As summer slowly unfolded and the mountain once more teemed with life, Sen’s cultivation followed along in its slower path. While he trained alone or with Uncle Kho’s guidance, he gathered and ...
2023-05-18 08:24:13 +0000 UTC View PostKalan trailed after the enormous Tessan, who guided them into a living room. He knew what to expect and what not to expect from previous visits. There were a pair of small couches and a chair arran...
2023-05-18 01:36:21 +0000 UTC View PostKalan sent Fresia home to explain things. He also sent a slice of cake for the girl’s mother. It wasn’t much, but it might soften the blow a little. While he was sure that the woman would be re...
2023-05-18 00:18:32 +0000 UTC View PostElsewhere
Banjin Colle idly checked the timepiece he kept in his pocket. It was an ancient thing of springs and gears that he’d found hiding on a shelf in a shop on some backwater ...
2023-05-18 00:03:42 +0000 UTC View PostDespite being in the rougher part of the station, Patonga’s did a brisk business most days. Kalan had to assume they did okay since the restaurant had stood the test of time. It had been there wh...
2023-05-17 23:54:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe girl looked ready to bolt every two seconds until Kalan led her back out into the bazaar. Surrounded by people she knew, people who might intervene if she made a racket, seemed to give her a mo...
2023-05-17 23:42:16 +0000 UTC View PostKalan made it through the open bazaar of stalls and hawkers to one of the lifts without incident, nodding to a few familiar faces as he went. With a casual word, he sent the lift hurtling downward ...
2023-05-17 23:32:44 +0000 UTC View PostKalan stopped and looked back at the dock officer who just muttered the words, “Damn refugee,” under his breath. Kalan didn’t recognize the officer. He was several years younger than the ship...
2023-05-17 23:31:25 +0000 UTC View PostOn balance, Cobalt 7 was nothing special. It was a mid-size space station just like thousands of others spread across the known galaxy. A cylindrical central structure that served as a residential ...
2023-05-17 23:29:59 +0000 UTC View PostNow…
A chime brought Kalan up out of the nightmare, though he admitted most people would consider it nothing more than a dream. He wiped cold sweat from his face before he answered...
2023-05-17 23:28:07 +0000 UTC View PostTen years ago…
Kalan Rinn, acolyte of the Great Temple, stood before the elders. His shoulders were tense, back as unyielding as a titanium rod. He faced them with a fixed, blank e...
2023-05-17 23:24:21 +0000 UTC View PostFor all the time they spent on him, Sen never wholly lost sight of the fact that Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong were practicing cultivators in their own right. From time to time, he’d...
2023-05-17 20:22:48 +0000 UTC View PostI don't really have anything to add that you won't hear in the file.
2023-05-17 15:35:34 +0000 UTC View PostThis is just a quick note to let you know to keep an eye out later today for an audio post (my first on here). I'll be discussing a few interesting things about Unintended Cultivator and another pr...
2023-05-17 12:33:24 +0000 UTC View PostThere was an awkward pause then, as nobody said anything, apparently waiting for someone else to make a decision. I really didn’t want to give anyone the impression that I was game to be Decision...
2023-05-17 08:10:31 +0000 UTC View PostSen smiled to himself as he ran around the walls that surrounded the house. He remembered all too well the misery of that first run. The desperate gasping for air. The terrible burning in his legs ...
2023-05-16 17:25:19 +0000 UTC View PostDuring the day, Sen was as diligent and driven as ever. If anything, he was even more diligent and driven. Most days, he was up before dawn making food. By the time Auntie Caihong or Uncle Kho drif...
2023-05-16 13:21:27 +0000 UTC View PostSo, several times now, I've had people ask me if I'm going to be talking about the Dao in this book (Unintended Cultivator) and presumably subsequent books in the series. I put together what I thin...
2023-05-16 08:08:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Okay, clearly I'm not much of an artist...but I feel like this captures the essential spirit of the ghost panther.
2023-05-16 06:29:44 +0000 UTC View PostAuntie Caihong kept teaching Sen for a few weeks after the new year, but he could tell that would soon change. She stopped introducing new things she wanted him to learn. Instead, she revisited eve...
2023-05-15 17:20:49 +0000 UTC View PostSen had to seek out Ma Caihong’s help to come up with a gift idea for Uncle Kho. Her recommendation had been so straightforward that Sen felt a little stupid for not coming up with it himself. He...
2023-05-15 12:18:42 +0000 UTC View PostAs the weather turned from simply chilly to truly cold, Auntie Caihong’s lessons changed as well. Rather than learning about medicinal and alchemical plants in general, or how to make general hea...
2023-05-15 10:33:12 +0000 UTC View PostSen’s excitement about his new knowledge burned bright in him for a few days. Then, he came to, what was for him, a startling conclusion. While his new knowledge about the stages of cultivation h...
2023-05-14 13:37:11 +0000 UTC View PostHi there! There's been a flurry of new patron s
2023-05-14 03:04:57 +0000 UTC View Post“I feel strange,” said Sen.
He stood opposite of Master Feng in the courtyard. Yet, Sen was looking down at his own hand as he opened it and closed it, over and over. He’d felt strange ...
2023-05-13 14:02:43 +0000 UTC View PostSen intellectually understood what was happening. Both his master and Uncle Kho had spoken to him in general terms about five cultivation stages. They’d also been clear that there were smaller st...
2023-05-13 07:35:28 +0000 UTC View PostWhile Sen took a couple of days to recover, physically and mentally, from his time out on the mountain, he was amused to watch a quiet but persistent power struggle develop between Uncle Kho and Ma...
2023-05-12 14:32:42 +0000 UTC View PostThe first few minutes back at the house were surreal for Sen. Uncle Kho, who had been old and bald for as long as Sen had known him, had undergone a transformation. Now, he looked like he was only ...
2023-05-12 10:39:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe rest of the drive to Chicago was a far less tense affair for me. Jessie didn’t have any moral qualms about what we were doing. As far as she was concerned, this was just going to be ...
2023-05-12 06:41:24 +0000 UTC View PostMuch to Sen’s simultaneous relief and annoyance, the trip back to Uncle Kho’s home was a much less exciting time. While the beasts of the mountain didn’t fear Sen or didn’t fear him as much...
2023-05-11 16:48:09 +0000 UTC View Post