by Tao Wong
Even if the work had delayed his breakthrough, he could not help but be grateful for the influx of contribution points. He had a debt that had to be paid – to Bao Cong, to the Sect for the villagers needs - and only hard work would see it reduced.
Wu Ying took another deep breath, discarding all of those erroneous thoughts. He was ready to complete his cultivation, to achieve the next level. And he would not fail. Not this time. For he believed he knew why he had failed the last time. It hadn’t been a lack of chi. It hadn’t been because he wasn’t physically ready. It had been because, in a part of his mind, he had not viewed himself as a real cultivator.
It irked Wu Ying that by watching Yin Xue as he progressed through the expedition, he had realized his own mistake. He had been so fixed on the fact that he was a peasant cultivator that he had forgotten that there was no such thing. There were no peasant cultivators. Just cultivators. He had been so fixed on his past, he’d held himself back. Because what peasant could be a real cultivator?
His past, the world he had been born into as a farmer, as a peasant, as a commoner. Those were the bedrocks of his soul, the truth of what he was. It would influence who he was and what he would do. But it was not all that he was now. And it certainly did not dictate the extent of his ambition.
He would become a cultivator. A real one. He would climb the path of immortality, and he would see how far he would get. But his parentage, his background, would not hold him back anymore. He was no peasant. No farmer. He was a cultivator.
Drawing a deep breath, Wu Ying drove the chi in his dantian, sending it at the first Energy Storage meridian as per his cultivation manual. He readied himself for a fight, for the pain that would occur as his chi gushed out, driven by will and intent.
But this time, breaking through was as simple as turning over his hand. It required no effort, just the desire. And though there was no influx of worldly chi, no heavenly sign of approval as he broke through, Wu Ying could not help but admit he felt lighter within.
A smile crept up on Wu Ying’s lips as he churned his chi through his body, cleansing the meridian and feeling it fill. He continued drawing in the world’s chi, making it his own. And in the meantime, he sat, contented and hopeful.
For he was looking forward to what came next.
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The End
Wu Ying will continue his journey to immortality in book 4 of A Thousand Li.
Expected release Q3/Q4 2020!
Author’s Note
With the end of the First War, the book closes on Wu Ying’s journey as a Body Cultivator and his first tentative steps into the world of cultivation. Wu Ying has a better idea of what he wants to be, and while there will still be occasional doubts, he’s also setting aside mortal concerns.
Book four will be the start of a new arc in Wu Ying’s journey, one that sees him traveling out of the Sect more and seeing much more of the world. Along the way, Wu Ying will continue to search for his dao, his own meaning. I expect to release the next book in the third to fourth quarter of 2020.
As always, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing the novel. If you enjoyed reading it, please do leave a review and rating. The reviews make a huge difference in sales, which is how I earn a living.
In addition, please check out my other series, the System Apocalypse (a post-apocalyptic LitRPG), Adventures on Brad (a young adult fantasy LitRPG), and the Hidden Wishes (an urban fantasy GameLit series). Book one of each series follow:
Life in the North (Book 1 of the System Apocalypse)
A Healer’s Gift (Book 1 of the Adventures on Brad)
A Gamer’s Wish (Book 1 of the Hidden Wishes series)
I also host a Facebook Group for all things wuxia, xanxia, and specifically, cultivation novels. We’d love it if you joined us:
Cultivation Novels
For more great information about LitRPG series, check out the Facebook groups:
GameLit Society
LitRPG Books
About the Author
Tao Wong is an avid fantasy and sci-fi reader who spends his time working and writing in the North of Canada. He’s spent way too many years doing martial arts of many forms and, having broken himself too often, now spends his time writing about fantasy worlds.
If you’d like to support Tao directly, he has a Patreon page where previews of all his new books can be found!
Tao Wong’s Patreon
For updates on the series and the author’s other books (and special one-shot stories), please visit his website: http://www.mylifemytao.com
Or sign up for his mailing list: https://www.subscribepage.com/taowong
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Books in A Thousand Li series
The First Step
The First Stop
The First War
Glossary
Aura Reinforcement Exercise—Cultivation exercise that allows Wu Ying to contain his aura, trapping his chi within himself and making his cultivation more efficient and making him, to most senses, feel like someone of a lower cultivation level.
Blade Energy/Chi—A specific type of energy that is harnessed by cultivators who have gained understanding of their weapon. Can be projected for more damage.
Body Cleansing—First cultivation stage where the cultivator must cleanse their body of the impurities that have accumulated. Has twelve stages.
Cao—Fuck
Catty—Weight measurement. One cattie is roughly equivalent to one and a half pounds or 604 grams. A tael is 1/16th of a catty
Chi (or Qi)—I use the Cantonese pinyin here rather than the more common Mandarin. Chi is life force / energy and it permeates all things in the universe, flowing through living creatures in particular.
Chi Points (a.k.a. Acupuncture Points)—Locations in the body that, when struck, compressed, or otherwise affected, can affect the flow of chi. Traditional acupuncture uses these points in a beneficial manner.
Core formation—Third stage of cultivation. Having gathered sufficient chi, the cultivator must form a “core” of compressed chi. The stages in Core formation purify and harden the core.
Cultivation Exercise—A supplementary exercise that improves an individual’s handling of chi within their body. Cultivation exercises are ancillary to cultivation styles.
Cultivation Style—A method to manipulate chi within an individual’s body. There are thousands of cultivation exercises, suited for various constitutions, meridians, and bloodlines.
Dark Sects—These are considered ‘evil’ Sects. Their cultivation methods and daos tap into darker emotions and often include blood and flesh sacrifice and the stealing of chi from others.
Dào—Literally translated, the Way (also spelled Tao). The Dao when capitalized speaks of the universal Dao, the one natural Way or Path. When not capitilized, it denotes a lesser way, a lesser truth.
Dāo—Chinese sabre. Closer to a western cavalry sabre, it is thicker, often single-edged, with a curve at the end where additional thickness allows the weapon to be extra efficient at cutting.
Dantian—There are actually three dantians in the human body. The most commonly referred to one is the lower dantian, located right above the bladder and an inch within the body. The other two are located in the chest and forehead, though they are often less frequently used. The dantian is said to be the center of chi.
Dragon’s Breath—Chi projection attack from the Long family style.
Demonic Sects—Demonic Sects draw power not from the chi in the natural world but from the demonic plane. While not necessarily evil or harmful like Dark Sects, many Demonic Sects are hunted by Orthodox Sects due to the damage their presence can cause to the natural order of the world.
Elements—The Chinese traditionally have five elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Within these elements, additional sub-elements may occur (example—air from Chao Kun, ice from Li Yao).
Energy Storage—Second stage of cultivation, where
the energy storage circulation meridians are opened. This stage allows cultivators to project their chi, the amount of chi stored and projected depending on level. There are eight levels.
Heretical Sects—Sects practising unorthodox daos or cultivation methods. These heretical sects might not even focus on cultivation in the same manner as ‘orthodox’ sects.
Huài dàn—Rotten egg
Hún dàn—Bastard
Jian—A straight, double-edged sword. Known in modern times as a “taichi sword.” Mostly a thrusting instrument, though it can be used to cut as well.
Li—Roughly half a kilometer per li. Traditional Chinese measurement of distance.
Lord Wen—Father of Yin Xue. The Wen family is a branch family of nobles born in the neighboring state of Wei and that defected.
Long family jian style—A family sword form passed on to Wu Ying. Consists of a lot of cuts, fighting at full measure, and quick changes in direction.
Meridians—In traditional Chinese martial arts and medicine, meridians are how chi flows through the body. In traditional Chinese medicine, there are twelve major meridian flows and eight secondary energy flows. I’ve used these meridians for the stages in cultivation for the first two stages.
Mountain Breaking Fist—Fist form that Wu Ying gained in the inner sect library. Focused, single, powerful attacks.
Nascent Soul—The fourth and last known stage of cultivation. Cultivators form a new, untouched soul steeped in the dao they had formed. This new soul must ascend to the heavens, facing heavenly tribulation at each step.
Northern Shen Kicking Style—Kicking form that Wu Ying learned at the outer sect library. Both a grappling and kicking style, meant for close combat.
Orthodox Sects—The most common type of Sect. Differentiated from other types by the cultivation type conducted.
Qinggong—Literally “light skill.” Comes from baguazhang and is basically wire-fu—running on water, climbing trees, gliding along bamboo, etc.
Iron Reinforced Bones—Defensive, physical cultivation technique that Wu Ying trains in that will increase the strength and defense of his body.
Sect—A grouping of like-minded martial artists or cultivators. Generally, Sects are hierarchical. There are often core, inner, and outer disciples in any Sect, with Sect Elders above them and the Sect patriarch above all.
Six Jades Sect—Rival sect of the Verdant Green Waters, located in the State of Wei.
State of Shen—Location in which the first book is set. Ruled by a king and further ruled locally by lords. The State of Shen is made up of numerous counties ruled over by local lords and administered by magistrates. It is a temperate kingdom with significant rainfall and a large number of rivers connected by canals.
State of Wei—The antagonistic kingdom that borders the State of Shen. The two states are at war.
Tael—System of money. A thousand copper coins equals one tael.
Tai Kor—Elder brother
Verdant Green Waters Sect—Most powerful Sect in the State of Wen. Wu Ying’s current Sect.
* * *
[1] Reminder. While the twelve meridians and eight extraordinary meridians (the energy meridians in my book) are actual meridians in traditional Chinese medicine, I am changing it for the sake of the story. Traditionally, the eight extraordinary meridians are already open.
[2] Remember, a dao is basically the Chinese sabre.
[3] Reminder. One li is half a kilometer roughly. Or somewhat less than a quarter of a mile.
[4] Traditional Chinese writing was written and read right to left, up to down. There is also little to no punctuation in this traditional style. Take that, Oxford comma!
[5] The Chinese calendar is a lunar calendar with twenty-eight days and twelve months (normally). Leap years see the addition of an additional month and that happens every four years. Generally, the months are roughly one to two months displaced from the Georgian calendar (so New Year’s is in January or February).
[6] Chinese equivalent of cutting your nose off to spite your face.
[7] The huki (colloquially hokou—though that’s actually the actual registration of an individual) is a system of household registration used in China. Pre-modern China had multiple variations of the registration system, ranging from a simple central registrar for the village and individual family registers to more complicated systems involving multiple households. Modern day China also has a much more complicated and political system in place for rural / city-based denizens. Obviously, we’re using a simplified version here. The hokou was used mainly for conscription and taxation in pre-modern times.
[8] The abacus (known as a suanpan in China) is a wooden / bamboo rectangle with beads on sliding wires and split into two sections by a wooden beam—a two-bead top deck and a five-bead bottom deck. Counting is done by moving the beads up and down, with each bead set demarcating a single digit, tens, hundreds, etc. Learnt right, it improves mental math and can be faster than a calculator.
[9] So, one thing to note is that depending on time period, merchants were generally considered the lowest class in society. Very broadly speaking, in traditional Confucian society, it went from noble, scholar, peasant, artisans and craftsmen, then merchants and traders.
[10] Amitoufo is the transliteration of the Sanskrit words Amithaba Buddha. It calls upon the Buddha of Infinite Light to help calm the mind and come from a compassionate place. In this case, Tien Huo is using it as a reminder to Yien Xue to let this go.
[11] Two of the Eight Immortals in Chinese mythology. Cai He supposedly traveled the world, doing good before ascending after getting drunk, while Zhong Li found a jade vessel that took him as an immortal to the heavens.
[12] Equivalent of modern day police or detectives. Sub-prefectures were appointed by prefectures who were appointed by the magistrate. They and imperial censors (who were generally restricted to chasing up corruption in the bureaucracy) were the policing forces of the government. They could be aided by city militia or army personnel, though the amount of help they received from the army varied during the time period.
[13] Traditional form of submission where the individual kneels and places their head on the ground in supplication. Often, this can be seen when worshipping ancestors and individuals of higher rank, with multiple bows indicating greater significance in rank.
[14] Pulled from the proverb about gratitude—“When drinking water, don’t forget who dug the well.”
[15] Mandarin equivalent of the f-word.
[16] This is a reference to a story about a young and old monk. It basically involves an older monk carrying a young noble lady across muddy ground on his back before he was shoved aside without thanks. The young monk continued complaining about the young woman for a long time, until the old monk finally said, “I set the woman down hours ago. Why are you still carrying her?”
[17] Chinese chess, but since you know; they’re Chinese, it’s chess. :P
