Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 47- The Bindings of Past and Future
Added 2026-02-10 15:00:15 +0000 UTCComments
Great comment and questions. I think the focus on a centralized power structure makes even more sense in a world with Uber powerful immortal beings. How do you get distributed power in governance when that power is not actually distributed? And the point Lin made to Tian - no system is sufficient to protect the powerless from predation of the powerful, except morals and integrity of those in power. In the monastery, the powerful increasingly only paid lip service to filial piety and the trust based system broke down. How merit plays into this and how "objective" merit is in the power system is an interesting variable relative to our world too. I think Tian could argue, if filial piety is foundationally important, why do I have so much merit in comparison to others who hold to it? Why not allow merit instead of piety to be the central factor in societal planning? I can see Elder Rui's point though. The powerful are still powerful and need to be factored into a real solution, and treating them with respect is important in that. Tian's railing against their mistreatment is just and sensible but is it possible to keep that and still move forward as a community? I don't think so - at least without your own might too reinforce it .
BaguaBrady
2026-02-11 13:56:49 +0000 UTCThank you Warby for another chance to delve into what has become one of my favorite musing hypotheticals: How would filial piety work in a world of cultivation of vast power differentials and longevity? Historical Confucianism was an attempt by intellectuals to get better government by persuading leaders to act as models and others to follow. The philosophy was then picked up in later regimes as justification for centralized power. The cultivation world here acts somewhat similarly. Elder Rui admits to Tian that for the Monastery (and society at large) filial piety and harmony are unsuccessful attempts to constrain the powerful through the soft power of face. Tian's experiences, closest relationships, and face slapping approach to discussion clearly demonstrate that, rather than being limited bu these concepts, the powerful instead appropriate and weaponize both hard and soft power against the powerless. Both Elder Rui and Tian see power spreading out from an overwhelmingly powerful apex (center) rather than more complexly along multiple vectors. Moreover both see this structure as rather fixed although they are focused on differing poles: Elder Rui on how to create at least neutral (or even beneficial) hierarchical structure (such as the Monastery or society) and Tian on how to protect the potential of the disparate and powerless from that hierarchy. Is there any aspect of filial piety that suggests a compassionate way through this incongruence? Most likely not, as conventional understandings of filial piety presuppose a centralized hierarchy built out of relationships between fixed juniors and seniors. It is possible, however, that longevity can be an opportunity as well as an obstacle. Perhaps the duties of filial piety could apply to all relationships in both horizontal and vertical vectors in a delayed and pay-it-forward reciprocal manner? One's filial role changes over time with the acquisition of experience and power. This is the transition that Tian and Liren and their cohort are currently undergoing. Very excited to see where they take that.
Felix Giron
2026-02-11 09:02:05 +0000 UTCBeautifully written.
Endgame
2026-02-11 05:01:08 +0000 UTCCome to read this again because I love this story., then had spend 20minutes trying to get freaking patron to accept my updated payment method due to CC expiring...I ended up having to unsubscribe, then subscribe again for it to actually allow me to change my payment method..still love the brain short circuit scene.
Len
2026-02-11 04:18:10 +0000 UTCIIUC Rui was implying that Wang's family abused him, likely sexually. It's a common atrocity, typically kept private. The interrogators didn't think to ask.
EvilLittleThing
2026-02-11 01:42:08 +0000 UTCI’m kind of confused what Elder Rui was referring to when he said, “Oh yes. If that was all it took to turn someone to heresy, wouldn’t there be heretics everywhere?” Is he saying being interrogated would be enough? The whole thing about how they could reasonably have blood feuds with the monastery? Or something else?
kapo
2026-02-11 01:35:58 +0000 UTCOn the contrary, I’d actually really like to see that little moment someday. A drunk mouth speaks sober thoughts, and with how well Fu guards his tongue, I’d really like to know what thoughts he was airing. Especially because I don’t think anything as simple as him mouthing off to three peers is really what happened.
Dexter Sinister
2026-02-11 00:40:49 +0000 UTCI don't know how to put this without sounding hyperbolic. I'm not a xianxia reader typically. I find the focus on amassing treasures and skills and power exhausting and frankly boring. When I began this story back in the dump with Tian and Grandpa I didn't think I would be sticking with it long. And yet today I can turn my mind's eye and trace the path up the mountain step by step with a kind of vivid recall that transports me back to each moment in the tale. When I see Liren and Tian together I remember Grandpa Jun in the forest next to the Dustless Lotus Pond crowing about how his grandson would have power to shame the gods and a harem to match. I think about Liren sneering at Tian's palm art and rope dart while they're surrounded by their senior siblings. I picture them in the little tent in the Wastes, angry and despairing. The cavern. The sky barge. Liren standing over Tian to defy the heavens themselves from taking him. The little boat on the green river. On and on, every step. When you describe the duty that elders have to their juniors and do entire chapters on sect politics I am thinking about the good Brothers of the West Town Temple bleeding out in the sand and Tian being devoured by a demonic bird and innocent mortals bleeding out in a cave for the mad ambition of a heretic. About a citizenry so desperate that they sacrifice children to appeal to Heaven. And I'm nodding right along with every word Tian and Su say like I myself have a personal stake in what the Ancient Crane Monastery becomes. I scroll to the comments after every chapter to see my fellow readers debating philosophy and politics and love and death like they are characters in the story themselves, and I realize I'm not alone in feeling like a part of the world being wrought here. It's a level of immersion I frankly did not think myself capable of. And this despite lacking many traditional story elements. There's no obvious antagonist. No concrete problem to overcome. It's unclear just where the story will go from here. And yet I'm hooked. Instead of a focus on cultivating power and skill, those things are secondary to the characters obtaining the compassion and wisdom needed to use them righteously. Remarkable. The story is the path, and if the dao that can be spoken is not the true dao, that apparently doesn't extend to writing it.
Sol
2026-02-10 23:12:51 +0000 UTCI knew Brother Fu wouldn’t have taken the news as lightly as it seemed after the servant trial. But damn it sucks to hear him like that
Immortal
2026-02-10 21:49:58 +0000 UTCI think that's exactly it.
Johan Persson
2026-02-10 21:40:14 +0000 UTCMany amusments were had by me think of the "Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future" quote here coupled with a bunch of phrasings on taking a sinners handshake
Veridescent
2026-02-10 20:10:45 +0000 UTCThe real secret of the caverns is that the Saintess eats the fate of people that fail. So if you want one or two to succeed, you need to send four or five. My guess is that if you send only the prodigies, she'd kill everybody. So most people are sent there as sacrifices to pave the way for the real rising stars. There's probably a lot of politicking about who gets sent there, with the backers sure that their kid will be the one to succeed and the others will be their sacrifice, and if things went differently it would be Tian getting screwed so Lin could succeed. But as things shaked out, she was sent there, failed and had her bright future sacrificed for Tian and Hong, and her family promptly sidelined her as a failure.
João Vene
2026-02-10 18:30:46 +0000 UTCWe don’t know what the inscription actually says, right? I don’t think Tian even looked. We were all kinda hoping it was along the lines of the-dao-that-can-be-spoken line that he tossed off when making the order, but I don’t think we know?
Matt DiMeo
2026-02-10 18:25:07 +0000 UTCIts easy to do filial piety when ur elders do right by you, its harder when not…
Sinfinite
2026-02-10 18:18:22 +0000 UTCDid you edit the line so that Tian is the one stretching down? Not Liren? Is this some kinda of tall Tian fanfic? Cause I'm here for it
Andrew Goebel
2026-02-10 18:17:34 +0000 UTCI don’t remember what happened to Sister Lin, other than being sidelined for failing at the caverns trial? *edit - which doesn’t seem like blood feud territory.
Matt DiMeo
2026-02-10 17:26:57 +0000 UTCOk, just read my own comment as a whole after posting it, and it can come off as a bit combative. I didn't mean it to. Please try not to bristle. It's a honest feedback, if a bit in need of revision. But the core is real and clear i hope. I was aiming for "blunt, but invested."
SlaveToMyWhims
2026-02-10 17:21:07 +0000 UTCWarby, we have to talk about The Beatles for a sec. You know that bit where Chuck Berry and John Lennon are conjuring music history by singing together? Then Yoko Ono bulls in with her distressed howler monkey noise, then a hero we don't deserve, a sound tech kills her microphone a sec later? Well, most of your writing is Chuck/John, but the modern phrasing, language and perspectives that taint your dialogues are Yoko Ono. It is more immersion breaking than seeing forearms during a sock puppet show. This particular chapter is better than fine, but some of the prior ones, especially with Liren-Tian dialogues read as if poorly done fan-fic of your actual work.
SlaveToMyWhims
2026-02-10 17:15:32 +0000 UTCAww no Revelation! but they KISSED WOO WOO,,, and i just laughed at that "i've been sitting here for 20 minutes comment by Rui...
Len
2026-02-10 16:52:58 +0000 UTCWarby out here making me contemplate existence, when all I really wanted to do was squee at the cute couple.
Together_Comic
2026-02-10 16:27:03 +0000 UTCIT’S BEAUTIFUL-*explodes*
SquiddlyWinks
2026-02-10 16:04:56 +0000 UTCLove this chapter so much. Also the subtle and continued references to the power of Tian's left hand.
G&S Gaming
2026-02-10 16:04:15 +0000 UTCPoor Fu took it hard, tried to Keep it together in front of his son but finding out his actions resulted in so much pain for Tian is a harsh blow. I hope he is feeling good enough to visit soon. He needs to see Tian and Hong together, to see that past horror has not eclipsed present hope and joy. That even though the darkess is great around him Tian has lit his tea-lamp of compassion, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Noroh
2026-02-10 16:00:15 +0000 UTC"Then she cupped his face in her hands, and asked him a question with her eyes. He smiled and stretched down." Can't post images, but pretend that this comment is the Kiss by Gustav Klimt.
William Johnson
2026-02-10 15:54:22 +0000 UTCPerformative humility. It's like the Way of the Brokie, except in response to the charcoal punishment. He's basically showing off that he understands the assignment (be humbled) and is doing it in a melodramatic way because he doesn't find it humilating.
EvilLittleThing
2026-02-10 15:37:55 +0000 UTCTftc!
James Faulkner
2026-02-10 15:31:55 +0000 UTCIt must be terrible. She's crying.
EvilLittleThing
2026-02-10 15:31:36 +0000 UTCWhats the deal with him not using the storage ring? Making his punishment visible rather than hiding it? Showing that he can live without the resources of the sect? Those are my two best guesses but neither seem right, i dont get what the significance is.
Gardor
2026-02-10 15:29:05 +0000 UTCJust wanted to share that I feel this chapter is a masterclass in writing. It could have ended easily with Tian and Liren's kiss and been satisfying, but instead we get this mix of colors that (in me) created an uncertainty of feeling, a hesitant receptivity and eventually, awe. The kiss -> Rui convo didn't turn the first part of the chapter into the setup for a suckerpunch (which other works do, sometimes well and more often crudely), but instead a meditation on the complexity of being human and vulnerable with ones emotions (IMO). So well done and muchly appreciated. Tftc!
Lady Merlin
2026-02-10 15:27:41 +0000 UTCThe ship has officially left the harbor! Huzzah!
Logrus
2026-02-10 15:27:36 +0000 UTCPoor Zihao, fucked up the engraving so bad that Liren started crying. Bless Liren's composure and humbleness as a senior sister that she still kissed him regardless.
Robert Mullins
2026-02-10 15:27:01 +0000 UTC"Don't make us sin again." Shivers, mate.
Desert Rainbow
2026-02-10 15:19:32 +0000 UTCWhen a culture strips dignity from those at the bottom of the social hierarchy it is doomed to be subsumed into another culture. When a society disenfranchises its professional class it is doomed to internal destruction. When both happen at once a new culture will form, and a new society will emerge that bears only a slight resemblance to that which came before. The giving of face is why the Han Chinese is the longest lasting culture in the entire world. It is also why every Chinese society ends in revolution, but stays the same culturally. When the bureaucrats take too much power and strip it from the children of those below them in the hierarchy a revolution comes within 2 generations. What I see going on is that the current culture of the sect uses the filial piety to strip social power from those that have real power, while no longer providing the dignity needed to those that don't have any power at all (the mortals). Without mutual respect there is no society, just thieves taking from those they no longer see as humans.
Thomas
2026-02-10 15:18:25 +0000 UTCThe conflict between individual virtue and societal virtue is a hell of a thing. Thanks for the chapter!
William Johnson
2026-02-10 15:17:56 +0000 UTCThis chapter delivers. It unfolds slowly, more than one steeping, but rich.
Steve Wright
2026-02-10 15:16:42 +0000 UTCI'll have to admit that the idea of filial piety makes me a little uncomfortable, on the basis I can not for the life of me trust older people to really know what is best for me or to act in my best interests. Or maybe it's the western upbringing and ideas of individuality that make it uncomfortable. This story has really put it in prospective for me. Thank you.
AJ flip master
2026-02-10 15:16:16 +0000 UTCElder immediately ruining tians high. Kiss girlfriend, debate the ethics of everyone you love being sent to die.
Muffin
2026-02-10 15:15:00 +0000 UTCOohhh kissykissy
semvh
2026-02-10 15:13:27 +0000 UTCThe ole Warby 1-2. Start with the sweet, finish with the heavy.
JTP
2026-02-10 15:12:23 +0000 UTC
