The Magistrate: Chapter 136 (Patreon)

Chapter 136

The Magistrate's Path

Tobias and his clan saw no reason to leave their realm. Anything they wanted to experience in life could be done through clones, so working towards immortality made sense. However, that changed the moment Tobias returned. The Blossoms opened everyone's eyes to a new way of searching for enlightenment. Dao was no longer this narrow glimpse of heaven's laws they had to grasp to attain immortality, but a wide-open field of research that changed how they could live.

As Tobias's clan and servants emerged from seclusion, they did not return, choosing instead to explore the dao of hidden beauty and then their own interests, seeing where both would take them. Clones were sent out to study art, mortal professions, and then cultivation professions, as they tried to uncover the extent of what he had found.

Scholars from the Cultivation and Science Academy were brought in by Xu Ling after she merged with her clone, and old monsters came out of the woodwork because of Yin Hao. The cultivation world was curious to see what had been discovered and fascinated to find where it would take them. The ignorance of the past no longer held them back, and they were free to explore dao before entering the sage realm.

As decades passed, new questions were asked, and more interesting answers were discovered. Answers which grew the cultivation world for those on the path to immortality but meant little to the mortal world they had left behind.

Or so they thought.

The gap between those in the nascent soul realm and the core realm was not small, but much of it could be overcome with time and effort. It took the core realm scholars years longer, but one day they began to make their own discoveries. The dao of hidden beauty was not so hidden, and they learned how to guide others to dao enlightenment. These disciples took their understanding and applied it to everything they could find, uncovering more and more of the world that had been hiding in plain sight. This understanding changed how they approached everything they did, allowing them to exceed their former limits.

When this began, Xu Ling shared Tobias's knowledge from his previous life.

Tobias could not tell you how a smartphone or a computer worked, but he could describe some of their applications and parts. The same was true for most things he used in his daily life. That wasn't enough for him to recreate Earth's technology, but thousands of scholars who lived for centuries could do so. The Cultivation and Science Academy took his memories of combustion engines and chemistry and ran with them, bringing The Republic into the industrial age in less than a decade. What had come before was constant change; now it was rapid, constant change, as The Republic seemed to expand by the day.

These changes did not lessen his clan's interest in dao or other areas, but rather grew it, as more and more discoveries pointed his servants and clan toward individual interests. Dao enlightenment, it turned out, could be achieved through anything. The way you poured tea. The way you held your loved ones. The way you laughed. Each came with enlightenment, which helped you understand yourself and the world around you.

Many enlightenments were utterly useless, but they were building blocks you could use to build a foundation on which to find something that was not. Exploration was the key to growth, and his clan and servants were happy to explore.

The world was happy to explore.

Tobias sat outside his realm with a troubled expression, watching Hun Fen fail to form the second layer of her core. It was her third attempt to form it and the one most likely to succeed, but Tobias did not want her to succeed. Everything about this was wrong. Her actions required too much effort, too much concentration. Reality seemed to be rebelling against her, trying to stop her from taking the next step forward, because she was going in the wrong direction.

Over the decades, Tobias had studied prodigies and Hun Jia's theory. He had looked into those who had experienced enlightenment, improving their divinity, and come to a simple conclusion. Those like his sister Lingling and Elder Xi shared something in common with prodigies. They were influenced by the heavens. They had touched on something higher.

Not because they were more worthy or because they were better than others, but because they wished to serve a higher purpose. This wish and the right personal aptitude allowed them to bridge the barrier between this world and the next, showing them a path they could potentially walk.

Tobias had contemplated why he had never undergone enlightenment in this way. Despite his acceptance of walking the path of an immortal magistrate, he had never had a vision of what he could become. The conclusion he had come to was simple. He had failed to live up to the standards the heavens set. He had offered justice to everyone, except himself, allowing his forgiveness of the 3rd Emperor to prevent him from fulfilling his duty and delivering the justice he deserved.

For many, this realisation would have prompted action. It would have made them go out and seek the justice they needed, but Tobias was not selfish, nor was he the only one who might be prevented from moving forward by the 3rd Emperor's actions. Hun Fen and Ming Dia Lu were also harmed by him, and their harm was personal, more likely to change their paths.

And as their master, he could not deprive them of the closure they might need.

Hun Jia turned to Tobias with a hopeful expression.

Tobias shook his head before reaching out to his disciple with his aura. "Succeeding when you should not is another form of failure, Hun Fen. It is time we try something else." Tobias cupped his hands behind his back. "Servant Ho, inform Xu Feng that we will need a guide, prepare my flying ship, and my personal guards."

Tobias received the impression his request had been heard and sensed that preparations were underway.

Xu Ling looked up from her notes. "Why do you need my father?"

"I believe Hun Fen's father was murdered by the 3rd Emperor. This unresolved issue is preventing her from progressing her cultivation, and your father is the only one on speaking terms with the clan that has enslaved the Han Clan."

Hun Jia sighed.

Tobias walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder, pulling her against him.

Hun Jia leaned into him. "She should be able to choose her fate. She's a mortal goddess. Why must her path be one of bloodshed?"

"She walks the path of the sword. That path is a path of bloodshed. However, one can walk this path in a way that sheds the blood of the guilty rather than the innocent. I'll make sure she has that choice."

"Thank you."

***

The sun never set over part of the northern continent and never rose on the southern ice shelf. Each one had its environmental difficulties, one being a desert and the other being nothing but ice and darkness, but neither was an issue for cultivators.

These environments had led to the formation of new spirit herbs, so it wasn't a surprise that they had been claimed by two of the three sages which existed outside The Republic. The last sage ruled over the survivors from the other continents, throwing her armies against either side whenever she sensed something worth taking.

Despite their personal power, none of them had been able to threaten The Three Kingdoms of Tobias's youth, so they had gone to great lengths to make sure that the world forgot them. They'd had no contact with The Republic and still thought the 2nd Emperor was alive, which was good for the 3rd Emperor, because it was the only thing preventing the Ice Matriarch from executing him and his loyalists.

Tobias stood on the bow of his flying ship, a relatively new invention, as a great wall of ice came into view. His disciples looked up, excited to see it, treating it like an outing. They had been safe for far too long, forgetting the world of their youth, and the dangers it held.

Xu Feng was much more wary about the trip. He understood the Ice Matriarch's temperament and had tried to make Xu Ling stay behind. When that hadn't worked, he'd increased the number of guards, despite Xu Ling being hidden from others' perception.

Hundreds of vessels flew behind them, hidden from any who hadn't undergone the Blossoms' training. If the Ice Matriarch so much as twitched in the wrong direction, the full weight of the Finch Clan would descend upon her.

Hun Jia stepped up to the bow and placed an arm around Tobias's waist, looking across the ice. "It's so barren."

Tobias smiled. "Only above. The waters beneath are teaming with life. I see hundreds of spirit herbs which my clan have never encountered and several varieties of seaweed which could be used as tea."

"I've told the servants to collect samples for your grandpa?"

Tobias had been hoping she would go off to collect it herself. The way her grip had tightened around his waist told him that she knew he was trying to get rid of her. Of everyone here, she was by far the weakest, and he didn't want anything to happen to her.

"I'll be fine," Hun Fen said.

Her statement caused her personal guard, whom she couldn't see, to move closer. The guards accounted for more than half of their force, and many winced as her words tempted fate.

Tobias merely nodded and used the stars to navigate East, following the ice wall before heading inland, where an elaborate city had been built around an ice palace that encompassed a small hidden realm. The colossal structure reminded him of the imperial palace of his youth, but it was the small ice settlement near the water's edge that caught his attention.

Cultivators were diving into the ocean's depths to collect resources, growing spirit herbs that Tobias had never seen along the shoreline and in the waters beneath. Through arrays, they had created sections of ocean that never froze, providing them with much of what they needed.

Tobias sensed the presence of a nascent soul realm cultivator in the settlement as he landed the flying ship on the edge of the ice wharf, leaving his vessel floating in the water.

While he could have easily hidden their presence, that would have only angered the local matriarch when the 3rd Emperor was executed. It also would have gone against Tobias's dao path.

The cultivators looked at their group distrustfully as they made their way down the wharf and into the settlement, but none dared say a word. They were protected, but that protection would not save their life before Tobias or Xu Feng killed them, so they did nothing to offer insult as they passed.

The protector of the settlement was waiting for them outside her home when they walked up. She was the palest woman Tobias had ever seen with cold blue eyes and white hair. The hair colour was shared by everyone else in the settlement, an unfortunate side-effect of the pills they consumed.

Tobias cupped his hands and inclined his head. "Royal Magistrate Finch of The Three Kingdoms greets the protector of this settlement."

The woman returned his greeting. "Guardian Su greets Royal Magistrate Finch."

Xu Feng stepped forward wearing a face the woman recognised. "I apologise for the intrusion, Guardian, but the Royal Magistrate came here under orders, and I owe him a great favour. I was hoping my presence would prevent a miscommunication between old friends. He means you and your clan no harm."

"His mere presence is an affront to our matriarch's authority. Harm has already been caused."

"I completely agree," Tobias replied as he removed the paperwork from his storage ring and handed it over. "I am here on behalf of Ming Dia Lu behind me. She is a member of the imperial family and has brought formal murder charges against the branch family that serves your matriarch. Her father's cultivation method was tampered with and designed to kill him when he formed the second layer of his core. I am here to investigate the matter and bring those responsible to justice. A blood price will be paid to your matriarch for the inconvenience."

She seemed shocked as she took the paperwork, read through it and passed it back. "You have made a mistake. This branch of the Han Clan are not our servants. They are our slaves. You will need to correct these documents."

Tobias knew this already, but didn't want to let on. He waved his hand, and a table and chairs appeared beside them. "Can I prepare tea for you while you wait for me to make the corrections?"

Guardian Su nodded as she took a seat.

Tobias waved his hand again, and a tea set appeared. He began preparing tea through his aura while he pulled out blank paper and rewrote the documents. When the tea was ready, he poured them each a cup.

Guardian Su's eyes widened as she experienced her first cup of Three Towns Tea.

Tobias smiled. "My grandfather is The Three Kingdoms' greatest tea grower. I'm happy to see you appreciate his efforts."

Guardian Su smiled. "This is a work of art."

Tobias smiled, and a dozen large boxes of tea appeared on her side of the table. They immediately vanished into her storage ring. It was not a bribe, but a gift for taking up her valuable time.

Tobias finished recreating the documents and handed them over. She read them through twice before nodding and signing them instead of stamping them. The documents granted Tobias permission to proceed with his investigation and promised that The Three Kingdoms would compensate their clan for any slaves who were executed or injured.

They were an old family who followed the old ways.

Guardian Su handed back the documents. "You may proceed with your investigation, Royal Magistrate Finch."