I would like you all to reccomend the cultivation novel you feel is most logical. Something where the MC is not the chosen child of Destiny and plot armors his way through everything. Just an average person trying his best. Maybe sometimes it works, maybe sometimes it doesn't. I just want logical, systematic progression that isn't achieved because the MC was lucky enough to find a godly treasure/grandpa. Since I acknowledge that this is probably a difficult request, I'll add that having a treasure/grandpa to start of but isn't actually that great overall is acceptable. Kind of like Linley' s grandpa in CD. Help if you can, thanks and have a good day!
*Perfecto Apperium* A record of mortal's journey to immortality. Reeks of logical cultivation speed. Better than any novel in CN. Even better than Reverend Insanity in certain areas. Personally it's a tie between these two for Apex cultivation novels. Shits like CD, ST er gens are junk craps, you'll like it if you are first timer but absolutely loath it if you have read the same tropes.
Record of a mortal’s journey to immortality History’s number one founder History’s strongest senior brother (same author as the above one) Lady Cultivator ( she ends up being a genius or something later but her personality is really refreshing compared to other women in these cultivation novels) Legend of the Cultivation God A Will Eternal - it’s really hilarious tho I’m not sure about Ze Tian Ji but people love it.
There’s no novel without plot armor, cos that would request a good writer and apparently these both concepts aren’t linkable. RMJI as ppl reccomended, is very good, his plot armor is more his smart mind than the Special item he adquired, at the begin at least. I would’t drop CD and ST, they’re not what you’re looking for, but they’re surely decent. Don’t go for History strongest Senior Brother however, unless you speak chinese, it was dropped by the translator at ch 1230.
The closest I can think of is Forty Millenniums of Cultivation. MC is a slum brat, in a technologically advances Cultivation World, who enjoys working on their technology (and does so to keep himself fed). A potential Ghost Grandpa tries to possess MC before MC starts cultivating, but fails, probably due to MC being reincarnated (MC being reincarnated is an incredibly minor plot point that is never significant, to my knowledge, though it is rarely mentioned). MC buys himself a back-alley cultivation pill, unable to afford the actual brand stuff, and takes it. I can't remember if it did anything (I suspect it did), but shortly afterwards the MC then starts being taught by a retired military officer of some note who chose to become a groundskeeper at the MC's school, and receives torturous training, starting him on the path of becoming a cultivator. The biggest cheat the MC gets, beyond plot armour, is memories from the failed possession, which he unlocks as he grows in power, and is essentially a library of ancient cultivation techniques for crafters, like the MC. They're out of date, particularly for how people now cultivate, but still useful, particularly since the MC prefers the ancient pathway of "jack of all trades" to the modern "master of one trade". I want to comment on this topic. In the spoiler tag is merely me ranting about this topic and the common trends I see in Cultivation Novels. Spoiler: Read line above: There is no Cultivation Novel that I have read that I would consider "realistic". There's basically 3 issues, the first being universal to Cultivation Novels, the second being near universal (and the reason for this thread), and the 3rd being commonplace. The first issue I have is that they never completely explain Qi. I'm not talking about what it specifically is, or anything like that, but about how it's simultaneously the energy expended in fights & techniques, and absorbed to improve cultivation. Basically, my issue is, how the **** does someone improve more rapidly due to fights if the energy they use in those fights is the same energy they need to build up to improve in rank? There's easily half a dozen excuses they can give, but they never give a reason for this. Half of them have individuals, especially the MC, grow in (minor & major) ranks in the middle of fights! No explanation on why they can grow in the middle of a fight while, or after, expending significant amounts of the energy that's supposed to empower them and allow them to grow. The second issue is the commonality of the MC being "Heaven's Blessed Child". That is, almost every Cultivation Novel Protagonist has plot armour notably thicker than the average OP Isekai Harem Protagonist. The amount that gains some secret advantage at the beginning of the story, that turns out to be something unique that even the most skilled and powerful individuals would covet, and never leaves the MC, hiding itself in a way that is invisible in the MC's body even to the enemies at the very end of the story who are near comparable to the MC and are without his cheat, is ridiculous. Then there's the "Secret Lineage" issue, where the MC, despite seemingly being badly off early on, ends up being a descendant of one of existence's most authoritative families. China puts a significant amount of emphasis on the importance of one's bloodline, I get that, but it's still ridiculous how often these people care about strangers who claim blood ties after literal decades, if not centuries, of neglect. The third issue is the "backwater" issue. A notable amount of Cultivation Novels have the MC start the story at near the bottom rung of what ends up being shown to be a backwater country, in a backwater empire, in a backwater continent, in a backwater world, in a backwater galaxy, and so on. The only reason why it's not a backwater city as well is that many of them are at least living a decent life in a major city of their country, often enough the capital. And despite this, either the MC's cheat, or luck (plot armour), manages to have him form a stronger foundation than everyone else. No, ignore that, despite the backwaters being so weak that random cultivators without a sect, family, or any other type of support in the "next level up" could easily come in and single-handedly take over the entire place, nobody ever does it. Even in a world where might makes right, with no real demerits to taking over a country, no wandering cultivator is ever seen entering into a nearby Country/Empire/Continent/World/Other that they could easily take over, and doing so, even if they're retiring from Cultivation. It's rediculous.
CD and ST... i like its 1st half. but when it enter 2nd half... things get bore and repetition. in the end i get stuck about time in there, and barely manage to finish it... as for ergen, i dont think its that bad comparing to IET. try World of Cultivation.
Well I used to like ISSTH, but that was when I just started out, then AWE the comedic undertone was quite frankly to me a bore, I just don't seem to get the Chinese comedy sense (maybe it's lost in translation?) it just seems silly more than funny.
i didnt read to much from er gen, only know meng hao, wang lin and bai xiao chun. i know meng hao and wang lin was still in same universe (wang lin older) but not sure about bai xiao chun. i didnt finish all three yet...