Cultivation Realms & Runes
Here you will find a list of the cultivation realms as they are seen in the story. And a list of runes and their descriptions.
Cultivation Realms:
1st Realm: Body Refining Realm - As mortals can't absorb Qi on their own they need to use special herbs to strengthen their body's thus stepping into the first stage of the Body Refining Realm. The Body Refining Realm focuses on strengthening the physique.
2nd Realm: Qi Gathering Realm - After completing the Body Refining Realm, cultivators breakthrough into the Qi Gathering Realm by drawing in the natural Qi that is present in the air. Which is than stored in the dantian.
3rd Realm: Core Forging Realm - In the Core Forging Realm the cultivator must take all of the Qi they gathered and forge it into a core inside of there dantian. This allows them to store even more Qi and to extract the Qi to be used in battle. Each stage cultivators most forge a new core.
4th Realm: Spirit Strengthening Realm - After the nine cores have been forged cultivators can breakthrough into the Spirit Strengthening Realm by using all of the Qi gathered in their cores and transferring it into their mind were their soul is housed. Using the Qi they gathered in their minds they Strengthen their souls.
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Runes: Runes can be learned starting at the Qi Gathering Realm. This is due to the fact that Body Refining Realm cultivators have no Qi in their body's.
Sharpness Rune - The Sharpness Rune is one of the most widely used runes. It increases the sharpness of bladed and pointed weapons. Mainly used on swords and axes.
Silence Rune - The silence rune is a basic rune. It is rarely used as having a silent weapon serves no purpose for cultivators, unless their assassins.
Durability Rune - This is another one of the most widely used runes. As it is imperative that a cultivators weapons be sturdy enough to withstand their strength.
Weight Increase Rune - As the name suggests this rune increases the weight of the weapon. The increase depends on how much Qi is used when inscribing the rune. Thus the higher the runesmiths cultivation the heavier they can make the weapon.
Weight Reduction Rune - This rune works in the opposite way as the Weight Increase Rune.
Flame Rune - The Flame Rune makes the weapon heat up. The degree of the temperature increase depends on the amount of Qi inscribed into the rune. To make the weapon emit flames you would need to use the advanced version of this rune.
Frost Rune - This rune is the opposite of the Flame Rune.
Wind Rune - This rune increases the speed of the weapon. Exclusive to the Jin Family.
Qi Circulation Rune - This rune is quite special compared to the other basic runes. It allows a cultivator to channel Qi into the weapon and therefore increases the power of other runes inscribed onto said weapon. However it also has a lesser known effect. It can be used to activate dormant runes (runes that didn't have Qi injected into them during the inscribing process)
Explosion Rune - The Explosion Rune doesn't get used very often, because who would want a weapon that blows itself up?
Intermediate Runes:
Qi Blade Rune - This rune allows cultivators in the Qi Gathering Realm to form a Qi Blade around their weapon. Which can normally only be done when one reaches the Core Forging Realm.
Intermediate Flame Rune - The advanced version of the basic Flame Rune. Allows cultivators to emit flame from their weapon.
Intermediate Frost Rune - The advanced version of the Frost Rune. Allows cultivators to emit frost energy from their weapon.
Intermediate Wind Rune - The advanced version of the Wind Rune. Allows cultivators to emit wind blades from their weapon while further increasing the speed of the weapon.
Qi Storage Rune - Allows cultivators to store extra Qi in their weapons to be used during emergencies.
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Photos of the Monarch Winged Tiger Cub (Hand drawn by my sister) https://imgur.com/a/6HnM4gg