High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 462: Chapter 131: The Origin of the Judgment Hunting Team_1

This corridor lies in the southeast direction of Lin Zhong Lake, not far from where Zheng Qing patrolled on Saturday night.

Standing in the pavilion looking afar, the fog over the lake and the moon over the sand added a hint of coldness to the air.

There weren’t any dense vines clinging to the left and right of the pavilion, nor towering trees in the way. Separated by the placid lake water, the two passersby could clearly see the brightly lit little square on the other side of the lake, aglow with alluring colors.

The wizards in various colored robes congregated excitedly, some drinking merrily in groups of threes and fives, others paired off in couples; occasionally, a tipsy wizard would break into the crowd with a soulful solo dance; from time to time, magic fireworks would slowly rise from the crowd, coloring the night sky with a riot of hues.

The hustle and bustle by the lake had scared away many animals feeding in the water in the nighttime, yet it attracted even more uninvited guests.

A group of graceful dancers whirled in the air above the dance party, their bodies wreathed in a bluish-green glow. Keeping to the rhythm of the lively music, they flapped their wings and occasionally burst into song, leading a chorus of unknown birds in their ensemble.

These were the luminous nightbirds from the depths of the Silent Forest, who always showed up uninvited, helping themselves to the food and drink whenever the wizards held a dance party. However, their glowing feathers in the night and their melodious songs always managed to cool the hosts’ tempers and warm their hearts.

Besides these cheerful performers, the dance party also had many silent spectators.

For instance, the tree elves perched on branches, lazily sucking on succulent insects, their eyes dreamy; or the fishmen, with only their heads above the water, looking furious yet helpless.

Of course, the spectators of the party included the two wizards chatting leisurely in the pavilion on the lakefront corridor on the other side of the lake.

Deng Xiaojian was still leisurely explaining to Zheng Qing the origin of the ’Judgment Hunting Party’.

”...That was the most difficult time for the ’Will’.”

”However, even though there were many factions within the community and the struggles between different ideologies were fierce, everyone was trying in their own ways to rejuvenate this ancient organization, to reclaim its past glory.”

”There were the hardliners, who insisted that the ’Will’ should stick to its traditions of five hundred years without any change, that any attempt at reform was heresy. In their opinion, as long as the organization adhered to its initial policies and started all over, it could regain its life.”

”While there were those who stubbornly held onto their beliefs, there were also those trying to make improvements. Compared to the hardliners, the reformers recognized that with the changing times, the ’Rigid Will’ of the past could no longer carry the ’Active Minds’ of contemporary wizards. Hence, they advocated for reform — a change in organizational structure, promotion channels, recruitment of newcomers, including even the basic ideology of the ’Will’, in order to better adapt to the needs of the era.”

”Besides these, there was also a faction with the most radical stances — they believed that the ’True Will’ had already died and if it wished to be reborn, it must abandon all the old and start afresh.”

”I bet the last victors were those radicals.” Zheng Qing couldn’t help but make the rash conclusion.

Deng Xiaojian looked at him meaningfully but didn’t comment on his judgment.

”...One thing that’s difficult to handle in a large organization is... it’s very hard to win a majority agreement on any issue. It’s also impossible for everyone to set up a ’sandbox’ in the organization to test various ideas.”

”Since consensus cannot be reached, there’s no choice but to upset the apple cart.”

”The reformers, the revolutionaries, those who stuck firmly to their beliefs ended up pulling their own people out of the ’Will’, forming one new organization after another to validate their ideas.”

”...That period lasted for a long time, almost forty or fifty years. In all, about thirty clubs were formed by groups departing from the ’Will’, among which there were no less than five that were top-tier.”

”’Judgment’ was born during that time.”

”Judgment used to be a club?” Zheng Qing stared in surprise.

”Yes, upholding the idea that ’fairness requires judgment’, ’equality needs measurement’, ’Judgment’ was born from the ’Will’... Perhaps because this direction was indeed correct, ’Judgment’ gradually grew.”

”Of course, if it was only this, ’Judgment’ wouldn’t be any different from the other four or five clubs that could rival it. They were all simply products born after departing from the ’Will’... Until one day, at a school-themed hunting party, the Judgment Hunting Team defeated the ’Will’ Hunting Team, defeated four academy teams, and defeated the team of the number one university, winning that year’s ’Academy Cup’.”

”Wow.” Zheng Qing let out an ambiguous exclamation.

”It was in that year that the then leader of ’Judgment’ picked up the tradition once held by the ’Will’— he took on the title ’Lei Zhe’.” Deng Xiaojian paused here and sighed deeply.

”Isn’t ’Lei Zhe’ a title passed down within the organization?” Zheng Qing felt a little dizzy.

”Yes, and no.” Deng Xiaojian shook his head, and continued, ”If you’ve stayed in the school for a while, you would know that the tradition of ’Lei Zhe’ is hidden in some corner of Jiuyou Academy... It might be a book, a test, a task, or even a secret realm... But as long as any student of Jiuyou Academy passes the test, they could receive the title of ’Lei Zhe’.”

”So they say, ’Lei Zhe’ is everyone’s aiming for, and next year it could be me.”

”So, even a person who is not part of the ’Holy Will’ could get the ’Lei Zhe’ title and become the final boss of ’Holy Will’?” Zheng Qing was somewhat shocked.

”In theory, that is the case.” Deng Xiaojian reluctantly nodded, but added, ”However, there are very few people outside the organization who could get the title.”

”Judgment is an exception then.” The young state-sponsored student mumbled.

”Yes, ’Judgment’ is an exception.” Deng Xiaojian exclaimed, but then shook his head, ”But in fact, the leader of Judgment also came from the ’Will’, so technically it doesn’t count as an exception... But the real problem is not this.”

”In theory, since the leader of ’Judgment’ had obtained the title ’Lei Zhe’, their club is the true ’Will’... However, the original boss and the executives of the ’Will’ did not seem to think so.”

”Theory is one thing, practice is another.”

Zheng Qing nodded, seeming to grasp the point.

”’Lei Zhe’ and ’Will’ appearing simultaneously in two clubs caused chaos throughout the whole academy, with minor disputes every two days and major ones every three... No matter if it was mediation by the school workers’ committee or the joint meeting of professors, all were declared failures... The school could restrict the students from fighting but could not ease the deep rift within the academy.”

”In the end, even the principal was involved.”

”Principal? Which one?” Zheng Qing licked his dry lips.

”Of course, it was the unnamed Principal. He personally issued a command, ordering ’Judgment’ and ’Will’ to merge again, and chose a new name for the new ’Will’ — the ’Holy Will’.”

”Simple and brutal,” was Zheng Qing’s comment.

”But it was effective. At least after the merger, both sides, albeit reluctantly, accepted it.” Deng Xiaojian shrugged, ”In commemoration of the once-existing ’Judgment Club’, ’Lei Zhe’ chose to rename the ’Holy Will’s hunting party as ’Judgment’... The school also tacitly accepted this.”

”So, that’s why the ’Holy Will’s hunting party is known as ’Judgment’.” The wizard in the blue robe took a deep breath, ending this complicated story.