The Martial God Continent has been enjoying a relative peace for about a century. The last great war between the nations left them all wounded and strained, thus ensuring no one nation could gather up enough war potential to threaten the others and with the state of the continent being what it is, if any nation attacked another, the rest would take the chance to attack them while their military was engaged elsewhere. As such the somewhat fragile truce has been maintained for a long time.
Within this time of relative peace, The Rising Phoenix Kingdim has organized a grand martial arts tournament, inviting expert from the whole continent and beyond to participate with the price for the winner being a single item from the national treasure. The cause for this tournament happens to be the coming of age of the Crown Prince of the Kingdom. With his innate talents and Iron Level strength at the age of 16, he's considered a top talent within the kingdom. As such this tournament also doubles as way to locate a suitable and talented wife for the prince from among the many ladies of noble birth within the kingdom.
Setting: World of Heavenly Spirit, Martial God Continent, Rising Phoenix Kingdom.
Technology Level: Medieval level technology. No gunpowder, electricity or so on.
Starting Season: Autumn
Qi Cultivation: Most people can cultivate Qi to some extent.
This is a RP inspired by asian martial arts novels(Wuxia and the like) as such there isn't magic per say. It's the power of Qi. People cultivate Qi to ascend to new levels of beings. Cultivating Qi grants people increased physical prowess and the ability to manisfet supernatural phenomena such as fire and the like. Qi cultivation can be traced to counless different paths, each with different focus and abilities depending on the person. As one's power grows, more and more abilities are avaible to him, after a certain point even flying in the air is possible. All cultivators can be divided into 10 ranks, each of which has 10 levels. Starting from Mundane Realm which is the weakest to the Heavenly Realm which is the strongest. In the Martial God Continent the majority of people are in he Copper Realm and experts of the Legendary Realm and beyond are peerless existances which can easily topple kingdoms. Such experts are rarely born and raised in the Martial God Continent. They are often hailing from distant lands and other continents where the concentration of Qi in the air is greater so cultivation is easier there.
Once a person reaches Heavenly Realm, they've ascended into godhood. At that point they leave the Mortal World and move somewhere Beyond where they embark on a whole other journey. Still reached the Heavenly Realm is a feat few have ever acomplished in the long history of the world and they are forever remembered in the hearts of people. Powers of the Immortal Realm can be counted on the fingers on one hand. Sect Masters and Great Generals are usually of the Earth Realm. People of the Sky and Mystic Realms simply do not stay on the Martial God Continent.
0-9 Mundane Realm (0 means a person has no Qi cultivation and is a complete waste, weaker than the average.)
10-19 Copper Realm
20-29 Iron Realm
30-39 Silver Realm
40-49 Gold Realm
50-59 Legendary Realm
60-69 Earth Realm
70-79 Sky Realm
80-89 Mystic Realm
90-99 Immortal Realm
100 Heavenly Realm
Along the path of Martial Cultivation, there also exist the paths of Alchemy and Armaments Masters. Alchemy is the art of refining powerful pills and elixirs. The effects of those medicines are many and often near pricess in value. There are pills that increase cultivation speeds, pills to heal mortal wounds, ones to increase speed, clear the mind and many others. Similarly to cultivation, pills and elixirs are divided into 10 tiers. Tier 1 pills are useful for common maladies and small injuries usually. Their effects are small and weak. Tier 2 pills already can be considered proper medicines as they can be used to heal proper injuries and more serious sicknesses. From Tier 3 onwards pills grow increasingly powerful and ever so rare. A healing Tier 3 pill can heal a near mortal wound or boost a person's attributes. Tier 4 pills are already pills of legends as far as Martial God Continent is considered. A Tier 4 pill can easily safe a person life as long as there's even a tiny bit of life left in them. Tier 5 and up are pills that are nearly impossible to find in the Martial God Continent and are usually reserved as National Treasures for the countries.
The reason why pills and elixirs are so rare is because Alchemy cultivation is rare on the Martial God Continent and the Alchemists who are present do not exceed tier 4. The alchemist who can refine a tier 4 pills can be counted on one hand. Such individuals are powerful and with great many connections and as such offending such a master is usually equivalent to courting death, since many would do anything to have a master alchemist owe them a favor or to simply be in good terms with them.
Armaments are powerful artifacts forged and crafted with the power of Qi and inbued with powerful effects. The art of Armament crafting is as rare and difficult as that of Alchemy. The crafters are few and many a power would give all to be in good terms with them. They are slightly more common than alchemist as nearly all blacksmiths of jewerlers can be considered Armament masters be they of the lowest degree. A true Armament can possess unique skills, protect the user from great harm or even allow them to cheat death. Armaments can be ranked in 10 Tiers like alchemy with the highest present in the Martial God Continent being the 3 Ranked 5 Armament Masters. Their works are legendary and only the great powers can usually possess one.
Armaments can take a variety of forms from powerful weapons that cut through ordinary steel and stones to elegant jewelry that protects against poisons and many more. Generally it's commonly accepted that the more fancy the armament the better it is, but that's not always teh case. Some armaments need to be as simple looking as possible to ease the flow of Qi through them. A common practice for offended Armament masters is to add needless details on an Armement to make them drain a lot more Qi than needed and generally hinder their users.
Spirit Beasts are rare creatures. Originally animals who through some rare and unknown means gained sentience and the ability to cultivate. Legends state many different reasons, but no one know which is true. These creatures are powerful and generally exceed human cultivators of the same level. Their bodies are precious materials for all crafters though. Many parts can be used as ingredients for alchemy or precious materials for weapons and armor. Still they rare and shouldn't be underestimated. Most people go their whole lives without seeing one though.
Powers of the Martial God Continent
On the Martial God Continent there are currently four different Nations: Rising Phoneix Kingdom, Night Wolf Empire, Gentle Winter Kingdom and Dancing Dragon Empire. These are the four nations that survived and assimilated the countless smaller kingdoms that existed over a 1000 years ago. The four nations are in an uneasy peace right now with each waiting for the others to act first and bolstering their own forces in the meantime.
- Rising Phoenix Kingdom - This is the smallest of the four kingdoms, but also known as the second richest. It's located on the Eastern part of the continent and has a moderate climate. Harvests are good and the kingdom has plentiful farmlands to produce crops. It's armies are among the most feared from the four kingdoms and the citizens enjoy a relatevely safe lives. The current King is named Xiao Wu Chen
- Night Wolf Empire - The Ancient Empire of the Western part of the continent. The Night Wolf Empire is stretched across some of the most dense forest on the continent. They are filled with prey and the countless medicinal ingredients that can be gathered from the wild forests sell for high prices. It is a powerful stable kingdom and also known as the Richest among the four. Their armies are hailed as some of the greatest archers on the continent and their ablities to fight in forests is unmatched. The current ruler is the empress Wei Cao Xi
- Gentle Winter Kingdom - The Northern Kingdom of the Continent. The climate here is colder nearly all time of the year with only the southern parts having more moderate climate. Ancient snow covered forest stretch across this kingdom. While it's known as the poorest one of hte four, it's also probably the one which enjoyed most stability and security over the centuries. As the most Northern part of hte continent, it's harsh climate meant few people reached for it thus it suffered few wars in comparison to other kingdoms. People make a living by hunting, mining and fishing. Current Queen is Yun Yi Yi.
- Dancing Dragon Empire - Spans the Southern regions of the continent. It also houses the continent's only desert, which covers roughly a third of the Empire's domain. It's not known as the weathiest, but it is known as the biggest nation on the countinent. It's armies are known for their cavalry and sea fleet. Many ancient secrets lay burried underneath the sands of the great desert and many explorers come here to join the endless digging expeditions. Current Emperor is Tang Shin San.
Other powers on the continent consist of a number of sects and organisations which rivel in power and influence even the very nations that house them. They include the Medicine Hall, the Armaments Guild, the Crimson Brotherhood, the Black Market Guild and the Five Heavenly Beasts. Each of these organisations holds unprecedented amount of power and even the rulers of nations have to think twice before offending any one of them.
- Medicine Hall - Medicine Hall is an organisation of Alchemists and nearly all alchemists of hte continent are it's members. As such any major power tries to avoid offending them as if such thing was to happen counless experts would flock to provide them aid, not to mention if the supply of pills and elixirs is cut for their facton, it could mean their very end. The current Sect Master of the Medicine Hall is known as the Ghost Doctor. The Ghost Doctor is an elusive figure whom few have seen and as such even his appearance is unknown. He's a Tier 5 Alchemist
- Armaments guild - Is the organisation of skilled Armaments crafters. While there are more armaments crafters than alchemists in general, the members of this guild are fewer than the ones of the Medicine Hall since there are many who do not qualify to be a member. It's generally accepted that only crafters from Tier 3 or up can be members. The current Guild Master is known as Wu Fu, a Tier 5 Armament Crafter. His nickname is 'Divine Blacksmith'.
- Crimson Brotherhood - The Crimson Brotherhood is a guild of assassins. Little is known about their inner workings, but it is known that it's members are fanatically devout to the guild. Every assassin would suicide before being captured and their killer squads do not stop coming until the target is dead. As an organisation they are despised by all, but still are hired in secret. The current leader is known as the Xin Shei Shi, her name causes fear in the hearts of all.
- Black Market Auction - The Black Market Auction is an organisation which comes from outside of the Martial God Continent. As such they are known to house experts well beyond the average for the continent. It's not unusual for them to put in their auctions artifacts, pills and ingredients which simply do not exist on the Martial God Continent. They are well respected by all nations and have an auction branch in each capital city. The leader for the Martial Continent is known as Gu Te.
- Five Heavenly Beasts - While this can hardly be called an organization, the Five Heavely beasts are non the less powers that cannot be ignored by anyone. As the name suggest, they are not humans. The Five heavenly Beasts are spirit beasts who attained the highest level of cultivation over the ages and reached the Immortal Realm, granting them incredible powers. Each of these beings can call upon their kin which makes them powers that none dare to offend. They are known as: Winged Serpent Medusa, Spider King Chen, Monkey King Wu Kong, Fox Queen Yu Yue and their leader Heavenly Phoenix Reia.
