- Invitation Status
- Looking for partners
- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per day
- Multiple posts per week
- One post per week
- Slow As Molasses
- Online Availability
- On fairly regularly, every day. I'll notice a PM almost immediately. Replies come randomly.
- Writing Levels
- Adept
- Advanced
- Preferred Character Gender
- Primarily Prefer Male
- No Preferences
- Genres
- High fantasy is my personal favorite, followed closely by modern fantasy and post-apocalyptic, but I can happily play in any genre if the plot is good enough.
Under the light of the slowly rising sun, the capital city of Guilin was already bustling with activity. True to its name, Guilin city was the finest gem under the rule of the Qiang Kingdom. Tucked into the cradling arm of tall, sharp mountains, Guilin City was protected on three sides by mountain peaks, and guarded on the fourth by a massive river. A hub for trade and commerce, Guilin was already well protected by it's natural surroundings, but was further guarded by the presence of the Qianghe Sect that flourished in the mountain range behind the city.
In the scope of the whole continent, the Qianghe Sect was not overly famous. It was somewhat known for its most powerful technique, a massive water technique that was said to have been created after the sect founder witnessed a battle between a flood dragon and a turtle snake. However, within the Qiang Kingdom, Qianghe Sect was not only their guardian and protector, it was also the target of every citizen's admiration and envy. Countless children and young teenagers dreamed that they would be able to pass the sect's selection test and gain the sect's aid in clearing their meridians, stepping onto the true path of cultivation.
Among the cities that surrounded Qianghe Sect and acted as its servants, Guilin was by far the best known. However, for all its flourishing commerce, filled with rare materials that moved through the city into the mountain sect, and filled to the brim with figures that could cause a city to change with their words alone anywhere else in the kingdom, the city was limited by one undeniable resource. Land.
While the valley between the mountain's two arms had once seemed endlessly expansive when the city had first been built, now the city had been hemmed in by its former protectors. After countless years, the city had grown as far outwards as it could, and every parcel of property within the city might now be worth even more than the cumulative value of the goods that passed through the city's hands in a day.
That was what made the grand residential compounds that stood at the foot of the mountain range particularly magnificent. Once a visitor passed through the tall walls that surrounded them, it might seem as though they'd arrived at a completely different place. In the compound, the land that was such a valuable resource would be displayed before them as a mere pittance. Vast fields of flowers and decorations filled the space between sprawling houses that were rarely more than a couple stories high. Even the servants would have their own courtyard.
One such house, neither the grandest among the compounds, but certainly not the smallest either, belonged to the Seong family. Compared to the grandness of their residence, the family was different from many of the other families that occupied the other compounds. After all, the Seong family was what the rest of the people in the city would describe as 'new money'.
Unlike many of the families, whose residences had been there since the moment the city was founded, the Seong family hadn't held their position for more than two generations. It was the former Patriarch of the Seong family that had catapulted them from invisibility to prominence, arriving in Guilin City like a tidal wave, somehow gaining the acknowledgement of the Qianghe Sect. He'd set himself up in the compound now known as the Seong Residence, and used his momentum to arrange a marriage with the youngest daughter of one of the oldest 'old money' families in Guilin City, Tan Aimei. Both of their sons, Seong Rongkuai and Seong Rongyu, were accepted into the Qianghe Sect on their thirteenth birthday, and it seemed like the family was only destined to rise further.
However, less than a decade after both their sons entered the sect, Patriarch Seong was struck by a sudden bout of terrible illness, and died a week later despite the efforts of the best doctors in Guilin City. Their elder son Rongkuai remained in the Qianghe Sect, continuing his cultivation, while the younger brother, Rongyu, returned to the Seong Residence to gain the patriarch position and manage the affairs of the weakened family.
From the outside, it seemed like a perfectly harmonious change in power, especially for the younger brother who was fortunate to gain the leadership of the family over his elder brother. However, what outsiders didn't know was that the people in the wealthy courtyards looked up to the mountains that held the Qianghe Sect in the same manner that the residents of Guilin city admired their own residences. They floated just outside the sect's area of influence, living in the manner of servants orbiting around their master. All of them longed for nothing more than to rise above their current position and enter the true ranks of the Qianghe Sect.
And to the outside, Seong Rongyu loved and respected his older brother, gladly sending a portion of their funds into the Sect at the end of each year to support Rongkuai's cultivation, and hosting a grand banquet for him whenever he would visit the residence every couple years. In fact, Rongyu's illusion ran so deep that only a few knew the truth of exactly how much he hated and envied his older brother, and begrudged him that it was Rongkuai who was able to stay in the sect after their father's death.
One of those rare few people who knew the truth was Seong Neyami, Rongyu's young daughter.
After his rise to the position of Patriarch, Seong Rongyu married a disciple in the Qianghe Sect with his brother's help. Guo Enli was not a talented cultivator, but she was beautiful and graceful. Although she still spent most of her time within the bounds of the Qianghe Sect's borders, she had done her duty as the wife of the patriarch, and given birth to both a son and a daughter.
Under his father's overabundance of love, Seong Nusheng had grown into a young man far more interested in the pleasures of wine and women rather than the struggles and hardship of cultivation. He put in just enough effort to keep his father off his back, before vanishing off to the center of Guilin City to play with the other profligate sons of the noble families.
Rongyu could never bring himself to act against his son, but that didn't mean he was willing to act ignorant of the vast advantages and opportunities a true cultivator could provide to the family, and, more importantly, to him personally. Even as the years passed and his elder brother grew further and further ahead of him, Rongyu never stopped dreaming that he'd overtake him, and stand, glorious and proud, at the top of the world. He dreamed that he would find an opportunity like his own father had, but he wouldn't be so foolish as to trade a rare and precious item like that for mortal comforts and luxury like the Seong Residence. He'd use it for himself.
But, in the same manner that he longed for that opportunity, he feared the dangers that would inevitably surround them. He had heard many stories of the dangers of the wider world from Enli, and he had no intention of risking his life. After all, he would never be able to reach his goal if he was dead.
Instead, he forced all his dreams and expectations onto his younger daughter.
He'd decided Neyami was special from the moment she was born. In a different, more barbaric age, his daughter might have been killed shortly after she was born, slain as the offspring of a demon for her unnaturally pale skin, icy blue-grey eyes, and perfectly white hair. Rongyu, on the other hand, had decided this proved Neyami was destined for great things on the cultivation path. Great things she would naturally pass along to him as his obedient, filial daughter.
When it came to raising his children, Rongyu put all of his love into Nusheng, and all of his attention and obsession into Neyami. From the moment she was old enough to understand his words, Rongyu made it clear to his daughter that she existed for one purpose, and one purpose only: to become a great cultivator and help her father rise up in the world. He put all the resources he could spare into rearing her, and always drove her to achieve more. If it wasn't for the fact that forcing a prepubescent child to begin the opening steps of cultivation would do more harm than good, he would have long since pushed Neyami into opening her first meridians.
That was why, on the morning of his daughter's thirteenth birthday, Seong Rongyu was all smiles. He greeted the selection judge from the Qianghe Sect personally at the gates of the Seong Residence, and ushered him into the main house, where a small banquet was waiting for them. Other than servants to tend to the food, there was only one other person in the room.
"This is my daughter, Seong Neyami," he introduced, gesturing towards the young girl seated at the table. "Xiao Mi, come greet the sect judge."
Despite his kind voice and gentle bearing, Rongyu's face as he turned away from the sect judge was severe. Everything that had happened before this point, all the lessons he'd crammed into Neyami, all the resources he'd used to prep her for clearing her meridians, were just a pre-game. The real thing would only begin once she got accepted into the Qianghe Sect and could begin cultivating in proper. If she did anything to mess this step up, her father would never forgive her, and his expression made that clear.
In the scope of the whole continent, the Qianghe Sect was not overly famous. It was somewhat known for its most powerful technique, a massive water technique that was said to have been created after the sect founder witnessed a battle between a flood dragon and a turtle snake. However, within the Qiang Kingdom, Qianghe Sect was not only their guardian and protector, it was also the target of every citizen's admiration and envy. Countless children and young teenagers dreamed that they would be able to pass the sect's selection test and gain the sect's aid in clearing their meridians, stepping onto the true path of cultivation.
Among the cities that surrounded Qianghe Sect and acted as its servants, Guilin was by far the best known. However, for all its flourishing commerce, filled with rare materials that moved through the city into the mountain sect, and filled to the brim with figures that could cause a city to change with their words alone anywhere else in the kingdom, the city was limited by one undeniable resource. Land.
While the valley between the mountain's two arms had once seemed endlessly expansive when the city had first been built, now the city had been hemmed in by its former protectors. After countless years, the city had grown as far outwards as it could, and every parcel of property within the city might now be worth even more than the cumulative value of the goods that passed through the city's hands in a day.
That was what made the grand residential compounds that stood at the foot of the mountain range particularly magnificent. Once a visitor passed through the tall walls that surrounded them, it might seem as though they'd arrived at a completely different place. In the compound, the land that was such a valuable resource would be displayed before them as a mere pittance. Vast fields of flowers and decorations filled the space between sprawling houses that were rarely more than a couple stories high. Even the servants would have their own courtyard.
One such house, neither the grandest among the compounds, but certainly not the smallest either, belonged to the Seong family. Compared to the grandness of their residence, the family was different from many of the other families that occupied the other compounds. After all, the Seong family was what the rest of the people in the city would describe as 'new money'.
Unlike many of the families, whose residences had been there since the moment the city was founded, the Seong family hadn't held their position for more than two generations. It was the former Patriarch of the Seong family that had catapulted them from invisibility to prominence, arriving in Guilin City like a tidal wave, somehow gaining the acknowledgement of the Qianghe Sect. He'd set himself up in the compound now known as the Seong Residence, and used his momentum to arrange a marriage with the youngest daughter of one of the oldest 'old money' families in Guilin City, Tan Aimei. Both of their sons, Seong Rongkuai and Seong Rongyu, were accepted into the Qianghe Sect on their thirteenth birthday, and it seemed like the family was only destined to rise further.
However, less than a decade after both their sons entered the sect, Patriarch Seong was struck by a sudden bout of terrible illness, and died a week later despite the efforts of the best doctors in Guilin City. Their elder son Rongkuai remained in the Qianghe Sect, continuing his cultivation, while the younger brother, Rongyu, returned to the Seong Residence to gain the patriarch position and manage the affairs of the weakened family.
From the outside, it seemed like a perfectly harmonious change in power, especially for the younger brother who was fortunate to gain the leadership of the family over his elder brother. However, what outsiders didn't know was that the people in the wealthy courtyards looked up to the mountains that held the Qianghe Sect in the same manner that the residents of Guilin city admired their own residences. They floated just outside the sect's area of influence, living in the manner of servants orbiting around their master. All of them longed for nothing more than to rise above their current position and enter the true ranks of the Qianghe Sect.
And to the outside, Seong Rongyu loved and respected his older brother, gladly sending a portion of their funds into the Sect at the end of each year to support Rongkuai's cultivation, and hosting a grand banquet for him whenever he would visit the residence every couple years. In fact, Rongyu's illusion ran so deep that only a few knew the truth of exactly how much he hated and envied his older brother, and begrudged him that it was Rongkuai who was able to stay in the sect after their father's death.
One of those rare few people who knew the truth was Seong Neyami, Rongyu's young daughter.
After his rise to the position of Patriarch, Seong Rongyu married a disciple in the Qianghe Sect with his brother's help. Guo Enli was not a talented cultivator, but she was beautiful and graceful. Although she still spent most of her time within the bounds of the Qianghe Sect's borders, she had done her duty as the wife of the patriarch, and given birth to both a son and a daughter.
Under his father's overabundance of love, Seong Nusheng had grown into a young man far more interested in the pleasures of wine and women rather than the struggles and hardship of cultivation. He put in just enough effort to keep his father off his back, before vanishing off to the center of Guilin City to play with the other profligate sons of the noble families.
Rongyu could never bring himself to act against his son, but that didn't mean he was willing to act ignorant of the vast advantages and opportunities a true cultivator could provide to the family, and, more importantly, to him personally. Even as the years passed and his elder brother grew further and further ahead of him, Rongyu never stopped dreaming that he'd overtake him, and stand, glorious and proud, at the top of the world. He dreamed that he would find an opportunity like his own father had, but he wouldn't be so foolish as to trade a rare and precious item like that for mortal comforts and luxury like the Seong Residence. He'd use it for himself.
But, in the same manner that he longed for that opportunity, he feared the dangers that would inevitably surround them. He had heard many stories of the dangers of the wider world from Enli, and he had no intention of risking his life. After all, he would never be able to reach his goal if he was dead.
Instead, he forced all his dreams and expectations onto his younger daughter.
He'd decided Neyami was special from the moment she was born. In a different, more barbaric age, his daughter might have been killed shortly after she was born, slain as the offspring of a demon for her unnaturally pale skin, icy blue-grey eyes, and perfectly white hair. Rongyu, on the other hand, had decided this proved Neyami was destined for great things on the cultivation path. Great things she would naturally pass along to him as his obedient, filial daughter.
When it came to raising his children, Rongyu put all of his love into Nusheng, and all of his attention and obsession into Neyami. From the moment she was old enough to understand his words, Rongyu made it clear to his daughter that she existed for one purpose, and one purpose only: to become a great cultivator and help her father rise up in the world. He put all the resources he could spare into rearing her, and always drove her to achieve more. If it wasn't for the fact that forcing a prepubescent child to begin the opening steps of cultivation would do more harm than good, he would have long since pushed Neyami into opening her first meridians.
That was why, on the morning of his daughter's thirteenth birthday, Seong Rongyu was all smiles. He greeted the selection judge from the Qianghe Sect personally at the gates of the Seong Residence, and ushered him into the main house, where a small banquet was waiting for them. Other than servants to tend to the food, there was only one other person in the room.
"This is my daughter, Seong Neyami," he introduced, gesturing towards the young girl seated at the table. "Xiao Mi, come greet the sect judge."
Despite his kind voice and gentle bearing, Rongyu's face as he turned away from the sect judge was severe. Everything that had happened before this point, all the lessons he'd crammed into Neyami, all the resources he'd used to prep her for clearing her meridians, were just a pre-game. The real thing would only begin once she got accepted into the Qianghe Sect and could begin cultivating in proper. If she did anything to mess this step up, her father would never forgive her, and his expression made that clear.
