Hey guys, so this is something I had been thinking about starting but wasn’t sure if there was any interest in it. I don’t generally like writing Cultivation novels but this idea came to me and I thought it was interesting. I wanted to get a general gist if people are also interested in this kind of exploration/story of the Cultivation genre.
Story:
“I’m screwed.”
He stared at the rough, wooden carriage surrounding him. This wasn’t his room, in fact he wasn’t even in his body currently. Instead he was in the body of a fourteen year old boy going by the name of Xin Ku. ‘Looks like I’m in an eastern fantasy world.’ He was calm, after all, he didn’t have any attachment to his previous life. No parents, no friends and stuck in a dead-end job. In fact, he was a little happy that he was now in a completely different world. Here, he had parents, he had a friend and he even had potential. He took deep breaths to calm himself down as he felt his face turning warm from excitement. ‘I have to act like Xin Ku.’ He adjusted his expression a little and slowly sat up from the floor. ‘Luckily Xin Ku had an optimistic disposition so it shouldn’t be too difficult for me to fake that.’ At this moment, the door to carriage burst open and another youth with a square-jaw and thick eyebrows burst in.
“Xin Ku, come quickly, the immortals are having a Dao Discussion!”
He raised an eyebrow at this. “What’s a Dao Discussion?”
The youth shook his head. “No clue, but it’s the immortals! There’s bound to be something exciting!” The youth spoke quickly before grabbing Xin Ku’s arm and yanking him out of his seat. The cold air of the night hit his face as he followed his friend. They made their way towards a stage that had been erected and a number of youths had gathered around it.
On the stage itself were two people meditating. There was a man with his shoulder length hair waving, wearing an azure robe and sitting cross-legged. A broadsword was hanging flat behind him. Sitting on the other end of the stage was a monk wearing an orange kasaya and a wooden sarira necklace around his neck. He too was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
The youth shook his head. “No clue, but it’s the immortals! There’s bound to be something exciting!” The youth spoke quickly before grabbing Xin Ku’s arm and yanking him out of his seat. The cold air of the night hit his face as he followed his friend. They made their way towards a stage that had been erected and a number of youths had gathered around it. On the stage itself were two people meditating. There was a man with his shoulder length hair waving, wearing an azure robe and sitting cross-legged. A broadsword was hanging flat behind him. Sitting on the other end of the stage was a monk wearing an orange kasaya and a wooden sarira necklace around his neck. He too was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
“Do you know who they are Bai Shan?” He whispered to the youth with the square-jaw, standing next to him.
“That’s immortal Jian Xin,” Bai Shan pointed to the azure-robed man with a sword behind his back, “that’s Monk Li Tongqing.” He pointed to the monk sitting opposite the immortal. Xin Ku nodded and waited silently. After all, he still had no clue about their identities but the way Bai Shan referred to them seemed to make them out as celebrities of sorts? The worst thing to do in these kinds of situations was to say something stupid like “who are they?” Unless one wanted to be tirelessly bombarded by the “greatness” of these people the best thing to do was to just nod and shut up. Bai Shan also silently waited, except he was a lot more giddier than Xin Ku. Contrary to the behaviour of the two of them, there was a lot of chatter around them.
“What do you think the immortals will do?”
“I don’t know, but I bet we’ll see something exciting!”
“I don’t know, but I bet we’ll see something exciting!”
“How can you say for sure?”
“We’ve been on the road for a month now, all we do each and everyday is eat, sleep and practice the breathing technique, anything will be more exciting than that!”
There were a lot of complaints about their journey so far. ‘Makes sense, they are teenagers after all.’ The worst thing for a teenager was to sit still and just gawk at the same scenery every single day. There was also only so much that they could talk about; most of these boys and girls came from noble families and were pampered since young. They had never experienced this kind of lack of mental stimulation for such extended periods of time. ‘It’s seriously not good for their mental health either, particularly in these formative years.’ Whilst all the young boys and girls around him were talking about riding swords through the sky and overturning the mountains with a palm strike, Xin Ku was worried about the effects of semi-social isolation on their brains during its formative years; truly a hallmark of the difference in mental maturity. He was snapped out of his daze when the entire field suddenly became dead silent. His gaze naturally traveled to the centre as he looked up. The man with the broadsword and the monk had stood up at some point in time.
“I hope you don’t mind me going first Monk Tongqing?” A voice that sounded incredibly robotic came out from the azure robed man.
“Amitabha, it will be my pleasure Swordsman Jian Xin.” The monk bowed slightly. The swordsman nodded before taking a small step back. Jian Xin nodded before turning towards the crowd. The first words that came out of his mouth seemed to stun the crowds, Xin Ku included.
“Why do we cultivate?” He spoke softly but the words echoed in Xin Ku’s ears. “The act of cultivation itself requires patience and years of meditation. It requires hunger, pain. It demands sacrifice, it demands tears, it demands blood.” Xin Ku suddenly felt as if something was stifling his breathing, weighing heavily upon his chest. “So then why do we cultivate? Is it to be immortal? What is the meaning in that? Just so that you live as you watched your loved ones pass away one by one? Just so you can watch everyone and everything you have loved be washed away in the river of time?” The azure robed man paused and looked off into the distance, as if reminiscing about something. “Our founder asked himself this” Jian Xin put out his hand and the sword behind him silently floated out before him. He clutched the handle of the sword, swinging it down, “he made the sword his Dao. With 1 swing he collected chi, with 100 swings he refined it, with 1000 swings he established his foundation, with 10,000 swings he condensed his core and with 100,000 swings he manifested his soul.” Jian Xin swung the sword down, the stage cracked where he swung. “1,000,000 swings to crack the earth,” he swung his sword up, pointing it straight into the sky. The clouds suddenly parted, causing the rays on the sun to shine on the stage. “10,000,000 swings to split the heavens!” Jian Xin’s voice boomed. He drew his weapon back and gently caressed its spine. His voice once became soft, almost as if it would hurt the sword. “A mortal once asked me, after 1000 years, what will you have? People would have forgotten you, none of your loved ones would be alive, perhaps even your hometown would be gone. I replied to him, none of that matters, I will still have a sword.” A silent atmosphere closed in on the crowd as they started to think. However it didn’t last for long before being interrupted by laughter. Everyone’s gazes were directed towards the source of the laughter; Monk Li Tongqing.
“Indeed, you will have a sword Jian Xin, however you will no longer have any emotions except for the sword.” Monk Tongqing slowly walked to the front of the stage. “That is quite unfortunate. Our merciful Lord Dharma said, that desire is the root of all suffering, as such if wants to be rid of suffering, they must be rid of desire.” Monk Tongqing brought his hands together, as if in prayer. Golden light enveloped his body and the silhouette of a tree appeared behind him. “Just like the banyan tree provides shade to the beggars, we too must provide shelter to the less fortunate.” Monk Tongqing took a step forward and the light around his body strengthened. “Lord Dharma said to be merciful to those less fortunate. Take on the sea of bitterness yet be untainted by it. Merciful Lord Dharma said, being merciful is the first step to Nirvana. Mercy of Lord Dharma is my Dao.” The golden light around him suddenly condensed into a pillar before shooting up into the sky. Causing the clouds that were starting to come back, to disperse once again. “To be the light beyond the clouds!” His voice boomed, sending reverberations through the crowd. The light slowly faded and the monk looked down at his open palms. “I do not know if I’ll remain on this treacherous path of cultivation after 1000 years,” his voice was also soft, “but I know that the results of my actions will.” Once again, silence descended upon the crowd before it was broken by Jian Xin.
“Those whom have the courage to follow the Dao of the sword, follow me.” The azure robed swordsman turned around and left the stage, alongside some of the crowd following him.
“Those whom want to seek the Dao of Merciful Lord Dharma, please follow me.” Monk Tongqing turned and left from the other side of the stage. Very few teenagers remained in the crowd. Naturally Xin Ku was one of them. ‘Was that a Dao Discussion?’ He scratched his head. ‘This world is a lot less violent than I thought it would be.’
Story:
“I’m screwed.”
He stared at the rough, wooden carriage surrounding him. This wasn’t his room, in fact he wasn’t even in his body currently. Instead he was in the body of a fourteen year old boy going by the name of Xin Ku. ‘Looks like I’m in an eastern fantasy world.’ He was calm, after all, he didn’t have any attachment to his previous life. No parents, no friends and stuck in a dead-end job. In fact, he was a little happy that he was now in a completely different world. Here, he had parents, he had a friend and he even had potential. He took deep breaths to calm himself down as he felt his face turning warm from excitement. ‘I have to act like Xin Ku.’ He adjusted his expression a little and slowly sat up from the floor. ‘Luckily Xin Ku had an optimistic disposition so it shouldn’t be too difficult for me to fake that.’ At this moment, the door to carriage burst open and another youth with a square-jaw and thick eyebrows burst in.
“Xin Ku, come quickly, the immortals are having a Dao Discussion!”
He raised an eyebrow at this. “What’s a Dao Discussion?”
The youth shook his head. “No clue, but it’s the immortals! There’s bound to be something exciting!” The youth spoke quickly before grabbing Xin Ku’s arm and yanking him out of his seat. The cold air of the night hit his face as he followed his friend. They made their way towards a stage that had been erected and a number of youths had gathered around it.
On the stage itself were two people meditating. There was a man with his shoulder length hair waving, wearing an azure robe and sitting cross-legged. A broadsword was hanging flat behind him. Sitting on the other end of the stage was a monk wearing an orange kasaya and a wooden sarira necklace around his neck. He too was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
The youth shook his head. “No clue, but it’s the immortals! There’s bound to be something exciting!” The youth spoke quickly before grabbing Xin Ku’s arm and yanking him out of his seat. The cold air of the night hit his face as he followed his friend. They made their way towards a stage that had been erected and a number of youths had gathered around it. On the stage itself were two people meditating. There was a man with his shoulder length hair waving, wearing an azure robe and sitting cross-legged. A broadsword was hanging flat behind him. Sitting on the other end of the stage was a monk wearing an orange kasaya and a wooden sarira necklace around his neck. He too was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
“Do you know who they are Bai Shan?” He whispered to the youth with the square-jaw, standing next to him.
“That’s immortal Jian Xin,” Bai Shan pointed to the azure-robed man with a sword behind his back, “that’s Monk Li Tongqing.” He pointed to the monk sitting opposite the immortal. Xin Ku nodded and waited silently. After all, he still had no clue about their identities but the way Bai Shan referred to them seemed to make them out as celebrities of sorts? The worst thing to do in these kinds of situations was to say something stupid like “who are they?” Unless one wanted to be tirelessly bombarded by the “greatness” of these people the best thing to do was to just nod and shut up. Bai Shan also silently waited, except he was a lot more giddier than Xin Ku. Contrary to the behaviour of the two of them, there was a lot of chatter around them.
“What do you think the immortals will do?”
“I don’t know, but I bet we’ll see something exciting!”
“I don’t know, but I bet we’ll see something exciting!”
“How can you say for sure?”
“We’ve been on the road for a month now, all we do each and everyday is eat, sleep and practice the breathing technique, anything will be more exciting than that!”
There were a lot of complaints about their journey so far. ‘Makes sense, they are teenagers after all.’ The worst thing for a teenager was to sit still and just gawk at the same scenery every single day. There was also only so much that they could talk about; most of these boys and girls came from noble families and were pampered since young. They had never experienced this kind of lack of mental stimulation for such extended periods of time. ‘It’s seriously not good for their mental health either, particularly in these formative years.’ Whilst all the young boys and girls around him were talking about riding swords through the sky and overturning the mountains with a palm strike, Xin Ku was worried about the effects of semi-social isolation on their brains during its formative years; truly a hallmark of the difference in mental maturity. He was snapped out of his daze when the entire field suddenly became dead silent. His gaze naturally traveled to the centre as he looked up. The man with the broadsword and the monk had stood up at some point in time.
“I hope you don’t mind me going first Monk Tongqing?” A voice that sounded incredibly robotic came out from the azure robed man.
“Amitabha, it will be my pleasure Swordsman Jian Xin.” The monk bowed slightly. The swordsman nodded before taking a small step back. Jian Xin nodded before turning towards the crowd. The first words that came out of his mouth seemed to stun the crowds, Xin Ku included.
“Why do we cultivate?” He spoke softly but the words echoed in Xin Ku’s ears. “The act of cultivation itself requires patience and years of meditation. It requires hunger, pain. It demands sacrifice, it demands tears, it demands blood.” Xin Ku suddenly felt as if something was stifling his breathing, weighing heavily upon his chest. “So then why do we cultivate? Is it to be immortal? What is the meaning in that? Just so that you live as you watched your loved ones pass away one by one? Just so you can watch everyone and everything you have loved be washed away in the river of time?” The azure robed man paused and looked off into the distance, as if reminiscing about something. “Our founder asked himself this” Jian Xin put out his hand and the sword behind him silently floated out before him. He clutched the handle of the sword, swinging it down, “he made the sword his Dao. With 1 swing he collected chi, with 100 swings he refined it, with 1000 swings he established his foundation, with 10,000 swings he condensed his core and with 100,000 swings he manifested his soul.” Jian Xin swung the sword down, the stage cracked where he swung. “1,000,000 swings to crack the earth,” he swung his sword up, pointing it straight into the sky. The clouds suddenly parted, causing the rays on the sun to shine on the stage. “10,000,000 swings to split the heavens!” Jian Xin’s voice boomed. He drew his weapon back and gently caressed its spine. His voice once became soft, almost as if it would hurt the sword. “A mortal once asked me, after 1000 years, what will you have? People would have forgotten you, none of your loved ones would be alive, perhaps even your hometown would be gone. I replied to him, none of that matters, I will still have a sword.” A silent atmosphere closed in on the crowd as they started to think. However it didn’t last for long before being interrupted by laughter. Everyone’s gazes were directed towards the source of the laughter; Monk Li Tongqing.
“Indeed, you will have a sword Jian Xin, however you will no longer have any emotions except for the sword.” Monk Tongqing slowly walked to the front of the stage. “That is quite unfortunate. Our merciful Lord Dharma said, that desire is the root of all suffering, as such if wants to be rid of suffering, they must be rid of desire.” Monk Tongqing brought his hands together, as if in prayer. Golden light enveloped his body and the silhouette of a tree appeared behind him. “Just like the banyan tree provides shade to the beggars, we too must provide shelter to the less fortunate.” Monk Tongqing took a step forward and the light around his body strengthened. “Lord Dharma said to be merciful to those less fortunate. Take on the sea of bitterness yet be untainted by it. Merciful Lord Dharma said, being merciful is the first step to Nirvana. Mercy of Lord Dharma is my Dao.” The golden light around him suddenly condensed into a pillar before shooting up into the sky. Causing the clouds that were starting to come back, to disperse once again. “To be the light beyond the clouds!” His voice boomed, sending reverberations through the crowd. The light slowly faded and the monk looked down at his open palms. “I do not know if I’ll remain on this treacherous path of cultivation after 1000 years,” his voice was also soft, “but I know that the results of my actions will.” Once again, silence descended upon the crowd before it was broken by Jian Xin.
“Those whom have the courage to follow the Dao of the sword, follow me.” The azure robed swordsman turned around and left the stage, alongside some of the crowd following him.
“Those whom want to seek the Dao of Merciful Lord Dharma, please follow me.” Monk Tongqing turned and left from the other side of the stage. Very few teenagers remained in the crowd. Naturally Xin Ku was one of them. ‘Was that a Dao Discussion?’ He scratched his head. ‘This world is a lot less violent than I thought it would be.’
