Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Peach Blossom Court
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Spirit Eye was a far rarer ability than one might imagine.
It was entirely different from the Spirit Eye spells that cultivators used casually.
Those were mere spells mimicking a true Spirit Eye.
Spirit Eyes were broadly divided into two categories.
The Dragon Eye of the Dragonkin, the Thousand-Mile Eye of the Giantfolk, or the third eye of the Three-Eyed Cat—all belonged to innate Spirit Eyes.
In contrast, the Heaven-Gazing Eye of a Cloudmist Realm cultivator was an acquired Spirit Eye.
Cultivators of races not born with a Spirit Eye gained the Heaven-Gazing Eye upon reaching the higher realms.
It was transcending innate limitations through cultivation.
A perfect example of the essence of immortal cultivation.
Seoran's case was similar.
Born as a human, a race without a Spirit Eye.
Then, upon becoming a spirit being, she acquired the Heaven-Gazing Eye.
Yet, Seoran, who had been smoothly traveling a well-paved road, suddenly began pioneering new paths.
After completing both the Pregnancy Rite and the Inner Pellet Rite, she reached the unprecedented realm of acquired half-human half-dragon.
In the end, she gained not only the Heaven-Gazing Eye but also the Dragon Eye.
In normal circumstances, this was impossible.
Spirit Eyes had hierarchies among themselves.
Under normal rules, the superior Dragon Eye should have completely overwritten the Heaven-Gazing Eye.
But Seoran had become an unprecedented acquired half-human half-dragon.
Moreover, two distinct types of Primordial Spiritual Power and spirit stars coexisted within her body.
Thanks to this, she could fully possess multiple Spirit Eyes.
Around the time she first reached the Supreme Star Realm, Seoran naturally grew curious.
What happened if one possessed multiple Spirit Eyes?
The question was easily resolved through a Heavenly Net search.
Surprisingly, a tiny number of cultivators in the Immortal Realm did possess multiple Spirit Eyes.
One of them was even a major celebrity.
The Peach Blossom Court's Chief Judge, the White-Haired Black Army General, possessed both the Dragon Eye and the Thousand-Mile Eye.
The White-Haired Black Army General was not born a Dragonkin.
A colossal true form closer to a celestial body than a living creature, and a vast field of vision that could spot fleeing individuals across the entire Immortal Realm at a glance.
All traits derived from his Giantfolk birth.
The reason the Giantfolk-turned-Dragon White-Haired Black Army General could possess multiple Spirit Eyes was simple.
Both the Thousand-Mile Eye and Dragon Eye were supreme Spirit Eyes.
Thus, neither could completely overwhelm the other.
The Immortal Realm's countless enthusiasts endlessly debated which of the Seven Earth Immortals was the strongest.
But they never argued over whose ocular power was the greatest.
It was beyond dispute that the White-Haired Black Army General, with his multiple Spirit Eyes, was the top.
In that sense, Seoran's "bare-minimum written—high-score practical" strategy had solid grounding.
*****
Seoran changed her five-year "Complete Written Mastery" course for Damcheong into a three-year "Comprehensive Law Crash Course."
With the shortened duration, the study difficulty spiked accordingly.
But this was the only way to get Damcheong to pass.
Since they were taking different courses, a gap emerged between Seoran's and Damcheong's study progress.
And that gap was only set to widen further.
This allowed Seoran to successfully set herself up as Damcheong's private tutor.
Seoran said to Damcheong.
"You mustn't stop at simply memorizing statutes. You need to grasp the core principles that run through all law and learn to apply them appropriately to each case. Pay special attention to the differences between these two cases."
"To my eyes, they look like the exact same case. What on earth is different about them?"
"What do you mean? They're completely different."
A moment later, Damcheong, studying diligently, asked a question.
"Why is a completely different legal principle applied to this precedent from the case we just discussed?"
"Because it's an exception. You just have to memorize it."
"There are too many exceptions..."
Damcheong's head-aching legal studies had begun.
Seoran's exam strategy was firm.
Damcheong studied only the written subjects.
The absolute top priority was avoiding failing grades in the first exam.
She didn't even aim for high written scores.
Just over 40 points in all fifteen subjects would do.
Any shortfall could be made up in the practical.
With the goal set at bare minimum, the amount Damcheong had to study was lighter than other candidates'.
While tutoring him, Seoran skipped all the units that featured discrimination problems.
Those were only for high-score chasers.
Breakfast, morning lecture, lunch, private tutoring, dinner, free time.
Damcheong's days repeated smoothly.
Then, on the fifteenth day, they visited an amusement park.
On the way to Upper Purity Island, Damcheong said.
"Seoran, just trust me and follow along. There are few dragons as expert on Dragon Falls as I am."
"Yes, I'll trust only you, Damcheong."
"Wise choice. Ah, here comes a staff member."
A Dragonkin staffer greeted Damcheong familiarly.
"Hello, it's been a while. How have you been?"
"I'm doing well. I've been studying day and night. That's a candidate's duty, after all. Ah, this is my friend who came along. Give me a child's admission bracelet."
"Uh, um..."
The Dragonkin staffer began to hesitate.
He couldn't tell Seoran's age.
Judging by her horn color, she seemed half-human half-dragon.
Seoran resolved the staffer's dilemma.
"Just give me a platinum bracelet too."
"Oh, will you?"
"Yes. Since we'll be coming every half-month anyway, it'd be a hassle to get new ones each time."
The staffer brightened and handed over the platinum bracelet.
Seoran and Damcheong, wearing matching platinum bracelets, chatted amiably as they entered the amusement park.
Lively, upbeat music delighted the ears.
Damcheong said in an excited voice.
"Doesn't it look incredibly fun?"
"It's way cooler than I imagined."
"Right? With Dragon Falls, the six years of exam life will fly by in the blink of an eye."
Seoran and Damcheong's time flew by.
Six years later, the pair of exam candidates had long surpassed triple digits in Dragon Falls visits.
At last, the day of the Judge Exam first round arrived.
The first exam venue was the Peach Blossom Court Threshold Branch.
*****
Damcheong took a deep breath.
The entire exam hall was tightly enveloped in a Dragon Eye nullification barrier.
Even the proctors inside outnumbered the candidates several times over.
Cheating was utterly impossible.
One of the proctors declared.
"We will now begin the first exam."
Damcheong slowly broke the seal on the question booklet.
Then, just as practiced in mock exams, he worked through the problems starting from number one.
He wasn't as nervous as expected.
Number one was a classic "select all that apply" question.
Pick all correct—or incorrect—options from ten choices.
Blind luck wouldn't cut it.
Fortunately, Damcheong knew this one.
Seoran had sung it like a song as a frequent question type.
He easily found the answers.
Afterward, Damcheong solved problems without a hitch.
'Ah, I saw this one this morning.'
'I told you to be careful because it's tricky, right?'
'I got this wrong a few times in mock exams.'
Damcheong's solving speed was on the slower side.
But there was no worry of running out of time.
With 40-point bare minimum as the goal, he didn't need to glance at the ultra-hard late questions.
Damcheong finally finished solving.
Forty percent of the booklet remained blank.
But those were problems irrelevant to him.
Finally, he checked his answers.
No glaring mistakes stood out.
Damcheong wiggled his fingers, waiting for the exam to end.
The other written subjects went much the same.
The first written exam, spanning a fortnight, concluded.
Damcheong's written average was 43 points.
No failing grades.
*****
The Judge Exam second round venue was the Peach Blossom Court Main Headquarters, located at the Weapon-Free Zone's center.
Seoran and Damcheong, having passed the first round, rode a teleportation array to the Immortal Realm's central region.
As candidates, they didn't need to pay fees or wait in line.
Upon exiting the teleportation hub, something came into view.
A massive black square pyramid of a building.
That was the Peach Blossom Court Main Headquarters, the Black Ebony Palace.
Damcheong voiced his honest impression.
"What an ugly building."
"Yeah, it looks just like a pile of coal."
"Does the Peach Blossom Court have no architects at all?"
Seoran peered into the tourist guidebook and said.
"Hm, apparently it resembled a palace when first built. Over ages of renovations, it became like this. The pursuit of extreme practicality, I suppose."
"No matter how practical, isn't it ruining the entire surrounding aesthetic by itself?"
"They get tons of complaints, actually. They don't even listen. By the way, only a tiny portion is above ground—the rest is all buried underground."
Damcheong stared at the ground and said.
"This area is packed with barriers. Does the guidebook mention the full scale of the Black Ebony Palace?"
"No, it's classified."
"I see. That's a shame. Still, excluding the Black Ebony Palace, there are so many pretty, ornate buildings. It truly lives up to being the Immortal Realm's center."
Seoran flipped through the book and replied.
"Definitely lots of tourist spots. Let's tour them together after the Judge Exam ends."
"Good idea."
"First, to our reserved lodging. The second exam is in a few days—we should at least meditate."
Seoran, Damcheong, and their attendants headed to the inn.
As Damcheong looked around, he suddenly said to Seoran.
"Come to think of it, I never asked this."
"What?"
"Seoran, what was your written score?"
Seoran closed the book and answered.
"My score?"
"Yeah. From your expression, it seemed you did well."
"Pretty good, yeah."
Seoran's written average was 61 points—top-tier.