Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Location
- UK
What happens when two skilled, defensive, tricky, area-denial Cultivators fight?
A Bad Time for everyone else.
That was wonderful. The fact that we were the longest running round, but more specifically why we were the longest running, means not only did everyone have a good chance to see us in action, but it was also in a good light. furthermore, it seemed quite entertaining (so long as you weren't invested in any of the yellow sacrifices anyway), so will be memorable. I don't thinkit could have gone mcuh ebtter without beating Shen Hu, which would leave a bad taste in my mouth tbh.
[X] ...Seek out Shen Hu, he gave you quite a runaround, it can't hurt to make nice with a peer like him
I like chill bro, I like him a lot. Obviously too early for courting, and we don't really know how difficult it is to get to Green 3rd in 2 years so not sure about exact talent either, but he's a laid back, kinda nice guy. And the sense of humour with the cat and mouse game, and shrugging off the tactics we used as a joke, 10/10 would be friends with.
Also, can you imagine fighting Ling Qi and Shen Hu at once? Both the earth and mists against you, unable to find either enemy, shadowy claws and black, obsidian spike shooting from the ground, combined with multiple spiritual attacks. this sounds like the kind of thing which could stop an army.
Also, for the Mother option, could we maybe arrange for a letter to be sent to her explaining the fight, we won, good showing, kind of fun, opponent was a swell guy? This is of course assuming we definitely won't be seeing her in the next 24 hours. I want to let her know but we might be a bit busy to go personally, making connections and such.
Anyway, obviously a wonderful update. I might have been grinning like a loon on the whole bus journey, so thanks for that Yrs
I'm off to read a dozen pages of discussion now.
A Bad Time for everyone else.
That was wonderful. The fact that we were the longest running round, but more specifically why we were the longest running, means not only did everyone have a good chance to see us in action, but it was also in a good light. furthermore, it seemed quite entertaining (so long as you weren't invested in any of the yellow sacrifices anyway), so will be memorable. I don't thinkit could have gone mcuh ebtter without beating Shen Hu, which would leave a bad taste in my mouth tbh.
[X] ...Seek out Shen Hu, he gave you quite a runaround, it can't hurt to make nice with a peer like him
I like chill bro, I like him a lot. Obviously too early for courting, and we don't really know how difficult it is to get to Green 3rd in 2 years so not sure about exact talent either, but he's a laid back, kinda nice guy. And the sense of humour with the cat and mouse game, and shrugging off the tactics we used as a joke, 10/10 would be friends with.
Also, can you imagine fighting Ling Qi and Shen Hu at once? Both the earth and mists against you, unable to find either enemy, shadowy claws and black, obsidian spike shooting from the ground, combined with multiple spiritual attacks. this sounds like the kind of thing which could stop an army.
Also, for the Mother option, could we maybe arrange for a letter to be sent to her explaining the fight, we won, good showing, kind of fun, opponent was a swell guy? This is of course assuming we definitely won't be seeing her in the next 24 hours. I want to let her know but we might be a bit busy to go personally, making connections and such.
Anyway, obviously a wonderful update. I might have been grinning like a loon on the whole bus journey, so thanks for that Yrs
I'm off to read a dozen pages of discussion now.
- Location
- the netherlands
[X] ...Seek out Shen Hu, he gave you quite a runaround, it can't hurt to make nice with a peer like him
Alright, so tournament lineup speculation.
I'm mainly gonna focus on the quarterfinals and above, because the specifics of the next round are hard to pin down and not actually all that necessary for further speculation.
Basically, the Liling, Meizhen and CRX are guaranteed to get in.
Shen Hu and us I legitimately just don't see losing unless paired against one of those three and I don't see that happening.
Ji Rong and Kang have fair odds to get in, even without line-up manipulation, but we already know the Sun are doing all they can, so while I don't think they'll get a free pass they will get fights they are very much liable to win.
Enough to impress but not to threaten.
The last entree I'm obviously hoping is Xiulian, but no matter what I see zero chance of Chu Song making the cut, meaning it'll be someone nominally aligned with CRX in the Sun/Cai divide.
I still don't buy that the sect is interested in taking in a political liability like her long-term (or that she's interested in hiding away in the sect for that matter), she cut ties with Liling publically enough that the Sun don't actually benefit from getting her a win and I actually feel Liling can get better use out of her elsewhere.
My read on the situation from the Sun perspective goes something like this:
Due to Shenhua being mother of the year and the Bai probably not all that interested in anything but Meizhen having a shot at beating Liling up, odds are they have a lot of leeway in shaping the overall tournament lineup.
The only major limitation are therefor not screwing up the coming round too much, since that touches the Sect's bottom line (hence my confidence in the top 7), not spoiling the show by making the big grudgematches happen too early and not screwing with Meizhen enough to give Liling an advantage.
Which essentially means:
Liling vs BLANK
Meizhen vs BLANK
CRX vs BLANK
BLANK vs BLANK
Is all but guaranteed, as is Liling, Meizhen and CRX being in the semi finals, at which point the big grudgematches mathmatically have to start happening, but the blanks ought to be filled in such a way as to give the Sun faction the best showing possible.
And in my eyes this means:
Liling vs Cai faction
Meizhen vs non Cai faction
CRX vs Sun faction
Cai Faction vs Sun faction
With the specific members being chosen so that the next round ends up as:
Liling vs Meizhen
CRX vs Sun Faction
Cause that's the only way for Liling to get a goon of hers this far, she has to beat Meizhen no matter what at some point and CRX is arguably the weakest and least backed of the three so easier to take on after revealing and expending some trumpcards against Meizhen.
Moving on to more specifics though, the fact that Liling wouldn't be facing CRX until the end means that CRX has a lot of opportunity to make good showings, which is bad for Liling.
Which is why I feel that making her face Ji Rong and Kang consecutively with both of them equipped to the max with anti CRX stuff and making use of the previous fights to scout out trumpcards is part of the gameplan here.
Which brings me back to Chu Song. As I said, I feel noone important actually cares enough to help her pass, but she could still serve Liling by getting CRX to reveal stuff rando yellow wouldn't, cause she's green with a green spirit beast at the end of the day.
Then either Ji Rong or Kang get a shot to push her even further and, while a knockout in the semi finals is still pretty unlikely for CRX, this route both maximizes that minimal chance and otherwise still makes CRX have as hard a time as possible and a poor showing as a result.
Figuring out the rest of the gameplan by process of elimination isn't too difficult either.
If all goes to plan, Liling takes out us in the quarterfinals to redress past humiliation and to make sure the presumably weaker final CRX ally can be matched up against her second goon and lose as well.
Meizhen gets Shen Hu because he's the only one left, the Bai don't mind as long as Meizhen isn't made to fight three other greens before facing Liling and the Sun are fine with this since Meizhen won't get to publically humiliate one of Liling's goons.
End result would be both sides getting an equal amount of goons in the top 8, but CRX losing way more people aligned with her in the coming round, Liling getting one goon further than anyone else and Liling taking out both others directly and winning the tournament.
Ultimately a lot of my reasoning here comes down to the fact that at least one of Liling's goon is going to have to go down in the Quaterfinals and the other one afterwards, meaning at that point it's a question of damage mitigation.
Meizhen is the stronger foe and due to the Bai actually caring a bit harder to stack the deck against, so having them face off against a disadvantaged CRX with specialized gear seems the most reliable way to ensure they don't go down easily.
I'm mainly gonna focus on the quarterfinals and above, because the specifics of the next round are hard to pin down and not actually all that necessary for further speculation.
Basically, the Liling, Meizhen and CRX are guaranteed to get in.
Shen Hu and us I legitimately just don't see losing unless paired against one of those three and I don't see that happening.
Ji Rong and Kang have fair odds to get in, even without line-up manipulation, but we already know the Sun are doing all they can, so while I don't think they'll get a free pass they will get fights they are very much liable to win.
Enough to impress but not to threaten.
The last entree I'm obviously hoping is Xiulian, but no matter what I see zero chance of Chu Song making the cut, meaning it'll be someone nominally aligned with CRX in the Sun/Cai divide.
I still don't buy that the sect is interested in taking in a political liability like her long-term (or that she's interested in hiding away in the sect for that matter), she cut ties with Liling publically enough that the Sun don't actually benefit from getting her a win and I actually feel Liling can get better use out of her elsewhere.
My read on the situation from the Sun perspective goes something like this:
Due to Shenhua being mother of the year and the Bai probably not all that interested in anything but Meizhen having a shot at beating Liling up, odds are they have a lot of leeway in shaping the overall tournament lineup.
The only major limitation are therefor not screwing up the coming round too much, since that touches the Sect's bottom line (hence my confidence in the top 7), not spoiling the show by making the big grudgematches happen too early and not screwing with Meizhen enough to give Liling an advantage.
Which essentially means:
Liling vs BLANK
Meizhen vs BLANK
CRX vs BLANK
BLANK vs BLANK
Is all but guaranteed, as is Liling, Meizhen and CRX being in the semi finals, at which point the big grudgematches mathmatically have to start happening, but the blanks ought to be filled in such a way as to give the Sun faction the best showing possible.
And in my eyes this means:
Liling vs Cai faction
Meizhen vs non Cai faction
CRX vs Sun faction
Cai Faction vs Sun faction
With the specific members being chosen so that the next round ends up as:
Liling vs Meizhen
CRX vs Sun Faction
Cause that's the only way for Liling to get a goon of hers this far, she has to beat Meizhen no matter what at some point and CRX is arguably the weakest and least backed of the three so easier to take on after revealing and expending some trumpcards against Meizhen.
Moving on to more specifics though, the fact that Liling wouldn't be facing CRX until the end means that CRX has a lot of opportunity to make good showings, which is bad for Liling.
Which is why I feel that making her face Ji Rong and Kang consecutively with both of them equipped to the max with anti CRX stuff and making use of the previous fights to scout out trumpcards is part of the gameplan here.
Which brings me back to Chu Song. As I said, I feel noone important actually cares enough to help her pass, but she could still serve Liling by getting CRX to reveal stuff rando yellow wouldn't, cause she's green with a green spirit beast at the end of the day.
Then either Ji Rong or Kang get a shot to push her even further and, while a knockout in the semi finals is still pretty unlikely for CRX, this route both maximizes that minimal chance and otherwise still makes CRX have as hard a time as possible and a poor showing as a result.
Figuring out the rest of the gameplan by process of elimination isn't too difficult either.
If all goes to plan, Liling takes out us in the quarterfinals to redress past humiliation and to make sure the presumably weaker final CRX ally can be matched up against her second goon and lose as well.
Meizhen gets Shen Hu because he's the only one left, the Bai don't mind as long as Meizhen isn't made to fight three other greens before facing Liling and the Sun are fine with this since Meizhen won't get to publically humiliate one of Liling's goons.
End result would be both sides getting an equal amount of goons in the top 8, but CRX losing way more people aligned with her in the coming round, Liling getting one goon further than anyone else and Liling taking out both others directly and winning the tournament.
Ultimately a lot of my reasoning here comes down to the fact that at least one of Liling's goon is going to have to go down in the Quaterfinals and the other one afterwards, meaning at that point it's a question of damage mitigation.
Meizhen is the stronger foe and due to the Bai actually caring a bit harder to stack the deck against, so having them face off against a disadvantaged CRX with specialized gear seems the most reliable way to ensure they don't go down easily.
Ji Rong - Kang Zihao combo for Cai in quarter and semifinals makes sense, but if one quarter finals is Cai - Ji Rong e.g. whom does the other Sun ally face in quarterfinals that is on CRX's side, if not Ling Qi?
The eigth slot, that is filled by a random person nominally aligned with CRX.
Golden Fields or Wen Ai, basically.
Someone of that bunch has to get in because Chu Song is just thrown at CRX for intel and they're almost certainly easier to defeat for Liling's enforcer than we would be.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- They/Them
That was beautiful. I was grinning throughout reading it. I wanted to up our friends' chances by beating Shen Hu but he's really managed to grow on me. Also love that we seem to have cultivated a personal punching bag, I'm a little sad to think this will be the end of our relationship with the talisman dude.
[x] Head back to town, you'll be busy all evening, so you should tell your Mother how things went.
Always nice to have a vote full of attractive options. I want to catch up with our friends; to build on the fun interactions with Shen Hu; but most of all I'd like to update our family, since we're pretty much their only point of contact.
[x] Head back to town, you'll be busy all evening, so you should tell your Mother how things went.
Always nice to have a vote full of attractive options. I want to catch up with our friends; to build on the fun interactions with Shen Hu; but most of all I'd like to update our family, since we're pretty much their only point of contact.
Though this is a convincing argument...
Correct me if I missed inappropriate implication but having crushes and/or dating at 15 isn't exactly out of bounds. The quest has already included leering, flirting and hand-holding so what's the issue with non-sexual shipping?
She could get away with doing that to Ling Qi though.
My guess is that Bai Meizhen is going to have a grudge match with Kang Zihao. It will probably be in R8 (if Ling Qi, Ji Rong and Shen Hu make it through), otherwise it will happen in R4.
Admittedly, the goofiest conclusion would be for it to happen in R16.
Meizhen's Aunt: "We have seen the matches, and are not without power to tilt the placement one way or another. Are there any specific opponents in mind?"
Bai Meizhen: "I'd like to not fight any of the Cai faction group if possible, since she is an burgeoning ally in the fight against the Sun*. Also if possible I would like to fight Kang Zihao."
Meizhen's Aunt: "Why Kang Zihao?"
Bai Meizhen: "I just want to punch him in the face real hard."
*"Also, Ling Qi is my friend even if I can't publicly admit it."
As a side note, given how seemingly heavy handed the Sun fixing was in the preliminaries, are we going to see Bai pushback simply to humilate Sun? Or is it too risky for no real gain, unlike the Sun who really need this win?
Admittedly, the goofiest conclusion would be for it to happen in R16.
Meizhen's Aunt: "We have seen the matches, and are not without power to tilt the placement one way or another. Are there any specific opponents in mind?"
Bai Meizhen: "I'd like to not fight any of the Cai faction group if possible, since she is an burgeoning ally in the fight against the Sun*. Also if possible I would like to fight Kang Zihao."
Meizhen's Aunt: "Why Kang Zihao?"
Bai Meizhen: "I just want to punch him in the face real hard."
*"Also, Ling Qi is my friend even if I can't publicly admit it."
As a side note, given how seemingly heavy handed the Sun fixing was in the preliminaries, are we going to see Bai pushback simply to humilate Sun? Or is it too risky for no real gain, unlike the Sun who really need this win?
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people keep saying this, but I don't see it
what makes a fight entertaining is action and drama (like the Gan Guangli fight), and after Ling Qi's opening gambit, this featured precious little of either
from an observer's perspective it might even be called a slog, and that's reflected in Yuan's pronouncement "With our final match being settled at last"
in boxing and mma, having 2 strong defensive fighters is often the most boring fight to watch. The two circle each other endlessly, neither hurting the other or risking anything, merely running out the clock till a victor can be determined by points. A most unsatisfying viewing experience.
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- Location
- Earth
[X] ...Seek out Shen Hu, he gave you quite a runaround, it can't hurt to make nice with a peer like him
Depends on how strongly Meizhen feels to request a particular lineup. She might get Kang in the G8 or Cai in the G4.
My guess on opposition would be:
Ling Qi vs:
G16) Complex
G8) Ji Rong
G4) Sun Liling
Grudge Match x3. Sun specifically mentioned she wants a chance to smack us down good in a setting where we can't run away. Ji Rong is no doubt of similar inclinations to pay back his loss.
The G16 match depends on whether the rigging is done to:
-Not Rigged - Unnamed Yellow. She did good in making a show for the mass combat round, so no reason to put more heat.
-Probe - Place Chu Song or Wen Ai, who are Greens, to try to get Ling Qi to show off more of her cards. This should be politically cheapest to carry out, especially when Chu Song would likely welcome the opportunity.
-Deny - Place Ji Rong or Kang Zihao in a high stakes gamble to get One Must Fall.
-Spite - Place Han Fang, Han Jian or Xiulan in this ring to ensure a bitter outcome. This is going to be the most politically expensive to carry out. I think this is unlikely to happen because Ling Qi just isn't important enough to be worth the costs.
Ji Rong vs:
G16) Complex
G8) Ling Qi
G4) Cai Renxiang
Complex for much the same reason as Ling Qi, he did good in his qualifier, so he COULD get fed a Cai Yellow, or he could be used to take out one of the Cai supporters(Ling Qi or Han Jian seem possible)
We still don't know if its a Ladder setup or if they reseed every round.
Which is making prophecy hard
My guess on opposition would be:
Ling Qi vs:
G16) Complex
G8) Ji Rong
G4) Sun Liling
Grudge Match x3. Sun specifically mentioned she wants a chance to smack us down good in a setting where we can't run away. Ji Rong is no doubt of similar inclinations to pay back his loss.
The G16 match depends on whether the rigging is done to:
-Not Rigged - Unnamed Yellow. She did good in making a show for the mass combat round, so no reason to put more heat.
-Probe - Place Chu Song or Wen Ai, who are Greens, to try to get Ling Qi to show off more of her cards. This should be politically cheapest to carry out, especially when Chu Song would likely welcome the opportunity.
-Deny - Place Ji Rong or Kang Zihao in a high stakes gamble to get One Must Fall.
-Spite - Place Han Fang, Han Jian or Xiulan in this ring to ensure a bitter outcome. This is going to be the most politically expensive to carry out. I think this is unlikely to happen because Ling Qi just isn't important enough to be worth the costs.
Ji Rong vs:
G16) Complex
G8) Ling Qi
G4) Cai Renxiang
Complex for much the same reason as Ling Qi, he did good in his qualifier, so he COULD get fed a Cai Yellow, or he could be used to take out one of the Cai supporters(Ling Qi or Han Jian seem possible)
We still don't know if its a Ladder setup or if they reseed every round.
Which is making prophecy hard
I don't see why people think only Sun is doing match fixing.
Do you really think GG got his minions trough pure blind luck ?
Onto the r16, I think we would get doggie boy. He is the strongest non Sun member of the Sun faction and if they are match fixing, it's the best way to get us out.
Do you really think GG got his minions trough pure blind luck ?
Onto the r16, I think we would get doggie boy. He is the strongest non Sun member of the Sun faction and if they are match fixing, it's the best way to get us out.
We're unlikely to face Kang(or even Ji Rong) in the G16.
Which is more important for Sun? Eliminate subordinates of one enemy or ensure all her subordinates make it through?
If you look at the qualifiers, that makes it clear. All of Cai's key persons are grouped up with allies. Kang is valuable enough to basically get a free pass on the qualifier by being grouped with her.
No, Cai is merely one rival. One she intends to humiliate, but in the Inner Sect its more important to preserve her two followers than to eliminate one follower from one of her rivals while risking her own followers. She's had months to simmer over her strategy, and the natural conclusion is that making sure Cai is alone in the Inner Sect is less important than a loyal core of followers so she can contend against the established Inner Sect factions with any kind of parity. She already lost one.
Ling Qi isn't important enough for that, for the matter Sun Liling wants to fight Ling Qi in a grudge match. If she wanted Ling Qi gone that badly, she'd face us herself.
- Location
- United States
[X] ...Seek out Shen Hu, he gave you quite a runaround, it can't hurt to make nice with a peer like him
- Location
- UK
The Sect Head seemed amused, which considering his age must have meant it must have been pretty funny to watch. Not 'Epic' entertaining, sure, but it wasn't funny at the cost of us either, so all's good. The completely unexpected 15 minutes whack a mole/bystander slaughterfest prelim is certain to be memorable, if not as much as the rest will likely end up being.
Unrelated to this, after reading the thread my shipping goggles might have actually moved onto a couple I hadn't considered previously: Xuilan and Shen Hu.
Both could end up being our friends and are likely to stay in the sect for some time, so them meeting isn't unimaginable. More however, I noticed that not only are Shen Hu's spikes described as 'A sharpened pillar of black gemstone' which sounds suspiciously like obsidian, a volcanic material. Furthermore, one of his arts is called the Languid Summer art. Maybe he has a hint of fire to his build? He certainly seemed eager to fight.
Xuilan was looking to maybe include another, calmer element, and he seems like he would have great advise on that. Furthermore they seem like they could curb each others bad habits, him calming Xuilan and her actually making Shen Hu do stuff. It could actually fit pretty well.
Give Xuilan a bit more time to grow into a proper green and I can really see this. Their talents might actually be pretty similar too, after Xuilan's upgrade.
Well, with both likely staying in the sect they'll have plenty of time to see if it could work.