Because both sides of the Manticore tribe had so many scouts and spies, a true surprise attack on the army was impossible. Kai had still wanted them to attack early for several reasons: it let them choose the general site of the battle, it forced their opponents to mobilize desperately, and it di...
2024-12-09 18:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostIt took two weeks for them to return to the Manticore tribe's region, but with all three of them reunited, Kai didn't mind the trip at all. His training along the way was mostly for fun, while Zae Zin Nim actually advanced several levels with her Coldfire Corona. Just like with the early levels o...
2024-12-06 18:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostThe pit walls seemed to extend upward forever, to the surface that was just as far away as Sky Soul. Zae Zin Nim cultivated as intensely as she could, but at the Pits of Power it would take centuries to reach the next stage, if she reached it at all. Attaining Sky Soul required an enormous amount...
2024-12-05 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostFor Kai, the fight must have been savagery, bloodshed, and hunger. Omilaena watched from the outside, coolly examining their latest experiment.
Now that he was fully prepared, Kai flickered around the clearing, evading the manticore's bursts of quills. When they had been spent, he went on t...
2024-12-04 18:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Kai finally limped back to their secure base, his body was aching all over from the combination of poison, exertion, and injury. The manticore was surprisingly fast, and very determined whenever it got his scent, so it required full use of Thunderbird's Wings to escape. He stepped inside and...
2024-12-03 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostTechnically, Zae Zin Nim was guarding her mana pool, but she wasn't sure what would actually happen if she was challenged. The Thundering Scorpion tribe required everything to be done in pairs, due to their strange formation, and she was alone. Of course, she would bet on herself against any two ...
2024-12-02 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostAs the manticore bore down on them, Kai actually swayed on his feet. He'd grown so used to Behemoth's Heart taking care of small aches and pains that he was off balance at first. It swiped with one massive paw, only to be met by Omilaena hurling needles into the pad of its foot. The manticore pul...
2024-11-29 18:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe Western Wilds spread around them. As they traveled further north to hunt down the manticore, the rocky outcroppings lost their bizarre twisting shapes and became lower and flatter. Far more foliage began growing on them, until they were traveling through a diffuse forest. Strangest of all, th...
2024-11-28 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostBeing a tribal patriarch turned out to be both easier and more tiring than Kai had expected. He wasn't an administrative leader, not by any means, and actually most of the organizational and even strategic decisions were made by others. Instead his job seemed to be composed of two duties: be powe...
2024-11-27 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post"Stay."
Kai had just moved his legs off the side of the bed, ready to begin what was sure to be a trying day, when Omilaena's hand gripped his arm. Not gently - her fingers dug into his muscles like claws. He looked back to find her sprawled across their bed, tempting not because she was tr...
2024-11-26 18:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
(This is the cover for the fourth book/arc. The arc isn't actually particularly focused on these two, but I wanted to save the full trio for the fifth arc in case it's the last.)
After Feida died, things turned ugly fast. In the initial brawl Omilaena took out one of the Jackal mercenaries,...
2024-11-25 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostOmilaena had always hated tribes.
They went by different names, depending on whether you were on Rosemount, Cloudspire, or Deadwaste. Sometimes they were called sects, sometimes guilds, sometimes even stranger names, but they were all essentially tribes. Bands of people grouping together fo...
2024-11-22 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostCracking blows echoed across the wasteland as Zae Zin Nim fought her husband.
Their fists flew between them, and since Kai was holding back, they could trade blow for blow. Without him using his monstrous skills, Zae Zin Nim was still the better martial artist, so she eventually brushed asi...
2024-11-21 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostIt was really quite unreasonable that someone as talented as Kai had taken this long to leave the Body Refinement stage. Zae Zin Nim waited and watched, hoping that fate would not manage to ruin his advancement. It did so try to get in the way.
Of course, he had been severely limited by the...
2024-11-20 18:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostThey had a variety of options for flying across the Western Wilds, some of them more respectable than others. The absolute fastest would have been for Kai to use Thunderbird's Wings and carry Zae Zin Nim in his arms... he almost thought he could convince her to do it, but she didn't want to be se...
2024-11-19 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostFor several long seconds Kai just squeezed Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena as hard as he could. Normal women might have been crushed, but they both hugged back: Zae Zin Nim's face was buried in his chest and Omilaena wrapped an arm around his neck.
There was absolutely a part of him that wanted to...
2024-11-18 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe first book is now out on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DML13DV1
This version is edited in various ways: some additional descriptions, some changed conversations, some normal typos, some conti...
2024-11-15 18:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostThey had started with eight Earth Souls. A mighty force, including all the strongest cultivators in the Manticore Quill faction. And now...
The Quill patriarch had thought their decision was absurd, ridiculous overkill against a foreigner who was clearly foolish and naive. Yes, all reports ...
2024-11-14 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a month of war amidst the Manticore tribe, Kai felt as though he was on the cusp of everything, yet unable to take any next step. He had more than enough mana ink and specialists to form a cultivation tattoo, once he had the proper design, and his power strained up against all other blockag...
2024-11-13 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post"I have evidence to present!" The other cultivator supported Zin Nim to one of the speaking positions, a platform across from Shen Yu Yei, while the old woman spoke. "The poisoner's companion volunteered, of her own will, to endure some of the poison that our goddess is struggling against."
The qi resisted as it was forced down into liquid form and Omilaena imagined spiritual screams. It wanted to be an ephemeral energy flowing through all life, not something as tangible as chakra, but she forced it into a concrete state. Qi was intrinsically linked to pills, medicinal and otherwise...
2024-11-11 18:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostKai moved through the blood and carnage, death on every side, and felt nothing.
It hadn't been straight murder, at least. The Tail faction had stopped the Manticore Head breakaway party and demanded that they return to the tribe on pain of death... and the breakaway group had immediately la...
2024-11-08 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostAs the bandit tribesmen poured out of the hills, Kai waited for the inevitable. He lurked within a caravan of weaker cultivators, his bulk hidden by a shapeless Manticore tribe robe. They were a weaker splinter faction, returning to regroup with the others... and thus apparently an easy target. 2024-11-07 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Zae Zin Nim sat in the audience, watching Omilaena and thinking it was almost unfair how fast the other woman had advanced in a month.
Instead of belching out smoke, Omilaena let it waft from her lips, so subtly that it almost seemed to emanate from her soul instead. She moved in smooth pir...
2024-11-06 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostNow that the battle was over, the Manticore tribesmen didn't seem inclined to start murdering one another again. Kai spent a while cultivating atop one of the stone outcroppings, just watching both sides while they prepared, but they had retreated to treat their wounds and otherwise recover from ...
2024-11-05 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostKai stood atop a small outcrop, trying to get a handle on what he was seeing. This was definitely no training exercise: he saw blood flying right and left, stinger techniques piercing through chests, heads being torn off. Savage strength combined with relatively low Physique made the battle incre...
2024-11-04 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostBefore he reached the Blueblade sect, Kai stopped using Thunderbird's Wings and instead jumped onto his flying sword. It traveled much slower than going under his own power, but this way he would look like a normal cultivator, plus he could use a moment to catch his breath and reflect after the w...
2024-11-01 17:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostFortunately, Omilaena was in the middle of a vicious battle.
When she'd first arrived in the Pureflower sect, she'd been honestly worried that they were going to spend all their time pouring tea, picking flowers, and simpering around. Fortunately, the cultivators of the Pureflower sect also...
2024-10-31 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostIn the two days after the duel, Kai eagerly explored the Pits of Strength and discovered the possibilities. He'd been concerned at first that there might be retaliation, but since he hadn't killed or maimed the champions, his victory seemed to be respected. Most cultivators gave him a wide berth,...
2024-10-30 17:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThere were no judges or officials, just four fighters standing on the wind-swept stone. Kai doubted that there were any rules about falling out of bounds, so the contest was likely to be decided by strength alone. Cor Li Xan landed beside him and swallowed a qi pill to prepare for the battle, so ...
2024-10-29 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post