We’re thrilled to share the cover of Tao Wong’s The First Stop, the second book in the A Thousand Li epic progression fantasy series will be available on July 14, 2026 from Ace Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
A young man searches for his own path to immortality while grappling with the looming threat of war…
Long Wu Ying’s studies at the Verdant Green Waters Sect, an exclusive school of cultivation, are at a turning point. It’s time for him to choose what secondary occupation to pursue—alchemist or blacksmith, physician or martial specialist. Yet Wu Ying struggles to decide which focus will best define and contribute to his dao, his personal path of cultivation. And what happens if he…
We’re thrilled to share the cover of Tao Wong’s The First Stop, the second book in the A Thousand Li epic progression fantasy series will be available on July 14, 2026 from Ace Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
A young man searches for his own path to immortality while grappling with the looming threat of war…
Long Wu Ying’s studies at the Verdant Green Waters Sect, an exclusive school of cultivation, are at a turning point. It’s time for him to choose what secondary occupation to pursue—alchemist or blacksmith, physician or martial specialist. Yet Wu Ying struggles to decide which focus will best define and contribute to his dao, his personal path of cultivation. And what happens if he chooses wrong?
But beyond the walls of Verdant Green Waters, the drums of war beat as the sect is pulled deeper into the battle for supremacy between states. The Sect Elders thrust Wu Ying and his friends into a desperate gamble to prepare for the upcoming war—a risky assignment that will put to the test everything Wu Ying has learned.
As pressure builds from within and without, Wu Ying must find his place in this new martial world, or he may not survive the trials to come.
Cover art by Jeff Langevin; Design by Adam Auerbach
Buy the Book
The First Stop
Tao Wong
Tao Wong is the author of the A Thousand Li progression fantasy series and the System Apocalypse LitRPG series, among others. When he’s not writing and working, he’s practicing martial arts, reading, and dreaming up new worlds. He lives in Toronto, Canada.
Reactor
Author
Reactor (formerly Tor.com) is a magazine that publishes original short speculative fiction along with daily essays, book reviews, media news, and more.