Welcome one and all to the planet of Terra. I am your host (and author) Daoist Weirdgod. Before we jumped right in, I figured I'd help you out with some important things to note.
First, and probably most important, is that while i classified this as a wuxia novel, i am American, so i do also draw from western fantasy also. That being said, while i love Chinese turns-of-phrase, if i use them wrong or miss the meaning please let me know. ( im editing this myself so grammer and spelling help will be appreciated)
And now for some novel terms to get you started:
Arms- weapons (grades 1-9, 5 tiers)
Arms are the weapons of war. They all have a tier, and within that tier they are graded with 9 being highest grade. The tiers are Common, Rare, Premier, Legendary, and Divine. Arms also have the chance to develop a soul. Arms with souls have their own personality and perception, granting them the ability to cultivate independently of their wielder, granting the weapon strength beyond its grade. This independence, has draw backs, as Soularms can choose to reject their wielder or even control them.
Realms- power levels ( ranks 1-9, 9 tiers)
Hey... its wuxia. of course they cultivate. Like arms, (and every other thing i grade) 9 is the highest rank before advancement. (perhaps...) The tiers of cultivators are Fighter, Warrior, Great Warrior, Grand Warrior, Warlord, Battle King(or King), Emperor, Daolord, and Supreme.
(quick realm notes) early stages
Fighter: focus - strengthen the body` and sense battle qi (strength- slightly stronger than an average person. Higher ranks approach level of an Olympic athlete)
Warrior: focus - temper the body and sense elemental qi (strength- at least Olympic level, world-class boxer, etc. Each rank up provides at most 2 times the power of the previous rank. At this level, battle qi can be used to fight by coating the body or arm to increase durability, power, sharpness, etc.)
Great warrior: focus - purify the body with elemental qi (strength - super human. At this stage, cultivators can manipulate qi in the world via their battle ki to attack long range. They also attune
themselves toward a particular element (or elements)
Art- techniques (5 grades,8 tiers, 7 masterys)
Arts are the primary way fighting besides just swinging a sword around. There are only 8 tiers to Arts as Fighters cannot create Arts. Arts are titled by the level of the user( ie Warrior Art or a Battle King art). The power of an Art is based off tier of the creator, the creator's comprehension which determines the grade(low, mid, high, peak, supreme), and the mastery level of the user(entry, beginner, intermediate, master, grandmaster, arcane, origin). The greater the difference between the creator and art created, the higher the class of the art. A Great warrior would struggle to make a barely mid grade Warrior Art while an Emperor can create a peak grade Warrior Art on the toilet.
Well that's all for now. I'm sure I'll add more as the story dictates and everything will be explained when its needed.
Enjoy.