I'm looking for recommendations for any Xianxia BL novels with a strong/competent protagonist and a focus on gaining power, good fight scenes, and/or face-slapping. Essentially, a plot more focused on action, fighting, or world-building rather than romance, like traditional shounen-style overpowered!MC cultivation novels without the female harem lol. An example that I've already read and really liked is The Villain's White Lotus Halo; I love the fight scenes and the ML is protective and respectful and not yandere. Another example is Rebirth of the Supreme Celestial Being; I hated the relationship between the MC and ML, but I really liked the action, world-building, and face-slapping. I want to read My Legend Still Exists in the Cultivation World but it seems to have been dropped after 1 chapter :') I'd prefer there not to be a lot of tragedy and/or angst, I'm kind of sick of reading novels where the MC is weak/poisoned/imprisoned/abused/cultivation is destroyed/etc. I'd also prefer if the ML isn't yandere/blackened/abusive or does things w/o the MC's consent... I just want them to have a healthy and consensual relationship :''))) I would appreciate any recommendations!
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-path-of-the-cannon-fodders-counterattack/ isn't xianxia but it's set in ancient times and has a lot of faceslapping (though usually directed to the "FL") https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-legendary-masters-wife/ this one you might like if you haven't read it yet but be warned, it's really slow burn https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-founder-of-diabolism/ same for this one but it's really really good! It's also really popular so you might have read it already. There's also an anime (Mo Dao Zhu Chi) and a live action drama (The Untamed) as well to check out! https://www.novelupdates.com/series/every-day-the-protagonist-wants-to-capture-me/ This one is similar to Rebirth of a Celestial Being's premises so you might like this one too https://www.novelupdates.com/series/ive-led-the-villain-astray-how-do-i-fix-it/ Cultivation world! But the bl is pretty tame in this one https://www.novelupdates.com/series/picked-up-by-the-protagonist-of-a-tormentedmc-novel/ This one has some cultivation by the ML but the world building is pretty solid in my opinion and it's pretty different from other novels I've read https://www.novelupdates.com/series...ng-my-disciple-from-turning-to-the-dark-side/ I love the interactions between the MC and ML. This one doesn't have as much action compared to other stories but it's really sweet and it's completed
other than the Founder of Diabolism I can't think of another that doesn't have an idiot/ nieve MC and a possessive or yandere ML. maybe Heaven Official's Blessing or The Villain has Something to Say?
[slides in] If you're all right with wuxia, the novel I'm currently translating Record of the Missing Sect Master is plot-driven with a doting ML and a shameless MC who's primarily concerned with revenge/face-slapping. There's not much action scenes though, but there is a lot of scheming plots happening, if you're all right with that. It's also very funny when it wants to be. [/ends self promotion] Otherwise, Liu Yao is a super good xianxia if you haven't read that yet. Probably my favorite BL xianxia, actually. Thousand Autumns is a wuxia but it fulfills most of your other criteria: great fight scenes and a really competent main character. (Male lead is a right asshole though, but not the possessive yandere kind. He's just kind of an evil person. He fits really well in the story though, and I can't really articulate why; it's something you just have to read about.) ...MC does have his cultivation destroyed at the beginning of the story, but it enhances the action scenes rather than detracts from it imo.
Thanks for all the recs! I actually started Record of the Missing Sect Master awhile ago but stopped for some reason, I'll definitely check it out again! Also looking at the reviews Liu Yao seems right up my alley, I love found family :') I'll definitely put it on my to read list. As for Thousand Autumns, I've heard it's amazing but the reviews kind of make me think I'll feel depressed reading it and the ML sounds like such a scumbag, I find it really hard to read romance where I hate one person in the couple, it always just gives me abusive relationship vibes :/ Please let me know if it's not what I'm imagining!
Thanks for the recs! I actually just started The Villain Has Something to Say, hopefully I'll like it!
I started translating Missing Sect Master semi-recently (in January) and the previous translator was basically pure MTL and, from what I've seen from previous reviewers, impossible to understand, so that might be why? I retranslated it from the beginning, though, and hopefully my translation is passable! As for Thousand Autumns... Romance takes a very, very firm backseat up until very late in the game, and as of the recently translated chapters, the romance is still completely nonexistent (mainly 'cause, yeah, the ML is a super big scumbag). I actually don't hate him, though, since I find him an interesting scumbag (not like the yandere scums in other novels), but YMMV. I think it's really something you have to try for yourself and see.
Thanks for all the recs and summaries!! I've started/skimmed through a lot of these but a lot of the MLs seem too overbearing/manipulative and the MCs seem too submissive/passive, except, of course, Founder of Diabolism which is such a gem with a healthy, wholesome relationship :'')))) But also thank you for mentioning Daily Task of Preventing My Disciple from Turning to the Dark Side because I remember reading and really liking it awhile ago but I dropped it for some reason, I'll definitely check it out again! Also sorry if the formatting of the reply is weird, I had to remove all the links because I haven't made enough posts to have links yet lol
You know what, I think you're totally right about Missing Sect Master being badly translated, I think I really liked how smart the MC was but dropped it because I was getting a headache from trying to understand what was happening lol. Thanks for reviving it, I'll definitely give it another try! As for Thousand Autumns, you're probably right in that it's something I'll have to try to see if I like. It's just that my heart is always reluctant because I tend to be really biased towards the MC and my heart hurts when they have to go through hardship or injustice, it's like my own child is being hurt lol. That's why I'm all about the instant gratification of power-ups and face-slapping :') Maybe I'll give it a try when I'm in the mood to suffer haha
Ah, yeah, then you should definitely hold off on Thousand Autumns. It's definitely one of those stories about how a man can remain strong and righteous in the face of pain and injustice, so the MC goes through a whole heck of a lot. I also just remembered another xianxia that's pretty good, but the translations are slow: So What If You've Been Reborn? The protagonists definitely go through a lot in this as well, though. So, uh, no instant gratification here either, sorry! (Now that I think about it, I don't actually know any BL xianxia where the protagonists gain instant power-ups like in those BG harem novels... Huh...)
Haha yeah I'll save Thousand Autumns for some night where I'm in the mood to bawl my eyes out at 3am, which occasionally does happen. The same for So What It You've Been Reborn, I think I read a lot of it in one go but it got a little too depressing so I couldn't continue the next day lol. Why do xianxia/wuxia BL authors love to make their characters suffer :''))) There's so much face-slapping and being overpowered in other genres like QT but almost none in xianxia, I just want a cliche stallion cultivation novel but with BL please... Also not to be creepy but I looked through your reading lists and novel reviews to get some more recs and I love the way you articulate your opinions about novels! Especially for Strategy to Capture that Scum Gong, I feel like your review kind of enlightened me because it contains all the elements that I typically despise in BL but for some reason I love it. I realized it's exactly like you said in that it's basically the most cliche dog-blood soap opera without any of the consequences, which is just the kind of instant gratification angst without the slowburn that I like haha. I also completely agree with your review about Villain's White Lotus Halo, there's something about it that just makes me feel like xianxia so freaking cool haha. Anyways thanks for leaving such detailed reviews!
quietly slides in “It’s Not Easy Being a Master” is a cute and completed novel featuring a shizun-disciple relationship without the heavy angst and non-con aspects. In fact, their relationship and couple growth is pretty wholesome and cute! That said, it does also focus on world-building and mystery-solving, but keep in mind that it’s not a very long novel, at least not as long as most xianxia novels tend to be. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a lot of face-slapping. (But you do get an explanation as to how/why the MC transmigrated.) If you haven’t read it, I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Oh man, one of the best things you can say to me is "I read your opinions and liked them" haha. Thanks for reading through my (overly long) ranting! (I'm actually more of a manga reader than a WN reader, so if you ever want some specific manga recs, send me a pm and I'd be extremely ecstatic to help.) Also, you probably already saw this if you saw my lists, but if you want a QT with an OP protag, I definitely recommend I’m Scattering IQ to the Protagonist if you haven't read it yet. There's also a xianxia arc (which is where the current translation is kind of hanging). One of the few QTs with an actually respectful male lead.
Does I have medicine count? I dont understand the difference between xianxia and wuxia, so I'm not sure it counts.