History BewareOfChicken / TropesAToF

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: A lot of cultivators are heroes in the classical sense, in that the only qualifier is martial expertise. They'd commit genocide if they felt slighted enough, such as Elder Song of the Soaring Heaven's Isle Sect, who utterly obliterated a tribe of people for killing her dog companion.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: A lot of cultivators are heroes in the classical sense, in that the only qualifier is that they have martial expertise. They'd commit genocide if they felt slighted enough, such as Elder Song of the Soaring Heaven's Isle Sect, who utterly obliterated a tribe of people for killing her dog companion.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: A lot of cultivators are heroes in the classical sense, in that the only qualifier is that they kill monsters. They'd commit genocide if they felt slighted enough, such as Elder Song of the Soaring Heaven's Isle Sect, who utterly obliterated a tribe of people for killing her dog companion.

** Many people, upon seeing Jin and Xiulan together, assume that the latter is the former's wife. Jin had just stopped correcting assumptions so as to divert attention away from Xiulan.

* {{Callback}}:

* DestructoNookie: Gou Ren makes the mistake of reading his fiance's letter aloud. He cuts himself off partway through her declaring her intent to shatter their bedframe on her return -- but it's too late, Meiling is already there and snatching it so she can read the rest.

* FourthDateMarriage: Jin and Meiling have only known each other for five days before her best friend is teasing her about when they're getting married, her father gives her his blessing if it's what she wants, and Jin himself is privately making plans. They only meet a handful more times before they're engaged. It's normal in the local culture, though.

** Jin's first interaction with Meiling involved him throwing her into a mud pit, after which they started courting and eventually married. After [[spoiler:Bi De and Ri Zu have a RelationshipUpgrade after gaining their human forms]], he tells her he'll throw her into a mud pit when he gets the chance.

* AppealToForce: The Shrouded Mountain junior disciples really don't want to pick a fight with Jin, because they can tell he would flatten them all, but if their conflict gets political, then the full sect would feel obligated to get involved, and would be capable of annihilating any resistance in the Azure Hills. [[spoiler:Until Jin produces evidence that he's backed by the Cloudy Sword sect, which is a ''far'' bigger fish than the Shrouded Mountain, giving them ample excuse to [[KnowWhenToFoldEm humbly and apologetically back down]].]]

* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:Zang Zengsheng kills his older brother Zang Yong, along with his former lover Su Nezuha, just when it seems like they might come to an accord.]]

** When the Cloudy Sword Elder hears of how Jin was treated, he's pissed enough to call up the entire sect and deal brutal beatdowns upon those who engaged in Young Master-style antics against their juniors, telling them he'll be "trading pointers" with them with the same respect and diligence they gave their victims.

** Jin has no idea that all his time investing qi in his farm has acted as highly effective training; his last reference point for his own strength was when he was part of the Cloudy Sword sect, where he was quite mediocre. Moreover, he doesn't realize how weak the sects of the Azure Hills are compared to the average cultivator sect, nor that Cloudy Sword is considered one of the most powerful sects in the world, so even his comparatively weak starting point is still quite high. When enemies flee from him in terror, break their fingers hitting him, or immediately submit to his every whim, he just assumes that they were quite weak.

* FateWorseThanDeath: The first time Ri Zu is able to talk with a sect doctor, he tells her that she ought to place more emphasis on saving someone's cultivation than their life. She tries to protest that as long as someone lives, they can rebuild and try again, but he explains that in practice, that doesn't work.
--> '''Lishu:''' The world is not so kind. Weakness is preyed upon. I have seen it far, far too many times. I have seen the strongest of experts beg for death, when they learn how far they have fallen. I have seen the joy in their enemy’s faces, when they discover their rival is powerless.

* FourLinesAllWaiting: Volume 4 of the story follows three storylines taking place in different locations: Jin taking care of the Fa Ram and helping Bowu with his farming inventions, Xiulan and her friends embarking on a task to unite the Azure Hills, and [[spoiler:Bi De, Ri Zu and Yun Ren infiltrating the Shrouded Mountain sect]].

--> '''Jin''': It's medicinal. It's ''supposed'' to feel like this.

* BestServedCold: Invoked by Jin after the Xong brothers spend the day laughing at Tigger's nude sculptures of him. Rather than retaliate immediately, he waits until the end of the day, when they're enjoying a sauna, then gets their father's approval to administer a massage with a bundle of sticks -- including some thick branches that will leave marks.

** Jin would have stopped his fish from bouncing after a village boy for revenge, but the villagers are just laughing, and he thinks it's funny too, so he figures all is well.

** Jin is a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] as although he's both a very powerful cultivator and an {{Isekai}} protagonist, he is a HumbleHero who is unfailingly polite to everyone he meets and wants nothing more than to live peacefully on his farm with his family. He will, however, [[PlayedForComedy jokingly dive headfirst into the trope]] when he figures out a MundaneUtility for his Qi.

* {{Callback}}: During Jin's initial travel from the Cloudy Sword Sect to the Azure Hills, he encounters an Earth-Crushing Devil Serpent and helps a caravan to run from it, repeating to himself the mantra that the Azure Hills don't have monsters like that. [[spoiler:Several books later, his grandfather casually beheads it on his way to his grandson's farm.]]

* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: Thousands of years ago, [[spoiler:Xiaoshi recorded his history and his failure in a crystal, and entrusted it to a Temple Dog to take somewhere safe, so that someday, a suitable heir could learn from his mistakes and do better]].

** The reaper wolf known as the Wicked Blade has been terrorising the province for three hundred years, and then it sneaks around the village while Jin is visiting... Until Jin kills it with a single blow of his shovel, and doesn't even realise it was anything special.
** Jin is stunned to realise that he's spent the last year [[spoiler:hiding fearfully away from...the mailman. Albeit with a rather significant letter]].

* CultureClash:
** The more Jin interacts with the people of this world, and particularly with other cultivators, the more it becomes clear that he represents several concepts which are utterly foreign to them and put them on the back foot with every interaction.

** The Lord Magistrate craves respect and deference. So he earns it by doing a spectacularly good job and working hard for the benefit of his citizens.

** The town of Eighth Correct Place. On hearing the title, people (including Bi De) think that this is the eighth place that was Correct. Not so; the name is a joke on how the first seven towns of "Correct Place" were wiped out by flooding, and this is the eighth iteration of "Correct Place."

** Jin sees his farming as a way to get away from the cultivation world. His Qi-powered farming techniques are driving his cultivation to untold heights. [[spoiler:This turns out to be even more of an achievement than anyone thought: this cultivation method wouldn't have worked anywhere but the Verdant Hill. When Bi De travels to the Howling Fang Mountains to infiltrate the Shrouded Mountain Sect, he offers his Qi to the land, but receives none in return. This is because the Howling Fang Mountains don't have an awakened earth spirit like Tianlan Shan, who refills the Qi offered to her by Jin and his disciples every night. Had Jin settled somewhere else, he could have become stuck at the level he was at or even lost power.]]

** Jin sees his farming as a way to get away from the cultivation world. His Qi-powered farming techniques are driving his cultivation to untold heights. [[spoiler:This turns out to be even more of an achievement than anyone thought: this cultivation method wouldn't have worked anywhere but the Verdant Hills. When Bi De travels to the Howling Fang Mountains to infiltrate the Shrouded Mountain Sect, he offers his Qi to the land, but receives none in return. This is because the Howling Fang Mountains don't have an awakened earth spirit like Tianlan Shan, who refills the Qi offered to her by Jin and his disciples every night. Had Jin settled somewhere else, he could have become stuck at the level he was at or even lost power.]]

* BeleagueredBureaucrat: The Lord Magistrate of the local town Verdant Hills is not happy about having someone living nearby who could probably destroy his town by accident if he went all out. And every time Jin does something generous, the magistrate drives himself to distraction worrying about the implications of being indebted to such a person. Every time he tries to repay Jin, however, Jin does something else for him in gratitude.

* EscalatingBrawl: Bi De watches a snowball fight between the old crone of Verdant Hills and her old neighbor Shu turn into this, as they offer bystanders favors to assist them.

* {{Catchphrase}}: Happens pretty much every time Bi De crows.

* DeliberateValuesDissonace: A lot of cultivators are heroes in the classical sense, in that the only qualifier is that they kill monsters. They'd commit genocide if they felt slighted enough, such as Elder Song of the Soaring Heaven's Isle Sect, who utterly obliterated a tribe of people for killing her dog companion.