An Elder's Revolution - The Art of Sect Politics

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Honored by countless victories grasped and foes vanquished, Sect Elder Liu Wei is one of the most prominent figures of the Lunar Peaks Sect.

Known for his strict treatment of those below him and the harsh punishments he hands out to those who cross him, his name invokes both fear and awe to the sect's countless members, disciples and subordinates.

As a breakthrough leads him to ascend to the same level of cultivation as the sect's patriarch, he is well-positioned to further extend his power within the sect. Only, what should have been his greatest moment of triumph is instead one doubt and uncertainty: For the first time in his well over four-hundred year long journey of cultivaton, he has hit a complete roadblock, denying him any further steps on the way to immortality.

Without a family, any close friends or a particularly deep loyalty towards his sect, this leaves Liu Wei without a purpose to dedicate his efforts towards, even as the flame of ambition keeps burning in his chest. He now has no choice but to deeply contemplate what he wishes to do with the vast power he has spent his unfathomably long life accumulating.

As his contemplations lead him to rediscover a long discarded sense of compassion, a new goal beginns to form: bring as much justice and fairness into this ancient system of opression as his abilities afford him to.

Liu Wei shall walk on a path of defiance.

Quick overview of what you can expect from this story:

This is a story about Liu Wei, but it will be told from many perspectives. Giving the perspectives of several important side-characters room to breathe is my way of dealing with a main-character who is several centuries old and thus rather knowledgeable about the world and difficult to surprise. All of these characters have their own little stories and sub-plots that will be explored as the main story moves on.

As the title says, this novel will focus on sect politics. This includes detailed explorations of schemes, power-dynamics and the like. Action will be rather sparse, especially in the beginning. Most conflicts will need time to build up before ultimately erupting into violence. They will though, and when they do I hope the action will feel gratifying and consequential.

This story features power-progression in the form of cultivation. This includes the MC whowilleventually regain his ability to cultivate, if you're concerned about that. This progression is featured prominently as a motivation for many characters, but will not be the focus of the story itself. The MC is already at a very high level of cultivation and will thus take a long time to progress further.

The world-building is one of the things I love most about writing, as such you can expect it to be detailed and extensive. The supernatural elements and cultivation system(s) are built from the ground up with their own internal logic in a way that I hope makes sense. I try to stay rather grounded with them - we won't be encountering anyone throwing cities or splitting mountains for a long time (if ever).

Questions of morality and ethics are central to the plot of this novel and will thus be explored in adequate detail in the form of both internal reflection and debates. Of course this isn't a philosophic essay, so these sections will mostly remain relatively short.

The tone of this story is usually rather serious, but there are occasionaly slight satirical elements as it seeks to subvert expectations regarding common Xianxia tropes.

Updates three times a week,Wed/Fri/Sun.

Enjoy!

[participant in the Royal Road November 2024 Writathon challenge]

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Candis

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 2,219
Views: 906,194

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

0LIK5Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
As the title of my review suggests, this is by far the greatest story on the site that takes place with an older MC.
As someone who has had to deal with cut-throat politics in real life, I empathize with the characters on so many levels.
The characters are well thought out, even ones that do not appear often.
The MC is an interesting man, having power beyond many others, yet unable to find a purpose with said power? It’s a fascinating concept!
The lack of physical fighting and more focus on the combat you find in the business and political world gives a realistic edge to a fantasy story.
My one complaint has to be the world building, while some things are explained well enough, the distinct lack of, ‘invasive’ actions, for lack of a better word, leaves the story in a small corner of the world it’s built on. Nonetheless, I’m certainly glad I found this story, and I’m very eager to read more.
PeculiarCriticRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This novel is written very well and has a very unique twist on the cultivation novel genre. Instead of being a son of heaven, a demon, or a wandering immortal, the main character is an elder of a sect who due to a sudden happenstance, decides to work towards changing the sect for the better and all the politics that this choice causes. The politics (the story's real main character) are in depth enough to be realistic; the characters are given good background characteristics and consistency to show the 3-dimensionality of all the characters, the factions are simple yet complicated but with enough wiggle room to adapt to the setting and show depth for a holistic view of how and why the setting is the way it is.
ArzonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Warning: I am not good at writing reviews.
The story focus is politics so if you are looking for MC growth / face slapping like normal xianxia story. This is not for you.
All I can say:
"Please give this story a try."
(It may not be your cup of tea, but you may never know, you may find a gem here).
drandreasRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A good mix of cultivation and politics. Some info dumping has happened from time to time but I don't mind it too much in the webnovel format. Not a whole lot has happened yet but there is potential for a good long story here. Looking forward to more. Keep it up!
ChicotheguyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Great story, I love the well done politick-ing, as well as the change of pace to see a story that focus deeply on empathy and solidarity.
One of the constructive critiscims I could give the author is that it feels to me that the MC transformation from mean bastard to wise old man was too quick, too fast, but at the same time I understand that it is a necessity as a writter to write this way and not have an unlikable protagonist, as well as to set the plot in motion.
I would like, however, to see more of his past have an influence on his plans, more of the centuries he spent having an effect on him. Makes it more meaninfull to see him change. Maybe talking about how those who knew him feel about his abrupt change.
PreponderousWhimsyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Intelligent writing with brevity. A bit thin, but that is online with the pace.
Unfortunately reviews aren't granted the right to such brevity and I have to ramble somewhat further. Feel free to disregard this paragraph.
And it still wants me to speak more? Really?
What are you thinking royal road? Have a welter weight review category?
Gonetobed17Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I have to say this is a really interesting story and I enjoy the plot the author has chosen. It’s definitely been thought out before writing and the world building has been well done. Characters have strong foundations and look primed to be flushed out more as the story continues. Would definitely give it a read and really looking forward to the story continuing.
Krs88Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
An excellent story about a sect elder trying to improve his sect, after a bottleneck (temporarily) stopped his previous path.
It´s great if you like the political day to day things a sect-elder would do it seems almost "slice-of-life"-ish that way, and the character descriptions and motivations are great. There is also a bit of "Kingdom-building" going on with the Elder trying to improve a part of the sec that is basically a moneysink.
KwiqueRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
TL;DR - Good stuff, despite a few issues I have. None of those "flaws" are terribly significant story-wise or reader-experience-wise, so still getting high marks from me. I hope to write an Advanced Review at some point, but not today. (This makes my "TL;DR" notation mostly mean "Too Lazy; Didn't Rite.")
ARR62Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This story is well crafted. The world building is modelled after ancient China but it isn't ancient China. Sect's, pillar families, mortals all described well. The cultivation system is thoroughly explained and although there's no mention of dual cultivating, it's well done.
The characters are fascinating. From the Elder cultivators down, those we meet are wholly 3D and interesting. Whatbi like most about the main characters is that I can't predict their actions nearly as much as I usually can.
I actually detest stories that dwell on sect machinations but this story continues to beat that away with its ability to draw those into a larger context and engage my speculation on outcomes beyond the sect itself. At this point in the story, I've read up to the latest chapter as 11/11/24, I've no idea which elder, coalition, or family will be victorious or fail, and whether that's a momentary or final victory/defeat. It keeps me wanting more, which I love.
My only negative is grammar. The author admits they're not a native English speaker and it shows. While not a huge problem, and certainly tons better than some cultivation novels I've read through KU, there are times when I've no idea what the author meant. Be it word choice or sentence structure, I'm left baffled.
That aside, this is a highly enjoyable and engrossing story.