>>6105371
You stand from the floor of the mystic cave. Your soul feels different. Lighter? Heavier? No, no… Neither of those. It feels bigger. Your spirit has more weight to move and more strength to move it. This is only symbolic, yet it is real. It clings to your outer body and textures your inner mind. You have life and death coursing in your veins. You are in balance.

All that you need to do is grow. If you grow stronger, the symbol will deepen and so will its impact. It’s impossible with this death aspect on your organs, but you feel the healthiest you’ve ever been. You need to return to your teacher and show him what you’ve accomplished! There’s no time to waste. You return to the valley. It’s the middle of the night, even though you started meditating at the crack of dawn. You aren’t surprised.

Cultivation tends to make time feel like it’s sliding faster than it should. Or maybe not? Maybe the rapid speed of time in a meditation trance is how time actually flows, and it requires a loss of external distractions to see it. Maybe everyone is moving in so much of a hurry that time slows down for them. You aren’t sure. You mull over this while you travel back to your village. You try to keep your head down and stay out of the torchlight as well as you can.

You aren’t sure how much your foundation influenced your appearance, but if your skin is more pale than usual, it’s probably best not to find out from a superstitious rice farmer. Even if your family consists of superstitious rice farmers. Hmm… Is superstition really that unwise? You already know that loose cultivators and spirit beasts exist. Superstition could just be another kind of common sense. You find Grandfather Shun’s shack on the outskirts of the village. It doesn’t seem like he’s awake, since there’s no light coming under the door and you can’t hear any smithing going on, but you know better.

>>6105374

He taught you better. You sneak up to the door, then knock on it. You hear a faint creaking inside. With how he moves, he must have let you hear it. “How long has it been?” His response comes quick. “One week. I hope you have something to show for it, boy.” You start thinking of how to reply but he cuts through the usual back-and-forth. “Come in, COME IN! Let this grandfather get a look at his junior’s work!” You look over your shoulder to make sure nobody’s watching, then barge right in.

Grandfather Shun is leaning on the wall, staring at the door with the forge’s hammer in his hand and its head shoved in his palm. There’s a nervous look on him like you’ve never seen before, and it hits you don’t know how long he’s been standing like this. He looks right through you, tensing, and the nervous look fades into shock. “What have you done, boy?” Before you can react, he pulls you in, slams the door behind you, and latches it shut. A huge grin creeps over his face.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, BOY?!” You explain the best you can. “When I was yin poisoned, I almost died. I chose to accept death. I couldn’t sense my own soul so I couldn’t remember until I finished my foundation, then it sort of melted into everything else I did. Then, I accepted death again.” Grandfather Shun shakes his head, almost manic with glee. “BAH, I CAN SEE THAT! What else have you done? Get over here, so I can see! That aura’s too complex to tell at a distance…”

You go into a meditation stance and focus on circulating qi while he pulls out a pile of tools. Over the next hours, he pokes you with needles, listens to your heartbeat, applies pressure with tongs, and beats your joints with a mallet. His methods are crude and imprecise, but spiritual matters were never his specialty. By the time he’s finished, he is breathless with laughter. “HAAA! You’ve done it, boy! YOU’VE REALLY DONE IT! A balanced fiveway element foundation… spiritual structures of yin and yang… strong death affinity… all of excellent refinement… with your own name carved in the center of it all! HAHAHAHA!”

You wait for him to stop rambling and speak up. “Is this good?” He dumps his tools back in their bag, and chuckles. “Better than good. It’s the best I’ve ever seen on a loose cultivator. At least as fine as mine was, and FAR more complex. Damn Lian Zhihao and damn his temple! I’ll have my revenge and you, boy, will have the training you need.” You’re excited by those words. “Does that mean I can start learning more advanced techniques?” Grandfather Shun laughs, but it’s grim.

>>6105375
“It means you must. This foundation of yours is strong, junior. Too strong. If we stay here, rumours will spread and the sects will find you. That’ll be it for our dreams. We need to leave for the wilderness. Pack up your things and meet me here in an hour. Don’t say your goodbyes. It’s best that they think you vanished.” This throws you off-guard. “Wh-What? You want me to leave my parents and siblings behind, after everything that happened?”

Grandfather Shun shakes his head. “I want them to survive. Right now they’re just another family of rice farmers. If the sects catch on, they’ll be leverage. You can come back once you’re strong enough. For now, you need to train.” That’s callous, but it makes sense. Something else comes to your mind. “What about the underground lake?” Your teacher starts bundling up all of his possessions in that bag. It seems a little too small to be holding that much. He doesn’t elaborate and keeps talking.

“I’ll seal the entrance and keep it hidden. You needed it to help you understand your foundation method but that’s done. If you keep relying on it, it will turn into a crutch. You can come back when you’ve learned to be strong on your own.” That makes sense too, but it has helped you so much. Wouldn’t abandoning it just make you weaker?

You think about this.

What should you do?

>Agree with Grandfather Shun. You need to focus on getting strong enough to protect your family, even if it means you’re going to have to leave them behind.
>Reject Grandfather Shun’s demands. You can’t leave your family behind to run off into the wilderness. They need you here, helping them with the harvest season.
>Try to reason with Grandfather Shun. You don’t have to make a radical decision here, there’s no need for this to be an all-or-nothing leap.

>>6105377
>>Agree with Grandfather Shun. You need to focus on getting strong enough to protect your family, even if it means you’re going to have to leave them behind.
BUT!
>Try to reason with Grandfather Shun.
We need to say our goodbyes. We love our family, and if we let them know that they ought not to mention that we even existed to any outsiders, and if they do, pretend to hate us, it'll keep them (and us!) safer.

>>6105377
>Agree

>>6105377
>Agree with grandfather Shun

We're in it deep now. The only thing protecting families like ours is anonymity, and we are now a direct threat to that.

>>6105377
>>Agree with Grandfather Shun. You need to focus on getting strong enough to protect your family, even if it means you’re going to have to leave them behind.
fair enough
love me grandfather

>>6105377
>Agree with Grandfather Shun. You need to focus on getting strong enough to protect your family, even if it means you’re going to have to leave them behind.

>>6105377

>Agree with Grandfather Shun. You need to focus on getting strong enough to protect your family, even if it means you’re going to have to leave them behind.

But perhaps Grandfather Shun can help us write a simple note to tell our family that we are fine but had to leave. We don't have to sign it either. I'm sure Shun is cunning enough to know what kind of note we can leave that would be safe enough.

(We can't read, though, so Shun could write whatever he wants, and we wouldn't know.)

>>6105423
>>6105455
>>6105491
>>6105500
>>6105506
>>6105539
You feel conflicted by this but in the end, agree with Grandfather Shun’s reasoning. If the sects are even half as dangerous as he says, your family would be endangered by your presence. The last thing you want is to get your mother, father, Meng, Guo, or Yi hurt. Come to think of it… Even Bai might not be safe. After all…

You are friends and he did help you learn how to structure your soul. Still, it seems wrong to abandon them outright. “Are you sure I can’t say goodbye? If I told them it was important they didn’t whisper, maybe it would be fine?” The old man shrugs, as he starts tying the bag shut. “Is that a risk you want to take? It makes no difference to me, junior.”

That makes you think. “...Maybe not. Could I leave a letter?” Now he throws the bag over his shoulder. “Can you read and write?” You rub the back of your neck. “Uh, no?” He asks another question. “Can your family?” You think for a minute. “I know my dad writes our yield for the village rice ledgers, but I’ve never seen him do anything else.” Grandfather Shun sighs. “That’s a no, then.”

This has got your mind going to distant places. “Shouldn’t I learn how to read and write? There’s lots of stuff on scrolls, isn’t there?” That gets a nod. “There is, boy. Most things worth knowing are written down somewhere. Don’t let that distract you. Chasing literacy right now would be a waste of time.” Isn’t that a contradiction? “Huh?” He repeats himself with different phrasing. “Time spent learning script is time you aren’t meditating or training. That can wait for when you’re stronger. Besides, I’ll be showing you what you need to know.”

It can wait for when you’re stronger… Hmm… “Fine. I’ll go get my things. It shouldn’t take long. There’s not much.” Grandfather Shun stops you with his hand and pulls out a piece of parchment. You watch as he pulls out a small, red stone that heats up, then burns symbols into the surface, like a hotter ink quill.

>我會回來的
>崇

>>6105717
He passes the parchment to you. “That should work. Put it somewhere your father will find it.” You’re confused. “Didn’t you say talking would be dangerous?” The old man shakes his head. “I said that rumours of your foundation spreading would be dangerous. This is still risky but if they don’t see you in person, it should make little difference. You see, junior? I wrote the script, and my dantian was shattered, so it won’t seem out of the ordinary. Sometimes, a cultivator’s soul blends into their work. That applies to everything a cultivator does! WHY, BOY?”

This catches you by surprise and you fumble for an answer. “The Dao is the Dao?” The old man doesn’t waste any time with explanations. “YES! NOW GO! Meet me near the valley.” You leave and rush back home. The message. You sneak back home and find your father sound asleep. Still, quiet. Just like the Silent Dusk Shroud (寂寞夕寿衣). It would be easy to slip this in his tools.

Do you trust your father to keep a secret?

>Yes. It could be risky, but would give you and him both peace of mind.
>No. If there’s even the smallest chance this could be dangerous, you can’t.

>>6105719
When that’s done, you go back to find Grandfather Shun already waiting for you. There’s a different hammer in his hands, this one with a pointier head and large enough that he needs both to hold it. It’s subtle, but you can see he’s straining with the weight. “Wait here, junior. I’m going to collapse the tunnel. Keep watch for anybody drawn to the noise and shout if you spot one. We can’t have any witnesses.” To the noise? Before you can ask any questions, he’s already gone down into the valley. Five minutes later, you hear a sound like thunder below. It rages and doesn’t stop for at least thirty minutes.

You wait, paranoid. Luckily, nobody comes in from the direction of the village. Grandfather Shun crawls back up by the end of the hour. The strange hammer is gone and he’s covered in cave dust. You notice he’s sweating. “That ought to do it, boy. Now let’s get going. It won’t be long before the snow starts and we’ll want to get some distance while we can.” The old man trudges off in a seemingly random direction.

The valley seems like it was previously but you can’t help but be curious. He shouts after you, snapping you out of your thoughts. “ARE YOU HARD OF HEARING? MOVE!” You shake your head and rush after him. The two of you don’t talk much for the next few days. You just travel, living on rice and keeping watch for travelers.

You suspect he’s letting you get used to how your foundation has changed your qi flow before you start any serious practicing. That makes sense, so you don’t push. You simply meditate. A few weeks of mostly silence pass. Finally, you reach a forest. This one is different from the one you learned about elemental earth in. It’s darker, wilder, but you doubt it’s more dangerous. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken you here.

Or maybe he would have? Sometimes, you think Grandfather Shun isn’t all there. He breaks the quiet around a campfire (under the usual smoke catcher) and says exactly what you’ve been waiting to hear. “It’s time we started your training. There are a few techniques you could get some use out of. Your foundation is balanced but my specialty was metal, so that’s what I’ll teach you.”

>>6105721
“The first, Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄), is where I started myself. You’ll infuse the marrow of your bones with metal qi for months until it radiates out and hardens them. While it’s excruciating, stronger bones make for stronger muscles. Most of my techniques build on the framework this gives. The second, Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富), is another fine first step. Instead of your bones, you infuse the life qi in your blood with metal qi until your body starts to integrate metal qi into its regular functions. This one burns, but will boost your affinity for metal and make learning more easier. It can be finicky to pin down and is trickier, but with your Inner Map (內舆图), maybe you’ll have an easier time than I did.”

“The third, Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩) was too painful to teach you before you finished your foundation, but you might be ready now. You take the pure metal qi that you’ve been refining with your Redhot Liver Furnace (紅熱肝爐), get it molten hot, and drizzle it over the lining of your stomach. Little by little, the heat and pressure will temper the acids, so that you can get more nutrients out of the food you eat. That doesn’t sound like much but it is important. You must be confident in your mastery of the Silent Dusk Shroud before you attempt this.”

“Don’t worry about missing something, junior. These are simple. You can come back to the ones you overlooked later. We still have a few months of winter travel before we reach our destination. Trust this old Grandfather, you’re going to need something to keep your mind off of the cold.”

Which technique do you want to learn while you travel?

>Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄). Grandfather Shun started here, so maybe you should, too. You’re curious to see what impact your foundation would have on how it manifests, if any.
>Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). If you don’t have true talent, deepening your affinity for the elements is the next best thing. You don’t see any reason this wouldn’t be compatible with death qi.
>Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩). This sounds like an extreme progression of the Redhot Liver Furnace (紅熱肝爐). You’re mostly confident that you can handle the pain the conditioning will take.
>None, you want to keep learning the martial art you’ve rediscovered. You nearly reached an understanding but stopped to get more time for your foundation. Now, you have all the time you could need.

>>6105722
>>Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩). This sounds like an extreme progression of the Redhot Liver Furnace (紅熱肝爐). You’re mostly confident that you can handle the pain the conditioning will take.
all in on the deep end, that's the Chong way

>>6105719
The secret being that we left to make sure that he doesn't get hurt?
>Yes. It could be risky, but would give you and him both peace of mind.
>>6105722
>>Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). If you don’t have true talent, deepening your affinity for the elements is the next best thing. You don’t see any reason this wouldn’t be compatible with death qi.
Get the basics done with before we move on to the more extreme stuff.

>>6105722
>Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). If you don’t have true talent, deepening your affinity for the elements is the next best thing. You don’t see any reason this wouldn’t be compatible with death qi.

>>6105722
>Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). If you don’t have true talent, deepening your affinity for the elements is the next best thing. You don’t see any reason this wouldn’t be compatible with death qi.
A bit worried about our food situation out here which makes me want to go for Filling the Crucible, but lower DCs learning the other techniques is a good starting point.

>>6105722
>Yes. It could be risky, but would give you and him both peace of mind

>Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). If you don’t have true talent, deepening your affinity for the elements is the next best thing. You don’t see any reason this wouldn’t be compatible with death qi.

>>6105722
>No. If there’s even the smallest chance this could be dangerous, you can’t.
I have no idea what cultivating investigators could or would do if they were nursing a grudge against us, but I would prefer to minimize the risk anyway.

>Bones Like Iron
We have to start building up combat power eventually, and this looks like it would aid in making us more robust in both the development and practice of our martial arts.

>>6105722
>>Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). If you don’t have true talent, deepening your affinity for the elements is the next best thing. You don’t see any reason this wouldn’t be compatible with death qi.
Always always strong foundation. Chop wood, carry water.
>Yes. It could be risky, but would give you and him both peace of mind.
Inner peace creates outer peace

>>6105719
>>6105722


>Yes. It could be risky, but would give you and him both peace of mind.

>Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). If you don’t have true talent, deepening your affinity for the elements is the next best thing. You don’t see any reason this wouldn’t be compatible with death qi.
But only if this won't mess up our affinities. Our fundation is pretty much a generalist one, so we don't want to ruin that balance

>>6105719
>Yes. It could be risky, but would give you and him both peace of mind
>>6105722
>Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). If you don’t have true talent, deepening your affinity for the elements is the next best thing. You don’t see any reason this wouldn’t be compatible with death qi.

>>6105751
>>6105758
>>6105829
>>6105843
>>6105850
>>6105910
>>6105957
>>6105959
>>6106036
You chose to leave the message for your father to find. You trust him to keep the secret that you left on purpose and didn’t vanish. Even if you disagree on the value of cultivation, you’re still family. You know that. If you want to go anywhere, you have to know that.

Back to the present. “I think I want to learn Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). If it will make everything else easier to learn, there’s no reason not to start with it, is there?” Grandfather Shun nods. It seems he approves. “There’s one good reason: If you don’t know any better! We’ll start now!” You interject. “I have a question first. Will boosting my metal affinity like this disrupt my balance?”

Your teacher rubs his chin in thought. “I don’t see why it would. Your foundation is spiritual, while Metallic Blood Enrichment is physical. Your body lacks any non-deathly affinities. This should help with that.” You know that the body and soul are part of the same interconnected system, but are their affinities really different? Maybe it’s just that your soul isn’t advanced enough to pour its affinities into the body, but if that’s the case, why do you have an affinity for death and not the elements?

Is death just a stronger concept? Maybe you need to try to keep a balanced amount of affinities in your body. Maybe you can find ways to stack elemental techniques influencing the same body parts? This is all so complex and there are so few answers… The only way to make sense of this is to keep cultivating. You steel your resolve. “I’m ready, then.”

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>6106086
Grandfather Shun grins. “GOOD! Meditate. Focus on the blood in your veins and the life qi in it. Now, focus on the metal qi in your Redhot Liver Furnace (紅熱肝爐) and mix the two together. If it burns, that means it’s working.” You find the rich metal qi in your liver. It’s a mixture of yin and yang aligned, as that’s how it was when you made it.

It occurs to you that by filtering the metal qi through one of your wheels before you put it into your veins, you could give it a strong yin or strong yang alignment. That could likely influence the outcome. For better or worse.

How should you handle this?

>Filter the metal through the yang wheel. If you’re trying to influence life qi, this should make for a more vigorous and energetic effect.
>Filter the metal through the yin wheel. If you’re trying to influence life qi, flowing with instead of against the death qi could make this smoother.
>Don’t filter the metal, keep it balanced. If you’re learning from Grandfather Shun’s experiences, it wouldn’t be wise to alter his methods.

Once you’ve made your decision, you start the actual melding process. One hour per drop, thousands of drops to go, and every last one is redhot searing through your veins. The pain is incredible. If not for use of the Silent Dusk Shroud (寂寞夕寿衣), you would barely be able to walk. With it, you can keep a steady pace with Grandfather Shun.

You still don’t know where you’re going and he hasn’t explained.

>ROLL
>1d100+20 for Grandfather Shun to navigate! +20 (Familiar Paths), +10 (Old Wisdom), -10 (Early Winter)
>1d100+30 for Chong to learn the Redhot Liver Furnace (紅熱肝爐)! +10 (Instructor), +10 (Inner Map), +10 (Inward Attunement)

Rolled 8 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>6106088
>Don’t filter the metal, keep it balanced. If you’re learning from Grandfather Shun’s experiences, it wouldn’t be wise to alter his methods.

Rolled 66 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>6106088
>>Don’t filter the metal, keep it balanced. If you’re learning from Grandfather Shun’s experiences, it wouldn’t be wise to alter his methods.
Given how heavy the pain is let's not fuck with it for now, adding more yang could make it too much to bear.

>>6106098
danger
>>6106134
but success
>Don’t filter the metal, keep it balanced. If you’re learning from Grandfather Shun’s experiences, it wouldn’t be wise to alter his methods.

I don't usually get into cultivation stories but this seems like a good time.

>>6106088
>Don’t filter the metal, keep it balanced. If you’re learning from Grandfather Shun’s experiences, it wouldn’t be wise to alter his methods.

>>6106088
>>Don’t filter the metal, keep it balanced. If you’re learning from Grandfather Shun’s experiences, it wouldn’t be wise to alter his methods.
Would it be reasonable to, once we finish doing it normally, start filtering the metal through the wheels? IE, once our body begins integrating metal qi into its functions, can we start filtering yang/yin aligned metal qi through the wheels and "phase out" the balanced metal qi?

>>6105758
>The secret being that we left to make sure that he doesn't get hurt?
Yes, that's correct. Without the message, it would be easy for your family to assume Chong suffered an accident, which isn't at all uncommon for aspiring cultivators. With it, your father now knows that he left intentionally, which implies he experienced a breakthrough.

>>6106275
It would be possible to do so, yes. The technique isn't an invasive organ restructure, just an alloying of your blood's life qi. Filtering it afterward would take some time, however.

>>6106098
>Worldly Navigation DC: 80 > 28
>Terrible Failure!
>>6106134
>Metallic Blood Enrichment DC: 80 < 96
>Average Success!
>>6106146
>>6106258
>>6106275
You decide not to experiment with yin and yang, considering that you can filter it again later if you need to. That doesn't make learning the technique any easier. Your veins feel like they're burning from the inside-out, and even the Silent Dusk Shroud (寂寞夕寿衣) gives you temporary relief. Your expertise of the technique is smooth but you have to periodically "pull back the curtain" to check on your progress, and you can't cover your whole self if you want to keep walking efficiently. You have to endure the pain but that is part of becoming stronger.

Soon, it begins to snow. Heavily. This is one of the worst winters you've seen in your entire life! Perhaps the Heavens don't approve of your cultivation? Grandfather Shun shakes his staff at the sky and jokingly dares the clouds to strike him down. You don't want to think about the karmic debt he probably has hanging on his head. The cold and snow are harsh and brutal, but the nearly boiling blood in your veins helps keep you warm. In the end, it balances out.

Gradually, you can feel your veins cooling down and getting sleeker. It's difficult to tell exactly how it's happening, only that it is. Now, your blood is taking metal qi from your liver and using it to enrich the waters. This is a subtle difference and does little for your health, but you can feel the metal inside of you, yearning to be taken and beaten into shape. You have learned the technique as well as anyone could expect.

It doesn't help you much when a snowstorm comes and doesn't let up for five whole days. You and Grandfather Shun are both miserable, and forced to bundle up under your cloaks to survive. You've never been this cold in your life. Your teacher can't even speak to you, his teeth are chattering so much. Once it passes and the clouds part, you have a far greater appreciation for the sun and its warmth.

Your journey continues as your rations run low and the Spring (春天) emerges. At some point, you turn nine years old. It isn't a big occassion. You're in a peaceful grassy meadow when Grandfather Shun speaks up, excited. "I've got good news, boy." You stop walking. "What's that?" The old man pauses, letting the suspense build, before he doubles over laughing. "We're LOST! AHAHAHA! I don't have the slightest idea where we're at!"

>>6106330
Huh? "What? What do you mean we're lost!?" He is cackling, stooped over on his staff. "What I mean, boy, is the snow threw off my old noggin', and then the storm dashed it on the rocks! There's no mistaking it- we are LOST! HAAA!" Somehow, you don't find this so funny!

"What about our village? M-My family?" The old man corrects you. "You mean YOUR village and YOUR family, junior! I don't care about any of it! HAHAHA!" When he sees the look on your face, he frowns and wipes his tears of mirth with his sleeve. "Relax, junior. You were born and raised there, your soul has a connection to that place and you'll find your way back. The biggest problem here is where we're going!" You grit your teeth in frustration.

"Where ARE we going? You haven't said anything about it!" Grandfather Shun corrects you and giggles. "Hahahah, you mean, where WERE we going, because we can't find it anymore! Ah, I was hoping to take you to my old stomping grounds in the shadow caverns. The place is RICH in earth and metals, POOR in nosy sect dogs. Looks like the Dao had other plans." You think on this for a minute. "Does that mean we don't have anywhere to go?"

He rolls his shoulders, stretching. "Eh, it can't be helped. I'm not even sure we're still in the Clear Lilly Valley (清莉莉谷屠夫)." You remember his old reputation and grumble. "Maybe that's a blessing in disguise." The old man hears you and his mood seems to improve even further. "Attaboy! Lucky us, we're in a good spot." You wait for him to elaborate, because you can't possibly see how that is.

"The Feng Shui is shallow and the wind blows hard. That means, junior, with the right tools-" The old man pulls a long, thin, twisted piece of metal out of his bag, "-we can get an idea of where we might be able to go." That means you can finally stop walking and set up camp. It's a strange feeling. Grandfather Shun uses the metal thing, which you later learn is a dowsing rod, to sense the qi blowing in on the breeze. Through hours of careful meditation between gusts of wind, he's able to deduce what kind of terrain is nearby.

>>6106331
It quickly becomes clear that this means nearby in the 'abstract cultivator with movement techniques' sense, not the 'former rice farmer traveling on foot' sense. You shouldn't take too much time to get there. Grandfather Shun manages to narrow things down to three regions. Because you're the one training and these are roughly equal, he leaves it to you to choose where you go.

Which region do you think will be best for your cultivation?

>Stormy Coastline. A stormy stretch of sand on the seashore, with plenty of marine life and some villages scattered around. It's water and wind aligned, and its deep seas guarantees there are at least a few strong spirit beasts in the area.
>Tranquil Forest. A calm woodland consisting of oak trees, unremarkable aside from its fertile soil and abundant settlements, with even a handful of towns. It's wood aligned, and its isolated prosperity makes it possible to access civilization while staying beneath the notice of the sects.
>Scorching Badlands. A hot wasteland full of mesas and gorges, there's little life here, and what scrapes by is hardy. It's earth and fire aligned, and its extreme temperatures and lack of water will help your conditioning.
>Right Here. A peaceful meadow in the middle of nowhere, with almost nothing that stands out. There's no serious elemental alignment or particular resources but you can save yourselves another long walk.
>Shadow Caverns. An underground maze where your teacher used to hide in, with just enough danger that peasants stay clear, but not enough that the sects are interested. It's earth and metal aligned, but it's attached to the old man's treacherous past and finding it now that you're lost will take some serious doing.

>>6106333
>Scorching Badlands

It's isolated, so we can start to work on our fighting style and conditioning at the same time. We will need to focus on martial strength sooner rather than later.

>>6106333
>Scorching Badlands.
Do you think the fire aspect of the place might also help with Filling the Crucible? Ambient Fire Qi might make it easier to heat metal qi.

>>6106333
>>Scorching Badlands. A hot wasteland full of mesas and gorges, there's little life here, and what scrapes by is hardy. It's earth and fire aligned, and its extreme temperatures and lack of water will help your conditioning.
We can then move back to the Shadow Caverns once we get a handle on ourselves for a time.

>>6106333
>>Right Here. A peaceful meadow in the middle of nowhere, with almost nothing that stands out. There's no serious elemental alignment or particular resources but you can save yourselves another long walk.

Also, haven't seen the quest back.
Glad it's not a one-shot.

>>6106333
>Stormy Coastline. A stormy stretch of sand on the seashore, with plenty of marine life and some villages scattered around. It's water and wind aligned, and its deep seas guarantees there are at least a few strong spirit beasts in the area.

Metal qi, and then by the Gods I want LIGHTNING QI! Imagine the bullshit we might do with it as we harness it with metal qi or some such.

>>6106333
>>Stormy Coastline. A stormy stretch of sand on the seashore, with plenty of marine life and some villages scattered around. It's water and wind aligned, and its deep seas guarantees there are at least a few strong spirit beasts in the area.

>>6106333
>Scorching Badlands. A hot wasteland full of mesas and gorges, there's little life here, and what scrapes by is hardy. It's earth and fire aligned, and its extreme temperatures and lack of water will help your conditioning.

>>6106333
>>Right Here. A peaceful meadow in the middle of nowhere, with almost nothing that stands out. There's no serious elemental alignment or particular resources but you can save yourselves another long walk.
Just because nothing stands out, does not mean that nothing is there.

>>6106333
Perhaps we should stay

>Right Here. A peaceful meadow in the middle of nowhere, with almost nothing that stands out. There's no serious elemental alignment or particular resources but you can save yourselves another long walk.

Mostly to learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩), since it sounds like it would help us deal with pain and hunger. Then we can move to the

>Scorching Badlands. A hot wasteland full of mesas and gorges, there's little life here, and what scrapes by is hardy. It's earth and fire aligned, and its extreme temperatures and lack of water will help your conditioning.

>>6106333
>Scorching Badlands. A hot wasteland full of mesas and gorges, there's little life here, and what scrapes by is hardy. It's earth and fire aligned, and its extreme temperatures and lack of water will help your conditioning.

>Shadow Caverns. An underground maze where your teacher used to hide in, with just enough danger that peasants stay clear, but not enough that the sects are interested. It's earth and metal aligned, but it's attached to the old man's treacherous past and finding it now that you're lost will take some serious doing.

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>6106338
>>6106348
>>6106355
>>6106372
>>6106382
>>6106398
>>6106466
>>6106555
>>6106627
>>6106642
>>6106688
You feel divided between the regions. Part of you wants to double-back to the shadow caverns or seek lightning along the stormy coastline, but you feel most drawn to the scorching badlands. It sounds miserable, which is good, because it'll make everything else feel easy in comparison if you can learn to stand it. "The badlands are isolated, so I can work on my fighting style and conditioning at the same time. We'll go there. I need to focus on getting stronger."

The old man seems to approve. "The badlands it is, junior, but there'll no backing out!" You shake your head. "NEVER!" He doesn't waste any time, and simply takes five minutes to pack up camp and start walking. You hurry after him. "Do you think the badland's fire aspect might help me learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩)?" He thinks on your words and chuckles. "It might, junior. You're going to have to find out, HAHAHA!"

You continue traveling throughout the spring. A long journey is no excuse not to continue your training, and you wouldn't take a break now if your life depended on it! Actually... No, you would take a break if your life was endangered. Grandfather Shun was obsessed with becoming stronger at all costs in his younger days and it ruined him. You don't want to turn out like that.

Strength for its own sake is hollow. You want to get stronger so you can help people and learn more about the world. You're only a nine year old boy and your ideas aren't fully formed, but that's what you've had on your mind for a while. You agree with the old man on one thing. Slacking off is an unforgivable waste of potential!

What do you want to learn on the way there?

>Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄). You want to get stronger and this seems like a straightforward path in that direction.
>Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩). It is extreme, but its nutritional assistance will help you get by when supplies are scarce.
>Refine Metallic Blood Enrichment (铣血发财致富). Now that you've got the basic structure figured out, it won't be difficult to alloy the metal qi with yin or yang.
>The martial art you've rediscovered. You haven't even scratched the surface of its potential, and knowledge of how to wield your body is just as important as strengthening it.

>>6106869
>Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩). It is extreme, but its nutritional assistance will help you get by when supplies are scarce.

>>6106869
>Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄). You want to get stronger and this seems like a straightforward path in that direction.
Harder bones means we can strike harder.

>>6106869
>>Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩). It is extreme, but its nutritional assistance will help you get by when supplies are scarce.

>>6106869
>Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩). It is extreme, but its nutritional assistance will help you get by when supplies are scarce.

>>6106869
>>Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄). You want to get stronger and this seems like a straightforward path in that direction.
Wait until we hit the fire area for the fire-inspired martial art.

>>6106869
>Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄). You want to get stronger and this seems like a straightforward path in that direction.

Time for an old-fashioned kung fu training montage.

>>6106869
>Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩). It is extreme, but its nutritional assistance will help you get by when supplies are scarce.

Looks like dice gave us much last thread but are taking everything back here and now.

Seems Chong and Shun are in for some tough times. Hard to say whether strength or making the most out of supplies is really whats called for.

>>6106896
>>6106919
>>6106927
>>6106970
>>6106986
>>6107006
>>6107247
You need to become stronger but to become stronger, you must grow stronger. To grow stronger, you must have material to build up stronger. As the Scorching Badlands lack material, you're going to need to make the most of what you have. That means you need to learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩) as soon as you can. This can't be any worse than the Redhot Liver Furnace (紅熱肝爐).

Grandfather Shun gives you a couple of pointers, then leaves you to it. This isn't the kind of technique that's refined through skill. It takes sheer determination and will take it from you, whether you like it or not. Compared to the memories of your first months of training, the pain here is almost nostalgic. That doesn't make it any easier to endure.

"AAAGH..."

>ROLL
>1d100+40 for Grandfather Shun to navigate! +30 (Nearby Region), +10 (Old Wisdom)
>1d100+30 for Chong to learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩)! +10 (Instructor), +10 (Inner Map), +10 (Inward Attunement)

Rolled 33 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>6108097
C'mon gramps!

>>6108099
that was supposed to be +40 but we can use that for Chong I guess

Rolled 17 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

Go grandpa

Rolled 78 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>6108097

Rolled 55 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>6108097

>>6108104
>Navigation DC: 60 > 57
>Slight Failure!
>>6108099
>>6108101
>Filling the Crucible DC: 75 > 63
>Average Failure!

The pain is immeasurable. In terms of intensity, the Redhot Liver Furnace (紅熱肝爐) was worse, but the quantity of qi being manipulated was far smaller and wasn't yet aligned. Using a serious quantity of death aspected metal qi, you must be incredibly careful not to go too fast and melt a hole in your stomach or, worse, kill its digestive essences. Another factor is that you're constantly traveling in a remote area with minimal stops. This makes the process harder than it would be if you could rest in one place.

While some progress does come, it is negligible and fails to make any serious difference. Certainly not enough to claim that you've finished learning Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩)! This is disappointing but as the son of a rice farmer, you know that cultivation of all kinds is synonymous with struggle. You must have patience. Better you learn later than risk maiming yourself now.

The pain teaches you what you're doing wrong, little-by-little. You can feel your confidence strengthen by the hour. Soon, you'll sculpt your stomach into a proper tool for your physical and spiritual growth. Soon...

You must simply be patient.

The grass slowly starts to shift from tall and lively to short and scraggly, while the soil goes from familiar brown to earthy red. You can feel the heat thickening. Every day you sweat, but the air is so dry you fear that you're wasting precious water. You are beginning to get concerned when you and Grandfather Shun stumble on something unusual.

It's the skeleton of a goat.

>>6108253
More specifically, it's a shattered skeleton that looks like it was dropped from a great height and then broken open by a giant pair of tongs. There are a few strange, long and slender footprints scattered around the area, but inconsistently, like something was hopping and shaking the goat's body. It's incredibly obvious that an aerial predator caught the goat and took time playing with its food, whether it was dead or alive at the time.

You are somewhat befuddled. How could an entire goat have been torn apart like this? What bird is capable of such a thing? The old man is giddy. "Looks like this wasteland of yours won't be boring after all, junior!" You ask. "What did this to that goat, Grandfather?" He shakes his head. "I don't know, boy! By the rot, this must happened at noon three days ago. That means we're moving after dark from now on! Got it?"

You nod and don't raise any complaints. The two of you continue deeper into the badlands. It isn't too long before you spot mesas and small mountains, but you both think it's wiser to hide out in one of the shallower valleys for now. The lower you are, the less likely it is there'll be a skybeast's nest. This land is sweltering and desolate, with very few beasts and so little water you wouldn't dare to farm rice here, no matter how fertile the soil is. It is so barren that you've nearly run out of food by the time you've found a suitable shallow cave.

This will do.

Since you aren't in a rice farming village anymore, you and Grandfather Shun are even more responsible for keeping yourselves fed. That means at least one of you will need to spend time hunting. The more you do, the less likely it is a bad haul will leave you going hungry for the season. Keeping yourselves well-fed without compromising on cultivation will take some doing.

>Clarification:
>As Chong and Grandfather Shun are now relying on each other to survive, Grandfather Shun's actions will be described in detail and you'll be rolling for them as well.
>Grandfather Shun is experienced but he's also old and not the cultivator he used to be. He only has 2 Actions per turn and may occasionally need to spend 1 one of them resting. That doesn't mean that be necessarily will, of his own volition. By default, he's going to spend 1 Action on hunting and 1 Action on teaching Chong. He'll currently determine his own actions, as his trust in Chong's competence isn't yet high enough to be influenced.

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>6108254
Time has passed and spun the wheel of the seasons. The conditions here at daytime are practically volcanic, but you feel like this will help you in the long run. You just have to do what you can to get by. It is currently Summer (夏天).

What do you want to do? (You have 3 Actions)

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Ask questions about cultivating.
>Learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩).
>Train the martial art you've somehow rediscovered.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
>Attempt to spot one of these aerial predators while hidden.
>Explore the surrounding area.

>>6108255
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩).

>>6108255
>Search for a reliable water supply.
Obvious, I think.

>Learn Filling the Crucible
This will help with food acquisition.

>Train the martial art
Let's get started at last.

>>6108255
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩).

>>6108255
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Learn Filling the Crucible
>Train the martial art

>>6108255
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩).
>Train the martial art you've somehow rediscovered.

>>6108255
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩).

>>6108255
>>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩).

>>6108268
>>6108280
>>6108294
>>6108472
>>6108479
>>6108506
>>6108529
Hunt: 4
Search: 7
Crucible: 7
Train: 3

First things first, you need to survive. You want to train and master more of the martial art that's begging to be learned in the back of your head, but none of that matters if you starve. You need water, you need food, and you need to stretch what you can find as far as possible, in that order. Grandfather Shun starts teaching you to track and hunt the local goats. Since your cultivation hasn't progressed enough to do it barehanded, he gives you a walking stick from his pole and attaches a blade to the tip through tight rope.

This isn't the best spear but it is a spear. It's also the first weapon you've ever held. Soon, you're going to making your first real kill. It's interesting that you've spent so much time studying that you never got around to learning how to fight. That's alright. Making a foundation took precedence then, just like basic survival does now. There'll be time for strength later. You must be patient.

>ROLL
>1d100+5 for Grandfather Shun to hunt! +10 (Expert Skill [Hunting]), +5 (Crouching Like Tiger Style [Basic]), -10 (Desolate Region)
>1d100-15 for Chong to search for water! +5 (Balanced Foundation), -10 (Inward Attunement), -10 (Desolate Region)
>1d100-10 for Chong to hunt! +10 (Death Affinity), -10 (No Skill [Hunting]), -10 (Desolate Region)
>1d100+30 for Chong to learn Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩)! +10 (Instructor), +10 (Inner Map), +10 (Inward Attunement)

Rolled 86 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>6109376
FILLING THE CRUCIBLE, BOSS!

Rolled 45 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>6109376
Grandfather Shun's Hunt.

Rolled 71 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>6109376
Search for water.

Rolled 86 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>6109376
it was at this moment Chong knew, he fucked up his hunt

>>6109434
and I fucked up the roll, apparently. tried to put in dice+1d100-30 and thought that would actually subtract 30 from the result, apologies

>>6109434
>>6109436
You double fucked it because it was -10 for chong's hunt

>>6109434
It would be the 86 you rolled + 10 (death affinity) - 10 (no skill hunting) - 10 (desolate region) = 76
Not a bad roll.

>>6109456
So the results are...

Grandfather Shun: 50
Water: 56
Hunt: 76
Filling the Crucible: 116

>>6109385
>Hunting DC: 60 > 50
>Slight Failure!
>>6109426
>Search for Water DC: 80 > 56
>Average Failure!
>>6109434
>Hunting DC: 60 < 76
>Average Success!
>>6109382
>Filling the Crucible DC: 70 < 116
>Great Success!

During your first season in the badlands, you come to understand thirst. There is no rain. There are no streams. The caves are dry and so is the stone. The closest you can get to a drink is the morning dew that condensates for a few minutes near the dawn and the rare, muddy puddles where the tough vines grow. This makes you miserable. There’s barely enough to stay alive.

Grandfather Shun doesn’t do any better than you but never loses his mood. He shouts at you. “Junior! You can’t find water? Try working yourself up a sweat!” You aren’t sure if he’s sarcastic or serious. You both go hunting. The old man has been doing this for decades and has plenty of experience on surviving in the wilderness, but you don’t think he’s ever spent time in terrain like this. He’s constantly overheated and tired, and that has a serious effect on his hunting. His technique is excellent, but that’s no use when he doesn’t have the stamina to chase after what he finds. Still, he’s sneaky enough to snatch some birds from their nests on the rock outcroppings, and you don’t have any shortage of eggs.

The yolk barely holds the thirst at bay. The lack of hydration sharpens your focus. You stop thinking about everything else. The village you left behind, the ambitions you’re hoping for, the people you knew… It all becomes a distant dream. What matters is the thirst in your mouth and the emptiness in your stomach. You don’t have any experience in hunting but you’re young and desperate. That’s enough. In the middle of the night, you manage to spear a goat you’ve been after for days and carry it back to Grandfather Shun over your shoulders.

>>6109474
You can see a faint pride in his eyes. You don’t let any part of the animal go to waste. Your teacher shows you how to skin the goat, render the meat into jerky, and preserve the blood for various purposes, but you’re both so thirsty that you drink most of it. This doesn’t sate your thirst like normal water does, but it helps. After the first goat, you continue to find success. Not often, once a week at most. Every little bit is a help. You find your skills improving. Actually stabbing the goat to end its life comes easily, like the spear in your hands wants to kill. You know that must be the echo of the truth in your soul. It’s the rest of it, the sneaking, the tracking, that gets better. It’s a noticeable improvement.

It gives you some time to think about how you feel about killing beasts like this.

>Sad. These goats likely would’ve lived a long life if you left them be, but you needed food and chose taking it over their lives. It’s an unfortunate necessity. You don’t let this slip to Grandfather Shun.
>Ambivalent. You’re in a survival situation and at risk of starving, and these goats are the easiest way to get a large amount of meat for a small amount of effort. There’s no need to look deeper into it.
>Excited. There’s a thrill in the stalking and killing you haven’t found anywhere else. It’s a true test of your skills. These goats are only the first step, you want to find more difficult game.
>Fatalistic. You’re starting to truly understand that death is inevitable. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, it comes for everything. These goats, then you. The only thing to be done is make the end quick and don’t let their deaths go to waste.

>>6109475
The gradual development of your hunting skills is insignificant next to your efforts to master Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩). The hunger and thirst clinging to you makes it easier to endure the pain. It’s sharp and over in minutes, not like hunger, not like thirst. You burn yourself over and over again, until the burning stops and you can feel some heat lingering. Your stomach acids have been strengthened and voraciously dissolve almost every scrap of meat you consume. At this rate, you could start eating bone fragments. So, you do. There's no reason to let it go to waste.

Your focus caused an unusual amount of purity in the metal qi lining your stomach. This has caused a tiny yet noticeable boost to your overall metal affinity, and you sense it would be easy to synergize with anything else you wanted to do on top of Filling the Crucible. Perhaps you could alloy this metal with fire? Or double down on the metal, or quench it with water, or slip yin or yang in the mix. There are any number of possibilities.

In any case, you’re getting much more nutrition out of the food you can eat. This will make surviving a lot easier. You don’t need any less water but you’ll be able to find some eventually. Grandfather Shun doesn’t seem to be concerned by your mutual thirst. Maybe he’s trying to test your senses? You do your best. Besides that, he doesn’t bring up any techniques you could learn once you’ve finished Filling the Crucible. There’s a good chance he’s waiting until you have consistent water to be sure you won’t be in trouble if you run into any problems, but there’s no telling.

Time passes and the catastrophic heat recedes. The difference is slight but very noticeable, especially after you’ve spent months being cooked in it. You feel like your situation is better than when you first arrived. It is currently Autumn (秋天).

What do you want to do?

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Ask questions about cultivating.
>Learn another martial technique. (Which?)
>Train the martial art you've somehow rediscovered.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
>Attempt to spot one of these aerial predators while hidden.
>Explore the surrounding area.

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>6109476
You have 3 Actions, of course.

>>6109476
>Fatalistic. You’re starting to truly understand that death is inevitable. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, it comes for everything. These goats, then you. The only thing to be done is make the end quick and don’t let their deaths go to waste.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
Think, Shun. How does a humble desert scorpion survive when it couldn't possibly make a trip of miles to the nearest oasis? The twilight dew - a gift from the heavens! Harvest that dew as it collects on your very body, Shun!
>Train the martial art you've somehow rediscovered.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
Quench the crucible with water, as Metal is a generating force for Water. And we could certainly use a crucible that contains water better, right now!

>>6109475
>>Fatalistic. You’re starting to truly understand that death is inevitable. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, it comes for everything. These goats, then you. The only thing to be done is make the end quick and don’t let their deaths go to waste.
Death comes for everything.
Even the cute goats.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Train the martial art you've somehow rediscovered.
>Learn another martial technique
Bones Like Iron

>>6109446
Terrible Failure! (how do you subtract from rolls for future reference, btw? the tg instructions didn't say)
>>6109475
>Fatalistic. You’re starting to truly understand that death is inevitable. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, it comes for everything. These goats, then you. The only thing to be done is make the end quick and don’t let their deaths go to waste.
>>6109476
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Explore the surrounding area.
>Learn another martial technique: Bones Like Iron

>>6109476
>Fatalistic
>Search for a reliable water supply
>Learn Bones Like Iron
>Train the martial art

I don't think we should start customizing our internals before we learn what our martial arts can benefit from.

>>6109532
We learned this martial art from watching fire so I'd wager it would benefit from that

>>6109475
>>Fatalistic. You’re starting to truly understand that death is inevitable. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, it comes for everything. These goats, then you. The only thing to be done is make the end quick and don’t let their deaths go to waste.
>But also grateful, in a way. These beasts are giving their lives for you, so you feel a measure of respect towards them you don't think you would otherwise.
>>6109476
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Learn Bones Like Iron.

>>6109492
Great idea, but let's wait on that for a bit.

>>6109559
I don't doubt that, but we need more info before we decide on what to do with fire. Since our stomach metal is supposedly quite pure, I actually wouldn't want to alloy it (change its properties by combining with other metals) or quench it (make it harder but more brittle) right from the get-go, because the purity itself might be our best asset.

>>6109476
>>>Fatalistic. You’re starting to truly understand that death is inevitable. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, it comes for everything. These goats, then you. The only thing to be done is make the end quick and don’t let their deaths go to waste.
>>But also grateful, in a way. These beasts are giving their lives for you, so you feel a measure of respect towards them you don't think you would otherwise.

Even though death comes for us all, that doesn't mean there is no meaning in the cycle of life and death. We must take the lives of these goats to prolong our own and the lives of those we care about. In a sense, it's like rice, offering itself for the benefit of others.

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
Not only do we need food to survive, but hunting also serves as training to strengthen our body and fighting abilities.

>Search for a reliable water supply.
For obvious reasons.

>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
>Quench the crucible with water, as Metal is a generating force for Water. And we could certainly use a crucible that contains water better, right now!
Being able to go for prolonged periods without sustenance will definitely come in handy. We might also be able to refine this technique further to make the most of our qi.

>>6109475
>Ambivalent. You’re in a survival situation and at risk of starving, and these goats are the easiest way to get a large amount of meat for a small amount of effort. There’s no need to look deeper into it.

>>6109476
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Train the martial art you've somehow rediscovered.
>Explore the surrounding area

>>6109436
Yeah minus rolls are weird, for some reason you have to type +- or it defaults to +
>>6109475
>>Ambivalent. You’re in a survival situation and at risk of starving, and these goats are the easiest way to get a large amount of meat for a small amount of effort. There’s no need to look deeper into it.
>>6109476
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
Quench the crucible with water, as Metal is a generating force for Water. And we could certainly use a crucible that contains water better, right now

>>6109475
>Fatalistic. You’re starting to truly understand that death is inevitable. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, it comes for everything. These goats, then you. The only thing to be done is make the end quick and don’t let their deaths go to waste.

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Train the martial art you've somehow rediscovered.

>>6109476
>Fatalistic
>Search for water
>Hunt for food
>Explore the area

>>6109515
For some reason, you have to type +- instead of - alone when you're trying to subtract from the dice total.

Testing

(The site keeps telling me that it's detected the update as spam, and isn't letting me upload a link to a pastebin. It's frustrating, I'll try to work something out when I get back home later tonight.)

>>6110805
Try not linking to any posts

You feel a grim sense of certainty. Good or bad, death simply is, and there's no stopping it. The best thing you can do for these goats is kill them quickly and not let their deaths go to waste. Any less would be a disgrace to the living and disrespect for the dead. They're only animals, sure, but they've also kept you and the old man fed. You're grateful for that.

Considering that the next step on the elemental cycle after metal is water, you think it might be a good idea to quench your stomach and try to improve its water retention. It might be. You aren't yet certain enough to act on it. The wise thing to do here is keep the idea in mind, but continue progressing your skills until you can make a more informed decision.

Speaking of informed decisions, you need to find a reliable source of water! Wait, water has nothing to do with informed decision making, you're just so thirsty you're getting obsessed! You need water! Not just a drop, as much as you can drink! You won't stop until your primordial needs are satisfied! You doubt you could stop if you tried...

But that's the last thing you want! The moment the sun sets, you're searching for the faintest signs of moisture. There's got to be water here, somewhere. If you were back in the mystic cave, you're fairly sure you would ignore the majestic Feng Shui to drink from the pool. You would be content straining mouthfuls of water from mud puddles. If only there was mud! If only there were puddles! You'll find them, eventually. You will! You must!

In your spare time, you keep an eye out for goats and try to snatch them where you can. Food is almost as critical as water, after all, and you don't want to leave your sustenance in somebody else's hands if you can help it. In the daytime, when it's too dangerous to move and you aren't tired enough to sleep, you try to learn more of the mysterious martial art in your mind. Grandfather Shun doesn't actually know how the style works and what the end result is supposed to look like, but neither do you. A surreal instinct of what you need to do next comes up when you think about it. Even so, his experience gives him insights you never would've had on your own and serves as a valuable starting ground to jump from. You're slightly surprised he isn't at all skeptical about this martial art you're learning but that's not out of the ordinary for him.

All he wants is results. From his point of view, the "where" and the "how" don't matter half as much as the "when." You aren't sure you agree with this philosophy but he is your teacher, so you won't discard it out of hand. Like the frog in the well demonstrated so long ago, wisdom can come from the strangest places.

Like the lack of water!

"Aaaagh!"

>ROLL
>1d100+5 for Grandfather Shun to hunt! +10 (Expert Skill [Hunting]), +5 (Crouching Like Tiger Style [Basic]), -10 (Desolate Region)
>1d100-15 for Chong to search for water! +5 (Balanced Foundation), -10 (Inward Attunement), -10 (Desolate Region)
>1d100-5 for Chong to hunt! +10 (Death Affinity), -5 (Dabbling Skill [Hunting]), -10 (Desolate Region)
>1d100+20 for Chong to learn the mysterious martial art! +10 (Death Affinity), +10 (Instructor)

-6110827
I'm not sure why that worked, but it did! Thank you anon. I hope this passes, I've always thought that linking to posts is important for clarity with rolls.

Rolled 4 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>6110873
WATER

>>6110878
FUCK

Rolled 67 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>6110873
roll high enough and track down animals to a watering hole come on baby

Rolled 72 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>6110873
>>6110873

>>6110919
That was supposed to be a -5, sorry.

>>6110873
While our water situation is fucked, maybe martial art will be better?

Rolled 38 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>6110873
>>6110922
I swear that this site is out to kill itself half the time.

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>6110873
I missed the rolls. Therefor, I will be rolling for THE WORLD ITSELF. FEAR THE WRATH OF THE HEAVENS, MORTALS. But praise the gifts it brings, too.

>>6110970
>>6110925
>>6110878
damn board is out for blood today
shame about the death from dehydration

It was then that the death affinity, chong's increasing dehydration, and the blood of cute innocent goats turned him into a vampire. I for one blame people not rolling in proper top to bottom order which has turned heaven against us.

>>6111027
>mfw this is Yang Wuhan's backstory

>>6110878
This clearly is a sign that we must forsake the mortal flesh and become a Qi Lich.

>>6110874
Yes, linking is handy to let people know there’s an update too
Usually the spam filter only freaks out for a day or two, but if it catches your next update you could try one post with just the links and then the update in the following post

>>6110878
just gotta hope this underflows into a nat 100, like Gandhi's hostility in Civ

>>6110904
>(Shun) Hunting DC: 60 < 72
>Average Success!
>>6110878
>Search for Water DC: 70 > 4
>Deathly Failure!
>>6110919
>(Chong) Hunting DC: 60 < 77
>Average Success!
>>6110925
>Martial Art DC: 30 < 58
>Average Success!
You and Grandfather Shun both hunt without stopping. Every night, both of you are out in the cliffs and sands, stalking prey or laying in wait. These goats die quickly at your hands. You’re careful not to let any of the blood hit the ground. It’s a critical source of moisture and if not for it, you might die of thirst. It might just be your head, but you think you’re getting better. You even manage to snatch a couple of birds when the old man points out their hidden nests!

All of this invigorates your spirit. The thirst is deep and cruel, but so are Grandfather Shun’s experiences, and his words hone it to a sharp edge. The desperate need to quench your thirst becomes a support to your focus instead of an obstacle. You dig deep into the martial art clinging to your soul and gradually carve out a shallow understanding. This is not a martial art of strength and frenzy, but of grace and purity. If you want to wield it to the utmost, you must clear your mind of distractions and fight with instinct, instincts you’ll need to learn!

You understand the simplest of its techniques: Free Flowing (畅沆). It isn’t a stance. It’s a posture, to hold in your day-to-day life until you’ve embodied it as second nature. You don’t need to worry about mastering this before you learn more. In the process of learning more, mastery of this basic method will follow. Much like how learning Simple Breath Regulation (簡單的呼吸調節) for easier qi intake leads to a healthier cardio, learning higher techniques will make Free Flowing (畅沆) instinctual by comparison. Its purpose is to make smoothness of movement a habit early-on, then to reinforce it by mandating its regular use.

Grandfather Shun sees the improvements immediately, and insists you continue. “Don’t stop there, boy! Keep at it and you’ll be moving like the wind-wielding swordsman I crushed on my twentieth birthday! He gave me a REAL challenge!” You intend to obey your elder. Partly because you respect him, mostly because you’re feeling some real benefits from this. You already feel a little lighter on your feet and a lot less clumsy rockclimbing. None of this requires any qi. Only a change of mindset and repetition to break away from your sluggish past motions.

>>6111321
It improves your confidence by a huge amount. Finally, you’re learning some serious techniques! If you continue at this rate, who knows how strong you’ll become? You feel an urge to practice it by finding some water. You need water, incredibly badly. The old man doesn’t say anything but you can tell he’s as thirsty as you are, maybe more. You’ve both been hunting goats in the nighttime but they don’t linger near their water supply, they get high up where they aren’t in so much danger from predators.

They must go for water during the daytime, and neither of you have had the guts to go after them because of a hypothetical beast you haven’t seen once! You aren’t afraid of anything! One day, while Grandfather Shun is asleep, you sneak off into the badlands proper during the late afternoon. You prowl after goats, suspecting you were correct and they seek out water during the day, and to your relief find a couple of goats on the move.

Sneaking is harder under the sunlight, especially without any cover, but you manage to get close by. The goats are moving toward the base of a mesa, where you can't help but think the red sand looks slightly thinner than it should. Maybe there's water there? Maybe...

File: Skybeast in a more luscio(...).jpg (149 KB, 800x800)

149 KB JPG

>>6111323
You want to find out. You approach the goats as stealthily as possible and they ignore you as they start scratching their hooves on the ground. Once you get close, you see they aren't sifting for water, they're grazing. Oh well. There's got to be some water underground to support this little patch of grass. If you did some digging, maybe you could-

"SCREEEEE!"

Faster than you can blink, a blurred shape swoops down and snatches the fattest of the two goats. While you're processing what it is you're seeing, it clenches its grip and makes an audible-

>*SNAP*

The goat goes completely limp. The other goat runs away but the shape ignores it and turns to stare... at you! There can be no doubt. It's like no bird you've ever seen, yet its leathery wings are unmistakable. This is a Skybeast. Its body is as large as your family's home, its beak is longer and sharper than any pitchfork, and its eyes glare at you with malice.

All of a sudden, the spear in your hands feels awfully small. There is an overwhelming pressure on every part of yourself. You break into a cold sweat. As the initial seconds crawl by, you realize the creature is watching you, waiting for you to make the first move.

You need to make a choice...

>Turn and sprint! The Skybeast is swift but there's no way you could beat it in a fight, so you have to escape!
>Charge straight at it! If the Skybeast can fly, it must weigh less than a creature it's size should, so maybe you can stab it!
>Brace yourself for a standoff. The Skybeast could come straight for your neck, but so can you toward it! You'll call its bluff!
>Attempt to negotiate! This Skybeast is so huge, maybe it's one of those spirit beasts. It might understand the human language?
>Make an offering! This Skybeast clearly likes meat, maybe it would let you live if you dropped all of your goat jerky?
>Try something symbolic! There's no telling what the Skybeast wants, so you'll try something extreme! You'll cut your wrist, spill some of your blood on the ground, turn around, and walk away.

>>6111325
>Charge straight at it! If the Skybeast can fly, it must weigh less than a creature it's size should, so maybe you can stab it!

>>6111325
>>Brace yourself for a standoff. The Skybeast could come straight for your neck, but so can you toward it! You'll call its bluff!

>>6111325
>Brace yourself for a standoff. The Skybeast could come straight for your neck, but so can you toward it! You'll call its bluff!

>>6111325
>>Brace yourself for a standoff. The Skybeast could come straight for your neck, but so can you toward it! You'll call its bluff!
Stand up as tall as possible without making ourselves unstable.

>>6111325
>Make an offering! This Skybeast clearly likes meat, maybe it would let you live if you dropped all of your goat jerky?

Excellent. Now that we know its hunting pattern, we can ambush it when we're stronger. For now, though, it's time to get away. We should walk away slowly from the jerky, with our eyes towards it.

>>6111357
>support
Guys we're still a 9 year old with a makeshift spear, we have to fucking run

>>6111325
>Attempt to negotiate! This Skybeast is so huge, maybe it's one of those spirit beasts. It might understand the human language?

But also...

>Brace yourself for a standoff. The Skybeast could come straight for your neck, but so can you toward it! You'll call its bluff!

We clearly can't fight it, so we can hopefully negotiate with it or at least try to soothe it. However, that doesn't mean entirely dropping our guard; we need to be ready for the worst.

>>6111332
>>6111334
>>6111335
>>6111339
>>6111357
>>6111358
>>6111384
This creature... maybe you could talk it out? It looks like no mythical creature you've ever heard of and that glare is feral. Too risky, but maybe you could try bribery? You've got a bag full of goat jerky. The sight of it might manage to buy you some time. Then again, you and the old man worked hard to get it. Handing it over to the Skybeast would be the same as admitting weakness!

You aren't weak!

It's your goat jerky, and you have a spear in your hands! You won't back down! You spread your feet into a wide stance and point the spear up at the Skybeast. It stares, holding the limp goat in its beak. You stare right back. You're ready to fight! You just hope it doesn't come to that

There's a moment of tension...

>ROLL
>1d100+10 to intimidate! +10 (Death Affinity)

Rolled 71 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>6111427
Yeah we're fucking dead lmao

>>6111429
>Intimidation DC: 60 < 81
>Average Success!

The pressure piling on is immense, but so is your determination! It's likely you've endured more pain in your short life than this animal ever has! You aren't afraid of this goat-eater or anything it can do! You grit your teeth and tighten your grip on the spear's shaft. It doesn't shake the length of a fingernail.

The Skybeast stares, calculating. It's manyfold your size and its weapons are vastly deadlier... but for some reason, you aren't budging. It tilts its head to the side and shuffles on its talons.

You take a step.

It leans back, spreads its wings, and starts batting them at you in a territorial display! You can feel wind buffet your chest but it makes no difference. When the Skybeast sees you haven't flinched, it turns and leaps back into the air. You watch as it gains altitude and soars away. Soon, it's just a speck on the horizon and soon after that, you can't see it anymore.

The danger is gone and with it, the pressure. An overwhelming sense of relief washes over you. You collapse on the sands, panting and drenched in sweat. Some tension lingers and you realize now what it was. Terror. There's no mistake. This is the closest you've ever been to death. One wrong move, and that monster would've ripped your innards into outtards. You aren't sure why it would've fled.

Unless it hasn't seen a human before, and your aura of death disturbed it? You can't be sure. It doesn't matter, not really. Just that you're alive. You sit there on the sand and come to terms with what happened. Now, you know exactly what maimed that goat corpse Grandfather Shun warned you about. You also know that they are insanely fast and maneuverable in the air and at least strong enough to break a goat's spine without much effort.

That's terrifying. You feel like this close brush with death has deepened your understanding of that part of yourself. This may be some help in the future. You need to focus on the present. You move on and try to find the second goat that ran away. Unfortunately, it seems to have gotten on the rocky soil, too far for you to easily find its tracks in the loose sand. They'll disappear when the breeze comes. It's not a big deal. You can track them down again later.

>>6111438
Next time, you'll be careful to only come out after dark and keep a close eye on the horizon. You feel too exhausted to continue tonight. You return to the valley you and your teacher are camped in. He's still fast asleep.

You think for a minute on how you should handle this when he wakes up.

>Tell Grandfather Shun what happened. The old man has a right to know, and you are his student.
>Keep it to yourself. That situation was far too dangerous for your skills and you don't want to worry him.

After this, things shift back into a normal routine. Or as normal as things can get in the badlands. You stay grateful for what little you have.

Time passes. The heat recedes and now, instead of a boiling nightmare, it's only as hot as the hottest day you ever had back home. It's wonderful. You take every solace you can get. It's currently Winter (冬天).

What do you want to do? (You have 3 Actions)

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Ask questions about cultivating.
>Learn another martial technique. (Which?)
>Train the martial art and find what's beyond the secrets of Free Flowing (畅沆).
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
>Attempt to identify the Skybeasts' flying patterns so you can better avoid them.
>Explore the surrounding area.

>>6111439
>>Tell Grandfather Shun what happened. The old man has a right to know, and you are his student.

>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Attempt to identify the Skybeasts' flying patterns so you can better avoid them.
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
We can keep ourselves alive on the blood of our kills but I'd rather have a water supply.

>>6111439
>Tell Grandfather Shun what happened. The old man has a right to know, and you are his student.

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Train the martial art and find what's beyond the secrets of Free Flowing (畅沆).

>>6111439
>>Tell Grandfather Shun what happened. The old man has a right to know, and you are his student.

I think he will be proud Chong scared it off with his deathly aura, and appreciate the enlightenment gained. Also perhaps try and hunt it down or poison it with some little treasure he was hoarding for a rainy day. Or decide the risk is worth it to start training for combat to kill it together (alone but Shun pretends hes not there unless we fuck up.)

>Search for a reliable water supply.

Thought. Dousing Rod Technique. See if we can get our metal qi to react to water?

>Learn another martial technique. (Bones Like Iron)

This technique should be an easy home run for us we can get out of the way while we have plenty of jerky from Shun AND Chong having successful hunts. Inward focus, Deathly Affinity, Teacher, Inner Map, Blood Enrichment? Thats +40 or 50 right there. Plus we just saw what happens to a creature with weak bones in that thing's beak. Just get this then we can eat up our jerky or let Shun hunt.

>Train the martial art and find what's beyond the secrets of Free Flowing (畅沆).

>>6111439
Supporting >>6111461

>>6111461
>>6111439
+1 support
seems good to me

>>6111445
>>6111456
>>6111461
>>6111485
>>6111488
You have a responsibility to keep your teacher informed, just like he does to teach you what he knows. Once he wakes up, you don't delay and talk to him the second he's gotten his bearings. "Grandfather Shun, I have something important to tell you!" The words are hoarse because your throat is dry. He isn't in much better shape, as he wipes the sleep from his eyes.

"Is that so, boy? Have another breakthrough?" You shake your head. "No, no that's not what happened. I ran into one of the beasts that tore that goat apart!" This takes him by surprise. "You mean you saw it in the air, junior?" You shake your head again. "No, that's not what happened either. I was out stalking goats to see where they get their water, and..."

You relay the entire story without leaving out anything. He listens without saying a word. His face is stone-cold, with none of its usual mirth. "Junior." That word is as serious as the grave. "Yes, Grandfather?" The old man takes a deep breath, and you can feel his age. "From today until you've learned to fight, you aren't leaving my sight."

Now you're taken by surprise. "Huh? B-But..." Grandfather Shun's face twists with rage and he shouts, shaking you to your core. "JUNIOR! Wild beasts are a matter of life and death!" You respond. "But I scared it off!" His fury burns hotter than the sun overhead. "ONCE! You scared it off ONCE, junior! You got lucky! That's all there is to it! If you did it all-over a hundred times, you could count your survival on both hands!"

You get frustrated. "So what? I did it and lived! That's what matters!" His voice crashes like thunder, almost as terrifying as the Skybeast. "YOU LIVED! THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS, BOY! We almost lost EVERYTHING! These past years would have been for NOTHING! You aren't blind! You can see that, can't you!?" The aggression in his voice stuns you, but you can see the point he's trying to make. "I-... I can see it!"

>>6111552
He sighs and the anger trickles away. "Good. I forbid you to go out in the sunlight and you ignored me, and were almost eaten. That is my own fault for not watching you closely enough. It's clear that you are too young and foolish to know what you're putting at risk, so this Grandfather will need to watch you personally." You frown. "Does that mean-" The old man speaks with brutal honesty. "No more sneaking off on your own. No more goat hunting. No more lone meditating. Not until you've become strong enough to beat me in a sparring match."

This makes you mad. "That's terrible! I can't do anything like that!" He scowls and shakes his head. "Don't like it? FIGHT ME, JUNIOR!" For a moment, you consider challenging him then and there, but decide against it. His cultivation may have been crippled long ago and he's an old shadow of his former self, but his body cultivation and skills are vastly more advanced than your own. He continues. "You're weak and you know it. I can see it in your eyes, boy. That's got to change. You've earned some potential, and we've been letting it go to waste. No longer. From now on, if you're awake, you're training."

You clench your fist. "...Fine. What do we do now?" Grandfather Shun stretches his shoulders. "You tell me, boy! You're the one learning to fight!" You think for a second. "I want to learn Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄)." The old man snaps. "Then get meditating!" After that, he starts grilling you on the proper form and mindset to have.

These next few months are grueling. You have enough jerky piled up to avoid hunting for now, but the old man still doesn't help you look for water. He just follows you and waits for you to point something out. This is outrageous, since he's just as thirsty as you are! Maybe he thinks this is some kind of lesson? "Agh!"

>ROLL
>1d100-15 for Chong to search for water! +5 (Balanced Foundation), -10 (Inward Attunement), -10 (Desolate Region)
>1d100+30 for Chong to learn Bones Like Iron! +10 (Instructor), +10 (Inner Map), +10 (Inward Attunement)
>1d100+20 for Chong to learn the mysterious martial art! +10 (Death Affinity), +10 (Instructor)

>>6111553
Old man...

Rolled 56 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>6111553
Rolling for water

Rolled 34 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>6111553
>>1d100-15 for Chong to search for water! +5 (Balanced Foundation), -10 (Inward Attunement), -10 (Desolate Region)
COME ON CHONG

Rolled 25 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

Whoops, dropped my dice.

>>6111553
not rolling but this was an epic update. I like seeing the drama unfold

>>6111556
thank you for stopping my terrible roll from counting

Rolled 61 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>6111553

>>6111556
>Search for Water DC: 60 > 41
>Average Failure!
>>6111568
>Bones Like Iron DC: 74 < 91
>Average Success!
>>6111558
>Martial Art DC: 40 < 45
>Slight Success!

You seek a wellspring and cannot find it. You search for succour from the sun's vicious heat, and find yourself blinded. Your ambitions dwindle from the pursuit of amazing strength to finding a cup full of water, and it's a rare night you can fulfill more than half of it. Grandfather Shun suffers with you, more than you. What little dew you can collect he forces you to drink first. His reasoning is that he's old and you're young. You suspect it might be to protect his future revenge but you're so thirsty you don't care.

It's been getting worse. You are so thirsty, you're getting delirious. It has been almost a year since you had a decent amount of water to drink. There's barely any fat left on your body, only scrawny muscle that you dread sweating from. Every drop is precious.

You pour your parched agony into meditation. The pain is sharp and violent, feeling like your bones are cracking apart, but that's alright. It's a distraction from the thirst. You start to welcome it. You are so thirsty you can barely think. That's a good thing in a way, since there aren't dozens of tiny distractions, just one big one. You've never been more aware of how valuable the necessities of life are than you are now. To think... only a few months away, there are piles of snow just waiting to melt into miraculous, wonderful, beautiful water...

So be it. You'll find them later. You focus on the meditation. The results come quickly and noticeably. After only a few weeks, your bones are getting heavier and you can sense the metal qi infused in the marrow. You keep at it and your skeleton keeps toughening. It's slow and painful, but in the end, your bones are almost twice as tough as before.

Not all of them, or even most of them. The complex ones in your joints and spine stay normal, but the big ones, your arms, legs, and outer skull- those are affected. The ribs, too. It mostly amounts to a heavier burden. That's okay. You just need to get stronger to carry it. For that, you're going to need water.

>>6111626
This thirst and the (natural, understandable) obsession with water it's caused somewhat impact your study of the martial art. It's already harder to parse now that you've moved on from the basics. This has made it tricky. Luckily, the old man knows a thing or two about fighting and helps you make sense of the strange, contradictory instincts you're getting. You start to realize you're discovering the deeper nature of this martial art...

First, the focus.

>Fists and feet. This martial art is about wielding your body as a weapon.
>Poles. This martial art is about using staves and spears to keep your enemies at a distance.
>Bludgeons. This martial art is about swinging clubs and maces in a graceful way.
>Axes. This martial art is about chopping with the most straightforward tool possible.
>Swords. This martial art is about swordsmanship, unsurprisingly.
>Knives. This martial art is about short, dishonourable and easily hidden blades.
>Flails. This martial art is about handling ropes, whips, and chains to deadly effect.
>Shields. This martial art is about shields, in a rare, less offensive style.
>Archery. This martial art is about keeping a distance and accurately loosing arrows.
>Qi. This martial art is about properly manipulating the energies of the Dao.
>Supplementing. This martial art is about reinforcing other means of combat, not meant to be used alone.
>Exotic. This martial art is about a strange fighting method, and not necessarily a more effective one. (What?)

Second, the soul.

>An unrelenting firestorm of aggression. The martial art emphasizes rapid, repeated blows from numerous angles. It's difficult to counter and damaging, but demanding on stamina
>The moment of the firewood cracking. The martial art emphasizes the perfect singular strike that ends the fight, and setting it up. It is lethal but takes time and is less effective against multiple foes.
>Keeping the candle from snuffing out. The martial art emphasizes defense and preventing your foes from finding an angle to strike. It's protective and efficient to use, but less dangerous than you would hope.
>The flare and fanfare of spectacle. The martial art emphasizes grand, sweeping demonstrations of skill and power. It's visually impressive and intimidating, but not highly specialized in any one area.
>The warmth by the fireside. The martial art emphasizes a connection to the Dao and harmony between mind and body. It's therapeutic and helpful for meditation, but will take some work to translate to serious violence.
>The heat of marching legions. The martial art emphasizes supporting those fighting with you and bringing out their potential. It's strong and versatile, but meant to be part of a formation, not alone.

Beneath it all rests a core of purity, elegance, and the flames, but precisely what that means you aren't yet advanced enough to understand.

>>6111629
>Poles
>Write In: Fire spreading across dry grass

This is what a Yin and death-focused fire art looks like. We should call it Preta Spear or something of that ilk. It's about consuming and burning what the opponent throws at you through the "stirring" of the spear, elegantly at first, but then with mounting horror.

>>6111629
>Axes. This martial art is about chopping with the most straightforward tool possible.
>An unrelenting firestorm of aggression. The martial art emphasizes rapid, repeated blows from numerous angles. It's difficult to counter and damaging, but demanding on stamina

To clarify, you can write-in anything else you would like for the martial art's focus or soul, as long as it's a type of weapon or fighting style for focus, or vaguely associated with elemental heat or fire for soul, respectively.

>>6111557
I figured since this was intended for water specifically and anon >>6111556 beat it to the punch, that they could reroll for Bones Like Iron or the Martial Art, but >>6111558 and >>6111568 both beat them to the punch. I most likely would've done this if it were a high roll as well. I try to be consistent about things.

>>6111629
>Flails. This martial art is about handling ropes, whips, and chains to deadly effect.
>The moment of the firewood cracking. The martial art emphasizes the perfect singular strike that ends the fight, and setting it up. It is lethal but takes time and is less effective against multiple foes.

>>6111629
>>Poles. This martial art is about using staves and spears to keep your enemies at a distance.
The peasant's weapon and, more importantly, the weapon we have. I'd settle for a bludgeon or our own body as well, but we simply don't have the luxury of choosing, say, archery or swords or shields, because we don't have a bow or a sword or a shield. I will say that, if possible, we ought to try and work in SOME hand-to-hand, as a backup. Getting shoulder-checked by a man with metal bones whenever you try and get inside his guard is going to hurt.

>An unrelenting firestorm of aggression. The martial art emphasizes rapid, repeated blows from numerous angles. It's difficult to counter and damaging, but demanding on stamina.
HESITATION IS DEFEAT. Also, our foundation gives us good Qi endurance, and I don't doubt we could find a way to translate that to physical endurance, which we sort of are already with the metal-aspected techniques.

>>6111629
Well, I'm convinced. Changing my vote to >>6111718

File: ROCK.jpg (194 KB, 600x419)

194 KB JPG

>>6111629
>Supplementing(IMPROVISED WEAPONS)
>An unrelenting firestorm of aggression. The martial art emphasizes rapid, repeated blows from numerous angles. It's difficult to counter and damaging, but demanding on stamina
SMASH THE ENEMIES WITH A CHAIR. THROW A ROCK.

>>6111629
>Supplementing. This martial art is about reinforcing other means of combat, not meant to be used alone.
>The flare and fanfare of spectacle. The martial art emphasizes grand, sweeping demonstrations of skill and power. It's visually impressive and intimidating, but not highly specialized in any one area.

>>6111629
>Fists and feet. This martial art is about wielding your body as a weapon.
Why would we waste the potential of our metal-like body by using any weapons?

>An unrelenting firestorm of aggression. The martial art emphasizes rapid, repeated blows from numerous angles. It's difficult to counter and damaging, but demanding on stamina
Wuxia ftw

>>6111629
>Fists and feet. This martial art is about wielding your body as a weapon.
>The warmth by the fireside. The martial art emphasizes a connection to the Dao and harmony between mind and body. It's therapeutic and helpful for meditation, but will take some work to translate to serious violence.

>>6111629
>>Fists and feet. This martial art is about wielding your body as a weapon.
>The moment of the firewood cracking. The martial art emphasizes the perfect singular strike that ends the fight, and setting it up. It is lethal but takes time and is less effective against multiple foes.

>>6111779
Also, can get behind
>Unrelenting firestorm of aggression.

>>6111629

>Fists and feet. This martial art is about wielding your body as a weapon

>An unrelenting firestorm of aggression. The martial art emphasizes rapid, repeated blows from numerous angles. It's difficult to counter and damaging, but demanding on stamina

We are making a strong body anyways, besides this way we don't need a weapon we dont have.

That said, Shun also has his own martial art which could cover the same specialty lol. So it could be good to make this about Qi or supplemental focus. The defensive or meditative or intimidating soul. The marching legion party buff soul is neat too, I wonder if that could temporarily compensate for the internal damage shun has?

I had some ideas for exotic like long flowing robe Cloth, metal rings, a mirror which reflects the sun or moon. A musical instrument lol. Or literally wield fire by having a torch or lantern, unless Qi focus would be like fire bending?

Whip plus purity, I didn't know chong was so elementalist against the other qi aligned peoples but I guess he was a farm boy so he can be a little racist as a treat.

>>6111629
>>Fists and feet. This martial art is about wielding your body as a weapon
>>An unrelenting firestorm of aggression. The martial art emphasizes rapid, repeated blows from numerous angles. It's difficult to counter and damaging, but demanding on stamina

>>6111747
Leverage. Force Multiplication. Reach. In settings like this especially, being able to use a magical item to its fullest potential is also very beneficial. It's not that we're wasting the potential of our metal body, we're enhancing it.

>>6111747
>>6111933
I would also imagine that the time when we will be most reliant on standard tools is when we're weak, ie. now.

Also, a cqc focus may end up requiring us to spend more than optimal time learning protective techniques and/or acquiring armor. Metal coated bones is a start, but everything else is still vulnerable and we will have to get in close to do damage.

>>6111933
We can always get magical bracelets, iron rings, or something similar. However, if we don't need weapons to inflict that kind of damage, fighting bare-handed would give us advantages in speed, unpredictability, and maneuverability. Also, consider that hits delivered with a mace or any blunt weapon are rudimentary, but if we can apply that same strength to martial arts, the impacts would be devastating.
Of course, we would lose some reach, but reach can be a double-edged sword. Once it's surpassed, it turns into a disadvantage.
Additionally, while leverage contributes to strength, with an iron body, I don't think we'll need to worry much about delivering powerful hits.

But I'm not an expert, so that's just my opinion.

>>6112175
I am not against using weapons, of course, but this is THE martial art we're talking about. It would be better if it were useful even when disarmed.

It's been long enough, so I'm going to tally the votes so far and update.

>>6112271
By simple body mechanics, any swordsman is going to be faster than us. Instead of having to launch their hand or foot forward to strike they just have to move their wrist, and that's not even accounting for the reach advantage that means they have more time to move. Maneuverability won't be much of an issue either, a spear could even HELP maneuverability, considering it's a big pole that we can vault off of.

Also:
>hits delivered with a mace or any blunt weapon are rudimentary, but if we can apply that same strength to martial arts, the impacts would be devastating.
Anon what are you going on about? All factors equal if you hit someone with a club it's going to hurt more than your hands do, even if those hands are made of iron; as long as the club is also made of iron.

And while yes, reach CAN be turned against us if someone gets up close, that's why I say we have our base down with a spear or club (preferably a spear) and then can mix in some hand to hand stuff later. You sort of have a point about unpredictability, but only to a degree; if we come at someone without weapons they're pretty quickly going to infer that we're a hand to hand fighter, and it'll only be a matter of figuring out our style. Of course, we could always carry around a weapon and not use it/use it and then move into hand-to-hand to throw people off if we went hand to hand, but I'm digressing. I will also say that while we might be able to track down magical items for hand-to-hand fighters, I'll doubt that items that SPECIFICALLY help hand-to-hand fighters and nothing else are very common, and more likely to find will be generic combat items (gloves that give you strength, boots that make you quick, whatever) that will help any martial art, or a weapon.

The focus becomes clear when you realize that practicing with the spear is only holding you back. This martial art demands your hands and feet, not any outside weapons or tools. You punch and kick according to your teacher’s demonstrations, striking slightly faster and harder every day.

The soul becomes clear when you have another realization. You’ve been trying to preserve your stamina and move with precision, but that’s what this demands. A question comes to your mind. Why bother with one perfect blow when three decent ones are each almost as devastating? You abandon pacing yourself and focus on striking as quickly as possible. First comes speed, then comes strength.

This leaves you exhausted after only minutes when you should be able to spar for an hour at your physical fitness. The style is brutal on your cardio… and on the mud practice dummies Grandfather Shun has been slapping together. Its destructive potential is incredible. You realize that this martial art is like a ravenous firestorm, destroying everything flammable and sputtering out just as fast.

You need to learn how to maximize its duration or burn hot enough to end fights in a hurry. Besides this, you can’t lose sight of its Dao. You can’t lose yourself to wild bloodlust and heap a crude onslaught on your foes. You must be nimble and you must be skilled. It’s apparent that you must be fast and fight with finesse. This represents a serious challenge. It won’t be an easy style to learn and it will be harder to excel, but if you can…

Your foes will fall apart like woodchips in a furnace. Grandfather Shun is quite interested in the burgeoning technique, and shouts as you practice. “DON’T STOP, BOY! Keep moving! Keep your fists high! DON’T FORGET! If you get tired on the battlefield, you DIE!” Sometimes, when you stop to rest too early, he beats your arms with his stick!

It makes you mad!

This goes on for weeks until you finally catch the stick, break it over your knee, and scream in frustration! Instead of getting angry like you expected, the old man laughs and pats you on the back. “HAH! Well done! No fighting style works without a spark of fury! You’re a good boy, Chong, TOO GOOD! That’s a weakness you need to overcome if you want to win!” This seriously pisses you off, but maybe he has a point?

You think on it later that night.

>Try to tap into your rage! If you channel anger into your fists and feet, it should burn hotter! Grandfather Shun knows what he’s talking about, he’s been in a hundred fights!
>Try to stay calm. If you can hold onto your serenity, maintaining the grace the style expects from you will be simpler. Grandfather Shun wants you to be strong, but there are many paths to strength.

Rolled 78 (1d100)

Time passes. You reach the tenth year of your life. It doesn’t feel different but you know it’s a serious milestone. To celebrate, the old man breaks out a ricecake from your old village he’s been saving in his bag. Somehow, it’s fresh even after so long. It was probably stolen but this far from anybody else, you don’t pry into it. You just zero-in on the small amount of moisture. For once, you don’t talk about training, hunting, or cultivating. The two of you sit, break the ricecake between you both, and watch the red sunrise in silence.

Master and disciple.

The air is getting hotter and you aren’t getting any less thirsty. This is becoming an incredible problem. Especially with how much sweat your martial art demands. You can’t even taste your own mouth, it’s so dry. Your supply of jerky is running low as well. There are several problems you need to address if you want to stay in good shape. It is currently Spring (春天).

What do you want to do? (You have 3 Actions, 1 of them must be spent on hunting as the old man insists on it.)

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Ask questions about cultivating.
>Learn another martial technique.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time. This is demanding on water, but an important step forward.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (Your thoughts keep coming back to somehow alloying your stomach with water or creating a dowsing rod, but that’s your thirst talking. You can do anything.)
>Attempt to identify the Skybeasts' flying patterns so you can better avoid them.
>Explore the surrounding area.

>>6112309
>>Try to stay calm. If you can hold onto your serenity, maintaining the grace the style expects from you will be simpler. Grandfather Shun wants you to be strong, but there are many paths to strength.
Sad that we didn't go with the spear, but it is what it is. The whole point of this martial art is graceful power, and that requires calm.

If we do try and tap into our rage, then let's not "RAAGGAGARHARHAR" and actually try and focus it.

>>6112311
>>6112314
>>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
Let's get this out of the way before we fucking die of thirst.

>>6112311
That's enough messing around.

>Search for water
>Search for water
>Train the martial art

>>6112317
Oh, and try to stay calm. We can betray the soul of more advanced arts later, but for now we need to get strong quick.

>>6112309
>Try to stay calm. If you can hold onto your serenity, maintaining the grace the style expects from you will be simpler. Grandfather Shun wants you to be strong, but there are many paths to strength.
>>6112311
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Ask questions about cultivating.

>>6112289
Setting aside the reach advantage, most cqc weapons are slower than unarmed attacks. Only very small weapons, like daggers, might be as fast.

As for the club example, I was just considering combining martial arts techniques with the force of a mace. I'm not saying an iron punch would necessarily hit harder, but it would be far more effective in terms of movement and technique. And if it has anywhere near the strength of an iron mace behind it, it would be deadly enough.

In any case, I'm not saying it's a better idea because, again, I'm not an expert. But it sounds cool and useful enough.

>>6112309
>Try to stay calm. If you can hold onto your serenity, maintaining the grace the style expects from you will be simpler. Grandfather Shun wants you to be strong, but there are many paths to strength.

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Search for a reliable water supply.

>>6112311
>Try to stay calm. If you can hold onto your serenity, maintaining the grace the style expects from you will be simpler. Grandfather Shun wants you to be strong, but there are many paths to strength.
Aggression doesn't mean rage. A calm anger can be far more terrifying than uncontrolled rage.
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
Food first.
>Experiment with your qi in some way.
Try to create a dowsing rod. For water. Do this before the next action.
>Search for a reliable water supply.

>>6112309
>Try to tap into your rage! If you channel anger into your fists and feet, it should burn hotter! Grandfather Shun knows what he’s talking about, he’s been in a hundred fights!
Even a mere spark released in the right place and the right time can become destructive.
>>6112311
>Hunt for food
>Search for water
>Search for water

>>6112351
Melee weapons move faster than a punch because of how rotation works. The tip is going to inevitably move faster than the grip as you swing, as a degree of rotation's arc increases in speed the longer it is. The reach IS what give it speed. I'd bet I can strike with a spear or sword as fast as I can throw a punch, given that I'm neither all that good with medieval weapons or punching.

If you can hit with the force of a mace with your hand through some technique, that means you can use a technique with a mace to hit greater than you normally would. Simple as.

We already went with the hand to hand anyway so we're going to need to lock in and learn how to dodge and grapple effectively if we don't want someone with more reach to fuck us later down the line. Because the real advantage of hand-to-hand is the HAND part, where you get to grab things.

>>6112311
>Try to tap into your rage! If you channel anger into your fists and feet, it should burn hotter! Grandfather Shun knows what he’s talking about, he’s been in a hundred fights!

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a reliable water supply.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time. This is demanding on water, but an important step forward.

>>6112311
>>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>>Search for a reliable water supply.
>>Search for a reliable water supply.

>>6112309
>>6112674
>>Try to stay calm. If you can hold onto your serenity, maintaining the grace the style expects from you will be simpler. Grandfather Shun wants you to be strong, but there are many paths to strength.

Forgot to add this decision.

You decide to ignore Grandfather Shun's attempts to infuriate you. Blunt anger may have worked for his fighting style long ago, but this one is yours, and it demands a clear head if you want to make the most of it.

The dehydration has gotten worse. You don't know how much longer you can endure it. These goats must be getting their water from somewhere. You plan to find it, no matter how long or hard you have to search, and finally quench your miserable thirst. If you can get some more goat jerky on the side, that's just an extra benefit.

>ROLL
>1d100+10 for Chong and Grandfather Shun to hunt! +10 (Expert Skill [Hunting]), +10 (Death Affinity), +5 (Crouching Like Tiger Style [Basic]), -10 (Desolate Region), -5 (Multiple Hunters)
>1d100-15 for Chong to search for water! +5 (Balanced Foundation), -10 (Inward Attunement), -10 (Desolate Region)

Rolled 83 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>6112701
ROLL. WATER. FUCK

Rolled 36 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>6112701
rollan for hunting!

>Search for Water DC: 45 < 68
>Average Success!
>Hunting DC: 60 > 46
>Average Failure!

You search endlessly. The second the sun sets, you're moving and tipping over every single rock for the faintest sign of moisture. Your eyes are glued to the sand and stone, sifting for the tiniest anomaly. Even your nose and ears are strained to the breaking point, desperate for the tiniest freshness or trickle. Finally, when you think all is lost, you hear a splashing.

Everything else exits your mind. You sprint straight into a cave without a thought for what else might be inside, and to your relief, spot a knee-deep pond still rippling from the stalactite that snapped and fell in. You crawl to reach it and start palming sweet, life-giving water into your mouth faster than you've ever swung a fist. This continues for minute, then Grandfather Shun pulls you back.

If you weren't a kind soul you would've tried to punch him. As is, you stare in despair. "Why?" The old man holds up his hand. "Pace yourself, junior! If you drink too much water after so long without it, you risk dangerous qi misalignment." That makes sense. You try not to focus on your thirst and fail. "When can I drink again?" Your teacher thinks for a few seconds. "In a minute. I'll show you how it's done."

You watch as he forces himself to sip slowly, with long breaks in-between. You mimic him. Over the next couple of weeks, you both fully recover from your dehydration. Thirst is no longer a concern... For the next two seasons. Three, if you don't get up to much activity. There's only a limited amount of water and you're both working hard. You'll need to find a bigger reservoir or a permanent solution in the future.

At least you have some temporary relief. Your struggles to find water have kept you from effectively hunting goats, and you only managed to bag a single scrawny one. It's official. You're out of meat. This is a serious problem but less urgent than thirst. If need be, you might be able to survive for a year on scraps but Grandfather Shun warns you that hunger could stunt your future growth. This isn't what you want. You both agree to hunt again soon.

Now that you have a reliable source of water, Grandfather Shun continues to instruct you on techniques. "I can see three suitable paths for your cultivation to take, junior. You can refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to a satisfactory strength and prepare for the next stage. You can improve your qi circulation and temper your spiritual foundation. Or, you can experiment and find something else to do. You have a good record there, so I won't dismiss it out of hand."

Hmm... "What's the next stage?" He gives you a straight answer. "Getting you a heart and lungs that can handle thicker muscles." That sounds interesting. "What do you mean by 'temper my spiritual foundation'?" He explains again. "Your foundation is only the first step. You need to find a firm footing before you can walk the road to immortality. You need to know it, inside and out. That won't be hard for you." You could swear you heard some pride in those words. "Which do you think is best, Grandfather?" Your teacher pauses for a minute. "Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) is the quickest route to survivability, and that's what junior needs the most."

That's not unreasonable, but you'll need more than durability if you want to eventually fight creatures like the Skybeast. "What about my martial art?" The old man sighs. "So many questions! That isn't cultivating, it's a skill you're learning. Very different. You need to keep practicing but there isn't a hurry. The younger you are, the easier cultivation will be, both body and mind." He's given you a lot to think about, for the future and to distract from the lack of jerky in your bag.

It was reckless but you're still glad you didn't give it up to that wild animal.

Time passes while you determine your next moves. The air gets hotter, the sun burns brighter, and the world feels drier than ever. You've come to dread this season but as long as you're in the scorching badlands, there's no escaping it. It is currently Summer (夏天).

What do you want to do? (You have 3 Actions, 1 of them must be spent on hunting as the old man insists on it.)

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a backup water supply.
>Ask questions about cultivating.
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.
>Attempt to identify the Skybeasts' flying patterns so you can better avoid them.
>Explore the surrounding area.
>Do something else. (What?)

>>6112807
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.

>>6112807
The massive amount of time spent securing basic resources is making me think that being in the middle of the desert might, uh, be a bit of a waste.
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
Try to figure out dousing, with a first attempt at a reliable way to find water.

>>6112814
>dousing
should be
>dowsing

>>6112807
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Attempt to identify the Skybeasts' flying patterns so you can better avoid them.

>>6112807

Supporting >>6112810

>>6112807
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.

>>6112807
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
Let's work on "Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩)" to improve it or to derive a new technique from it that allows us to make better use of the water we have, similar to how "Filling the Crucible" does with food but applied to liquids.

>>6112807
>>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
>Let's work on "Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩)" to improve it or to derive a new technique from it that allows us to make better use of the water we have, similar to how "Filling the Crucible" does with food but applied to liquids.
Why not go for survival techniques?

>>6112807
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
Let's work on "Filling the Crucible (充填物這坩)" to improve it or to derive a new technique from it that allows us to make better use of the water we have, similar to how "Filling the Crucible" does with food but applied to liquids.

>>6112807
>>6112904
You know what this seems alright. +1 support.
I pray for decent rolls

Rolled 97 (1d100)

>>6112810
>>6112814
>>6112840
>>6112841
>>6112864
>>6112904
>>6112961
>>6113093
>>6113096
This lack of water is devastating to your progress. You’ve spent more time struggling with thirst than you have meditating on qi. It’s unsustainable. Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) and the martial art can wait, even if it pains you to put them on hold. You need to achieve nutritional efficiency and improve your chances of survival to guarantee your future. Exactly how is complex. You consider making a dowsing rod of some kind but decide to do what you’re already familiar with.

The crucible in your stomach has helped you gain more from food than you otherwise would have. Perhaps it can do the same for water? You put yourself into seclusion in the back of the cave and focus on not only circulating qi, but on improving the condition of your stomach so that it can get more hydration from less water. You have several ideas for how that might be possible. You don’t know which is best, so you’ll simply study yourself until one becomes clear.

In the meantime, you’re tracking down goats with Grandfather Shun. It’s hard living but it’s a living. Much like the rice paddies… You haven’t seen a rice plant in a year but they’re still haunting your dreams. If there’s one advantage to the scorching badlands, it might be that.

>ROLL
>1d100+10 for Chong and Grandfather Shun to hunt! +10 (Expert Skill [Hunting]), +10 (Death Affinity), +5 (Crouching Like Tiger Style [Basic]), -10 (Desolate Region), -5 (Multiple Hunters)
>1d100+30 for Chong to improve his internal qi circulation! +10 (Inner Map), +10 (Inward Attunement), +10 (Instructor)
>1d100+30 for Chong to experiment with his stomach! +10 (Inner Map), +10 (Inward Attunement), +10 (Instructor)

Rolled 60 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>6114030
tummy test time

Rolled 15 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>6114030
Hunting

Rolled 57 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>6114030

>>6114030
The change to hunting is weird. Wasn't it previously a roll for us and a roll for shun? And the malus is also weird since we could pincer maneuver with two people. Hunting in groups is more effective than solo, see wolves.

>>6114086
I think it's because instead of two independent trips it's two people going on one trip for the first part, and for the second... it's because we don't really have any experience in group hunting for the most part. Not to mention that there's hardly any ground cover to make advanced tactics more viable.

>>6114086
Previously we hunted separately, now we're hunting together, hence 2 rolls -> 1 roll
As for the malus, yeah it is weird. I guess like >>6114095 said we don't have experience, we're not wolves.

>>6114207
Frankly speaking it's even more effective that we're not wolves. We can communicate complex ideas to each other that wolves never could possibly do. We can memorize strategies to use with one another with orders of magnitudes more ease. We can use different weapons for different purposes.

On a different note, you want to know one of the best things to hunt with? It ain't a spear, boyo. It's a simple strap and any rock you can find on the ground. You can whip that fucker so hard it breaks the sound barrier. I'm surprised that Grandfather Shun hasn't already fashioned one given his apparent experience hunting. I guess he was more of a javelin-hucking type hunter - which is great too, but better if you use a simple atlatl with it. He's not really being using efficient hunting methods.

File: sling.jpg (51 KB, 900x600)

51 KB JPG

>>6114247
Dropped pic.
Love me slings.
Love that there was a mercenary unit that historically trained with them so much and used them to such deadly effect that people were terrified of 'em.
Bows n arrows?
Nahh.
ROCK THROWING.

>>6114052
>Hunting DC: 60 > 25
>Severe Failure!
>>6114065
>Qi Circulation DC: 80 < 87
>Slight Success!
>>6114042
>Stomach Experimentation DC: 80 < 90
>Slight Success!

You and Grandfather Shun both work tirelessly but fail to find a single goat of any size. It's as if something has eaten or scared them off. Between the two of you, you've already eaten twenty. Maybe the local goat population has declined? You aren't sure. There's too little food to go around. Neither of you can eat grass so you have to eat nothing. The hunger gnaws at your mind.

This does help your focus somewhat, as you're able to examine your stomach without any external food inside of it. You suffuse your stomach acids with trace amounts of the rich metal qi from your liver, and little-by-little, it begins to give up more water. It's like for every hundred drops you drink, there was an extra one, but this noticeable difference is an incredible step forward! It tells you that you're on the right track!

Your constant meditation allows you to get a better understanding of your wheels. Not the abstract metaphor, but the very real structure of your soul. They spin together yet apart, different yet the same. There is a beautiful symmetry to them. Thinking on it... there is a beautiful symmetry to everything. Maybe that's the nature of the Dao?

...No. That's one of its aspects. An important one, but there's just as much assymetry. You can't let yourself get distracted from the core of your foundation: the elements existing in balance, under the truth of death and your own name. If you continue this, you'll be reaching insights in no time.

One day, you're meditating in the cave like you usually do, when you have the sudden thought to leave. You don't normally have sudden thoughts like these so you obey and wake up Grandfather Shun. It turns out he wasn't sleeping, he was watching you meditate! The old man can be sneaky when he wants to be.

He doesn't pry into why you want to leave. He just goes with you and you follow your gut. Both of you travel through the badlands for several days and eventually find another cave under some crumbling masonry. This one was clearly once a basement of some kind that collapsed, unlike the previous natural one. There's not much of interest on this layer but an investigation finds a hatch in the floor and so you search on.

It leads to a smooth corridor of sandstone. You hear some groaning in the distance. Grandfather Shun immediately grabs you and pulls you out. "What'd you do that for?" His voice is stern, but excited. "That's the sound of a walking corpse, junior! Too dangerous for you to handle now, but..." You catch on.

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>6114431
"But there has to be a reason for it to be moving!" He nods. "Yes. If you sensed it from so far away, that means there must be some strong death qi." You rub your thin in thought. "How is that possible? My senses aren't good." The old man shrugs. "The badlands are desolate. Not much life, not much death. It must've stood out to your gut." Fascinating. "How big is this place? What's at the bottom?" Grandfather Shun tries to answer you as well as possible.

"Beats me, junior. The death qi can't be too dangerous if I can't sense it myself." You find your curiosity growing. "What do we do now?" He gives you the answer you already knew he would. "Get stronger, and find out what's down there!" That sounds like another goal.

You memorize the location and go back to the water supply. Thanks to your low rate of activity, this should cover you for two more seasons. This is a relief.

Time passes. The land mercifully cools down. You feel yourself sweating less. That can only mean that the season has changed. The hunger hasn't gotten too bad. Maybe you'll be luckier hunting this time. It is currently Autumn (秋天).

What do you want to do? (You have 3 Actions, 1 of them must be spent on hunting as the old man insists on it.)

>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a backup water supply.
>Ask questions about cultivating.
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Continue experimenting on improving your stomach's water retention.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.
>Attempt to identify the Skybeasts' flying patterns so you can better avoid them.
>Explore the surrounding area.
>Explore the deathly basement.
>Do something else. (What?)

>>6114433
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a backup water supply.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.

>>6114433
>>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>>Search for a backup water supply.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.

>>6114433
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Continue experimenting on improving your stomach's water retention.
>Search for a backup water supply.

>>6114433
>Train the Martial Art
>Refine Bones Like Iron
>Search for a backup water supply

We should be leaning on Shun more to hunt. The faster we get strong, the more options open up, and he provides a separate role anyway.

>>6114433
>>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>>Search for a backup water supply.
>>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.

>>6114433
>Develop your life/death gut sense. Start by meditating with Shun holding his hand near your gut and slowly moving back and forth.

>Go hunting. If there were any developments in lifesense, use this to find the goats.

>Ask Grandfather Shun to teach us any stealth techniques, so that we can better hide from the skybeasts and the goats that we hunt.

>>6114433
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a backup water supply.
>Continue experimenting on improving your stomach's water retention.
Honestly, don't feel like all this time spent keeping ourselves alive here is benefiting us much, but we kind of just need to do it

>>6114433
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Search for a backup water supply.
>Continue experimenting on improving your stomach's water retention.

We need to secure our survivability if we want to train in peace. We keep wasting time searching for food and water, so we need to fix that. Also, our martial art already uses a lot of energy, so improving our nutrient and energy efficiency might pay off as well.

>>6114433
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Continue experimenting on improving your stomach's water retention.
Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
Let's finish refining the rest of our skeleton so we can move to strengthen our heart and lungs.

Also, I catch up and I FUCKING LOVE THIS QUEST. fucking Grandfather Shun got me more than a handful of hearty laughs and chuckles, and the whole "making our Soul/foundation from the ground up and put our name into it, only to remember how a universal macabre truth lies on us, thus changing Chong in a deep, metaphysical level" got me more than fucking hooked. Also, all these descriptions of techniques and how lucky the rolls got to carry Chong was awesome to see. Man, these cultivation quests are fucking FIRE

>>6114433
>Hunt for food to keep yourselves alive.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Continue experimenting on improving your stomach's water retention.

You want to become stronger but you also want to satisfy your thirst. If you don't have water to sweat, how are you supposed to train hard? Your experiments with the stomach are getting good results. You'll continue them and search for a water source in your spare time.

You think of training this mysterious gut sense or asking Grandfather Shun to teach you stealth, but a question keeps coming to your mind. Finally, your resolve falters and you ask him while you're sitting around the campfire. "Grandfather Shun, is this all a waste of time?" That gets a glint in his eye. "Hmm?" You rush to clarify. "I mean, being here! In the badlands! Almost everything we do is trying to survive. There's barely any time for training! If we were somewhere with food and water, I'd be so much stronger by now!" Your teacher considers your words while he stirs the coals with his stick.

"You're right, junior. Being here is an enormous waste of time." You protest on reflex. "BUT-" Then it strikes you that he agreed and you fumble. "H-Huh?" Grandfather Shun grins. "You are absolutely right, junior. You would be much stronger if we had plenty of food and water. There's only two downsides." Your curiosity grows. "What are those?" He explains. "Here, you're getting used to prolonged suffering and that's almost impossible to teach without scarcity. This will help you with the chronic pain that comes from the refinement of later body tempering."

You suppose that's true, but that's why you chose this hellhole to begin with! "That's one! What's the other?" The old man lets you think for a minute, then speaks up. "You wouldn't be surrounded by earth and fire qi. It has a subtle effect, one you aren't yet skilled enough to see, but it will impact you for the better later on." A subtle effect? "You mean my affinity?" He shakes his head. "No, I mean your attunement. The more used to the emptiness and heat you are, the easier you'll find earthy and fiery techniques. Attunement is fickle and doesn't last for long once you advance your cultivation, but every little bit helps. Especially for an unorthodox foundation like yours."

This makes you question your doubts. "Are these advantages worth our problems?" Grandfather Shun flips the stick in his hand to toss the embers up then smack them down. There's no deeper reason for this. The old man just likes showboating. "That's up to you to decide, boy. If you want to leave the badlands for greener pastures, we can. If you want to stay, you're becoming tougher every season. Think about it. Now CATCH!" He flicks an ember at your hands but you dodge instead of snatching it. You've fallen for that trick one too many times! His grin widens even further. "HAH! Good, good! You're starting to LEARN, boy!"

>ROLL
>1d100+10 for Chong and Grandfather Shun to hunt! +10 (Expert Skill [Hunting]), +10 (Death Affinity), +5 (Crouching Like Tiger Style [Basic]), -10 (Desolate Region), -5 (Multiple Hunters)
>1d100-15 for Chong to search for water! +5 (Balanced Foundation), -10 (Inward Attunement), -10 (Desolate Region)
>1d100+30 for Chong to experiment with his stomach! +10 (Inner Map), +10 (Inward Attunement), +10 (Instructor)

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>6115244
Okay I'll go first.
Rolling to hunt with Grandpa Shun.

>>6115258
Wow, nice.
That would be 105 for hunting.

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33 KB JPG

Rolled 99 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>6115244
water and water and water water

Rolled 36 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

Tummy stuff

sorry for breaking the 95+ roll sequence

>>6115261
>>6115258
LET'S FUCKING GOOOO
WE FOUND A HIDDEN OASIS THAT ALL THE ANIMALS FLOCK TO
I BET IT'S GOT BIG DICK WATER AFFINITY TOO

>Hunting DC: 60 < 105
>Great Success!
>Search for Water DC: 70 < 84
>Average Success!
>Stomach Experimentation DC: 70 > 66
>Slight Failure!

Hunger sharpens your focus like it always does. This season, though, you stop thinking on how the hunger makes you feel and using it to motivate you, and start thinking on how to take a different approach. You watch Grandfather Shun's hunting and mimic him, to great effect. This condition of focus enables the two of you to catch and kill a goat almost every night for a month straight.

This leaves you with enough meat to keep you fed for months! The old man is forced to work day-and-night to preserve all of it into jerky before it rots! You're going to be fed for the rest of this year and some of the next. At least until next summer! Knowing that you'll have enough to eat tomorrow is a great feeling. Once the sense of victory passes, you realize it's what you learned that led to your success.

What did you figure out?

>Pack Tactics. You didn't know how to hunt in a group without scaring off the goats or holding back Grandfather Shun... until now. The two of you may not be a perfect team but you've stopped getting in each other's way.
>Spear wielding. You previously haven't had any more than the lowest degree of skill possible, but lately you've been handling your spear with some actual finesse. Even if you're no soldier, you could put one on the ropes.
>Goats. You're getting a sense for how goats move and think, which makes hunting them much easier than it was.
>Tracking. You know that the biggest trouble with catching goats is finding them, so you've learned to spot the subtle hints that goats have been in the area.
>Stealth. You've figured out how to walk light on your feet, stay upwind of your prey, and make no more noise than necessary. These simple but fundamental tricks will carry you far.
>A little bit of everything. You've paid close attention to the act of hunting instead of any one part, and it has given you dividends. Your overall skill has improved.

After you caught yourself enough goats to stay comfortable for a good long while, you decided to make the most of this chance and look for another supply of water. Grandfather Shun approves. Neither of you want to stay thirsty. You search the jagged mesas and hardpacked sands for weeks. To your surprise, you manage to find a cave that isn't dry within a month! This underground pond is a lot like the first you spotted. Part of you thinks you got lucky, part of you thinks this was a little easier than it was earlier. Maybe it's both?

This means you have enough water for two seasons, maybe even three, not counting the season's worth that's still in the first reservoir! You have enough jerky and water to keep you fed and quenched for a long time, potentially even a year! It's a good feeling.

Rolled 4 (1d100)

The only bad part is that you're not thirsty or hungry enough to make the most of your stomach experiments, and that's arguably a good thing. There's simply too much nutrition in arm's reach for you to easily obsess over the specifics of your stomach acids. Anyway, you think you're getting a better idea of it through studying. Maybe you could get a breakthrough if you kept at it. Maybe it's not worth bothering with right now. Maybe both are true at once.

Come to think of it, that's true for a lot of things in cultivating...

There are so many resources here that it would be a waste of effort to leave now, but you'll keep the question of whether to stay or go on your mind for the future. When the stockpile has dwindled to nothing, you'll ask yourself again.

Time passes and the air goes from boiling hot to regular hot. It's almost enough to feel cold! Heh. You remember the snow back in your home village. Those were the days... You plan to go back eventually, to see your family and make good on the promise to your old friend Bai. It is currently Winter (冬天).

What do you want to do? (You have 3 Actions and don't need to hunt, as the old man thinks you're well-supplied)

>Hunt for food to get extra jerky for your stockpile.
>Search for another, redundant water supply to stave off thirst.
>Ask questions about cultivating.
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Continue experimenting on improving your stomach's water retention.
>Experiment with your qi in some way. (How?)
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.
>Attempt to identify the Skybeasts' flying patterns so you can better avoid them.
>Explore the surrounding area.
>Explore the deathly basement.
>Do something else. (What?)

>>6115320
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.

>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.
Can finally afford to stay in one place for a few seasons.

>>6115319
>Stealth
>>6115320
>Refine Bones Like Iron
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time
>Train Life/Death Gut Sense with Grandfather Shun. Knowing where the enemy is is a great advantage. Maybe Gut Sense will let us find other things too some day.

>>6115324
oh, and
>A little bit of everything. You've paid close attention to the act of hunting instead of any one part, and it has given you dividends. Your overall skill has improved.

>>6115319
>>Stealth. You've figured out how to walk light on your feet, stay upwind of your prey, and make no more noise than necessary. These simple but fundamental tricks will carry you far.

>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.

As an aside, I'm very disappointed that a nat 99 is just an average success :(

>>6115388
it ain't a hundo or a onedo unfortunately. I am still happy with the result anyhow.

>>6115326
support

>>6115319
>Spear wielding. You previously haven't had any more than the lowest degree of skill possible, but lately you've been handling your spear with some actual finesse. Even if you're no soldier, you could put one on the ropes.
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.
Time to actually train, then. Figure we need some strength to deal with the corpse and possibly the bird in the next year or so.

>>6115319
>Tracking. You know that the biggest trouble with catching goats is finding them, so you've learned to spot the subtle hints that goats have been in the area.
I feel this will help more when we're finally able to hunt and kill the Skybeast, plus I believe it would give us some insight on how make sure we don't leave trace if we end up with someone trying to stalk and ambush us.

>>6115320
>>6115326
+1

>>6115319
>A little bit of everything. You've paid close attention to the act of hunting instead of any one part, and it has given you dividends. Your overall skill has improved.

>>6115320
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.

>>6115319
>A little bit of everything. You've paid close attention to the act of hunting instead of any one part, and it has given you dividends. Your overall skill has improved.
>>6115320
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Focus on improving your qi circulation to more efficiently absorb and make use of it.
>Continue experimenting on improving your stomach's water retention.

>>6115319
>Tracking
>>6115320
>Refine Bones Like Iron (骨骼若鉄) to make your skeleton harder and cover more of your bones.
>Train the martial art and condition yourself to use it longer than a handful of seconds at a time.
>Continue experimenting on improving your stomach's water retention.

>>6115764
Reee IP change, I'm >>6112840