Chapter 289: Meng Jingzhou Forms His Core

Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

The life of the law lies in its enforcement, and enforcing the law helps solidify the national destiny of the Great Xia.

As a result, very few people dare to violate the laws of the Great Xia, especially the most severe criminal laws.

Although laws must be strictly enforced, unexpected situations always arise—cases where punishment is required by law, but common sense suggests that punishment is unnecessary.

In such cases, the criminal law specifically grants the Ministry of Justice the power to exempt from liability, and this power is entrusted to the Minister of Justice.

In theory, this power could easily become a means for the imperial family and nobility to evade legal consequences.

In practice, however, such situations rarely occur. The main reason for this is the oversight power of the Five Great Immortal Sects, which prevents the Minister of Justice from acting recklessly.

Yet even the original legislators did not foresee one scenario—the Minister of Justice being imprisoned.

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Xia rubbed his temples in distress.

Why does everything involving the Dao Seeking Sect always result in some new twist?

He received two pieces of news. One was that Yun Zhi had found results in the Everlasting Secret Realm, discovering a nonexistent Xinhua Dynasty. This was not urgent; they could slowly investigate the Xinhua Dynasty’s details.

As for Yun Zhi’s request to move the ancient immortal’s cave mansion from the Everlasting ruins to the Dao Seeking Sect, he could agree to that.

The second piece of news was that the Minister of Justice was imprisoned, right next to Daoist Non-Speaker.

If the Minister of Justice dared to leave the prison, Daoist Non-Speaker would spread rumors that the Great Xia Dynasty was corrupt and unjust.

If Daoist Non-Speaker dared to leave the prison, the Minister of Justice would stop him, ensuring he couldn’t escape.

A stalemate.

“Should I pardon Xu Xin?” Emperor Xia muttered to himself. As the emperor, he naturally had the power to pardon his subjects.

After pondering for a while, he abandoned the idea and issued another order instead.

“The entire Ministry of Justice is to relocate to Great Yan County for work.”

…

“So, this is the reason you all came to visit me in the dungeon?” Minister Xu glared at his subordinates, his face full of anger.

“His Majesty ordered it; we had no choice,” the Assistant Minister of Justice said, trying to maintain a serious expression, but the situation was too ridiculous. He and his colleagues could barely suppress their laughter.

Daoist Non-Speaker squatted nearby. By habit, the Assistant Minister of Justice and others should have greeted him, but seeing Minister Xu’s livid face, they dared not act.

“Minister Xu, here are the documents from the past two days. Please review them,” the Assistant Minister of Justice said respectfully, handing over several memos that Minister Xu needed to handle.

Minister Xu snorted, “Leave them here.”

The Assistant Minister of Justice originally wanted to say something like, “Wait a few days, His Majesty will pardon you after he has had his fun,” or “Do you need some food and bedding?” But he thought better of it and kept quiet.

After his subordinates left the dungeon, Minister Xu picked up the memos from the ground and began to review them.

He frowned, feeling displeased.

“Ridiculous. This system is something I devised after much thought, and it has been proven feasible through pilot programs in various counties. How could it be wrong?”

Daoist Non-Speaker glanced at the contents of the memo and roughly understood the situation. The memo mentioned that a certain system was useless, increased the workload of counties, and suggested simplifying its rules. However, this system was something Xu Xin prided himself on, and he wouldn’t allow others to point out its flaws.

He chuckled, which sounded like mockery to Minister Xu, “Do you think you’re a saint without any mistakes? If you’re so capable, why don’t you become the emperor?”

Minister Xu grew even more displeased, glaring coldly at Daoist Non-Speaker. If it were his subordinates, they wouldn’t dare speak at this point, but Daoist Non-Speaker wasn’t afraid of him.

Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation—all three were stages where he had defeated Xu Xin.

Daoist Non-Speaker was well-traveled, with extensive criminal experience and a mastery of legal theory that rivaled Minister Xu’s.

“…Have you ever considered legislative interpretation, what the legislators originally intended…”

“…You forgot about the lag in the law…”

“…Don’t give me theories; is this the reality…”

The debate grew increasingly heated, with neither side yielding. They even set up a soundproof barrier to prevent other prisoners from hearing their conversation.

In the end, Minister Xu’s tone became less sharp, and his momentum diminished. He had to admit that Daoist Non-Speaker made some valid points.

“Shut up and let me think!”

Minister Xu lowered his head and pondered. Although Daoist Non-Speaker was unscrupulous, he never joked about these matters. If he said so, he must be very serious.

This was the result Emperor Xia wanted.

Although Xu Xin was devoted to the country, working tirelessly to fill the gaps in the law, he inevitably made some inappropriate decisions.

Emperor Xia was helpless about this. Xu Xin’s mastery of the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty was unparalleled, leaving few qualified to debate with him.

Emperor Xia couldn’t definitively say whether Xu Xin was right or wrong; he just felt that some actions were inappropriate. As for how to improve, he didn’t know.

Luckily, Daoist Non-Speaker was proficient in law and had rich experience, making him the perfect person to debate with Xu Xin.

Emperor Xia seized this opportunity to let the two of them argue.

Once Xu Xin recognized his own shortcomings, he could be pardoned.

…

When Yun Zhi and Lu Yang returned to the Dao Seeking Sect, they happened to meet Meng Jingzhou returning from the dense forest.

In the forest, Meng Jingzhou had an epiphany. Enlightened, he returned to Demon Subjugation Pass and formed his core, leaving Peach Blossom Leaf and Barbarian Bone to continue seeking their own fortunes while he returned to the Dao Seeking Sect alone.

As for encountering some aristocratic disciples flaunting their wealth on the way back and being humiliated by his hidden identity, it was too trivial to mention.

“Haha, guess what, I’ve also formed my core!”

Meng Jingzhou began to boast the moment he saw Lu Yang.

Although he didn’t know what kind of Golden Core Lu Yang had formed, he was confident that his own Golden Core was the strongest and unbeatable.

“Let me tell you, my Golden Core is unprecedented. I’m going to break the fate of the single spirit root!”

Meng Jingzhou was so high-spirited that he seemed like a newly ascended Tribulation Crossing Stage expert, swaggering as if he couldn’t walk straight.

Lu Yang was genuinely surprised and didn’t fake it: “You have such ability? What kind of Golden Core did you form?”

Meng Jingzhou chuckled, pulled Lu Yang into a teahouse, and boasted while drinking tea.

“As you know, I’m a single spirit root, so If I wanted to form a core, there’s of course no doubt that I would form a Single Golden Core.”

Lu Yang nodded, remembering that the first single spirit root cultivator, Solitary Daoist, had said this in his core formation insights.

“Did you form a Single Golden Core?”

Meng Jingzhou didn’t answer but placed a teacup on the table: “This is a person, single!”

Then he placed another teacup: “This is also a person, single!”

He gently clinked the two teacups together, producing a crisp porcelain sound, and declared a conclusion he had pondered for a long time: “Two singles together make a pair, right?”

“So?”

“So I formed two Single Golden Cores!”

(Author’s Note: I originally wanted to write a detailed account of the debate between Daoist Non-Speaker and Minister Xu, but to avoid any resemblance to reality, I decided against it.)