First Fist
T.J. Reynolds
Once a soldier, now an outcast: Luca walks the path of a cultivator, seeking the Seventh Bridge to the Heavens. After every Elixir of Awakening fails to rouse his dormant core, exile forces him to gather allies, battle Mana Beasts, and ascend his core — while his Jackal Sect disciples advance along a goddess's path toward the Upper Spheres of ascension. A cultivation progression fantasy by T.J. Reynolds (author of The Guild Core).
Progression: Cultivation / core-ascension progression. Luca rouses a dormant core (Elixirs of Awakening), ascends his core by battling Mana Beasts, and climbs toward the Seventh Bridge to the Heavens; Book II adds sect progression (Jackal Sect expands, disciples Bodo and Talia advance along Leshra's goddess forms) and the Upper Spheres of ascension with evolving thresholds. Explicit realm/tier-style advancement ladder carried across both volumes.
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