《商道逐权 Pursuit of Mercantile Power》 Devlog #6: Yin–Yang Martial Arts

Hi everyone~ In the previous post, we covered how the equipment system works. Today, let’s talk about the Martial Arts system in Pursuit of Mercantile Power.

Martial Arts are divided into three schools: Yin-Yang, Yin, and Yang. Simple enough, right? ~

Each school has nine tiers to break through. Every time you突破 (break through) a tier, you unlock the martial art technique or passive skill tied to that tier.

On top of that, each tier has its own level that can be upgraded. And yes— levels can even affect the skill’s attack coefficient, so martial arts are a big deal.

Also, combat in Pursuit of Mercantile Power is real-time action combat. You’ll fight in many different situations, including escort missions, bounty hunts, village defense, and bandit campaigns.

Qi Stance Switching

On the battlefield, you can freely switch your Qi stance anytime, anywhere. However, there is a very short cooldown after each switch.

As long as you switch into a stance, you can use the martial arts of that school— and at the same time, you can recover Qi for the other schools.

• Yin-Yang Stance — restores Yin Qi + Yang Qi

• Yin Stance — restores Yin-Yang Qi

• Yang Stance — restores Yin-Yang Qi

So when you’re swapping stances to chain skills, you’ll need to watch whether your next stance has enough Qi — otherwise your combo will break simply because you ran out of the right energy.

Martial Arts Awakening

In this update, the martial arts progression is split into three developable paths, all following a unified structure:

Awaken → Tiered Progression → Passive Enhancements → Ultimate Finish

• Yin-Yang Return (阴阳归宗) A Yin-Yang sword style path that starts from “Primordial Balance” (乾坤初现) and progresses tier by tier, eventually unlocking the ultimate: “Myriad Swords Return” (万剑归宗).

• Nine Yang True Qi (九阳真气) A more power-focused route centered on fists/palms and passive enhancements, reaching the ultimate: “Nine Yang: Returning to Origin” (九阳归元).

• Nine Yin True Qi (九阴真气) A cold and ruthless blade route that grows tier by tier, culminating in the ultimate: “Nine Nether Ruin” (九绝亡魂).

These three paths have different resource and stat priorities— Inner Power / Yin Qi / Yang Qi / Yin-Yang Qi, cooldowns, and attack coefficients all go their own way.

Each Path Has Its Own Flavor

Every school has its own combat identity.

Yin-Yang

As the early-game martial arts path, Yin-Yang techniques may not have the highest raw damage. Instead, they focus on speed, mobility, and flow —and they also restore both Yin and Yang Qi.

Yin-Yang martial arts can even unlock a double jump, which becomes extremely useful for pairing with the Yang school’s heavy gravity-based attacks.

Yin-Yang specialty #1: You can swap positions with an enemy, which can be a lifesaver during escort missions when you need emergency control or repositioning.

Yin-Yang specialty #2: You can blink to an enemy, strike, then leap above them and strike again, creating a clean two-hit sequence with vertical movement.

Yang

In Yang stance, you automatically restore Yin-Yang Qi.

Yang martial arts are all about power —not just “more damage,” but a different kind of impact.

For example, “Fire Descends, Clouds Shatter” (火降云啸) is a downward strike where the damage scales with your fall height — the higher you drop, the harder you hit, thanks to gravity acceleration.

Yin

In Yin stance, you also automatically restore Yin-Yang Qi.

Yin martial arts condense Qi into a massive blade, designed for wide-area attacks. During escort missions or when bandits swarm in, Yin skills can help you wipe groups fast and stabilize the fight.

How Attributes Matter

I’m sure many of you already know this: skill damage and passive effects usually come partly from character attributes. And yes—this game is no exception. We’ve added a basic attribute system as well.

The pairing is straightforward: Strength affects attack, and so on. The in-game UI will explain the details clearly.

Attribute boosts come in two forms: permanent and temporary.

Temporary boosts are mainly obtained through potions, which provide large bonuses but have a time limit. Once the effect ends—or if you exit the game—the buff disappears.

Ate the wrong potion? There’s also a potion cleanser item that removes all active potion effects. Use it carefully.

Potion effects are divided into types, and you can only have three types active at the same time. If you drink another potion of the same type, it overwrites the existing one— so don’t drink a high-tier potion first and then replace it with a low-tier one by accident.Steam post image

How Equipment Matters

Besides attributes, equipment also affects martial arts.

Equipment includes an enchantment slot, allowing you to enchant additional stats.

As we already covered equipment in the last post, I won’t repeat it here~

Why Martial Arts Matter

Win fights. Escort successfully. Earn rewards. Get stronger.

Lose fights. Fail the escort. Accept the penalty. Then come back stronger.

About Pursuit of Mercantile Power

Pursuit of Mercantile Power is an indie game wrapped in ancient martial arts aesthetics, built on the core of power and cash flow. You fight to survive through real-time escort battles, while expanding influence through the village’s economy and institutions. Martial arts, equipment, and resources all feed into one loop—where personal growth and the world’s shifting balance are tightly tied together.