Entry 1: Humdrum Days, Empty Nights
Day 14 of the 16th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar
The dust stings my throat, just like the monotony. Another day of hauling grain sacks and dodging the merchant's greasy hands. I earn just enough to keep Ma fed, and little Qinny with her laughter, clothed. Every night, I come home to their bright smiles, and the small warmth of their presence chases the chill away. I dream of a day where my hands won't be calloused, where they'll be soft and I can give them more, so much more. I work hard, I must.
Entry 2: The World Turned Upside Down
Night of the 20th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar
The stench of iron still clings to me, even after scrubbing. It's thicker than the smoke that choked the air this evening. I came home, expecting Ma’s stew and Qinny’s teasing. What I found… what I found was… I don't even have words. Ma… Qinny… gone. Lifeless. Their eyes were wide, frozen in terror. The bandits, they were here, the ones the caravan warned about. There was no one to help. Just me. Just me, left with everything and nothing. I scream. I shake. Then… I feel nothing. Just… a hollowness that I fear will swallow me whole.
Entry 3: Thirty Years of Dust
Day 1 of the 50th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar
Thirty years. Thirty years of saving every copper, every grain. I’ve sold everything—Ma’s carefully embroidered silk, Qinny’s favorite wooden doll, everything that held even a sliver of that past life. All of it, to get inside the Xuanwu Sect’s gates. I’m told I’m too old. Too slow. That a mortal body like mine is years, decades past its prime. The elder who took my gold sneered, but the gold was accepted. My family died for me to be here. I will do something with this chance.
Entry 4: The Chilling Truth
Night of the 50th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar
I've started my cultivation training. I can barely feel the qi flow. It’s slow. Frustratingly slow. The other disciples, younger, more talented, move with a speed and ease that eludes me. Time, I’ve realized, is my greatest enemy. I cannot wait. I will not spend decades growing strong. The paths of cultivators are tedious, wasteful. My goal is not strength for strength's sake. My goal is to destroy those who took my family. That requires… a different approach. I will be cold and calculating. I won't waste energy on anything that doesn’t further the path of revenge.
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Entry 5: Shadows in the Light
Day 427 of the 51st Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar
The sect has gifted me knowledge, but it is knowledge to be twisted and reformed. I will not walk the path of a righteous cultivator. The bandits came from the outer villages. They’ve grown fat on plundering, bolstered by their weak cultivation. They think they’re invincible. Information is key. I'm no cultivator yet, but I am still the mortal kid who worked the markets. I know how to gather intel. How to blend into crowds. Poison, I’ve discovered, is a potent tool, even against qi users if the dosage is right. And acting, well, that will be my greatest weapon. Tonight, the poison I crafted finally got the bandit leader who had the scar. The one who was there. That will not be the end.
Entry 6: A New Path, Forged in Blood
Day 515 of the 52nd Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar
The Xuanwu Sect practices the ‘Way of the Stone’, focusing on slow, deliberate cultivation. I've learned what I need from them. Their methods are too slow for my purpose. I’ve begun formulating a cultivation method of my own. One that is quick, that focuses on inner strength, and harnesses the will. It is dangerous. But it will be powerful. My body aches. My mind is stretched thin. But I will not stop.
Entry 7: The Endless Road
Day 1 of the 60th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar
I've left the Xuanwu Sect. They offered me a position of prestige. I turned it down. My path is not on their mountains. I must travel, find resources, push my limits. The path of my own cultivation is not easy. I’ve tasted the bitterness of failure and the fleeting joy of discovery. I need more than what is at the feet of the Sect. The world is vast. It holds treasures both monstrous and magical. I will claim them. I will grow stronger.
Entry 8 & Onward: Fragments of the Journey
(These entries are sparse, often just dates and notes, reflecting the single-minded focus of the individual as he cultivates. They become more and more esoteric. Locations, names of herbs, descriptions of battles, and mentions of breakthroughs are the sole content – a relentless push forward.)
Day 45 of the 62nd Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar - Jade Dragon Caves. Found the Blood Lotus. Dangerous. Fought a three-headed viper.
Day 112 of the 65th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar - The Northern Desert. A sandstorm nearly consumed me. Nearly. Made a breakthrough in refining my Dantian.
Day 1 of the 70th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar – The Whispering Mountain. The ancient tomb of the Silent King. A wealth of knowledge and qi. Finally understood the third layer of my technique.
Day 3 of the 80th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar – Found a remnant of ancient battlefield. A fragment of a broken weapon that resonates with my cultivation.
Day 18 of the 90th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar – Finally… my Qi flows like a river, no… a raging torrent. I feel the fabric of this world beginning to bend beneath my will.
Day 1 of the 100th Year of the Azure Phoenix Calendar – The Void calls. I broke through the last bottleneck. The chains are finally gone. Nothing holds me here anymore.
Final Entry
The world is small now. The stars beckon. Goodbye.
