Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Location
- Third planet from the star named Sol
- Pronouns
- He/They
I can still see them. Maybe it was a load error for you?
In the short term, the speciality doesn't mean much. A water/wind art would be far more powerful.
Also, I think you're getting the tutor's advice mixed up there. The discussion of range and of elements was two seperate bits of advice. He never said that any particular elements were inherently restricted.
I'll leave @Black Noise and the others who have been mapping things to go into this in more detail, but my understanding is that no, we really don't have that much room. Things are tight.
How much time do you think we have? Because we actually don't even have enough major actions to train all our current arts to their Early Green cap. Even cutting down to a reasonable art suite, it requires significant optimization to train to something like FVM6 SCS6 AE4 TRF5 AC5 AS4 AM5 FSS3 PLR2 (so missing AS5, PLR3, AE5, and possibly even FSS4 depending on where it hits early green cap), and won't allow for any spare major actions at all.
If we want more arts, we're getting them from the archive, which also means giving up tutoring actions. We can afford maybe one additional art without burning more of our potential actions thanks to the extra tutoring loss. It's all a matter of what we are okay with sacrificing. Sacrificing AM5 means ~5 actions saved, enough to grab one art. Same for sacrificing AE3 & AE4. Sacrificing TRF5 would mean ~5-6 actions saved. Sacrificing AS3 and AS4 is ~3 actions saved.
You want to take a dip in an art, pick a sacrifice, maybe even two sacrifices. That's the current cost.
e: Oh, and whichever you want to sacrifice, be prepared to yell down the people who want to train that art for 7 to 8 straight votes.
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Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
I disagree with exact actions gained by each sacrifice, but yeah. We are tight, especially if we want appraisal anything. Not only that, but that tightness assumes good Tutor use, as well as having access to GSS. No GSS = other sacrifices.
Then there is moon quest, which is another sacrifice.
It would be easier if we were willing to go closed door regularly, but I am not expecting that to happen before week 46+.
Yeah, they're approximate actions, certainly. But training an fresh art to 3 requires one or even two arts of that selection regardless of exact # of actions.
The only way we'd be able to spam art dips would be level 1 archive arts, which are pretty much useless in our situation. Otherwise, we can dip maybe one art, if we put another one on the altar.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
In terms of combat arts we have that we may need to raise:
SCS: A core defensive/stealth/movement art. The stealth focus makes it less useful in a combat heavy tournament than elsewhere, but essential to our build overall. If the tournament's more abstract than matches in an arena this may be a lot more useful.
FVM: Itself, enough said
AM: We're nearly maxed and it covers a line of defense we're not getting strongly from elsewhere. If we have the time, I'd think this would be a very good investment. OTOH, it's a major timesink at 240 xp needed.
FSS: A 'higher tier' offensive art that should have more long term growth, but also costs less XP to level now. We need 80 to raise it up.
TRF: 300 successes to level. While very good, it has a focus on ally defense, so a given new level may not give us much that helps solo.
AC: 78 successes to level compared with 240+ for our hardest arts.
AS: Improvement currently locked, but that's about to be fixed. At rank 2-3 it's pretty easy to raise and solid.
AE: Another level of AE isn't that hard to get compared to many of our better arts (63 successes needed), but we should expect level 4 to be pretty expensive, and, unless it sees major buffs at 3, somewhat hard to justify given how eh a lot of it is for us atm.
PLR: We don't have XP totals or any sample effects. It's quite likely to be very good, but a bit too much of a black box to know how/if. Should be trained, but can't yet be evaluated to what extent we should prioritize it.
So, what/where can we develop? It's nice to know what we want, but we should also consider expected gains to cost. Chiefly that really hurts TRF, which stands to be quite good but is the most expensive art we have to raise atm for one level of growth.
I think FVM6/SCS6 are a must for any build.
AM5 as well caps that art, which may give us more insight into maxing the others.
In terms of low hanging fruit, AC4 isn't too bad to get either, neither is AE3. FSS upgrades easily atm, and hanging out with Zeqing gives us a push to raise it. AS as well is not bad. PLR early on should be easy.
That leaves a skeleton of:
FVM6/SCS6/AM5/AC4/AS3/AE3/FSS3/PLR1
I'd imagine this is our set of fairly low-hanging most-important goals we should make sure we beat, but shouldn't be content to only reach. Everything after this is more negotiable based on opportunities and crises.
In terms of future output, we'd have 6 remaining unmaxed arts at this point:
FSS: Max rank 6. Probably very good, but with level 2 already costing 100 XP, we may see 300+XP easily for a single level from 4 onwards.
PLR: Likely an easy target to keep advancing, to the point that I'd almost mark it higher if we had more info on numbers.
TRF: Probably the single best level to gain on the list, but at 300 XP, it's a bit finicky for us to work in.
AC: We should expect this will follow the same progression as AM, so likely 240 XP to max after 4, benefits are probably good.
AS: Same as AC, but we're lower so raising is easier.
AE: Potentially expensive. We've seen jumps from 120>240 XPwise, though it's only at 100 now. If it goes to a full 200, it's very hard to justify the investment to continue if we're trying to cram as much gain in before the tournament.
Of these, I think PLR is likely the easiest to commit to, though only because we lack numbers. As it's the most behind, we stand to gain the fastest upgrades, but crazy XP costs could tank it a bit here. AS 4 is similarly a pretty affordable dip, which means AC5/AS5 gets a bit tempting to aim for, though problematic as AS would take so many actions.
TRF is the only really tricky one, the benefits are probably fairly good, but the cost is also fairly high for one level.
To this end, I'd prioritize the remaining something like:
PLR: Conditional on how the first levels look
AS
AC
FSS: Maybe higher if we can swing it, but if the numbers get bad we may have to cut it at 3
TRF
AE: 4+ is a luxury, if anything's getting cut for new arts let it be this.
SCS: A core defensive/stealth/movement art. The stealth focus makes it less useful in a combat heavy tournament than elsewhere, but essential to our build overall. If the tournament's more abstract than matches in an arena this may be a lot more useful.
FVM: Itself, enough said
AM: We're nearly maxed and it covers a line of defense we're not getting strongly from elsewhere. If we have the time, I'd think this would be a very good investment. OTOH, it's a major timesink at 240 xp needed.
FSS: A 'higher tier' offensive art that should have more long term growth, but also costs less XP to level now. We need 80 to raise it up.
TRF: 300 successes to level. While very good, it has a focus on ally defense, so a given new level may not give us much that helps solo.
AC: 78 successes to level compared with 240+ for our hardest arts.
AS: Improvement currently locked, but that's about to be fixed. At rank 2-3 it's pretty easy to raise and solid.
AE: Another level of AE isn't that hard to get compared to many of our better arts (63 successes needed), but we should expect level 4 to be pretty expensive, and, unless it sees major buffs at 3, somewhat hard to justify given how eh a lot of it is for us atm.
PLR: We don't have XP totals or any sample effects. It's quite likely to be very good, but a bit too much of a black box to know how/if. Should be trained, but can't yet be evaluated to what extent we should prioritize it.
So, what/where can we develop? It's nice to know what we want, but we should also consider expected gains to cost. Chiefly that really hurts TRF, which stands to be quite good but is the most expensive art we have to raise atm for one level of growth.
I think FVM6/SCS6 are a must for any build.
AM5 as well caps that art, which may give us more insight into maxing the others.
In terms of low hanging fruit, AC4 isn't too bad to get either, neither is AE3. FSS upgrades easily atm, and hanging out with Zeqing gives us a push to raise it. AS as well is not bad. PLR early on should be easy.
That leaves a skeleton of:
FVM6/SCS6/AM5/AC4/AS3/AE3/FSS3/PLR1
I'd imagine this is our set of fairly low-hanging most-important goals we should make sure we beat, but shouldn't be content to only reach. Everything after this is more negotiable based on opportunities and crises.
In terms of future output, we'd have 6 remaining unmaxed arts at this point:
FSS: Max rank 6. Probably very good, but with level 2 already costing 100 XP, we may see 300+XP easily for a single level from 4 onwards.
PLR: Likely an easy target to keep advancing, to the point that I'd almost mark it higher if we had more info on numbers.
TRF: Probably the single best level to gain on the list, but at 300 XP, it's a bit finicky for us to work in.
AC: We should expect this will follow the same progression as AM, so likely 240 XP to max after 4, benefits are probably good.
AS: Same as AC, but we're lower so raising is easier.
AE: Potentially expensive. We've seen jumps from 120>240 XPwise, though it's only at 100 now. If it goes to a full 200, it's very hard to justify the investment to continue if we're trying to cram as much gain in before the tournament.
Of these, I think PLR is likely the easiest to commit to, though only because we lack numbers. As it's the most behind, we stand to gain the fastest upgrades, but crazy XP costs could tank it a bit here. AS 4 is similarly a pretty affordable dip, which means AC5/AS5 gets a bit tempting to aim for, though problematic as AS would take so many actions.
TRF is the only really tricky one, the benefits are probably fairly good, but the cost is also fairly high for one level.
To this end, I'd prioritize the remaining something like:
PLR: Conditional on how the first levels look
AS
AC
FSS: Maybe higher if we can swing it, but if the numbers get bad we may have to cut it at 3
TRF
AE: 4+ is a luxury, if anything's getting cut for new arts let it be this.
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
There are several people myself included that see AE as already very valuable for it's minion making ability amazing passives and a field of death tech. If the quest wants to go for a attrition style that focus on fields of death that oppentents have to deal with dropping AE seems very premature.
I really like AE and only expect it to get better. The first thing that I want to drop is Argent Storm because we don't really want to get into melee with someone where it thrives. If PLR helps us avoid melee then dropping AS seems like the best thing to do since we already have so much melee avoidance with SCS teleport and basic defense with SCS and TRF.
I really like AE and only expect it to get better. The first thing that I want to drop is Argent Storm because we don't really want to get into melee with someone where it thrives. If PLR helps us avoid melee then dropping AS seems like the best thing to do since we already have so much melee avoidance with SCS teleport and basic defense with SCS and TRF.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
Something to keep in mind is that not all arts are trained at the same speed, and that yin arts benefits from stealth successes (so are always faster than non-yin). This will again change at EPC5, but currently with full pill but no GSS:
FVM: Up to 70successes/action
FSS: 73~
AE: 61-66 depending on Tutor
TRF: 50-55 (depending on whether we use tutor).
AM: 61-66 successes depending on tutor.
AS: 62-67 depending on tutors
AC: 67-72 depending on tutors
SCS: 43-48 depending on tutors
Obviously, this is with an amount of pills we wouldn't be able to sustain, but this should tell us easily that some arts should be learned in different ways than others (Tutor for SCS as well as stealth XP for SCS is better than for most other arts, for example).
Personally, I suggest dropping AE4 and AM5. Neither are likely to be usable in the tournament.
AE requires far too much investment, which we can neither afford nor will it pay off. Minions of AE's level are not useful, and based on the progression so far they will not improve to become usable against peers. Breath's dice can't be reasonably improved to be usable and part of that improvement would require investment in a breath-specific talisman like a glove, which we simply can't afford. Passive-wise, the qi regen is limited to at highest the opponent's health boxes, and the defence passive is spiritual which for the tournament we're less likely to face. That's not to knock on AE as an art, but it's not an art we will get much benefit out of for the tournament at all. I would like to master AE after the tournament so we can use it (along with PLR) as a base to develop our own music minions art, but that is not a purpose we should be looking at right now.
AM on the other hand is more of a strategic call, I just don't think we're likely to face dangerous spiritual that needs an additional AM level based on our likely opponents for the tournament. The return on investment for AM5 seems rather small. It is certainly worth mastering, but not now.
TRF is similar except we will certainly face physical foes in the tournament, so the potential return is far higher. Likewise, we will almost certainly get attacked and that means counterattacks are actually useful. Knocking on AS because it's no good in the ideal circumstance is ignoring reality - we are not going to be able to avoid melee every fight. There are simply too many competent facepunchers. Our flute melee is also rather good and every extra attack we can get in helps.
With AM5 and AE4 clear, we should have the breathing room we need to look at an additional art or to master FSS/PLR to the limits of our cultivation.
AE requires far too much investment, which we can neither afford nor will it pay off. Minions of AE's level are not useful, and based on the progression so far they will not improve to become usable against peers. Breath's dice can't be reasonably improved to be usable and part of that improvement would require investment in a breath-specific talisman like a glove, which we simply can't afford. Passive-wise, the qi regen is limited to at highest the opponent's health boxes, and the defence passive is spiritual which for the tournament we're less likely to face. That's not to knock on AE as an art, but it's not an art we will get much benefit out of for the tournament at all. I would like to master AE after the tournament so we can use it (along with PLR) as a base to develop our own music minions art, but that is not a purpose we should be looking at right now.
AM on the other hand is more of a strategic call, I just don't think we're likely to face dangerous spiritual that needs an additional AM level based on our likely opponents for the tournament. The return on investment for AM5 seems rather small. It is certainly worth mastering, but not now.
TRF is similar except we will certainly face physical foes in the tournament, so the potential return is far higher. Likewise, we will almost certainly get attacked and that means counterattacks are actually useful. Knocking on AS because it's no good in the ideal circumstance is ignoring reality - we are not going to be able to avoid melee every fight. There are simply too many competent facepunchers. Our flute melee is also rather good and every extra attack we can get in helps.
With AM5 and AE4 clear, we should have the breathing room we need to look at an additional art or to master FSS/PLR to the limits of our cultivation.
Year 43, week 40, Part 2
"Congratulations," Han Jian said lightly as she landed lightly in the training field he and Han Fang had been sparring in. He had spotted her coming from above well before she arrived, and the two boys had broken off their fight to greet her. "A full breakthrough to third realm in less than a year isn't anything to scoff at."
"Thank you," Ling Qi replied, glad to see that her invitations to Xiulan hadn't strained things. "It looks like your doing very well too," she added politely. He and Han Fang were both fully in the late stage of the second realm now.
"Ha, I'm not so sure about that," Han Jian replied, shaking his head. He glanced over at Han Fang, who nodded back once, heading for the entrance to the training yard. Ling Qi watched him go for a moment. She had never gotten to know the silent boy, and she regretted that a little, he seemed like a reliable sort. "I honestly don't see myself breaking through before time runs out, so I've decided to more fully develop my arts," she turned her attention back to him as he spoke up again, dismissing the idle thought.
"Breaking through is definitely time consuming," Ling Qi replied with a grimace. "I feel like I've hardly done anything for the past month."
Han Jian gave her wry look, and she glanced away, embarrassed. Complaining about spending a month in breakthrough seemed really petty. "Well, you might want to prepare yourself for the future then, there are bottlenecks in the third realm that will take you months to break through at least, unless you've been hiding a legendary talent to match the Duchess Cai," he said in a light tone.
"Fun," Ling Qi said with a grimace. "I guess the easy part is over, huh?"
"Probably best to think of it that way," Han Jian said. "Third realm is the highest the vast majority can aspire too, even among the talented."
"Neither of us is going to stop there though, are we?" Ling Qi asked, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger. "Not you, or Han Fang, or Gu Xiulan," she added thoughtfully. "No one I know really." Su Ling and Li Suyin might not be as talented, but she doubted either would simply settle. "Is third realm really where people stop?"
"The higher you rise, the more time cultivation takes, and people have other responsibilities and interests, you know?" Han Jian replied, heading toward the edge of the field. "Not everyone has the ambition and dedication to keep pushing through years or decades of tiny gains. Besides, most people don't really need higher cultivation, you know?"
Ling Qi struggled to imagine simply… settling, knowing that there was still such a vast gulf between yourself and the top, so many people and things which could still trample you effortlessly. "Well, less competition is good I guess," she said after a moment. "Anyway, I thought I'd ask…"
"If we could swap jade slips again?" He asked with a smile of his own. "That is why I sent Fang to keep an eye on the perimeter.
"How did you know?" Ling Qi asked curiously, not denying her interest. Since she had fully broken through, she had felt that something more awaited her if she could complete the three argent arts.
"Well, I figure that if I've reached limits of Argent Mirror, you probably mastered what I showed you of Argent Storm a month ago," Han Jian replied dryly. "...and, we don't exactly have a lot else to chat about anymore, do we?"
Ling Qi sighed, glancing away from him. He wasn't wrong, and that did make her a little sad. "How is everyone doing anyway? I've seen Xiulan a couple of times, when I had an opening at the White Room, but…"
"She hasn't exactly been sociable," he finished her sentence sadly. "She's at least being safe about her training now, but she is pushing hard. Thanks for taking her by the way. I can't really do so without a lot of… awkwardness, lets say."
"I understand," Ling Qi replied with a nod. "But I didn't just ask about Xiulan."
"Kind of you," he shot back as he plucked a wooden training sword from the rack and gestured for her to follow him out into the field. "Fang and I aren't giving up, even if we don't reach third realm… we're still aiming for the inner sect," he continued resolutely. "...I worry about Fan Yu though. He…"
"He probably feels like it's hopeless," Ling Qi finished.
"Yeah," Han Jian replied simply. "Yu is a good guy at heart… but I'm worried he's going to crash and burn, I'm trying to keep his spirits up, but there's only so much I can do if he doesn't want it himself."
So about what she expected then, Han Jian and Han Fang would both be solidly late second realm, perhaps even peak, but Fan Yu was still struggling to reach the middle last she saw, Xiulan had had been at peak spiritual the last she saw her, and her physical cultivation had just reached into late. "I won't trouble you for more, but while we demonstrate, there was something else I wanted to ask you."
"Oh? What would that be?" Han Jian asked, giving the practice blade in his hand a few lazy swipes, the wind stirring around him.
Ling Qi on the other hand fell into a defensive stance, calling up the qi of mountain and lake to center herself. "I was hoping you could tell me more about Golden Fields. I… have an offer regarding it after all," she replied calmly feeling the tranquility that came with activating Argent Mirror.
Han Jian studied her, brows furrowed, examining her with more than his eyes. She in turn felt carefully for the fluctuations in his qi as his limbs blurred under tight sleeves of swirling air. "Ah, Your actually considering it? Given your other connections I'm a little surprised."
"I want to know all that I can about every choice I have," Ling Qi replied simply.
"Well, it's not like I mind talking about home," he said, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
So, as they began testing one another defenses and observing the movements of one anothers qi, Han Jian began to speak.
The Golden Fields was land of patchworks. The territories of the clans were far less organic competitive, few major clans shared a border with another, though that was beginning to change in the westernmost lands, which had begun to regain their old character as fertile fields. Most of the habitable land was still scrub and desert though and so the traditions born in the wake of the fall were still maintained.
Most clans fell into two categories, Sedentary and Nomadic. The Fan for example were a sedentary clan, because during the fall, their patriarch had pulled their core lands deep underground and shielded it from the Sun's death with his body. Though they had been much reduced, the Fan thus maintained a rich, flowering oasis from which to rebuild. The Han, and the ruling clan the Guo, on the other hand were nomadic. The Han household traveled regularly along a fixed route through their territory in a great caravan, administering their smaller but more numerous settlements.
Ling was a little dubious about his description of the ducal clan though. Even with all she had seen, a great citadel carried on the back of a gigantic spirit beast seemed a little far fetched.
That aside though, Han Jian made no effort to conceal the fact that the Golden Fields was a harsh place, further east one went, the toxic and poisonous the lands outside clan territory became. The earth itself was tainted with sun and death qi, cultivators below the third realm who ventured out unprotected into the poison sands could quickly sicken and die, their meridians catching fire and their flesh rotting from their bones, and even higher cultivators could grow ill without regular cleansing. It took great effort from the clans to maintain their borders and prevent the poison from spreading back into cleansed lands, which was why actual expansion was such a generational affair.
Still it was a rich land, the same effect which had reduced the soil to ash had created great veins of qi rich ores and gemstones in the stone, and these days they were in high demand in the interior, being useful for all manner high end formation work and talisman crafting. Quite few clans which were only a few generations old had grown influential and wealthy off such finds, under the aegis of the greater clans.
Which they needed, because the desert was not content to simply poison passively. Ashwalkers, she remembered hearing about several times before, but now she got an explanation. They were foul, dead things born from the toxic qi of the sands. They were little more dangerous than normal predatory spirit beasts in small numbers, though one had to be careful to cleanse any land they were discovered in, but periodically, they would gather in number out in the wastes, rallied by their more intelligent kin, skeletal abominations animated by the wrathful wraiths of those who had died in the fall, driven mad by the toxic qi.
At their worst they could be akin to ancient imperial armies sweeping out of the waste, but that was rare, more often they behaved more like bandits, roving bands of murderous marauders that sought to break the land cleansing totems and destroy settlements.
It was unsettling, Ling Qi had to admit… but the more she learned about the world outside Tonghou, the more she came to understand that there was no safety on the borders of the empire, no matter the nature.
She parted ways with Han Jian after a couple hours of work and study, satisfied with the explanation… and her new understanding of Argent Storm, she would be able to cultivate it to completion on her own now.
It was growing dark by the time she left though, and so Ling Qi headed back home to settle in and continue her cultivation of Eight Phase Ceremony. Now that she was fully broken through, she wanted to advance her cultivation art.
The next phase continued to elude her throughout the night, seeming to flit out of reach every time she thought that she had found some new insight in the stellar qi. It was frustrating, but with the morning sun heating her skin, Ling Qi had little recourse but to move on with her plans.
Those plans ran into a bit of a snag, when she found that Su Ling and the Ma sisters were nowhere to be found on the mountain though. Eventually when her search turned up no clues, she went to Li Suyin, who told her that their mutual friend had gone out on a hunting trip the day before and wasn't back yet.
With that knowledge in hand, Ling Qi descended the mountain to search for clues. Thankfully, Su Ling had been seen going into the forest, so picking up their trail wasn't too hard. The scene she came upon when she found them was a little strange though.
They were in a newly made clearing created by several destroyed trees which laid on the ground their trunks splintered and cracked. Ma Jun was seated on a rock, a gloomy expression on her face as she plucked twigs and dirt clods out of her mussed hair, the rest of the shyer sister wasn't much cleaner.
"C'mon, put your back into it," Ling Qi's attention was then drawn to Su Ling, who seemed rather more pleased at the state of things, if one could read past her natural surly expression. She was speaking to Ma Lei, who was red faced and panting, as she worked to haul… a truly massive boar out of a pit in the earth.
The beast was dead, one of its tusks broken, and many of the bony growths on its head cracked, and its hide was split in many places by deep cuts which no longer bled. It was also more than twice the height of a full grown horse and several times the mass.
"...You look like you're having an adventure," Ling Qi said dryly, calling their attention to her as she alit on the branch of a still standing tree. "I'm surprised you aren't helping though, Su Ling. Don't tell me you've gotten lazy."
Su Ling had startled when she first spoke up, her twin tails shooting straight up, but she relaxed as she looked over her shoulder at Ling Qi. "Nah, this is just punishment detail." She looked back to the other girl, who had taken the opportunity to catch her breath. "What'd we learn today?"
"To follow the plan," Ma Lei replied, between ragged breaths, her tone good natured despite the grumbling. "...and that I can't stop a Centennial Crag Boar head on yet."
"Obviously," Ma Jun huffed, plucking sadly at a wide rip in the sleeve of her gown. She stood and bowed toward Ling Qi then though. "Congratulations on your breakthrough Lady Ling."
"Huh, looks like you did finish, congrats Ling Qi," Su Ling added a moment later, looking her over more closely. "Did ya fall in a bag of glitter though?"
"Ha-ha," Ling Qi replied dryly. "Thank you though," she added more politely to Ma Jun. "What are you guys doing out here anyway?"
"Sect job," Su Ling replied with a shrug. "This fella wandered out of the mountains. I needed to re-stock on some stuff too."
"And we needed some points too, Sis and I wanna get some tutoring," Ma Lei said cheerfully even as she got back to work.
She was glad to see that they were getting along well enough to take on cooperative jobs. It eased her worries about leaving Su Ling alone in the Outer Sect.
"So what brought you out here?" Su Ling asked, eyeing her shrewdly.
"It's just been awhile, hasn't it?" Ling Qi replied sheepishly, knowing that the other girl wouldn't appreciate being checked up on like a child. Ling Qi didn't see it that way, but she suspected Su Ling would. "How are you all holding up now that the mess with Liling is over? I've been kind of out of contact for a little."
"We are ready to resume guarding you or your home if needed Lady Ling," Ma Jun said humbly. "Things have been very peaceful, so enforcer patrols have been scaled down somewhat."
"...Been kinda boring," Ma Jun grunted. "Got into a duel with this angry pink haired girl over a hunting job though. She really cleaned my clock," she added the last with a laugh, seemingly unbothered by the loss.
"Just been working on some projects. Think I might have found some good places for harvesting out here," Su Ling shrugged. "Ah, if you want, I refined another silverblood pill."
"Oh? I might be needing those soon," Ling Qi said, hopping down from the tree and gesturing to Jun that she could sit back down. "How much did you want for it?"
Su Ling scratched her cheek, looking away. "Had a chat with Fatty, seems like I managed something pretty high quality. Two hundred stones sound good?" She sounded a little apologetic.
That was pretty expensive. "Hm… would a hundred and another lesson on Argent Current work for you?" Ling Qi asked. She didn't want to deprive her friend of hard earned gains, but she did have to consider her own resources.
Su Ling blinked, her fuzzy ears twitching. "... Yeah, I could go for that. I'm kinda stuck on it."
"Let me see what I can manage then," Ling Qi replied with a smile, noting with some amusement the way Jun's eyes darted back and forth between them as they spoke. "I'll let you know when I have some time free,"
"That's great and all… but could I please get a little help with this?" Ma lei asked, her voice muffled by the massive boar on her shoulders.
Ling Qi glanced at Su Ling, who raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged. "Fine, fine. I made my point," she grumbled. "You want to come back with us? Gonna take this to Fatty and get some good pork out of it, he's got a friend whose a real good chef."
Ling Qi thought it over for a second, then nodded. "Sure, sounds fun."
She would likely be doubling down on training soon herself, so it would be best to take her relaxation where she could.
After enjoying a meal of the most mouth watering food she had ever tasted, Ling Qi found herself drifting a bit, lost in thought as she idly worked through new compositions on the roof to the house. She had already checked in on Zhengui, who had toddled off to the peak to play with Hanyi, and she wasn't quite sure what to do. She was beginning to worry that Meizhen would never get back to her honestly as it had been five days since their last conversation.
Thankfully, her fears proved groundless, and that night she received a message from Meizhen… asking her to come down to the lake. Ling Qi was pretty sure she knew which lake her friend meant.
Which stirred up a whole new group of fears.
When she arrived, the moon was already high in the sky, and Meizhen was seated at the shore. Conflicting with her almost ethereal appearance under the moonlight was the polished bamboo fishing rod in her hands.
Ling Qi dropped down soundlessly from the trees a polite distance away, eyeing the ripples made by the bobbing lure out in the water. She didn't speak up at first, simply approaching in silence. She made no effort to hide her presence, so Meizhen surely knew she was there.
Finally, she came to a stop on the shoor a few meters from where Meizhen sat with her eyes half closed. "Anything biting?" She asked lightly, not sure how to broach the more obvious topics.
"Yes," her friend replied simply, without looking up. "Cui is sleeping off her meal in the grass."
Ling Qi nodded, closing her own eyes for a moment as she considered her words. "Why here?"
"It is a good place to fish," Meizhen replied dryly, finally cracking an eye open to look at Ling Qi. "There are few enough of those here." She met Ling Qi's gaze steadily through several long moments of silence before turning her eyes back to the water. "...However poorly it ended, I did enjoy the rest of that evening, Qi."
Ling Qi let out a breath, clenching and unclenching her hands as she tried to work out what to say. They had talked before, tried to hash out things between them, but in the end, the events of that night still stood between them like a silent gulf. "...Will you listen to one of those songs I mentioned?" She finally asked, if she couldn't manage with words, then music might do. Heavens knew she was better with the latter.
Meizhen inclined her head slightly, not looking up again. It was agreement, and that was all Ling Qi needed. Her gown fluttered in the breeze as she raised her flute to her lips and closed her eyes, focusing on burning away the delusional haze that stood between her and the clear memory of what she had played that night at the Gala, when the spirits had called for an encore.
The song that flowed from her flute was a happier one than her usual fare. It spoke of first meetings and admiration, of growing safety and confidence, sheltered by another's strength. It spoke of affection and repayment, a desire to stand as equals, to support and be supported. Her music spoke of all these things and so much more echoing out over the clear water of the lake.
When it finally ended, Ling Qi's shoulders slumped, for she felt drained, and opened her eyes to look at her friend.
Meizhen's fishing line hung slack, the hook and bait stolen, and Meizhen sat with her head down, her eyes shadowed by her hair. Silence, deafening in the absence of her song hung over the lake as one minute after another ticked by, the both of them unmoving. "There really is no chance that you will feel what I do, is there?" Meizhen's quiet voice was the first to break the silence.
"No, there isn't," Ling Qi replied, slumping to the ground to sit with her legs splayed toward the water. "I'm so sorry Meizhen. You are my best friend, maybe even something like a sister… but not that." She lowered her own head, ashamed. "I was cruel, to make you think I might."
The other girls shoulders shook slightly, and she did not respond. "It is not fair," the words were spoken so quietly that Ling Qi did not doubt they were not meant to be said aloud. "You were… but I hold blame as well. Only my own delusion allowed that hope to persist," she said, as if to cover her slip. Ling Qi did her best to ignore the hint of redness in the girls faintly glowing eyes.
"I was a poor friend to take advantage of it though," Ling Qi replied, drawing her knees up to her chest. "You know, when we first met, you seemed like an impossible goal, completely invincible and untouchable," she said with a wry smile.
"And you seemed hopeless and fragile," Bai Meizhen replied with a huff, laying her fishing rod aside. "I think I came to treasure your reliance on me. I had always been alone before, but for Cui, even among family." Left unsaid was that she had certainly never had anyone look up to her
"And I never had anyone who could actually protect me," Ling Qi replied with a sigh. "That little house Liling ruined. That was the first place that had felt like home in so long."
"Another reason to grind that barbarians face into the dirt," Meizhen muttered darkly. "I have said it before… but i do not know where to go from here. I cannot call what is between us mere friendship, but…"
"But we're not… we're not lovers either," Ling Qi stumbled over the words, a heated flush rising on her cheeks, the thought was still strange and alien to her. "...Sisters then?" She asked glancing at Meizhen out of the corner of her eye.
"I hardly have that authority," Meizhen replied dryly.
"No, not like… actual adoption," Ling Qi replied with a grimace, gesturing vaguely. "I… remember seeing boys do that little brotherhood ritual you know, they'd steal a cup of rice wine and cut each others thumbs to mix blood in the wine, then swear to be brothers over the drink" Meizhen gave her a dubious look, and Ling Qi could only shrug sheepishly. "I dunno, I never did it," she mumbled defensively.
"I believe I recall the existence of such customs," Meizhen said after several moments. "...It originated in Ebon Rivers, among the Zheng if I recall," her lips twisted a bit in distaste on the last few words. "I cannot imagine Grandfather would approve of such a thing."
"It was a silly idea," Ling Qi apologized, leaning back to look up at the sky.
"...Perhaps," Meizhen said quietly. "I appreciate the spirit of the offer," she closed her eyes for a moment. "You will not cease risking yourself as you did with the Dreaming Moon, will you?"
"I won't," Ling Qi admitted. "I can't afford too."
"You will build a strong house someday," Bai Meizhen said with a sigh. "My apologies. I have no right to stunt your Way with my worries."
"I don't mind having someone worry about me," Ling Qi replied lightly. "But… I will try to be more cautious. Zhengui is growing up, he'll be able to help protect me soon."
"Assuming you can get the little glutton to stop eating the flowerbeds and porch," Meizhen huffed. "At least Cui limits herself to the vermin."
"Ah, did Zhengui start chewing on the garden porch again?" Ling Qi asked sheepishly. "I'll have a talk with him."
She laughed, and Meizhen did that little huff that Ling Qi knew was the closest she came to doing the same.
She was glad to have cleared things up with her best friend
Income: 110 Red Stones
You have five major actions and three minor. However, I will allow up to two minor actions which are tied to major ones.
[] Train at the vent with Su Ling
-[] Any
[] Train Music arts with Zeqing
[] Take a job
-[] Specify
[] Visit the Archive
-[] Search for a technique
-[] Study or improve formations
-[] Study another subject
[] Train with Meizhen
-[] Any
[] Attempt to placate the Dragon of the Valley
[] Cultivate in the White Room
-[] What?
-[] With who?
[] Cultivate on your own
-[] Physical
-[] Spiritual
-[] Qi
-[] Meridian (which one?)
-[] Art(Which one?)
[] You and Suyin could continue working on the pale manual formations, perhaps you could ask Xuan Shi for a tip or two?
[] Invite Meizhen out shopping, you could use some advice for what to look for in flying swords
[] Fulfill your offer with Su Ling, train her in Argent Current for another silverblood pill
[] Zhengui's efforts are coming along well, but Gu Tai mentioned that he might be able to help, take him up on it
[] Take Cai up on the implicit offer, have a chat about tea or... sword techniques, or something less serious
[] Perhaps Xiulan could use some help. Track down her training ground and see what she's been up too.
[] You… should probably look into what Sixiang is actually doing. The spirit did follow you home.
"Thank you," Ling Qi replied, glad to see that her invitations to Xiulan hadn't strained things. "It looks like your doing very well too," she added politely. He and Han Fang were both fully in the late stage of the second realm now.
"Ha, I'm not so sure about that," Han Jian replied, shaking his head. He glanced over at Han Fang, who nodded back once, heading for the entrance to the training yard. Ling Qi watched him go for a moment. She had never gotten to know the silent boy, and she regretted that a little, he seemed like a reliable sort. "I honestly don't see myself breaking through before time runs out, so I've decided to more fully develop my arts," she turned her attention back to him as he spoke up again, dismissing the idle thought.
"Breaking through is definitely time consuming," Ling Qi replied with a grimace. "I feel like I've hardly done anything for the past month."
Han Jian gave her wry look, and she glanced away, embarrassed. Complaining about spending a month in breakthrough seemed really petty. "Well, you might want to prepare yourself for the future then, there are bottlenecks in the third realm that will take you months to break through at least, unless you've been hiding a legendary talent to match the Duchess Cai," he said in a light tone.
"Fun," Ling Qi said with a grimace. "I guess the easy part is over, huh?"
"Probably best to think of it that way," Han Jian said. "Third realm is the highest the vast majority can aspire too, even among the talented."
"Neither of us is going to stop there though, are we?" Ling Qi asked, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger. "Not you, or Han Fang, or Gu Xiulan," she added thoughtfully. "No one I know really." Su Ling and Li Suyin might not be as talented, but she doubted either would simply settle. "Is third realm really where people stop?"
"The higher you rise, the more time cultivation takes, and people have other responsibilities and interests, you know?" Han Jian replied, heading toward the edge of the field. "Not everyone has the ambition and dedication to keep pushing through years or decades of tiny gains. Besides, most people don't really need higher cultivation, you know?"
Ling Qi struggled to imagine simply… settling, knowing that there was still such a vast gulf between yourself and the top, so many people and things which could still trample you effortlessly. "Well, less competition is good I guess," she said after a moment. "Anyway, I thought I'd ask…"
"If we could swap jade slips again?" He asked with a smile of his own. "That is why I sent Fang to keep an eye on the perimeter.
"How did you know?" Ling Qi asked curiously, not denying her interest. Since she had fully broken through, she had felt that something more awaited her if she could complete the three argent arts.
"Well, I figure that if I've reached limits of Argent Mirror, you probably mastered what I showed you of Argent Storm a month ago," Han Jian replied dryly. "...and, we don't exactly have a lot else to chat about anymore, do we?"
Ling Qi sighed, glancing away from him. He wasn't wrong, and that did make her a little sad. "How is everyone doing anyway? I've seen Xiulan a couple of times, when I had an opening at the White Room, but…"
"She hasn't exactly been sociable," he finished her sentence sadly. "She's at least being safe about her training now, but she is pushing hard. Thanks for taking her by the way. I can't really do so without a lot of… awkwardness, lets say."
"I understand," Ling Qi replied with a nod. "But I didn't just ask about Xiulan."
"Kind of you," he shot back as he plucked a wooden training sword from the rack and gestured for her to follow him out into the field. "Fang and I aren't giving up, even if we don't reach third realm… we're still aiming for the inner sect," he continued resolutely. "...I worry about Fan Yu though. He…"
"He probably feels like it's hopeless," Ling Qi finished.
"Yeah," Han Jian replied simply. "Yu is a good guy at heart… but I'm worried he's going to crash and burn, I'm trying to keep his spirits up, but there's only so much I can do if he doesn't want it himself."
So about what she expected then, Han Jian and Han Fang would both be solidly late second realm, perhaps even peak, but Fan Yu was still struggling to reach the middle last she saw, Xiulan had had been at peak spiritual the last she saw her, and her physical cultivation had just reached into late. "I won't trouble you for more, but while we demonstrate, there was something else I wanted to ask you."
"Oh? What would that be?" Han Jian asked, giving the practice blade in his hand a few lazy swipes, the wind stirring around him.
Ling Qi on the other hand fell into a defensive stance, calling up the qi of mountain and lake to center herself. "I was hoping you could tell me more about Golden Fields. I… have an offer regarding it after all," she replied calmly feeling the tranquility that came with activating Argent Mirror.
Han Jian studied her, brows furrowed, examining her with more than his eyes. She in turn felt carefully for the fluctuations in his qi as his limbs blurred under tight sleeves of swirling air. "Ah, Your actually considering it? Given your other connections I'm a little surprised."
"I want to know all that I can about every choice I have," Ling Qi replied simply.
"Well, it's not like I mind talking about home," he said, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
So, as they began testing one another defenses and observing the movements of one anothers qi, Han Jian began to speak.
The Golden Fields was land of patchworks. The territories of the clans were far less organic competitive, few major clans shared a border with another, though that was beginning to change in the westernmost lands, which had begun to regain their old character as fertile fields. Most of the habitable land was still scrub and desert though and so the traditions born in the wake of the fall were still maintained.
Most clans fell into two categories, Sedentary and Nomadic. The Fan for example were a sedentary clan, because during the fall, their patriarch had pulled their core lands deep underground and shielded it from the Sun's death with his body. Though they had been much reduced, the Fan thus maintained a rich, flowering oasis from which to rebuild. The Han, and the ruling clan the Guo, on the other hand were nomadic. The Han household traveled regularly along a fixed route through their territory in a great caravan, administering their smaller but more numerous settlements.
Ling was a little dubious about his description of the ducal clan though. Even with all she had seen, a great citadel carried on the back of a gigantic spirit beast seemed a little far fetched.
That aside though, Han Jian made no effort to conceal the fact that the Golden Fields was a harsh place, further east one went, the toxic and poisonous the lands outside clan territory became. The earth itself was tainted with sun and death qi, cultivators below the third realm who ventured out unprotected into the poison sands could quickly sicken and die, their meridians catching fire and their flesh rotting from their bones, and even higher cultivators could grow ill without regular cleansing. It took great effort from the clans to maintain their borders and prevent the poison from spreading back into cleansed lands, which was why actual expansion was such a generational affair.
Still it was a rich land, the same effect which had reduced the soil to ash had created great veins of qi rich ores and gemstones in the stone, and these days they were in high demand in the interior, being useful for all manner high end formation work and talisman crafting. Quite few clans which were only a few generations old had grown influential and wealthy off such finds, under the aegis of the greater clans.
Which they needed, because the desert was not content to simply poison passively. Ashwalkers, she remembered hearing about several times before, but now she got an explanation. They were foul, dead things born from the toxic qi of the sands. They were little more dangerous than normal predatory spirit beasts in small numbers, though one had to be careful to cleanse any land they were discovered in, but periodically, they would gather in number out in the wastes, rallied by their more intelligent kin, skeletal abominations animated by the wrathful wraiths of those who had died in the fall, driven mad by the toxic qi.
At their worst they could be akin to ancient imperial armies sweeping out of the waste, but that was rare, more often they behaved more like bandits, roving bands of murderous marauders that sought to break the land cleansing totems and destroy settlements.
It was unsettling, Ling Qi had to admit… but the more she learned about the world outside Tonghou, the more she came to understand that there was no safety on the borders of the empire, no matter the nature.
She parted ways with Han Jian after a couple hours of work and study, satisfied with the explanation… and her new understanding of Argent Storm, she would be able to cultivate it to completion on her own now.
It was growing dark by the time she left though, and so Ling Qi headed back home to settle in and continue her cultivation of Eight Phase Ceremony. Now that she was fully broken through, she wanted to advance her cultivation art.
Talent 6 + YSS 35 + Su Ling 2 + Starlit Meadow 5 + EPC 12 +pills 10= 70 dice + 5 autos (moon 5).
9 3 1 5 4 5 8 8 4 7 3 10 7 4 4 4 10 1 7 9 7 10 10 6 1 2 8 10 10 10 2 10 2 4 4 7 8 4 5 2 2 9 3 10 2 6 6 3 9 2 1 5 1 3 2 3 4 2 2 5 1 6 4 4 9 9 2 9 4 6. 40 successes
Rerolling 6
9 6 3 4 2 2. 4 successes. 5 auto. 49 total
196/200
1/5th of successes to Qi.
44/59
9 3 1 5 4 5 8 8 4 7 3 10 7 4 4 4 10 1 7 9 7 10 10 6 1 2 8 10 10 10 2 10 2 4 4 7 8 4 5 2 2 9 3 10 2 6 6 3 9 2 1 5 1 3 2 3 4 2 2 5 1 6 4 4 9 9 2 9 4 6. 40 successes
Rerolling 6
9 6 3 4 2 2. 4 successes. 5 auto. 49 total
196/200
1/5th of successes to Qi.
44/59
The next phase continued to elude her throughout the night, seeming to flit out of reach every time she thought that she had found some new insight in the stellar qi. It was frustrating, but with the morning sun heating her skin, Ling Qi had little recourse but to move on with her plans.
Those plans ran into a bit of a snag, when she found that Su Ling and the Ma sisters were nowhere to be found on the mountain though. Eventually when her search turned up no clues, she went to Li Suyin, who told her that their mutual friend had gone out on a hunting trip the day before and wasn't back yet.
With that knowledge in hand, Ling Qi descended the mountain to search for clues. Thankfully, Su Ling had been seen going into the forest, so picking up their trail wasn't too hard. The scene she came upon when she found them was a little strange though.
They were in a newly made clearing created by several destroyed trees which laid on the ground their trunks splintered and cracked. Ma Jun was seated on a rock, a gloomy expression on her face as she plucked twigs and dirt clods out of her mussed hair, the rest of the shyer sister wasn't much cleaner.
"C'mon, put your back into it," Ling Qi's attention was then drawn to Su Ling, who seemed rather more pleased at the state of things, if one could read past her natural surly expression. She was speaking to Ma Lei, who was red faced and panting, as she worked to haul… a truly massive boar out of a pit in the earth.
The beast was dead, one of its tusks broken, and many of the bony growths on its head cracked, and its hide was split in many places by deep cuts which no longer bled. It was also more than twice the height of a full grown horse and several times the mass.
"...You look like you're having an adventure," Ling Qi said dryly, calling their attention to her as she alit on the branch of a still standing tree. "I'm surprised you aren't helping though, Su Ling. Don't tell me you've gotten lazy."
Su Ling had startled when she first spoke up, her twin tails shooting straight up, but she relaxed as she looked over her shoulder at Ling Qi. "Nah, this is just punishment detail." She looked back to the other girl, who had taken the opportunity to catch her breath. "What'd we learn today?"
"To follow the plan," Ma Lei replied, between ragged breaths, her tone good natured despite the grumbling. "...and that I can't stop a Centennial Crag Boar head on yet."
"Obviously," Ma Jun huffed, plucking sadly at a wide rip in the sleeve of her gown. She stood and bowed toward Ling Qi then though. "Congratulations on your breakthrough Lady Ling."
"Huh, looks like you did finish, congrats Ling Qi," Su Ling added a moment later, looking her over more closely. "Did ya fall in a bag of glitter though?"
"Ha-ha," Ling Qi replied dryly. "Thank you though," she added more politely to Ma Jun. "What are you guys doing out here anyway?"
"Sect job," Su Ling replied with a shrug. "This fella wandered out of the mountains. I needed to re-stock on some stuff too."
"And we needed some points too, Sis and I wanna get some tutoring," Ma Lei said cheerfully even as she got back to work.
She was glad to see that they were getting along well enough to take on cooperative jobs. It eased her worries about leaving Su Ling alone in the Outer Sect.
"So what brought you out here?" Su Ling asked, eyeing her shrewdly.
"It's just been awhile, hasn't it?" Ling Qi replied sheepishly, knowing that the other girl wouldn't appreciate being checked up on like a child. Ling Qi didn't see it that way, but she suspected Su Ling would. "How are you all holding up now that the mess with Liling is over? I've been kind of out of contact for a little."
"We are ready to resume guarding you or your home if needed Lady Ling," Ma Jun said humbly. "Things have been very peaceful, so enforcer patrols have been scaled down somewhat."
"...Been kinda boring," Ma Jun grunted. "Got into a duel with this angry pink haired girl over a hunting job though. She really cleaned my clock," she added the last with a laugh, seemingly unbothered by the loss.
"Just been working on some projects. Think I might have found some good places for harvesting out here," Su Ling shrugged. "Ah, if you want, I refined another silverblood pill."
"Oh? I might be needing those soon," Ling Qi said, hopping down from the tree and gesturing to Jun that she could sit back down. "How much did you want for it?"
Su Ling scratched her cheek, looking away. "Had a chat with Fatty, seems like I managed something pretty high quality. Two hundred stones sound good?" She sounded a little apologetic.
That was pretty expensive. "Hm… would a hundred and another lesson on Argent Current work for you?" Ling Qi asked. She didn't want to deprive her friend of hard earned gains, but she did have to consider her own resources.
Su Ling blinked, her fuzzy ears twitching. "... Yeah, I could go for that. I'm kinda stuck on it."
"Let me see what I can manage then," Ling Qi replied with a smile, noting with some amusement the way Jun's eyes darted back and forth between them as they spoke. "I'll let you know when I have some time free,"
"That's great and all… but could I please get a little help with this?" Ma lei asked, her voice muffled by the massive boar on her shoulders.
Ling Qi glanced at Su Ling, who raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged. "Fine, fine. I made my point," she grumbled. "You want to come back with us? Gonna take this to Fatty and get some good pork out of it, he's got a friend whose a real good chef."
Ling Qi thought it over for a second, then nodded. "Sure, sounds fun."
She would likely be doubling down on training soon herself, so it would be best to take her relaxation where she could.
After enjoying a meal of the most mouth watering food she had ever tasted, Ling Qi found herself drifting a bit, lost in thought as she idly worked through new compositions on the roof to the house. She had already checked in on Zhengui, who had toddled off to the peak to play with Hanyi, and she wasn't quite sure what to do. She was beginning to worry that Meizhen would never get back to her honestly as it had been five days since their last conversation.
Thankfully, her fears proved groundless, and that night she received a message from Meizhen… asking her to come down to the lake. Ling Qi was pretty sure she knew which lake her friend meant.
Which stirred up a whole new group of fears.
When she arrived, the moon was already high in the sky, and Meizhen was seated at the shore. Conflicting with her almost ethereal appearance under the moonlight was the polished bamboo fishing rod in her hands.
Ling Qi dropped down soundlessly from the trees a polite distance away, eyeing the ripples made by the bobbing lure out in the water. She didn't speak up at first, simply approaching in silence. She made no effort to hide her presence, so Meizhen surely knew she was there.
Finally, she came to a stop on the shoor a few meters from where Meizhen sat with her eyes half closed. "Anything biting?" She asked lightly, not sure how to broach the more obvious topics.
"Yes," her friend replied simply, without looking up. "Cui is sleeping off her meal in the grass."
Ling Qi nodded, closing her own eyes for a moment as she considered her words. "Why here?"
"It is a good place to fish," Meizhen replied dryly, finally cracking an eye open to look at Ling Qi. "There are few enough of those here." She met Ling Qi's gaze steadily through several long moments of silence before turning her eyes back to the water. "...However poorly it ended, I did enjoy the rest of that evening, Qi."
Ling Qi let out a breath, clenching and unclenching her hands as she tried to work out what to say. They had talked before, tried to hash out things between them, but in the end, the events of that night still stood between them like a silent gulf. "...Will you listen to one of those songs I mentioned?" She finally asked, if she couldn't manage with words, then music might do. Heavens knew she was better with the latter.
Meizhen inclined her head slightly, not looking up again. It was agreement, and that was all Ling Qi needed. Her gown fluttered in the breeze as she raised her flute to her lips and closed her eyes, focusing on burning away the delusional haze that stood between her and the clear memory of what she had played that night at the Gala, when the spirits had called for an encore.
The song that flowed from her flute was a happier one than her usual fare. It spoke of first meetings and admiration, of growing safety and confidence, sheltered by another's strength. It spoke of affection and repayment, a desire to stand as equals, to support and be supported. Her music spoke of all these things and so much more echoing out over the clear water of the lake.
When it finally ended, Ling Qi's shoulders slumped, for she felt drained, and opened her eyes to look at her friend.
Meizhen's fishing line hung slack, the hook and bait stolen, and Meizhen sat with her head down, her eyes shadowed by her hair. Silence, deafening in the absence of her song hung over the lake as one minute after another ticked by, the both of them unmoving. "There really is no chance that you will feel what I do, is there?" Meizhen's quiet voice was the first to break the silence.
"No, there isn't," Ling Qi replied, slumping to the ground to sit with her legs splayed toward the water. "I'm so sorry Meizhen. You are my best friend, maybe even something like a sister… but not that." She lowered her own head, ashamed. "I was cruel, to make you think I might."
The other girls shoulders shook slightly, and she did not respond. "It is not fair," the words were spoken so quietly that Ling Qi did not doubt they were not meant to be said aloud. "You were… but I hold blame as well. Only my own delusion allowed that hope to persist," she said, as if to cover her slip. Ling Qi did her best to ignore the hint of redness in the girls faintly glowing eyes.
"I was a poor friend to take advantage of it though," Ling Qi replied, drawing her knees up to her chest. "You know, when we first met, you seemed like an impossible goal, completely invincible and untouchable," she said with a wry smile.
"And you seemed hopeless and fragile," Bai Meizhen replied with a huff, laying her fishing rod aside. "I think I came to treasure your reliance on me. I had always been alone before, but for Cui, even among family." Left unsaid was that she had certainly never had anyone look up to her
"And I never had anyone who could actually protect me," Ling Qi replied with a sigh. "That little house Liling ruined. That was the first place that had felt like home in so long."
"Another reason to grind that barbarians face into the dirt," Meizhen muttered darkly. "I have said it before… but i do not know where to go from here. I cannot call what is between us mere friendship, but…"
"But we're not… we're not lovers either," Ling Qi stumbled over the words, a heated flush rising on her cheeks, the thought was still strange and alien to her. "...Sisters then?" She asked glancing at Meizhen out of the corner of her eye.
"I hardly have that authority," Meizhen replied dryly.
"No, not like… actual adoption," Ling Qi replied with a grimace, gesturing vaguely. "I… remember seeing boys do that little brotherhood ritual you know, they'd steal a cup of rice wine and cut each others thumbs to mix blood in the wine, then swear to be brothers over the drink" Meizhen gave her a dubious look, and Ling Qi could only shrug sheepishly. "I dunno, I never did it," she mumbled defensively.
"I believe I recall the existence of such customs," Meizhen said after several moments. "...It originated in Ebon Rivers, among the Zheng if I recall," her lips twisted a bit in distaste on the last few words. "I cannot imagine Grandfather would approve of such a thing."
"It was a silly idea," Ling Qi apologized, leaning back to look up at the sky.
"...Perhaps," Meizhen said quietly. "I appreciate the spirit of the offer," she closed her eyes for a moment. "You will not cease risking yourself as you did with the Dreaming Moon, will you?"
"I won't," Ling Qi admitted. "I can't afford too."
"You will build a strong house someday," Bai Meizhen said with a sigh. "My apologies. I have no right to stunt your Way with my worries."
"I don't mind having someone worry about me," Ling Qi replied lightly. "But… I will try to be more cautious. Zhengui is growing up, he'll be able to help protect me soon."
"Assuming you can get the little glutton to stop eating the flowerbeds and porch," Meizhen huffed. "At least Cui limits herself to the vermin."
"Ah, did Zhengui start chewing on the garden porch again?" Ling Qi asked sheepishly. "I'll have a talk with him."
She laughed, and Meizhen did that little huff that Ling Qi knew was the closest she came to doing the same.
She was glad to have cleared things up with her best friend
Presence 8/20
Manipulation 1/45
Composure 3/35
Survival 11/15
Expression 6/42
+10 successes to Qi
+5 successes to Argent Current
Manipulation 1/45
Composure 3/35
Survival 11/15
Expression 6/42
+10 successes to Qi
+5 successes to Argent Current
You have five major actions and three minor. However, I will allow up to two minor actions which are tied to major ones.
[] Train at the vent with Su Ling
-[] Any
[] Train Music arts with Zeqing
[] Take a job
-[] Specify
[] Visit the Archive
-[] Search for a technique
-[] Study or improve formations
-[] Study another subject
[] Train with Meizhen
-[] Any
[] Attempt to placate the Dragon of the Valley
[] Cultivate in the White Room
-[] What?
-[] With who?
[] Cultivate on your own
-[] Physical
-[] Spiritual
-[] Qi
-[] Meridian (which one?)
-[] Art(Which one?)
[] You and Suyin could continue working on the pale manual formations, perhaps you could ask Xuan Shi for a tip or two?
[] Invite Meizhen out shopping, you could use some advice for what to look for in flying swords
[] Fulfill your offer with Su Ling, train her in Argent Current for another silverblood pill
[] Zhengui's efforts are coming along well, but Gu Tai mentioned that he might be able to help, take him up on it
[] Take Cai up on the implicit offer, have a chat about tea or... sword techniques, or something less serious
[] Perhaps Xiulan could use some help. Track down her training ground and see what she's been up too.
[] You… should probably look into what Sixiang is actually doing. The spirit did follow you home.
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- Location
- United States of America
That EPC roll though, just 4 more!
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Hahahahahaa, owwwww, that actually causes me physical pain.
I don't suppose it's possible to just push our "Automatic +5 successes with Moon Arts" to push that over the top next turn, is it?
EDIT: Actually, wait, don't we have some omake points? If we can save an action by just nudging it over the top, that'd be super handy.
I don't suppose it's possible to just push our "Automatic +5 successes with Moon Arts" to push that over the top next turn, is it?
EDIT: Actually, wait, don't we have some omake points? If we can save an action by just nudging it over the top, that'd be super handy.
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EPC5 was a hail mary shot anyway, like 13% or something.
Suggestion: since we don't have a Meizhen dragon minor anymore, do Gu Tai with the dragon. He's supposed to be going out to form a new clan in new territory, he should know a thing or two about spirit beasts.
Suggestion: since we don't have a Meizhen dragon minor anymore, do Gu Tai with the dragon. He's supposed to be going out to form a new clan in new territory, he should know a thing or two about spirit beasts.
That bittersweet Meizhen scene though. 
We should probably do the Zhengui and Sixiang minors... Need to get littleson bro ready so he can fight beside us and moon rave girl/boy is one of those new plot points that we need to get a head of before weird stuff happens.
We should probably do the Zhengui and Sixiang minors... Need to get little
- Location
- United States of America
- Location
- United States of America
Got the Meizhen training option back.
Don't see the GF one though.
Interesting to know that Han Jian will not break through before the tournament. That... Certainly puts a maximum on the number of Greens and Bronzes we can expect to see in the ranks. Anyone with lesser resources + talent than him will probably not make it.
I definitely wonder about Xiulan.
I definitely wonder about Xiulan.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Anyway, minorwise, let's see.
We want the Meizhen one so we can see what we need for a good Flying Weapon
We want Sixiang because leaving a party animal unattended seems like a recipe for mayhem.
ZhenguiZhenguiZhengui!
Then Suyin/Xuan Shi or Xiulan? The Pale Manual's still pretty handy, but Xiulan's been quiet for a while.
Last one depends on whether we decide to get tutoring or not this week. We're in a good position to grab a Moon Tutor to help push EPC up as well as unlock PLR so we can see what it does.
Majors. Well, push EPC over the top and unlock PLR with a Tutoring Action if we want to spend our Minors. Then we want to do the Mystic Vale and Zeqing for FVM now that we're fully Third Reaom.
That's... 4/6 after we've included the tutoring bonus.
Leaves us with two more. One for the White Room to open another Leg Meridian so we can start with SCS, one for a Mission?
We want the Meizhen one so we can see what we need for a good Flying Weapon
We want Sixiang because leaving a party animal unattended seems like a recipe for mayhem.
ZhenguiZhenguiZhengui!
Then Suyin/Xuan Shi or Xiulan? The Pale Manual's still pretty handy, but Xiulan's been quiet for a while.
Last one depends on whether we decide to get tutoring or not this week. We're in a good position to grab a Moon Tutor to help push EPC up as well as unlock PLR so we can see what it does.
Majors. Well, push EPC over the top and unlock PLR with a Tutoring Action if we want to spend our Minors. Then we want to do the Mystic Vale and Zeqing for FVM now that we're fully Third Reaom.
That's... 4/6 after we've included the tutoring bonus.
Leaves us with two more. One for the White Room to open another Leg Meridian so we can start with SCS, one for a Mission?
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
Interestingly, White Room does mean he can have a really fucking good art suite for tournament though. As it's a safe +10 meridian, at least.
URGHHHHHH