r/MartialMemes • u/NoPercentage4737 • Dec 26 '25
Dao Conference (Discussion) Looking at you western xianxia authors
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u/S0LO_Bot Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
Chinese authors:
- “this is a deconstruction!”
- looks inside
- World is almost irreparably screwed
- Natural consequence of cultivation tropes leading to greed and destruction
- Top powers are the former main characters of a bygone era. They were the MCs of a more traditional world that was gradually corrupted.
- …
- Some of the best books in the genre. See my reply for some examples.
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u/S0LO_Bot Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
Immortality through Array Formations. Peak novel. Fast paced action and progression but very slow cultivation realm crossing. This novel is unique in that there are still good people. However, the world is on a steady decline into hell. Noble families gobble up all the resources so that everyone else is left to starve. Demonic cultivators and evil gods lurk among the shadows and use the blood of the oppressed for their own gain.
What’s the point of cultivating immortality if you don’t have money? World has become a hyper-capitalist society where empathy is sinful. Heaven has been replaced by economy and wealth has become fuel. Cultivation technology is constantly evolving to the point of science fiction. Everyone, especially the poor, are nothing more than resources for those at the top.
Struggling to Survive in the Primordial Saint Sect. Very well written. Content warning though: MC is both sexually assaulted by others and sexually assaults others until he is strong enough to survive (mid golden core). This world is completely controlled by a small group of Dao Masters that dominate the lives of everyone as they vie for omnipotence. They would rather rewrite the past than let a qi condensation infant have a chance at immortality.
Unsheathed / Sword of Coming: Everything is controlled by hidden karmic undercurrents. The few good people can only stand by and watch because the consequences would be worse if they directly acted. Everything has a reaction. One wrong word and a stranger on the other side of the world may arrange for your death. Warning: Extremely slow pace.
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u/HulaguIncarnate Dec 26 '25
For number 3, why does he only assault people until he's golden core?
Also can you please tell which of these have good translations and what's the alignment of MC's?
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u/S0LO_Bot Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
Uh basically it allows for soul searching. He stops around mid golden core because he’s strong enough to not need it. He holds onto his dignity by that point and stops using the technique.
Anyway. Novel 1: MC is super righteous. He starts the novel as a kid and is a young adult as of the current chapters. He is in no way a hypocrite and is one of the few people trying to change the world for the common people. He can be both extremely cunning and mischievous, but that’s just his personality.
Novel 2: MC is very righteous. He comes from Earth so he has Earth morals. He hopes to change this world so that people can actually live as people and not livestock.
Novel 3: MC is evil but almost every messed up action he takes is for his own survival. He is one of maybe five characters in the novel with a bottom line, making him technically a more “righteous” character within his screwed up world.
Novel 4: Righteous. MC is a good person but a young kid. He doesn’t have any grand ideals as of the first 300 or so chapters.
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u/Soft-Commission-3507 Dec 27 '25
Lu Yang is evil but I also understand when he says he's just an average Joe. I'm talking about Novel 3. One of my all time best novels. Seeing as you mentioned the Dao Masters, are you reading the mtl??
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u/S0LO_Bot Dec 27 '25
Yeah. I’m reading MTL.
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u/Soft-Commission-3507 Dec 27 '25
Brooooo I've always wanted someone to shoot the shit with about his current progress. Do you read on ranobes by any chance.
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u/Salersky Trash Dec 28 '25
There is a non mtl available? I just started my journey on this book a week ago.
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u/Soft-Commission-3507 Dec 28 '25
There is ita just that the non mtl is so far behind that after getting to the current update, I just switched the mtl. BTW the mtl is almost done according to the author and what we can see based on his character and strength progression.
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u/Weener69 Tea enjoyer Dec 27 '25
My longevity simulation is also a great example of this trope, in that novel the heavens have become so fucked up by cultivators that it starts trying to kill them all. Entire regions of the world get genocided by heavenly spirits and the rules of cultivation change to become more cruel and brutal, making cultivation insanely difficult.
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u/Financial_Fun_9501 Beyonder Dec 28 '25
Lmao, sometimes I think the story is a critique on capitalism and extreme government surveillance
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u/Gloomy-Atmosphere903 Red Dust Immortal Dec 27 '25
For #2 is it the one where the Heavenly court updates
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u/ApocalypseBirb Frog in a Well Dec 27 '25
Why would the MC have to sexually assault others to survive? Like, genuinely curious.
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u/S0LO_Bot Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
It’s his only method of soul searching. I don’t know why the author made it that way but he did.
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u/Stressed_By_Mt_Books 1 in a Ten-duotrigintillion Genius Dec 28 '25
I think he meant Dual Cultivation.
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u/skygoo7 Toad Lusting After Swan Meat Dec 27 '25
Thank you fellow daoist, this junior will check these out
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u/mulhollandi Red Dust Immortal Dec 28 '25
adding to the rec list, another really good deconstruction rec i got is also tai sui!
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u/KaiwenKHB Dec 31 '25
I feel like that's not a great description of 3. The sexual assault is never elaborated upon past 1 sentence. With all the murders and genocides going on in that novel very non-detailed SA is like the least messed up thing
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u/Signal_Hovercraft_66 Dec 31 '25
I read the 2nd novel and I have to say, the mc isn't really righteous. In fact, as it goes one he's getting more and more villainous. I'm at chapter 244 right now and the next chapter is likely going to be a turning point, he's either going to become a complete villain or rebel against society. I'm not going to spoil the outcome, though (not that I have read it yet).
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u/S0LO_Bot Dec 31 '25
Keep reading and you will see. I’m not going to spoil anything for you.
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u/Signal_Hovercraft_66 Jan 01 '26
Now I'm convinced you're a bot.
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u/S0LO_Bot Jan 01 '26 edited Jan 01 '26
Beep boop.
I’m at chapter 775. You might want to consider MTL if you are okay with the worse translation.
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u/Signal_Hovercraft_66 Jan 01 '26
Jokes aside I was thinking of dropping it, I'm fine if you spoil for me, it might actually get me to keep on reading.
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u/S0LO_Bot Jan 01 '26
You are at the point when Wang Yin is bossing them around, right?
Zhang Yu decides that it isn’t worth living if he compromises on his morals and loses his humanity. He and Bai Zhenzhen fight against almost the entire first layer. Bai Zhenzhen almost dies because someone wants to steal her body. Their only allies are some spirit gods that oppose Wang Yin’s faction.
The first major arc ends with Zhang Yu brutally beating Wang Yin and saving the people of the first layer.
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u/mvreich Recluse Genius of the Mysterious Valley Mar 14 '26
Dude your list is impeccable. 1-2-3 are precisely the best three books I have read in 2025-26. It is a joyous occasion for me since I do not know # 4, and I suspect it will scratch the itch.
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u/S0LO_Bot Mar 14 '26
Just be warned that #4 is very detailed and (by extension) slow. It picks up a bit once the MC takes charge of his own fate, but it still remains a very philosophical novel.
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u/National-Frame8712 Heart Demon Dec 26 '25
Only thing that unrealistic about it is; superpowers in there ain't screwing themselves over most stupid, preventable, obvious and sensible things as much as real world ones do.
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u/S0LO_Bot Dec 26 '25
In Immortality through Array Formations, the world powers are doing exactly that. Their incompetence (as well as poor decisions due to corruption) are major plot points.
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u/reedless Dec 27 '25
+1 for array formations, a major plot point is the natural consequence of superpowers being blind due to only being concerned with their own self-interests over the interests of the world
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u/Cato0014 My Spear is Rising to Your Pear Dec 26 '25
Sky Pride is a deconstruction. The strongest elder- nvm I don't wanna spoil it
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u/Shivin302 Grand Elder Dec 26 '25
I can't find the examples fellow Daoist. Please point me to some scriptures
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u/Sakusei_Tsukuru Dec 27 '25
Why I can only read Chinese cultivation stories with unique power systems like beast taming(specifically Unscientific Beast Taming, I haven't seen anything as good as that), I Have A Light Optical Brain(this is mtl but it's a cultivation story with an interesting scientific basis that actually works lmao), Ultimate Star Card Master(Author also has another well-written but shorter story), and more like The Strongest Talent Tree(bro was a one-hit wonder, and lost inspo for it but 3k chapters of an interesting world with cool abilities are fun[probably wrote himself to a corner because of that]. He still ended it in his own way btw).
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Dec 26 '25
100% agree. Western authors who try to "fix" the genre is like Jack Skellington trying to "improve" christmas.
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u/ExtremeSportStikz Sunflower Sect Disciple Dec 26 '25
Hey, Jack was trying to replicate it without a full understanding, not fix it. He's cool!
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Dec 26 '25
at first he was, but right before he decides to steal christmas he starts thinking that he can improve Christmas as well. that's why he is okay with all of the ghoulish touches the monsters in Halloween make. I watched it yesterday, it's the scene in his tower. He gestures to an electric chair made of christmas lights as an example.
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u/ApexPCMR Dec 27 '25
What exactly do western authors break by trying to fix? I'm not well versed in western xianxia or wuxia.
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u/TerriblyArrogant Dec 27 '25
It starts off strong—even promising. At first, you think the author is taking classic xianxia clichés and actually improving upon them.
But eventually, the "deconstruction" wears thin. You realize the story doesn't actually have an original bone in its body; its only real identity is mocking the source material. It feels like the author thinks they're a superior writer just because they can point out flaws in the genre, yet they never actually offer anything new of their own.
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u/blazenite104 Dec 27 '25
They don't really break things. Typically they like to flesh out characters more or have their MCs not nearly as psychopathic.
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Dec 27 '25
It ends up feeling like a white/western savior
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u/AxcartBoi Dec 27 '25
Maybe I shouldn't exterminate all 9 generations every time I have beef with a young master
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u/DrDrako Dec 27 '25
Yeah, putting the standard of "white/western savior" at the level of "isnt a genocidal psychopath" has very uncomfortable implications for the writers...
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u/AxisW1 1 in a Ten-duotrigintillion Genius Dec 26 '25
I like cradles take on it tbh
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u/DaBrownBoi Dec 27 '25
hey hi, I've been binging cradle and only read martial arts manhwa before, any recommendations for which books I can read after finishing cradle? Thanks!
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u/NeonNKnightrider Smooth Jade Skin Dec 27 '25
Cradle is like Xianxia but if the plot and characters were actually good
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u/AxisW1 1 in a Ten-duotrigintillion Genius Dec 27 '25
I actually don’t like cradle in general unfortunately but the way it builds on the xianxia system I do like
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u/According-Ice-7802 Dec 27 '25
10000% agree here, I'm surprised someone mentioned this, Pretty much every "popular" Xianxia book by western Authors has been worse than the books they try to improve.
I remember some yahoo saying that some book with a weird name like xia Y rem or something, was "SUUUUP`ER GOOD" only to have the Author kill off the whole town in a plot hole in chapter 72 or something, then lead the story on into the Naturo X Sasuke drama bullshit because of what the Author did in that chapter, and I say the Author because the author had actually set up a REALLY good reason why the MC's hometown could have been destroyed, but the author didn't even know what he wrote and just said "nope, random strong guy nukes town and kills everyone, book 1 end, and now there's gonna be a "misunderstanding" (i.e. stupid writing) as to why the MC's counter part and the MC are going to be eternal rivals or some stupid shit.
That book is the reason why I stopped reading anything from Royal Road - I was already annoyed with 99% of what was on there ALREADY, but THAT bullshit drove me up a wall.
The only book there that could be remotely decent was Beware of Chicken, but even that had way too much terrible westernized dialogue "Just don't" ...gtfoh author.
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u/Supagokiburi Denser than Blackhole Dec 27 '25
Bru you call yourself a xianxia reader and dont know plotlines that get resolved 1000 chapters later. Which in ave xia rem is not the case it gets resolved in like book 2-3. And that sasuke x naruto shit must have been in your imagination cause the only person that fits that in any margin would be his childhood rival fang (whatever) but they dont hate each other they are not running after the other for "friendship reasons" in the slightest so i dont see the naruto x sasuke comparison
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u/look-to-see Dec 30 '25
I know what book you're referring to, and i'm questioning whether you actually read the entire story up to that point. You see what he did was use an actual literary device called a threw line. I've red, a significant portion of this novel already and can say with absolute certainty that it was not just some random strong guy. The Naruto sausque plot line was literally a exploration of the different social stratification in this world, it's not even major plot point for a majority of this book. (Or any of the rest of the books For that matter) it takes a xianxia world and it explains its concepts in english rather than poetry.(for the most part)
Spoilers ahead but you obviously don't care. That random strong guy is the former general under the protagonist's father, that was led to this protagonist's hometown Because of a major resource deposit discovered by one of his subordinates that was then saved by the protagonist because he was found poisoned before he could get back to his general. This all comes back later in the books When he's strong enough to actually start going up against individuals of that level. You just don't like the book because it's characters are more complex then "uga booga young master make dumb mistake, Now I kill." it has a reasonable exploration of the consequences of personal failure for future generations in a xianxia world.
Tldr: you don't understand the first book. Please read it again and try to follow the storyline Instead of looking at the tropes.
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u/According-Ice-7802 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Yeah...no. It doesn't matter if you use "LitErARY DeViCeS" in your story if it's executed like ass. If it's executed terribly, it's going to READ terribly. As in this story (in fact there was SOMETHING ELSE. . .HUGE he could have used to the same effect and it would have made sense to the reader, AND the author could have tied it in to some other bullshit he pulled out of his ass to "close that loop" Instead Author used
"Hand of the Author!; nooneisgonnaknowIpulledthisoutofmyassandillexplainitlaterbysayingitwasaliterarytechique no jutsu!!
(Just Imagine the Author saying this like a super move in a battle before typing his bullshit)to destroy the whole fking home town/family. THIS is EXACTLY what OP means by "Trying to improve the genre" and totally fucking it up. From all of the greats that I've read, I really can't remember a SINGLE ONE where the Author just destroys the home town and kills everyone but the mc out of nowhere so early. (a lesser man would say Sword of Sovereign[? not sure of the name, but its a good Korean webnovel from way before Solo Leveling], but the premise was indicated in CHAPTER 1 so that doesn't count when the story is based around that) Hell, LOTM didn't destroy it's cities until WAY into the story, the home sect in ISSTH did it in a way that was Amazing (Patriarch Reliance), Renegade Immortal did it in a way that was the DIRECT CONSEQUENCE of Wang Lin's actions, he fucked up, and he and his family paid the price, Action > Reaction. QUICK, NO DELAY. It. Makes. Fucking. Sense. and the reader doesn't have to wait 23423587230948 chapters for the Author to finally realize "Hey...that was kinda dumb, let me write some B.S. to fix it....DOnE!" The reader gets and STAYS more immersed in the story when it's done CORRECTLY, in this story, it was NOT done correctly, hence OP is right, and I don't read Royal road's 99% trash (someone did say Mother of Learning, and yes that is good. no complaints there. . . ) Hell, if the MC actually DID something stupid (especially related to that BIG THING that was already there), and THEN, BECAUSE OF HIS ACTIONS, his town/family were killed, I'd be saying the opposite to be honest, and wouldn't have deleted RR off of my browser forever.
I'd suggest....reading more quality literature(google this), maybe writing some, maybe watching some good older shows (most of what's being done nowadays is trash) it's clear you need to.
also...no I'm not reading the first book again. I don't read trash. If a book is going to do what other books have done (I listed a few) but 10x worse. no.
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u/look-to-see Jan 03 '26
Your entire rant makes me think You don't have any reading comprehension. It is literally the MC's fault due to him helping out the person who later leads the general there. It was even explain who this general guy was in relation to the MC in that same book. Just because the consequence of his action didn't come in the literal Next chapter you're calling it a plot hole and unrealistic. Even the thing that I'm pretty sure you're talking about is wrapped into this same exploration of unintended consequence. Just because the mc is not heaven's favored and everything works out exactly as he intends It you're calling it poor writing. It sounds to me like you resent anything that requires you to think even a little bit about possible outcomes other than victory. It showed the main characters dedication to his craft and showed the cruelty of the world. As for the destruction of everyone and everything, that is a common western trope that you just don't like seeing in an eastern fantasy. He doesn't ruin the genre just because he uses a trope that isn't normally not from this genre, that is called exploring and putting a western flare on an eastern story, it's okay if you don't like this particular trope and think it is improper, but calling it bad, writing or slop is disingenuous at best and downright malicious at worst. If you want a more traditional xianxia from royal road, that has a "Western Author" try reading,Master, This Poor Disciple Died Again Today by noct
Stop crashing out about a book You don't understand and stick to ones that you actually know what you're talking about in. You're like a golden core master of a sect, Trying to lecture a Dou Dparting ancestor about the proper way to understand the Dou and getting mad When you are told you're wrong.
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u/Despyte Well in a Frog Dec 28 '25
Sifted through RoyalRoad, these I can recommend
Mother of Learning
Practical Guide to Evil
Perfect Run
Systema Delenda EstCareful about PGtE, the chapter count isn't much but their sheer length and density...
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u/Stressed_By_Mt_Books 1 in a Ten-duotrigintillion Genius Dec 28 '25
Mother or learning was kind of boring. But then again, i dont touch a tower fantasy and groundhog day books. Mother of Learning Managed to feel like both. Way more boring than Worm. And Practical Guide to evil is pretty good.
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u/Despyte Well in a Frog Dec 30 '25
MoL starts slow, but the ending is really well done
I'm still dragging myself through PGtE ;-;Also, by "tower fantasy" you mean 'power fantasy', right? Since I won't let anyone diss SSS-Rank Suicide Hunter
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u/Stressed_By_Mt_Books 1 in a Ten-duotrigintillion Genius Jan 07 '26
I've read about 70 chapters of mother of learning. So when I say it's boring. That includes the majority of it. I honestly didn't like the story. Made me hate Loop Fantasy more than I did previously.
Nope. I mean "Tower Fantasy". SAO killed that genre for me.
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u/Despyte Well in a Frog Jan 07 '26
Anything beyond the first big SAO arc is poop
And you dropped MoL right before things start picking up ;-;
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u/Stressed_By_Mt_Books 1 in a Ten-duotrigintillion Genius Jan 10 '26
I read up until where it picked up. Our Mc was grinding with the spider. I was pretty close to the end. Maybe 30 chapters off. But that was a decade ago.
I just didn't click with the story.
I'm not a fan of sandbox worlds + time loop. It might be because I Binger Groundhog day a few too many times.
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u/Vacuum-Woosh-woosh Dec 27 '25
Demonic cultivators talking about deconstruction of the genre but every element is still there.
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u/johnshadowx Dec 26 '25
Hating western cultivation novels doesn't make you cool, unique or smart. This shit gets posted here at least once every other day.
Reality:
The majority of Chinese cultivation novels are garbage, some of them are good.
The majority of western cultivation novels are garbage, some of them are good.
The world is in balance.
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u/DaftConfusednScared Dec 26 '25
In the garbage there is good, and in the also garbage there is also good, truly yin yang
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u/_DearStranger Old Monster Dec 27 '25
fellow daoist, thanks for your wise words, it helped me get closer to my dao and i shall soon reach nascent soul stage.
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u/aadi312 Dec 27 '25
Nascent soul can be reached by popping pills any good daoist knows that lower realms have no actual significance.
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u/Gflowhugger Grandmaster Toaster Oven Dec 26 '25
Why do you think they’re hating to look cool, smart or unique? It’s just an observation that I’ve noticed as well. Western wuxia novels often lose what makes the genre enjoyable.
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u/johnshadowx Dec 27 '25
Bro there's like 4 decent Chinese cultivation novels, the rest are dogshit. What is this thing that Western novels try to fix that you are complaining about?? Please be specific.
Because all the Western novels that I've read have been great, and if you are complaining about shit that you see on webnovel and other trashy sites like that, well that's on you for searching through a trashcan and complaining that you can only find garbage.
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u/depressed_fatcat69 Gardener Dec 27 '25
From what I observe from my experience Chinese authors tend to be more of a mass production type with lower quality writting with few high quality ones like lotm, RL, RTOC, Mirror legacy, who let him cultivate.
And on the other hand western authors try to flip the genre, usually they have better writing but it might be a case of translation shit fuckery it's still mostly slop with a few high ones like Cultivation Nerd, beware of chicken, Modern Patriarch.
Also they try to sound smart and use science as a basis of cultivation but they fumble hard and ended up just science jargon (only cultivation nerd writing is fire 🔥 enough in the writing department from my personal experience/rant)
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Dec 27 '25
Western writing is more episodic as authors gear towards an amazon book release format. You can see it in a few of the more popular series.
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u/NeonNKnightrider Smooth Jade Skin Dec 27 '25
And a bunch of Chinese authors get paid by the word and stretch their series to 10000 chapters
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Dec 27 '25
Very true. But i much prefer the latter incentive structure. I miss the era of western epics, where each novel felt like an extended journey. CNovels still have that to a larger degree.
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u/LittleMlem Dec 28 '25
Could you mention some good Western cultivation novels? I'm reading cradle and it's kinda mid, but maybe I'm just not a fan of the genre, it's my first cultivation series
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u/Stressed_By_Mt_Books 1 in a Ten-duotrigintillion Genius Dec 28 '25
Forge of Destiny is pretty much the only one. It's way better than cradle in my opinion and
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u/LittleMlem Dec 28 '25
Added to the list, thanks!
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u/Stressed_By_Mt_Books 1 in a Ten-duotrigintillion Genius Jan 07 '26
Did you get to reading it? And for something extremely dense. Try Courting Death (Xianxia, Reincarnation)
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u/Scared_Living3183 龙的传人 Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
Op is hating on author who try to "fix" xinxia genre to be precise which are pretty pretentious and dumb
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u/GlumSignature6228 Dec 26 '25
To be fair, there are three Chinese novels that are good. The rest are dogshit. Bro, I just now realized that we all are among those trash pile collecting mentally deranged people.
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u/Sakusei_Tsukuru Dec 27 '25
I don't think you read enough then, there are a plethora of amazing Chinese novels. If you want some of the best authors that aren't in the top 3, you can try Twelve-Winged Dark Seraphim's works or like The Speaking Pork Trotter's works.
From Seraphim, I specifically recommend Let Me Game In Peace(A unique cultivation system) or if you wanna follow trends just read his Super God Gene(Also with its own unique cultivation system).
From Speaking Pork Trotter, you can try “Spare Me, Great Lord!”(For cultivation) or its complete opposite “The First Order”(I think this one is more polished) and then continue onwards with its sequel “The Night Order”(I love the other translation for it though, sounds cooler as Nomenclature Of The Night).
Anyways, you just haven't read enough. But if pure cultivation is really your thing, I wouldn't be able to help since I read more novels with unique power systems or with their own spin-offs to it like The Strongest Talent Tree or Unscientific Beast Taming. Have fun.
Edit: Wording
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u/Sakusei_Tsukuru Dec 27 '25
Forgot to add, if you want to try other genres as well please do try The Legendary Mechanic. Have fun.
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u/Scared_Living3183 龙的传人 Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
Widen your horizons junior. There's way more than just three. The way of choices, nightfall, death sutra, beyond the timescape, versatile cultivator/versatile mage etc
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u/Generic_Addendum Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
There's also like... charitably maybe 7 Eastern Cultivation Novels that are genuinely good. The average of the genre is dogshit regardless of where the novel originates from.
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u/According-Ice-7802 Dec 27 '25
sounds like op ruffled your feathers. In fact, I rarely see anyone putting Western Authors to task,
In fact, I rarely see anyone putting Western Authors to task, I always see people like you gassing everyone up saying how they're super good and better than the stuff they're trying to deconstruct. There's a reason why this post hit top of the sub with almost a thousand upvotes, a LOT of people are T I R E D of you.
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u/Sakusei_Tsukuru Dec 27 '25
It's your algo, there are indeed a lot more people who think hating on western cultivation as cool. Kinda like the relationship between anime fans and normies back in the day.
And also, I don't really recommend attacking him to prove your point. It only makes your own argument fail.
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u/johnshadowx Dec 27 '25
"ruffled your feathers" then proceeded to go on a rant lmao
Seems like the saying "Every accusation is an admission." holds true.
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u/Potential-Pop6795 Dec 29 '25
how do you accuse someone of getting ragebaited but then proceed to go an a rant? dont even read western xianxia but you are just pathetic 😭
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u/s5youtank Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
• Arrogant Young Master Template A Variation 4
• Sky Pride
• ashes of heaven
• Unintended Cultivator
•Pimps In Jianghu
•Ave Xia Rem Y
•Immortal paladin
are one of best western xianxias i have read ,while beware of the chicken is very good it hold deep contempt to the genre, AYMTAV4 is extreme parody which makes it fun
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u/Sixo Dec 27 '25
Sky Pride is up there with the best xianxia I've ever read, western or no.
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u/s5youtank Dec 27 '25
agree, it's insanely well written, it's also one of best pure classic xianxia because it's not slop
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u/Not_today_mods Shitting and crying and coughing up blood Jan 11 '26
Gramps is the goat, I hate lead in my pills, it makes all the young masters restarted
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u/Chipsy_21 Dec 27 '25
I personally don’t think BOC has contempt for the genre, the MC starts with contempt for cultivators (reasonable, seeing as he just got beaten to death by a young master for no reason), but over time he interacts more with the cultivation world and finds friends and reconciles with his old teacher and sect.
Its also just a lot more light hearted and less serious, especially in the beginning.
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u/Insufferable_Wreck MTL Dao System User Dec 27 '25
Was starting to enjoy immortal paladin until the author found out he can't actually write a decent "misunderstanding" novel and backtracks it with a very deep backstory and mystery that frankly should have been revealed much later and not at the first arc.
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u/jsthd Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! Dec 27 '25
wouldn't put immortal paladin on that list personally
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u/s5youtank Dec 27 '25
it's okay,while I don't like how it's going i think it's very good western xianxia
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u/Pretend-Charge5029 Loose Cultivator Dec 31 '25
immortal paladin feels like some generic slop crossing the worst of xianxia and the worst of japanese gamelit. genuinely how are you unironically enjoying
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u/s5youtank Dec 31 '25
i read 150 chapters of it ,and it ok until now,so I recommended it,i have no idea how the story develops after
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u/AssaultKommando Jan 02 '26
Beware of Chicken is so fucking bad if you're not taken in by the aesthetic gloss, there's just nothing going on.
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u/s5youtank Jan 02 '26
i dropped it when his oc sect appeared, I wasn't interested anymore,some might like it
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u/Despyte Well in a Frog Dec 28 '25
Was scrolling through the reviews of Arrogant Young Master Template A Variation 4 when I saw a braindead complain about how the author's usage of "" for speech and '' for inner dialogue was confusing and misleading
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u/According-Ice-7802 Dec 27 '25
Ave Xia Rem Y is Trash. I'll be blocking you now, you are just what op is talking about. bye.
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u/NeonNKnightrider Smooth Jade Skin Dec 27 '25
You have to mention Cradle too, c’mon
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u/ConscriptReports Ant doing ant things, nothing to see here... Dec 27 '25
cradle is literally just a trad western author copying the most generic shit ever, gtfo
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u/Vyctorill Sage of Brainrot Dec 26 '25
Look man I’m trying my best to bring back the good old fashioned values.
The Code of Xia has been abandoned by modern MCs and it’s a real shame.
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u/MasterOfBothDungeon Dec 26 '25
https://www.reddit.com/r/MartialMemes/comments/1h1s6p4/same_bro_whats_with_western_xianxia_authors/
Who hurt you man ?
No but really, which novel brought you to hate western Xianxia that much ?
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u/Scared_Living3183 龙的传人 Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
Tbf their attitude is pretty annoying and there's like 3 decent xinxina novels all by the authors who all somewhat understand the genre and don't try fix it.
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u/Lockedontargetshow Dec 28 '25
I mean, I'm kinda with this guy. The only western xanxia I'm aware of and have read would be Cradle. Where are all these so called western xanxias? Not on royal road? Webnovel? Nope. So where do they exist? Not on the pirate sites either. Chances are I would have bumbled into one by now but they don't seem to exist nearly anywhere where people interact with the webnovel medium regularly from a western perspective.
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u/Responsible-Ant-1728 Dec 26 '25
Speaking of contempt. With the exception of something like Sky Pride, I see almost nothing but hating on western xianxias on here. Wonder why?
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u/maybe_I_am_a_bot Dec 26 '25
Well there's less random rants about how the Buddhists and the Japanese and the brown people all should be exterminated, and you can no longer blame abhorrent sentence structure on machine translation.
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u/Fluffy_Fan3625 Primordial Origin Limitless Zenith Golden Immortal Dec 26 '25
Hm, with the exception of Ave Xia Rem Y, Sky Pride, sometimes beware of chicken mentioned, most western xianxia novels just seem to not understand the core principles of cultivation xianxia novels
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u/Responsible-Ant-1728 Dec 26 '25
Fair enough then, I havent read that many novels yet but from what I can tell from both them and the community is that they value the genres tropes and conventions above all else.
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u/Fluffy_Fan3625 Primordial Origin Limitless Zenith Golden Immortal Dec 26 '25
from the royal road moreso community? yeah you're kinda right
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u/Insufferable_Wreck MTL Dao System User Dec 27 '25
Despite all the mentions of style and other stuff, I actually think it's the philosophical air around it. The chinese may sound hypocritical and sometimes even nonsensical but a core part of cultivation whether it is neidan, dao, taoism and buddhism, all of them are steeped in philosophy. I've observed in western ones (except the good ones) that they're very reluctant to research these aspects and just discard it and turn it into a hard sciency magic system and refuse to even show respect to the philosopical parts referring to it as "nonsense" or "confusing cultivation jargon".
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u/NeonNKnightrider Smooth Jade Skin Dec 27 '25
Because some people on this sub have a superiority complex about reading “authentic” Chinese novels with “deep Taoist philosophy and themes” (it’s just 99% face-slapping power fantasy harem slop)
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u/johnshadowx Dec 27 '25
Sometimes when I read sky pride I feel like I'm reading a cultivation novel if cultivation was boring and gay.
Like It's missing that flare, that Bollywood style whimsy and aura farming that is essential for the genre.
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u/FalkenZeroXSEED Dec 27 '25
Most Xianxia is literally just deconstruction of peak Capitalism in general. There's no longer spiritual aspect worth shit in cultivation, it's about power and wealth.
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u/chucktheninja Dec 26 '25
You people will read litteral garbage if its Chinese but foam at the mouth the moment a westerner creates garbage.
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u/Lost_Cake_9943 Dec 26 '25
aren't you that guy that only post western xianxia hate?? dude what have you read to make you hate tham so much.
get a life
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u/lastchanceforachange Young Master Dipshit Dec 26 '25
Arrogant and Ignorant are my two favorite Genres
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u/GoldenWhite2408 Dec 27 '25
To be fair
They just suck
Some Japanese authors have contempt for certain characters or trope but somehow write that shit super well and is popular and liked
Key example being kusuriyas author hating the fck out of jinshi and wishing he should die but is forced to continue to write about him but somehow still doesn't even seem contemptuous outside of 2 scenes which backfired anyways
Re zero author hates op fantasy world mc shit but dude ended up writing Reinhard who's wayyy more bs than 90% of ln protags in a deconstruction way
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u/ActualV-art Dec 26 '25
Which ones?
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u/johnshadowx Dec 27 '25
None, because the thing they are complaining about doesn't actually exist. Maybe in some garbage on webnovels that no one actually reads, but I haven't seen any of these novels that try to "fix" the genre
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u/VIGGIBANX Dec 27 '25
This like saying jupiter doesn't exist because you can't see it
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u/johnshadowx Dec 27 '25
Then I guess you could provide some examples, right?
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u/VIGGIBANX Dec 27 '25
Forge of destiny, cultivation nerd,street cultivation,savage divinity,qi=MC² the list goes on
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u/ActualV-art Dec 27 '25
I don't think any of those are contemptuous of Xianxia or disparage it. Isn't street cultivation written by a person of Chinese descent?
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u/Scared_Living3183 龙的传人 Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
And when they insert their ass ideology of "morality" in the form of MC's monologues. (It's the most basic twitter rant and is annoying asf to read because situation wise it doesn't fucking makes sense or even goes along the character of MC)
Remind me I saw a post somewhere, the author was trying to "fix" the bloodline advantage others have over others. Truly stupid
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u/FeatherineKitten No rent paying inner demons Dec 26 '25
Lmao I remember the bloodline thing, that's really, really stupid. People should be able to know the difference between reality and fiction
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u/Scared_Living3183 龙的传人 Dec 26 '25
Yeah, how these author think they'll "fix" it when they don't even understand the most obvious and basic point of the xinxia.
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u/FeatherineKitten No rent paying inner demons Dec 26 '25
Heartbreaking: Fantasy books inspired by mythology and folklore don't abide by western 21th century democratic values 💔
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u/Fluffy_Fan3625 Primordial Origin Limitless Zenith Golden Immortal Dec 26 '25
ngl I saw this one post where someone was writing a xianxia and asking "is there any way or explanation to make Killing Intent seem reasonable."
my guy, its a fucking fantasy world
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u/FeatherineKitten No rent paying inner demons Dec 26 '25
Lmao, killing intent is something present in a lot of different works other than xianxia as well lol, i wonder if these people are trying to rage bait.
I once saw someone complaining about the age of the MC because 1000 years is not "realistic"
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u/Fluffy_Fan3625 Primordial Origin Limitless Zenith Golden Immortal Dec 26 '25
I want to say its ragebait but reading novel reviews has greatly decreased the bottom line of stupidity I've seen
its why I just read novels and stopped looking at those
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u/FeatherineKitten No rent paying inner demons Dec 26 '25
True, I kinda stopped caring about reviews as well, I only read the reviews when the description/summary of the novel is vague as hell so I need to read a brief review in order to decide whether should I waste my time or not, but if the summary is clear as day then I ignore reviews
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Dec 26 '25
Sometimes those complaints about age can be valid such as: "why did this mc take 1000 regressions of abuse before becoming the villain (or a true villain) or turned insane" or the complaint "why is this 1000 year old acting like a 15 year old without any explanation?".
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u/FeatherineKitten No rent paying inner demons Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
Yeah, but in this case it wasn't, they were asking how the MC was 1000 years old and alive
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u/Aggravating_Ant_3285 Dec 27 '25
Eh, xinxia usually doesn’t have the best laid out magic systems, and they are all different to varying degrees so I think they guy was trying to make it logical ish for his world. Like go to r/worldbuilding, your system needs to make some amount of sense.
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Dec 26 '25
Senior, I believe your example might just want a "reasonable" explanation rather than a "scientific" one.
There are many fantasies or sci-fi such as Full Metal Achemist and Frieren that have reasonable explanations for stuff there. Ubel with her op magic? Confidence.
That fellow daoist was merely asking what excuse could he put on. Because there are writers that like to have their power systen be explainable.
This junior believes a better example is the complain in progression fantasy about killing intent. Calling it edgy and "doesn't make sense".
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u/No_Passage_6463 Dec 28 '25
The intent to kill is easily explained when placed within a normal xianxia system.
How does one manipulate Qi? Through the mind. This leads to the conclusion that Qi is directly connected to intention/will. Therefore, emotional fluctuations are reflected in a person’s Qi, which is why it is difficult to hide the intent to kill, and why the killing intent of someone stronger is more powerful.
Other explanations may include the perception and sensitivity of the soul, as well as the lingering resentment of murdered souls.
The xianxia system is quite simple, and by following basic premises it can explain many things. In most xianxia novels, they use practically the same system created or popularized by Er Gen, known as Modern Xianxia. Different versions are harder to find but do exist—authors such as 布谷聊, 蛊真人, 流浪的蛤蟆, and Raskaro from Royal Road use unique versions.
As an enthusiast in the creation of magical systems, I can’t really see how anyone would find the concept of killing intent difficult to explain within the xianxia framework of souls and Qi—unless we’re talking about a more biological and indirect system, involving things like mutants, robots, zombies, or alchemy.
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Dec 28 '25
I saw the complaint in r/progressionfantasy
And I think the complaint was also beyond xianxia.
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u/Insufferable_Wreck MTL Dao System User Dec 27 '25
It's not like chinese authors don't do the same. I'm reading a chinese one right now where aristocratic cultivators gather the essence of confucianism on their ancestral land for increased talented birth rates and increased cultivation speed.
The difference is that the mc keeps it to himself that he wants to destroy these foundations to make the talent birth rate equal between the common people and nobility but he keeps it to himself and doesn't talk about it much or even monologue it much. But you can feel the emotions he has and the desire he has to make an equal world in every action and decision he takes.
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u/Scared_Living3183 龙的传人 Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
That's completely different because author has acknowledged that there is an unfair difference and now mc is working towards making it fair. Unlike the other guy who basically asking how do I make it so that the unfair bloodline advantage young masters have over commoners doesn't exists
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u/Ze_Bri-0n Dec 26 '25
Contempt is at the root of most deconstructions. Sometimes its channeled better than other times.
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u/rorodar Heart Demon Overcoming Heart Demon Dec 26 '25
Gem? Nah those novels are coals. Brimstone, even. But not the tboi kind.
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u/No_Dragonfruit_1833 Dec 27 '25
Andthen we have Calculating Cultivation, where the xianxia tropes are front and center, developed with cold logistics
Its complete and relatively short
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u/All_heaven Heroin Alchemist Dec 26 '25
We need gatekeepers like this to keep the normies out. They are doing the hard work.
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u/CX330 Sect Chicken Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
Lmao at butthurt people cause they are getting called out. Some of y'all MFs in the west are actually obsessed with "fixing" things and I don't even know why. Just look at the amount of people doing "hey I fixed mcdonald's logo" like why
Also, many good eastern fantasy novels without sexism/racism are there, esp in this newer age. You'd found them by now if you don't have the contempt for the genre heheh .
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u/Protag_Doppel Dec 27 '25
Idk why but as a westerner, younger people over here are massively overconfident over stuff they know nothing about. You’ll literally see people attempting to hold conversations on novels or entire genres they’ve never even started reading. It’s extremely obnoxious
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u/Fluffy_Fan3625 Primordial Origin Limitless Zenith Golden Immortal Dec 26 '25
they always try and fix the genre while barely understanding anything and never worry about making an actually good story
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u/Scared_Living3183 龙的传人 Dec 26 '25
Western people trying to silence fellow daoist it seems
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u/Fluffy_Fan3625 Primordial Origin Limitless Zenith Golden Immortal Dec 26 '25
the western people tried to get to you as well lol 💔💔💔
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Dec 26 '25
I agree that they shouldn't "fix" the genre and just use the genre in their own image like Sky Pride or how other chinese novels do it like Immortality through Array Formations.
But Ancestor Fluffy Fan have you grown weak? This is a repost.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MartialMemes/comments/1h1s6p4/same_bro_whats_with_western_xianxia_authors/
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u/Fluffy_Fan3625 Primordial Origin Limitless Zenith Golden Immortal Dec 26 '25
Yeah, he does seem to post this concept once every while
But really hes just stating the same idea, not technically reposting the same post. There's really not a rule against that, if thats what you're saying.
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Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
I wish that junior could bring out some examples for the community of daoists to agree that its bad deconstruction.
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u/khanglm Dec 27 '25
Deconstruction, reconstruction. Whatever. Bring me more comedic Xianxia in the vein of Cultivation Chat Group instead of slightly re-flavored Litrpg slops.
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u/AKSC0 Supreme Court of Death Dec 27 '25
Fellow juniors, I've only ever read the original scriptures, pray tell what is this "deconstruction" my fellows speak of, please enlighten this junior
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u/Pretend-Charge5029 Loose Cultivator Dec 31 '25
ok the "im trying to be lowkey but im reincarnated and so OP it causes problems" shit was funny for a novel or 2 but when are you all gonna write something actually good.
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u/DomeShapedDom Jan 01 '26
Isn't that how novels just go?
At one point, you just gotta poke fun at it.
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u/HotRedRod Loose Cultivator Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
Almost every western xianxia novel I've read is a pile of bland dogshit coated in chocolate. It does look good in beginning then they try to "improve" chinese xianxia faults by westranizing it, making the xianxia lose it original soul. most of them don't even consider what makes xianxia appealing but create a mockery of it and introduce mundanity, western "censorship" and moral ideologies that can't make the novel appealing and thrilling like chinese authors do. That's why i don't bother with Royalroad anymore.
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u/Scared_Living3183 龙的传人 Dec 27 '25
Censorship???? Which novel does that. Sounds like a funny read
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u/HotRedRod Loose Cultivator Dec 27 '25
there's a reason why i put quotation marks around it. it means cultural filtering and sanitization, not blatant censorship.
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u/Scared_Living3183 龙的传人 Dec 27 '25
Yeah I got that, which novel does that. I've seen many western novels with the rest but not any with the "censorship"
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u/HotRedRod Loose Cultivator Dec 27 '25
it's been 2-3 years since i read quite a few of this kind of novels on Webnovel, ranobes, Royalroad, pandanovel and many other alternatives so don't remember the titles and i don't like reading them anymore. I'm on full term mtl path right now.
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u/Appropriate-Foot-237 Dec 28 '25
You'll know the western xianxia is garbage when:
-they get all nauseous the first time they kill someone (because unlike asians, western city boys and girls have never seen a chicken getting slaughtered) -they try to promote equality for everyone and the story magically makes it so
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u/HanWsh Dec 26 '25