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Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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[X] Visit Li Suyin's workshop, if she will allow it. Ling Qi was curious about her project.
 
[x] Visit Li Suyin's workshop, if she will allow it. Ling Qi was curious about her project.
 
[X] Visit Li Suyin's workshop, if she will allow it. Ling Qi was curious about her project.
 
More evils spiders and skeletons !

[X] Visit Li Suyin's workshop, if she will allow it. Ling Qi was curious about her project.
 
UlseDovThur said:
I have a question for you @yrsillar, and for the whole thread really if they like. In the first thread, in tournament 9, when Cai Shenhua and Bai Suzhen had that exhibition "match", what were those representations? The Idealized City and the Black Lake? Because when I first read that it connected a lot of dots in my head that I'm not sure of.

I will say that this quest is the only piece of Xianxia media I have read so maybe I'm seriously off here. But when I read that scene the first thing, the first concept for what I was reading, that popped into my head was that those representations were Reality Marbles from the Nasu-Verse.

For those unfamiliar with the Nasu-Verse a Reality Marble is the greatest of the ability-line called Marble Phantasms primarily utilized by the highest tier of beings known as the Dead Apostles. Basically Vampires that originate from the moon. What a Reality Marble is when the user imposes their personal view of reality, thier Soul, upon the world around them. For those familiar with the anime Bleach, imagine it as a Shinigami bringing their inner-world into the real one, making it real.

Reality Marbles often take the form of environments like the Black Lake and the Idealized City. Often they can form entire landscapes. If you need an example go to YouTube and type in Shirou Emiya vs Gilgamesh.

Now the main and needed aspect about a character that is required to actually use a Marble Phantasm is that their mind/personality/view of reality/Soul must be totally Inhuman and Unnatural, not Supernatural, Unnatural. Something completely Foreign to the World itself. Dead Apostles originate from the being known as the Type-Moon, the spiritual personification of the Moon, as in the celestial body/planetiod not the concept, itself much like how Gaia is the personification of the Earth. This is how they are able to use Reality Marbles. As they age and grow in power they also become more and more inhuman and unnatural.

This comparison clicked in my head that all of the older and more powerful Cultivaters have very strange personality quirks and such, most emphasised by Cai Shenhua and her monstrous presence, Inhuman personality, and unnatural view of the world. How that as they cultivate they grow less an less mortal.

The fact that the representation of Cai Shenhua, after establishing that she is obsessed with making everything as orderly as possible, is a city that is the very picture of Order and uniformity with her face plastered on the largest building in the center of said city . . . . . . Well damn if that doesn't sound like a Reality Marble to me.
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I'd say no for a very basic reason: Cultivators are not unnatural.
If anything they become more natural as they cultivate up the ranks. They become closer to spirits, which are the origin of the world they inhabit, up to the point where they completely shred their human body to ascend.
 
[X] Visit Li Suyin's workshop, if she will allow it. Ling Qi was curious about her project.

The Meridian consolidation is something we'll probably push more heavily in Appraisal, as we master our cornerstone Arts and work to make room for their successors.

Depending upon the Art in question, and estimating from both PLR and the Zephyr's Breath -> Fleeting Zephyr increase in total levels (3 -> 5), the successors are likely to be anywhere from nine to twelve levels, and cap in either Green Four or Green Five.

In the meantime, depending upon what we find in the Arts Library, the combination of consolidating AM and opening another relevant Meridian should open up enough room for the first level of a new Perception Art.
 
And we continue chugging along! Glad to see a more detailed explanation of arts and how they work. We pretty much figured out the gist of it already, but this elder seems like one of the best ones to engage with if we are interested in having more control over our meridians and arts.

Also, the fact that we can now compress arts and make them more efficient seems to increase the value of meridians. Instead of having 8 or 9 arts max, we can have even more as we master and compress them. Like... imagine getting PLR to just 2 meridians, a leg and a lung. It would be insanely difficult, but it would free up five meridians for use in other arts. With the addition that once we reach Threshold Green we can manipulate meridians directly, it seems like there is a lot more flexibility if you have the resources, time, and talent for it.

All in all, I'm happy that we were able to get this information. Interesting that Cai is still too busy to attend an Elder's lesson, but I guess being the heir to a Duchy creates a lot of social demands and opportunities that need to be taken advantage of. Including all the paperwork that comes with that.

While I am slightly concerned for Gu Xiulan, I think that she is just really focusing on breaking through to Bronze. It would be a sensible thing to do. This vote didn't go the formation task, but seeing more of what a proper production individual can create may give us better ideas on how to deal with production focused disciples. Also, I want Li Suyin to keep us in mind when she goes on the next expedition to get the resources needed for her meridian cleansing pill.

As such... I will vote for

[X] Visit Li Suyin's workshop, if she will allow it. Ling Qi was curious about her project.
 
[X] Visit Li Suyin's workshop, if she will allow it. Ling Qi was curious about her project.

I'd love to meet Xiulan now but I feel as if it's been some time since we had quality time with Suyin.
 
Hont91 said:
[X] Visit Li Suyin's workshop, if she will allow it. Ling Qi was curious about her project.

I'd love to meet Xiulan now but I feel as if it's been some time since we had quality time with Suyin.
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It has been, several months before the tournament from what I remember. I think the last time we visited was some time after she got Zhenli, though I can't quite remember what we were doing at the time.
 
[X] Visit Gu Xiulan, she did not see her at the lesson.

We hadn't seen anything of her since the tourny.

yrsillar said:
"I could say the same to you," Ling Qi said cheerfully, glancing around at the other disciples, most looked to be only a bit older than them, but there were a scattering of people who looked a bit older as well. In as much as cultivators bore the marks of early aging anyway. "Where do I put my order in for one of your talismans anyway?"

Li Suyin's expression grew bashful. "A-ah, well I should have the first production batch done in a month or so? I will be sure to give you one then."

Ling Qi opened her mouth to protest but a pointed look from her one eyed friend made her close it again. She supposed she didn't have any right to complain about charity.
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They're going to be doing gifting wars at this rate as both seek to balance the scales.
yrsillar said:
Li Suyin blanched then, her face growing pale. Her reaction was mirrored in a rippling wave through the crowd.

"Good Morning Ling Qi," her friend, Bai Meizhen's voice reached her ears, and Ling Qi turned to find her best friend moving through a wide gap in the crowd, with the same smooth, gliding grace that she always had. Her golden-slit pupiled eyes moved disinterestedly over the disciples gathered before focusing on Ling Qi. "I hope your move has found you well."
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Terror field stronk
yrsillar said:
"However, the patterns used in arts are just that, structures designed to create an effect. In the third realm, a cultivator has the potency of spirit to shape these flows more directly, and personalize them for greater efficiency. In the end, no pattern made by another will match one cultivated and tailored to oneself in that regard. The focus of my lectures then, will be in giving you the tools to do so for yourselves, going forward," he raised one hand, ina gesture for them to pause. "However. It is unwise to attempt to reshape your meridians before the Threshold Stage of Green Soul. Until you reach this level, do not attempt direct manipulation of meridians. Until that time, satisfy yourself with simply making your arts more efficient."
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Huh, it sounds like thats the 101 of Art Creation: to be attempted early only if you literally had no choice if you wanted to advance
yrsillar said:
Efficiency Upgrades Unlocked for next turn.
Arts which have two or more meridians of the same type may now be made more efficient by combining two of it's meridians of the same category. This type of cultivation is considered a meridian roll and requires a number of successes equal to five times the number of meridians used for the art. However each efficiency upgrade past the first increases the successes required by 20. Only arts which are mastered may be made more efficient.
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Sounds like we would probably prefer to seek out single meridian slot type arts for maximum optimization purposes. Xiulan could probably turn her 2 Arm 4 arts into 8 Arm 1 arts down the line.
Grigori said:
Dying old cultivators look like ghosts?
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Seems to me that strong cultivators almost certainly form spirits on death...just that ascension is better and probably leaves less you behind
Karnax626 said:
You know, I just realised that regardless of whether or not we go back we've likely torpedoed the possibility of any future Outer Sect student using the Mystic Vale.

Not only has Heizui been training his arse off, this us reducing the chance challengers have of taking him in a fight, but after repeated exposure to our mad flute skills his standards are likely higher as well for potential supplicants.
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He does still accept the humble!
 
veekie said:
Sounds like we would probably prefer to seek out single meridian slot type arts for maximum optimization purposes. Xiulan could probably turn her 2 Arm 4 arts into 8 Arm 1 arts down the line.
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Uh?
Adhoc vote count started by BungieONI on Nov 13, 2018 at 7:31 PM, finished with 844 posts and 88 votes.
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[X] Cai Renxiang was not expecting her back until later, but Ling Qi could check in on her.

I stand by our liege.

As for meridian compression, I don't see any big candidates right now, but it makes Art experimentation in general a little safer. Definitely a useful option to have.
 
[X] Cai Renxiang was not expecting her back until later, but Ling Qi could check in on her.

You know what, it is a little mean to leave our boss in the lurch, when she hasn't even been able to attend a valuable lecture.

That's a little troubling, and she doesn't have Guangli as support right now.
 
Alectai said:
You know what, it is a little mean to leave our boss in the lurch, when she hasn't even been able to attend a valuable lecture.

That's a little troubling, and she doesn't have Guangli as support right now.
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Hard to say though. It depends what we've already decided with her. Renxiang strikes me as someone who likes her schedules, so if we've already arranged to meet her later coming early and disrupting her might not be appreciated.

That being said, you do have a good point about being supportive and getting closer to her...
 
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