In case you’ve forgotten, future self, this is the first time I make a collection of notes like this. Having perfect memory doesn’t mean I have perfect organization. It’s helpful to write things up like this, at least. I hope you keep this up. But you probably think I’m an idiot. I certainly often consider my past selves to be idiots.

Anyway, about cultivation.

It’s pretty standard from most of the stories I’ve read. There’s qi in the world, you pull it in, store it in your dantian and move it through your body’s meridians. You can release it through them to form techniques. There are many affinities, and I haven’t figured out how they form, but no one has.

Most people I’ve talked to number the stages, but there are many different ways to refer to them. Including a standardized color scheme, translated the Imperial Cultivation Stage Indicator System (ICSI, I guess. Acronyms, I haven’t missed you.) Pretty sure there’s a pun, but I haven’t figured out what.

Stages are sub-divided into early, middle and late parts. Peak is the end of late. I don’t know why they have a different name for it. Half-step means between two stages. I don’t think that’s common. And seriously, what’s up with their naming? You take a step onto a stage? Ugh. At least they’re generally called stages and not “realms”. Although I’ve read that term too. Really, it’s a stage of cultivation, why so pretentious? Okay, back on topic now.

The first stage, green, is the foundation. The qi basically makes you a little stronger and healthier than you’d otherwise be. No real techniques yet. This is when you form your core, at the transition to the second stage.

Interesting sidenote: It appears to be possible to cultivate further without a core than is commonly done. Apparently, their ancestors did. Makes me wonder how they developed dantians and the usual cultivation methods. Maybe I can study coreless cultivation at some point.

The second or yellow stage has a newly-formed core. Most people reach this stage sooner or later, even if they don’t focus on cultivation. They’re at the peak of what normal humans could achieve physically, a match for Olympic-level athletes. They also know some magic tricks. Since everyone can use qi, almost all technology relies on it, the user expending a bit of their qi to operate it. That’s obviously easier for the second stage than the first. Plus, they have slightly increased lifespans and general health.

The third stage (orange) is when I’d consider someone to be an actual mage. Supernatural strength and speed, qi techniques, the works. They’ve stabilized their cores.

In this world, people don’t really cultivate their bodies separately, it goes along with the rest of the cultivation. Some focus on it more than others. But everyone pushes qi into their bodies to enhance them, especially during breakthroughs. Ergo supernatural capabilities and senses. Even more if they actually cycle qi into the respective extremities or organs.

Fourth stage, or blue, is when you get your “domain”. That can take different forms. Some internalize it and basically strengthen their bodies further, your typical melee types. Some focus more on ranged attacks. The domain gets strengthened in later stages, but the basic characteristics don’t change.

Fifth stage, purple, is pretty transitionary from what I can tell. There might be more to it, though I haven’t found much. But while everyone knows you get your domain at the fourth stage, specialties of the later stages aren’t common knowledge. Stupid world and their hoarding of ‘secret knowledge’. No wonder most of the science I’ve read comes from the clan’s transmigrators. They need a good enlightenment. Well, it’s on my to-do list. Somewhere.

Sixth stage, cyan. These people are real powerhouses. Their physical abilities jump up a lot, as well as their qi quantity. They’re a country’s elites, and this is when anyone really starts to have political influence.

The seventh stage is red. Apparently, they get a boost to their mental strength or something. I’m sure there’s more to it, but information is hard to find. Against normals or low-level cultivators, these people can vanquish armies on their own. If you can recruit them. Most sect heads, important nobles and the like are here.

The eighth, the black stage. The best of the best. They’re basically weapons of mass destruction, and rarely seen on the battlefield. They’re just too destructive. If two or more of them fight, the surrounding areas have good chances of turning into a wasteland. I wonder if there’s an equivalent to the concept of ‘mutually assured destruction’ in this world. They aren’t easy to control, either, since they have a ton of status and usually influence. Their lifespan stretches into the thousands.

In the Empire, there are less than a hundred registered eighth stagers. That’s not just one in a million, but considerably less. Daunting, really. I guess it’s some consolation that high-level geniuses are almost as rare, and there’s a lot of overlap.

The white stage(?): I’ve only gotten some hints. Not even sure if it actually exists, or is just a metaphor. If it does, I gather this is “ascended to another plane of existence” territory. I really need to learn more! If there’s a way to gain immortality, I need to at least get close enough to evaluate if I want to take it. But I guess I need to be patient. I’ll ask Mother when I have a good opportunity. If anyone can tell me something substantial, it’s her.

Well, that’s it. Something I keep wondering: how much does this systematization follow the course of cultivation and how much does that conception build it? Are there different paths, different steps to reach the same or similar power levels? For example, do people only build a core in the first transition and get their domain in the fourth stage because that’s how they’re taught? I can look at foreign cultivation methods, and will, but that’s not conclusive, since they might be closely related. Well, I suppose I have more practical concerns to worry about. Next, history.