Time.
Time to enjoy their lives as cultivators. To enjoy being alive. Time to receive what was owed them. To train and improve their cultivation. Time to grow in strength.
Because if there was one thing Wu Ying was certain about, it was that there would be another incident. Another time of heart-stopping terror.
That too was the life of an immortal cultivator.
###
THE END
Wu Ying will be back as the shadows of war loom in book three of A Thousand Li:
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.
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.
Dao—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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Author’s Note
And that’s book two. As you can tell, book three will be dealing with the on-going war between the states of Wei and Shen. Book three will take a little while as I have some research to complete before I can do the book justice. It will likely release in early 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:
For more great information about LitRPG series, check out the Facebook groups:
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.