TURN 14, OMAKE 3 [
JIANG CHRYSANTHOS]
Jiang Chrysanthos 15: Current Clan & Personal Status
You are the
Imperial Optimatoi, a
Clan that is a family of shared bloodline. Your cultivators are weaker on average than your peers in the sects but loyalty and obedience from filial piety is greater. Your roots are ancient, a sure foundation that has overcome adversity together over eons. You specialize in the combat skill of
Combat Formations. Together even the lesser of your cultivators can overcome superior cultivators in matched numbers once your formations take effect but individually your forces are much weaker. You excel in the profession of
Array Carving, creating fixed enchantments and qi technologies for all manner of purposes. This expertise gives you excellent defenses and good moneymaking potential. You are labeled
Demonic by self-righteous cultivators, accepting only self-imposed limitations on what means and ends are closed off to you.
Bloodlines and Clan Core Techniques
As far as you know, your Clan is the last remaining remnants of the Sea-Conquering Army. Raised up in service to the Imperator and charged with claiming the Turtle World, a martial host of awe inspiring might was sent forth from your long lost home world across a sea of stars. This army was designed as a combined operations force with designated roles and functions patterned into the ranks in the manner of inheritable and transferable bloodlines modeled after noble metals. Much of the strength of your heritage was been lost or watered down but what yet remains is still greatly potent.
Blood of Bronze – Descendants of the Earl of Bronze, your ancestors earned the privilege of being imbued with the traits of Bronze, supposedly as a reward for loyal service as soldiers of the Imperator. Your very physique declares your heritage with your hair appearing as a bronzed metallic yellow, and your complexion doing likewise. Even age and wear in you takes after the nature of Bronze for your skin and hair develops a patina of green as the years wear on you. The Blood of Bronze is no mere elemental bloodline aspected to primal Metal as the Third Sea understands it. Your blood and bones are infused with the strength of your bloodline granting superlative toughness. Where others are overcome by might, you stand resilient. When injury lays low the barbaroi, your body rises up again and again as it repairs itself. How easily the strength in your mighty thews and sinews cuts down your foes. However, just as you benefit from the strength of Bronze so do you share in its faults. You do not bend or break lightly but pay a penalty in speed for that advantage. In recent years, you have come across a source of pure Blood Qi, the Ascension Blood, that has allowed you to advance the usual progression of the Bronze-Blood's empowerment in your cultivators. It is not much, merely boosting Qi Condensation Juniors to the average of your Foundation Establishment Experts and falling away afterwards, but this is enough to make your lowest ranks almost peers to other cultivators in individual engagements.
Blood of Silver – Bronze, even though a noble metal, is still a base material. To lead and direct the Bronze-Blooded, the Imperator elevated those worthy of command to higher status by incorporating the Blood of Silver into their being. Silver-lords have been absent from your Clan for nigh on millennia since the time the Organ Meat Desert was lush jungle and not barren wasteland. The genius of your Master of Disciples has allowed you to revive this legacy by employing the Ascension Blood to imbue almost all new Clan cultivators with heightened potential. Experts with favorable affinity rising into Core Formation have a 25% chance to awaken the ancient Blood of Silver, giving them the strength to strike four small realms above their base cultivation. They are also blessed with remarkable recuperative ability, recovering from crippling blows. These fortunate Silver-Blooded are further blessed with a threefold increase in their odds of success for a breakthrough into Nascent Soul and immediately fight as one stage higher, Early Nascent Soul able to match Mid.
Blood of Iron – The Panoply of the Sea-Conquering Army was a wondrous thing, weapons in human form to carry the Imperator's will across the distant worlds of existence. While the Bronze Shield has persisted through the ages and the Silver Plume has recently been revived, the Iron Spear has dwindled into a footnote in the Clan's present condition. Descendants of an ancient matriarch known only as Theodora, House Theodoros represents the last toehold of the Blood of Iron as far as the Clan is aware. The Iron-Blooded are fast where the Bronze is slow, dense in physiology beyond even the fortified physique of the Bronze and vulnerable to elemental Water where the Bronze has no particular vulnerabilities. Adulterated over generations by cross-breeding with the Bronze-Blooded, the Blood of Iron has a single true inheritor and is still only potential to be explored.
Formations, Techniques & Spells
Your cultivators are considered the best soldiers and massed battle fighters in the Virtuous Flipper Region bar none where there are at least four of your Clan cultivators to utilize your formations. Your shared bloodline allows your cultivators to work together with innate ease reinforced by strict instruction in the Great Formations hammered into every Aspirant who seeks to become a Legionnaire.
(Core Formation & Below):
Hoplite Formation – This is your Clan's mainstay martial formation, your
Primary Formation. Working together, your cultivators manifest the umbral effigy of a Legionnaire wielding a spear and shield of pure bronze. The effigy is intangible but the projected armaments are physical constructs which can be used against opponents. The pooled strength of the cultivators maintaining the formation allows weaker Legionnaires to take on stronger opponents depending on the number involved, even leaping across Great Realms. At its height, fifty of your Elders in a formation can survive against a Nascent Soul, eighty together can strike back and one hundred working in unison can secure a position against an enemy Nascent Soul. Well balanced in offense and defense, the Hoplite Formation requires a strong Dao-Heart making it vulnerable to morale loss and weak conviction among the cultivators within.
(Foundation Establishment & Below):
Kataphraktoi Formation – Golden Devils are not fast on the march but with the Kataphraktoi Formation they can charge faster than unwary opponents may expect. Unlike the Hoplite, the Kataphraktoi summons a fully physical qi manifestation in the form of a giant centauroid figure clad in bronze, wielding a lance. The strength of the Kataphraktoi is its ability to deliver a powerful lance strike at incredible speed but this strength is mostly expended after that strike is landed. The formation afterwards is vastly weakened and can only fire arrows of average strength.
Two-Headed Eagle Formation – Where charges or marches cannot provide adequate transport, the Two-Headed Eagle Formation is your recourse. Where emergency exits or rapid insertion is needed, this formation can be used to summon a massive two-headed golden eagle that flies swiftly and is adept with wings and beaks in protecting its charges. Unlike the other Great Formations, this technique is does not cooperate with the inclusion of cultivators without the Clan's bloodline. The essence captured in this formation is that of a proud beast that bowed only to the legacy of the Sea-Conquering Army.
Millennium Oasis Formation – Derived from the Century Oasis Formation created by a junior, this is the first novel formation to be included in the ranks of the Great Formations in living memory. This formation is designed to allow the Clan to maintain operational forces while relying on less use of Spirit Stones. The technique pulls on the strength of the natural environment, feeding on leylines of qi nearby and concentrating this energy within the formation. Stamina, recovery and vigor are shared between the cultivators using the technique and further amplified by natural energy from the environment. The savings in Spirit Stones used allows the Clan to support an additional tenth of Qi Condensation Legionnaires and a twentieth among the Foundation Establishment Centurions.
(Qi Condensation Only):
Philoctetes Formation – This is a minor derivative of the Kataphraktoi Formation pioneered by the late Jin Muyi. This technique is intended to bolster the strength of the Kataphraktoi after it has expended its strength in a charge by incorporating Poison Qi into the ammunition fired by the horseman. The Poison Qi is developed from the venom of the White-backed Sorpion. This technique is not fully developed, only providing an added advantage to formations of 1
st and 2
nd Heavenstage Juniors against peers, where the debilitative Poison Qi has an effect.
Territory, Population & Vassals
You are in the
Organ Meat Desert, a place of
Thin Qi but blessed with many Spirit Beasts and Spirit Stones. The Wealth potential and Enemy Attrition is very abundant but fixed Defenses are difficult to maintain, while Population and Cultivator Numbers are very low per li squared. You were driven out of the Quiet Peaks into the desert where you overcame the
Shanqu Clan and occupied their lands in the eastern wastes. You held a fourth of the Shanqu territory and gave up moderate Wealth from tribute in exchange for high Vassal Opinion and high Vassal Strength. These lands offered useful Wealth from trade routes, danger and fortune from Access to Turtlebone Mountain and constant Predation from the Battle Blood Cannibal Sect. You are now
Desert Hegemon having conquered the Battle Blood Cannibal Sect and the Jingshen Clan. All of the desert save the Spirit Oasis is yours without challenge.
You prefer
Obedience in your disciples prizing the ability to cooperate and work in teams for the greater good to complement your formations. Your policy is to treat outsider cultivators as
Guests, gaining wandering cultivators of low to very high talent at considerable retainer costs and a moderate chance of treachery. You treat mortals under your rule with
Kindness, upholding their rights, protecting them at cost to yourself. In return for the high Wealth cost you incur in your policy, your mortal Population is high as is your Popularity with them. You treat your vassals as
Allies, demanding light tribute, aiding them and allowing them to preserve their strength.
With the vassalization of the Yuan Clan, your territory reaches beyond the desert to the Hard Shell Mountains.
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| Influence | Mortals | Qi Condensation | Foundation Est. | Core Formation |
| Golden Devil Clan | 106,000,000/195,0000,000 | 991,000/2,550,000 | 11,100/25,500 | 80/255 |
| Hong Xuan Clan | 3,000,000 | 100,000 | 2,000 | 25 |
| Simmering Soup Sect | 8,000,000 | 300,000 | 2,000 | 15 |
| Hua Empire | 4,000,000 | 3,500 | 30 | 1 |
| Xin Kingdom | 3,000,000 | 3,000 | 30 | 1 |
| Twelve City Alliance | 7,000,000 | 15,000 | 130 | 3 |
| Divided Mortal Kingdoms | 3,000,000 | 20,000 | 150 | 2 |
| Shen Kingdom | 4,000,000 | 2,000 | 20 | 1 |
| Peng Kingdom | 4,000,000 | 5,000 | 40 | 1 |
| Longevity Stork Clan | 674,000 | 86,000 | 71 | 1 |
| Fortune Stork Clan | 231,000 | 17,000 | 109 | 1 |
| Fecundity Stork Clan | 8,880,000 | 28,000 | 60 | 1 |
| Goatmen Tribes | | | - | |
| Sixty Kingdoms Alliance | | | | |
| Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms | | | | |
| Scorpion Trade Palace | | | | |
| Yuan Clan* | | | | |
*This vassal is led by a Nascent Soul, a Great Power in its own right.
Your personal territory can support 5 Nascent Souls: 2 Mid, 3 Early. You have: 1 Mid, 1 Early.
Treasures, Strategic Defenses and Wealth
Defenses:
Ancestral Will (Late Nascent Soul) – Before her death, an Ancestor of your Clan left her will in the heart of your territory, the Dawn Fortress. You have preserved 10 attacks at the full power of a Late Nascent Soul cultivator before the will is too faded to use again. The strength of this defense is spectacular, requiring great expenditure in tools and wealth by your peers to overcome while the attacker risks serious injury.
Shattering Glass Spear Array (Glass Javelin Array) – Your proficiency in Array Carving has allowed you to turn the very elements of your home into a weapon against attacking enemies. Sand is drawn from the deserts and fashioned into killing glass spears. Hidden targeting arrays and launch artifacts across your territory can shoot these spears anywhere in your territory, killing Foundation Establishment cultivators and below with ease. With greater expenditure in resources, the glass spears can be enhanced to threaten Core Formation cultivators. For all its lethality, your artillery array cannot sustain lengthy use or rapid fire. It is best used as harassment fire against individuals at range or when afield away from the Clan core but does poorly in sieges and major assaults.
Golden Eye Array – Crafted by Grand Mechanikos Chu Yuzi, this surveillance array uses the eyeball of the defeated Nascent Soul Child Corpse Gulper as the centerpiece of a scrying mechanism that allows the Clan to gather intelligence from afar, burning through Spirit Stones and precious reagents to penetrate warding defenses and overcome distance.
Blood Detection Array – This is an early warning system securing your core territory by detecting Blood Path signatures, enemy techniques and foreign bloodlines. It has no offensive function but alerts rapid response teams of cultivators equipped with fast movement techniques, mounts and artifacts.
Strategic Assets
Alvertos the Lightbeast – Having secured a quantity of Spirit Severing quality Light Qi, your Master of Disciples has persuaded you to imbue it with sentience and form a Nascent-grade animal simulacrum in the form of chimera made entirely from Light Qi possessing a crocodile's head on a tiger's body with a grove of apple trees grafted to its back just to round things off. Alvertos is not a real Nascent scale entity but bore akin to a very grumpy Will than a real Nascent. However it is tough enough to put up a fight against a real Nascent Soul which is just as good. You have yet to decide whether to deploy it as a territorial defense or an area-denial weapon.
Gravity Transit Network - The Laws of Heaven are not easily broken but they can be bent with sufficient ingenuity and material leverage. Your genius Elder of Disciples has modified the major trade network routes so that the Law of Gravity is lessened along them and the efficacy of large-scale flight arts and enchantments is increased, allowing for rapid repositioning of troops.
Droplet of Rust and Ruin - No defense is absolute and secrets plundered in shadow make for excellent replies to long-standing squatters. Some of the best and brightest of your Experts risked life and limb to retrieve the necessary components for this poison targeted against iron-based constitutions, and your prodigy of an poison mistress Elder has refined it into a superlative weapon to put down that upstart thief, Weeping Anvil of the Sorrowful Blacksmith Sect. Expended in Year 281 to utterly dominate the Lord of the Sorrowful Blacksmith Sect and flawlessly assassinate him.
Truebreath Core Flower - A cultivation aid that will boost a Core Formation elder by one stage, dearly won with thousands of lives. This treasure is earmarked for use by one of your Council Elders.
Nascent Tribulation Treasures - A stockpile of rare and exceptionally valuable spiritual treasures that practically guarantee a successful Nascent Soul breakthrough. One of your Council Elders will be the cultivator you trust with such power.
Bountiful Wealth Assets:
Scorpion Road Trade Route – This is a lengthy, enchanted road spanning the desert and terminating in the Colossus Footstep Pass, providing protection from beasts, bandits, as well as hastened speed in travel. It yields 5% of the Clan's total Spirit Stones (in value) in tariffs.
Earth Bounty City Spirit Mine (Great Open-Cut Spirit Mine) – This is a Medium-grade Spirit Stone mine that the Clan mines by simply hollowing out the earth in a crude but effective process. It yields 10% of the Clan's total Spirit Stones.
Underworld Devil Fortress – Formerly the Underworld Spirit Palace of the Jingshen Clan, this is the greatest Spirit Mine in the entire region and the most reliable source of Nascent-grade (Supreme-quality) Spirit Stones. It yields 30% of the Clan's total Spirit Stones. In addition, the repurposed settlement is a tremendous new training centre for new Aspirants, as well as a second major base of operations for the Clan, and a fallback position if the Dawn Fortress were to ever fall.
True Son Peak – This is the second most productive Spirit Mine in the captured Jingshen lands. It yields 15% of the Clan's total Spirit Stones
Jingshen Sub-Family Mines – These are the mines formerly belonging to the Bei, Dong, Nan and Xi servant families of the Jingshen. They yield 10% of the Clan's total Spirit Stones
Scorpion Trade Palace - Money buys peace and favor to those benefiting from prosperity sourced from your efforts. You have beaten swords into plowshares in your transformation of the Grand Scorpion Sect into the mercantile influence of the Scorpion Trade Palace. As your vassal travel the desert under your control, the shared economy and trade they leave in their wake binds all your hegemony tighter together in time.
Secret Gardens - The Pill-Forging Forest is insufficient to meet the expanded needs of your cultivators. You have invested in developing several Spirit Herb gardens across your territory to improve your access to the resources you need to maintain your strength. You now have the capacity to grow enough herbs to allow your cultivators limited use of more crucial pills if the trade through the Colossus Footsteps Pass is cut off.
Supreme Spiritual Treasures:
Spirit Contribution Points Board – An ancient relic of bygone times, the Contributions Points Board is an administrative tool that streamlines your internal economy, fairly manages cultivator resource allocation and enhances peacetime employment of your cultivators. Efficiency and discipline in commanding your cultivators is increased.
Eight Hundred and Eighty Technique Cultivation Palace (Damaged) – Formerly the possession of Gemstone Justice, this is a broken magical construct that assesses cultivators and offers complementary techniques, increasing their individual martial prowess and boosting your overall combat strength. Currently it is only useful to Qi Condensation Juniors.
Ascension Blood - Produced by a vial retrieved from the Cloud Demon Caves, the Ascension Blood is pure blood - the very essence of blood itself, not mere Blood Qi or the like, something more - primordial life-giving fluid drawn by ineffable means from elsewhere, not from beat or man or any creature of the world. This powerful reagent forms the basis of your recent bloodline advancements, the thickening of the Blood of Bronze in Qi Condensation juniors and the awakening of the Blood of Silver in fortunate recently ascended Core Formation Elders.
Man-As-Mountain Array - The weakness of the Yuan Clan in their incorporation has won you majority control of their prized Secret Realm. The bulk of access to this vast ancient array complex is now yours, producing 5 Core Formation Elders and 500 Foundation Establishment Experts every turn.
Troop Disposition
Standard Legions - Your Legions are the best military force in the region albeit not the most powerful. Professionalism, martial competency and excellent logistical support make your Legionnaires a nightmare to fight against on prepared ground but force projection beyond your borders is not as capable. Force readiness stands at Moderate, command status of troops is Delegated
Mobile Legions (Scorpion Cavalry) - The development of Spirit Scorpion breeding programs suitable for mass expansion have catalyzed a transformation in operational doctrine for the Clan. The Protostrator is spearheading a refit of the Clan's military forces to take advantage of the enhanced mobility the mounts provide. Currently 16 Legions are available for aggressive operations, 3 Legions optimized every two decades, 200 years till total force optimization.
Hunter Legions (Beast-Core Hunters) - Negotiations with the Yuan Clan has given the Clan access to many of the best hunting grounds in the Hard Shell Mountains, raising several Legions of Beast-Core hunters. With such hunters well in hand, the Clan will find it far easier to operate in the mountains in future, as well as sneak into Turtlebone Mountain.
Fate & Diplomacy
Heaven has looked upon you and found you wanting. The Celestial Tyrant is committed to seeing you dead and in the past levied incredible curses against your Clan. It has since drawn down its opposition after seeing that the crucible of persecution only refined you stronger. Now only a few lingering curses hobble your path, a plan of attrition intended to wear you down until the final stroke can be delivered all at once.
Setting your eyes lower than the Heavens, you are opposed by 3
Enemies and supported by 1
Ally. Your enemies are willing to suffer great pains to see harm done to you, their interest is in your ruination. Your ally though is a loyal friend, willing to come to your aid even when it is not in their best interest.
Fate:
Rite of Karmic Purification – Every 100 years, invaders from the Fifth Sea descend upon your lands in a tempering trial. Cultivators of each Great Realm face off against each other, pitting the strength of a living Sea against your disciples with Karmic Luck as the bounty for your deaths (In 100 years/5 turns). In the third Hundred-Year Trial of your rule, an intervention by several of your most promising juniors reverted the operation of the centennial assault to an older format that offered your life and theirs in individual battle to preserve the rest of the clan.
Deadly Tribulation – Heavenly Tribulation for most is a trial of competence and preparation. For you however, it is a gauntlet of of barely restrained murderous intent. Every time one of your cultivators attempts a breakthrough, the Heavens seek to quash their lives or break their path to advancement by sending down Tribulation Lightning reversed in alignment, eight parts killing intent to two parts vital force. Your ancestors' sins indelibly mark you.
Heaven's Impoverishment (Blinded) - If Heaven could not kill you outright, it would starve you in a lingering death. A curse was laid upon your possessions such that you would not benefit from the fullness of the wealth in your grasp, but rather you would see it tarnish and waste away. Any gain was degraded and diminished, as fate itself stole right out of your pockets. Thievery however is hard work and what cannot be seen cannot be stolen. The lands of your core territory are forevermore diminished but no longer will new winnings be stolen from you for the Thief has been blinded.
Bad Karmic Luck (Cleared) – Wherever possible the Heavens tipped the scales against you. Mishaps dogged your plans, your reach always fell short of good fortune and your opponents seemed placed with divine favor. Dishonest weight however are expensive and in time the machinations of Heaven expended their leverage. You are still disfavored but no longer under misfortune's hand.
Allies:
Flood Dragon Gang – A roving gang of Righteous Bandits, the Flood Dragons have been steadfast allies of your Clan for a long time indeed. You have assisted one another over the centuries, most recently helping Lady Yao Zhihao rise up to replace the fallen Huang Li, providing her refuge from a disastrous engagement in the Great Battlefield and gifting her the seed Spirit Stones to raise up the Flood Dragons after their crippling. In turn, they supported you in the war against Jingshen and have promised to come in your time of need in the future. (1 Early Nascent Soul, 10 Core Formation, 900 Foundation Establishment, 5000 Qi Condensation)
The Last Will of the Sea-Conquering Army - Fate is truly a fickle force. In a most ironic turn of events, Bhrigu Family of the Fifth Sea's Sage Clans has lost its elder in a surprise upset during the Hundred-Year Trials of Year 299. Soul shriven, the body of Old Bhrigu has been taken over by the will of the First Archegetes, liberating the Clan Lord from possession and releasing an ancient devil into the Fifth Sea to wreak mischief. Heraclitus Sarantapechos would not deign to lower himself to the status of ally, but there are no others with closer shared interests. (1 possessed Spirit Severing)
Enemies:
Battle Blood Cannibal Sect (Defeated) – They say history doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme. The Battle Blood Cannibal Sect was formed from the inheritance in a sliver of will left behind by an old enemy of the Clan, the Raging Fury Sect. From that seed was born a Blood Path sect led by your old rival Sun Diaxiang that perennially threatened your southern border. Now the Battle Blood Cannibal Sect is no more. Its lands have been seized and its Lord exiled from the desert for two hundred years. Yet a familiar scene is being reenacted. The sect is gone but the lingering grudge still remains in the form of the living Nascent Lord of the sect, Old Cannibal, who has sworn vengeance for the loss of his apprentice and his sect.
Abyssal Devil Bee Sect (Empowered) – Once they were the Abyssal Demon Sect before becoming the Abyssal Devil Sect but your troublesome neighbors to the east in the Quiet Peaks are your greatest threat at present and have always been a lingering thorn in your side for centuries before that. After beating back their raiders in the Golden Bee War, the Abyssal Devil Bees descended into internal strife as the Nascent Soul Lord of the sect was consumed and the arena was set for a battle for control between the two Early Nascent Souls of the sect. Interference from Strength Purity Sect secured the exile of Sun Diaxiang and the experienced Mid Nascent Soul quickly co-opted the Abyssal Devil Bee Sect. Old Cannibal has moved from strength to strength in recent years. He has risen to the Late stage through the defeat of the Elder of Day from Seven Divine Saber Palace, ravaged the Verdant South, and formed an alliance of Demonic powers in the Grand Abyssal Invasion. With 1 Late, 3 Mid and 2 Early Nascent Souls, your sworn enemy has followed through on the promise of the Blood Path and cannibalized another power to vastly heighten his threat profile.
Seven Divine Saber Palace (Crippled) – Frequent instigator of problems for you and cause of your expulsion into the desert, the Seven Divine Saber Palace have seen the fruit of their plotting in the desert come back to choke them in the Verdant South. They sought to play the Battle Blood Cannibal and the Abyssal Devil Bee Sects against you but the cunning old monster that is Sun Diaxiang has joined what remains of these two under his banner and his first major success saw Old Cannibal handily slaughter the Elder of Day, sole remaining Nascent Soul of the Saber Palace. They are a power in decline, restricted to their core territories and absent influence from their lack of a Nascent Soul. They can no longer be considered credible opposition to the hegemony of Strength Purity Sect.
Trade Partners:
Strength Purity Sect – You have cultivated a relationship with the preeminent influence in the Righteous Path over the centuries and your relationship while not friendly is workable. As the sole supplier of Spirit Stones from the desert, you have more leverage now but must ever be wary of a coalition of Righteous powers headed by your erstwhile trading partner coming to disabuse you of any ideas you might have of overweening superiority.
Regional Organizations
Noble Demon Alliance – Members: Demonic Altar Sect, Gao Clan, Noble Knowledge Sect, Heavenly Time Shatter Sect.
Grand Abyssal Invasion – Members: Abyssal Devil Bees Sect, Chuan Clan.
Blood Defiance Federation – Members: Strength Purity Sect, Seven Divine Saber Palace, Bear Enslavement Sect, Divine Tunist Sect, Great Drunkard Sect, Joyful Blacksmith Sect, Great Mountain Bell Sect.
Unaligned Powers – Members: Qiguai Clan, Sorrowful Blacksmith Sect, Magic Oak Sect, Ma Empire.
Golden Devils – Members: Imperial Optimatoi, Yuan Clan.
Known Secret Realms
The Great Era has been announced and qi from the heavens showers upon the land. Cultivation among the lowest realms is heightened and Secret Realms are empowered.
Qiguai Clan Turtle-Scale Doorway:
Qi Condensation – Opens every turn
Foundation Establishment – Opens every turn.
Core Formation – Opens on Turn 25, 40, 55, 70, 85, etc.
Yuan Clan Man-As-Mountain Array
Opens every turn.
Cloud Demon Caves
Open every turn but restricted to one entry ever.
Heart-Realm
Sealed at present
You are
Manuel Konstantinos,
Archegetes of the
Imperial Optimatoi. To outsiders, you are simply Grand Elder Konstantinos of the Golden Devil Clan, a descendant of foreigners who cling to what little legacy remains to you even as the Heavens strike down at you for your obstinate use of your lineage's True Names. You ascended to the leadership after your master Alexios
Died in the Hundred-Year Trials.
Cultivation Rank – Mid Nascent Soul
Cultivation Speed – Slow
Age (Max) - 1,780 (3,500)
Health – Healthy
Intrigue – High
Administration – High
Secret Knowledge – High
Teaching – Very High
Warfare – High
Combat – Medium (Very High with
Stone Spear)
Personal Talents – Whether it came from innate talent or was refined from your personal struggles, you are gifted in
Cultivation Lecturing. You teach adeptly and easily, helping your juniors progress and fortify their cultivation through your instruction.
Weaknesses – You have poor
Stamina. Your rise to Nascent Soul is a miracle of effort and good fortune considering your lacking talent with the Clan's techniques from your thin bloodline but your body is at its limits supporting the demands of your cultivation. You are imperfect in your expenditure of qi and combat tires you out faster than your peers. Penalty to
Combat.
Family – None.
Dao – Heaven's Shadow, the Will Opposing. Many Cultivators seek a transcendent height of power – to cast out all that makes them weak and imperfect for the sake of living a longer life. Fools one and all who are blinded by the light of immortality! You and your kin have been oppressed by the Heavens, struck down by great lightnings and terrible trials for an ancient curse... And yet, you live still – the Heavens have not forgotten you certainly, but you no longer live under its active pogrom. Is it complacency? But even in the lightnings cast down – those who should endure their power still rise in might, your kinsfolk still occasionally stumble upon fortuitous encounters. There is some Shadow to the Heavens – a seed of nascent change brutally suppressed by the grand celestial machine, out of a desire to hold to a stagnant image of history for all eternity. You desire to set it free from its bonds, that it may aid your kinsmen in reforging this realm into a thing of beauty and philosophy instead of a barbaric wasteland. It is a futile task, one that will endure long beyond your life – but there is power to this belief, and if you cannot do it – you can blaze a trail for one who comes after you. As did your master, and his master before him.
Artifacts, Techniques & Assets:
Stone Spear – This simple looking weapon never leaves your possession, not for rest, meditation or any other reason. To let it out of your grasp and risk its loss would be the greatest calamity yet to befall your Clan under your rule. Appearing as little more than a roughly hewn stone spear while inactive, this weapon declares its supremacy once seen in use. The Stone Spear is a weapon created by the greatest cultivator produced by the Third Sea, the Demonic Soup Chef. It is a weapon imbued with the power of Law Creation, with very few peers in the entire Sea not to talk of the region. Two Laws are employed by the Stone Spear, a block that stops anything you consciously aim to stop and a strike that cannot be dodged, only blocked. As befitting its origins, this weapon consumes the bodies of defeated enemies.
Shadow Key – A small black key strung on a necklace of shadow that appeared on your person after your most recent vision, the Shadow Key is an artifact that excels in its purpose of unlocking anything and everything. By itself it passively accumulates strength over decades that can be expended to open differently powerful seals but you can also meditate upon its purpose to expand that accumulation, though such an action will consume your focus for several decades.
Certain Death Corpse Dagger – This is an otherwise mundane Spirit Dagger that convinces those of weaker cultivation than the wielder that an attack with the dagger is deadly and certain to kill if successfully landed. This is perhaps your oldest weapon apart from the bronze spear you keep in your rooms. You received it as a Junior and have upgraded it multiple times since then.
Bone Hacking Cleaver – An artifact in the shape of a meat cleaver, this cleaver is a fairly weak weapon. Easily blocked or avoided, its one property is that it takes off any limb it hits in a guaranteed amputation.
Three Ghost Hiding Spirit Cloak – This is a gauzy garment used to provide concealment from mundane and spiritual perception. It is effective against Core Formation and below only.
Corpse-Seeming Coffin – A great coffin made from iron, this container suppresses the qi signature of anything sealed within, even the aura of a Nascent Soul. It can be further concealed in wood or bronze for greater anonymity. A cultivator hiding within the coffin will find it as difficult to use their spiritual sense to look out much as observers are prevented from looking in.
Trembling Fairy Necklace – A relatively minor artifact intended as a training aid for those seeking the Dao of Dance, the Trembling Fairy Necklace increases sensitivity and response to the slightest vibration, teaching proper response to beat and tempo. You have found it makes a decent sensory aide, tracking vibrations through the surfaces and atmosphere around you when your normal senses are otherwise incapacitated.
Blood-Burning Torch – This artifact is a large three-faced bronze torch, engraved with the images of a dragon, phoenix and bear on one face each. It requires one hundred years between each use and ready access to abundant Blood Qi for full effect. The torch produces Blood-Consuming Flames, countering Blood Qi techniques, particularly area of effect manipulations.
Qi-Restraining Net – It does exactly what its name says, binding the qi of cultivators tangled in its netting. It grants only half a breath of suppression against a Nascent Soul.
Spatial Compass - A treasure snatched from the last futile flailings of the late Weeping Anvil, this is a teleportation artifact. Users set the Compass spinning and then upon a enough impact with a surface, the artifact warps space around it's attuned wielder.
Death-Hiding Masks - These are a pair of artifacts recovered from the Jingshen Clan which absorb and prevent detection of the Death qi released by a corpse, even that from a Nascent Soul's end.
Eclipse Array (Expended) - Your master Alexios sought to protect you from the innate weakness of your Dao against opposing comprehensions of Light and its kin. He crafted a portable array for your use, to give you a safeguard against your vulnerability for some time against your natural enemy.
Blood Crystal - A single shard of blood-red crystal you stole right out of the immortal aperture of Old Cannibal during your battle, you do not know exactly what the Blood Crystal is, only that it is incredibly potent and volatile. A full detonation of the shard in your possession would be more than enough to kill you, a Mid Nascent Soul. You have in time discovered hints that the crystal was sourced from the depths of the Cloud Demon Caves.
Twin Bronze Slaughter Aurochs – You have a prized pair of Spirit Beasts in the Core Formation realm. These are creatures with an affinity for the Bronze-Blooded, standing as tall as ten men at the shoulder, breathing fire and possessing brass horns and bronze skins. Where you cannot fly as you will, these are your preferred transport.
Five-Colored Tribulation Lightning – Your dear friend Euphrosyne sacrificed her life to save you from death in the Hundred-Year Trials by shattering her core and calling down Heavenly Tribulation. Her sacrifice preserved your life but did not leave you unharmed, the Heavenly Tribulation catching you in its shadow. You were always one to turn tragedy into good fortune and such was your treatment of the Tribulation Lightning that lingered in your meridians. You have expelled the Lightning into an array trap as a surprise attack for any unwary Nascent Soul opponents. The Lightning you have stored is enough to render any affected Nascent Soul combat ineffective for about two years.
Flame of Bronze – This is a handheld magical flame strong enough to affect the body of a Nascent Soul.
Skin-Flensing Knife Swipe – This is not a killing technique against peers but it strikes from many angles at once, forcing an opponent to spend attention and qi on defense.
Heaven-Cursing Reversal Art – This is the secret technique that laid the foundation for your ascension to Nascent Soul. Through its teaching you touched upon comprehension of Heaven's Shadow. Reciting the mantra, "That which is uncut, be cut. That which is food, become poison. That which is life, become death. The wheel turns and thou wilt be broken upon it," you subvert the nature of things, turning fortune to misfortune, blessing to curse or vice versa.
The Inheritance of the First Archegetes - Appearing just too late, you have achieved a level of synchronicity with your Dao and your Clan's heritage that has unveiled an incredibly powerful and almost equally useless inheritance from the Sea Conquering Army. A mere Nascent Soul such as you has little use for the secrets of your betters and even knowing of them has caused a personality shift as your mind can only falter before the overwhelming strength of what was imparted, preserving itself by hiding in the delusion of being the first Archegetes, Heraclius Sarantapechos, reborn. That is not to say you have not profited from this happenstance. Your being is overshadowed by the shade of a god amongst cultivators and those who think they know the limits of Old Gold are not to be envied in being enlightened to their foolishness. See the Last Will of the Sea-Conquering Army.
Saga Milestones:
To be a cultivator is to defy the Heavens, to climb ever upwards from the red dust of mortality through a gauntlet of scourging tribulations to seek a peak that has no end. As one rises, those you can call peers diminish and your direct relationships with those that persist becomes ever more defining.
Alexios (Deceased) - Your old master; your teacher was the standard you measured yourself against and always fell short off.
Sun Diaxing - Your perennial rival; you have won many battles against this old for but the war is still his to win.
32nd Altar Lord - Your tempter; you fear this old monster not just for his domineering might but for his most unwelcome interest in turning you to his side.
Wei Ning - Your doom; you envy her tyrannical strength and the luxury of power that being in Heavens favor has eased her choices.
Yuan Hao - Your vassal; your power over this canny old Lord is fragile and brittle, time will tell if you can hold the reigns or lose your grasp.
Yao Zhihao - Your ally; you are grateful for her support and have willingly repaid the favor when the tables turned.
Huang Li (Deceased) - Your old collaborator; you knew his principles would be the death of him but that was what made him a good friend.
Child Corpse Gulper (Deceased) - Your schadenfreude; you were pleased that genius and wisdom need not walk together when Sun Diaxing's disciple shattered his dreams and got himself killed by your hand.
Jingshen Junjie (Deceased) - Your foolish neighbor; you will not miss the old threat prowling at your borders but his make for nice recompense.
Jingshen Jiao (Deceased) - Your foolish neighbor; you are grateful that this greenhouse flower never blossomed into a mature threat but made for fine compost.
Weeping Anvil (Deceased) - Your even more foolish neighbor; you were glad to pay back the uncouth squatter for the insult his existence was to your ancestors.
***
You are Kleisthenes Sarantapechos,
Hetaireiarches of the
Imperial Optimatoi. To outsiders, you are simply Second Elder Sarantapechos of the Golden Devil Clan.
Cultivation Rank – Early Nascent Soul
Cultivation Speed – Slow
Age (Max) – 860 (2000)
Health – Healthy
Intrigue – Medium
Administration – Medium
Secret Knowledge – Medium
Teaching – Medium
Warfare – Low
Combat – High
Personal Talents – You are a beast in combat, being much stronger than the Grand Elder was at your cultivation level. As an Early Nascent Soul, you are the weakest in your Great Realm yet you proved a credible threat of injury to an experienced Mid Nascent Soul defending his own territory even if one secretly crippled.
Weaknesses – You are inexperienced for a Nascent Soul, most likely the most recent entry into the ranks of the powerful in your region. The change from operating as a tactical operator to a strategic one will take time to settle into. For now you are fortunate to have the guidance of an experienced Nascent Soul to direct you. Penalty to
Warfare.
Family – Dead. Your close family is all gone, your son lost to the death every cultivator courts and your sister sacrificed herself for your preservation. Your distant relations are known throughout the Clan and your family is very appreciative of your promotion. You are not close to any, but your bloodline is quite potent and yields some excellent disciples so you keep an aloof eye out.
Dao – Sacrificial Exchange. You have walked a path paved in cost to yourself, paying for strength with personal loss. This is a truth you know well: misery is precious coin, exchangeable for value. For your Clan, you are willing to sacrifice yourself paying forward the price. Bind yourself in forbearance to empower yourself temporarily. Make your wounds, your exertion, your very life a millstone around the neck of your enemies forcing unto them a debt that must be paid in acknowledgment of what you would give up. Your reach is short and often immediate but it is a heavy hand upon those who stand against you.
Artifacts, Techniques & Assets:
Hateful Mirror – This is a life saving treasure purchased from the Strength Purity Sect. It warps time and fate once to allow the user choose a slighter better set of outcomes than would happen at the cost of becoming permanently repulsive in appearance.
Thousand-Thought Qi Threading Sutra – This is a powerful cognition enhancing mantra taught by the Grand Elder to you to help you catch up with the required knowledge of your position as his immediate replacement. It is a technique profligate in qi use but indispensable for your current needs.
Heroes Strike As One Mantra – Developed by you as a reward for commendable service by Centurion Xiao Yingzi, this mantra is an expansion to the Art of the Undying Hero. Drawing on your Dao of Sacrifice, you fashioned a technique that allows individuals to sacrifice their strength, years and progression by reciting a sutra together in spiritual fellowship. In battle, those who sacrificed into the fellowship can draw from that common pool via recital of the mantra to bolster morale, endurance and might. The technique rewards continued investment growing stronger with time and greater sacrifice. However only one group at a time can employ the technique with an effective maximum number of one hundred members.
AN: (6763 words)
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