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Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

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    • Good Seed and Omake Spreadsheet Rules:

    Firstly, if you have questions about Good Seeds and the like please read here. If that doesn't answer your question please ping me in thread, or on Discord.

    If you write a new Good Seed, or write an omake, please update the spreadsheet if you have access.

    If you do not have access, please ping a collaborator (Swordomatic, Alectai, Quest, TehChron, Insane-Not-Crazy, Humbaba, ReaderOfFate, Kaboomatic, no., BungieONI) letting them know what you want and they will update the spreadsheet here. To gain access, you will need a gmail account of some kind. Throwaway emails are fine (I'm using one for the spreadsheet), but to gain access it's as simple as sending me either your email via PM, via DM in Discord, or just in Discord's #spreadsheet-requests channel.

    This is mandatory. If a Good Seed does not record their omake by pinging collabs (or just requesting access and editing things themselves - this is the preferred option), I won't give out awards. If a new Good Seed is not recorded here, they won't advance. By doing this it makes the whole thing manageable for me - it's gotten pretty unwieldy!

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    Omake Writer Instructions:

    There are four fields you need to fill out.

    Omake Link, which is just a link to your first omake for the turn. This makes it easier for me to read them as I do the update - without this it's tough to know off the bat which omake were written this turn, and to properly

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    All other fields are for QM use to record character information to properly run the flow of the game.
     
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    Rina Callista X10 - The Enduring World
  • Sidestory
    • Rina Callista
    Supplemental: The Enduring World​

    Ages had passed since the formation of the World. What was once a simple place for great spirits to rest has become a bustling realm, with many little lives, all unique and all determined to thrive in a cosmos that would see them destroyed.

    But not all was well, for it had become clear over the passing of countless eons that the cosmos was not a safe place.

    The teeth of the Kinslayer rent the surface, drinking deep of the realm's blood before being driven off by the Living Weapon. The Elder Shadow's cloak, cast upon the world to teach it endurance. The Heiress of the Abyss in her entitlement seeking to split it open to hurt her foes.

    Calamity after Calamity had rained upon the World. Might that Void could not hold back, that Stone could not endure. Life and Fate found themselves stymied, and only the unfaltering determination of Man bound them all together and left enough to regrow from.

    So the Great Spirits called one another to council, so as to determine a Solution.

    "It is clear that our might is insufficient" Wind--ever clever--began. "The gods of the cosmos have strength beyond us, even acting in concert."

    "A new way forward must be found," Fate agreed. "For our fortune is stretched to the breaking point, a third clash with a greater God may be our doom."

    The other spirits rumbled in frustration, but agreement could be found between them all.

    "What are our options?" Stone asked. "For I grow tired of invaders carving new scars into my flesh."

    Fate and Wind gave a glance to one another, then each nodded. "The Liberating Sage has a way." Said Wind.

    Man scowled, while the other Spirits looked thoughtful. "The one who speaks of the injustice of the cosmos?" Life questioned. "The one who has granted us guidance on the measures of defence and the usage of power?"

    "The same." Fate confirmed. "He has travelled between many realms, studying their virtues and their failings. He has seen promise in us to improve on matters, and is willing to reveal his deepest secrets should we ask."

    "What then, does he desire in return for this?" Water asked, sceptical as ever in the face of outsiders. "For he is not bound to our realm, he gains nothing by our survival, and one such as him cares nothing for the death of any realm or another."

    Wind shakes his head. "His interests are fulfilled by our prosperity." He explains. "His plan is simple enough in nature at least--he has calculated that the rise of gods are ultimately enabled through the energies of Chaos that fill the cosmos. Free for any spirits to seize, and then to war over. We ourselves are no exception."

    Fate nodded. "His plan then is simple: if Gods will continue to lay siege to our Realm for what we represent, then we simply deny them their magic, by seizing it for ourselves."

    Flame looked pensive at that, stroking his bearded chin in thought. "Claiming the fuel that empowers them, and thus leaving them starving and unable to fight. It is simple logic at least."

    Wind smiles. "Already, he has provided to us diagrams and incantations that we may use to repurpose Void's power. It may take some time to determine the fuels used to empower wicked gods, and learn how to make use of them… But it is absolutely a viable approach, the plans are extremely elegant in that sense.'

    "And our people will be protected?" Life whispered. "Our home no longer subject to these calamities?"

    "There is no such thing as absolute certainty." Fate cautions. "But… I do not foresee any foes being able to challenge us, should we complete the words of power the Sage offered us."

    "It may be difficult, but we have strength enough for this." Lightning mused. "And I for one, am tired of being defeated whenever an alien god emerges from the Chaos."

    A loud harumph filled the air, and discussion faded. Man sat, slovenly and dishevelled as he always was--but his gaze burned as one with the will to endure. "Typical, we experience setbacks, and start clamouring for handouts. What makes this any better than any of the Gods we face?"

    "Our responsibilities make us better." Void responded. "What we do, we do to protect those in our stead.

    "As spoke every other tyrant in history!" Man barked, silencing the guardian with his voice. He fixed his gaze upon the other Spirits of the Realm, and a measure of his heat faded. "I know, I understand. Our ideals have been tested, and we have found them wanting in the face of the calamities brought by foreign gods and monsters. Indeed, no peace can be found while wicked powers seek to intrude."

    "Then, you agree?" Fate asked, hoping for the best.

    "Not for an instant" Man barked. "Consider where this path goes beyond the obvious. Monopolising all of the resources and magic within our reach sounds like a good idea, hmm?" He questions. "The Chaos is vast beyond comprehension! All that gathering this power together does is make us a more appealing target!"

    "Then we… Simply keep… Going?" Wind began to respond, but slowed as his thoughts caught up, brow furrowed in thought.

    "Yes, we keep going. How far?" Man seizes on the motion. "Do we simply keep seizing power until no more exists beyond our Realm? To plunder and claim all the riches of the cosmos for our personal demesne? How does that make us any different from the foreign gods that would strike us down?"

    Fate was stricken by this--he hadn't considered going that far. "It would never end." He realised. "Even if we should never fall to corruption ourselves, and hold to our ideals… We would either have to expand until the end of the Chaos, or we would run into a greater predator and be destroyed for our hubris."

    "A cunning trap!" Life spat. "Offer salvation with one hand, that cannot help but be a poison when claimed!"
    "And yet, even if we discard the Liberating Sage's philosophy on practical grounds…" Man continued. "At the end of the day, the Chaos is infinite and unbound. Much evil emerges from it--but there is undoubtedly Good as well. Are we to deny those possibilities simply because there is more Evil to be found?"

    "No." The Great Spirits spoke as one, their hearts united once more.

    "So we will not follow the path of the Liberating Sage." Wind agreed, content. "Yet at the end of the day, we still cannot stand up against the wicked foreign gods."

    "I may have a solution in mind for that…" Man nodded, rising to his feet. "What the Foreign Gods hold, that we do not, is a greater command of Power. Each of us are certainly mighty, but we cannot easily turn our gifts to war. Stone has strength and a body that does not easily break, but he cannot strike out at a foeman. Flame is mighty, but easily distracted and evaded. Water is persistent, but cannot easily divide her attention without diluting her strength."

    "It is natural." Life agreed. "For it is in unity that strength is found, any one being can only take a small number of aspects to the limit."

    "I propose we change that." Man spoke. "From the mightiest metal of Stone's heart, let us raise a champion, bound to Virtue and infused with the full power of our Realm. A World-Lord that can meet the Foreign Gods as a peer, and drive them away, one and all."

    "It will be taxing on us to create a vessel of that might…" Wind considered. "And yet…"

    "It would serve as an example, as inspiration." Lightning agrees. "A weapon that can strike down evil, a shield that can guard the weak." He claps his hands in a thunderous noise. "Good! It is certainly worth trying! A victory on our own terms or not at all."

    There was much discussion to be held between the Great Spirits in the time to come, and there were still lesser dangers that must be resisted in the meantime.

    But for the first time in a great deal of time, the Nine Great Spirits had a direction and an aim.

    They would not falter, even should the heavens fall upon them.
     
  • Sidestory
    • Rina Callista 50 - Eyes West, to the Maze
  • Sidestory
    • Rina Callista
    Eyes West, to the Maze​

    Years of training new recruits, suppressing blood cultists and monsters, and securing the Clan's new holdings for future settlement had gone by. It would be some time yet before the Bracers were back to full strength after the pummelling taken in the scramble for the Underworld Palace, but the work was done.

    What remained was to draw plans for the next several years of operation. To secure resources and favours as needed to prepare. The Clan prepared its Great Plans every twenty years--considered by many to be the ideal balance between flexibility and actually finishing a major project.

    So it was with only a modest degree of discomfort that Rina placed a request for the Protostrator's open missive--100 Contribution Points wasn't really that much in the grand scheme of things, but virtually every point Rina could accumulate was always being put to use maintaining her overcharged Cultivation Base, and even a small expense could leave her depleted at an awkward time.

    The CCCII's current camp was in a nice, scenic valley within the former Bandit Kingdoms--whatever they'd call themselves in the future now that they were liberated from Jingshen Control was up in the air of course--it was a good base to work from, and there were some prime recruits to be found in the region--one of the most hospitable to life within the Desert. Rina liked it, she'd have to see if she could snap up a bit to establish a proper Waycastle for the Legion at--she had been borrowing the family facilities up until now, but now that her Silverine Bracers were established and seasoned, she didn't want to put any undue burden on House Callista. Especially with the family's sponsored Legions now mostly back up to strength.

    Scanning through the missive, Rina frowned slightly at the complete failure to explain where the majority of the spoils from the Jingshen vaults had gone. Project Amphora remained a mystery, a black hole where nearly two centuries of income fell into. The remaining options seemed to make the Clan's current geopolitical ambitions clear however--a call for aid in securing the remaining holdouts in the Underworld Spirit Palace, and two deployments into the Great Battlefield to win goodwill so that the Clan could get away with keeping the Desert.

    Of course, reading the requests had Rina's frown grow steadily more grave, crossing over into a grimace as she completed her assessment, placing her access slate on the table before her, before steepling her hands before her and resting her forehead on them.

    A smashmouth offensive down the throat of the newly re-established Ma Empire, using speed and the newly codified Millennial Oasis Formation to sustain the strike force until they could reach and relieve the Great Mountain Bell Sect. High risk of interference by the Demonic Altar Sect and the Ma Empire, though the risk of a Nascent Soul intervening was evidently judged as relatively low, due to the need to keep the Mountain Bell Sect from launching a sally.

    Or… The Great Poison Maze, a cross between protecting villages from further kidnappings and launching raids within the Maze in hopes of liberating captured experts and elites from the Bear Enslavement Sect, relying on obscurity and speed to remain beneath the notice of the Maze itself.

    At the end of the day, it wasn't really a choice, was it? The role of Rina's Bracers was to protect the weak, not to destroy their peers. She had connections with a reasonably talented defector, and a newly ordained Elder of the Broken Arrow Bandits--who had more experience than anyone else in facing off against the Poison Maze.

    It had to be her, few others among the best and brightest of the Clan's Chosen had the connections, the power, and the will to make it happen. It was a pity, she was hoping to get a little downtime to focus on shoring up her cultivation base further, to plan out the sealing of her Pillar's cracks.

    But events waited for nobody, and she'd never forgive herself if she dithered about it only for people to be killed who didn't need to die.

    It seemed she would be returning to the Great Battlefield after all. Hopefully Millet would be willing to help, she'd been making progress as an advisor to Xu Zhen's court on Rina's dime, and she was at the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment by now, only holding back because she 'Had a good feeling waiting might be nice.'

    Leafsplitter at least would be willing, he had strength comparable to a Mid Core by this point thanks to the strength of his foundation and the legacies he inherited in the retreat. It should be enough.

    She collected the slate, and rose to her feet. She needed to get the Legion moving--and submit her bid for the mission to boot.

    At least she should be able to beat any runners back to the Fortress on the way to submitting her intentions. A flight of a day or so should be more than enough. She could then spend a day to recover her losses from the generation arrays there, and be most of the way to the muster point by the end of the week.

    Always best to get these things sorted out in advance, so people had more time to make arrangements.



    Rina couldn't help but stare at the Contribution Board for the mission, seeing two letters already earmarked for it.

    "DI"

    "How in the Imperator's name did she beat me here?" Rina shook her head, eyes glazed over. "I,... I was literally just a day from getting the delivery, has she been camping here? Just waiting for a chance to jump in first?"

    It boggles the mind.

    "I just… Why? There's like, six of them?" Rina wondered. "Wouldn't they be better at the palace? I just…"

    She already felt a headache coming on.

    "I… Think I need to have a chat with Aretaphila. Soon."
     
  • Sidestory
    • occipitallobe said:
    I figured I'd chart south next. The Woodsplitter Sect is boring and their name is stupid, there are no forests for hundreds of li. They're axemen and drink a lot, and apparently destroyed the old Firetree Forests that once grew around them, springing up from the lava and spitting up monsters. Now they meditate on the Axe Dao, drink, and mourn their old Core Formation founder.
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    View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FshU58nI0Ts

    Legit the first thought of mine that popped up. I'm sure there's some actual correlation between Lumberjacks and Drinking, but as someone who lives in Asia and who experience to Lumberjacks is Pop Culture... I immediately started wondering if the true reason for the Drinking and the Crying was because they secretly wanted to be more then what Third Sea Societal norms demanded them to be. :D
     
    Right, right I didn't get a chance earlier in the week when the vote was in full swing to type this up properly so I mostly stuck to dropping references and explanations piecemeal in the discord.

    So, here's the basic idea behind what [] Plan for Work or w/e i called it builds up to:

    • Establish an extremely strong baseline that can afford greater attrition but also faster growth of our own forces. (Good Progress based on results of votes this turn, requires either further growth boosters which can potentially be acquired as well as a means to further raise up and empower Good Seeds to counter the Great Era's influences)
    • Profit from the ongoing War in the West as much as possible (Good Progress by working out mercenary actions via Clan Focus in addition to arranging a hit on the wayward Sorrowful Blacksmith Nascent)
    • Upon reaching a critical mass of forces, offer to open up a secondary front through the Devil Bees homelands in exchange for a substantial payout from the RP (The improved population cap courtesy of the Coloneia as well as the third breadbasket courtesy of the rebuild bandit kingdoms also helps with this)

    So, the isolationist in you may be wondering.

    Why do we want to do this when we can be fortifying against Old Cannibal turning his attentions at us inevitable down the line?

    Well, that's simple actually! Just like we have had to deal with skullduggery from all and sundry the entirety of the game, we too can turn nonlinear warfare against our opponents as well! And the primary problem behind us engaging against Old Cannibal on any level is that he is a Late Nascent Soul, and not only is Manuel not...he very likely will never have the talent to be one himself.

    Which is not a bad thing by any means. Perish the thought. We have our own means to try and turn things around on him (Raising four Golden Devil Nascent Souls up, Nascent Hoplite Formation to let us fight at Late Nascent Soul Levels) but that's an honest gamble to take when Old Cannibal has so many friends in his corner.

    And Altar Lord is going to leave us alone while we try and raise a Single Pillar King or two to the final stage of Single Pillar Foundation Establishment or whatever endgame he's playing towards for Soup Chef's benefit.

    So, strictly speaking...We don't need to fight or contain Old Cannibal directly. If anything, the results of this turn show that the Righteous Path are entirely willing to suppress Old Cannibal and his Abyssal Invasion on their own so long as they have the means and potential to do so. Part and parcel of that, of course, is the Spirit Stone trade keeping their Nascents topped off enough to handle the Blood Paths ability to simply regain power by eating people.

    We control that resource.

    Another part of that, is drawing out Nascents into the Great Battlefield in disadvantageous conditions to enable a Nascent Bowl to occur to the Righteous Paths benefit.

    We've seen that happen twice before. Once with Kingslaughterer getting screwed. And again with the Thousand Song Siege ending in a fashion that utterly broke that front for the NDA entirely.

    We can offer to assist in doing so again, via Mercenary Legions. We are doing so, even now as proof of concept. By all accounts and every metric, we deal with Blood Path extremely well when the conditions line up for it. Righteous Path use their forces to corral the NDA into attacking various hardpoints, which the Legions then man, sieges happen from blood path starvation.

    They die in droves. Simple.

    Inevitably, this provokes an enemy Nascent to take the field to retake control of the tempo of the war. Altar Lord likely wont do it himself save at great need, but he won't attack Manuel proactively. The pieces need their boogeyman so that they have the freedom to get promoted. Instead, the inevitable result of poking at the board is that a demonic nascent who is at most a Mid-Nascent will poke his head out and possibly drive off a Righteous Nascent. Maybe even injuring them and sending them to the Oasis to heal.

    To limit this risk, the RP will naturally be inclined to hire an Assassin. One who is invincible in Mid-Nascent Soul. One who, with the Blacksmith Blood Rebels death, have one of the highest Nascent Soul killcounts in the region.

    The breathing room this buys the Righteous Path means that they can leave a smaller investment in the Great Battlefield to contain events there. And in turn launch expeditions into the Verdant South to try and bring Old Cannibal to heel.

    Which in turn will force him to try and heal afterwards.

    Which will, in turn, force him to...Shit I rather out of heel homonyms. But you get my point. He has to spend more time prepping to raise up his new Sect which from the start had always been his objective in fucking around in the Verdant South before he could get his revenge on us. The more invested in the South Old Cannibal becomes, the more he'll be unable to leave before he's raised up a capable second that can keep things in line while he's gone.

    Made more difficult by the fact that the Righteous Path will spend everything they can afford killing his subordinates in order to leave him isolated for the Wei Princesses sake.

    A three step cycle of Recovery, Founding, Fighting.

    One that Old Cannibal won't be able to escape from barring yet another massive new shift in his favor...Which will still be fine, because this is a Great Era. And the Heavens wont allow such a thing to go unanswered from him.

    While we accumulate more and more purchases from doing actions for the Righteous Path. Meaning more unlocked Legacies from the mountains. Which means more and grander purchases we can save up for.

    My ideal hope is that over the course of the century long period between Trials, with a third nascent in tow, we might be able to accumulate as much as 25 Purchases over the course of that cycle.

    Maybe even more.

    The possibilities that will open for us will be staggering, and if we can accumulate enough to force open the Turtle Heart Secret Realm?

    That century is well within the expected Foundation Establishment lifespan for our Unorthodox Good Seeds.

    Worst case scenario, we somehow fall short and only wind up being fabulously wealthy. But if it pays off?

    Skies the limit.
     
    TheCount said:
    Oh no, she does not know what awaits her lol.
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    Hopefully some kind of punishment duty, given that they managed to skullfuck a basic survey mission this badly. Even if the Peng Kingdom isn't powerful enough to actually retaliate for this sort of bullshit, it reflects very poorly on the Optimatoi.

    You can't make Good Seed levels of trouble without having Good Seed levels of value to pay for it.
     
    TehChron said:
    snip
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    I mostly agree, although I would also want to form our own power bloc with the mountain powers to secure outr backs in the medium term.

    One thing though, I wouldn't call sending a single Early Nascent a "hit" on the Sorrowful Blacksmith rebel. I'm pretty sure that one Early and one Mid Nascent aren't enough to kill a Mid Nascent. It might be enough to delay and weaken the rebellion, but the chances of slaying the rebel Nascent are probably lower than the chances of our own Elder having to use their LST.

    If we wanted the rebel dead, we should have sent Manuel.

    EDIT : I've been told of the errors of my ways and now regret my words and my deeds.
     
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    Sparsebeard said:
    I mostly agree, although I would also want to form our own power bloc with the mountain powers to secure outr backs in the medium term.

    One thing though, I wouldn't call sending a single Early Nascent a "hit" on the Sorrowful Blacksmith rebel. I'm pretty sure that one Early and one Mid Nascent aren't enough to kill a Mid Nascent. It might be enough to delay and weaken the rebellion, but the chances of slaying the rebel Nascent are probably lower than the chances of our own Elder having to use their LST.

    If we wanted the rebel dead, we should have sent Manuel.
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    Kleisthenes is just negotiating for Manuel's services. She isn't engaging in combat
     
    Insane-Not-Crazy said:
    Kleisthenes is just negotiating for Manuel's services. She isn't engaging in combat
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    I'd like to think that here's a bit of nuance in that, since the overarching plan is to save up for the repository. Is she really going to sit there twiddling her thumbs for a full turn? Maybe she'll do some smaller mercenary work for lesser prizes, for example access to some less important legacy sites, and there's also the part where we don't let mortals get rekt for no reason.
     
    Lampshade said:
    I'd like to think that here's a bit of nuance in that, since the overarching plan is to save up for the repository. Is she really going to sit there twiddling her thumbs for a full turn? Maybe she'll do some smaller mercenary work for lesser prizes, for example access to some less important legacy sites, and there's also the part where we don't let mortals get rekt for no reason.
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    It's a pretty involved negotiation. We're try to lock down access for some legacies that the Blacksmiths will not want to give us so this is not exactly a thumb-twiddling exercise. We're not risking her in combat for free. If they want help,.they can cough up some minor consideration
     
    Second Winning Vote
  • Threadmarks

    • Scheduled vote count started by occipitallobe on Dec 4, 2021 at 1:46 AM, finished with 199 posts and 60 votes.
    Click to expand...
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Kinda sad about the Ma clan, but the trading palace and the rebuilding is in the winning vote so I'm fine.
    Can't really care for the kingdom.
     
    Xiuying Ten Jiang 29 - Cutting Forward
  • Sidestory

    • Xiuying Ten Jiang 29 - Cutting Forward


    Lately, when Xiuying was alone in the middle of the night, either out training in the light of the moon or lying on her futon looking up the ceiling of her room in her food wagon, she often wondered if she was doing well.

    She couldn't help but reminisce on things her master once told her during his more philosophical moments. "The path of the sword is a miserable one. As a practitioner of Sword Law, your greatest skill is murder. As murder was generally frowned upon in polite societies, I highly recommend you cultivate a more socially acceptable skill to pay for your living expenses."

    Back when her master was still teaching her, he often gave her his opinions of his way of life and how it was more often than not a miserable bloody one that was bound to make a bitter cynic out of even the most idealistic fool. He also said that every follower of Sword Law was probably insane or some kind of crazy, himself included.

    While Xiuying could freely admit that she was content with how her life had turned out so far, she wasn't sure if she was doing particularly well as a cultivator. Sure she was considered one of the stronger cultivators in her generation, having reached Foundation Establishment in only a century, but when she looked at the kings and heroes of the clan that were ahead of her, she couldn't help but wonder if she was doing enough to get stronger. It didn't help that Meti's Sword Manual was apparently meant for a world where cultivating was much much faster than the Third Sea, having received depressing comments that she was slow in her cultivation speed whenever the mysterious will within the book made itself known to her.

    Her luck was also rather erratic, going from finding rather decent fortune and treasures that allowed her to make huge jumps in her progress only to have that advancement stall due to getting badly hurt, forcing her to waste time recovering her strength. Of course, while she knew that there were many in the clan who would kill to have her good fortune as well as those who have had far crazier extremes in luck, Xiuying couldn't help but feel frustrated, especially after the whole Hong Clan fiasco where everything didn't go as planned for many of her peers who had accepted the mission alongside her.

    To be fair, she should have focused more on recovering her strength after leaving the Man-As-Mountain array half-dead, instead of going off on a mission to help hunt down a fire spirit. It was thanks to those injuries that she had failed to properly cut the fire spirit down to size, resulting in the mission's failure. Sure, her friends and acquaintances told her that it wasn't her fault and that the poor results were due to numerous other factors outside her control but she felt that she should have done much better.

    It was this feeling of failure that had led Xiuying to go and spend much of her mission payout on getting the best treatment she could get. She'd learnt her lesson back in Fire Duck Town and she wasn't going to waste time recovering a second time. This was rather fortunate since shortly after she had fully recovered from her injuries, the Golden Devil Clan went to war with the Jingshen Clan.

    While her legion was a paper legion, having no real area of patrol or base, they were still part of the clan's military so, like all other legions, they were called upon to join the offence against the Jingshen Clan. While Xiuying didn't really know much about politics and the likes, she did know that the clan had previously been hesitant about attacking the Jingshen Clan. Apparently, something had changed so now it was war.

    Her legion had been tasked with joining the effort to directly attack Jingshen-controlled territory, invading and pillaging while taking out various Jingshen experts and essentially causing a great clamour that would force the Jingshen forces to either turtle up, too afraid to fight the Golden Devils or burn them out of their hiding holes in an effort to stop the blazing progress of the Golden Devil clan forces.

    Wanton destruction, as she quickly discovered, was something Xiuying was rather good at. Her cuts were long and sharp, long enough to cover a city block if she tried, and sharp enough to simply cut through most physical defences like a hot knife through butter. Buildings suddenly slide and collapse on themselves. Jingshen troops were decapitated by the dozens. The strength of a Sword Cultivator was truly terrifying to behold.

    Not that she cared since she took no pleasure in the result of her cuts, only in the cut itself.

    As one of the stronger Foundation Establishment cultivators of her generation, Xiuying was soon tasked with a very important mission that other prominent clansmen in her great realm had also taken. With the misfire of a trap that had been meant for the Grand Elder, an opportunity had arisen for the clan to turn the trap against the Jingshen and close the noose tighter around the Jingshen Clan's neck.

    Xiuying's mission was to lead a raid of six other Foundation Establishment clansmen deep into Jingshen territory. Her primary role for the mission: distraction. While the others teams set about capturing the nodes of the All-Blinding Array, her team was meant to draw away the biggest threats and give the other teams both time and breathing space to accomplish their own tasks.

    It was a very dangerous mission since she would have to draw the attention of two Core Formation Jingshen elders, a harrowing task for a foundation establishment swordswoman. While the rest of her team dealt with the Qi Condensation and other Foundation Establishment troops, it was up to her to keep everyone from being destroyed by the Core Formation elders.

    Getting into Jingshen territory was almost pathetically easy. She'd been finding new and interesting functions hidden within her noodle cart and one of them was the ability to freely change the exterior appearance of the cart. Making her cart look like one of Jingshen's knock-off versions of her regular noodle cart and a simple but effective disguise had allowed her to drive into the centre of the city where the node was.

    Drawing attention was simply a matter of drawing her sword and cutting down the first thing she saw which was a tall multi-story building, either some temple or palace. Her cut had become sharper and her reliance on a proper tool had been fading. Her current sword was just a simple yet reliable blade that she had found broken and brought to a half-decent blacksmith to repair. It probably wasn't going to survive the campaign but most of her swords rarely did. On the other hand, Xiuying was perfectly fine using whatever trash sword she found as her combat strength relied far more on skill than it did on what tools she used.

    Though she did not expect the building she'd cut to slide and fall into the next building, causing that building to also collapse and smash into its neighbour like dominoes until half the buildings in the area had been destroyed. Needless to say, people were scared, pissed, and panicking from the destruction that she had wrought. As soon as she sensed the presence of the Core Elders shooting straight towards her, Xiuying began her retreat.

    "YOU COURT DEATH!" She heard one of the elders scream out in rage just as she dodged some kind of energy attack from the other. Another thing that her master once told her was that the path of the Sword was one that was closely intertwined with death, mostly that of others so in a way she was already courting death. She never really understood why some people seem to feel the need to tell others that they were courting death. Was it not obvious?

    "STOP EATING NOODLES AND FACE US LIKE A PROPER CULTIVATOR, VERMIN!" Scarfing down a serving of Heavenly Noodle Soup, Xiuying ignored the enemy's command and continued her desperate escape. With the empowering effect of her noodles, her cuts were long and sharp enough to cut down more buildings to distract the Jingshen elders from closing in on her.

    It was nearly not enough. A desperate Qi Condensation Jingshen soldier had tried to get in her way but had been decapitated for his attempt. It was enough to slow her down just long enough for one of the elders to close in on her.

    "GOT YOU, BITCH!" The Elder cried out as they swooped in with their hands clawing at her person. Fortunately for Xiuying though, she had annoyed the Core Formation elders to the point where they no longer were content with blasting her to bits with a powerful technique from afar. It was clear that they wanted to have the pleasure of torturing her and breaking her bit by bit with their own hands.

    That was a mistake on their part.

    "Crazy Blade Style - Spinning Decapitation of Towers" Pushing herself to the very limits of her abilities, Xiuying jumped into the air spinning, her sword continuously cutting everything around her, just as she entered an area where mansions and opulent architecture towered over her, much to her enemy's dismay.

    "NO!" The Elders immediately moved to stop her Cut but it was no use. Within moments, the towering buildings around Xiuying fell apart and plummeted towards the Jingshen Elders in huge chunks. Soldiers and civilians caught in the destruction could only wail and cry in horror as their world fell apart. Xiuying did not stop, immediately catching herself and kicking off debris, dancing through the falling rubble and leaping out towards safety.

    With the Jingshen Elders, busy digging themselves out from a pile of rubble, Xiuying was able to successfully escape the area and head towards the exfiltration point to await her clansmen's success.

    Xiuying would later learn that after she had succeeded in her task, most of her fellow Foundation compatriots were successful in their part of the mission. Except for Paulus who ended up being ambushed by the Core Formation elders who were livid about failure to catch her. Xiuying promised herself to give Paulus free noodle soup, on the house for the next couple of decades.

    After that harrowing escape, Xiuying retreated to the backline, assisting with logistics and helping to feed the troops. While her main culinary focus was noodles and their variants, Xiuying had taken upon herself to learn how to cook other kinds of foods and ingredients. As a cook, expanding one repertoire was never wrong and could only help sharpen her culinary talents and intuition.

    Cooking for an army was a very different beast from cooking for her usual customers. An immense amount of ingredients had to be prepared and cooked in time for the army's meal times. Rations needed to be made as well as not every legion had their own entourage of chefs to cook on the go for them. While those with sufficiently high enough cultivation could subsist without physical sustenance, a delicious meal also served to raise and maintain morale.

    Xiuying did continue to make servings of Heavenly Noodle Soup and prepare them so that a small serving could be preserved and then eaten when needed later. It was an idea that had been used back in the last Trials when she and other clansmen were trying to stop that Fifth-Sea Cultivator who had become a single pillar king and would have slaughtered them all if not for everyone's efforts and that guy who was practically immortal and nigh-unkillable. Some phoenix person or other, Xiuying forgot.

    It was in the middle of doling out servings of Thousand-Year Heavenly Noodle Soup in sealed cups to the legion she had attached herself to for the month that the sky turned red and a red haze filled Xiuying's mind. Something was telling her to kill and feast upon everyone before her, to devour and make their strength hers. In response, Xiuying simply blanked out, her hand going for her sword as several of her fellow clansmen leapt at her, mouth-salivating and teeth-gnashing as an unnatural hunger overwhelmed them.

    When Xiuying snapped out of her trance, she was welcomed to a peculiar scene.

    Her fellow clansmen had all been beaten black and blue, with many missing teeth and broken jaws. Several headless bodies were amongst the pile of groaning soldiers, though judging by the bloody piece of meat in their mouths, it had been done in self-defence.

    "...What the hell?" Xiuying winced as she felt the broken bones in her hands before realising what had happened. "Oh."

    She had no idea what the hell had happened or why but at least she knew that she could trust her Will when her brain wasn't working at least.

    She was going to have to give all her victims free noodle soup for the next decade or so to make up for beating them black and blue, leaving them as tenderised as a piece of steak.
     
  • Sidestory
    • Qinglong Shu 14 - Beginning of Faith
  • Sidestory

    • Qinglong Shu 14 - Beginning of Faith

    Qinglong Ming didn't bother hiding her yawn. Smacking her lips a few times, her eyes blinked blearily as she rested her chin on her palm, legs crossed as she stared down the hallway. Her fellow guard gave her a small glare before he sighed.

    "I get it. Very boring. But you know how it is-"

    She waved her hand dismissively before tapping the large gates behind them, not even looking at him.

    "Yes, yes, turtle boy. Gotta make sure nobody touches the Treasures until your heir is done with the ceremony up there." She groaned as she stretched her arms before staring down the long, empty and more importantly, boring hallway. "Just wish they'd put up some nice paintings. Maybe a table for a board game."
    "I have a name," he muttered, causing her to shrug nonchalantly.
    "They all start to blur together. Sorry, not sorry."

    Even if she actually knew his name, there was no way she would be able to match it with his face. After all, she couldn't see any colors, so that made it harder to spot the differences. Not only was everything grey to her, it was like the whole world was stuck in the shades. Everything was just a bit darker than it should have been. It wasn't always like that. Ming wasn't born broken like this. Back then, she was just like that Qinglong heir. Happy and go lucky, determined to grow and what not. But one day, it just hit her, taking the colors of the world with it.

    What was the point? The Four Beast Clan Alliance would be lucky to have someone in Foundation Establishment. Which she was, but…well, there was no grand goal. No thirst for knowledge like those crazy maze scholars in the North. No obsession with the saber to the level to fornicate with it. Not even the desire to live like those poor golden monsters in the desert. Ming was just like everyone else, shoving whatever tidbits they could find to the clan, for the grand 'future'. A future she wouldn't live to see. So she became aimless. So…Her entire life was boredom. There was no point to rise up further, for she lacked talent. There was no point to struggle, for she had no goal.

    "Live for the clan". Well, the clan was fucking monotone. So she did her duty, but she merely went through the motions, knowing she was nothing more than one tiny wheel in the large scheme of things. She could try and find purpose out there, but she lacked faith. Faith that anything out there could bring back color to her world. So while she complained and had a terrible working morale, she still did her job as she crossed her arms, leaning back. Just guarding the treasures, waiting for the new heir of the Xuanwu to be inducted as the actual new heir. Then, they would come down here and do whatever fancy stuff they did behind closed doors. That was the plan anyway. Suddenly, they heard footsteps. Ming wouldn't say she got excited, but she certainly felt her heart beat faster as she and her 'partner' immediately reached for their weapons. Then she almost pouted when she felt no Qi from this one. Pah, just a mortal. With a sigh, she sat back down, as the servant didn't seem too worried. A bit exhausted from the jogging, but if it were an emergency, he would be running down here with all his might. Or would have been a Cultivator.

    "Sir, there are some difficulties. We require your assistance."

    He muttered something to her fellow guard, who nodded a few times. Then he frowned, looking at Ming. Getting his conflicted feelings about leaving, she winked at him lazily with a scoff.

    "Go on, go on." She pointed at herself."Not like anyone can get past me, hah."

    She was one of the stronger ones in the Alliance after all. Some called her gifted, but considering the time she took to reach that level, she would just say she was lucky. Lucky to not die due to Demonic Cults. Lucky that slow and steady did in fact win the race in this case. Still, for all her power, as she was left alone, she stared blankly at the ceiling.

    Boredom. Boredom. Boredom. Would she perish, reaching a bottleneck, without anything exciting happening in her life? That thought circled around in her head until she glanced behind her. The gread doors, mixed with the four colors, decorated with the Four beasts and a round circle of gold in the middle. She pressed her lips together. For the first time in her long life, she was tempted. Tempted to break out of her routine.

    "...I guess I'd still be guarding them, wouldn't I?"

    It wasn't like it was law that nobody but the heirs and heads could enter, right? Unwritten rules at best. Besides, if anyone of the Alliance could open the doors, it couldn't be enforced by law. Not only that, looking couldn't be bad, right? With that in mind, she smirked, her sharp teeth reflecting the light of the torches and she pushed the door open, feeding her Qi into it. Stepping inside and rolling her shoulders, she raised an eyebrow.

    This place was emptier than she expected. Just two little podiums with what she assumed were the Four Treasures. She saw them a few times, when the Four Beast Alliance actually went into battle for the Saber fanatics.

    "Shiny as ever," she muttered, stepping forward. She slowly circled around them with a frown. They felt heavy in Qi, sure, but other than that, the Treasures were almost… mundane to her eyes as someone in the Foundation Establishment. With a scoff she leaned over them, standing in the middle of the four podiums.

    "Wonder what's so special about you anyway. All I know is you are some overglorified libraries, condensed in hair ornaments."

    'Give back the knowledge to the Center'. What did that even mean? What did her ancestors see back then, that was so important to hoard these things, to shove Qi and what not in there, over and over? What was the end goal?

    What was her purpose?

    Fueled by those thoughts, she did something that she shouldn't have. She spread out her Qi and touched all four of them, hoping to gain some insight. Thus, her breath stopped. Her heart stopped. Her mind stopped.

    She was transported. No, rather, she felt something. She had eyes, ears, skin, but she couldn't comprehend what that was. It existed, so far beyond her, beyond the heavens, beyond the stars themselves. All she knew was that it was asleep. Didn't pay any attention to her. But she felt the raw presence, a presence that surpassed anything in the Turtle World, no, across all seas, she was sure of it!

    And then…then the thing stirred. The movement itself shook the very cosmos itself. Tears began to flow, of blood or salty water Ming wasn't sure, as she began to laugh hysterically, as the world around her began to lighten up, with color, oh so beautiful colors. It was then that she realized it. What this heavy, omnipotent pressure was, just from existing, just from moving the slightest bit in its slumber.

    She, Qinglong Ming…is feeling God right now.

    "Ming?! What are you-"

    She tilted her head as she turned around, eyes half lidded in ecstasy as they glowed azure, pupils turned into slits. She showed her sharp teeth while casually putting a hand on the handle of her sword. No... she would not be interrupted. They would not stop her divine revelation. Thus, she drew her blade. Thus, the Chosen One shot forward, a blur to most mortals.

    Thus, she cut down the first of family with ease as she let out a manic laugh.

    ///

    She breathed heavily. Her guard outfit was in tatters. Blood dripped down on the grass as she dragged her leg. Her blade was broken in half and her left arm was useless right now. And yet, despite all her injuries…she laughed. She should have been enraged. Enraged that those fools that didn't comprehend, couldn't even feel its presence, attacked her back. That they fought her off. That they forced her to use her Life Saving Treasure to flee like a rat. But she didn't feel any rage. For she was enlightened now. She picked up speed, despite the agony, the pain, the burning. But it was all part of it. Part of everything, part of her new purpose. She spread her right arm out, as if embracing the world. Ah, the sky was so blue. The grass so green! The sun so bright! This world, truly, was beautiful! And the one who opened her eyes gifted her this excitement, this purpose!

    She couldn't see it. She only felt it. But she knew... Huanglong was God. It existed. And it waited just for her! She laughed and laughed, blood mixing with tears and snot. Ah…she saw it now…! This was but a trial by God! Yes, it demanded better of her! Better planning, better skill, better killing! She ran through the plains, practically prancing around, jumping and bouncing as tears flowed freely off her face. She spun around, wildly moving her arms, with nothing but the tattered clothes on her back. Indeed, she had to grow, build up and destroy until she could reunite with the Almighty Of Earth!

    "Wait for me, hahahahahaha!"

    Until she could Reclaim her Right! For throughout the Heavens and Earth, she alone was worthy of the honor!
     
  • Sidestory
    • Good Seed To Read - Aristoteles Kalokagathos
  • Threadmarks
    • So this turn I asked for recommendations from others, and picked the one I felt was the most convincing. This is from @Insane-Not-Crazy, so thanks for the rec!


    The Good Seed Cultivator Management quest has a wealth of talented writers producing incredible content. As a questor being asked to just recommend one to author's work to read is almost paralyzing when I'm spoiled for choice. Daunting task it may be I finally settled on putting forward Siual's Aristoteles 'Aris' Kalokagathos as my pick.

    I will be honest that one of the reasons I made this choice is because Siual was one of the contributors to help me get over the hump of actually setting up a Good Seed of my own. The advice they gave me in setting scenes and writing descriptions allowed to produce my first omake and realize that i had something worthwhile there. But to more relevant matters, Aristoteles is an incredibly well realized character who shows the grey morals of the Golden Devils. The story of the Clan that is being written tends to place a spotlight on the Good Guys like Rina Callista or more tarnished figures like Minervina Barda aspiring towards heroism or grander ideals. Aris is a loyal killer for the Clan, a ruthless commander with the lives of his men, a self-confident aristocrat who approves of his status and more.

    Siual certainly is not the most prolific author with only 15 omake to date but they are consistent in updates. The writing for Aris features some of the best scenery and action sequences I've encountered in this quest. Aris makes you feel, the greatest achievement of an author. Love him or hate him, you likely aren't going away apathetic after reading his story. I will selfishly admit that I am also enamored with his status as one of the frontrunners in the race to reach Core Formation. More narrative weight never hurts interest.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Just for those who might want to know, my rough turn plan is as follows (as things now have results rolled, though some are still quite open to being moved by Missions).

    1 - Jingshen Exodus

    2 - The Coloniea/Bandit Rebuilding/Gravity Assault

    3 - Scorpion Trade Palace/Unification

    ? - Kleisthenes diplomatic mission    /Blood of Silver at random

    ? - Old Cannibal Interlude at random

    ? - Manuel economic interlude at random

    Second last - Underworld Devil Fortress (depends to a degree on Mission results)/Secrets of the Underworld

    Last - Plains Expedition (heavily dependent on Mission results)/ Millenium Oasis / Poison Siege/Mountain Bell
     
    Last edited:
    Year 242 - Complete Control
  • Threadmarks
    • "Leave."

    The word came down from what was now above.

    Jingshen Gao cursed the black heart of the worthless old man who had done this to them. They and theirs had lived in their homes for millennia. Who were the Golden Devils, invaders to their world to cast them out? Still, the Jingshen Families, those still dwelling in the Underworld Spirit Palace, from north to south and east to west, the word was simple.

    "Accept our tainted blood and become a devil like us, or be cast out."

    They had stood strong, though. Strong against the murderous creatures who had shattered their forts, who had killed their much-beloved Grand Elder. The offer had come to so very many cultivators, and yet only one in Core Formation had accepted. Almost five hundred in Foundation Establishment, he had heard, and fifty or sixty thousand in Qi Condensation. A number far beyond what he had hoped, but below what he had accepted. In turn, a massive caravan of cultivators had left the Jingshen lands, every last cultivator of the Jingshen threatened with death if they stayed.

    Hundreds of Foundation cultivators and a few Core Elders had fled south, forming new bandit groups, hoping to find a way to fight back against the invaders.

    Most of them, however, had taken the option to go to the Great Battlefield and be sorted into the various powers there, either as guest elders or outer sect cultivators. One-twentieth of their number would be moved each year by the Golden Devils, to avoid a massive breakout or attempt for the unified Jingshen Clan to strike against them.

    Gao looked down at his daughter. They hadn't named her yet, as was tradition. Before the second year brought death and ill luck, this much was known.

    His brother, Jingshen Hazen had risen up the year before. Or at least, he had tried to. Brought Elders together, had meetings in the dark.

    The Devils had found them out somehow, and the four Elders and nearly two hundred Experts involved in the uprising had all had their dantians shattered, left as weak as mortals. As examples as to what would happen to them if they dared try and resist.

    Gao would have taken the blood, he knew. If it had just been him. Not his daughter, not his wife, not his two sons. Surrendering yourself was one thing, but surrendering your sons and grandsons to come into becoming devils loathed by Heaven was unconscionable.

    The shout came down from above.

    "Jingshen Gao, Jingshen Yongling, Jingshen..."

    The name list was read out. The Golden Devils preferred not to let you know when you were going - those who found out tended to flee into the desert, to become bandits or to resist. Instead, Devil cultivators showed up bearing their weapons and armor forged from corpses, shining unnaturally in the torchlight. They took those who were to go, coming every day into their homes, seizing those who had refused their monstrous blood.

    Only mortals were spared, but for those who headed households as cultivators... who could leave their family to the depredations of the devils? Their intent was clear - to cultivate, one must take the Blood. In a scant few generations the Jingshen mortals would forget the truth of the Heavens, and come to serve the monsters. Only by taking your family with you could you preserve them.

    He stood outside his house, looking at it one last time. It was no great mansion, merely a set of caves carved from stone. At the front, a threshold he had carried Luoyang across when they had first gotten married. He remembered her smile, the joy at finding a place of their very own. His rise into becoming a cultivator, mining in the deeps. Fighting monsters made of Qi and rage and little more.

    The time he had come home wounded, and Luoyang had wept and screamed at the hole in his gut. He'd barely survived, and only after she had recovered did she let him know she was pregnant. The first of two sons, and the second had killed her.

    She hadn't been a cultivator, but this had been their house. A place where two boys had grown up, though Gao had only known how to make them obey, not to make them love him. They had wanted to fight as the war came to their lands.

    Gao had forbade it - neither of his sons had fought. A fractured arm and a broken rib had ensured that.

    Gao had fought, of course - he had been at Haoshen Fort when it fell. He had seen the awful power descend from the skies, and so he had fled. What could a man do against that? A monster made of shadow and wrath had stood in the sky, and its attention had reaped the lives of men like wheat. He had fled, but not as a coward. He would happily face off against other men, cultivators or no. If they were faster and stronger as he was, that was one thing. They were all warriors, though, all setting their lives against one another.

    He hadn't understood what the words 'Nascent Soul' had meant. Oh, he'd read the histories, but to see it... one man capable of killing everyone you loved, and the only thing keeping his attention from you was the fact that you were beneath him. It's not that he wanted you alive, just that you weren't worth killing.

    That man had taken Luoyang's house from him. That man had taken his new daughter's father from him, a man he considered a brother in arms. Guanting had been snuffed out as easily as he would've blown out a candle, killed with an idle blow that he doubted the monster remembered.

    He knew the name Guanting had wanted for her.

    "You will be Jingshen Ah Lam. Not yet. Not today, but soon, daughter."

    The shout went out again, and Gao looked back at his home. It contained no riches, nothing he wanted to keep beyond three figurines and a blanket that Luoyang had loved. He hefted the little girl onto the basket on his front, nestling her inside the blanket, the figurines there to entertain her. He left what remained for the Golden Devil vultures who would no doubt pick over the meanest of his possessions.

    He bowed at the door.

    "I'm sorry, Luoyang. I'll find them a better house. The house you always wanted, something amidst grass, with a view of the sky."

    Time to leave.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Year 245 - Tisamenos - The Ascension
  • Threadmarks
    • He trembled as he grasped the lightning.

    It should not have been possible.

    He remembered the bottle. Delivered by a peculiar flying artifice, no bigger than his hand. It had landed next to him as he left the Council of Righteous Elders, leaving a bottle and note. He expected it to be some sort of intrigue, but instead... well, he had read the letter.

    You don't know me, nor do I know you. But let me cut to the chase by saying I am the greatest genius to ever exist, or at least I will be once I figure out the Law of Time, so you should listen to everything I write down here and do it. Anyway, this was the first batch of the Silver Blood I managed to make. The strongest by a huge amount, but after testing it on myself, I determined more than the slightest droplet would kill anyone without complete compatibility with it. Given the cost of it was ten or twenty times the entire Clan's yearly income, I decided to split it into other, weaker lots. This didn't work, and I found the blood - once made - only lasts about ten years. So I built my little Blood Compass, from some funds I filched from the Jingshen when we knocked their house over.

    Anyway, this letter is growing and growing, but the long and the short of it is this. Whoever you are, you have the greatest compatibility with the Blood of Silver in most of the Region. You take it, you become a Golden Devil. I know, I know, it sounds bad, but the power is very real. You're in the Plains, so I'm assuming you don't like us very much, but my Compass showed you were only in Foundation Establishment, so this is your CHANCE. Take it, and become one of the most powerful Golden Devils to exist!

    Also if you happen to actually be a Golden Devil it's your duty to the Clan to drink it. Write down everything and if you die make sure somebody is there to pick up your corpse and bring it back to me. I need to study it.

    - Destasia Duca

    Tisamenos had of course understood the true context. Some manner of secret message delivered via compatibility with the Blood of Bronze, something of supreme importance and difficult for an enemy to hack. Using a false possibility of power to ensure anyone who captured the message would consume it and probably die, thereby removing any possibility of interception. Contextually? It had to be something important regarding the Jingshen.

    So naturally he took it to a private area, walled off and guarded by a few of his own Qi Condensation guardsmen, and drank it. He was curious to see what message that the Elders had considered so important to deliver to him in such a roundabout method, and drank.

    Fire ran through his veins. For a moment it was pain, but not the worst pain. Like sore muscles after overuse, the pain of breathing in deeply after running as fast as one could. A growing, strengthening pain.

    It quickened, and ran through his flesh, feeling every capillary light up with a sort of tension, the blood pumping, circulating, moving far faster than he had thought it could.

    He seemed caught between a dream and reality, power searing gloriously into every last inch of his being, and when he opened his eyes a moment later, three months had passed.

    His two Pillars thrummed with power. The Truth-Seeker and the Liar, in perfect tension. There would be no room for a third. He had never planned one, for the greatest power lay in truth and lies. The truth for yourself, so that you might lie perfectly as needed, to tell and seek a greater truth in turn. A snake birthing it's own head, growing ever-longer as it deceived and as it saw.

    The power was unimaginable. He felt as though he were at the very peak of what his Pillars could contain, that there were no further steps to be taken on his path.

    As he awoke, he felt the wrath of the Heavens descend.

    Tribulation?

    Tribulation?!

    Yet the word did not inspire fear. It inspired a peculiar emotion, one Tisamenos was not much used to.

    As the clouds gathered above him and cultivators fled like ants before him, he sneered. Contempt filled his mind, and he flung open his doors, striding into the great meadow where he was housed, and where the Golden Devil troops ferrying back and worth were encamped.

    Lightning crackled from the sky, and Tisamenos reached out-

    He trembled as he grasped the lightning.

    It should not have been possible.

    It danced in the palm of his hand like a trapped rat, striking from finger to finger to palm. He clenched his fist, and it disappeared.

    The next strike was worse, tenfold. And yet he found himself moving out of the way almost intuitively, the lightning striking but simply unable to kill him. As though the worst it could muster was simply not enough. The third thunderbolt he took head-on, striking it as though he were mad.

    Was he mad?

    Was this a dream?

    He chuckled.

    The truth was it didn't matter. The lie to be told if it were true was that he had never suspected it to be false.

    Who could explain this curious sequence of events?

    He knew the tribulation from Foundation Establishment was to form a Core, an inviolable set of beliefs embodied in a static organ. This was a painful and difficult process, striking at contradictions and problems within one's philosophy.

    For him, this felt... different. As though it was merely trying to kill him, and the power within the lightning tempered his Core, gave it weight. Gave it strength it should not have.

    Bolt after bolt came at him, and each one strengthened him, making him more than able to face the bolt that came after. A tribulation unseen since the Single-Pillar Kings came to slay him, and he dismissed it as though it were a servant. No, less than a servant. A stray mongrel, deserving only a kick for the impudence of trying to steal his meal. For days, the yapping dog danced around his heels, yet he gave it no respite, beating it until it fled with its tail behind its legs.

    The final bolt came, and with it Tisamenos felt his Core fuse. The Liar and the Truth-Seeker in one. He hadn't named his Dao, hadn't ever felt the need to. Some did, to try and give them a focus, purify their journey through Core Formation. It felt... unnecessary, almost. His Core was not his Dao, it was something more.

    As the dust settled and the clouds disappeared, he looked down at his hands. His skin. His arms and legs and feet, for his clothes had been long burnt-off.

    All looked as though it were cast from the purest silver.
     
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