WarbyPicus

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 23- A Yin Man

“We can start with the obvious- we must cross the river to progress. The river is covered with an explosive haze that condenses approximately six feet above the surface, while the ‘water’ is tiny snakes that explode with clinging, poisonous fire if removed from the river. Or possibly if they are disturbed at all.” Su began dissecting the...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 22- A Study of Yang and Families

“This is not my fire. This is not the kind of yang qi I want.”

The fire poison was a vile thing, viscus, leaving a residue of itself wherever it passed that would grow and spread until it had reduced a human body into a seed bed of poison flames. If fire could be hungry, it was a hungry fire. If fire could be cruel, it was a c...

I May Have a Problem. A Tea Problem.

Prior to writing Sky Pride, I wasn't a tea guy. I now have a whole tea brewing setup next to my desk. Currently got some white tea in the jar, but I have a regional sampler selection of raw Pu'Erh teas on order because that is a very normal thing to...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 21- Stone Forest

Tian’s first move was the product of years of careful, expert training, built on top of a couple of months running through the jungle. It might, to the uneducated eye, have looked like wild flailing. Nevertheless, he was prepared to argue that it was really very tactical and sophisticated, especially since flaming monkeys jumping at your face ...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 20- Fire and Water

Brother Fu’s bamboo raft looked exactly like the ones Tian remembered from the Agate River- a single layer of thick bamboo poles, bound with cross sections of bamboo at the front and rear. The tips of the raft were tilted up slightly, and that was about that. He could imagine a cormorant fisherman with bare feet and short linen trousers pollin...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 19- Falling Towards The Valley

“Physically, you are in decent condition. Your mentality seems strong, and your meridians are as they should be. The lower and upper dantian are working properly, and while your organs are out of balance, you aren’t at risk of sudden collapse. So long as you remain reasonably calm, nourish your yang with external means and strenuously avoid ...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 18- The Irascible Sister Lin

“How?” Liren demanded.

“Check the elemental flow going through your legs and your feet. It’s a powerful light body skill, so your weight is really nothing much. The hard thing is balance. Which explains why the manual puts so much emphasis on muscular control, I guess. You really don’t want to make any thoughtless moves, or you w...

Vol. 5 Chapter 17- A New Way of Fighting

Tian let the dart slide from his sleeve. It still felt utterly amazing to use, but there were people around so he controlled his reaction. He let it hang just off the ground, then gave it a light kick. The heavy head swung forward and up, and Tian flowed with it. The moves weren’t explosive, and lacked the spearlike, thrusting quality of his u...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 16- Gathering the Young Experts

Tian looked at Sister Su, trying to figure out if he had heard what he thought he heard. She sipped her tea, and made a minute nod of approval. It seemed he had met her expectations. Tian glanced at Liren, who nodded casually.

“Not like it’s a secret or anything,” She said.

“Wasn’t it? Sealed trial ground, ancient and preci...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 15- Struggling Mountain Folk

Tian looked enlightened. He slowly nodded, stroked his chin with a small smile, then went back to his breakfast of chicken and chillies paired with glutenous rice. He drank his particularly fiery red tea with a quiet satisfaction, though the tea didn’t suit the food at all. He couldn’t complain about the pairing. He needed a heavy-yang diet....

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 14- Making Do With What You Have

It wasn’t too hard to sort everything out. Tian’s heart dantian was damaged, which meant the fire qi and yang qi in his body was dangerously low. Tian was relying on his wood aspected vital energy to keep himself alive. It was the most yang energy he had in any real quantity, even if it was considered minor yang compared to fire’s major ya...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 13- Moon Crossing the Lake

Three months into his convalescence, he was visited by Brother Fu and a stressed looking senior who practically screamed “Overworked Scholar” with every move. He was introduced as Librarian Yan, one of their few remaining experts on archaic script. Liren was in the room with him, painting quietly as he read his medical books.

“The ma...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 12- Digesting Gains and Losses

The hospital stay was originally supposed to be for a week, but was extended another week, then extended again for a month, minimum, and he was told not to fixate on his release date. He should just focus on getting well. His body eventually stabilized, but he was still terribly prone to catching cold phase diseases. Tian thought there was a cru...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 11- Dragon and Tiger Contending

“Quite a special find. Well done, both of you. A spirit nurturing mountain, a wood-fire qi dragon and a metal-earth qi tiger, both properly raised and kept well balanced by the mountain. And each other, obviously.” Elder Duan stroked his long black mustache. Tian wasn’t particularly familiar with him, but he was apparently the one to ask a...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 10- The Use of a Sect

Tian and Hong spent a couple of days not-quite-bedridden. It was very easy to take things very easy, and they had plenty of medicine. Their body cultivation sped up the healing process, but broken bones were broken bones- not quickly mended. They had plenty to keep occupied with.

“I think this symbol means ‘argument.’” Tian guessed...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 9- Some Reward

The tea did, in fact, survive. For most of the brief battle, Suneater had confined himself to brainpower attacks. Tian’s tea set had survived too, except for the murdered cup. His tea pets… Tian had to admit, they did look more lively after they had been fed the ancient’s tea. The phoenix looked glossy, almost ready to start preening. He w...

Winter Holidays won't change the posting schedule and a continuity thing that's going to be a bastard to fix

TL:DR- What the title says. Also this cold is persistant as hell and screwing with my sleep. But mostly the title. And it's no longer the five directions palace but the eight directions palace.

Slightly longer version- I had my vacation, I have a stockpile of chapters, and even though this damned cold is screwing with my writing speed/sche...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 8- Bitten By a Ghost

Liren didn’t wait, lashing out with the blunt end of her spear to smash Suneater’s skull. An invisible hand flicked it away.

“Not even a trace of qi. Pure vital energy. This is pathetic.” Suneater laughed. “Let’s see-”

Tian didn’t wait either, the rope dart came snaking in from the side, going for Suneater’...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 7- A Tea Failure

Tian and Hong made their way down the rough stone path into the hill. The grey stone was rimmed with green. Moss, growing thick from the damp, made little forests next to lakes of lichen and the occasional rising mountain of stone. Tiny landscapes, scattered like a thousand fractured worlds across the cave. The only light came from the hole lead...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 6- How to Climb a Magic Mountain

Tian, Hong and the crane set off from the Monastery proper, loaded with every sort of useful thing their limited budget could buy. It wasn’t all that much. The Monastery had never bothered stockpiling mortal or earthly goods. When Tian asked about who did the laundry, he got a rather pointed look and the Martial Aunt he asked snapped her finge...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 5- A Home That Trains Your Heart

Tian and Hong jumped down the mountainside. Navigating Ancient Crane Mountain had become an interesting challenge for the forcibly sequestered daoists. The Monastery had never been designed for use by anyone below the Heavenly Realm. One of the signature abilities of the Heavenly Realm was flight. It led to certain efficiencies and design choice...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 4- Awkward Farewell

Tian and Liren weren’t the only two who had been growing. The Sky Grace Crane had been slowly transforming since they came to the mountain. 

“Assuming transformation is the right word for becoming more of yourself, but better.”

Tian sat on the back of the crane with Liren. The crane used to need a week between tra...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 3- Proof of Growth

Tian groaned. “I didn’t think everyone knew about that.”

Sister Sia laughed, covering her mouth with her fair hand. “It’s a small monastery these days. The “secret prize” for winning the Earth Realm Tournament wasn’t much of a secret for very long.”

“Still though.” Tian grumbled. He had never liked being watched...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 2- Real Boxing

A week passed since the tournament ended, but the martial square was being used for boxing once again. One cultivator was tall, muscular, manly and valorous, the other short, athletic, and leaning more towards pretty than rugged. Fast steps stirred the sand as slim white palms struck out; the right hand fluttering upwards towards his opponent’...

Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chap. 1- King of a Short Hill

A slim white hand gently guided a heavy fist off to one side, fouling the axe blow chasing behind it. The axe wielder’s situation was made even worse when a heavy, if petite, foot smacked into their calf. The sudden loss of support saw the axe man falling forward, bringing the point of his chin into a rising palm, twisting his head hard to the...

What I am reading, Part 2 and the Return of Sky Pride

TL:DR, oof. Necessary break, very necessary, but I am bad at this kind of rest. Vol. 5 starts on Monday, 10 am Eastern US time.

Longer answer:

I... have a cold. Not a very severe one, but it's here. Fortunately, I have started r...

What I Am Reading, Pt. 1

So after four days away from my usual schedule, I feel the anxiety of not writing creeping up on me. Still, the enforced stillness is good, because it makes me reflect on what I have written so far. I already see some major changes that need to be made to Vol. 5, moments that I knew felt wrong when I wrote them, but I can now see why th...

Werewolf Nonsense [Not Sky Pride Related]

Those of you who have been around for a while might remember that poll I ran about what kind of book I should write next. Sky Pride is what eventually came out of that, so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. But 'Classic Xianxia' was the second place finisher. First place was a parody werewolf romance novel, which admitted was added to the ...