For people who like: unlimited flow, Chinese horror, a protagonist who thinks.

Liu Zhiyi gets back from the hospital. Her dead mother is walking around the flat with a cleaver. The stray cat she used to feed talks now. There's a kid's smartwatch under a cushion with a task on the screen: Welcome home, to your sweet home.

The horror is Chinese. Paper offerings, funeral customs, the things you don't do at a wake. Every dungeon is built out of that. You don't need to know any of it going in.

She's ordinary and she's calm. She works things out, she gets things wrong, and she gets hurt when she does. The author's own note calls it ordinary-person survival and leveling, and flags it 18+.

Tagged gore and cruelty.

Small cast, no hub world, no rankings. Curious whether other people want the full apparatus or like it this minimal.

79 chapters, all up, finished.

https://www.puffinfolio.com/novel/the-horror-game-goes-live

Hey everyone! It's GTea and LD! We translate The Overlord of Puluo, and we recently got this review of our translation labeling PULUO as a racist novel after reading up to Chapter 14. We thought it would be a good topic to bring up here, as it is likely something that has happened for other novels as well.

TLDR: We assume it is because of the use of the term “foreign devil” by a character in Chapter 12, and while we understand being put off by the language, I think most of us can agree that context is important here. After all, a character expressing racist or xenophobic views doesn't automatically mean the novel/author endorses those views. 

Firstly, Puluo is an isolated province in a setting that is inspired by early 20th-century China (around the 1930s). That was a time when the country was still quite closed off and lacking in knowledge of other races/countries. It was not unusual for people to have ignorant and biased views against foreigners. This isn't a thing that is specific to China; it is related to how long a country has been exposed to globalism.

Secondly, the character in question (He Haiqin) was portrayed as being a jerk in that chapter, so we are inclined to believe the author was condemning xenophobia, not promoting it. This is a recurring thing that happens with various characters in the novel. It reflects the prejudices of the setting and clearly seems to be used as a point for plot and character development, rather than racist/xenophobic propaganda like the reviewer suggests. 

For anyone who wants the longer explanation with examples, here it is!

Spoilers up to Chapter 324 below!

For context, Chapter 12 introduces Cedric, a foreign physician who comes to treat He Haiqin. He Haiqin dislikes foreigners, calls him a "foreign devil," and doesn't trust him because he's foreign.

Yes, He Haiqin is being xenophobic here. But Cedric actually cures him, and even after acknowledging his medical skills, He Haiqin still refuses to change his attitude. To us, this shows how unreasonable He Haiqin is being. Cedric has already proven him wrong, but he still holds on to that prejudice.

An important thing to note here is that there are other characters that welcomed Cedric. He Haiqin's prejudice wasn't shared by everyone in the scene, and he was clearly portrayed as a jerk for it.

As mentioned before, the setting means we should not expect the novel’s characters to have modern attitudes toward other countries and cultures. That doesn't make their prejudice okay, but it gives us context for their behavior. Had we chosen to change the xenophobic language to something safer, it would have ruined the whole dynamic between He Haiqin and Cedric, as well as the plot/character development. 

In Chapters 68 and 72, there's a character named Daboinsky who responds to people mocking his foreign mannerisms with this:

"A true gentleman is not defined by blood, for courtesy and grace transcend all nations."

We wouldn't use one character's words to claim we know the author's personal beliefs, just as we wouldn't use He Haiqin's words to do that. But this does show that prejudice doesn't go unchallenged within the story.

Then there's Chapter 168, which is probably the example we want to talk about most.

Cedric, the same foreign doctor from Chapter 12, works with our MC, Li Banfeng, to eliminate a mosquito disaster that's leaving people starving. Cedric becomes exhausted and can't walk anymore, so Li Banfeng carries him through the wind and snow, despite the pus covering his body.

During their conversation, Li Banfeng explains that he stayed to help because he has experienced hunger himself. Cedric then shares that he and his younger brother suffered from illness, abuse, and starvation as children. His brother eventually starved to death.

Li Banfeng offers him extra food and liquor so he can commemorate his brother. The two connect through knowing what it feels like to go hungry, even though they come from different countries. The story gives us reasons to understand and care about the person He Haiqin dismisses as a "foreign devil."

Later, in Chapter 323, Cedric saves Ma Wu, one of Li Banfeng's closest friends. He explains that treating patients is his duty as a doctor, and that Li Banfeng helped him before, so it's only right that he returns the favor.

In Chapter 324, Cedric himself talks about how the people of Puluo treat him the worst. They keep calling him a "foreign devil," even though he loves Puluo. We get to hear about that hostility from the person receiving it. This is giving the victim a voice.

We're not saying Cedric is some perfectly good person. He definitely isn't hahaha. He's very questionable in quite a few ways (if you've read further, you know). But there's much more to him than being "the foreign guy." We get reasons to sympathize with him and reasons to distrust him through his experiences and actions.

Having a sympathetic foreign character doesn't automatically settle every question about prejudice in a novel. But these scenes are why we disagree with that review. He Haiqin judges Cedric before getting to know him, while the story shows us how much that judgment leaves out.

Of course, nobody has to keep reading a novel they're uncomfortable with, and we're not saying someone needs to read hundreds of chapters before they're allowed to criticize it. We just wanted to explain our reasoning with examples, because we think there's a meaningful difference between saying Chapter 12 contains xenophobic behavior and saying the novel itself is racist. It would be really sad if anyone else were deterred from reading PULUO just because of a preliminary assumption that having a xenophobic character means the whole novel is promoting xenophobia, especially when that is clearly not the case here.

Felt a bit nervous to post this. Any thoughts? To what extent does the mention/use of racism/xenophobia in a novel make it unappealing for you? Or maybe you want to just share some love for Cedric, the pus slurper? Honestly, he’s one of the most memorable characters in the novel, so no hate for the foreigner here! 😂

Hey everyone,

Like a lot of people here, I read a ton of web serials and progression fantasy on my phone. But reading 1,000+ chapters in web browsers with infinite scrolling, ad popups, or laggy EPUB converters gets tiring fast.

I’ve been working on a lightweight mobile app called Litty. Instead of traditional page-flips or endless vertical dragging, it streams plain .txt chapter files from your local storage like a bottom-anchored chat thread:

Bottom-Anchored Stream: New text appends at the bottom baseline so your eyes never have to travel up and down a crowded page.

Micro-Pacing: It can stream text line-by-line automatically, creating a nice rhythm/anticipation for action scenes and cliffhangers.

2.5 MB & 100% Offline: Zero ads, zero tracking, zero internet required. You just point it at your local folder of .txt chapters.

Zero Lag on Huge Serials: Because it renders native text nodes on the fly, handling a 2,000-chapter web novel consumes almost no memory.

Attached are screenshots of Dracula in the reader view and Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint on the library screen.

I'm preparing to release it soon and would love your thoughts:

Does reading web serials line-by-line in chat bubbles feel like it would reduce screen fatigue for long binge sessions?

For people who download/archive web novels locally as .txt files, what features would you want in a distraction-free reader?

Had to stop reading because I noticed a glaring issue that severely affected my immersion, and I just need to vent it out.

​As many of us know, this is written by the author of My House of Horrors...a series that became one of the main pillars of my webnovel reading journey.

​First off, I really appreciate the author's storytelling style...the way he weaves plot points together to keep readers hooked, even when the tension ramps up continuously without a break. Usually, reading a story with non-stop action and no breathing room for the MC to "digest" his gains can be exhausting, but balancing those ups and downs is one of this author's core strengths. If viewed in isolation, those story elements work brilliantly.

​However, what really messes things up and convolutes the narrative is the game aspect. The System feels like it's only there for convenience. If you look at the core plot, the story would actually feel just as great...or even better...without the virtual game premise. It would be far more compelling if it were simply replaced with a trope like "the MC finds an old relic that grants him access to a dark, cryptic world."

There are many more issues, but I think I can just close one eye to enjoy the rest, lol. Should we blame the CCP for this happening????

Hi everyone,

I’m a Hong Kong wuxia author, and I’ve been experimenting with different ways of translating my Chinese fiction into English.

A fellow Redditor, u/HeartBtz, kindly offered to run the same chapter through Libris, a translation tool he suggested. That gave us the idea of comparing two different translation approaches using the exact same Chinese source.

Instead of arguing about which method is better, I thought it would be more useful to let readers judge the actual writing.

Below are two English translations of the same scene from the same chapter.

I’m deliberately not saying which method produced Version A or Version B yet.

I do have the full chapter in both versions, but I’m keeping the main post to one scene so it’s easier to compare. If people are interested, I can share the full versions later.

What I’m most curious about:

• Which version reads more naturally in English?
• Which is easier to follow if you don’t normally read wuxia?
• Which has clearer action?
• Most importantly: which one makes you want to keep reading?

VERSION A

With a rush of sleeves through the air, fifteen Black-Clad Riders surrounded the ruined temple inside and out, leaving no room for even a fly to get through. Three of them entered. The one in front said, “Li Santong, hand over the item without a fuss, and I’ll give you a quick death!”

All the Black-Clad Riders had their sleeves bound up and wore dark, blackened tokens at their waists. Cast on each token was a lifelike hunting hawk, wings spread as if about to strike. Each man wore a black cloak embroidered with a hawk in black thread. Their clothes were all exactly alike, as if one man had fifteen doubles.

The speaker had prominent cheekbones and a strong, steady voice, clearly an expert in the inner arts. He held a pair of gleaming-silver judge’s pens in his left hand and pointed at Li Santong with his right.

Li Santong’s expression remained calm. “You’ve pursued me all the way from Pingyang. What is it you want?” He seemed unruffled, but had already gathered his qi in secret. His left hand held a handful of pebbles he had picked up from the ground, while his right gripped the saber he had taken from his back. The blade was already drawn.

The Black-Clad Leader roared, “How long do you think you can keep up the pretense?” As he spoke, the two black-clad men on either side drew their weapons at once. The one on the left held a chain dart; the one on the right, a pair of gleaming hexagonal bronze hammers. Together they lunged at Li Santong.

Li Santong swept his left hand outward, sending a shower of pebbles straight at the black-clad man with the bronze hammers. The man was startled. A pebble pierced his left eye, its remaining force carrying it straight into his brain. He died without a sound.

The man with the chain dart struck at Li Santong with his left palm. Li Santong kicked inward with his right leg, deflecting the blow, while his right hand swung his saber at the man’s left back.

Every one of the Black-Clad Riders pursuing Li Santong was a master of some martial skill, but at their very first exchange, Li Santong killed one with a single move. The man with the chain dart knew then that Li Santong was no easy opponent. Though his back was exposed, he immediately rolled across the ground, nimbly dodging Li Santong’s saber. At the same time, he flung the chain dart. Its silver gleam plunged like a falling meteor before Li Santong. The dart had not yet spent its momentum when the silver chain at its tail curved back like a venomous snake. In an instant, a silver serpent coiled around Li Santong, striking and snapping at him.

Li Santong used his lightness skill to race around the broken clay statue. His eyes took in everything, and he spotted a fine crack in the statue’s right arm. He ran to the front of its right hand and feigned the slightest falter in his step. He knew the expert before him had a keen eye and would seize any chance to win. But if he made the opening too obvious, the man would grow suspicious, so he let his step sink only slightly.

Sure enough, seeing this rare opening, the man with the chain dart immediately drove it at full force toward Li Santong’s face. Li Santong shifted his step and nimbly dodged the dart; it struck the statue’s hand.

The man with the dart yanked the silver chain, but it would not budge. He gathered his strength and tried to pull the dart back again. Li Santong silently channeled his inner power and suddenly broke off the statue’s arm. The silver serpent, once so nimble, now carried a hundred-pound stone arm as it hurtled back with a rush of wind. The man yanked hard to reclaim his weapon, and the stone arm struck toward him like a giant concealed weapon. He was so terrified that he let go. He had just dodged the hundred-pound stone arm when Li Santong’s saber slashed soundlessly toward him.

A clash of metal rang out. A gleaming-silver judge’s pen darted in from the side, neatly deflecting Li Santong’s full-force slash. Li Santong felt half his body go numb and a stabbing pain in the web of his thumb. He knew the man before him was the greatest master he had ever faced.

END OF VERSION A

VERSION B

Cloaks snapped through the air. Fifteen black-clad riders had surrounded the temple, inside and out, leaving scarcely room for a fly to pass. Three entered. The man in front spoke.

“Li Santong. Hand it over, and I’ll give you a quick death.”

All fifteen had their sleeves bound close and a dark metal token hanging at the waist. Each token bore a lifelike hawk, its wings spread as it swooped upon its prey. A hawk was also embroidered in black thread on every cloak. Their clothing was identical, as though one man had been copied fifteen times.

The speaker had prominent cheekbones and a powerful, steady voice. He was plainly an adept in the internal arts. He held a pair of gleaming silver judge’s pens in his left hand and pointed at Li Santong with his right.

“You gentlemen have followed me all the way from Pingyang,” Li said calmly. “What can I do for you?”

He kept his face composed, but had already gathered his qi to its fullest strength. His left hand concealed a handful of stones picked up from the floor. In his right he gripped the saber he had taken from his back and drawn from its sheath.

“Let’s see how long you can keep playing the fool!” the leader shouted.

The men on either side drew their weapons and lunged at Li. The one on the left carried a chain dart; the other held a pair of six-sided bronze hammers that gleamed like gold.

Li swept his left hand outward. The stones flew like a sudden burst of rain toward the man with the hammers. Before the man could recover from his surprise, one had pierced his left eye and driven on into his brain. He died without a sound.

The man with the chain dart struck at Li with his left palm. Li kicked inward with his right leg, turning the blow aside, while his saber cut toward the left side of the man’s back.

Every one of Li’s pursuers was highly skilled. Yet Li had killed one of them in the first exchange, and the man with the chain dart knew he was facing a dangerous opponent. His back was exposed, but he dropped at once and rolled clear of the blade. As he moved, he cast his dart. It flashed before Li like a falling star. Before its flight was spent, the silver chain drew it round again, and the dart circled Li like a snake, striking from one angle after another.

Li used his lightness skill to move swiftly around the broken statue. Watching his surroundings as he ran, he noticed a fine crack in its right arm. He moved in front of that arm and let his footing falter ever so slightly. An opponent this alert would seize the smallest opening. Too obvious a lapse would make him suspicious, so Li allowed no more than a brief sinking of his step.

The man with the dart saw his chance and sent the weapon straight at Li’s face with all his strength. Li shifted his feet and slipped aside. The dart embedded itself in the statue’s hand.

The man tugged on the chain. The dart would not move. He pulled harder. Li gathered his internal strength and suddenly struck the statue’s arm, breaking it off. The dart that had moved so nimbly now came flying back with an arm of clay and stone weighing more than a hundred jin. The man’s own pull sent the great weight hurtling toward him. In alarm, he released the chain. He had just dodged the flying arm when Li’s saber came silently toward him.

Metal rang against metal. A silver judge’s pen reached in from the side and deflected Li’s full-force cut with apparent ease. Half his body went numb, and pain tore through the web between his thumb and forefinger. He knew that the man before him was the most formidable fighter he had ever faced.

END OF VERSION B

Which one would you choose — A or B?

You don’t need to give a detailed critique. Even just “A” or “B” and a quick reason why would be really useful.

I’ll reveal which translation is which after people have had some time to vote and comment.

Thanks for helping me settle this little wuxia duel. 😅

Mc was crippled by his in laws and shunned by them, his wife remains cold and distant despite their romantic past. He has and always admired swordsmanship and has never given up despite being crippled, and created his own style. Couple years later he found his dead wifes corpse still wearing their wedding ring. Regressed yaddy yadda

Hey I saw this other post on COTHE and I was wondering if it was still on hiatus? I tried looking online but everything else was on chapter 185 and I’m at chapter 587.

I'm trying to find the title of a Chinese novel i found on a video recapping . As always in these "Manhwa Recap" videos the title is rubbish and has little to do with the novel being narrated. I’m not sure if I can post YouTube links here, so I’ll avoid it. As usual with these channels, the characters’ names have been changed and the genders of the characters have been swapped(in this case it's Japanese-Style, so it's in Japan and with Japanese names), so I’ll give a quick recap of the story based on what I can understand from the robotic narration:

A brilliant heart surgeon(male in the recap, probably female) has been raising a young child(daughter?son? in the recap it's female) abroad after a painful marital breakdown several years earlier. The surgeon's wealthy, powerful spouse(female in the recap, but the domineering CEO-type it's a male, come on) believes that the surgeon and their newborn(if it's newborn, seeing that it's a reconstruncion with the "Male" it needs to be, but maybe in the OG the MC is pregnant) child died in an incident at sea. When the child, who is almost six, discovers a photograph of her estranged parent hidden under the surgeon's pillow, he finds an address and phone number written on the back. He secretly travels alone to find this parent, eventually arriving at their home and insisting that they are his mother/father. The wealthy parent is shocked by how closely the child resembles them and secretly arranges a DNA test.

Meanwhile, the surgeon discovers that the child has disappeared and returns to their former home country to retrieve him. At the airport, the wealthy parent encounters the surgeon, who wears sunglasses and a face mask to avoid being recognized. A rival of the CEO spouse who admires the surgeon also happens to be there, and the two publicly compete for the surgeon's attention. The encounter is broadcast live, allowing the little girl to recognize her parent on television and arrange a secret reunion.

Does anyone recognize the original Chinese title?

Thank you!

Read it 5-10 years ago; MC is a wizard who after many chapters owned a wizard tower, here he experimented with rare materials from other realms. He found a way to enter these realms with the use of those materials.

He became one of the territory leaders in the shadow realm (or was it called nightmare realm?) while pretending to be a native from there. He also way less frequently managed to enter the dream realm. Here he got hunted by a powerful being.

He became one of the territory owners of the shadow realm. There was also a fae realm. All these realms try to invade each other. The shadow realm plans for a full invasion of the main realm but the MC informs the main realm in time and they manage to trap and kill some of the high level beings of the shadow realm.

I just finished longevity simulation and wanted to ask some questions
1. What era did sun piamo originally come from and why did he write the book about mountain and sea and star
2. who ripped the pages from that book
3. couldn’t Li fan go back or visit the original universe? he seemed to be stuck in nothingness at the end and bored
4. what happened to the new new method was it ever finished after the aunt advanced it?

I would appreciate the help trying to remember the novel title. The novel was about a female space pirate/engineer who, after an accident with while on a spaceship, gets transmigrated to modern day China into someone with the same name. Her family didn't like who she transmigrated into and she immediately cut ties with them when the father tried to sell off the past host. The beginning part is set where she still goes to uni but she does graduate later on. She then uses her knowledge of advanced technology to make a living for herself. She starts a futuristic bar and later gets noticed by the country and she helps them develop their technology.

I don't think it was transmigration into novels or anything like that. She doesn't have anything with her, no space, system or anything, just her knowledge of advanced tech. Its more like modern 2010s not like the "transmigrated into the 60s/70s/80s/etc" novels. The novel was completed when I found it.

I don't remember the name of the novel. Basically the MC is reborn into a new world, he thinks this world is special but could never find anything extraordinary, he even trains in martial arts thinking that might be the path. One day he visits the restaurant or a food shop of a female classmate for something and meets her dad, due to certain misunderstanding, her dad gives him the only quota for a game as he is a retired player. Her dad's identity as a retired player is not known by his daughter. The father thinks the MC approached him to get the quota. In this game the player can travel to another world and the game will create an identity matching the world. The players can learn the power system of the world and bring it back to the real world but I don't think they can cultivate in the real world. The mc is special because he has two souls and hence can awaken twice for the same power system when others can only awaken once. In one world the mc awakens the ability to summon an angel and a devil, in another world he awakens the bloodline of two dragons, in another world he awakens the ability to use two divine weapons. The devil has the ability to recover most fatal injuries at a cost of increased pain. One of the dragons has the ability to speed up and slow down time, the other one can acquire abilities of other creatures. PLEASE HELP ME FIND IT, I AM GOING CRAZY OVER IT !!!!!!

He once got a power up from beating that S-class Puglist, one that originaly granted immense temporary power up at the cost of loss of potential(aka increased xp needed per level up), but without the drawback.

I can remember 3 or 4 times were he used it to intimidate his enemies and each time it was pretty epic, but i have forgotten when exactly they happened.

Hey guys! I think I may have found a hidden gem. To be honest. I don't often make post like this. I often just leave my thoughts in the 'what have you read this week' thread. I felt the story was so interesting that some of you might really enjoy it. Do you love time loops? Do you love when the MC is completely fearless? Not afraid of death? Able to end themselves without hesitation? Imagine this. You are diagnosed with cancer at age 29. You only have three months to live. What do you do? This is effectively a story about what a character would do in this situation. I know that probably sounds a bit boring. His world is very much like our own. There isn't any supernatural power on the surface at least. The MC does die due to his own means at the end of these three months. But this is where things get interesting. He awakens the day of his diagnosis. At first, he is happy with this 'situation'. But then it happens again, again, and again...How long exactly does this last? Well...
2000 years later:
The MC has developed a certain philosophy due to his infinite time. He treats life like a game that can be mastered. He has mastered over 6,000 languages. He has become an expert in every possible field. He has experienced countless pains and pleasures. What I found quite interesting is he has actually solved some real concepts in life that would allow him to bypass most encryption.
P versus NP problem:
This is part of the foundation of the MC's 'hacking' ability. The MC is able to hack into almost anything. It doesn't seem like the MC's talent or IQ is average. In two thousand years, he has conquered and solved some unsolvable problems. This isn't just in math or even computer science. Even when it comes to biological/genetics or manufacturing technology. Things a person couldn't possibly remember even with thousands of years of time. How does one memorize entire gene sequences? The MC has essentially progressed exponentially. He has mastered multi-tasking techniques that are LITERALLY impossible. His memory has long transcended even photographic memory. He has transformed into an extremely monstrous savant.
Boredom:
The MC has to keep learning and growing to keep himself from going insane. It is like groundhog day on steroids. Since he has months instead of a single day. He can do research and achieve things that even that person wouldn't be able to do. His knowledge reserves cover EVERYTHING. Everything I just described. You might think I've spoiled you? Nah! This is BEFORE the story starts. The actual story starts on the 10,000 rebirth (as you can tell from the title).
Review:
You don't actually get to see the MC go through his training arc. You start the story with a bit of something new. He doesn't wake up on the day of his diagnosis as usual. He awakens in his 18 year old body. He has no idea if he retained his ability to be reborn upon death. But he has ALL the skills and knowledge accumulated over 10,000 loops. There is a reason for this that I won't spoil. So, you might ask. Why read this? There are some interesting aspects like his organization or blood of blood. A organization with a history of over a thousand years that has hidden in the background with massive power. If you are curious whether or not he retains his power. Click this spoiler Yes. He can still go back in time upon death. But the rules have changed. He will ALWAYS return to the last time he woke up. He also only has ten thousand loops left. What I especially found interesting is there is no doomsday or apocalypse. He has to create his own meaning. There is no saving the world, only conquering it.
I'd rate it 5/5 as of chapter 963 (Completed).
Honestly. You guys probably know I love time loops by now. Stories like '24 hours to save the world' or 'Resurrection Empire' are absolutely among my favorites. This story feels legendary. I have been looking for a story like this one for a long time. I generally judge a book by the goldenfinger and how interesting the main character is versus how good the world-building or characters are. But I found the world to be rather interesting. There is more to it then you would expect. I was caught off guard by some of the secrets revealed later.
Where can I read it?
I do realize this post would be pretty meaningless if you couldn't find where to read it. To be honest, this story has been uploaded multiple times under different names to different sites. It turns out it was originally published on fanqienovel. I'll also list the alternate names I saw it under:

• 第一万次重生 - The ten thousandth rebirth
• 大佬無限復活 - The boss can resurrect infinitely
  
• 復活天尊 - Resurrecting Celestial Venerable
  
• 在下就是無敵 - I am invincible.
  
• The Boss is Infinitely Resurrected
  

So you can find it here. In this review, I only really talked about the premise. The MC becomes a legend called the 'Night God'. A notorious criminal that steals national treasures and robs billionaires. Honestly, I really enjoyed this story. I hope some of you also enjoy it! The only thing I disliked was the romance. But it becomes a bit clever later and isn't generic at all. I won't spoil how. This was a fun one. The MC is sort of like a version of Sherlock Holmes. He can easily deduce most secrets without even needing to rely on his time loop ability. It makes him seem omniscient. The MC actually does have blindspots in certain hidden experiments. But he is able to easily exploit flaws and remove downsides to certain products. The hidden organization truly has some interesting technology that he has never explored before. This is like adding wings to a tiger and allows him to become insanely overpowered. Things like time dilation drugs, brainwashing tech, longevity pills, artificial intelligence.

Hi, I'm Kei, translator and editor of Beyond the Zenith. I wanted to share a short audio snippet from chapter two of the novel, which I think captures something interesting about how the story draws readers into its seemingly innocuous world so early on: a fight scene.

This is by no means unusual, but the particular setting of Beyond the Zenith—1990s military, alien, sci-fi-in-progress (as in developing technology based on new alien resources but not actually being at the high-tech stage yet)—allows it to lean into the intrigue of it all. Neither we nor the MC truly know what's happening, and the MC is only an observer, but that doesn't make it any less tense. If anything, I think being placed in the position of an ignorant spectator makes the experience all the more unsettling.

I think it also does a good job of making us wonder what the future holds for the MC once he eventually becomes the one standing on the battlefield.

Personally, I also think fight scenes serve as a good metric for how well an author can build tension and, to some extent, the overall writing quality I can expect from the novel.

Anyway, I'm curious if you agree. What do you think makes a good opening battle scene? Do you think it's an effective world-building technique? Or do you prefer a slower introduction?

Novel by: 情何以甚 (Qing He Yi Shen)

This daoist has finished the whole thing. All ~10.9 million characters of it.

1. Premise

On paper it’s a pretty classic setup. A young daoist disciple from a small city gets betrayed by someone he trusted, loses everything, and climbs his way up for revenge. But the world is basically the Spring and Autumn / Warring States era with cultivators, where nations rise and fall based on their top tier experts, so one person can literally decide a war. The opening is famous for how un-web-novel it is: the first chapter spends most of its time on a Chu prodigy named Zuo Guanglie in a massive battle, and the MC only shows up at the very end. Revenge is just the starting point though. The book slowly grows into a story about what one guy with a “red heart” does in a world where heaven doesn’t care about anyone.

Score: 9/10

2. Protagonist

Jiang Wang (姜望) is one of the best MCs I’ve ever read. He’s not a schemer, not a face slapper, not a heartless demon. He’s stubborn, loyal, and has a moral line he won’t cross even when crossing it would make his life way easier. What gets me is he actually grows. The kid from Maple Forest City and the man at the end feel like the same person after decades of living, not just the same guy with bigger numbers. He keeps his red heart the whole way, but it gets tested so many times that when he keeps it, it actually means something.

Score: 10/10

3. Supporting Characters

This is where the book is untouchable. There are hundreds of named characters and somehow almost all of them feel like real people with their own goals, pride and grudges. Chongxuan Sheng (重玄胜), aka the fatty, might be my favorite best friend character in any web novel. They first meet in the Taixu Illusion Realm under the fake names Dugu Wudi and Zhen Wudi, and the bond they build from there is just peak. Even the tiny characters hit hard, like the nameless soldiers of Maple Forest City or an old teacher standing in front of his students. And the author is not afraid to kill important characters, so nobody has plot armor just because you like them. Rivals, villains, emperors, they all act like they’re the MC of their own story. That’s what makes this world feel actually real.

Score: 10/10

4. Worldbuilding

Gonna be honest, this is one of the two weaker parts for me. The world is big and deep: hegemon states like Qi, Chu and Jing, the Taixu Illusion Realm, demon and sea races, and a whole buried history of lost eras (the synopsis literally asks what happened to the demons, the dragons, the age of gods and the age of flying swords). The author also goes deep on every little secret realm and faction. But it doesn’t have that “holy crap” factor. LOTM’s and RI’s worlds are just more mind blowing as concepts. Here the world is more the stage for the characters than the star of the show.

Score: 8.5/10

5. Power system and Progression

Same deal. The realm ladder is pretty traditional: Wandering Meridian, Zhoutian, Tongtian, Tenglong, Inner Palace, Outer Tower, Divine Descent, True Insight, all the way up to Transcendence. Nothing like LOTM’s Sequences or RI’s Gu. Where it shines is the progression itself. Jiang Wang never skips realms for free, every breakthrough is earned, and the fights are written so clearly you can see them in your head. So when he does punch way above his weight, like taking on True Insight cultivators while still at Divine Descent, it feels earned instead of cheap.

Score: 8.5/10

6. Plot

The execution is just masterful. The revenge arc against Zhuang Gaoxian (庄高羡) takes millions of characters to pay off, and when it finally lands it hits so hard because of everything before it. After that the story opens up into national politics, wars between hegemons and the fate of the whole human race, and the author juggles all of it without dropping the ball. Stuff set up hundreds of chapters earlier gets paid off right when you’ve forgotten about it. And moments like Jiang Wang fighting six True Insight cultivators outside Tianjing City are some of the hypest scenes in any web novel, period. I know a lot of Chinese readers were split on the later volumes and the ending, saying the MC shows up less and the final war felt rushed. I get the complaint but I don’t agree. For me there wasn’t a single volume that let me down.

Score: 10/10

7. Pacing

The start is slow, no lie. When it went paid it got around 60 first day subscriptions, which is crazy considering where it ended up. The first volume takes its time with daily life, small characters and the hometown, and a lot of people drop it early. But that slow build is exactly why the payoffs hurt so much later. Push through the first few volumes and it just snowballs.

Score: 8/10

8. Themes & Ideas

The whole book is in its tagline: 我有赤心一颗，以巡天, “I have one red heart, and with it I patrol the heavens.” If RI is Fang Yuan proving a selfish demon can walk the path to the end, this book is the opposite. It’s about a guy holding onto sincerity, loyalty and his own sense of justice in a world where heaven is so impartial it’s basically heartless. It asks what one person owes their nation and what justice even means when every country has its own, and it actually takes its time with those questions instead of just preaching.

Score: 10/10

9. Emotional Impact

This book wrecked me multiple times. Characters you spent hundreds of chapters with die and it genuinely hurts, and the friendships, especially with the fatty, carry so much weight. The hype moments go just as hard the other way.

Score: 10/10

10. Originality

The skeleton (revenge, cultivation, climb to the top) isn’t new. What’s original is how it’s done. The MC doesn’t win just because he’s the MC, the writing reads more like a published novel than a web novel, and the side cast gets as much love as he does. This book is the prime example of masterful execution beating even novel ideas.

Score: 9/10

11. Consistency & Logic

For a book this massive, it’s crazy how tight it stays. Characters act like themselves, fights follow the rules the book set up, and foreshadowing from the very early volumes comes back way later. There are a few late game power scaling calls people argue about, but across 10+ million characters that’s nothing.

Score: 9/10

Overall: 10/10

Is it a slow burn? Yeah.

Is it worth it tho? 100%. This is the best xianxia ever written and it sits above LOTM for me. Worldbuilding and power system go to LOTM and RI, but in characters and plot execution nothing touches it. Fun fact: the author was already a published novelist before this, and this was his FIRST web novel. It started October 2019, ended May 2026, went from 60 first day subs to one of the biggest books on Qidian, even got collected by the British Library, and he’s now going back to revise the whole thing. Peak of web novels. It even has its own manhua currently releasing.

Sorry if I'm in the wrong sub, but I'm looking for the names of two novels. They're mundane names like "Contract Marriage" or "Flash Marriage" or something like that.

First one is a woman who needs money quickly and ends up marrying a guy she knew in high school. Closest I can remember anything is that his name may have had "Bei" in it. They marry and she gets pregnant and her husband's stepmother ends up making her miscarry by giving her tonics laced with sleeping pills. Also, later her husband gets hurt and the only way to get his special blood is for his half brother, but the half brother demands she divorce her husband and get with him.

The second is a woman who is married, but her husband wants a divorce to marry his affair partner. She ends up with a guy who finds out that there are three women who probably were all switched at birth and the MC and him maybe siblings. The mc gets pregnant and abandoned and her ex-husband is actually the one who takes care of her during her pregnancy. The affair partner also initially thinks that she's the illegitimate daughter of some rich guy. The rice guy takes her in and is nice at first, but humiliates her at a party he throws later. She thinks it's announcement party for her, but the dad declares how much he hates illegitimate kids.

I know these are full of cliches, but if someone can help me, I would massively appreciate it.

I've read many novels, but It is the one I've had the most fun reading. It has a perfect balance between emotions, plot, schemes and comedy.

Most of the novel has been translated. The chapters are extremely long, so the translator splits each original chapter into three regular-sized chapters.

What I love most is the MC. He's a shameless troll, ruthless when he needs to be, and absolutely willing to take things too far. He cares about few of his family and friends and companions.

The other characters are intelligent, too. They learn from his past actions and predict and counter his moves instead of getting shocked every single time. Once they recognize him as a threat, they send their strongest people after him. Nobody just sits around waiting for him to grow stronger.

The characters in general are very well written and interesting. Very few are outright evil; most have their own motives and reasons for doing things. It makes the political maneuvering and conflicts much more interesting than a straightforward story of good guys fighting bad guys.. I also love that the MC's father is alive and plays an important role in the story. In a genre where the MC's parents are usually dead, absent or just a tragic backstory.

Another thing I appreciate is how the power scaling works. The MC isn't perfect at everything, and reaching a higher cultivation level doesn't mean he can suddenly defeat everyone below him. Other characters have their own talents, experiences and strengths, and some of them reach the same heights through their own paths. The MC actually needs his companions and followers, especially those with higher cultivation. Having a higher level doesn't automatically make others useless.

The plot keeps escalating without much unnecessary padding, and the overall story is surprisingly well connected.

I also like how cultivation is handled. I've always found it a little annoying in some cultivation novels, including certain Er Gen novels, when the MC becomes overly obsessed with achieving the most perfect foundation possible. They might fight above their cultivation level, but there are often limits to how far they can go. Here, the MC also works to perfect his foundations, but it allows him to skip some cultivation realms.

It has a\ hilarious undertone. Its not comedy novel but the author knows when to insert humour without completely ruining the atmosphere. A lot of the comedy comes naturally from the characters, their interactions, and the MC's shameless behaviour rather than feeling like random jokes thrown into the story.

Novelupdates Link

Ok this is my 5th er gen novel I have which I am currently reading and OMG er gen is so bad at writing romance . Like why the hell does plumdark fall in love with xu qing and she starts to like him after they met only twice WTH ? also there is no freaking chemistry nothing she just saw him in eight sect collision and already likes him wth ? And when they are in the county and openly says to her friends that she has fallen in love with xu qing . I think er gen doesn't understand how badly it affects the reader's experience when he writes this kind of romance with virtually 0 understanding involved. Hes been doing this with every single novel and I am so tired. Just cause a female character talks with xu qing doesn't mean she already loves him that's not how it works omg 😭😭. The divine aura boy just messed with the two family girls emotions slightly so that she doesn't harm xu qing, but after a few chapters she says "xu qing looks like your father". No he doesn't he just messes with your emotions so that you don't harm him not to start having feelings for him GOD DAMMIT!!!!! Same with Gu muqing the medical girl from 2md peak and ding xui they only interacted with him like 1 time and boom the next time you see them they already like him . That's not how it works omg , I feel like smashing my phone to wall atp .give us the damn reason or just don't write it , it's not that hard .

Also don't spoil I am on ch428

Fanqie recently adjusted its contract policy. Authors at LV0 and LV1 can now only use the “completed-work signing” model, while LV2 and above can freely choose between serialization signing and completed-work signing.

“Completed-work signing” is a model Fanqie introduced in September. The author has to reach a certain word count (150,000 or 300,000 characters) and formally finish the book before they can apply, after which Fanqie reviews the entire work in one go.

What this means is that a new author who wants to sign with Fanqie has to finish writing a whole book first — and throughout that entire writing period, how the book will perform, whether it will make money, even whether it will get signed at all, is completely unknown. This raises the barrier to entry for new authors considerably.

And even if their first book does get signed, that doesn’t mean their next one can go back to the traditional serialization model — for that, the author needs to reach LV2. Under the latest standard, reaching LV2 requires earning over 3,000 RMB from a single work.

Fanqie has long been the worst-hit platform for AI-written novels. Earlier on, they limited how frequently authors could publish new works and how many characters they could update per day, in an effort to cut down on AI content. People in the industry suspect this latest change is mainly about raising the bar to block a large volume of AI works at the point of entry. But it’s fairly obvious that the heavier impact falls on the human authors trying to get into Fanqie.

The mc has a power where she/he can view thing from Very far away. I think that his main skill/power. And it can also control things like a body/clone or magic from far away.

That's actually what i remember, sorry if it's inconvenient. I only read this on post and forgot to save it huhu.

Anything similar will do.

5 / 5

A story about a guy who have the Losing Money To Become a Tycoon system, but unlike Pei Qian, he did lose his system money and gain tons of personal money.

How?

Well, all of the game that he created is the game that cost a lot of money to make, but don't rake in a lot, one such example is Detroit, in which a lot of people prefer to watch their favorite YouTuber play the game rather than buy the game and play it themself.

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to share a translation update for The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide.

We’ve now finished our English translation of everything currently available for the novel on BetterTranslation:

• 250 main-story chapters
• Side Stories 1–48

The latest release is Side Story 48: A Proud Maid (10), so at this point we’re completely caught up with the side stories the author has released so far.

It’s been a pretty long journey working through the entire story, so finally reaching the current end feels a little strange.

For anyone who was waiting until the translation was complete before starting, or anyone who finished the main story but never got around to the side stories, everything is now available from beginning to end.

Read it here:
https://bettertranslation9.wordpress.com/the-extras-academy-survival-guide-novel-english-translation/

And if the author eventually comes back with more side stories, we’ll be hoping for more right alongside everyone else.

In the meantime, if you enjoyed TEASG and are looking for something else, we’re also working on a few other series, you can find those on BetterTranslation too.

Thanks to everyone who’s been reading and supporting the translation along the way. It means a lot to finally reach the current end of this one with you guys.