Hello, everyone!
It's a new month so I want to greet everyone who joined the patreon and thank all those who keep supporting me. However, there is something else to address first.
Some of you might know this. Some of you might not. Some of you have already sent me messages about it. Apparently, patreon did an oopsie which has caused a higher than normal amount of payment declines by banks.
Now, patreon send me an e-mail saying that they are working on the issue. Also, and I'...
2023-08-07 12:00:09 +0000 UTC
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~~~
The storm glares at him with eyes like his own.
No matter how dark the clouds are, how thickly the rain falls, or how strongly the wind batters him, Liu Jin cannot look away from those eyes that shine like crimson moons. Whenever lightning strikes, the shape of a giant dragon becomes visible around them.
Liu Jin wishes it didn’t.
“Well?” The voice of the storm resounds all around Liu Jin, reaching him through the howl of the wind and the crac...
2023-08-07 11:55:01 +0000 UTC
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~~~
Liu Jin and Han furiously attack each other, the force of their blows enough to tear down nearby buildings.
Han’s aura screeches like metal grinding against metal. It takes the shape of hundreds of knives that attack everything around him like a pack of starving dogs. Because he has no care for the people, Han is free to exert his full power. Liu Jin does not dare to imagine how many people would have already died had he not done his best to scare everyone away with his aura...
2023-07-31 15:30:02 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
The other day, I had to explain all my medical issues to someone. Since they don't really impede my daily life at all, I have gotten used to them and even think they're actually not that bad. But when you lay all the cards on the table and see a guy's face morph with each sentence, you kind of go, "Oh yeah, all those are actually sort of serious."
Hah...
Here are week's chapters:
Ch...
2023-07-31 12:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Q1: Have you ever thought about commissioning art for various characters?
Constantly.
The problem is that whenever I start looking for artists to commission stuff from, I become this mega obnoxious, hyper-picky guy that can never find the “right” style for Ave Xia Rem Y.
Predictably, this ends with me not getting anything done.
Q2: How does the power balance in the Crimson Cloud Empire work? They’re seemingly host to the four most potent ...
2023-07-29 12:00:06 +0000 UTC
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~~~
Liu Jin walks into Rainstorm City, and the city grows darker and colder in his wake.
Lei Kong and Ten Zichun are with the soldiers outside. Soaring Feather has left to carry a message to the Brotherhood of Thunder. Considering the eagle’s speed, Leader Liu has surely read the letter by now and is panicking about it.
There are more soldiers in the city than usual. None look like the lazy, drunken fools City Lord Lei kept around his manor. From the quality of their Qi to...
2023-07-26 23:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Hi, everyone!
Like I said in a previous announcement, this week's update for Core Disciples will be up Wednesday night. Apologies for the delay.
In tangentially related news, Mission: Write Without Mouthing Words was a colossal failure. Mission: Proofread Without Mouthing Words was only marginally more successful.
Oh, and the letter F in my keyboard has started to fail. Already ordered a new one but if you think about it, it means that my keyboard has no Fs to give.
He...
2023-07-24 12:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Unfortunately, and as I feared, next Monday's update will be delayed for Core Disciples. I wanted to have it done by Tuesday night but it looks like Wednesday night is the more likely estimate.
For reference (since we don't all live in the same time zone) normal updates happen on Monday morning.
Apologies for the inconvenience.
As an aside, I have learned I mouth words a lot while writing. That does not help with the pain.
2023-07-21 13:00:12 +0000 UTC
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Every now and then, I do a Q&A post. You can find the previous one under the writing blog tag if I'm not mistaken. Usually, I take random questions asked in chapter comments and bundle them together. This time I'm doing things a bit different.
This post will be pinned for the rest of the week. Write any questions you might have in the comments, and I'll choose from those for the Q&A. Questions not chosen might still get chosen later.
A couple of guidelines, don't ask quest...
2023-07-17 20:00:05 +0000 UTC
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I have two announcements to make.
First, I'll be making a Q&A post this month, so a Q&A question submission post will go up later today. When it goes up, you will be able to leave your questions in the comments.
Two, my dentist and I have put this off for as long as possible by going after the easy teeth first, but he's going to pull out the hard one now. Apparently, it's somehow dug a bit into my jawbone or something. Next week's update might be delayed a bit on account o...
2023-07-17 12:00:08 +0000 UTC
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~~~
It has been three days since Liu Jin last visited his grandfather, two since the last storm, and one since the last time his men fought a Spirit Beast.
“Pick up the pace! We want to reach Drizzle Town before nightfall!”
The men don’t complain. Weeks of fighting and eating Spirit Beasts have increased their cultivation levels, putting nearly all of them in the Nascent Realm. What would have once tired them into unconsciousness now merely demands moderate effort. The...
2023-07-17 11:55:59 +0000 UTC
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I'm the type that likes to try out new foods and new food places whenever I can. Sometimes that ends with me going, "Hey, that was pretty good."
Others end with me going, "Hey, that was pretty bad, and now I have to go through the rest of the day knowing my lunch kind of sucked, and you don't get do-overs on lunch. That sucks."
So yeah.
Here are the week's chapters:
Chapter 230: Greed
2023-07-10 12:00:09 +0000 UTC
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~~~
Weeks have passed since the Brotherhood of Thunder released him and his men. Since then, Liu Jin has been traveling the countryside, making his men fight Spirit Beasts to protect the towns and training his Lightning affinity. Officially, he is still looking for bandits, something his many reports to City Lord Lei can attest to. But really, he is just making time until he has a working plan.
And, far more often than he should, he is visiting Elder Liu.
“...Of course, my...
2023-07-10 11:55:59 +0000 UTC
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A new month is here. To all new patrons, welcome. To everyone else, thank you for sticking with me this far. It means a lot.
Here are the week's chapters:
Chapter 229: Crossing is now available for Core Disciples.
Chapter 224: Slithering in the Night is now available for Inner Disciple...
2023-07-03 12:00:07 +0000 UTC
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~~~
“Eastern Port City, you say?”
Lady Pan frowns as she turns to her bookshelf. She is one of the four leaders of the Brotherhood of Thunder and is in charge of their information network. She coordinates the efforts of the Brotherhood’s various informants all over the City Lord’s territory.
She is also in charge of much of the Brotherhood’s records and bookkeeping.
“The name sounds familiar,” she says, as her fingers brush over the spines of the books on...
2023-07-03 11:55:01 +0000 UTC
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The disappearance of the Black Dragon was followed by much confusion and a very frantic search. The followers of the Black Dragon, many of them cultivators of great power, refused to accept his disappearance. Some left the Storm Dragon Empire in search of him and never returned. Others, once it became clear that the Black Dragon would not return, simply left, disappointed and disillusioned.
After these events, Qing Jianjun, youngest of the three imperial siblings, was crowned emperor.&n...
2023-06-30 12:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Here are the week's chapters:
Chapter 228: Nature is now available for Core Disciples.
Chapter 223: Empty Rainfall is now available for Inner Disciples.
Chapter 220: Ghost
2023-06-26 12:00:09 +0000 UTC
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~~~
Liu Jin’s men have been split up, separated into five groups and shoved into small houses while the Brotherhood decides what to do with them. No group has made contact with any of the others.
Yet somehow, all five groups end up talking about the same thing.
“He’s insane!”
The words are said in a hurried whisper. Loud enough to be heard by the other nineteen men crammed in the room but quiet enough not to be overheard by the guards stationed outside the hous...
2023-06-26 11:55:00 +0000 UTC
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Dentistry is one of those things that makes you think. We have rockets and disturbingly good chatbots. Surely, we should have progressed beyond jabbing in the anesthesia and pulling out the tooth like some caveman?
But nope.
Dentist tells me he pulled out the easy one first. He's leaving the hard one for last. Yay.
Here are the week's chapters:
Chapter 227: Brotherhood is n...
2023-06-19 12:00:08 +0000 UTC
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~~~
“Weakness is the worst of crimes,” Liu Jin tells his men once everyone has seen the City Lord’s merchandise. They are gathered outside the hideout, waiting until the Brotherhood decides what to do with them.
“A weak man cannot protect his property. He cannot protect his wife, his parents, or his children. A weak man is of no use to anyone, not even himself. Thus, by virtue of being weak, he has committed a crime against himself and his fellow men. That is why those str...
2023-06-19 11:55:01 +0000 UTC
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Here are the week's chapters:
Chapter 226: Merchandise is now available for Core Disciples.
Chapter 221: March is now available for Inner Disciples.
Chapter 218: Plague
2023-06-12 12:00:08 +0000 UTC
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~~~
“What do you mean they escaped?!” the City Lord shouts at him, his face incandescent with rage.
“It means they escaped.” Liu Jin shrugs. “I fail to see how I could possibly make the sentence any clearer.”
A vase strikes the wall and shatters into tiny pieces. It is followed by a chair and a table. Neither one breaks as spectacularly.
“You had thirty men with you! Thirty!” The City Lord shouts. His Qi flares violently around him, scaring away the ser...
2023-06-12 11:55:00 +0000 UTC
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I'm going to have some dental stuff done either this week or the next. That may lead to a delay. Maybe. I'm still not sure. Depends on how it all goes. Just giving you all a head's up.
Here are the week's chapters:
Chapter 225: Pebbles is now available for Core Disciples.
Chapter 220: Ghost
2023-06-05 12:00:08 +0000 UTC
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~~~
Pebble Town is as insignificant-looking as its name suggests, little different from a bunch of pebbles lying on the side of the road. The entire town is a collection of about one hundred houses made of wood and stone arranged in no particular order. It is protected by a rudimentary wall made of wood cut from a nearby forest. It’s decently well-made, but Liu Jin doubts it could stop anyone above the Inner Realm.
“Hear me, people of Pebble Town!” Ten yells at the top of hi...
2023-06-05 11:55:00 +0000 UTC
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I'm about 50 pages into the first draft of the book version of AXRY. Progress has been slower than I'd like because of how busy I've been this year. Also, some of those first chapters feel a bit rough here and there. That said, I think I've worked up a decent rhythm now so that's good.
Here are the week's chapters:
Chapter 224: Slithering in the Night is now available for Core Disciple...
2023-05-29 12:01:00 +0000 UTC
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~~~
“What have you learned tonight?”
Liu Jin asks the question to the four men kneeling before him: Lei Kong, Ten Zichun, Rust, and Nail. Liu Jin did not ask them to kneel, but Lei Kong has been teaching them unnecessary things.
“Unfortunately, I do not have much to share, my lord,” Lei Kong replies. “Flaring my aura like I did was a mistake. The people in the mansion were too scared to talk to me. All I could do was take a walk around the city. It is a cesspool, m...
2023-05-29 11:55:01 +0000 UTC
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~~~
“You will not be going into the city,” Liu Jin tells his soldiers.
Predictably, no amount of newly-gained discipline is enough to stop the outcry that arises from the company. It has taken them a long time to reach Rainfall City, and they have fought all manner of Spirit Beasts on the way. The experiences have sharpened them. No longer are they a sorry-looking lot. They are rested, healthy, and ready for action. Many have gone up in cultivation.
They had all been loo...
2023-05-22 11:55:00 +0000 UTC
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For some reason, half my family decided to be born on May. So, you know, that's a lot of time gift-buying.
Here are the week's chapters:
Chapter 222: The Shape of a Man is now available for Core Disciples.
Chapter 217: Loyalties is now available for Inner Disciples.
2023-05-15 12:00:06 +0000 UTC
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~~~
Nail is not exactly sure how things go to this point.
He knows the individual steps well enough. He was captured by General Murong’s soldiers and taken to Cloudburst City. For someone who had never left his small village, the whole thing had been an eye-opening experience. Never before had he imagined a building as big as the Cloudburst City Arena could exist. Never had it occurred to him that he would be made to fight to death for the amusement of a crowd.
In many way...
2023-05-15 11:55:01 +0000 UTC
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