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The Unknown Arts 11: Useless (II)

She’d done it—she’d taken Ruyi’s hand! She’d been brave and done it and she was so proud of herself.

As she led Ruyi along, princess Song dearly hoped she was doing a good job hiding her nervousness. Every night in her diary she wrote a snippet about Ruyi. Some nights she wrote mo...

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The Unknown Arts 10: Useless (I)

A/N: Think I will start scheduling uploads at 12:30PM EST

//

She looked like any other peasant girl. Tattered tunic, trousers ratty but sewn neatly, with care. Rather plain-looking, Ruyi thought.

“Ah,” said Jin. “Mei—I… didn’t think you’d be here....

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The Unknown Arts 9: Unwind

Soon Gao let her start work on her own research.

Most of it was purely observational. For instance, Alchemists from the western Frostbite Peaks province had isolated an extract of frost dragon saliva. It was her job to stare at its energy patterns for hours and hours, for so long she starte...

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The Unknown Arts 8: Banquet (II)

At first Ruyi thought she’d hallucinated it.

Until she turned, and her last coherent thought vanished from her head.

“Who are you?” She croaked.

But in truth she didn’t need to ask who this was—she knew. Just look at her! This was what folk thought of...

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The Unknown Arts 7: Banquet

You knew when you entered the Emperor’s territory when you saw the flowers. Orchids, peonies, plum blossoms and lilies dotted hill after hill. The road to the palace was lined with the Emperor’s favorite: Cherry blossom trees. They were planted so their branches embraced, making a natural pin...

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The Unknown Arts 6: Thief

“We can’t have you going to the Banquet looking like this,” said Mother. “I won’t allow it.”

“What? Why?” Ruyi did a little turn before the full-length mirror. She had on a blue dress which had no tears or stains as far as she could tell. “It looks fine to me. Even Father ...

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The Unknown Arts 5: Early Years (V)

Ruyi took a written test and a practical test, and she was told she’d be mailed her results in a week.

In that time, a stranger came to visit.

It was Ruyi who answered the door. “Can I help you?”

“Rue?” whispered the stranger, removing her cap. “Is that you?”

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The Unknown Arts 4: Early Years (IV)

Ruyi knew in a vague way that Jin meant a lot to people. But he was always just Jin to her. They grew up together. It was hard to idolize someone when you’ve seen them wet themselves.

So she wasn’t prepared for the warzone she walked into.

A huddle of guards shepherded her to the ...

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Twinned Destinies 3: Early Years (III)

Ostium, Demon Lands

At the heart of the Demon Lord’s Palace there was a garden. Cherry blossom trees lined its pebbled paths. It was late spring and the trees were in full bloom, a festival of pink under a clear blue sky. The Lord stood there in perfect silence, watching ...

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Twinned Destinies 2: Early Years (II)

Father was true to his word.

A week later he brought the other four volumes of the Principles of Alchemy. By the time he returned, she’d long since finished them. He picked up a volume, flipped to a random page, and quizzed her on it—on Demon cores and their uses. She recited t...

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The Unknown Arts 1: Early Years (I)

Ruyi remembered when she first realized there was something wrong with her.

There were signs, early on. Every weekend the Yang household welcomed a parade of serious-looking people with big instruments and bigger coats. They would tell her to open her mouth, or press these painful cups on h...

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The Unknown Arts Prologue

A/N: I know I said two weeks but I'm impatient

This will be a slower burn compared to Speedrun; more serious tone too

//

Where the mighty White River met Jade Dragon City, it split into two streams. One stream hugged the city walls to the east, the other to the ...

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302. Epilogue [EXTENDED]

A/N:

you lot have successfully cyberbullied me into adding some more stuff >.>

//

2 years later, Dorian’s Estate, Zenith Realm

The restored Zenith realm floated above all others on an expanse of endless cottonball clouds. Two suns ...

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Thoughts on the last chapter?

EDIT: 

OK I HAVE EXTENDED IT-- POSTED

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302. Epilogue [OLD/ORIGINAL]

EXTENDED VERSION OF THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN POSTED 

//

2 years later, Dorian’s Estate, Zenith Realm

The restored Zenith realm floated above all others on an expanse of endless cottonball clouds. Two suns bathed the realm in...

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Next Story Idea

Deciding between a few ideas, but 80% sure this will be the one. More character-focused, slower paced series. Mix of trad fantasy and xianxia—setting will be largely trad fantasy inspired, with a lot of Xianxia in the magic system.

Title: The Unknown Arts

Te...

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301. Finale (VII)

Dorian could not stop smiling as he downed his healing elixirs. Houyi, you sly bastard!

For nearly four hours he sat there, letting his bones set back in place, his muscles bind together, skin and scale stitch until they were one unbroken hide.

Then he felt the call.

A ...

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300. Finale (VI)

Dorian barely had time to wrap Sun behind his wings when the blast struck.

It rammed him into a wall and sent him sliding to the floor in a smoking heap, huge swathes of skin burnt off.

“It’s over,” said Jez. “Listen.”

Silence reigned in the chamber. In the battlefield...

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299. Finale (V)

“Go in the Chamber and stay there,” breathed Dorian.

“Why?” said Sun.

“So you don’t get whiplash or worse. With how fast I’ll be moving, and how much collateral damage this’ll cause, cloaking will be fairly pointless! Don’t worry, you won’t be in there long.”

...

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298. Finale (IV)

The fourth floor was corridors leading corridors to corridors leading to corridors. Each corridors had doors upon doors upon doors. The floor, walls, ceiling were all made of this luminescent marble that looked the same everywhere. It was as though the whole thing were designed to make intruders ...

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297. Finale (III)

With the Blessing of Hecate, Sun’s cloaking had reached surreal levels; as they weaved between the crowds of soldiers, rushing blindly forth, eyes fixed ahead, not registering them in the slightest, it felt like they were but ghosts observing the real world. They had no maps, no real plan, even...

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Book 1 Kindle Unlimited + Audible Launch!

Hey everyone! I’m both excited and nervous to announce that Speedrunning the Multiverse Book 1 comes out today on Kindle Unlimited and 2023-07-19 13:54:46 +0000 UTC View Post

296. Finale (II)

Before the Battle…

“Hey, you’re still alive!” beamed Sun as Dorian pattered up beside her. “Good job!”

“Why, thank you.”

“Would you like a carrot?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Oh, good,” said Sun, relieved. She popped it into her...

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295. Finale (I)

It was wrong to take pleasure in the suffering of others. Even that of his enemies.

Jez knew this. And yet right and wrong were concepts which only existed in his new reality. A reality which had not yet come to pass.

And so he allowed himself this indulgence. He smi...

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294. The God of Time

The village was abandoned. No smoke left the chimneys. No trails marred the grounds; wild grasses ran free, and ivy had claimed the cobblestone houses for their own. It seemed fitting somehow.

He found his body at its center, slumped in a crater. It looked exactly as the statue had, except ...

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293. Speedrunning the Multiverse (II)

The Rainsong Canopies was a realm smothered in giant trees with leaves the size of lily pads. It rained constantly there, and the raindrops drummed out lively melodies against those great leaves day and night. It was humid year-round. Most folk here had at least one set of gills. Even the land-dw...

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292. Speedrunning the Multiverse (I)

Orynthia

Middle Realms

In Orynthia, everything floated. Gravity was not so much a law here as a helpful suggestion, often ignored. Most buildings were situated on floating islands; cities were merely islands clustered together, making a sort of giant ...

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291. The God of Alchemy (III)

“Huh. You’re not supposed to be here,” said Dorian. “It’s only been six hours! Last time it took that other mutant, what, a day and a half?”

Unsurprisingly, the chimera was not interested in what Dorian thought of its timing. It just attacked.

[Blessing of Hermes!]

H...

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290. The God of Alchemy (II)

This was not a smart idea.

It was the curse of monstrously powerful creatures the Multiverse over—their bodies failed them before their force did. So it was the case here.

Dorian blinked at the meat paste that had once been his hand. Fourth Form Torchdragons were as durable as you c...

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289. The God of Alchemy (I)

Eden — Upper Realms

There was a saying of Eden: a seed planted at midnight flowers at dawn.

In the Multiverse’s early aughts, Eden’s soils were sampled and carted off to other realms for analysis. Everyone wanted whatever secret ingredient made Eden’s crops gr...

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