LCD Absolute Resonance

Discussion in 'Latest Chapter Discussion' started by jacobpaige, Aug 18, 2021.

  1. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    Series link: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/absolute-resonance/

    C1: Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today, but the exposition characters spouting off paragraph after paragraph of extremely awkward expository dialogue to each other purely for our sake is even more irritating than normal.

    "the force known as power." I really hope that's just a bad translation...

    If he has three palaces, then shouldn't his cultivation speed be at least as fast as someone with a bottom tier resonance? Or do the palaces offer basically no benefit without a resonance (sans MC cheats obviously)?

    That aside, I wonder if he'll solve the problem by adding his own resonances to the palaces by capturing them in the world, or if the author will simply give him all resonances period. The latter seems more likely given the title, but I'd prefer the former since it would limit his OPness and drastically improve the odds of this story being worth reading.

    I wonder if the fiance will break it off right before he gets his OP cheat, or if she'll desperately want to marry him, but be prevented from doing so by various political forces and/or the MC. Of course, if we could avoid either cliche and have a real character, that would be awesome.

    C2: “I hope you won’t bother Li Luo any more. Otherwise… I will probably have to take extremely good care of your elder brother at the Astral Sage College.” Yay! There's hope for her to be an actual character and not a trophy/plot device sitting meekly in the background to reinforce how awesome the MC is and occasionally toss him power-ups before disappearing for a few hundred chapters only to reappear with a revealed mysterious background as the heir to some cosmic super power, only to disappear again so that the MC can rocket past her in terms of power and personal accomplishments before she reappears again to play the damsel in distress and either die tragically or marry him before fading into the background.

    Of course, the odds of that are still minuscule, but she's already showing slightly more personality than expected.

    C3: “Is this the legendary ‘annulment request’? But according to the way the script is supposed to play out, I should be the one making this request. Have you perhaps gotten things backwards?” I'm really starting to like her :)

    “It seems you don’t want to accept my proposal. There’s nothing else I can do.” There's a part of me that wants to laugh, and a part of me that thinks about how this situation would feel if their genders were reversed.

    "then as my way of showing gratitude, I will ‘grant’ you freedom from this engagement. Deal?” How does this make sense? She wants the marriage. Granting her release from it is hardly a gift. Plus, unless he becomes much, much more powerful than either of them have any reason to believe that he will, then he'll never be able to take over the house successfully. Even trying would get him assassinated.

    C4: *sigh* Things were going so well, and then they had to add in a completely unnecessary love triangle/harem :(

    C5: "Jiang Qing'e's sudden return was clearly unrelated to his upcoming seventeenth birthday tomorrow." Did he already forget where they just came from?

    "Even if House Luolan were the mightiest one around, it was ultimately external strength. In this world, only personal might was absolute." He seems to be forgetting that without that external strength, he'd have no possibility whatsoever of becoming a Duke. Heck, he'd probably be dead in a ditch right now.

    C6: Well, at least he won't be able to take in every resonance possible. I wonder if he'll go for purely elemental resonances. He won't be able to get all of them, but he should be able to get almost all of them. Well, assuming there are seven elements and he can't increase his resonances beyond six anyway.

    "become a rich Young Lord" What makes them think that he'll be able to maintain his status as a lord without them? Or are they expecting him to be a house husband to his much more powerful wife?

    That aside, why did they not leave any explanation about why they disappeared? Its pretty clear they saw it coming after all.

    I wonder if he'll try to raise his house up in order to build his wealth and network to help him acquire the things he needs to grow his power, or if he'll take the bog standard route of becoming a wandering bandit robbing and killing his way across all of creation.

    C7: "its affinity for vigorous, sustained attacks is unparalleled" What about Earth?

    "There were also alchemists" And here I was thinking that alchemists and resonance artificers were basically the same thing.

    Why would he touch it before reading the refining technique? What if it had killed him due to him not knowing how to properly handle it?

    Also, he should have warned his fiance so that she wouldn't worry about him, could arrange for someone to take care of him, and wouldn't wind up missing the very important meeting scheduled for the next day.

    That aside, I wonder what he plans to tell people about his new resonances.

    C8: "for another half a day." So, he spent the entire day lying on the floor before anyone thought to check on him?

    C9: "You, on the other hand.... you... have... nothing!" This feels like a que for the MC to reveal his new dual resonance.

    c10: Well, it sounds like the MC will be killing Pei Hao next year. I wonder if he'll be at the same cultivation as him when he does it.

    C11: "Just how many years could one use them for?" Well, if you're using 1-2 a month, then, at minimum, slightly more than two years. Though, when we consider the TL note that says 25 years, it raises the possibility that "once or twice a month" was actually a typo and was supposed to be "once or twice a year." If that's the case, then I have to wonder why he needs 50 when at most four were enough for Pei Hao to upgrade from the sixth rank to the seventh. Won't they lose effectiveness long before he uses them all?

    "Just how long would it take for House Luolan to recoup the losses from the Young Lord's wanton spending habits?" Two years. I wonder how she got her job if she's this bad at math.

    "Even though the majority of them had been moved to Xia City's headquarters" Then how does he know that the right one for him isn't there instead of here?

    "Find every single energy cultivation art that is appropriate for a fourth-grade resonance and bring them to me." Why? He can only use water and light. Not to mention the nigh infinite beast resonances, even the other elemental resonances are meaningless to him for now. Or does the type of resonance not really matter when selecting a cultivation technique?

    C12: "However, it was not as though he had absolutely no foundations so to speak." If he was able to cultivate at all, then why was that his first time using the cultivation chamber?

    "All of the goods have been sent to your room." Aren't they in a fairly remote area of the kingdom? How did she manage to find so many of such an expensive item? I figured she'd have to have most of the order custom made.

    C13: "This was because fifth-grade spirit liquids and purifying lights were multiple times more expensive." Then how did Pei Hao manage to afford sixth grade liquids and lights in sufficient quantity to upgrade to the seventh grade? He was only embezzling the profits of three businesses, and the entire family only generates 30k per year including those three businesses, which he's only been embezzling from for at most two years. Was he paid to betray the family in liquids and lights?

    "he knew that House Luolan's yearly profits from managing every business was only a few million pieces of skygold." Um, then why did the assistant think that the house only earned 30k per year? Or was that just the local profits and not the entire family's profits?

    "Shortly after, things came to a screeching halt as he exhausted his store of spirit liquids and purifying lights." So, why didn't he order more in advance once he realized he wasn't going to have enough?

    I wonder if he'll start turning around the local businesses by selling his superior liquids and lights. After he learns how to make them of course.

    "Astral Sage College... you will accept me!" I wonder what their minimum standard is. It should be much higher than just the Fifth Seal if he was able to so easily buy his way to it, especially when we ignore the liquids and lights that only brought his aptitude up to average.

    C15: "You, on the other hand, took a break to rest?" Are the teachers not aware of who his parents were and that he would definitely have better cultivation resources at home than the school could offer?

    C16: "Just a group of superficial wenches." Says the most superficial one...

    C17: "All of the cool, brooding hero momentum that he had gathered up for the stage..." Lol. I like this guy's chunni tendencies ;)

    C18: Why would they fight during cultivation time? Isn't it both precious and extremely limited?

    If Bei Kun is at the bottom of the First School, then why did Difa Qing send him to beat up the MC instead of just doing it herself?

    "Toy with him a bit, Liu Yang."
    "take him out in a move or two"
    So, which is it?

    I wonder if Fen Ling will be shameless enough to try to move the MC back to the First School.

    C21: Considering how certain everyone is that he won't be able to catch up by cultivating at the school, I have to wonder why he didn't stay home and keep cultivating there. He'd definitely advance faster. Even if he felt like he needed the resonance arts classes enough to justify going back, there's no reason he couldn't return home to cultivate. Sure, it'd be a bit of a commute, but the increase in cultivation speed would be worth it.

    "the entire Tianshu Province's income for House Luolan would just barely be enough." Wouldn't the other local houses move to suppress him by refusing to sell him the liquids or spirits? I mean, they have to be coming from a shop controlled by one of the four families, and he's basically deciding right here to shut down all of his family's local businesses, which means he'll have to buy from one of the other three. And they have every reason to want to suppress him and prevent him from going to that college.

    "It seemed that the prettier the lady, the more petty they were!" Not really. No one likes being ghosted, especially not for something as petty as jealousy or envy.

    C22: "Whilst on his carriage back home" Wait. So he goes home every day? Then wtf is he not going home half way through the day to use his family's cultivation room instead of wasting his time on that inferior tree dealing with bullies?

    C23: It kinda feels like his fiance is building a harem for him...

    C24: I wonder how long it'll take him to surpass all others at his rank. I'm leaning towards immediately with his first successful concoction.

    Also curious if he can make a liquid/light hybrid potion, and if that would be better or worse than keeping them separate.

    C25: "Lastly, he would head to the Suncreek Villa and, under the guidance of Yan Lingqing, learn the arts of a resonance artificer." Just how late in the day does she work? Midnight?

    C26: "Looking at Southwind Academy as a whole, his chances of entering the top 20 were not small." Doesn't First School more than forty people who are stronger than him?

    C27: "His reason was that he had managed to raise a disciple that could refine a 56% tempering strength first-grade spirit liquid." Well, if that's his reasoning, then he's about to get his a** handed to him.

    C28: "do you think that would give me the right to be the supervisor of the first-grade refining workshop?" Why would he want that? He's not got enough time as it is without adding more to his plate.

    That aside, I wonder if she could give him a recommendation to the college based on this, thus letting him skip the qualifying tournament altogether.

    C29: "Isn't it the duty of the bride to protect the groom?" lol XD

    C31: "If he knew the result but still persisted, would that not make him a masochist?" No, but it would make you an idiot that risked your entire future for the sake of your pride. AKA: a generic protagonist.

    C32: I was truly hoping he'd surprise me by forfeiting. The guy is absolutely not worth his time, and fighting could set him back enough to wind up killing him. If we ignore plot armor, then he really, truly does not have time for this nonsense.

    C33: I'm guessing its the inclusion of Light.

    C34: "Did I just see something supernatural?" Um...Yes? Unless you maybe have a different definition of supernatural, then you've been seeing it basically every day for years now.

    C38: I wonder how long it'll take until he can produce his own liquids and lights. It feels like it should be a long way off.

    Also curious what he's planning to do about the workshop's quality once he's no longer about to provide his secret ingredient. Or, is he hoping that getting rid of the spy will smooth things out enough that his aid won't be necessary anymore to maintain an abnormally high quality standard?

    C39: "I would NEVER rely on my connections" Lol. I wonder if he actually expects her to believe that ;)

    C41: Why wouldn't Zheng Ping ask for the secret behind the 60% rating? He'd want to distribute it to the other workshops after all, and there's no reason for them to hide the secret from him as far as he knows.

    That aside, I'm still really not clear on how they're going to fulfill that contract in the long term.

    C44: It makes no real sense for his friend to have gone from the beginning of the sixth level to the seventh level in just three weeks when he has a worse cultivation talent than the MC and none of his resources.

    Why wouldn't you allocate slots based on the rankings that the students themselves achieved? How does it not make the college weaker to allocate them to the institutions instead?

    C46: "He would never have thought that this Young Lord would act so... lawfully" Lol. Its so nice to see an MC acting like an intelligent member of society and actually asking for help from authority figures when its appropriate ;)

    C47: So, is this not going to be a tournament then? Its sounding more like a race/free-for-all.

    C50: How would a light based illusion help against bats? And why would Yu Fang be in the competition when he was clearly disqualified during the prelims?

    C51: If you're guaranteed at least one point, then shouldn't getting zero be a red flag that something went wrong?

    C52: "These people were only around the Sixth Seal Stage." Wasn't the seventh stage the minimum to be allowed in?

    Why wouldn't the thief also shut their eyes after such a loud verbal warning?
     
  2. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    "Li Luo will use Water Shadow Art to hide the two of us following behind." Didn't he clearly state that moving would break the technique?

    I wonder how they split points between them. It didn't sound like the crystals had that functionality.

    Also curious why it didn't allow them to stick around after they hit 0 points. If they were strong enough to place fifth, but got taken out by the person who will be first, then the school would miss out on a talented student for no real reason.

    "Your work ethic is admirable, Sir." "Hey, love the work you do, right?" Lol.
     
  3. prasantbagale

    prasantbagale Well-Known Member

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    Doesn't feel any different from any other cultivation novels...

    Even the tropes.. I mean the parents are still missing, MC got the cheat from his parents (if not them, we always have a fortuitous encounter), even if the engagement is not broken, we will have an ice-cold jade beauty who treats him coldly and the bet, harem introduced very early (this is new)

    or is it too early to say ??
     
  4. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    So, did he kill the guy? If not, then how did he avoid doing so? If so, then that seems a bit extreme for a school entrance exam.
    It is honestly pretty generic, but it has some moments of originality when the protagonist goes off script, so to speak.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2021
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  5. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    So, four vs three once the MC shows up. I wonder if the traitor will also show up and betray his school more publicly. Also curious if his traitorous meeting was shown on the big screen.
     
  6. otaku31

    otaku31 Well-Known Member

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    Yup, it sure has its moments. While the bat episode in the first exam seemed to be forced comedy and the sexualized descriptions of various women distasteful, the bits where the author breaks the fourth wall like Qinge'e's remarks about how broken engagements are 'supposed' to play out or the protagonist actually uses his head and status to solve problems, thereby simultaneously poking fun at braindead xuanhuan tropes, is quite refreshing. And even the parents, while staying true to trope, still had a proper path laid out for the protagonist, even taking contingencies into account. That had to better than nothing, I guess?

    That said, if the protagonist's irreverence makes him somewhat likeable, then Yu Lang's antics make him a gem. Hope the novel carries this spirit forward instead of becoming another generic CN. Also praying the hitherto 'unconfirmed' harem never manifests to drag the story down.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2021
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  7. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I wonder why they keep insisting that it had to have been a long standing plot. There's no particular reason why it couldn't have been thrown together on the fly. There's plenty to be gained by knocking out a top 2 competitor.

    That aside, why isn't Difa helping? She should be right there, and she's the third strongest at her school, which should make her a match for at least one of the ambushers.
     
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  8. otaku31

    otaku31 Well-Known Member

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    Maybe because it involves multiple rival factions working together? That is not to say it cannot be agreed upon on a short notice, but there's bound to be more friction then. Actually, the others would stand to gain most if the top 2 wound each other, but since they seem to allying instead with the Shi Huang guy, it would suggest more of a preplanned action that something just put together on the go... at least that's what I think.

    As for Difa, I'm expecting her to join the fray soon. It would be ridiculous for Qinger and the MC to defeat all 4 by themselves, especially with a traitor waiting in the wings. I fact, I'm expecting the MC's friends to have secretly trailed him to lend a helping hand. They can surely cooperate to hold up one conspirator for some time, right? While the protagonist punching above his weight is expected, I sure hope it is kept to a believable level; I'm sick of a absurd ass-pull power ups turning the tide. Something that somewhat goes against the xuanhuan grain like what happened with the match against Song Yunfeng would be entertaining.

    Edit: Latest chapter's out.
    Difa is nowhere to be seen. Good riddance, but one wonders how she was taken out of the scene. MC makes a short appearance but doesn't engage in protracted battle; he simply makes a run for it, the beauty in his arms. He timed the interception well and is prolly frustrating his pursuer by hiding in plain sight. The classic knight in shining armor rescuing damsel in distress trope perfectly enacted, except the knight instead of fighting for her honor or challenging his opponent, elopes (or gives the impression of making off) with the belle on the metaphorical horseback. Fighting smart? :blob_grin:
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2021
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  9. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I hope he remembered to grab the cannonfodder's points before rescuing her ;)
     
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  10. otaku31

    otaku31 Well-Known Member

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    I think he would've liked to but couldn't cuz of a reason which will be obvious when you read the chapter. :blobpeek:

    If you don't mind being spoiled:
    they were frozen solid, i.e., completely encased in ice so he couldn't get to them.
     
  11. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    It really doesn't make much sense for the weak to help hunt her down. Even if they succeeded, they'd just be painting a bullseye on their own back.

    That aside, I don't think I'd want to attend a school that would actually want to recruit people who behave like this.
    That's not actually a spoiler...
     
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  12. otaku31

    otaku31 Well-Known Member

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    That was my first thought, too. I wouldn't have easily jumped on the bandwagon. But greed can blind many. Guess they are trying their luck, as most xianxia characters are wont to do.

    Don't xianxia worlds have this all's fair in love and war mindset? I think this would go under the 'luck' category. Managing to sniff out a conveniently injured top ranker and taking her down to pad up your points would indicate you have lady luck on your side- something the xianxia world seems to value as much as innate talent.

    P.S. Yeah, I know it wasn't a spoiler but I still put it within the spoiler box to avoid accidentally spilling details in case you hadn't gone through the latest chapter yet.
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2021
  13. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I was actually referring to the actions of Shi Huang et al.. The people fishing in troubled watters aren't nearly as bad as the ones that are actively torturing fellow competitors in an attempt to force another competitor into an ambush. The latter are opportunistic, while the former are simply bandits. Neither is particularly good, but there's a fairly wide moral gulf between the two.
     
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  14. otaku31

    otaku31 Well-Known Member

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    I'm sure they'd have been applauded for being go-getters instead, had they succeeded. Resorting to any means as long as the rules are not infringed upon would be prolly seen as signs of flexibility, ruthlessness and determination. I mean, it's set in a dog eat dog world and these schools are the battlegrounds where they are trained... and while any normal school wouldn't want students like that, xuanhuan academies are hardly normal.

    If anything, this has been quite tame so far. The lack of bloodshed in the first 60 chs has been somewhat disorienting, tho I'd love if it could continue for longer.
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2021
  15. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    Oh, I understand the logic from the school's perspective. We certainly see it often enough in these series. I'm speaking from the prospective student's viewpoint though. If this is the entrance exam, then the school itself will likely be a hellscape for anyone with insufficient backing. The odds of surviving, much less gaining anything of value from attending, would be quite low.
     
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  16. otaku31

    otaku31 Well-Known Member

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    Again, greed and parental/peer pressure. Yes, it's going to be hell; that has been pretty much alluded to. But the way I see it, these schools have no lack of prospective students, so if you flinch, you miss any chance of a better future. This is considering how many resources are in the hands of these schools; had they been in the public domain, the need for joining would not have been so urgent.

    P.S. I cannot help but think these competitions and selections are the authors' reimaginings of how the 'gaokao' would operate in a xuanhuan setting; I can certainly see the same rat race for getting into the top institutions.
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2021
  17. Guan Zhong

    Guan Zhong Well-Known Member

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    3...2...1...done

    lol

    This arc has been the most entertaining so far because of Yu Lang.
     
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  18. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    lol.

    If he was that close to 8th Seal, then why didn't he breakthrough before the test? Was it just so he'd attract less attention?
     
  19. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I wonder how the traitor is managing to not die of blood loss during all of this.
     
  20. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I just have to keep reminding myself that its a magic weapon. Otherwise, the idea of two functional swords making a usable bow is just too laughable to contemplate, especially if one of the blades is hollow.

    That aside, I honestly would have preferred it if his plan was simply to wear Shi Huang down so that Lu Qing'er could finish the job after taking care of the others. It would have been in line with his character, while being completely opposed to what a traditional MC would do in his situation.

    Also, if all it takes to match or surpass a Duke Stage Essence Art is the merger of two lower grade arts, then why doesn't anyone else do it? The MC isn't the only genius in the world. Surely someone else has tried this. Even if its only the inclusion of a second element that makes it this powerful, you'd think they'd develop weapons that would generate a supplementary quantity of a second element so that those with a single element could have a dual-element trump card. Sure, it'd be expensive and rare, but not to the point that no one here would recognize a dual-element art when they see one.

    So, if no one claims Shi Huang's points, will he just die there? So far, the other guy is still pinned to the tree as far as we know, and would definitely have died of blood loss by now. If so, then this place feels even less like a place worth attending than it already did.

    Also, why was no one shattering their own crystals out of spite once they knew they were defeated? No reason to let the person who defeated you have your points if you can prevent it after all, and poor sportsmanship seems like the rule rather than the exception around here.
     
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