Might have minor spoilers~ I havent read that many chinese novels and I just noticed this, so was wondering if this is like a theme or cliche that happens a lot in these kinds of novels. It seems like every MC in chinese novels like ISSTH and WMW are forced to choose between a weaker and easier to achieve power, or a stronger one that takes more effort and is harder to achieve. In ISSTH it was being a False Immortal vs being a True Immortal, and in WMW it seems to be Grine Water vs using a higher grade meditation technique. In both cases one form of power heavily limits your potential or has adverse effects, whereas the other is harder to achieve and much more powerful. From what I've seen authors seem to like making their MCs make this decision in varying ways depending on the novel, probably as a way to showcase the MC's intelligence and ability to plan for the future I would guess, as well as to establish some character development. So I guess I'm wondering if anyone has noticed this in other novels and if this is something that happens often. Is this just an eastern thing or does this happen in western writing too? Thoughts?
Well, MC needs to be DIFFERENT from the masses so of course his choice has to be different and the harder one which can be used as a good excuse for the ridiculous power they show. It's not really limited to Chinese novels.
Yeah I didn't really think about that, but is that what the authors were really thinking when they made these characters? I mean there are many other ways to make your character unique other than having them choose a path that is less walked. Isn't the entire point of character development to make your character unique and not generic? The author would just need to give his character a personality instead of forcing him to make a decision like this. I see your point though, but it seems weird to me lol.
Its basically about breaking the cycle and changing the narrative so you stand apart from the millions of years before the world had an MC hahaa
That's just applies to hard working MC's - Bai Xiaochun , Yue Yang . MC from God of slaughter will laugh at you You should read- A record of a mortals journey to immortality.
Go read World of Cultivation. the MC doesn't even have a choice as he can only cultivate what he have. even if he have a choice, he would choose the most practical instead of the most powerful.
That's basically real life. Do you work hard for your exam and learn a lot or do you simply cheat. It may give better results but you will know less in the long run. Or do you want a promotion by doing good work or by using a favor even if you aren't that good at your job?
Except in real life, hard work/good work does not mean you'll be recognized, appreciated, and promoted, whereas using connections can make you a director of a company...
Yeah this is definitely true, people will always be forced to make decisions like this. Do you think it's some kind of metaphor for life then lol? I just think it's weird that at its core every decision the MC makes is basically the same lesser power vs stronger power decision.
If you are bad at your work it will be easy for you to fail later on even if you used favors. A certain amount of skills is required to not go down. But yeah, you can always fail using the honest method. So can the mcs in the stories. It's just that they do not because they are the main character of a fiction.
It's not really a metaphor. It's more of a simple truth. And yeah, it is weird that the mc always has the choice and never truly seems to be forced to actually go with on or the other. It simply works out either way anyway. That's what people and especially the author want. Because nobody likes failures ^^
Unless you have the plot armour of Zhang Ye. Tell you what let's do a poll. Who has the strongest plot armour - Yun Che, Zhang Ye or Chu Feng.
In most series their either ignorant or don't have the means to choose the better harder option in most cases
That whole 'path less traveled' thing does happen in western fantasy, but I think it's kinda bogged down by 'gotta get strong fast and face the villain'. Some kind of price is usually paid to get super strong in western fantasy because it's all about facing the villain and being the hero--a somewhat compact story. The stakes are usually high to match the drastic decisions the characters might have to make. Whereas in CN novels, the story can be boiled down to being all about a person's journey to the top of the world. The stakes don't usually go far beyond that character's well being, but the story is literally about a guy taking the path one in a billion people take--of course he'll choose the path less travelled. Western and Chinese fantasy use different types of plots, and thus use different plot devices.
It's just something normal I'd say. Though, what you say isn't completely wrong in that the author did make a deal of making the MC more original by having him walk an even more different path, but still he's the MC so if he weren't a bit original, the story would be boring. I don't think this has anything to do with eastern or even Chinese culture. It's a real thing. It's all choices. In almost whatever you do, making the easier choice will usually result in having an early advantage or something like that, but in the long term the more difficult one is still better. Though, that doesn't always apply.
It's a standard thing in some novels. Go the easy route and get guaranteed strength quick or take the harder path and get uncertain yet stronger powers. It's pretty much what's happening in WDQK right now lol~