New Story Choice II: Sword & Shield (Eastern Cultivation)

Hi guys,

Here is the second choice among the two potential web serials. The winner will start publication right after the Perfect Run finishes. The poll will be updated tomorrow, after you have the time to see the two choices.

Without further ado, I present you: Sword & Shield! 

Art by Emiliano Cortes. 

Meili practicing.

As long as the world existed, so did the art of cultivation. Through meditation, martial art training, and the use of special elixirs, men and women have gained great powers, mastery over the elements, and extended longevity. By the gods' decree, the greatest of cultivators could try to ascend the Pillar of Heaven, a pillar of light linking the world below with the heavenly realm above, becoming purged of their sins and joining the pantheon. The first Ascended One’s family was entrusted by the heavens with protection of the pillar, becoming the first dynasty of the Heavenly Empire.

Heavenly Empress.

For centuries, the Heavenly Empire was a haven of peace and prosperity, before entering an age of decay. Cultivation has become greatly regulated and reserved to a noble elite; corrupt or unworthy would-be Ascended Ones are cast down to Earth as demons; and foreign martial artists disrupt society by bringing it new cultivation methods, gunpowder weapons, and nefarious drugs.

Now, the Heavenly Empire is in a state of crisis. A child-emperor rules from the capital under the guardianship of a corrupt regent; demons run rampant; and would-be cultivator warlords such as the dreadful Batu Firefist try to carve out their own kingdom by military force.

Batu Firefist.

Among the empire’s citizens are the siblings Ren and Meiling Feng, commoners living in one of the empire’s coastal towns. The firebrand Meiling, infuriated by the local sect’s restrictions in spite of her clear natural talent, illegally practices cultivation using stolen pills; more down-to-earth, Ren has initially no interest in martial arts and instead works to become an herb merchant.

Their life takes a dangerous turn when their town is sacked by a foreign warlord, the exiled demon samurai Shingen Takamoto. With their home destroyed and the local sect cut down to a man, Ren and Meili escape to the east. By accident, they end up rediscovering a lost fortress known as Fusang, left to gather dust after being destroyed over a century ago. The siblings decide to rebuild the old castle to welcome local refugees fleeing the warlords. But little do they know that these old walls sleep on ancient secrets, and that they will have to defend their new home from many threats.

The Fang siblings facing Takamoto.

Sword & Shield is a retool from my previous ‘Death Hand’ proposal from last year, making it a Xianxia / cultivation story. Unlike Death Hand, the story will be mostly about town-building, slice of life, and the occasional adventuring; instead of a quest to get ever stronger, Ren and Meili will focus on building their village/fortress and make it a secure home free from conquering warlords, outlaws, and fiends.

Sword & Shield takes inspiration from various key periods of southeast Asia, such as China’s struggle with the Opium Wars, the Japan-Korean Imjin War, or the warring states era. Unlike most cultivation stories, I intend to introduce elements from Japanese and Korean mythology, alongside unusual archetypes (such as a character based on the black samurai Yasuke).

Ren meditating.

Another major difference from my previous stories would be the major presence of a female viewpoint in Meili, who will have half the story’s focus; I’ve mostly stuck to male protagonists so far, so giving equal spotlight to a female character would be a new experience for me.

So in short, pick Sword & Shield if you would like a Xianxia/cultivation story with a focus on town-building, family moments, and the looming shadow of war.