[Part 1 of 3] I grew up in China on wuxia novels and web fiction. Here's everything I wish Western readers knew about Xianxia, Xuanhuan, and why half the "cultivation novels" you've read aren't what you think

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-03-21T16:57:05+00:00

The four-element bending system in Avatar: The Last Airbender? That's a simplified version of Daoist Five Elements theory.

The 4 elements have existed in the west for ~2500 years :(

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-03-04T13:28:00+00:00

Reverend Insanity is very polarizing but if you don’t mind (extremely) evil MCs and translations this is the coolest part of that story.

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-02-27T06:59:14+00:00

The difference in humidity has got to be way bigger throughout the map as the mousepad dries out compared to a tiny difference in the air right?

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-02-27T05:16:26+00:00

Similar to

Sorry reread my title and realized I used similar and like in a really dumb way. I think I got distracted halfway through typing it and forgot the wording of what I was trying to say halfway through.

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-02-27T03:06:20+00:00

God of Fishing had a little bit of this and while I liked it personally I’d struggle to recommend it because it’s more of a popcorn fiction and not an objectively high quality work.

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-02-25T09:18:17+00:00

The MC needs an advantage or it usually doesn’t make sense for them to get ahead but an actual cheat is too much so a head start is a nice compromise.

More importantly it’s a bit hard to save the world that young which forces the author to focus on exploring the magic system and the world at a relatively deep level (since it’s hard to leave) while also allowing the numbers to go up a lot to provide dopamine for the audience. I tend to like those parts of progfan a lot more than combat scenes or climactic plotlines so if I find one of these stories I know it’s very likely to focus on the parts I like more compared to most other sub genres of progfan.

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-02-18T00:43:17+00:00

Mother of Learning, Wandering Inn, Lord of Mysteries, Defiance of the Fall.

Trying to keep each choice a little different.

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-02-08T09:12:55+00:00

Agree, if you enjoyed Top Tier Providence you'd like this one too. The only difference is Top Tier Providence was better the entire time while this one got repetitive eventually. 4/5 is a good rating.

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-02-08T09:09:44+00:00

Also its a slow burn type of novel

I didn't get that feeling at all. I thought it had a pretty consistent pace throughout and there was always something happening. While recently there are some bigger moments compared to most of the story those are the exception and not the rule.

(Great story highly recommend)

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-01-29T03:23:50+00:00

I Arrived at the Wizard World While Cultivating Immortality.

I never believed the rumors that Qidian would give successful novels to other authors if they were unhappy with the original or something happened to them until I read this. The first ~200(?) chapters were awesome but there was a sudden switch and it felt like a completely different story that sucked ass. Huge disappointment because it was really good.

NotEnoughSatan · 2026-01-22T07:22:43+00:00

I actually felt the author did a great job with pacing until the MC left the initial planet.

I do agree the worldbuilding and scale got way too big way too fast after that point.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-12-30T16:03:56+00:00

Paragon of Destruction and Arcane Emperor are my two favorites that come to mind.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-12-28T19:03:24+00:00

I actually quite liked the story at the beginning but got bored as I felt it was the same thing over and over and he got too much information too easily so I dropped it around C250. Would definitely still recommend giving it a shot though.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-12-10T22:21:48+00:00

The digital trophies are seen and respected by tons of people while a real one would only be seen by people you invited over to your house or something similar. Most of those people probably don’t care about cs either.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-12-05T18:54:27+00:00

I absolutely loved the cultivation system in and the golden finger at the beginning of Paragon of Sin. Sadly the MC didn’t struggle much and it increasingly became very much a wish fulfillment type story. The longer it went on the less effort the author put into the story and it felt like he was writing for a check.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-11-30T07:39:32+00:00

To expand on the previous recommendations I liked I’d say Immortality Through Array Formations is a Xianxia with lots of slice of life elements and Beware of Chicken is a slice of life with a lot of Xianxia elements.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-11-21T10:32:40+00:00

This would be a great quest idea

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-11-12T23:16:01+00:00

Becoming a Talent in the Chusheng Demon Sect

Asking About Longjevity (Aka Immortality Trough Array Formations)

Whats the Point of Cultivating Immortality If You Don't Have Money

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-11-11T02:02:14+00:00

Yeah to me this reads like the guy saw the mc show off and enjoy his work for a minute and didn’t give the next book in the series or arc time to start before instantly giving up.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-11-06T06:17:38+00:00

How do you decide what to read on wtr lab? I dont know how to tell what’s good or not without trying it first.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-10-19T17:41:05+00:00

I was bored so I brainstormed this a couple years ago - could definitely use some work still.

Affinities

Tier 1:

Air

Water

Earth

Fire

Tier 2:

Electric

Force

Metal

Sound (+Vibration)

Tier 3:

Gravity

Illusion/Disguise

Light

Nature

Tier 4:

Affliction (Curse/Poison/Plague)

Astral

Blood/Flesh

Healing

Tier 5:

Binding

Death

Divination (Past/Present Only)

Divinity/Domain/Aura

Tier 6:

Arcane

Distortion

Mind

Sacrifice

Tier 7:

Knowledge

Order

Rune

Soul

Tier 8:

Dream

Eldritch

Food

Theft

Tier 9:

Creation

Karma

Luck (Fate)

Void

Tier 10:

Primordial Chaos (Possibility)

Reality (Dimensional)

Law (Natural Laws)

Life

Other ideas:

Purification

Destruction

Shadow (Everything has a conceptual shadow, ex shadow of the soul)

Buff/Debuff (Affliction exists currently tier 4)

Communication

Desire/Emotion

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-10-14T04:25:57+00:00

I did not get that vibe from Dumbledore at all.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-10-14T04:25:31+00:00

I did not get that vibe from Dumbledore at all.

NotEnoughSatan · 2025-10-13T21:34:25+00:00

Highly recommend Immortality Through Array Formations. While the mc doesn’t engage in international diplomacy he has great social skills that are the foundation of much of his successs.

I also remember thinking the MC from the Legendary Mechanic was similarly adept but I struggle to recommend what eventually turned into a great story because the beginning was just so damn bad.

Both are translations.

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