by Tao Wong
Wu Ying blinked slowly as his adrenaline-fueled mind slowly cooled. He found himself baring his teeth, stepping toward the referee even as his hand clenched around his blood-stained sword. “Go ahead. And while you do that, I’ll register my complaint about how you interrupted our fight to allow him to heal. The fight would have been over earlier, with fewer injuries, if you had not done so.”
“You dare threaten your Senior! You have no respect for the proper order of things!”
“Wrong. I have great respect for the rules and morals of our society. When they’re broken, I have no respect for those who break them,” Wu Ying replied, his lips pulling into a wolfish grin. Pain and adrenaline rode his sense, robbing him of his usual caution. Even now, he weaved from side to side while standing still.
“You dare!”
The referee was vibrating in anger before Wu Ying shook his head, turning aside and looking around. He spotted Elder Shin staring at him, his lips compressed tightly, but the Elder made no move to stop the altercation. Wu Ying turned away from him, searching for and finding Elder Khoo. Meeting the Elder’s gaze, Wu Ying swept his gaze back to the referee continuing to harangue him, sending a silent plea. Elder Khoo looked between the pair before he turned to Elder Shin, raising a single eyebrow.
“Enough. Long Wu Ying has won the match.” Elder Shin’s lips curled up in disdain. “Both matches. With little grace or nobility, but what can you expect from a peasant?”
Wu Ying exhaled in relief, shaking out his sword and pulling another cloth from his robe to begin the laborious process of cleaning off the blood. He managed to make it mostly off the stage before the adrenaline rush finally ended, his control over his cultivation and his body crashing. He groaned as his chi ran rampant through his body, making Wu Ying stumble and fall.
“Rest, friend. You did well.” Tou He’s strong arms caught the exhausted cultivator, helping his friend down as the nobles and Elders watched the pair. Marking them in their minds.
Chapter 24
Days later, Wu Ying was sat cross-legged in the courtyard of his new villa. His new sanctum was the smallest, meanest, and least desired accommodation offered to a member of the inner sect. It was also three times the size of the home Wu Ying had resided in with his parents in the village and at least ten times as luxurious. Mother-of-pearl furniture, marble flooring, and beautiful scrollwork filled the building, set there as if each piece was not worth more than the entire contents of his parents’ house.
For this reason, Wu Ying found the inner courtyard the most comfortable location in his new residence. After he had moved aside the few stone benches, the center of the courtyard was empty of everything but training dummies, scattered pebbles, and soft grass. Even his well-appointed bedroom was too rich to allow Wu Ying to rest easily.
As he cultivated, memories of the last few days passed through Wu Ying’s mind. The days of rest in bed, aided via the lowest-grade recovery pills in the sect. Zhong Shei arriving to congratulate him about his winnings, then bidding farewell as he returned home, a new gleam of motivation in his eyes. The fights in the tournament had set the fire of ambition burning in the guard, giving Zhong Shei direction and a standard to aim for.
Liu Tsong and Tou Hei had both spent time with the invalid Wu Ying, one to chastise him for pushing himself so hard, the other to bemoan his new status in the sect. Just a day ago, Tou Hei had taken leave too—forced to join a sect expedition by his sponsoring Elder to “make him take things more seriously.” The ex-monk had only brightened at the prospect of getting to eat some of the spirit meat they were likely to acquire during the expedition.
Liu Tsong was also busy, working on her own areas of improvement. The female cultivator was an alchemist, researching the combination of alchemical potions with normal cooking. Her ultimate goal was to improve the taste of potions, making it possible for cultivation resources to be eaten as part of a daily meal, allowing the slow and careful build-up of an individual’s cultivation. It was because of this interest that Liu Tsong had been at the kitchen on the day they first met. Since Wu Ying had been injured, Liu Tsong had used the invalid cultivator as a test subject for her latest recipes, an act that had helped Wu Ying’s damaged meridians heal all the way.
Chi from the surroundings drew into him, the cleaner and higher air, along with the minor chi-gathering formations in the villa, making cultivating significantly faster. In fact, Wu Ying felt that he was nearing a breakthrough to the next level already.
A knock on his front door interrupted Wu Ying’s meditative cultivation, causing the cultivator to open his eyes. A thready exhalation sent out turbid air filled with the corruption and poison of the material world. Standing swiftly, Wu Ying took hold of the laid-out towels and dried himself, cleaning off the majority of the foul-smelling sweat that had accumulated on his body. A glance down showed that black blood had seeped out from his wounds, marring the whiteness of his bandages again.
Wu Ying’s servant appeared at the courtyard’s entrance, treading around the barrier that hid it. “Senior Long, Elder Cheng and Elder Yang are here.”
The servant was another addition, an old woman who few wanted but whose presence Wu Ying found great gratitude for. Without her, he would have to clean and visit the communal dining halls for meals, inconveniences that would have taken even more time from his cultivation.
“Thank you. Let them know I’ll be a few minutes.”
As the servant bowed and moved to relay his words, Elder Cheng strode in, ignoring proper manners. Behind him, Elder Yang—the newly promoted Fairy Yang—followed docilely. The recently promoted Elder looked resplendent in her new robes, her newly formed Core exerting a subtle pressure on Wu Ying even as he bowed to the pair.
“Elder Cheng. Elder Yang.”
Only at Elder Cheng’s gesture did Wu Ying dare raise his head. Unlike outer sect members, the rules and formalities binding those in the inner sect were more rigid.
“I thought I sent word for you to rest and not cultivate. Why did you ignore the warning?”
“I… I… I was bored, Elder. And I did not want to waste time.”
“There is no waste if you spent the time studying your manuals normally. Pushing yourself is good. Pushing until you injure yourself from your stubbornness is foolish. Learn the difference.”
“Yes, Elder.”
“Good,” Elder Cheng said, walking forward. “I wanted to congratulate you in person. Your victory was unexpected and unusual in its methods.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
“But you understand what you did, right? You are the peasant who not only beat your noble peers, but did so in an unsightly, undignified manner. You showcased once again that those with discipline, talent, and will can progress. To those diehard nobles, your presence is an insult, a reminder that they are indulgent children,” Elder Cheng said, his heavy gaze boring into Wu Ying. “They will not let you go. Not you, or those you are close with.” Wu Ying grimaced, and seeing his reaction, Elder Cheng said, “Speak freely.”
“Why does the sect let them? It’s obvious that if they do not take their studies seriously, they won’t progress further. If they push us down—”
“Us being the commoners?” Elder Cheng shook his head. “Politics hampers everything. There are factions that believe that commoners should be treated equally, given equal chances. Then there are nobles who consider themselves above all. It matters not. Those who are fated to ascend in this life will do so.”
Wu Ying stared at Elder Cheng, his eyes narrowing. Of course. Elder Cheng was one of those who believed in karma and fate. Absurdly so, it seemed, especially to those who did not believe as strongly. Even if karma and the threads of fate that bound each soul in the cycle of reincarnation were known facts, those who held so strongly to the beliefs and allowed them to influence their everyday lives were rare.
“I came here to offer my congratulations and my warnings. Your time in the inner sect will be more difficult. Especially as I must leave
soon to advance my own training. Elder Yuan will be staying behind. She may provide you additional assistance at her discretion.”
Wu Ying sighed slightly. In truth, he was uncertain how much more difficult life could get—it was not as if the Elder had provided any significant help in the beginning. But Wu Ying could not help but admit that the man had aided him in his training. Without the intensive hours of training over the last few months, Wu Ying would have never won the fights.
Before Wu Ying could think of anything further to say, the Elder departed, his quiet disciple trailing behind him. In the silence left after their departure, Wu Ying found himself standing in his new residence, opulent and decadent, with enemies all around. He had been left alone for now, but Wu Ying knew that the coming months would only bring more challenges.
Still, as he stood in his own residence, staring down the mist-covered mountains, Wu Ying could only smile. Let them challenge him. He had come this far. He would go further. The path to immortality was a journey of a thousand li, and he had only taken his first steps. Heaven or hell, he would not bow.
###
The End
End of First Steps: Book 1 of the Thousand Li Series
Glossary
Body Cleansing – First cultivation stage where the cultivator must cleanse their body of the impurities that have accumulated. Has twelve stages.
Cao – Fuck
Catty - Weight measurement. One cattie is roughly equivalent to one and a half pounds or 604 grams. A tael is 1/16th of a catty
Chi (or Qi) – I use the Cantonese pinyin here rather than the more common Mandarin. Chi is life force / energy and it permeates all things in the universe, flowing through living creatures in particular.
Chi points (a.k.a. acupuncture points) – Locations in the body that, when struck, compressed, or otherwise affected, can affect the flow of chi. Traditional acupuncture uses these points in a beneficial manner.
Core formation – Third stage of cultivation. Having gathered sufficient chi, the cultivator must form a “core” of compressed chi. The stages in Core formation purify and harden the core.
Dao – Chinese sabre. Closer to a western cavalry sabre, it is thicker, often single-edged, with a curve at the end where additional thickness allows the weapon to be extra efficient at cutting.
Dantian – there are actually three dantians in the human body. The most commonly referred to one is the lower dantian, located right above the bladder and an inch within the body. The other two are located in the chest and forehead, though they are often less frequently used. The dantian is said to be the center of chi.
Energy Storage – Second stage of cultivation, where the energy storage circulation meridians are opened. This stage allows cultivators to project their chi, the amount of chi stored and projected depending on level. There are eight levels.
Huài dàn – Rotten egg
Hún dàn - Bastard
Jian – A straight, double-edged sword. Known in modern times as a “taichi sword.” Mostly a thrusting instrument, though it can be used to cut as well.
Li – Roughly half a kilometer per li. Traditional Chinese measurement of distance.
Long family jian style – A family sword form passed on to Wu Ying. Consists of a lot of cuts, fighting at full measure, and quick changes in direction.
Meridians – In traditional Chinese martial arts and medicine, meridians are how chi flows through the body. In traditional Chinese medicine, there are twelve major meridian flows and eight secondary energy flows. I’ve used these meridians for the stages in cultivation for the first two stages.
Northern Shen Kicking Style – Kicking form that Wu Ying learned at the sect library. Both a grappling and kicking style, meant for close combat.
Qinggong – Literally “light skill.” Comes from baguazhang and is basically wire-fu – running on water, climbing trees, gliding along bamboo, etc.
Sect – A grouping of like-minded martial artists or cultivators. Generally, Sects are hierarchical. There are often core, inner, and outer disciples in any sect, with Sect Elders above them and the Sect patriarch above all.
Seven Diamond Fist – Verdant Green Water’s Sect most basic fist form taught to outer sect members
State of Shen – Location in which the first book is set. Ruled by a king and further ruled locally by lords. The State of Shen is made up of numerous counties ruled over by local lords and administered by magistrates. It is a temperate kingdom with significant rainfall and a large number of rivers connected by canals.
State of Wei – The antagonistic kingdom that borders the State of Shen. The two states are at war.
Tael – System of money. A thousand copper coins equals one tael.
Tai Kor – Elder brother
Verdant Green Waters Sect – Most powerful sect in the State of Wen. Wu Ying’s current sect.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading The First Step, the first book in the A Thousand Li series. As per the saying, a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step and this is Wu Ying’s and my first step in writing a novel in a genre that I’ve loved since been a kid. I grew up watching movies like Once Upon a Time in China, the Swordsman, Return of the Condor Heroes, Stormriders and more. More lately, I’ve been reading the new works by web novellists translated from China and been impressed by some of the silliness (Library of Heaven’s Path) and scope (I Shall Seal the Heavens) of the authors. All this inspired me to try my hand at my own own xanxia story.
I hope, by this point, that you have enjoyed the book as much as I had writing it. Wu Ying’s journey has just begun, and I hope that with your support, to continue writing more novels for him. If you enjoyed reading the book, please do leave a review and rating. Not only is it a big ego boost, it also helps sales and convinces me to write more in the series!
In addition, while you wait for book 2, please check out my other series. The System Apocalypse is a post-apocalyptic LitRPG while the Adventures on Brad was inspired by Japanese light novels and is a more young adult oriented fantasy LitRPG. Book one of each series follow:
Life in the North (Book 1 of the System Apocalypse)
A Healer’s Gift (Book 1 of the Adventures on Brad)
For more great information about LitRPG series, check out the Facebook groups:
GameLit Society
LitRPG Books
And join my Cultivation Novel Group for more recommendations and to talk about the Thousand Li series.
About the Author
Tao Wong is an avid fantasy and sci-fi reader who grew up in Malaysia before immigrating to Canada after getting his degrees in the UK. He was the owner of the Vancouver based game store Starlit Citadel and now spends his time working and writing in the cold north of Canada. He’s spent way too many years doing various martial arts and, having broken himself too often, now spends his time writing about fantasy worlds.
If you’d like to support me directly, I now have a Patreon page where previews of all my new books can be found!
Tao Wong’s Patreon
For updates on the series and my other books (and special one-shot stories), please visit my website: http://www.mylifemytao.com
Or sign up for my mailing list: http://eepurl.com/c35JS1
Or my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/taowongauthor/
Preview my other series: the System Apocalypse
Life in the North (Book 1)
Chapter 1
Greetings citizen. As a peaceful and organised immersion into the Galactic Council has been declined (extensively and painfully we might add), your world has been declared a Dungeon World. Thank you. We were getting bored with the 12 that we had previously.
Please note that the process of developing a Dungeon World can be difficult for current inhabitants. We recommend leaving the planet till the process is completed in 373 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes and 12 seconds.
For those of you unable or unwilling to leave, do note that new Dungeons and wanderin
g monsters will spawn intermittently throughout the integration process. All new Dungeons and zones will receive recommended minimum levels, however, during the transition period expect there to be significant volatility in the levels and types of monsters in each Dungeon and zone.
As a new Dungeon World, your planet has been designated a free-immigration location. Undeveloped worlds in the Galactic Council may take advantage of this new immigration policy. Please try not to greet all new visitors the same way as you did our Emissary, you humans could do with some friends.
As part of the transition, all sentient subjects will have access to new classes and skills as well as the traditional user interface adopted by the Galactic Council in 119 GC.
Thank you for your co-operation and good luck! We look forward to meeting you soon.
Time to System initiation: 59 minutes 23 seconds
I groan, freeing my hand enough to swipe at the blue box in front of my face as I crank my eyes open. Weird dream. It’s not as if I had drunk that much either, just a few shots of whiskey before I went to bed. Almost as soon as the box disappears, another appears, obscuring the small 2-person tent that I’m sleeping in.