So, thank you very much for your interest in this little story of mine. It started out just as a fun little writing exercise and grew into a novel series as I explored its potential. It’s been a blast to write and share, and I’m glad that everyone seems to be enjoying it.
You can skip this chapter if you just want to get to the meat of the story. This is just some author’s notes talking about the series in general, so unless you want to read me rambling about the inspiration behind this story, there’s really no point in not clicking next chapter.
To start with, I fully admit that this story was largely inspired by Beware of Chicken, by CasualFarmer. BoC is a great story, and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
It was also partly inspired by A Thousand Li, by Tao Wong.
That said, inspired by does not mean fanfiction. The world that this story takes place in is very much original, as is the magic system and the plot.
For those of you who have never read Xanxia before, this story involves “Cultivation,” which broadly speaking is a magic system that involves absorbing spiritual energy (Qi, ki, chi, or other terms are often used) into the body, which replaces weakness with strength. The effect that this has varies widely from story to story, but generally it starts with the characters becoming faster and stronger than normal, and eventually developing magical powers.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Anyway, the original vision I had for this story was very different than what you’re (hopefully) about to read. Originally, the MC was a teenager who had been cultivating his entire life under his father, not realizing that he lived in a family of hidden masters. When the empire came to conscript the young men of his village for a war, his father revealed himself and said “Go to the next village. The emperor has no power here.”
And the officers of the army, shaken by the revelation that they’d offended a hidden master, did exactly that, taking only the grain for their levy and none of the men that they were expecting.
Except that the MC, who was surprised by the actions of the soldier but believed that his father’s own actions were cowardly, secretly ran away and joined the army anyway. Only for his father to confront him and seal his cultivation so that he could only use his full power if he was facing a true master.
Anyway, that’s as far as I got with the original idea.
This is not that story.
This is the story of a little kid growing up with magical powers and slowly realizing that his family is more important than he thought it was.
The style and perspective evolve as the MC ages, so keep that in mind if you think it's overly simplistic to start.
Hope you enjoy!