Daily life of a cultivation judge
Chapter 1193 - 1193: Because that is what it takes to transform dream to reality (1)

Outside Black Medallion Tower

"Thank you very much for your time today, Branch Chief Li Gang," Yang Qing said warmly as he shook the young branch chief's hand.

"The pleasure was all mine," Li Gang replied with a professional mercantile smile, though he couldn't quite hide the exhilaration behind it.

What an interesting person, Yang Qing thought to himself.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the two parted ways, each appearing satisfied with how the negotiations had gone, though none more so than Li Gang, who was practically beaming as he left the Order. Judging by his brisk pace, he could barely wait to return to the main headquarters of the Vast Blue Merchant Company and share the news that he had secured someone from the Order, and a judge, no less, as a witness to four of their auctions.

Such a revelation was bound to send shockwaves through the company, especially considering the implications behind such an endorsement. Vast Blue's reputation was about to soar.

While it wasn't unheard of for members of the Order to attend auctions in an official capacity, either as witnesses or as officiators, those appearances were usually reserved for auctions of a certain caliber. Most of the auction houses that attracted such attention belonged to rank two organizations or higher.

As for organizations ranked three and below, while it occasionally happened, it was a rarity. The Vast Blue Merchant Company, despite its vast reputation, had only ever secured someone from the Order to officiate its auctions twice in its entire history, and those instances were separated by long stretches of time. But now, Li Gang had managed to guarantee four auctions with the involvement of someone from the Order.

Four.

Such an achievement would blow all his competitors out of the water and virtually guarantee his position as the first confirmed successor of the Vast Blue Merchant Company. And if, somehow, it didn't, he had already made up his mind that he would leave the merchant group and go solo, starting his own shop.

Yang Qing's personal guarantee to be present for all four auctions was what gave him that confidence. Even in a spectating role, having someone from the Order attend an auction instantly elevated both the event and the hosting organization by several levels.

That elevation was to be expected. While the Order was theoretically accessible to all, it wasn't lost on anyone that this was an entity standing on equal footing with the two Holy Lands. Their presence at an auction carried weight and immense weight at that.

In fact, one could argue that, in the context of an auction, having someone from the Order present was even more impactful than having someone from the Holy Lands. The Order's reputation as a beacon of justice and forthrightness meant that any auction they attended, regardless of their role, would automatically lend credibility to the goods being sold. Most would treat those items as unquestionably authentic.

And for a starting auction house, or even an established one, there was nothing more valuable in the industry than receiving a credibility rating of approval. That was what brought both new and returning customers through the door. Not just buyers, but sellers as well. The Order's stamp of credibility, simply through their presence alone, would attract numerous sellers eager to auction their goods at your house. That ensured not only a steady flow of items but also variety, and with variety came renown, which only brought more people, not only in terms of numbers but quality too.

Countless doors would open thanks to the presence of someone from the Order, and the senior figures within the Vast Blue Merchant Company would no doubt recognize that as well. But if their suspicion of Li Gang, or more accurately, his clan, outweighed the value of those four auctions, then he had already resolved to walk away and make it on his own.

He could already tell that one of the founders harbored doubts about him, along with half the elders' council, who feared that if he became the successor, it wouldn't be long before the Vast Blue turned into a subsidiary of the Azure Bamboo Sword Sect. And it didn't help that, among all the candidates, he was the most talented. That fact only served to deepen their concerns.

At the moment, the founders and perhaps the Elder Council could still suppress him due to their superior cultivation base, but that wouldn't always be the case, especially once the founders passed on. The Elder Council, whose members were early-stage palace realm experts, might be able to hold him down for a while, but once he broke through to the palace realm, that balance would shift.

Their wariness of him had only grown in step with his cultivation. Now that he was a quasi-palace stage expert, that wariness had reached an all-time high, fueled further by the swiftly approaching lifespan limits of the four founders, to the point that even one of them joined their ranks.

That unease, along with the growing mistrust from the Elder Council, had become so palpable that even the other members of the company had started to notice. It only served to embolden the actions of his rivals, especially those competing for the successor's position.

But their fears couldn't be more misplaced. If his clan ever tried to turn the Vast Blue Merchant Company into a proxy for the Azure Bamboo Sword Sect, he would be the first to stand against them openly and without hesitation.

Not that his clan would even entertain such a reckless idea. Given the Vast Blue Merchant Company's standing within the rogue cultivation world, any attempt to meddle with it would be suicidal. His clan wasn't that foolish, especially not his grandmother. There was no way they'd try to absorb the company. They neither had the intention nor even the ability to do so. Though that mattered little in the eyes of his 'would-be accusers'.

The Azure Bamboo Sword Sect on the other hand, had the power to do so. But for them, aside from the sword, they had little interest in external affairs. Though even with their abilities, just like his clan, they too would be deterred by the same risks. The rogue cultivating community was not to be trifled with, and interfering with a merchant company that served their interests as faithfully as the Vast Blue did was a surefire way to draw their ire. This was something neither his clan nor the Azure Bamboo Sword Sect could afford to have.

This was a truth that those of Vast Blue should have understood as well, especially the senior figures, given their insight. Yet their irrational fear of him and his background, combined with the looming loss of the company's pillars, had eroded reason for some of them. Instead, they clung to the belief that he had come to take what was theirs.

It was precisely for this reason that he hadn't stayed long at the Yue State branch. He wanted to avoid stoking those suspicions further. Had he remained and solidified his position there, many within the company would have seen that branch as his personal stronghold, treating it as an appendage that was disconnected from the main body. They would have shunned it, downplayed any of his achievements, and insisted that his results were simply the product of his clan's influence in the region.

And to be fair, they wouldn't have been entirely wrong, at least on that last point.

Being a member of the Li family, especially as the grandchild of one of its most powerful experts, would no doubt have given the Yue State branch a significant edge, as indeed it had, during his brief stay there.

It was why he left.

Yes, it was to silence the misgivings and rumors circulating within Vast Blue, but it was also for himself. Had he stayed, then even as a branch manager of the Vast Blue, so long as he operated within Yue State's territory, it wouldn't have mattered if he strived for independence by joining another organization, because as long as he remained there, then it would have been no different than still being under the shade of the Li family.