Discussion How do some of these cultivation sects even function?

Discussion in 'Novel Discussion' started by bloobloo, May 3, 2020.

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  1. bloobloo

    bloobloo Active Member

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    I was reading a story recently where the MC joined a sect and was gonna go to the "secret realm". A badass Senior brother is gonna be the one leading them. So the dude shows up and makes every other student bow to him. MC ofc refuses and nearly gets killed. Sect master ends up saving him on a whim. This is a supposed "Righteous sect"

    They were all "It's not worth offending a genius for an outer sect disciple". I already know MC will get revenge yada yada.... My question is, why tf would anyone join such a sect? You can just wantonly slaughter anyone that bothers you? May as well take your chances out in the wild with the bandits or join one of the demon sects, lol.
     
  2. Delusion

    Delusion Dark lord

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    I guess it is mostly because the scriptures which allow one to progress in cultivation are provided in sects. Similarly, one can exchange points for resources in sects.
    Rogue cultivators, on the other hand, would neither have a stable resource supply and neither would they manage to achieve higher realms unless they are lucky or super geniuses.
     
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  3. yorozuyaginchan

    yorozuyaginchan Well-Known Member

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    Is it King of Gods novel?
     
  4. phucanhcr02

    phucanhcr02 Well-Known Member

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    I suggest you abandon that novel immediately.
    What you just tell is basically one of the many signs of a retarded author with zero common sense writing a repetitive piece of shite novel.
    If you want to know how a proper sect function, I suggest you read The Path toward Heaven.
     
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  5. eray.gns

    eray.gns Well-Known Member

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    It is just like in real life, isn't it? Without sufficient asskissing, it is hard to advance (unless you are MC).
     
  6. Macrendil Ysmir

    Macrendil Ysmir Well-Known Member

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    Sects offer a palce to get resources, skills and, if you're lucky, guidance from an expert. Joining prestigious sects will also give you more respect in the outside world along with a certain amount of protection. Butthere always seem to be opposing factions that will hunt down any and all members of other factions, so the "safety" is debatable.

    And of course, there's always the in-sect rivalries amongst students, infighting amongst elders and overall factionalism which usually is only present in a MC's sect, for "some obscure reason" (*cough: plot).
     
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  7. KimiKazoo

    KimiKazoo Well-Known Member

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    If you are reading a Chinese novel, "Righteous sects" are never completely righteous. It is that way across books, dramas, or comics. It is always used to drive the point that the good/bad in people are not depended upon their place of study.

    And mostly it is because of resources (manuals, teacher, pills, etc.etc)
     
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  8. animefan217

    animefan217 Well-Known Member

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    You meann how do these cultivation novel cities function.
     
  9. XiaoWenTian

    XiaoWenTian Well-Known Member

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    I have read the cultivation based story, where MC is the head of the Miaoyinmen sect. Apparently they owns business and are equal to corporation in modern world. They have a whole mountain as base that was being given by the First Female Emperor. The sect MC leads is the most prosperous sect, who only acccepts woman, so it's very novel, esp when in river and lakes gender doesn't matter, your strength matters.
     
  10. Kazza

    Kazza Well-Known Member

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    Can I ask what the name of the novel is? Seems interesting!
     
  11. Eternal Liar

    Eternal Liar [Forever Alone Sect Founder]

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    In cultivation novels, righteous sects are often bullshit. The only thing righteous about them is their cultivation method that doesn't requires human sacrifices or bloodshed. Otherwise they're no different fundamentally from demon sect. Sects usually adhere to a doctrine or belief, but in cultivation novels they're often just downgraded to cultivation organisation that blatantly protects their own interests and only appearing righteous for public appearances purposes.
     
  12. XiaoWenTian

    XiaoWenTian Well-Known Member

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    Master Sister Said I Don't Have to Marry
    师姐说她非我不娶
    FL is the strongest martial arts practitioner, MC is a rebirth martial arts "waste", who is naive and is deceived in the last life, causing her sect to be destroyed and later she was dead. After rebirth she tried to stick to fl as much as possible.
    It's GL the romance is just barely mentioned. FL is iceberg, MC is naive and super dense. The story is about MC finding her true worth (since MC knew she's a waste and think she's unworthy to be the head), finding out about mysteries of her sect, and unravel who the sect's traitor that betrayed her is.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2020
  13. Kazza

    Kazza Well-Known Member

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    Thanks! I'll check it out right away!
     
  14. Bachingchung

    Bachingchung Well-Known Member

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    It depends, if it has good relationship with the MC or MC's sect, then it's definitely on the red or in big trouble like a coup.

    If it's MC's enemy sect then they work efficiently and has sect elders and leaders that fully support their young generations.

    How do they function? They are basically pirates.
     
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  15. Bright_Lucky_Star

    Bright_Lucky_Star [Previously Known as OrdinaryUser] The Blessed One

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    +1

    This's true even for classic as Zhu Xian, righteous sect is created by men who also have flaws like greed, hipocracy and biased judgment(just like other human) they also tend to impose their sense of justice upon others. What difference them from demon sect is their sect maintain good reputation(at the least on surface) among common folks as protector from beast and demon sect who usually doesn't have restraint in pursuing of power(also doesn't have good reputation).
     
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  16. Draakon

    Draakon Well-Known Member

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    Sects at their establishment follow some philosophy. Which means they start as people who help each over and share things. Eventually sects will establish themself in the world and grow in size. When they grow in size, they become power that can dictate regions of Mortal World their rules or at least be in some relationship with mortal rulers. This way sects acquiring new resources. But when they grow that big, many people will want to join the sects not because of philosophy (althought it can play the role in choosing which sect to join) but because power, prestige and resources. Greedy people trying to go the path of immortal. And this people are real problem. Backstabbers. Traitors. Thieves. Robbers. Rapers.
    Despite the fact that such people are bound to have problems with inner demons in quite a number of settings, they are "good opposition" for generic xianxia/wuxia protagonist so they are somehow appear in positions of power in righteous sect that such MC joins. Probably by using that stolen resources.

    I like when difference between Orthodox/Righteous and Heretical/Evil/Demonic is not only in their methods of cultivation but also in approach to Dao of Heaven. In many settings, commiting sins will lead to inner demons and stronger tribulations, while good deeds lead to easier tribulations. Which lead to orthodox sects to commit good deeds and that way acquiring the title of Righteous. I think such approach to sect systems makes perfect sense.
    But there is also novels where is no real difference between the Orthodox and Heretical beside the cultivation methods. If somebody saved the village from Demonic Beast is only because they wanted demonic core or something from the villager. I think such stories have much weaker setting.
     
  17. SleepyFox

    SleepyFox Well-Known Member

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    On the contrary, I think this makes no sense. None of the characters in these novels are righteous, in fact the whole idea of righteousness is dumb. The characters, the sects, the countries, and the Heavens. They aren't righteous - they're self-righteous; which is a theme I love to see exploited by authors. The best example is Reverend Insanity. The MC showed that the only difference between the righteous orthodox sects and the evil demonic sects, is that the former maintained their 'good' image to control the populace, while the latter didn't give a toss and did what they want openly. Pretty much in every novel you'll find the MC fighting against numerous so-called orthodox sects that are responsible for countless atrocities.

    In many xianxia novels, the Heavens are cold and uncaring. It only cares about striking cultivators down that become a threat to it. All this about sins and stuff, why would the Heavens care? And inner demons - I really don't like when authors make inner demons out to be evil. Inner demons are like an obsession for a cultivator, something they can't free themselves from. It could be anything really, like an addiction to alcohol, a memory of a friend they left behind, an innocent person who died because they hesitated to save them... inner demons are like distractions on the path to immortality. So if a cultivator doesn't feel anything from sacrificing living children, then they wouldn't develop an inner demon from it.

    The whole argument for good and evil is dumb. It's only that black and white if you look at a single extremity - yes, it's a good deed to save a person, a bad deed to kill one. Then is it a good deed to save a murderer? A bad deed to kill one? Saving a person is good, but if you save a murderer who then kills a person… isn't that bad? But to kill the murderer, now, to someone else, you're the murderer :S

    An author that can write in grey is much better than one who can only write in two colours. Those MCs who do good deeds for their whatever righteousness are always super hypocritical. The characters are filled with plot holes, they're unrelatable, and incredibly simple, really 1 dimensional. And there's never any character development. All the trashy novels have these sorts of MCs.

    My eyes are hurting, I can't write anymore ;-;
     
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  18. Shio

    Shio Moderator Staff Member

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    You know, a certain famous academy for soldiers has pretty much the same rule in my place. People still scramble and even bribe to get in the academy tho.

    Seniority is pretty big there, much less in the cultivation world where relation lasts for decades.

    I am not defending those novels tho. It's a braindead novel, and asking for logic there is like wishing for a safe, peaceful internet. Just look for better cultivation novel, like World of Cultivation, My disciple died yet again, or Ascending, do not distrub
     
  19. hayd189

    hayd189 Active Member

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    I do think there is good and evil in these novels' logic,because it is based on a just world, thus the golden rule.

    You should always be refining, but not each other. That is line between good and evil. Thus the ridiculousness and hypocrisy.

    Theres no if in always, so it will never make sense.

    Like why dual cultivation is always given excuse for Mc, but always evil for villain.

    If you stop refining, you lose, gotta always be refining.
     
  20. SleepyFox

    SleepyFox Well-Known Member

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    Just want to point out there are two types of dual cultivation:

    The good kind is where both partners benefit from the cultivation. Usually the increase in cultivation speed isn't that drastic, and normally it's the person with weaker cultivation that benefits the most. It doesn't have to involve sex either.

    The bad kind generally involves what are called furnaces in these novels. The evil cultivator would kidnap a man or woman, then, through forced intercourse or something, would draw their victims' (furnaces') cultivation into themselves. The result is the evil cultivator gains a large increase in cultivation speed while the furnace sees an even larger reduction in theirs (actual cultivation level, not speed) + the trauma... and most likely death.