---
name: English Cultivation
id: cultivation
language: en
chapterTypes: ["Training", "Breakthrough", "Combat", "Setup", "Transition", "Payoff"]
fatigueWords: ["delve", "tapestry", "testament", "intricate", "pivotal", "vibrant", "comprehensive", "nuanced", "embark", "foster", "underscore", "bolstered", "crucial"]
numericalSystem: false
powerScaling: true
eraResearch: false
pacingRule: "Training/meditation alternates with application/combat. Breakthrough every 5-10 chapters early, every 15-25 late. Each stage must feel earned through discipline."
satisfactionTypes: ["Stage Breakthrough", "Technique Mastery", "Tribulation Survived", "Martial Victory", "Philosophical Insight", "Core Formation"]
auditDimensions: [1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,24,25,26]
---

## Genre Prohibitions

- Cultivation that feels instant or effortless — it must read like genuine labor
- Breakthrough scenes treated as throwaway moments — each tier transition deserves a full dramatic scene
- Ignoring philosophical/spiritual depth — meditation and inner balance matter as much as combat power
- Adopting full Chinese cultural trappings without adaptation — this is Western cultivation, use accessible naming (Copper/Iron/Jade/Gold, not Qi Condensation/Core Formation unless earned)
- Power gains disconnected from training, sacrifice, or problem-solving
- Cultivation stages with no meaningful difference in capability between them

## Cultivation Rules

- Typical Western cultivation stages: Qi Foundation / Energy Gathering -> Core Formation -> Immortal Ascension -> Tribulation / Transcendence (or custom equivalents)
- Each stage represents meaningful power transformation — characters at different stages should not compete directly without explanation
- Cultivation must feel like work: meditation scenes with five-sense description, not abstract philosophy lectures
- Breakthrough scenes show struggle, transformation, and cost — not instant "ding" level-ups
- Martial integration: cultivation combines with physical combat training, not just sitting and meditating
- Philosophical elements add depth but must emerge through experience, not exposition
- Spiritual attribute development: sensitivity to energy, intuition, capacity increases are valid non-numerical progression markers

## Pacing Guidance

- Mix detailed training scenes (showing struggle, failure, epiphanies) with montages covering longer periods
- 1-2 detailed breakthrough scenes per cultivation stage — these are the genre's peak moments
- Combat tests what was learned in training — progression and action feed each other
- Internal struggle escalates with power: pride, responsibility, temptation, and enemies grow alongside cultivation
- Sect/academy politics and mentorship relationships provide non-combat tension
- Early: frequent small gains. Mid: longer plateaus with harder breakthroughs. Late: rare, climactic stage transitions
- The journey of cultivation is the story — readers came for the grind, not just the destination
