Hmm, simple and utilitarian doesn't necessarily mean bad, especially since a lot of our other arts aren't simple.
If something is common, it's usually because it's useful enough that everyone wants it after all.
Nothing wrong with utilitarian, but the fact that it maxes out at late Yellow means that we will be outgrowing that art sometime in Green. Not like that is necessarily a problem - by that point we will have enough interesting things to train as it is, and if/when we do want to "trade up", we should be at a point in our cultivation where we are much less rushed and can afford the extra actions. But I admit that it is slightly disappointing to be working towards a known dead end.
I think that when it comes down to it, we'll have very few arts to train to green level without going in the third level archive, and it's not necessarily bad before the inner sect.Nothing wrong with utilitarian, but the fact that it maxes out at late Yellow means that we will be outgrowing that art sometime in Green. Not like that is necessarily a problem - by that point we will have enough interesting things to train as it is, and if/when we do want to "trade up", we should be at a point in our cultivation where we are much less rushed and can afford the extra actions. But I admit that it is slightly disappointing to be working towards a known dead end.
I think that when it comes down to it, we'll have very few arts to train to green level without going in the third level archive, and it's not necessarily bad before the inner sect.
Unless I am missing my guess, we are almost certainly not getting to mid green/bronze by the tournament. We might if we manage to get a virtual green stone and those are good enough to change things, but the odds are fairly low for us to get there and for it to be worth the actions needed to get there by then.
Well, Fleeting Zephyr might help him actually engage the enemy as a Tank, not just hope the enemy gets to him. That, and he is getting bigger. He might not exactly be fast, but I think he is somewhat mobile. There is a possibility that he has a tech like the tank in Dark Dreams, for taunting, but I wouldn't count on it.
So, I'd say use him either as a bodyguard to other people, or as a monster in the mist, engaging our enemies. Him being super slow isn't such a big deal when there is a mist around and enemies can't see what's going on and have to find us. They can't exactly ignore Zhengui given his roots and 'poison'.
I sure hope Zhengui doesn't start delving into creating clothing so horrific that the mere sight overrides Gu Xiulan's good fashion sense with furyThere is a possibility that he has a tech like the tank in Dark Dreams, for taunting, but I wouldn't count on it.
If the tournament is 1v1, that if a bit unlikely for a team art...As long as the actions taken on zb help us gain value and that value gained helps us get in to the inner sect I will be happy.
If the tournament is 1v1, that if a bit unlikely for a team art...
Which would be a bit odd don't you think? The fact that the sect determines a person's combat effectiveness through single combat seems weird to me. There are many different types of talents in the sect, and excluding them here seems weird.
Effectiveness seems like a much better ideal to pursue than tradition
Well, we know four Elders personally. This is what the 'Thug' Elder says:Which would be a bit odd don't you think? The fact that the sect determines a person's combat effectiveness through single combat seems weird to me. There are many different types of talents in the sect, and excluding them here seems weird.
Team coordinated cultivator are just as useful to the sect and the Empire, if not more So, than single person powerhouses. It seems a bit inefficient to me for the sect to make the entire tournament 1v1 and reduce the effectiveness of these team players. That would be wasting the talent of good cultivator.
This isn't me saying that the tournament is gonna be team battles though. It's just me thinking out loud on how flexible the sect would be in accommodating competent cultivator who don't work so well in single combat.
Maybe there are alternative methods for these sorts of people to enter the Inner Sect, I dunno, but if I was an Elder i would try to be inclusive towards those who work best in a team.
The other three Elders we know are 'Medicine' (most likely production track), Talisman Head and former director of the ministry of integrity (Not sure of his speciality except he is super Yin), and 'Defense of the realm' Perception/Area Defense specialities. As far as I can tell, none of them would fare well, with the same specialities, in a 1vs1 tournament.Week 3 said:"The key physical cultivation is Unity!" His voice booms out over the field, and another person collapses, in a heap. A girl this time, who had been standing next to an utterly unperturbed Meizhen, who stands as still as a statue without so much as a tremble. "The body requires Unity and Balance," even in her current state Ling Qi could hear the odd emphasis that he put on those words. "Flesh, bone, muscle, blood, the organs, major and minor. No part of the body functions well without the others supporting it! And so all must be cultivated to achieve true strength."
He is silent for several seconds after that rounding the end of the row and beginning a walk down the one occupied by Ling Qi. "The same can be said for the Sect and the Empire. No province would find the same prosperity, the same safety on it's own." Ling Qi's breath hitched as she felt her body begging to be allowed to collapse. "No soldier survives a battle on his own. He survives with the support of his squad, which survives with the support of its battalion. A General without his men is no better than a head without a body. An army without a general is no more than a body without a head!"
"Because Ultimately, the only thing you can always rely on is your own strength"
That's a key maxim of the Xianxia setting. It's fine to be a massive force multiplier for any group you get into. It's even laudable.
It also means you're not leadership material. You're a resource to be tapped by those who are.
A leader can't simply be someone who strengthens everyone around them. A leader has to be the fulcrum point that the world (Or at least their territory) revolves around. The Inner Sect are leadership material, not just the scrubs from the Outer Sect who are tapped as soldiers when the time comes for the Sect to march to war. And to be a Leader in superhuman feudal China, you must be capable of defending your turf from any challengers, any aggressors, and any threats that might rise against you.
So yeah, it makes perfect sense that the Inner Sect Tournament is exclusively one on one duels. It's even more likely that it's single elimination, random draws--which can mean that entirely capable people can still get bumped out in the first round, and ultimately forced into mediocrity. Because if you can't figure out how to seize victory even when the cards are against you, then you're still not leadership material.
They take in hundreds of acolytes a year. Only eight of these get to move on to the Inner Sect. You can't just be strong, you also need to be either lucky--or clever enough that you don't need luck to pass. Chu Song is the golden example of this. She's strong, but she's not lucky, and she's not clever enough to make her own luck either.
In setting, being a force multiplier is, actually, something that is considered a domain of leaders. Not that all leaders do it (Chu Song) or that only leaders do it, but it's something that is considered to be how leaders fight."Because Ultimately, the only thing you can always rely on is your own strength"
That's a key maxim of the Xianxia setting. It's fine to be a massive force multiplier for any group you get into. It's even laudable.
It also means you're not leadership material. You're a resource to be tapped by those who are.
A leader can't simply be someone who strengthens everyone around them. A leader has to be the fulcrum point that the world (Or at least their territory) revolves around. The Inner Sect are leadership material, not just the scrubs from the Outer Sect who are tapped as soldiers when the time comes for the Sect to march to war. And to be a Leader in superhuman feudal China, you must be capable of defending your turf from any challengers, any aggressors, and any threats that might rise against you.
week 2 said:He raised an eyebrow, looking a bit surprised. "You're going for heart first? Most people go for an arm or the spine for the first one."
Ling Qi gave him an unsure look. "Is there something wrong with opening the heart first? You have a heart meridian open after all."
"Well yeah, but I'm expected to lead," he responds easily, wincing as Heijin awakens and nips at his fingers. He glares down at the kitten for a moment before continuing. "I didn't take you for the leader type."