder why Yang Qing had asked the question, he provided the answer before they could speak.

"The Yin energy in these flames matches the energy of this one," Yang Qing said, gently raising his left hand to emphasize the dark flame.

The moment they shifted their attention to the flame, both Duan Ting and Liu Ying instinctively recoiled. The oppressive chill and the sense of dread it evoked were hard to bear.

Yang Qing closed his left palm, extinguishing the flame, and the temperature in the room gradually rose as the frost on the walls began to fade.

With his expression softening, Yang Qing continued, "I don't think the change in those flames has anything to do with your boss's cultivation art. It must be something else."

His words hung in the air like a heavy weight, shattering the fragile hope that had briefly taken root in Liu Ying and Duan Ting's hearts.

"If you don't mind, could I borrow one of them?" asked Yang Qing, tentatively, before the heaviness could sink further as he pointed to the two grey-flamed soul lanterns.