Noble Aspirations

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Qing Yun

Qin Yun Mountains tower magnificently over the Central Plains. On the north side of the mountain flow a large rvier called Hong Chuan (洪川) and to the south, lies Yang Cheng Town (河阳城), an important town due to it's strategic geographic location. Qin Yun Mountains stretches consecutively for hundreds of miles long, filled with undulating ridges and peaks. There are seven high peaks that are often surrounded by clouds. On an normal day, the peaks would be hidden by these clouds. Qin Yun Mountains is famous for their dense forest, serene waterfalls, jagged cliffs, and rare wildlife.

More famous than these natural wonders is a religious sect located at the foot of these mountains called Qin Yun Sect. Qin Yun Sect has a long varied history. From its founding until now, Qin Yun Sect has been in existence for over two thousands years. It is one of the top tier sects in the world of good and evil today.

Legends say that the founder of the sect was a master practitioner in Jiang Hu (martial arts world) who spent half of his life disappointed and wandering aimlessly. At the age of 49, he traveled thru Qin Yun Mountains. Here, he saw how divine the mountains looks and felt. He felt that heaven have spiritually blessed this place. Immediately, he descended to the foot of the mountains. Feeling inspired, he trained in the Way of Tao. Not long after, he discovered an ancient, unnamed book within a secret cave. The book contained secret knowledge of profound magical and martial arts that were both incredibly wonderful and powerful. Blessed with this treasure, he focused his time to train from this ancient book. Twenty years quickly flew by, with minor improvements to his skills, he left the mountain. Weathering the ups and downs of Jiang Hu, although he did not dominate the world, he did establish himself a reputation as a hero. Returning to Qin Yun Mountains, he established a sect called Qin Yun Sect. The arts he learned from the ancient book was similar to the Way of Tao, so he set aside his mundane clothing, and started wearing the marking of a Taoist priest. He called himself Son of Qin Yun. Later disciples would proclaim him Qin Yun Saint. Qin Yun Saint lived to be a 167 years old. He accepted ten disciples. At his deathbed, he told them the following: "I have learned many magical arts during the latter half of my life. The skill that I am most proud of is Feng Shui. Qin Yun Mountains is a rare and blessed location, and will definitely allowed us to become a top tier force in the future. No matter what happen, my heirs must never give up these mountains ranges. Remember these words. Remember these words." The ten disciples firmly nodded their heads in agreement and promised him that they will follow his death wish. Content with their promises, Qin Yun Saint closed his eyes and died peacefully.

During the next one hundred years after Qin Yun Saint's death, instead of flourishing, Qin Yun Sect went thru a great decay. It is unknown if this was due to heaven's will or a lack of faith of the Qin Yun Sect's disciples, but Qin Yun Sect encountered one misfortunes after another. Of the ten disciples that Qin Yun Saint accepted, two died early; four died trying to make a reputation for themselves within Jiang Hu; one became disabled, and one went missing. Only two out of 10 disciples survived.

The misfortunes continue during the next fifty years, when, within a hundred miles surrounding Qin Yun Sect, a massive earthquake hit causing terrible flooding; thereby killing countless people within the Sect. Those who survived these catastrophes were mostly untalented and did not do Qin Yun Saint any justice to his reputation. To rub salt into the wounds, enemies attacked and demanded their sacred book. If it was not for the magical weapons that Qin Yun Saint left for his heirs, Qin Yun Sect would not have survived these catastrophes. These misfortunes continue for another 400 years. Qin Yun Sect did not prosper at all, but continue their downward decline. It could be said that Qin Yun Sect was on its last leg. Qin Yun Sect was only able to retain one out of the seven peaks, Tong Tian Peak (Sky Peak). The other six was taken by enemies and was used as a base to attack, loot, and harass Qin Yun Sect and the surrounding areas with no one to put a stop to them. Observers from other sects who did not understand the situation were merciless in their comments about Qin Yun Sect misfortunes, accusing them of falling to the Evil path and were in cohoots with the bandits.. Qin Yun Sect's disciples try to explain the situation and kill the enemies, but they lacked the skills to do either. Reflecting back, this was indeed a dark period within Qin Yun Sect's history.