Q&A 6 (Patreon)

Hi, all!

I ended up answering about thirty questions. I have decided to split them in two Q&A. This one and one which will be posted next Thursday.  The questions here are more directly related to lore, story, and world-building. The next one will have the questions that were more aimed at me. 

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Q: At a few points in Ave Xia Rem Y, foundations are mentioned. Is there a mechanic of foundation quality, like how in some stories it goes; cracked, flawed, flawless, perfect, dao fruit, eternal? Or does everyone have the same stuff?

When people say foundation in the story, they are using a catch-all term for various factors. Things like the state of a cultivator’s meridians, their dantain, body conditioning, breeding, special techniques passed down, and even Inheritances. There are lots of factors that combine to make up a cultivator’s foundation.

A cultivator’s foundation works like the base of a building. The sturdier and deeper it is, the higher the building can go. That said, a cultivator’s foundation does not need to be deep from the start. It is possible to improve them later in their journey as they accumulate fortunate encounters.

Q: What's more important in cultivation? Resources, good education, and talent or the tribulations that, for example, Jin had? I imagine both are, but can a cultivator who only has a good master, resources, and talent but is in a bubble get to emperor?

This is a bit complex to answer.

Up to a certain point, having the resources, education, and talent is more important. Many people struggle, but they cannot advance unless they have the tools and knowledge.

Once you pass a certain threshold, you need to be tested. Emperors are people who have overcome Earth, Heaven, and Man. The system of advancement ensures they have endured all those tribulations to get there.

Q: Does the True Realm have any significance beyond being a quiet realm without any inherent trials or new awakenings? Why is it called True Realm?

It’s called the True Realm because it is when you can finally be said to be a “True” cultivator. Essentially, you got out of the kiddie pool and are about to face the various tribulations of the latter realms.

Q: Which Dantians are related to which realms? I remember Old Master telling Jin that Foundational and Inner Realms are explored by feeding the lower dantian with Qi. What about the other realms?

It’s not quite a direct relationship.

The lower dantian lays down the foundation. It’s the more vital one when you’re in the lower realms. The middle dantian starts controlling the bond between body and soul. It begins to gain prominence in the Spirit Realm.

The upper dantian controls, well, I guess Sight would be the best way to put it.

Q: How does being trans work with cultivation? Does their body change as they grow stronger to match their true gender, or would they need to go through some sort of "Body Reformation" ritual?

The body would naturally change as the cultivator grows. No ritual needed. That said, depending on the resources available, it might be easier to use a ritual.

Q: If someone whose Dao was Sword was made to forget everything he knew of swords, what would happen? Maybe he'd forget limitations and, when his memories were restored, his Dao would leap forward?

It is possible but not likely. When a Dao is set, it’s imprinted into the soul. The soul does not forget. To “forget” your Dao, you’d need to wipe the soul clean, and by that point, you might as well have a different person with no guarantee that regaining their memories would even be possible. Your Dao might even change entirely.

Q: Is it possible to transfer one Inheritance to another? I would imagine not, but I want to confirm it to be sure.

It is not impossible.

Q: What was the relationship between the two sides of the Vermilion continent before the god war?

Before the war, there wasn’t any separation between the two sides. There were no Dead Plains, so there was no distinction to be made. The various countries got along decently well, which means there was a complex web of alliances and rivalries tying them together.

Q: How does an average cultivator from beyond the Dead Plains compare to someone from 'our' side? Obviously, Fleshcrafter, the Shadows, and Bright Sword are fairly strong, but they're on this side already, so it's only natural - it takes someone capable to traverse the Plains - what about the rest though?

The average cultivator from the other side is stronger. Not Bright Sword strong. Not even Fleshcrafter strong, but still stronger on average.

Q: Were all the 108 humans? Was the Storm Dragon the member of the 108 from the Qing family, or was he the adoptive parent of one of them?

This is a bit hard to answer.

I describe the war as being between humans and demons, but when your cultivation gets high enough, the line blurs. It’s not just a matter of there being mixed bloods. A perfectly normal human who one day decided to dedicate himself to mastering the Fist of the Raging Ox might find himself less human than he started out purely through martial advancement.

The Storm Dragon was not one of the 108, though one of his bloodline was.

Q: What was the reign of Jin's grandfather like? At both of their peaks how would the SDE compare to the CCE?

It was nice. When Jin’s grandfather was the Emperor, the Storm Dragon Empire was a peer of the Crimson Cloud Empire, both being the dominant powers on their side of the Dead Plains.

Q: Are the imperial family and emperor related to the current members of the SDE monarchy? Would other monarchies be related? Or did they stay away from one another in order to not mix up bloodlines and inheritances?

There were probably a few marriages here and there. But any relationship is distant at best because of the second question. They didn’t want to give the other side too much access to their Inheritances.

Q: Would it be accurate to say that the Storm Dragon Empire has a larger proportion of Nascent and Spirit Realm cultivators than its neighboring nations due to needing to maintain large armies of capable warriors. However, they have far fewer higher realm cultivators (True, Earth and Heaven) proportionally due to the many purges, wars and duels that have taken place recently. It takes much longer to train higher level cultivators and they keep dying off faster than they can gain power?

Yes, that’s accurate.

I’ll also mention that despite being one of the larger countries on their side of the Dead Plains, the Storm Dragon Empire’s population is smaller than it should be due to the constant battles.

Q: Though there are Four Great Sects,  Eternal Flame Clan said that it was the first time in a long time they ended in 4th place in the tournament. Is there any sort of hierarchy between the Four Great Sects?  Who won the last tournament? Does the royal family ever participate?

The Eternal Flame Clan won the previous tournament.

There is no strict hierarchy between the Four Great Sects, but the Eternal Flame Clan had been having a nice streak lately, which is why fourth place was so bad.

The royal family does participate occasionally.

Q: What’s the difference between a dragon and a snake in this story?

Stubborn majesty.

Q: Does Liu Jin know that Old Jiang was a divine realm cultivator before getting injured?

Yes, he knows.

Q: In your writing blog about Yun Peng, you mentioned he rushed into the Renegade Realm to chase after Xiao Zheng. You also mentioned Peng refused to leave Eastern Port City during his development in fear of what Zheng might do in his absence. I'm assuming the reverse (Zheng refusing to leave Eastern Port City to Peng) is also true, and if that's the case it would mean that for a while, Eastern Port City hosted two Renegades at the same time - but wouldn't that have caused issues?

Yep, for a time, Eastern Port City housed two Renegades.

It was a very trying time for everyone involved.

Q: What were Xiao Nan's parents like/what happened to them? I don't believe they ever got mentioned even in passing before the fall of EPC.

They died before the story began.

They were nice people, but Xiao Nan never got to know them well. Xiao Nan is the son of Xiao Zheng’s little sister. His father married into the Xiao Clan.

Q: Elder Chang of the Punishment Hall mentioned he could make it through the Renegade Realm easily, but refrained from doing so because the Eternal Flame Clan was going through a sensitive phase. But now that Feng Gui won the position of Patriarch, will Chang be making good on his boast soon?

We might see some of that in the future.

Q: Yong Zhunyi mentioned he refrained from taking away Liu Jin's spatial pouch when he captured him because Zhunyi was cautious of what security measures it might hold. Does his pouch have any security measures though? All the way back in the first chapters of this story, when Liu Jin and Xiao Nan first encountered Old Jiang, Xiao Nan stuck his hand right into the pouch to search for the herb Liu Jin thought Old Jiang might have - so did it not have security measures, or did it have security that Xiao Nan just bypassed or failed to trigger?

It doesn’t (Belonging to Old Jiang was all the security needed). Yong Zhunyi assumed Liu Jin could have rigged it somehow, but he was wrong.

Q: Will you explore in a future arc more on how the corrupting nature of power in an ironic fashion might, like it did with his father, affect Liu Jin? Or do you think that due to how his journey unfolded so far, he is rather immune to the trappings of power, and you'd rather explore other themes going forward?

The temptation of power and how it changes you will always be an aspect of the story. If you compare the Liu Jin from chapter 1 to the current one, the current Liu Jin has become far more comfortable doing things that chapter 1 Liu Jin wouldn't. He has compromised in various ways and gotten more comfortable with cultivator society than he'd like.