So, I only recently started reading cultivation novels, and I couldnt help but notice an extremely common trope most of these novels share: every single character in the story (beside the mc) is relevant for only a small part of the story. The early characters cant keep up with the mc heaven-defying talent and number of fortuitous encounters and are eventually left behind. As for the late characters, well, they only appear late into the story. What I'm looking for is a novel where an early character (preferably a love interest, but a friend is also fine) has enough luck/fate and talent to keep up with the mc cultivation speed and manages to play a more or less relevant role throughout the entire novel To give an example of what I'm looking for, of the few novels I've read so far, the only character I've seen that more or less fits my description would be Xia Qingyue from Against the Gods.
Nightfall Although it is a cultivation novel, cultivation isn't the most important thing in the novel.
Read female protagonist cultivation novels. The Legends(drama title)/ Unruly Zhao Yao (Novel title) Poison Genius Consort or something
Ascending, Do Not Disturb Seven Unfortunate Lifetimes, All Thanks to a Single Moment of Impulse I think of anything else atm.
Its tricky. Authors sometimes try this and then you can see complaints like -why does everyone keep ahead of a supposedly once a several centuries genius MC loaded with lucky encounters?! (Reasonable complaint there, depending on how believability is stretched by author ) or why does the heroine get a free pass to finish line while MC struggles all the way? (Can be seen. Quite weird right? Both supposedly follow the most natural path for themselves, but hers is waiting out the clock while the MC has to struggle for every step and timeskip.) It very much depends on what grinds your nerves vs what you wanna see and that differs a lot from reader to reader. I'd go for Will Wight's Cradle here. 9 books so far, female and male MC keep pace (after he gets past the minus he starts with as an oppressed country bumpkin) and the rest of the series so far has been their adventures with bigshots propping up the world so resident calamities don't destroy it all.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/39408/beware-of-chicken - less than 100 chapters, but hey, the girl is relevant.
I mean, yeah, it might be a little tricky to deliver well, as the author naturally needs to put more attention on the mc fortuitous encounters and training while the progress of other characters can't be described as in depth as the mc's. So, some power ups may feel a little out of the blue. But tbh, I dont really care, the average cultivation novel has some problems here and there anyway, still, I find them enjoyable to read. As long as the progress of other characters isnt completely unreasonable, I'm fine with it. Thanks for the recs btw. I've found a couple of novels that seem to be what I'm looking for.
This Young Master is Not Cannon Fodder, maybe. His friends can't keep up with his cultivation progress, but its not been very important so far, other than being a source of mild jealousy/envy on their part. The female friend gets more screen time than the male friend so far, if that matters. Though, its important to note that he goes off on his own a lot, so they're mostly relevant when he's at the sect, or when he's on sect business with them. The Path of Ascension. Two female teammates, both of whom keep pace with his progress. There's a possibility for a love triangle in the distant future, but at the moment, all of them are intentionally avoiding any form of romantic commitment to anyone, including each other. There is a definite end point for that ban though, which has already been stated, and is very normal for cultivators in this story. And of course, if you're okay with a female MC, then this is actually quite common in those stories. Honestly, its harder to find one without a love interest that's at least as strong as the MC at all times.
ehh, most of the ones i've read tend to have the ML either already uber strong or far outpaces the F!MC because... well, shitty tropes about domineering, powerful asswipes being the ML. If you know ones that arent like that (and actually have a decent ML) i'm all ears/
Everybody here is a cultivation idiot. a very great novel , you'll find everything you look for in a great xianxia or huanxuan . SCP Gacha System In A Cultivation World not a bad novel but the MC is both a sadist and a masochist . Reverse Reincarnation a kingdom building where a girl develop a cultivation society with modern day technology .
Yeah, that's why I said "at least" Its also why I try to find FMC stories without the romance tag That said, if you don't mind there not being a ML, then: Fortune Teller Master. Its more of a SoL comedy than an action story though. When Immortal Ascension Fails, Time Travel to Try Again. This has a male character, but he's more of a younger brother than a love interest so far. He's generally not to far behind the MC in terms of power and is stated to be more talented than her, but lacks her experience as a regressor. Its also more of a comedy than anything else. It does have action elements though. If there absolutely must be an ML, then honestly Beware of Chicken is probably going to be the best in the cultivation genre, but its a male protagonist. If you're okay with it not being a cultivation story, then you might consider Data Dragon Danika though.
ah yes, the eternal struggle. i've come across so many FMC novels that would have and should have been epic but the author, for unknown reasons or brainfarts, decided to ruin it by chucking in a shitty ML. As return recs, though not cultivation, i would recommend Heroic Wife Reborn (if you havent already read it) and The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family which is the prime example of how villainess novels really should be done (and the only real romance is at the end after tons of character development).
I've never really tried a cultivation novel with FMC (tbf I've read like 6/7 cultivation novel). Are they similar to the ones with MMC? (I mean like in terms of tropes, world building etc) If they're not too different then I might give them a shot.
Some are, but they're aiming at a different audience, so most aren't. I'm on my phone at the moment, so it's not convenient to try to come up with a list of possibilities, but I'd try creating a new topic asking for FMC series that are similar to the male MC series you like.
Well, I can't say anything about being similar. But FMC cultivation novels, some are great, and long.... Spoiler: The novels; My fav: Ascending, Do Not Disturb My Master Disconnected Yet Again Not my favorites, but I know them; Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss (I think this has the same trope with some MMC cultivation novels. Trash body turned great. I read until more than 2000 but then I dropped it) My Disciple Died Yet Again Unprecedented Pill Refiner: Entitled Ninth Young Lady The Good for Nothing Seventh Young Lady What you should avoid, at least in my opinion is Enchantress Amongst Alchemists: Ghost King’s Wife. So many people kept trying to steal ML from FL because of how good looking he is. Ascending Do Not Disturb and My Master Is Disconnected Yet Again. My Master Is Disconnected Yet Again's FL is very very OP, but the funny kind of OP, not the annoying one. ML's power is nothing compared with FL's.