Before Wu Ying could think of anything further to say, the Elder departed, his quiet disciple trailing behind him. In the silence left after their departure, Wu Ying found himself standing in his new residence, opulent and decadent, with enemies all around. He had been left alone for now, but Wu Ying knew that the coming months would only bring more challenges.
Still, as he stood in his own residence, staring down the mist-covered mountains, Wu Ying could only smile. Let them challenge him. He had come this far. He would go further. The path to immortality was a journey of a thousand li, and he had only taken his first steps. Heaven or hell, he would not bow.
###
The End
End of First Steps: Book 1 of the Thousand Li Series
Glossary
Body Cleansing – First cultivation stage where the cultivator must cleanse their body of the impurities that have accumulated. Has twelve stages.
Cao – Fuck
Catty - Weight measurement. One cattie is roughly equivalent to one and a half pounds or 604 grams. A tael is 1/16th of a catty
Chi (or Qi) – I use the Cantonese pinyin here rather than the more common Mandarin. Chi is life force / energy and it permeates all things in the universe, flowing through living creatures in particular.
Chi points (a.k.a. acupuncture points) – Locations in the body that, when struck, compressed, or otherwise affected, can affect the flow of chi. Traditional acupuncture uses these points in a beneficial manner.
Core formation – Third stage of cultivation. Having gathered sufficient chi, the cultivator must form a “core” of compressed chi. The stages in Core formation purify and harden the core.
Dao – Chinese sabre. Closer to a western cavalry sabre, it is thicker, often single-edged, with a curve at the end where additional thickness allows the weapon to be extra efficient at cutting.
Dantian – there are actually three dantians in the human body. The most commonly referred to one is the lower dantian, located right above the bladder and an inch within the body. The other two are located in the chest and forehead, though they are often less frequently used. The dantian is said to be the center of chi.
Energy Storage – Second stage of cultivation, where the energy storage circulation meridians are opened. This stage allows cultivators to project their chi, the amount of chi stored and projected depending on level. There are eight levels.
Huài dàn – Rotten egg
Hún dàn - Bastard
Jian – A straight, double-edged sword. Known in modern times as a “taichi sword.” Mostly a thrusting instrument, though it can be used to cut as well.
Li – Roughly half a kilometer per li. Traditional Chinese measurement of distance.
Long family jian style – A family sword form passed on to Wu Ying. Consists of a lot of cuts, fighting at full measure, and quick changes in direction.
Meridians – In traditional Chinese martial arts and medicine, meridians are how chi flows through the body. In traditional Chinese medicine, there are twelve major meridian flows and eight secondary energy flows. I’ve used these meridians for the stages in cultivation for the first two stages.
Northern Shen Kicking Style – Kicking form that Wu Ying learned at the sect library. Both a grappling and kicking style, meant for close combat.
Qinggong – Literally “light skill.” Comes from baguazhang and is basically wire-fu – running on water, climbing trees, gliding along bamboo, etc.
Sect – A grouping of like-minded martial artists or cultivators. Generally, Sects are hierarchical. There are often core, inner, and outer disciples in any sect, with Sect Elders above them and the Sect patriarch above all.
Seven Diamond Fist – Verdant Green Water’s Sect most basic fist form taught to outer sect members
State of Shen – Location in which the first book is set. Ruled by a king and further ruled locally by lords. The State of Shen is made up of numerous counties ruled over by local lords and administered by magistrates. It is a temperate kingdom with significant rainfall and a large number of rivers connected by canals.
State of Wei – The antagonistic kingdom that borders the State of Shen. The two states are at war.
Tael – System of money. A thousand copper coins equals one tael.
Tai Kor – Elder brother
Verdant Green Waters Sect – Most powerful sect in the State of Wen. Wu Ying’s current sect.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading The First Step, the first book in the A Thousand Li series. As per the saying, a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step and this is Wu Ying’s and my first step in writing a novel in a genre that I’ve loved since been a kid. I grew up watching movies like Once Upon a Time in China, the Swordsman, Return of the Condor Heroes, Stormriders and more. More lately, I’ve been reading the new works by web novellists translated from China and been impressed by some of the silliness (Library of Heaven’s Path) and scope (I Shall Seal the Heavens) of the authors. All this inspired me to try my hand at my own own xanxia story.
I hope, by this point, that you have enjoyed the book as much as I had writing it. Wu Ying’s journey has just begun, and I hope that with your support, to continue writing more novels for him. If you enjoyed reading the book, please do leave a review and rating. Not only is it a big ego boost, it also helps sales and convinces me to write more in the series!
In addition, while you wait for book 2, please check out my other series. The System Apocalypse is a post-apocalyptic LitRPG while the Adventures on Brad was inspired by Japanese light novels and is a more young adult oriented fantasy LitRPG. Book one of each series follow:
Life in the North (Book 1 of the System Apocalypse)
A Healer’s Gift (Book 1 of the Adventures on Brad)
For more great information about LitRPG series, check out the Facebook groups:
And join my Cultivation Novel Group for more recommendations and to talk about the Thousand Li series.
About the Author
Tao Wong is an avid fantasy and sci-fi reader who grew up in Malaysia before immigrating to Canada after getting his degrees in the UK. He was the owner of the Vancouver based game store Starlit Citadel and now spends his time working and writing in the cold north of Canada. He’s spent way too many years doing various martial arts and, having broken himself too often, now spends his time writing about fantasy worlds.
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