Crime-what was a crime?
It meant doing something wrong, something unlawful.
But judging right from wrong, or lawful from unlawful, required a specific standard.
When Yama judged crimes, he naturally had to pass judgment according to the laws of the netherworld and the laws of heaven and earth.
But this world had no Underworld, nor any heavenly laws.
That being the case, Yama himself would naturally decide what was right and wrong.
Even if those laws existed, it would make no difference. This was Yama's authority to begin with, unless a similar, more powerful authority suppressed it.
"I judge you: Doing Evil, the crime of Battle Lust!"
His detached voice, devoid of emotion, sounded like a deity delivering judgment from the nine heavens. The ink-black judge's brush in Xu Qingjia's hand shot forth. Zhao Youji covered his entire body with protective soul power, yet that streak of black pierced straight through his defenses and merged into his body.
Zhao Youji felt the changes within him.
The blood, qi, and soul power throughout his body became violent and somewhat difficult to control.
A flash of scarlet passed through Zhao Youji's brown eyes.
"Y-young master." Zhao Youji suddenly began breathing faster, panting like an ox. His body moved involuntarily, as though he were desperately restraining something. "I feel an urge to fight. To fight regardless of everything, to knock down everything I can see."
"Can you hold on?"
"I can, but it's very uncomfortable. I need to concentrate with everything I have."
Xu Qingjia looked at the information on his phone again. Zhao Youji's spiritual power had been measured at the middle stage of the Spirit Sea Realm during last month's physical examination-over 2,700 points.
Judge's Brush: Conviction was a support skill.
It was divided into the positive enhancement of "Doing Good" and the negative effects of "Doing Evil."
Doing Good: a percentage increase to all attributes, equal to half his soul power level.
Doing Evil: imposed a corresponding negative effect, with its precise impact dependent on the gap in spiritual power. The target would also take additional damage from his spiritual attacks.
Only one judgment could be in effect on a person at any given time.
What Xu Qingjia was testing now was the latter: imposing a corresponding negative effect.
Zhao Youji had clearly fallen into "Battle Lust." It resembled a warrior's berserk state, yet was different. It offered no increase in combat strength whatsoever, while intensifying the negative effects. After all, it was "Doing Evil."
The entire effect lasted three minutes.
"Very good, considering Zhao Youji's spiritual power is more than five times mine."
Of course, this also had to do with the fact that the other man was not adept at using spiritual power. If his opponent were a spiritual-type Soul Master, the duration would probably be shorter.
Xu Qingjia had someone take Zhao Youji away to collect his reward.
"This soul skill has an extremely broad range of applications."
After all, what constituted a crime was his subjective decision.
"What if I say Study Obsession is a crime?" Xu Qingjia couldn't help thinking.
He acted as soon as the idea struck him.
Xu Qingjia returned to the Bedchamber and, under Na'er's curious gaze, used the soul skill on himself.
"I judge you: Doing Evil, the crime of Study Obsession!"
An ink-black judge's brush shot into the space between Xu Qingjia's eyebrows.
Xu Qingjia felt an almost irrepressible emptiness rise from the depths of his heart. A ravenous, wolfish greed surfaced in his dark eyes as he stared fixedly at the books on the bookshelf. He even felt an urge to drive Na'er and Nether Moon out so he could work on questions by himself. However, the powerful mental resistance inherent in his King Yama martial soul allowed him to keep himself under control.
Xu Qingjia leafed through the books.
Seven minutes later, the effect ended.
Xu Qingjia sat on the sofa, quietly recalling the experience.
"Study Obsession really does mean wanting to do nothing but study."
It was very difficult to control. After all, in terms of the judgment, it was ultimately a negative effect. Nor did it provide the positive effects he had hoped for, such as enhanced thinking or the ability to remember everything at a glance.
Xu Qingjia then tried separating those effects.
"Crime of Hyperthymesia."
He could remember everything at a glance for a short time, but once the soul skill wore off, those memories gradually faded.
"Crime of Strength!"
His strength increased, but only by forcibly consuming his body's reserves. The enhancement was small, and prolonged use was more likely to harm his body. It fell far short of the increase to all attributes granted by Doing Good.
It seemed a crime was still a crime.
In his subjective view-or Yama's-a crime ought to be something bad, so it would not bring positive enhancements.
After Nether Moon and Na'er finished their test papers, Xu Qingjia marked them.
"Nether Moon, ninety-five in literature and one hundred in mathematics. Excellent."
~/)≦▽≧(~: Nether Moon
"Na'er, ninety-five in literature and one hundred in mathematics. Excellent too."
Na'er: "Hehe~"
Whatever else could be said about the Silver Dragon King's world-shaking wisdom, she did possess intelligence.
She wasn't stupid, but whether she actually absorbed what she studied depended on supervision.
Meanwhile.
Elsewhere.
Aolai City.
Inside a building resembling a church.
An ordinary-looking man in his thirties, with a resolute look about his eyes and brows, bowed excitedly to an elderly man in yellow robes before accepting a white robe from him.
"Congratulations, Tang Ziran." The yellow-robed elder patted Tang Ziran on the shoulder. "From now on, you are an official white-robed disciple of our Netherworld Judgment Order."
"Thank you for nurturing me, Deacon!" Tang Ziran said gratefully.
"Don't thank me." The deacon wore a kindly expression. "Remember, while people act, the gods watch. Good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil."
"Yes." Tang Ziran looked expectant.
"This month's stipend has already been transferred to your card." Knowing what he was looking forward to, the deacon smiled kindly. "Remember your daily prayers, as well as next Monday's collective repentance and self-examination."
"Yes."
Tang Ziran happily headed home.
The old deacon smiled faintly.
He knew why the man had joined the order and had some understanding of his family's circumstances. The man was a Mecha Repairer, warm and friendly in his daily dealings, but his income was low. His meager wages could barely keep his family fed, and he had an excellent reputation throughout the commoners' district. That was precisely why the deacon was willing to give him this position and lend him a little help. After all, he met the selection criteria as well.
Presumably, if that Yanluo Heavenly Son truly existed, he would not blame him either.
Good would be rewarded with good, and evil with evil. How wonderful it would be if the world truly worked that way.
A little while later.
Tang Ziran pushed open his front door.
"Dad!" A pretty little boy came running up to him. (As described in the original work.)
"Son!" Tang Ziran happily scooped Tang Wulin into his arms.
Though life was impoverished, having his wife and son beside him already left him deeply content. It was just that his son wanted to become a Soul Master, and he had no way to offer more support.
Lang Yue was just setting a plate containing both meat and vegetables on the table. "Perfect timing. Wash your hands, and we can eat."
"Dad." Tang Wulin looked curiously at the white robe in Tang Ziran's hand. "Is that your work uniform?"
"You could say that." Tang Ziran told Tang Wulin, "I've recently joined the Netherworld Judgment Order and become an official white-robed disciple."
"The Netherworld Judgment Order?" Lang Yue looked taken aback. "You really joined?"
"Yes." Tang Ziran nodded. "I think that order's teachings are quite good. And as long as I spend twenty minutes every afternoon on repentance and self-examination, an official white-robed member gets a monthly stipend of twelve hundred Federation credits."
That was already a quarter of his wages, just enough to help with the family's situation.
His Wulin's appetite had grown considerably since his martial soul awakening. He couldn't help his son fulfill his dream of becoming a Soul Master, but he couldn't let the boy go without enough food as well.