Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

Alectai said:

I'd rather not do the Argent Art trade though, can't we just talk?

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yrsillar said:

The sky was a tapestry of dark storm clouds, hanging low over the icy mountain peak. Howling wind and driving snow both flowed around the black pool its ravine, guided away by unseen force that allowed no more than gentle flurries to fall, drifting among the notes of the song being played by its occupants.

Ling Qi sat beside the icy spirit Zeqing, upon a bench of ice sculpted from the permanent frost of the mountain peak, and played a melody of forgotten places and loss. She wondered briefly if an observer might think her a spirit as well, given the similarities in garb she shared with her teacher. She had gotten used to proximity with the snow woman, the perpetual chill that surrounded her was hardly a bother, and even contact was merely uncomfortable rather than painful.

She allowed her thoughts to drift elsewhere as she played, gazing up at the churning sky. Her weekly schedule remained densely packed, juggling everything she wanted to do was incredibly difficult. Beyond anything else, she wanted to reconnect with her friends this week. Training was all well and good, but she couldn't repair things with Meizhen totally with such impersonal actions. There was Li Suyin and Su Ling to consider as well, and she felt like she had a chance to get back into their lives as well. Xiulan's continued absence worried her as well, but there was little she could do about that for the moment.

She did not want to end up alone again.

"Are you well?" Ling Qi nearly jumped out of her skin when Zeqing's cool voice reached her ears, interrupting her thoughts. She hadn't even noticed the spirit ending her own playing. She glanced to her right, meeting the spirits empty white eyes.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Did I get distracted for a moment?" Ling Qi apologized, dipping her head in a brief bow. What did it say about her Sect's Elders that she was more comfortable acting casually with an inhuman spirit of ice and winter?

"It was not unpleasant," Zeqing responded cooly, her hair billowing in unfelt winds as she turned her gaze back to the pool of black ice. "Those thoughts, whatever they were resonated with the melody."

Ling Qi grew quiet at the unspoken question, fiddling idly with her flute as she gazed down at her lap. "I was just thinking about my friends, and the distance between us lately. I'm going to fix it, but I suppose I'm still a little worried."

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yrsillar said:

The snow woman let out a thoughtful hum. "I see. I suppose you speak of the Serpent child you brought to this place?"

Ling Qi shifted uncomfortably on her icy seat. "Among others. I am sorry for not asking you first by the way."

"It is nothing," the spirit replied, her nearly transparent fingers of ice making a clear clinking sound as they tapped thoughtfully against the body of her flute. "While I would be displeased to see half the sect traipsing about. A companion or two in a private rendezvous is acceptable."

Ling Qi flushed slightly. "It's not like that," she replied, deflecting the spirits implication. "I just… there's been a bit of trouble between us lately, and things haven't been quite the same."

"Troubling," Zeqing mused. "I see your plight. That one's blood is far too strong for the most obvious methods of retaining companions. She could not easily be bound to your side."

Ling Qi shivered, reminded that the creature at her side was not human. "That… isn't really the problem," she replied, choosing not to engage with that statement more than necessary.

"Isn't it?" the spirit asked, cocking her head slightly to the side as she turned back to regard Ling Qi. "Your core is not so distant from mine. Of course you would desire to keep your… friends, at your side for all time, and ensure that they may never leave you," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I suppose," Ling Qi replied carefully, not meeting Zeqing's empty gaze. That wasn't wrong, but it sounded bad somehow when it was said like that. She didn't really want to talk about this any more. "Where is Hanyi's father then? How do you keep him around?" She asked, deflecting the subject from herself, even if she was a little worried at the answer she might get. She was a little curious though, despite herself.

The temperature plunged and the light grew dim. Ling Qi winced, that obviously wasn't the best subject to bring up. "I devoured him; spirit, blood and bone so that he could never betray again," she replied in a voice more akin to the howling of a blizzard wind than a human voice. She regained herself a moment later, the ominous feeling fading. "Beware those who come to you to ply with gifts and flattery," she huffed, appearing merely unhappy rather than murderous. "Far more reliable are those you bring and keep through your own efforts."

That sounded about right, Ling Qi supposed. It was much better to be the one in control of any given situation. It wasn't entirely right though, a relationship couldn't be entirely one sided like that and be any good though. "Well, let's not dwell, right?" She said, her voice perhaps a bit too high. "Will you show me that altered sequence for diapason again?"

The spirit of cold hunger at her side inclined her head, gown billowing. "Of course, no need to let unpleasant things stain our recreation," she replied, raising her flute once more to her lips. "Listen closely."

It was a little harder to get comfortable practicing again. It wasn't as if she was unaware of what sort of spirit the snow woman was, Tonghou was far enough south to sometimes see heavy snows in the winter, but hearing her say it was a bit unsettling. Even in the context of attempting to offer helpful advice.

Well, that actually made it a little worse when she thought about it.

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yrsillar said:

Spoiler: Forgotten vale Melody

Talent 6, RSS 5, YSS 25, Zeqing 10, Site 6, Manual 6, Pills 15, EPC 7. 80 dice
3 9 7 2 9 7 2 9 5 5 8 8 6 8 3 9 6 8 9 3 1 10 3 8 5 7 6 9 8 9 7 10 9 5 3 8 2 4 6 8 9 4 6 4 1 10 3 8 7 1 3 9 2 7 8 6 3 3 7 1 4 3 2 2 9 5 9 2 8 7 10 9 8 10 1 8 6 1 6 9. 32 successes

Rerolling 5
6 7 7 9 2. 1 successes. 33 total

70/120

+8 successes to spiritual
88/180

Bonus Qi roll
Talent 6, RSS 5, YSS 25, Pills 15, Vent 8. 59 dice
9 8 1 8 10 7 5 7 8 2 8 2 6 8 1 7 6 1 7 10 4 3 10 4 3 6 10 4 5 7 7 3 6 9 3 8 7 7 4 4 9 3 6 6 2 8 2 7 10 10 8 4 3 8 9 7 5 8 1. 23 successes.

Rerolling 27(23+4)
7 5 6 7 4 2 10 5 4 2 4 6 1 7 10 3 5 9 7 7 10 8 10 4 6 9 2. 12 successes

Rerolling 1

1. 1 successess. 36 total. +7 auto. 43 successes

74/40
+1 qi

34/41

Awkwardness aside, her time up on the peak was an enjoyable break from her hectic schedule, relaxing and rejuvenating. She was a little sad to descend the mountain peak and return to her other tasks, even if they weren't unpleasant themselves.

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yrsillar said:

Awkwardness aside, her time up on the peak was an enjoyable break from her hectic schedule, relaxing and rejuvenating. She was a little sad to descend the mountain peak and return to her other tasks, even if they weren't unpleasant themselves.

Namely, spending more time with her friends, she may not have agreed with the extremity of the spirits statements, but Zeqing wasn't fundamentally wrong about her motivations. Which was why she made all haste to reach the vent for the meeting with Li Suyin that she had arranged in the days prior.

When she arrived, Li Suyin was already present, seated in the grass with an open text on her lap. She looked up when Ling Qi arrived at the edge of the clearing, and smiled brightly, raising her hand in greeting. "Ling Qi! It is good to see you again."

"It is," Ling Qi agreed, feeling happy at the genuine warmth she could see in the other girls expression. She knew she was being silly. "We didn't exactly get a chance to talk at our last meeting. How is your arm?" She asked as she crossed the clearing to approach her friend.

"As good as new," Li Suyin replied cheerfully, flexing her formerly broken arm to demonstrate. "How have you been Ling Qi? Su Ling said you we well, but said you didn't speak much of yourself."

"I'm doing alright," Ling Qi replied, dropping to the ground beside her friend, allowing herself to sprawl a bit without worry for dignity. "I've been really busy, but I like to think I've made some real gains from it," she continued cheerfully. "I managed to eke out some attention from Elder Jiao."

Li Suyin's eye widened in surprise and she smiled warmly, reaching down to close the book in her lap as she did. "How wonderful for you! I am so glad to see you getting the attention you deserve."

Ling Qi glanced away, feeling a little embarrassed at that assertion, but quickly forged on, sitting up straight as she summoned the manual out from her storage ring. "So, anyway, that isn't the only thing I've gotten ahold of. I've picked up a couple other prizes too, and I figured we could have a bit of fun working this one out together."

Her friend blinked, but accepted the tome Ling Qi pushed into her hands. She carefully opened the blank cover to peer at the somewhat crinkled pages inside, scanning across the odd blocky text. "Hm, how strange, where did you get this?"

"I just found it while exploring," Ling Qi lied easily, remembering the Elder's warning not to speak of the situation. "It was tucked away in some ruins," she elaborated, it was better to avoid outright falsehoods if she could. "Why is it strange?"

"Well, it looks like the script of the hill tribes in this region before they accepted imperial rule," Li Suyin explained, interest lighting up her eye as she paged through the book. "Father had a handful of fragments in his collection, but nothing so complete."

Ling Qi cocked her head to the side but eventually shrugged it off. She had expected it to be Cloud Tribe writing. She hadn't been aware of any others. "Oh? Your Father collected stuff like this?" She asked curiously. "Are you from this province then? I never really asked."

Li Suyin looked up from the open manual and nodded. "I am from Jizhou," she replied easily, only to grow sheepish at Ling Qi's lack of recognition. "Um… it is the northernmost city in the province, and primary hub of trade for goods going to and from the central provinces, it is second only to the capital seat of the Emerald Seas in splendor and size," she doesn't seem displeased to talk about her home though.
She remembered her friend mentioning that her father was some highly placed scribe. If she was from a place like that her family must actually be pretty wealthy by mortal standards. "Ah, well, I'm just a bumpkin from Tonghou," Ling Qi replied wryly. "Nothing exciting I can really say about the place," nothing appropriate for company anyway.

Li Suyin chewed her on her lower lip for a moment, appearing deep in thought. "...Well, there isn't anything wrong with that. Tonghou city is still an important stop on the central north-south routes, even if the mines in the region are played out."

"You would know better than me," Ling Qi replied cheerfully, not feeling any need to talk up her old home. "So, our project," she continued, steering the subject back on track. "Can you read it then? This might be easier than I thought."

Li Suyin looked a little sheepish. "Not… really. I know some of the characters, but I am hardly fluent," she admitted, sounding unhappy. "But the language is very closely related to some of the older dialects of the Imperial tongue, so it should not be overly difficult to learn," she said more brightly.

"Hm, I suppose so. Maybe I can check out the archive and see if they have anything," Ling Qi mused. Before coming here she would have never considered something like learning a language to be 'easy'.

"I can give you a list of useful texts to look into," Li Suyin agreed. "I…"

"Yo, sorry I arrived a little late," Su Ling called as she approached from the edge of the clearing, making them both look up in surprise. Ling Qi winced at her own lack of awareness. Su Ling's qi was familiar enough that it tended to blend into the background if she wasn't paying direct attention. "I had to finish up a batch of pills."

"No worries," Ling QI replied. "Suyin and I were just catching up," she added. "We have a little project to work on together."

"Mm, it seems like it will be fun," Li Suyin agreed cheerfully. "Will the two of you continue working together as well?"

"That's the idea," Su Ling replied gruffly, glancing between the two of them. "Assuming it's not gonna interrupt anything?"

"I figured we could take turns between physical practice and studying," Ling Qi replied, standing up and brushing the grass from her gown. "Anyway, Su Ling, I wanted to give you something. I got my hands on an art that would be great for you I think, and I figured I could save you some sect points," she continued, summoning the jade slip to hand.

"Is that so," Su Ling replied, her expression growing conflicted. "You don't have to do that."

"It's no trouble," Ling Qi replied, knowing the girl didn't like accepting gifts. "You can pay me back later if you feel the need," she added, hoping to assuage the girls pride.

Su Ling frowned. "That's…" she trailed off, looking frustrated, she glanced over at Li Suyin, who was looking at her worriedly. "That's not really the point," she said finally.

"What do you mean?" Ling Qi asked with a frown of her own, lowering the hand that had been holding out the jade slip.

"I want to find my own path," Su Ling replied bluntly. "How can it be mine if I just take what you give me?" She asked scrubbing a hand through her messy hair. "I won't refuse… I know you're not gonna take advantage of a debt, but all the same. I'd rather learn something I picked for myself and earned for myself first."

Ling Qi nodded after a moment. That was understandable, she may have gotten a little ahead of herself. "Well, the offer is there when you want it," she replied, vanishing the slip. "So, we just continue practicing the sword then?"

"Sounds good," Su Ling replied, looking relieved. Was the other girl worried about offending Ling Qi?

With that awkwardness in the past, the three of them were able to make an enjoyable afternoon of it, advancing their skills and cultivation. The translation efforts were off to a slow start, but that would improve once she had time to swing by the archive for resources. Li Suyin would be busy in the latter half of the week though, as she intended to complete her breakthrough to silver.

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• From a purely Darkness perspective Li Suyin is nearly the perfect friend.
• From a more balanced perspective, holy shit that hero worship is a bit concerning.
• I wonder what's in that book Li Suyin was reading
• Interesting that the tribal tongues can be related to Imperial. Common ancestors which makes sense given that t he Sage Emperor linked together disparate tribes.
• Lel at learning a Language. Never change Ling Qi. Never change.
• Nice to see that Ling Qi is kinda shifting the pushiness and cling she had/has. Not totally unexpected that Su Ling would refuse either, she raises an excellent point. For some things in cultivation it has to be about you and what you can achieve alone, and not be given via others.
• Hope the breakthrough goes well. Also hope she has a bucket. Hope her eye comes back.

yrsillar said:

Spoiler: Thousand Ring Fortress

Talent 6, RSS 5, YSS 25, Friends 5, Pills 6, Spine 4, Zhengui 5. 56 dice
3 3 1 3 2 9 10 8 8 3 8 4 10 6 6 10 3 10 6 3 9 5 5 5 7 4 7 3 9 4 2 4 6 2 8 7 2 10 5 9 2 4 4 3 2 10 2 4 1 7 6 1 3 10 8 1. 31 successes

Rerolling 4
10 4 9 3. 2 successes. 33 total
56/90

Ling Qi enjoyed a few hours of relatively relaxed training and study with her friends, but soon enough it was time to start heading up the mountain to meet with Elder Jiao for the weeks training.

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yrsillar said:

Ling Qi enjoyed a few hours of relatively relaxed training and study with her friends, but soon enough it was time to start heading up the mountain to meet with Elder Jiao for the weeks training. The paintings had changed again, this time depicting fancy halls filled with people in elaborate and expensive clothes mingling. They remained eerily lifelike, but it wasn't as distracting as the twisted eye and mouth studded shapes that they had last depicted. Ling Qi took her usual seat and clasped her hands neatly in her lap to wait, silently rehearsing the lines she had come up with to convince the Elder to teach her to be a better thief.

The room was silent as the minutes ticked by and Ling Qi turned her thoughts over again and again, hoping to perfect her speech so as to avoid offending the prickly old man teaching her.
Given her distraction, what happened next was perhaps not surprising. Ling Qi felt a cool hand fall on shoulder and jerked in surprise, instinctively pushing herself up and out of her seat to turn and face the person who had touched her. Unfortunately, she put too much force in the motion, practically launching herself out of her chair… only to crack her head against the low ceiling of the cavern.

She still managed to land on her feet, wincing as she rubbed the top of her head, which throbbed with the force of the impact. She peered warily through the gloomy room to see who had startled her so. It took only a moment to recognize the person in question, her portrait had been staring at her all week after all.

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yrsillar said:

Xin stood beside her seat with a bemused expression, and one hand on her hip. She wore a gown of dark blue and black which glittered with starry light at her every movement. Her white hair was put up in an elaborate updo though pinned in place with glittering onyx pins and jewelry. "Feeling a little wound up dear?" She asked compassionately, though Ling Qi could see the twinkle of humor in her red eyes.

Ling Qi lowered her hand as she got her breathing back under control, and did her best not to glower at the older woman… spirit. "My apologies," she said with a bow. "I was only startled by your presence honored…"

Xin clicked her tongue and… for lack of a better word, flickered, appearing directly in front of Ling Qi to peer down at her. Had the woman been tall enough to do that before? "Do not be like that now young lady," she admonished, examining the point where Ling Qi had banged her head. "There is no call to speak to me so formally."

"Ah… sorry?" Ling Qi tried instead, thrown off balance as she felt the woman's cold hand come to rest on top of her head, washing away the minor ache with a feeling like cold water being trickled down her neck. "Why are you here?" she blurted, feeling tongue tied in the woman's presence. "I mean… did something happen with Elder Jiao?"

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yrsillar said:

Xin took a step back, examining her with a critical eye. It made Ling Qi feel vaguely childish, like it was her mother standing in front of her, checking to see if she had torn one of her gowns. "Oh, he got a little delayed is all," she replied dismissively, finally looking up to meet Ling Qi's gaze with her own slightly luminescent one. "You have grown so well, haven't you," she said warmly. "I can hardly compare you the skinny, dim spark you were when last we met."

"Thank you?" Ling Qi said, feeling uncomfortable at the examination. It was true that she was no longer quite so malnourished, and she had grown much stronger. "I… you're looking well too?" she tried, only to remember Jiao's words at the end of the test. "Ah, I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble."

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yrsillar said:

"It was nothing dear," she responded easily, waving her hand carelessly to brush off the apology. "Becoming a voice for my greater self is merely uncomfortable at worst, and you have grown for it," she continued, her gaze drifting downward to fix on Ling Qi's stomach, or rather she suspected, her dantian. "While I admit I had a little hope of poaching you for myself. The Grinning Moon will not treat you poorly though."

Right, Xin was an aspect of the New Moon, Ling Qi thought, it made sense that she could tell what choice she had made. "I hope not to fail in meeting her expectations," she replied agreeably. "I did consider your offer strongly as well though."

Xin looked pleased, raising her eyes back to Ling Qi's face. "I suppose we will see, you are hardly ready to choose a Way properly yet regardless," she mused. "Your still in that experimenting stage," she added impishly. "Trying anything and everything, your spirit is quite muddled as of yet."

Ling Qi's expression grew concerned as she looked down, as if to examine herself. "...Is that bad?" She asked cautiously. "And what do you mean about choosing a Way?"

"Hardly, you haven't found your true drive yet, which is hardly unusual for your age," Xin replied reassuringly. "As for a Way, all cultivators must eventually choose the concept which defines them, it is impossible to advance beyond what you call cyan without…"

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yrsillar said:

"XIN," Ling Qi flinched as Elder Jiao's voice boomed through the cavern, rattling the furniture, the shadows in the room roiled and swelled, tendrils of absolute darkness, opaque even to her vision writhing across every surface as the light of the lantern flickered wildly. Worse still were the eyes, wide and glaring, gleaming like kaleidoscopes, that opened by the dozen across the shadows in the room.

"Oh bother. I really thought that would hold him for a bit longer than this," the spirit sighed, resting her cheek in her hand, but seeming otherwise unperturbed. Ling Qi shot her an incredulous look.

"Twelve layers," the elders voice no longer rattled the furniture, but it was still painfully loud as the shadow of the divan boiled upward, bubbling like a pillar of tar as it took on Elder Jiao's features. He ignored her entirely in favor of glaring at Xin. "Why would you leave a twelve layered dream cage around the workshop you insufferable woman!"

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yrsillar said:

Ling Qi quietly scuttled off to the side, not wanting to be in the Elder's line of sight, his qi was nearly suffocating as it was.

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yrsillar said:

Xin crossed her arms, turning a frown on the Elder. "Do not take that tone with me, and cease the dramatics, you'll scare the poor girl to death."

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yrsillar said:

Ling Qi glanced between the two, feeling terribly off kilter. Somehow, her image of the Sect's Elders had been changed in a fundamental way. SHe fumbled a bit, trying to remember her rehearsed speech. "I… that is… I was hoping for the honored Elders advice on the matters of retrieving enemy resources from guarded locations or containers, as well as their person. If…"

The grey skinned man gave her a flat look. "You are asking me to tutor you in the arts of thievery. Is that truly what you want to ask?"

Ling Qi looked down, shuffling her feet a little, ignoring Xin's laugh. "...Yes," she said in a small voice.

"My, what an insightful girl," Xin said, sounding smug.

Jiao ignored her utterly and merely palmed his face for a moment. "You know, why not. Come disciple," he replied, flickering from the divan to the doorway.

"What are we doing?" Ling Qi asked, hurrying after him, and slipping from her formal speech. She also cast an apologetic look at Xin, who drifted after them, no longer pretending to walk.

"Live targets are required for this training," Jaio replied evenly. "You shall be testing yourself against your fellows at my instruction. You will of course, be required to deal with the fallout of failure on your own. You will not mention your training."

Ling Qi grimaced. She really should have expected something like this. She supposed she would just have to do her best to avoid ending up in trouble.

What followed was… tense, incredibly so. Elder Jiao would set her a task, like pilfering stones or pills from a disciple, or slipping into a home unnoticed and planting tokens in specific locations, with nary a hint of advice, and only a few casual pointers for improvement in the aftermath. It ramped up quickly. It ramped up quickly, as they proceeded to the part of the mountain where many of the older disciples lived apart. She switched the contents of people's bags, broke locks, planted pills and tokens in bedrooms and bathrooms, rearranged furniture and knick knacks in the instants when their owners were out of the room.

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yrsillar said:

Spoiler: Larceny Test

Larceny 3, dexterity 6, specialty 1, EPC 2. 12 dice. 6 auto
8 1 9 2 3 8 1 7 7 8 10 10. 8 successes. 14 total

...And she managed without getting caught once, even when he commanded something ridiculous, like replacing a girls hairpins from her dressing table without her noticing, while the girl was putting them in.

Her success did seem to put the man in a better mood at least, and with each success, his advice on improving her cultivation of the more larcenous parts of sable crescent step grew more useful. Xin was encouraging as well, but sadly she had to ignore the spirit. Xin did not seem like she took offense though, focused as she was on needling Elder Jiao, who ignored her every attempt with great dignity.

It was, overall, quite a useful evening.

...Even if the news which reached her later of a spree paintbombs, surprise hairdyes, and other prankish things, as well as fights breaking out over stolen property made her hope desperately that no one ever discovered what she had been doing. She knew those tokens he kept handing her were suspicious.

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yrsillar said:

Spoiler: Sable Crescent Step

Talent 6, RSS 5, YSS 25, Elder 30, Spine 4, EPC 7, Pills 9, Pool 6. 92 dice
1 3 4 4 5 6 7 6 9 8 9 10 7 2 2 1 2 9 4 5 4 10 3 7 6 3 5 2 5 7 10 5 10 6 10 6 1 6 3 1 3 1 10 9 5 4 1 6 2 4 1 8 3 5 4 10 7 10 3 4 7 3 8 8 10 8 5 2 5 8 3 8 10 4 8 4 9 9 2 3 4 4 10 9 8 5 8 7 5 3 10 3. 49 successes

Rerolling 7
7 4 2 8 8 8 8. 2 successes. 51 total
56/150

+12 successes to spiritual
80/180

Bonus qi roll
Talent 6, RSS 5, YSS 25, Pills 15, Vent 8. 59 dice
3 8 4 10 5 9 8 3 8 1 1 6 10 1 1 4 10 1 2 10 2 9 4 8 8 7 3 5 7 8 2 2 5 8 1 9 6 10 3 5 2 3 1 2 5 3 7 4 3 1 5 5 1 10 4 8 7 8 3. 35 successes.

Rerolling 44(35 successes+9 1's)
1 1 7 10 5 1 2 10 1 1 5 3 9 10 1 5 3 6 3 9 3 7 8 6 2 4 8 1 6 5 5 8 5 3 9 10 3 10 9 6 1 5 8 1. 25 successes. Total 60

Rerolling 9
7 9 10 9 10 9 9 7 6. 0 successes. +7 auto 67 total

72/39
+1 qi
31/40

Ling Qi quickly fell into her weeks routine after that, spending the early hours practicing her music on the mountain top. Before spending time with Li Suyin and Su Ling in the afternoons, and receiving tutoring in the evenings. At night, she scouted and prepared for her eventual raid on Yan Renshu's base.

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yrsillar said:

Translating the manual was slow going, or at least she felt it was, though Li Suyin assured her that they were making great progress given the time spent on it. It appeared at least, to be a manual on the creation of formations constructs, focused around the use of bone as a medium. Deciphering the actual technical instructions was rather difficult though.

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yrsillar said:

More important than any of that for the moment though, was her upcoming outing with Meizhen. Not that she had really billed it that way, with the knowledge that Meizhen was intending to go out, she had simply rearranged her plans to walk along with her to the market.

Which… was a little awkward, she admitted. It was pretty clear that Meizhen hadn't really expected her presence. It made things a bit awkward as the two of them walked the path from the residential area to the market.

Not that one could tell Meizhen felt anything at all at a casual glance. The pale girl beside her still moved with that effortless grace that made her seem to almost be gliding across the ground, all ethereal and fairy-like. She would look like a princess out of a storybook, Ling Qi mused, if not for the aura of gut wrenching animal terror she radiated.

Ling Qi couldn't really compare to the other girls poise. She could admit that to herself. Though her balance was good, her strides were long and obvious, kicking up the hems of her dark gown with each step.

"What precisely did you need at the market?" Bai Meizhen questioned without taking her eyes off the path ahead of them, as lower realm cultivators made way for them on the road. Meizhen did not acknowledge them at all.

"Hm, I thought I would shop around among the pill makers again. It's been a little while," Ling Qi mused. "And I might need to trade up on knives soon. My old set is a little sub par."

Meizhen gave a quiet hum of acknowledgement. "I see," to anyone else, it probably sounded like simple disinterest, but Ling Qi could read her friend a little better than that. Meizhen was feeling uncomfortable.

"How about you?" she pressed on despite that. They could do this. Things didn't need to be awkward between them. "I don't think you've ever gone there with the intention to buy."

"My own resources are typically superior," Bai Meizhen acknowledged. She looked like she was going to fall silent again, but Ling Qi caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. Meizhen let out a near inaudible huff in response. "It is a matter of recreation, I suppose. Nothing I would bother my family with."

Ling Qi blinked, her other eyebrow joining the first. "Really?" She asked, a hint of incredulity reaching her voice. "Just what kind of hobby would catch your attention?"

The pale girl, remained staring ahead, her bearing stiff. "I have decided to improve my embroidery. It is a useful exercise in manual dexterity, and relaxing besides," Ling Qi wasn't sure who she was trying to convince with those words.

"Huh," she mused turning her on gaze back to the path. "I never expected you to pick up something so… delicate."

Meizhen furrowed her brows slightly, frowning at her. "What are you implying? It is a perfectly acceptable recreational activity for a young lady."

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it," Ling Qi apologized. "Did you practice at home?"

"...No," Meizhen admitted after a moment, looking away. "I had other priorities in my limited free time."

Ling Qi suspected, given the hints that she had gotten, that those other priorities had been things like 'sleep' and 'extra training'. "Well, I don't know too much about embroidery," Ling Qi said slowly. Mother had only just started teaching her that when she had run away. "But I can use a needle and thread well enough. Maybe we could practice a bit together?" She asked cheerfully.

She didn't miss the way her friends shoulders subtly hunched inward, a sure sign of even greater discomfort in the reticent girl. She did not answer for a long minute. "Cai Renxiang has already offered instruction," she finally said, not meeting Ling Qi's eyes. "I am afraid I will have to decline."

Ling Qi's expression fell for a moment as they passed one of the milestones on the path to the market. "Oh, well that's fine," she replied, masking her own disappointment. "I can hardly compete with that," she added with a laugh. "So you're going out to pick up a sewing kit?"

"I am," Bai Meizhen replied, looking at Ling Qi out of the corner of her eye. "...I will still be available for our spars," she offered after a moment.

"I'm glad," Ling Qi replied quietly, inclining her head slightly. "I just wish there was something we could do together that wasn't just work or practice," she added, surprising herself with her own honesty.

"I do not see it as such," Meizhen replied thoughtfully, her own eyes on the path. "We are cultivators. Polishing one another's arts as we do together is hardly without its own… intimacy."

Ling Qi smiled slightly, she hadn't thought about it like that. In the end, the one Meizhen showed her techniques and arts too in their entirety was Ling Qi, not Cai Renxiang. "I guess so," she replied, feeling better. "I'll tag along for your purchase all the same though. Even if you have all the money in the world, it's important to get a good price," she continued easily, giving a sage nod at her own words.

Bai Meizhen let out an amused huff. "What manner of pampered songbird do you imagine me to be?" She replied scathingly. Her tone didn't hold any real heat though.

The shopping trip was quite fun. Meizhen could certainly make the disciples running the shops sweat, making it all the easier for Ling Qi to haggle them down. It made for an amusing diversion, and in the end, Ling Qi found herself glad that she had decided to tag along.

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yrsillar said:

Unfortunately her time was still pretty limited. Taking Zhengui out to hunt and play was still pretty time consuming. He was growing quickly, and rapidly becoming more difficult to keep track of.

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yrsillar said:

He seemed to be growing close to the end of the first realm though, and she would feel better once he was, according to the texts she had studied when he reached late red and gold he would be ready for indefinite dematerialization, allowing him to come with her wherever she went.

She would have to help him prepare a proper nest though. Xuan Wu could apparently hibernate for upward of a month on their first realm breakthrough. That was something to worry about in a few weeks though. For now she simply continued teaching him to be a patient and sneaky hunter. He was eager to please her, and took to the lessons well… mostly. He got distracted gnawing on tree roots while digging sometimes, despite his serpentine half's protests.

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yrsillar said:

It didn't stop him from making it hell for her though, because of course it didn't. She ended up left on her own in a steep ravine, and told to follow the path to the end, while hitting the targets he would present to her. What he didn't say was that his targets, flickering shadowy things shaped like humans, would be shooting back. The shadowy missiles stung and bruised, even through her defenses, and she found herself having to rapidly adapt and learn their ranges and patterns, just to avoid getting pelted into the ground.

Which she kind of did the first time, and the second… and the third.

Spoiler: Fleeting Zephyr

Talent 6, RSS 5, YSS 25, Elder 25, EPC 7 Pills 3, Element 1. 72 dice
1 8 10 1 7 3 2 5 4 6 5 5 1 9 2 10 1 7 5 2 10 6 1 10 9 4 6 5 2 1 4 4 8 3 5 4 7 8 9 10 3 5 6 4 5 9 5 5 6 2 9 7 7 9 8 5 4 5 1 6 5 4 1 2 8 5 8 4 3 8 5 7. 42 successes

Rerolling 8
6 10 4 6 2 6 2 10. 3 successes. 45 total

45/15. First level reached

30/30 Second level reached

Spoiler: Second Level

Passive Effects:
-Provides three additional dice to all projectile weapon attacks.
-Provides three additional dice to defense against projectile attacks.
-Increases the initiative of the user and all allies within forty meters by three
-Increases the speed of the user and allies within forty meters by two
-Increases maximum range of all projectiles to thirty meters if less

Active Effects
Against the Wind: oo
Cost: 4 Qi
On a successful clash reduces the dice pool of enemies within forty meters by two for the next four turns. In addition enemy speed is reduced by five. Effect persists after enemies leave range. Effect may be used without a weapon attack

Encircling Winds: oo
Cost 4 Qi
The user grants allies alacrity and and accuracy, perfecting their timing to strike in an encircled foes weakness. Grants a four die bonus to the attack of all allies when targeting a singular foe, designated at activation. Each consecutive attack gains a stacking damage bonus of one, to the maximum of their weapons DV.

Shielding Gale: oo
Cost: 5 Qi
Instant
The user releases a sudden pulse of qi in an expanding spiral around themselves, kicking up furious winds. Provides three dice of defense against projectile attacks targeted at allies or the user within forty meters. As a secondary effect, on a successful clash, all enemies adjacent to the user are pushed back fifteen meters, suffering a DV 1 attack.

On the Wind: ooo
Cost 6 Qi
Instant
The user guides the wind to bolster her allies movements, granting an additional five speed and two initiative to the user and allies within forty meters for two turns. In addition speed or initiative dampening effects of two dots or lower are dispelled on a successful clash.




To next level
0/50

She did find herself rapidly improving though

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yrsillar said:

By the time the week was nearing its end, and she was completing the last of her preparations for her heist, Ling Qi was feeling quite wrung out. Su Ling and Li Suyin were busy that afternoon, the latter having secluded herself for breakthrough, and the former spending the afternoon in the archive to research and select her technique now that she was satisfied with her base skill.

Which was fine, but with Meizhen being busy,and Gu Xiulan still absent, it left Ling Qi with surprisingly little to do. She spent a bit of time simply puttering around the house, idly picking out melodies on her flute, but restlessness and lack of inspiration eventually drove her out to have a bit of a walk, with Zhengui snoozing away in his dematerialized state.

Her directionless walk took her across the mountain, eventually turning toward the area dedicated to the pavilions and smaller meeting places. It was surprisingly busy, and she soon found herself curiously drifting along, to see what was going on.

As it turned out, there was quite a bit of work going on at the pavilion where the council meetings took place. There were perhaps a dozen disciples wearing Cai's colors at work around and within the pavilion, working away with chisels and brushes, or in some cases shovels and stakes. They had drawn quite a little crowd. Observing from the edge of the clearing, Ling Qi grew curious. While she did not recognize most of the disciples in question, she did spot Xuan Shi strolling from one workstation to the next, his jangling ring staff tapping out a rhythm on the stone floor as he paused at a workstation and spoke in a quiet tone to the disciple there. The other boy hastily bowed his head to Xuan Shi, and returned to his work of chiseling at at the tiles with much more care than before.

Ling Qi approached, strolling across the unseen line that the crowd seemed reluctant to pass. A couple of the working disciples looked up, and one turned toward her, looking irritated, only to freeze for a moment when their eyes met. Instead of speaking, the boy flushed and hastily bowed, stepping out of her way.

"Brother Xuan!" She called, remembering the odd formality the boy used, as she reached the bottom of the pavilion steps. "I see Lady Cai has you working hard!" She asked, feeling a tiny twinge of guilt. She had heard the boy had a rough time during Liling's return, but despite how helpful he had been, she hadn't spared him a thought. At least he looked fine now.

"Sister Ling," he greeted, dipping his head slightly in her direction, his wide conical hat bobbing with the motion. "The Lady grants us tasks in equal measure to our ability and no more."

"I guess so," Ling Qi replied thoughtfully as she mounted the steps, to reach a level with him. "How have you been anyway? I've been meaning to stop by, but things got a little busy," it was a little lie, but a harmless one.

He regarded her silently for a moment, most of his expression concealed by his hat and high collar, and then glanced away, giving a nearby disciple who had paused to listen to them a sharp look. "I am unbowed. Though a storm may lash the shore, the island remains," he replied slowly. "Patience brings ultimate victory," he added, sounding quite sure of himself. "What purpose guides your steps, Sister Ling?"

So he wasn't too troubled by the loss, and was already planning his reprisal. She could parse that much. She stopped walking when she stood just across from the boy in the center of the pavillion "Just a whim," she admitted. "I was out for a stroll, looking for something to inspire a song, and caught sight of your work. I guess Lady Cai wants to make sure our meeting place is secure?"

"A throne must be radiant, and solid as the mountain rock," he replied agreeably. "Theatre sways the hearts of the unworthy," he added in a much quieter tone. Going by the stillness in the air, she was quite sure only she heard that. That was useful.

"So it does," she mused. Mulling over her thoughts for a moment, she decided to be a bit honest. "I am glad you're doing well. You've been nothing but helpful to me, and I'm afraid I haven't done much to pay that back."

"Sister Ling's concern is appreciated, like a fine moon shining over rough seas," he replied, and she thought she saw the corners of his odd eyes crinkle for a moment with a smile. "There is no debt. Generosity is a virtue."

Ling Qi almost snorted, giving him an arch look. "Come on now, we're cultivators, isn't everything a competition?"

"Perhaps," he replied, tapping the butt of his staff on the stone. "If so, a generous spirit is the mark of the strong, is it not?"

She gave him a measuring look, but nodded. "I suppose so. Still, I'm free for the moment. Did you need any help here?"

He made a thoughtful sound. "Sister Ling is much like a cold sea breeze, finding the tiniest cracks to slip through and chill the home. Perhaps an examination of the arrays with that in mind?"

She blinked, her eyebrows drawing together in consternation as she figured out the implications. "...You were keeping an eye on my practice."
He tipped his hat marginally in her direction, definitely smiling now. "Other perspectives remain invaluable. Am I begrudged?"

She did let out an unladylike snort this time. "No, it's my fault for not guarding my notes," she said with a huff. "Where do you want me to start?"

The next couple hours passed quickly, poking holes in the arrays being built was an interesting diversion, and some part of her enjoyed the grumbling of the disciples who had to adjust and fix them.

Xuan Shi was an agreeable sort, and in doing this, she felt less of a burden of debt toward him, so it was time well spent even without considering that, she wouldn't mind speaking with him in the future. Perhaps she could prod him for advice on getting Zhengui to develop his abilities. His family name made it pretty obvious that he was associated with spirits of Zhengui's type.

As the pavilion faded away behind her, Ling Qi's thoughts turned to her plans for the evening. She had made her preparations, warned Meizhen to raise the alarm if she was not back by morning, and even borrowed the girls spare storage ring. She had fully scouted out the surroundings and gotten a feel for the patterns of activity at the base. There was nothing further to do but execute the plan.

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yrsillar said:

As the pavilion faded away behind her, Ling Qi's thoughts turned to her plans for the evening. She had made her preparations, warned Meizhen to raise the alarm if she was not back by morning, and even borrowed the girls spare storage ring. She had fully scouted out the surroundings and gotten a feel for the patterns of activity at the base. There was nothing further to do but execute the plan.

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yrsillar said:

...She really would have to get a better ring of her own though. Meizhen's spare had ten times the space hers did. The thought of filling it with loot warmed her heart.

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yrsillar said:

Her infiltration began simply enough, the defenses at the doorway were keyed to a token the disciples kept on their person, so her first task would be to snag one from the disciple going out on an evening supply run. He would be out for at least an hour, giving her a good window to work with. She had already figured out which of the errand boys had storage rings, and so she had planned out tonight beginning with the basis that the boy on duty was one who did not.

...Was there an art that could allow one to steal from a storage ring? Surely there had to be.

Spoiler: Stealth and larceny Test 1

Dex 6 + Larceny 3 + Speciality 1 + EPC 2+Jiao 2 + 6 cultivation auto-success= 14 dice + 6 auto-success,

2 7 8 1 6 5 4 6 10 1 1 5 3 9. 4 successesses. 10 total

Dex 6 + Stealth 5 + EPC 2 + Robe 2 + 6 cultivation auto-success + 2 SCS auto-success = 15 Dice + 8 auto-success
2 3 8 8 7 8 6 8 2 9 3 3 2 1 7. 7 successes. 15 total

The first part went off without a hitch, after Jiao's training slipping her hand into the boys pocket and retrieving the token as she passed him on the market street was trivial, and vanishing into the darkness of the forest was likewise an easy task. It took mere minutes to return to the hidden entrance, and with the key in hand, she passed through. The sheer cliff face gave way to a smooth tunnel, likely carved with an earth art, given the lack of marks from tools.

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yrsillar said:

She did not linger in the doorway, exposed as it was, with crescents grace and formless shade active, she darted down the hall in a flash of black, slipping into the nearest side room. It was storage from the looks of it. A place to put the things suppliers would be selling at the market. She did not find anything of great interest with a cursory search. No talismans or pills she would use in any case. She dematerialized a few choice pieces into Meizhen's ring anyway, for later resale.

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yrsillar said:

Her exploration then began in earnest. The cramped complex was not especially large, and consisted largely of work rooms and a few housing areas, there were a bit less than ten disciples present, and so she avoided stealing anything too obvious. No matter the urge to steal the large pill furnace in one of the rearmost rooms. Su Ling had indicated that those were very valuable, right?

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yrsillar said:

She would get it on the way out.

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yrsillar said:

She tore through the base like a sticky fingered hurricane, searching for signs of Yan Renshu. She tried to avoid distraction, but there was only so much she could do. Minor pills, talismans and stones abounded, and in one room she even found carefully organized parcels containing the required goods for several basic gathering quests, she shoveled it all into her ring, not even bothering to fight the grin stretching her lips.

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yrsillar said:

Spoiler: Stealth and larceny test 2

stealth
3 8 7 9 6 5 7 10 9 4 4 6 3 8 6. 7 successes. 15 total

Larceny
2 9 5 3 2 3 2 2 9 1 1 8 6 2. 3 successes. 9 total
Fail
Rerolling
8 3 8 3 2 1 5 8 6 7 3 6 10 3. 5 successes. 11 total

She tore through the base like a sticky fingered hurricane, searching for signs of Yan Renshu. She tried to avoid distraction, but there was only so much she could do. Minor pills, talismans and stones abounded, and in one room she even found carefully organized parcels containing the required goods for several basic gathering quests, she shoveled it all into her ring, not even bothering to fight the grin stretching her lips.

She did manage to stay on target though, and among the treasures, she also found information. Missives to the bases leader, one of Yan Renshu's direct subordinates, proved the most helpful. It was clear the boy was a careful sort, but hints of inexperience showed, and he lacked the true paranoia of those who stood to lose everything.

Namely the notes his subordinate kept on the symbols and cyphers they used for their drop and meeting points. With that in hand, tracking down the main base would be much easier.

As long as she struck before he had much chance to change things anyway. Even if he did… knocking over this base alone would starve his group of resources, since it was his primary stone farming location.

And she was certainly going to report the place to Cai Renxiang after she left.

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yrsillar said:

With her new pill furnace of course.

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yrsillar said:

+300 Red Stones
+23 Yellow Stones
+1 Large Pill Furnace
+15 sect points

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Thor's Twin said:

So, a little bit about my thoughts on Xuan Shi. I don't dislike him anymore, in fact, I would say that I like the guy. At first, I thought he was going to be playing the "wise" person who knew better than everyone and just would talk in cryptic circles because he can.

It is now apparent that this is not the case, and he appears to actually have a sense of humor! His cryptic statements are still a little weird, but eh, their not annoying anymore.

I think he will be a fun guy to hang around and become friends with. We could certainly use the help with Formations, and we offer a unique insight to help him with his formations.

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Alectai said:

I'd rather not do the Argent Art trade though, can't we just talk?

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PrimalShadow said:

You know, it took us 13 weeks to break through to Yellow.

Zhengui hatched on week 22, which means it has been 6 weeks so far. I wonder if he will beat our record?

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Thor's Twin said:

Probably will actually.

2 more weeks before hibernation, then four weeks of hibernation.

that would be a total of 12 weeks. I think he'll beat us by one week.

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PrimalShadow said:

If that is the timing, I'm going to say that we actually "hatched" on week 1, in the sense that that was when we became a cultivator. That means that it took us 12 weeks to breakthrough.

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BungieONI said:

I think he is awesome as well and on top of that he is also hands down one of the most terrifyingly powerful Yellows we know. Like the dude is in the top four Yellows right along with us. He survived Sun Liling's Red Thorn Death Flight tired but unscathed and unbroken. Something no one did then.

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BungieONI said:

But no one quite has that. @Erebeal could you perhaps help me figure out pill week timings and the like? I'd like to do a eightfold on week 30 at the very least, but I'm a little unsure of how taking the heart meridian as in Search and Destroy interferes with it.

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BungieONI said:

Hmmmm weeeeelllll:

[] Xuan Shi seems pretty knowledgable, see if he can help you out with Zhengui's abilities.
This one because gosh darn it this ship will SAIL.
More seriously Zhengui deserves to be the best Xuan Wu ever. (Luckily every plan seems to have it)

[] Spend time working with Zhengui to express his abilities
Need this action, especially since we can attach Xuan Shi with it.

[] Train with Elder jiao (LOCKED)
Gotta do this.
I like Larceny + SCS. We are at 56/150 so we got a ways to go, and will probably get about another 50 or so successes. Larceny is at 10/12 so its about to get a dot, which also means more small meridian roll bonuses.
Now I'll look over these since I like them all:
Formations
Investigation/AM
Resolve/TRF

Formations we are at 6/15 and it would be best to stick this with the Shaman bag.
AM is at 23/120. We got 53 successes from training it with him last time. Its useful. It also seems to be his specialty. We could cap it out with this week and next week and then focus on AC. Investigation is at 1/12 so it ain't going to be gaining a dot, though if we do this and then the Yan Renshu main base stuff it will more than likely dot-up.
TRF is at 23/90 and Resolve is at 7/25. Not likely to go up, but it is useful. Sounds outside his specialty though. Gonna be a little slow leveling this one though if we don't, I think.
Hmm.

For now I'd like a plan that does:
[] Train with Elder jiao (LOCKED)
-Larceny/SCS
-Investigation/AM

I am intrigued by the [] Take a Sect Mission. [] Capture the Storm Spirits. I want a wind site, which we might find, the Sect points mean we can buy a tutor and if we do really well we get more Sect points to stack on top of the stuff we got for the gathering missions in the heist. Additionally I would like to meet a wind or thunder spirit which can hang around our wind site. I don't want to bind another, Zhengui takes all of our attention as he deserves but it would be nice to know one of a decent level. Also it just frankly sounds like fun to read.

[] Search out Yan Renshu's main base, before he has time to pick up and move
Yeah, this is a must for a major action. Need to keep the heist train going, plus its time critical and I do want to get this done with so our EPC can progress.

[] Gu Xiulan apparently returned in the dead of night without saying anything to anyone. What happened to her?
Kinda iffy on this one but it does seem important. Probably completely okay with dropping it if it doesn't win but I do have some concern.

[] Meet Han Jian, he found a trial, so perhaps you could set up a trade for another Argent Art?
I like this minor. Lets us reconnect with Jian and make progress on getting all four argent arts.
Though to be fair, we already have two, and five other arts so a third, the fourth, and Yan Renshu make 10. Sounds like too many to get all of them to a decent level by tournament time. On top of me really really really wanting the bone construct techniques which even if they aren't an art probably take just as much time as one.
Hmmmm.... Ehhh I'll toss this one. I'm happy with two argent arts right now.

[] Working with Li Suyin again has been fun, continue working through the manual
Now this really catches my interest. I want bone golems so that we can just min max the shit out of Fleeting Zephyr and comboing them with Zhengui. What does it matter that we are a C&C Support with no army to support, if we can just make our army?
Muda muda muda. So yes I want a plan that does this.

- [] Train at the vent with Meizhen
-- [] TRF
This is nice. Just keep trucking along really with TRF and Meizhen. Should get to be about half way done?

Hmmm.... No real way to get all those sweet Qi rolls I think.


FVM is at 70/120 so I don't feel the need to train it, especially since we can have eightfold pills. Question were we planning to max it out and get the next level on week 30? I can't remember.


- [] Train at the vent with Su Ling
-- [] Heart Meridian
Interesting, I do think we are gonna need it. Doesn't really appeal that much though. Would rather take the storm mission.


So a my ideal plan would be:

-[] 3 RS, 1 YS, 1st and 2nd level wood pills (8), 1 rippling lake pill (2), 1 stalwart mountain pill (2), 1 2nd level lake pill (6), 1 2nd level Mountain pill (6), total (1 YS, 27 RS)
-[] Spend time working with Zhengui to express his abilities
--[] Xuan Shi seems pretty knowledgable, see if he can help you out with Zhengui's abilities.
-[] Train with Elder jiao (LOCKED)
--[] Larceny / SCS
--[] Investigation / AM
-[] Train at the vent with Meizhen
--[] TRF
-[] Take a Mission
--[] Capture the Storm Spirits
-[] Search out Yan Renshu's main base, before he has time to pick up and move
-[] Gu Xiulan apparently returned in the dead of night without saying anything to anyone. What happened to her?
-[] Working with Li Suyin again has been fun, continue working through the manual

But no one quite has that. @Erebeal could you perhaps help me figure out pill week timings and the like? I'd like to do a eightfold on week 30 at the very least, but I'm a little unsure of how taking the heart meridian as in Search and Destroy interferes with it.

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Alectai said:

We can train AC just fine, we just can't equip it at the same time as our other Arts yet.

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