Hao Da was two years ahead of him at the Institute when Yang Qing joined. They became friends through punishment. Hao Da had been a trouble maker too, though Hao Da's troubles were a bit different from Yang Qing's. While Yang Qing was always up to harmless mischief like faking an injury during cultivation so he could get a few days off, Hao Da's troubles were more of attitude.
He was from a well-respected rank 3 clan called the Hao clan that had deep roots in a rank 2 empire. However, his background made it hard for him to stand out in the Hao clan. His mother was a maidservant in the clan and became pregnant with Hao Da from one of the elders.
However, after his birth, both he and his mother were constantly harassed by the main wife of that elder. The elder acted nonchalant about the whole thing. Other than acquiescing to Hao Da getting the Hao family name, he never stepped in to defend them.
Under the constant harassment, Hao Da's mother took her own life and Hao Da having nothing tying him to the Hao clan, run away when he was out on a mission.
He decided to join the Order after his escape and disclosed his background after when he passed the entrance examinations. When he joined the institute, he started off okay, however, he would occasionally act erratically and attack his fellow students.
Unlucky for him, the institute was a hotbed of monsters, so it wasn't like he could bully anyone.
He had high-rank blue-grade pillars which would make him stand out anywhere but at the Institute having blue-grade pillars was expected, in addition, there were those with gold-grade pillars and even the rare purple-grade pillars like Yang Qing and Kang Huilang.
Even though the numbers were not many, atleast one in a hundred of the students had purple grade pillars whilst in the foundation establishment realm.
So when Hao Da instigated the fights, he either got pummeled or it ended in a bitter drawn-out fight to the end, since everyone at the Institute had exceptional combat sense drilled into them. Winning flawlessly, no matter the grade of the pillar, was almost an impossibility among fellow students.
The institute was tolerant of his incessant fights since those who came in through their doors, some of them brought baggage and tragic pasts with them.
The Order would help them confront their past in phases and one of them was to give them an outlet for those fears and frustrations. That outlet was fighting. So even if Hao Da was a menace, they still tolerated it, it's not like the Institute had scrubs that he could bully.
So Hao Da continued on with his fights but then he escalated and did something that was inexcusable for an Order recruit. When he saw he was the only one losing out in the fights he started, he turned his attention to the exchange students who came in via quotas.
The students of the Order would normally spar with the quota entrants to help expand their horizons, but they never went all out against them and always held out since the disparity was always too huge, not unless the entrants were from organizations that were rank 2 and above.
He started off with those from rank 1 and rank 2, then he moved downwards to those from rank 3 and rank 4. It was at that point that the instructors finally intervened. Even though he never went too far, he would torture his opponents from the lower-ranked organizations to the point that some had considered leaving before their three years were up.
Hao Da received an expulsion warning and a potential temporary residency at the Requiem if he didn't find a different way to address his issues.
Hao Da transformed into a new person from the moment the warning was issued and in his final year, he never caused a single incident.
When he finished, he requested to be a judge, however, the Order couldn't trust him due to his past behavior so his request was denied and he was made into a rotational inquisitor.
He would be deployed to different branches for a specific time period before he was transferred to another branch. He was to remain in that post until the Order deemed his character to be stable. The branch chiefs were also in charge of evaluating him, along with a special inquisitor who was sent to secretly monitor him.
Hao Da has been in that post for almost 15 years. Yang Qing kept in touch with him, though with the black-hearted schedule of the Order, it wasn't as much.
Even though the communication wasn't as frequent, he still managed to get wind, that about a year ago, Hao Da was offered a post as an outer palace court judge at the main headquarters.
Yang Qing had thought he'd jump at the opportunity since it was his dream but Hao Da turned it down, in exchange for taking over as branch chief at the three fires branch, whose chief chose to become an instructor at the institute and settle down with his family at the headquarters.
'Well, it's not like it's a trade down. Branch chiefs receive astronomical resources. Even though he is at the third stage of the palace realm he will most likely receive resources that are fit for an early-stage domain expert.
If it wasn't for the risks I'd apply to be a branch chief. Great pay and I get to decide my schedule' Yang Qing enviously thought.
However, it would only be just that, a thought. He would never risk leaving the comfort of the trusty protection at the main headquarters for greater pay. He would be too wary outside to enjoy the resources and authority.
…
Yang Qing shook his head clear of such thoughts since he had a schedule to uphold and little time to do it.
"Senior Hao Da, I'll be leaving these two with you. As I mentioned earlier, please have them sent to the Order in time before the entrance examination begins, which is a week away.
I will also be leaving the blood fiend cultivator with you. Who knows, you may be able to dig up information from him. He had this on him when I grabbed him," Yang Qing said as he passed over the amulet he had taken off the blood fiend cultivator.
"It's a pretty decent artifact even for a sky-grade product. It is strange for someone with such a weak cultivation to have something this good not unless he pilfered it somewhere. But it seems to be geared specifically for blood fiend cultivator," Hao Da murmured as he closely examined the artifact.
"My thoughts exactly. I suspect he may be part of an organization of blood-fiend cultivators. Since I caught him in Purple city, maybe the organization he is a part of may have a location close by. Either in Red Maple Empire or other organizations that border it, like the Deer mountain kingdom.
Leaving him with you will be better."
Yang Qing picked up the unconscious blood fiend cultivator and passed him over to Hao Da. He also dropped off the two Zou siblings who were still looking down.
"Zou Yi, Zou Liqin, I'll see you after three days. When you get settled up and are given a place to stay, ask for someone called Cai Ying he can show you around. You will find him in the Thousand flavors restaurant," said Yang Qing.
"Okay," said the Zou siblings as they hesitantly looked up.
"Don't worry junior Yang Qing, I'll make sure they get there safely. And take care of yourself. Speaking of which, how are Lai Lei and Dai Chen?" Hao Da asked as he sighed.
"Lai Lei is okay, he already got discharged from the medical valley. As for Dai Chen, he is just hanging in there waiting for the investigation into Lai Lei's attackers to bear fruit.
Right now all he can do is wait," Yang Qing somberly said.
Dai Chen was in the same year as Hao Da, even if they couldn't be considered close friends they were acquaintances and Dai Chen was one of the few people Hao Da never picked a fight with.
Yang Qing wasn't sure if it was out of fear on Hao Da's part or just because Dai Chen had an easygoing nature. Yang Qing felt the odds were more likely the former.
Dai Chen was an easygoing person by nature and it was hard to trigger him but in a fight, he was among the worst opponents you could have. He was undefeated throughout his whole time at the institute from both his fellow students and the ruthless convicts from Requiem.
That is a record that is not held by many people since you'd be competing against fellow monsters. Even Yang Qing with his self-proclaimed brilliance got pummelled a few times, which always ended up with a glorious party being hosted by the instructors.
Yang Qing exchanged a few more words with Hao Da and then they each went their own way after. Hao Da would transport the Zou siblings to the nearest major Order branch with a spatial array while Yang Qing made his way north in the Deer mountain kingdom.
His next target was the Clear sword river sect. This was an evaluation that he didn't particularly want to do. It was because, unlike the one from the Murong clan, his next evaluation would be a potential demotion sinking the sect into an unranked sect.
