Honored by countless victories grasped and foes vanquished, Sect Elder Liu Wei is one of the most prominent figures of the Lunar Peaks Sect. Known for his strict treatment of those below him and the harsh punishments he hands out to those who cross him, his name invokes both fear and awe to the sect's countless members, disciples and subordinates. As a breakthrough leads him to ascend to the same level of cultivation as the sect's patriarch, he is well-positioned to further extend his power within the sect. Only, what should have been his greatest moment of triumph is instead one doubt and uncertainty: For the first time in his well over four-hundred year long journey of cultivaton, he has hit a complete roadblock, denying him any further steps on the way to immortality. Without a family, any close friends or a particularly deep loyalty towards his sect, this leaves Liu Wei without a purpose to dedicate his efforts towards, even as the flame of ambition keeps burning in his chest. He now has no choice but to deeply contemplate what he wishes to do with the vast power he has spent his unfathomably long life accumulating. As his contemplations lead him to rediscover a long discarded sense of compassion, a new goal beginns to form: bring as much justice and fairness into this ancient system of opression as his abilities afford him to. Liu Wei shall walk on a path of defiance. Quick overview of what you can expect from this story: This is a story about Liu Wei, but it will be told from many perspectives. Giving the perspectives of several important side-characters room to breathe is my way of dealing with a main-character who is several centuries old and thus rather knowledgeable about the world and difficult to surprise. All of these characters have their own little stories and sub-plots that will be explored as the main story moves on. As the title says, this novel will focus on sect politics. This includes detailed explorations of schemes, power-dynamics and the like. Action will be rather sparse, especially in the beginning. Most conflicts will need time to build up before ultimately erupting into violence. They will though, and when they do I hope the action will feel gratifying and consequential. This story features power-progression in the form of cultivation. This includes the MC who will eventually regain his ability to cultivate, if you're concerned about that. This progression is featured prominently as a motivation for many characters, but will not be the focus of the story itself. The MC is already at a very high level of cultivation and will thus take a long time to progress further. The world-building is one of the things I love most about writing, as such you can expect it to be detailed and extensive. The supernatural elements and cultivation system(s) are built from the ground up with their own internal logic in a way that I hope makes sense. I try to stay rather grounded with them - we won't be encountering anyone throwing cities or splitting mountains for a long time (if ever). Questions of morality and ethics are central to the plot of this novel and will thus be explored in adequate detail in the form of both internal reflection and debates. Of course this isn't a philosophic essay, so these sections will mostly remain relatively short. The tone of this story is usually rather serious, but there are occasionaly slight satirical elements as it seeks to subvert expectations regarding common Xianxia tropes. This is my first story so I haven't settled on a schedule, but I expect that I will likely upload three to five times a week once I have emptied out the initial backlog. Enjoy! [participant in the Royal Road November 2024 Writathon challenge]