Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

Raising Kittens · Jul 5, 2018

Thor's Twin said:
Which is fairly impressive from a person who seems to fair the best when he sets the stage and challenges people to come and get him.

As opposed to us, who needs the set-up time but can then carry it wherever we want.

Ayashi · Jul 5, 2018

Yeangst said:
2. Somebody tried to screw Cai over some small amount.

It could be. CRX basically ignored and overruled the traditional (unspoken) rules of the Outer Sect, to great result might I add: 6 greens (beyond the monsters) in the first years is already more than the average.
I'm sure that there is more than just a few decrepit Elders feeling buthurt over the whole thing.

George said:
Personally I really hope it's not manipulated at as fine a level as you expect. Especially considering the insane mental abilities of Violet and Prism tier cultivators, in the methodology you assume here they would just be choosing who enters, which they could have done in the first place. We've been told there's some manipulation, but if there's as much as you assume here then the tournament is a farce in my view.

that's pretty much the point of it all. Disciples show their potential/power in a few fights and the Elders chose the best of them for promotion in Inner Sect. The exam format is just traditional flavoring.

PrimalShadow said:
I don't think this can be called a humiliation at all. Yeah, we did more damage, but Shen Hu accomplished his objective of ending the match without us being able to stop him, which mostly evens the scales.

Huum... try to put it the other way around, what would you think of a mere Peak Yellow that isn't spec'ed into pure fighting to have, after taking out Zhengui, Ling Qi on the run ?

I think humiliation fits the situation pretty nicely.

Deadly Snark · Jul 5, 2018

mastigos said:
And beyond that ... Duchess Cai is (relatively, for a Ducal clan leader), pretty handicapped politically simply because she's new. She's the first generation of her Ducal clan, and ALSO young.

She aint handicapped politically. She's a first generation prodigy who made herself into a White and has learned how to craft Spirits.

What she once lacked in the accumulated political connections of older Houses, she has more than made up with her ridiculous ascent, the favor of the Imperial Dynasty and her own incredible innovations. All of which have likely made connections and favors literally jump into her hands.

The big difference between the Cai and the Sun is that Duchess Cai has ascended into her position while remaining within the norms of the Empire and pretty clearly set herself up as a loyal vassal. She has absolutely nothing to worry about politically speaking. Sun Shao is a conquering General who has basically founded his own country in the furthest fringes of the Empire and has almost destroyed another Ducal House while doing so, and is basically king in his own right.

The Sun cannot afford any sign of true weakness, because despite their rise and power they are on thin ice. Their future could easily end up with their entire House and most of their branches wiped from the face of the Earth.

Duchess Cai thus doesnt have to care what happens to her daughter, because it is ultimately inconsequential to her and she has no need to spend resources on this. The Sun cannot afford to not do so.

Zaealix · Jul 5, 2018

[X] ...Seek out Shen Hu, he gave you quite a runaround, it can't hurt to make nice with a peer like him

Shen Hu, you're cool.

BungieONI · Jul 5, 2018

Ayashi said:
Huum... try to put it the other way around, what would you think of a mere Peak Yellow that isn't spec'ed into pure fighting to have, after taking out Zhengui, Ling Qi on the run ?

I think humiliation fits the situation pretty nicely.

Sure(though I don't think that situation is a good one). But Shen Hu obviously doesn't think that way and since he's the one who should be humiliated, if he isn't there's... not much after that.

yrsillar said:
Every time she found him and struck, he would just sink back into the earth, an infuriating grin on his face as her mist washed over him like water on a ducks feathers. Even the loss of his spirit beast came too late, as the boy proved absurdly resilient, a slate grey slab of polished stone as large as a grown man that seemed to be his domain weapon flashing out to absorb her attacks, before vanishing back into his dantian.

As the mountain peaks and her mist faded, Ling Qi scowled at the boy who now stood across from her in the arena.

"It's not fair to get mad when you're the one who played dirty first," Shen Hu pointed out lazily.

"I know that," Ling Qi huffed. "How did you keep escaping my mist, even after you left the field? I felt it catch you"

He cocked his head to the side as the arena began to lighten up. "How did you keep throwing off my Languid Summer art, without even slowing down?"

Doesn't read to me as him being ticked.

TehChron · Jul 5, 2018

Deadly Snark said:
She aint handicapped politically. She's a first generation prodigy who made herself into a White and has learned how to craft Spirits.

What she once lacked in the accumulated political connections of older Houses, she has more than made up with her ridiculous ascent, the favor of the Imperial Dynasty and her own incredible innovations. All of which have likely made connections and favors literally jumped into her hands.

The big difference between the Cai and the Sun is that Duchess Cai has ascended into her position while remaining within the norms of the Empire and pretty clearly set herself up as a loyal vassal. She has absolutely nothing to worry about politically speaking. Sun Shao is a conquering General who has basically founded his own country in the furthest fringes of the Empire and has almost destroyed another Ducal House while doing so, and is basically king in his own right.

The Sun cannot afford any sign of true weakness, because despite their rise and power they are on thin ice. Their future could easily end up with their entire House and most of their branches wiped from the face of the Earth.

Duchess Cai thus doesnt have to care what happens to her daughter, because it is ultimately inconsequential to her and she has no need to spend resources on this. The Sun cannot afford to not do so.

They're actually near that point as is, to be honest.

If the rest of Sun Shao's descendants lack Liling's talent and affinity for the Love Goddesses arts and stuff...They pretty much don't have a future if Sun Liling fails to be some kind of ascendant genius-looking figure.

Shenhua can afford for Cai Renxiang to not be a transcendental genius, as she has ample backing and plenty of opportunities to shoot for crafting a genetic jackpot before she has to worry about reaching her own limits. Speaking frankly, if Sun Liling fails to win the Tournament.

No.

If she loses to Bai Meizhen it will be an utterly incalculable loss of face to the Sun.

Kai Merah · Jul 5, 2018

... I can't believe we actually made him run. Like, I'm pretty sure all our earlier discussion was centred around how we would run if he came after us, but we're the ones who made him run instead? None of us even thought protecting the ammo packs from Shen Hu would be necessary. I can't believe he actually ran from us instead of standing and fighting.

I think I've been reading too many dungeon fic because I was unconsciously thinking of him as a boss monster more than a competitor.

Delwgun · Jul 5, 2018

[X] Speak with Meizhen, see how she's holding up with her family here

BungieONI · Jul 5, 2018

TehChron said:
If she loses to Bai Meizhen it will be an utterly incalculable loss of face to the Sun.

I remember the thread discussing some of this topic previously. A long long time ago. Maybe around Thunderdome 3? Not sure. And what I remember from that is that this tourney and this whole thing is essentially a test of the Sun's philosophy. If Liling gets into the Inner Sect, but loses to either of Renxiang or Meizhen, it brings the Sun ideal into question. Which is basically taking a butcher knife to the Sun's collective rep/face.

And like you say here, more so if it's Meizhen who does the cutting.

Raising Kittens · Jul 5, 2018

TehChron said:
If she loses to Bai Meizhen it will be an utterly incalculable loss of face to the Sun

This is part of why I'm pretty damn sure the final pair is going to be Sun Liling vs Bai Maizhen. The optics of the fight, the two of them on opposite sides in the Sun vs Cai 'sect war', the fact that Sun is the most likely contender to knock us out in the Ro4 (if we make it that far), etc.

CRX spent too much of her energy on Arts that aren't focused on individual combat to make it past either of them, I don't think, though she can certainly give either of them a run for their money in the semis, depending upon the actual bracket breakdown.

Edit: even if it was just the one? I don't remember.

YonEye · Jul 5, 2018

since sun's family is pulling (some) strings, I expect next round to be vs Xiulan

can't have a tournament arc without having to put the smack down on your friend

veekie · Jul 5, 2018

yrsillar said:
It was time to break that pattern, Ling Qi decided, as a soft melancholy song began to play. Mist poured from her flute, a roiling waterfall of clinging, cloying cloud that swiftly veiled her and flowed out, consuming the cliffside and rolling further and further out. Flickering black shadows took shape, red of eye and black of claw, as the mist grew thicker still, taking on a heavy weight.

Hey look, we summon Grimm!

yrsillar said:
"Oh, I was just thinking, it's such a lovely night for a stroll, you know?" the spirit replied playfully.

Ling Qi glanced up at the silver sliver grinning down from the snowy sky. "I guess it is," she mused, reaching the cliff's edge. "Nothing like a nice moonlit walk,"

A most enthusiastic walk!

yrsillar said:
Joining the prestigious Argent Sect should have been a great opportunity for advancement. Joining his fortunes to Sir Kang's should have secured his position utterly. He stood at the peak of the second realm at a mere fifteen, and would likely break into the third realm within the next year. In any other place, in any other time, that would have been enough.

Yet here he stood, having to team up with this rabble of commoners and scions of insignificant baronial houses, just to hold even a chance at moving on to the actual tournament. He could only curse his fortunes that so many mighty houses had for some reason chosen to stack their own scions against each other here of all places. That they would be joined by so many common born cultivators of freakish talent was only insult to injury.

The salt elemental's gonna be pretty epic I think.
A Peak Yellow would in normal years be a shoo in for the G16 matches.
In this year they are a speedbump.

yrsillar said:
"It is only thanks to me that you will have a chance to strike at that wretched girl at all," Zou Chen replied with a sniff. "The talisman that will blow away the sneak's mist was provided by my house." It had cost him too, his Father had been displeased at the expense of equipping him with such a potent thing. When he had learned that he would be matched against that girl though, he had no choice.

I'm guessing Grandpa Sun did some leaning, if the Sun Faction minions were informed ahead of time enough to get a specialty dispel talisman to counter her.
From the sound of it his family is at least Count rank, and its expensive even for them.

Granted, not unexpected, genre standards say that punch up expendables tend to be expensive as hell.

yrsillar said:
He still remembered the gawky, plain little rat stumbling around the mountain in ignorance at the beginning of the year. Her free pass into Elder Zhou's course, taking the position that should have been his, and the humiliation he had suffered in the ambush on the Bai scion, of falling in with that worm Yan Renshu after sir Kang had abandoned him, and worst of all, the point of her knife hovering just above his eye. If he had been given a tenth of the good fortune that a rat like her had enjoyed…

Ling Qi: "Who're you?"

So lets see how this Young Master got his ass kicked:
-In Zhou's test...was he the one we threw down the well? Sorry! We forgot you existed.
-In the Bai ambush, he got tarpitted and then wrecked by either Meizhen or Cai intervention.
-Kang dumped him, presumably after the big throwdown by Sun? Don't know Kang well enough to know if this is normal or some big failure was involved.
-He joined Yan Renshu(even the people on his side doesn't like him huh?) then we/Meizhen destroyed his faction again.

This guy sounds like a career minion. He just keeps on joining the wrong team.

yrsillar said:
His gaze snapped upward, to the black cliffs that loomed above, and there he saw it. A titanic wave of mist, flowing down the slopes. He heard the others cry out in alarm, reorienting their formation toward the enemy. He felt his mouth grow dry as it sped toward them, flowing with the speed and fury of a spring flooding. Since when had she been able to summon so much mist? When had she been so fast?

And thus bricks were shat.
They're going to have nightmares of this for a while.

yrsillar said:
Gritting his teeth, Zou Chen raised his right arm, wrapped in the lengthy chains beads that formed the Rippling Resplendance Rosary, and shouted the signal to the others to prepare their strike. They couldn't afford a mistake now!

As the forward edge of the mist engulfed the two boys at the front, he channeled his qi into the rosary, until the beads began to shine, and then to crack as he overloaded the talisman, preparing it's emergency function. As the first tendrils of mist curled around his ankles, he thrust his hand forward with a triumphant shout. The beads on his arm exploded violently, a rippling wave of visible lake qi erupting outward through the mist, leaving his arm numb.

...But the mist did not vanish, he saw to his increasing alarm. It lightened, and grew thinner, but it wasn't gone.

Zou Chen cursed, his spearpoint slashing through the twisted phantom of a wolf and darted toward where he last remembered seeing his allies. This shouldn't have been happening. His talisman should have destroyed any qi construct not at the fourth or fifth step of the third realm, it wasn't fair! That damned common rat…

Burn an expensive single use dispel.
It didn't even work.
I think his family's going to be miffed.

yrsillar said:
The girl to his right, her bow and arrows imbued with enough supporting techniques and talisman's to glow like a miniature sun, still loosed her shot, with a howl of wind and thunder, but the barely visible shadow at the center of the mist merely flickered to the side, avoiding the projectile with contemptuous ease… or perhaps it had never been the techniques caster in the first place.

"Since she's too fast to melee, lets get someone focused on archery, with all the supporting arts, specialty ammo and all that to hit her"
*Flicker*
"It's a GUNDAM!!!"

yrsillar said:
As Zou Chen fell to his knees, the frozen qi stealing his strength, he glimpsed her in the mist, standing atop a boulder. In the mist and darkness, the only thing he could make out were her eyes, glinting like chips of glacial ice.

There was nothing in that gaze, no pity, no recognition, no care at all.

Was he really so small?

Thats going to be a pretty healthy despair elemental.

yrsillar said:
"One of them just ran off the cliff," Sixiang laughed.

Ling Qi cursed under her breath, if they were knocked out she couldn't use them to regain her qi. She had been able to recover almost back to full capacity so far, sweeping through the narrow ravines and over cliffs, spending a few seconds dancing around individual disciples, letting the phantoms and her hairpin do their work.

I think if they could hear this they'd despair even more. They aren't even opponents. They're ammo packs.

yrsillar said:
It was a… worrying sight. What had been an open rocky field was now a bubbling expanse of wet mud, in contradiction of the current climate. Snow fell upon the sticky field and immediately melted, leaving the pools of stagnant water and soft clay exposed to the open air. There at the center, on a crumbling platform of still dry stone, stood Shen Hu, his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his bare chest. His forearms and hands were now clad in combination of leather bracers and gloves, with faintly glowing stitching. His eyes snapped open as she approached, and he turned toward her a smile blooming across his pale features.

Looks like...Lake/Earth?
I think I can see how he missed the last tournament. A monofocus on Lake and Earth would leave you utterly passive and relaxed.

He probably has a cultivation art to progress by taking naps.

yrsillar said:
Ling Qi obviously didn't respond as she leapt from the last cliff, carrying her mist with her, and expressed her flying sword, it's singing joining her own. She arced upward, activating the powers of her gown to remain airborne even after the impressive force of her leap ran out. She kept her eyes fixed on on him, even as she let the vital warmth of wood mingle with the cool absence of darkness, thick barklike armor formed of raw qi spreading over her body in an instant.

Shen Hu wasn't idle either, glittering growth of black diamond spreading across his hands and forearms as he raised them into a ready stance. Then the mist was upon him. The dark haired boy jerked back with a frown as multiple techniques assailed him at once, his still, reflective qi rippling under the assault. Phantoms clawed uselessly at his increasingly armored hide, but she found his senses and spirit less well guarded. The cloying, draining notes of her Elegy found purchase, but the mist had failed to cloud his senses.

Guess he hadn't run into many Spiritual attackers before or he'd have loaded those. Lake should be quite good at spiritual defense.

yrsillar said:
A rumble echoing through the air was the only warning of his counterattack. A geyser of mud exploded violently upward, and she twisted to avoid it easily, but it was not the only one of it's kind. A second and a third followed, forcing her to spin and twist crazily into the air to avoid them.

By the time she emerged from the gauntlet, Shen Hu was gone from her sight. She could still sense his qi, of course, but he was beneath the mud now, his aura hidden beneath the qi that saturated the whole of the field. Worse, she found that her mist could not penetrate the wet soil, infused as it was by his own qi. Ling QI landed then, clinging to the side of one of the cliffs overseeing the field with a frown. This was going to be… difficult.

For a moment, she stared down at the artificial mud flat below, activating the power of her Argent Mirror art as she did so, to try and discern her enemies position in the muck, but it proved fruitless. His qi was blended so well, it was almost as if…

"It's a bit of a reversal isn't it?" Sixiang mused.

"Oh! The bad guy is is pretending to be a beast!" Zhengui exclaimed a moment later, seemingly not wanting to be upstaged by Sixiang.

That's a very neat trick. What kind of spirit does he have? It sounds like an earth elemental of some form, probably more spirit than beast.

yrsillar said:
Of course, he didn't take her invasion without striking back, weighty qi slammed down upon her meridians, dragging her earthward despite her efforts to rebuke the spiritual attack with Argent Mirror. For an instant, Ling Qi felt lethargy flood her body, the urge to simply lie down for long nap under the humid summer sun surging in her thoughts.

"None of that now," Sixiang chided, the spirits own chaotic qi surging out, expelling the invading muddy qi.

Weaponized laziness.
Sounds like my bed.

Sixiang's dispel is amazing for action and qi economy though.

yrsillar said:
Ling Qi grimaced as she flew straight up, speeding off to the cliffs to get out of range. This wasn't going to be easy… but she did have a plan now. If she knew that the field was his spirit… then she could target it with her mist, even if she couldn't get him directly.

For now though, she needed to regain the qi she had just spent fighting.

The other disciples were growing more wary. As she made the pass again, weaving through the mountains to strike, drain qi and leave them behind. Many tried to run or hide rather than face her, but it wasn't enough. Cai's former subordinates, what few of them were here, looked to be taking advantage too, if the reduction in numbers was an indication.

You know, from the Yellows perspective, they just got a HAIR of hope, that the Greens will take out each other and let one of them pass.
Then Ling Qi shows up and starts eating the ammo packs.

In the bigger political picture, the Sun subordinates were bogged down and completely unable to demonstrate their skills by the situation, while the Cai subordinates, despite not being in the running to clear the tournament, got to strut their stuff since Ling Qi didn't killsteal them, only left their foes unable to fight back(from their PoV, we were just leaving them as snacks for later

).

Tangible benefits of allegiance!

yrsillar said:
Her second assault on Shen Hu was much less direct than the first. She descended on him from the cliffs above like a sudden storm, circling his spirit beast at the edge of her mists range, so that only a few meters lapped over the mud at a time. She felt the beasts discontent in the rumbling earth as its qi was sapped away, one little bit at a time. Several times, she felt an attempt to dispel her mist ripple outward, but it simply splashed against her own qi uselessly. The most troublesome thing was that lethargic art he kept casting over her, though thankfully Sixiang took care of that.

She glimpsed Shen Hu once or twice, noting the growing frustration on his face. After the first few passes, she had a good feel for the range of his diamond spears, and even when he launched the twisting things at her they weren't too hard to avoid. She nipped at the edges of his spirit with mist, frost and song, slowly wearing it down. It was perhaps not the most glorious tactic, but Ling Qi thought that there was a certain inevitable beauty too it.

Those dispel resistances we picked up really proving their worth here.
A slow strategy, but we're using a Zerolize Qi(Ling Qi) strategy!

yrsillar said:
Unfortunately, she found that this was the point where her plan met its first major problem. Namely as she was tracking down a fleeing second realm, she felt Shen Hu and his spirits qi move. The towering aura which had allowed her to find him shrank inward and faded from her 'sight'. As she swooped down on the fleeing girl she was chasing, letting the mist overtake her, Ling Qi considered the problem.

Losing his mudfield was a disadvantage for sure, since it was the thing which was preventing her from striking more strongly… but it also kept him immobile. If he was able to move around now… she would have to keep her eyes open. It would be best to assume that he could move through the earth the way she could move through shadows, and watch her footing.

Interesting. It sounds like he has a buff similar to Gan's for remaining stationary? Its in theme for Mountain, Lake and Earth.

And he has earth glide, of course he does.
Ling Qi the storm, and Shen Hu the earth.

yrsillar said:
With that in mind, Ling Qi left the disciple she had been hunting behind, shivering in the snow and drained of energy.

Trauma Elemental continues to be well fed.

yrsillar said:
With that in mind, Ling Qi left the disciple she had been hunting behind, shivering in the snow and drained of energy. Keeping to the highest surfaces she could find, Ling Qi began to hunt for Shen Hu. It proved far more difficult than she would have hoped though, starting from the rapidly drying and freezing mudfield, she found little to go on. There was certainly nothing so obvious as physical tracks, which made what she had learned about tracking from Su Ling mostly useless.

She could feel his qi of course, or rather that of his spirit beast, but only up until it reached the cliff face which she had been using as a springboard when attacking him. There it entered the rock and faded beyond her senses.

Her head jerked up a moment later as she felt a burst of his qi to the east. Pouring on speed, she flew toward the location, only to find disturbed snow, a splotch of runny mud, and the fading light of a disciple who had been defeated. Shen Hu had caught onto her strategy it seemed.

The next quarter of an hour was spent in a game of cat and mouse, as she chased the fading trail of his qi in rock. One disciple after another fell, drowned in mud, their backs slashed open by diamond claws, or simply hurled from the cliffs. That was not to say that she didn't catch him, coming down with the fury of a winter storm and battering the spirit he wore like a suit with song and ice, and she could feel the mud beast growing weaker with every blow, until at last it crumbled, fading back into his dantian… but he had learned from her it seemed.

Every time she found him and struck, he would just sink back into the earth, an infuriating grin on his face as her mist washed over him like water on a ducks feathers. Even the loss of his spirit beast came too late, as the boy proved absurdly resilient, a slate grey slab of polished stone as large as a grown man that seemed to be his domain weapon flashing out to absorb her attacks, before vanishing back into his dantian.

Literally our own strategy, superior mobility stealth dodge tank. This would be a treat for the audience, given that it started with him playing Whack a Mole while she ground away at him from the sky like a nomad war party, then Ling Qi playing Whack a Mole as he did the same to the rear ranks.

yrsillar said:
As the mountain peaks and her mist faded, Ling Qi scowled at the boy who now stood across from her in the arena.

"It's not fair to get mad when you're the one who played dirty first," Shen Hu pointed out lazily.

"I know that," Ling Qi huffed. "How did you keep escaping my mist, even after you left the field? I felt it catch you"

He cocked his head to the side as the arena began to lighten up. "How did you keep throwing off my Languid Summer art, without even slowing down?"

"...Fair point," Ling Qi replied, looking away, she wasn't just going to reveal Sixiang if she didn't have too. Did he have a second spirit as well then? That would certainly be a change, only a handful of the second realm disciples had any spirits with them.

I like his style. And the match was fun.
The best part?
Neither Ling Qi nor Shen Hu were hurt at all.

yrsillar said:
She looked around as the sky came back into view, and noted, somewhat sheepishly that the other three arenas were already clear.

"Are you not entertained!"

yrsillar said:
Cai Renxiang and a former enforcer stood in one

A given.

yrsillar said:
while Meizhen and a rather ill looking girl shared the second

I wonder what was Meizhen's strategy in the mass combat match?
Personally suspect she just smashed everything with a fear aura, which would explain the ill looking girl(I don't expect someone to survive being poisoned by Meizhen). Its probably the most efficient means of taking down the mass combat round.

She'd needs new pants.

yrsillar said:
Han Jian stood in the third, looking heavily battered as he leaned on Heijin for support, along with one remaining older year.

Kitty won the match. Han Jian was just the pet.

yrsillar said:
"With our final match being settled at last," Ling Qi looked up, and for a moment, met the storm grey eyes of Sect Head Yuan, looking down at their arena with a faintly amused expression.

The Sect Head approved!

We gave a great show for the mass combat round and everyone got to watch it, because literally every other match concluded already. I think we made up for Gan's loss there. in optics.

Normally the mass combat round would be relatively boring, because nobody is going to take risks if they can help it, and so you'd not be seeing Greens dueling. Everyone would be playing to keep their ace cards hidden and win with a minimum of effort.

We saw the masses of contestants who were our enemy arrayed against us and used them as guilt free snacks.
We saw the arena given to us and turned it to a great show.
We saw a challenge and met it.

Are you not entertained?!

[] Seek out Li Suyin, she should be getting out of her own equivalent to the prelims after all

Hmm, it'd be nice to show concern, but I think this would mostly be to demonstrate closer friendship than any particular need.
Would give us a better look at how the Production side's competition works though.

[] Speak with Meizhen, see how she's holding up with her family here

Eh...given how Meizhen mentioned her family was like I'm somewhat leery of meeting them without Meizhen specifically inviting us.

[] ...Seek out Shen Hu, he gave you quite a runaround, it can't hurt to make nice with a peer like him

Turn a good game into a future contact. Shen Hu is fairly valuable, since he's likely to clear into the inner Sect(with his demonstrated defense I think he's unlikely to be taken out unless matched against a Monster).

[] Head back to town, you'll be busy all evening, so you should tell your Mother how things went.

Probably makes her even more concerned

I'd personally set this for after we make it to the G8, so we can have a little celebration.

[X] ...Seek out Shen Hu, he gave you quite a runaround, it can't hurt to make nice with a peer like him

Lucerna · Jul 5, 2018

[X] ...Seek out Shen Hu, he gave you quite a runaround, it can't hurt to make nice with a peer like him

Asael · Jul 5, 2018

[X] Speak with Meizhen, see how she's holding up with her family here

I won't be upset no matter what wins, but I am curious about this often talked about aunt.

Spectrum · Jul 5, 2018

[X] Speak with Meizhen, see how she's holding up with her family here

Poor mana batteries, you lived as you died--without a name.

I'm not so sure I'd count this as a moral victory if only because my sense is that Ling Qi showed more tricks but didn't really achieve the objective she sought.

BungieONI · Jul 5, 2018

veekie said:
That's a very neat trick. What kind of spirit does he have? It sounds like an earth elemental of some form, probably more spirit than beast.

Mud golem Lanhua, the Shambling Terror thingy. Apparently it can do a "I am now a fluid" trick.

TehChron · Jul 5, 2018

Spectrum said:
[X] Speak with Meizhen, see how she's holding up with her family here

Poor mana batteries, you lived as you died--without a name.

I'm not so sure I'd count this as a moral victory if only because my sense is that Ling Qi showed more tricks but didn't really achieve the objective she sought.

Not at all, Shen Hu displayed:

A massively threatening ranged AoE attack, as well as very obviously displayed it's limitations of reach and range
The maximum capability of Lenhua in serving as a domain-synergizing Spirit Beast that set up a territory of his own
An unexpectedly high perception skill
His Lazy Summer Art and how it could be spammed
A really prodigious degree of sustainability
Ludicrously high mobility and movement speed
The ability to strike relatively easily from ambush
His Domain Weapon
Just being tanky as all fuck against potential attackers

For a relative unknown, that is a lot of cards to show. Under any other circumstances, Shen Hu would be the unexpected dark horse of this tournament if it hadn't been clear that Ling Qi was winning in spite of him ripping off her own hit and run tactics. To the point where he simply abandoned engaging her altogether in favor of striving to end the match before she could beat him.

Like, he did really good under the circumstances. Which when you take a step back and recall that he has a year of cultivating at minimum on her as well as a full cultivation level advantage is a really big statement on Ling Qi's own strength as a Cultivator.

Horium · Jul 5, 2018

As a side-note, it seems that Had Jian had to basically solo his bracket (well, together with Heijin). Of course, not being one of the monsters or even a third realm at all, that proved hard on his silver physique.

Considering the peak yellow disciple's foreknowledge, it seems that Ji Rong and Lu Feng were aware of their match-up in advance, and prepared accordingly.
Poor Gan.

veekie · Jul 5, 2018

BungieONI said:
Mud golem Lanhua, the Shambling Terror thingy. Apparently it can do a "I am now a fluid" trick.

Trying to find a mythological base. Its called Blue Flower hmmm

Thor's Twin · Jul 5, 2018

The Ling Qi Dictionary

Ammo Packs:

Individuals of a lower realm that are used to replenish Ling Qi's qi. Especially useful after a great expenditure of qi, or when playing a long attrition game against a peer opponent. They are of no use defeated, and so the accepted strategy is to leave them depleted of qi and shivering in the mists in order for the targeted individual to last for multiple uses as a qi battery.

veekie · Jul 5, 2018

Horium said:
As a side-note, it seems that Had Jian had to basically solo his bracket (well, together with Heijin). Of course, not being one of the monsters or even a third realm at all, that proved hard on his silver physique.

Considering the peak yellow disciple's foreknowledge, it seems that Ji Rong and Lu Feng were aware of their match-up in advance, and prepared accordingly.
Poor Gan.

Its almost as bad a match for him as it could get. He's a leader with nothing to lead. Heijin carried the match

Spectrum · Jul 5, 2018

TehChron said:
For a relative unknown, that is a lot of cards to show. Under any other circumstances, Shen Hu would be the unexpected dark horse of this tournament if it hadn't been clear that Ling Qi was winning in spite of him ripping off her own hit and run tactics. To the point where he simply abandoned engaging her altogether in favor of striving to end the match before she could beat him.

Like, he did really good under the circumstances. Which when you take a step back and recall that he has a year of cultivating at minimum on her as well as a full cultivation level advantage is a really big statement on Ling Qi's own strength as a Cultivator.

The thing is that on the larger stage, Shen Hu isn't an enemy. In some sense, I would have been happier if they both advanced but neither showed anything off. The more tricks Ling Qi kept in the bag until she fought someone directly in Liling's camp or in an elimination stage, the better.

BungieONI · Jul 5, 2018

Thor's Twin said:
The Ling Qi Dictionary

Ammo Packs:

Individuals of a lower realm that are used to replenish Ling Qi's qi. Especially useful after a great expenditure of qi, or when playing a long attrition game against a peer opponent. They are of no use defeated, and so the accepted strategy is to leave them depleted of qi and shivering in the mists in order for the targeted individual to last for multiple uses as a qi battery.

I love it. We must add more.

TehChron · Jul 5, 2018

Horium said:
As a side-note, it seems that Had Jian had to basically solo his bracket (well, together with Heijin). Of course, not being one of the monsters or even a third realm at all, that proved hard on his silver physique.

Considering the peak yellow disciple's foreknowledge, it seems that Ji Rong and Lu Feng were aware of their match-up in advance, and prepared accordingly.
Poor Gan.

Lu Feng and Ji Rongs entire strategy screamed of that kind of foreknowledge, tbh.

Raising Kittens · Jul 5, 2018

veekie said:
Ling Qi the storm, and Shen Hu the earth.

He's the Summer to our Winter, much like Gu Xiulan is the Sun to our Moon, or how Bai Maizhen is the serpent to our viper - it would be spider, but that's Li Suyin, who is the spider to our fly (snerk).

Our friendships are weird, and they will continue to be weird:

Gan Gaungli may become the statue to our flowing breeze, and CRX may end up the light as opposed to our darkness.

Edit: removed extra redundancy.

Edit 2: CRX is also the ruler/local lord to our minstrel/bard, though that isn't a perfectly apt comparison.

Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

Tryhard As Fuck

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Hound Hearted Hedonist

Seven gremlins in a trench coat

Follow the Two Rules

Tell me a secret~

Seven gremlins in a trench coat

Tell me a secret~

Seven gremlins in a trench coat