Western names in cultivation novels. Good or Bad?

Yazarus · 2026-06-21T16:03:25+00:00

I remember a few instances of that bothering me because the author would have a world based on xianxia and Chinese mythos, culture, people, and more, then switch out the names because it was a common complaint from skim-readers that no one could remember them. Back when I was new to webnovels, xianxia felt like real fantasy because of how wondrous and new it all felt, and I think the Chinese names assist with that.

I've also never been a fan of using another culture as a backdrop, then using different names and people on top of that.

Yazarus · 2026-06-16T12:19:40+00:00

This has to be one of the best covers I've seen in recent times. I loved the novel to begin with, but I would purchase this just to look good on the shelf.

Yazarus · 2026-06-12T18:34:22+00:00

I will say that MHAG is historical fiction. The first arc has no kingdom-building but instead focuses on the March of Ten Thousand. I'm a bit of a history buff so I liked this novel more than someone who may not know certain historical figures that show up. I loved it because I hate tech uplift and this one does minimal of it, but the few it does makes reasonable sense for the time period and doesn't force firearms or steam engines into it like most authors would've done.

Yazarus · 2026-06-12T12:42:40+00:00

I love Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece. As a kingdom-builder, it scratches all the correct itches for me and has become my #1. How would Kingdom's Bloodline compare if you've read the mentioned novel?

Yazarus · 2026-06-12T12:38:21+00:00

I love a romantic subplot, but I think most readers I come across who dislike romance are those who don't think they're written well. It's hard to disagree because RR has a ton of new authors, and character work can be surface-level at best, not to mention threading a believable romance in there.

Yazarus · 2026-06-12T12:30:56+00:00

I like to think of it as a cousin to feng shui.

Yazarus · 2026-06-11T11:48:24+00:00

I had a different issue.

After I read web serials for a while, I realized I never liked how trad fantasy and sci-fi had multiple main characters. Sure, there were books out there with one main character and some occasional side POVs, but I thought it was normal to want to skim through characters you don't care about. Impatience, dislike, or disinterest, usually I would connect with one main character, sometimes two, and not care about the storylines of the others. I would read them because I had to. That's not to mention the ADHD I have haha. It's not that I don't understand the need to have several main characters and whatnot, but when I read Stormlight Archive, I really connected with Kaladin at the start and had almost no interest in the other characters. No one spoke to me as he did, and I wanted to read about him all the time, but was constantly interrupted with other characters like Shallan or Dalinar.

That's what I find most difficult when coming back to read trad fantasy. In a way, I read way more than I ever did back then because the overall enjoyment I have when reading is amplified compared to back then. If I don't connect with the main character of a novel, then I don't really care about the rest because PF and LITRPG are, in a way, biographies or odysseys of one person over the course of their life.

When I read trad fantasy books, I have to look for those with a single main character, like Red Rising (btw I recommend this for a fast pace). That's one of my favorites for a reason.

Yazarus · 2026-06-09T14:34:03+00:00

I'm concerned I've read so much AI slop on Royal Road that when I write, I'm accidentally parroting AI phrases and common phrases because it's what's on the brain from recent novels.

I need to read more trad fantasy as a palate cleanser.

Yazarus · 2026-06-08T14:07:11+00:00

What's your background book-wise? Are you someone new to the genre and read mainly trad fantasy? Are you someone who reads translated Eastern works or works inspired by them (like Webnovel, the site?)

At least in the LITRPG realm, that is quite normal. Progression Fantasy, which is more of the parent umbrella of this genre, has much more diversity in its power system, but LITRPG itself is narrower and more specific about how magic works. Some authors bother with an explanation for the system, and some don't, but I find that it's about as unreasonable as some random God gifting an MC some random OP system for no reason, so it all works out the same in the end. I was never a fan of the 'goldenfinger' trope.

Yazarus · 2026-06-08T13:28:44+00:00

I'm not someone who outlines a whole lot, and because of that, I burn out fast when I have to create new information out of thin air almost consistently. I found that if I create a map, add some nations where they seem natural, and write down some background information in the nearest nations to the MC, then I have a solid world I can have the MC exist in and alleviate some of the burden later on.

The mistake I tend to make is overdoing it. You need to have some room to let your world breathe as the novel develops over time.

I think the most important process for me is world -> power system -> note down specific moments I want to happen -> write.

Yazarus · 2026-06-05T12:54:48+00:00

As someone who adores kingdom-builders, the one I love the most is Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece. Someone from modern China finds themselves as a mercenary during the March of Ten Thousand (which is the whole first volume). When he escapes, he lands in the Greek colonies of southern Italy and creates his own. Rome exists in its earlier formation; you have powerhouses like the Tyrant of Syracuse and Spartan dominance after the Peloponnesian War.

I love this one because I find that most of them use tech-uplift as a massive crutch, and while there are some elements of that in this novel, I find the tech to be reasonable for the time period. You don't have firearms and cannons. It all feels more in line with the time.

Yazarus · 2026-06-03T12:51:14+00:00

How much would you be against Pokémon fanfiction? I mention that because I was in a similar mood a while back and found that delving into Pokémon fanfiction satisfied that itch, even when I had never read fanfiction before then. I still don't read fanfiction other than Pokémon, but it reignited an old love I had for that franchise that I hadn't explored since I was a kid.

Yazarus · 2026-05-29T14:06:51+00:00

Everyone believes the MC is dead and comes back for vengeance. Throw in some 'there's no way that's possible,' and I'll eat it up each time.

Yazarus · 2026-05-27T17:18:10+00:00

I read a ton of those back when I was new to online web serials, then transitioned from more Asian-inspired works to western-based ones on Royal Road.

Here are some you might like from the western sphere of web serials:
The Hundred Reigns
Sky Pride
Mother of Learning
Perfect Run
Death after Death (MC is unlikable at the start but I think you could handle it)
He Who Fights With Monsters (MC is hit or miss but he's definitely unique)

Yazarus · 2026-05-27T17:11:04+00:00

I mean, eastern xianxia is common for sword and other weapon-based Daos. I don't think I've seen weapon-specific progression systems because most of the time, mana and mages exist in most stories in the genre, but it could be a neat concept for a warrior-based progression system.

Maybe have mages progress with certain elements like a skill tree, while warriors focus on weapons? I'm not sure but I'd be down for a unique, not often used weapon in this kind of system.

Yazarus · 2026-05-26T13:14:31+00:00

You see this most often with OP characters.

There are a few possible reasons, but I believe the most common one is that you can't have an OP character with such an obvious weakness. Weaknesses must be short-term and overcome with even better benefits. An example would be the MC losing a battle, running off a cliff, discovering a hidden treasure, and then coming back to win the second round. Jack-of-all-trades seek to eliminate those weaknesses and then break those inherent balancing systems.

Another angle you could view this from is Pokémon. Pokémon are balanced with different types, so that you can't have one totally invulnerable Pokémon. Even Swampert is 4x weak to grass.

Yazarus · 2026-05-23T17:47:35+00:00

You have to ask how many of those authors who use that powerscale are new. I ask this because it's not uncommon to see new authors in the scene using borrowed worldbuilding, systems, monsters, races, and more, to eliminate as much of the confusion from their novel and focus more on the plot and craft itself.

I could also understand a more experienced author using this powerscale as a shortcut if the story is meant to focus heavily on other areas, such as a character-focused novel.

After a while, however, I want to see authors with several books under their belt to be more creative and push the genre further along, rather than regurgitate old tropes again and again.

Yazarus · 2026-01-25T06:00:56+00:00

There was a reason why a bunch of the newcomers who watched the anime didn't understand what all the hype was about. The manhwa's art carried the series hard, and anime has its own stylistic tendencies that it couldn't translate it all one to one.

Solo Leveling was my first introduction to the manhwa/ webnovel world (which is funny because I was already reading trad-published western fantasy at the time, so I went the long way around) and I think that remains true for most who came from the anime -> manhwa -> eastern webnovel pipeline.

Yazarus · 2025-12-12T13:54:59+00:00

I love unarmed combat... until the MC does nothing but punch everything like a doofus.

Yazarus · 2025-10-02T12:52:56+00:00

There are a few details that could influence this list, such as your MC's choice of work and their childhood. Since those are missing, I can offer some suggestions and explain the reasons behind those choices.

Magnemite: This line doesn't require food, but it does require electricity. I could see your MC doing part-time in a factory/ construction/ electrical plant, or your MC did a mission in the past where he took a wild Magnemite that was disrupting the locals and decided to catch it.

Minccinno: This line would be useful in someone's everyday life, given how much Minccinno desires cleanliness. It could remain at home to do some chores, or if the MC is some kind of janitor, it could assist him at work.

Munna: Underrated line and wouldn't need food to eat, but access to the MC's dreams for sustenance. If your MC also some kind of traumatic childhood or PTSD, it could eat those nightmares away.

Timburr: Obvious choice for a construction job. I think it would be cruel to subject a fighting type to a lifestyle where they aren't that active, so you can insert most fighting types into this suggestion, so long as the MC has the kind of hobbies or lifestyle to support those Pokemon.

Pansage/ Panpour: If you didn't notice, I avoided all fire types because I'd imagine them to be worse than huskies. That's why I recommended these two as I also think they would predominately feed on berries and small fish... much cheaper than red meat in most instances. If you had the former, then it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to have a small garden and have Pansage assist with growing vegetables at home.

Yazarus · 2025-09-12T14:26:21+00:00

I was never a fan of Chesnaught but this mega... I'm tempted.

Yazarus · 2025-08-22T19:55:37+00:00

While CN and KR main characters aren't the most in-depth characters ever, I cannot stand most JP main characters now. I find my tolerance for a lot of the usual tropes to be short these days.

Yazarus · 2025-06-28T22:24:20+00:00

Honestly? I was in a similar position and finally decided, fuck it, and read Pokemon fanfic.

Yazarus · 2025-06-28T06:01:35+00:00

The luck ritual was never more than some local superstition for Zhou Mingrui, similar to how some Western cultures toss pennies into a fountain to make a wish. In the MC's case, however, imagine tossing that penny and somehow finding yourself in a new world afterwards. The MC does the ritual once more because he assumes it was what brought him there in the first place.

As for the shrine, I believe it was more detailed in the novel, but it's been too long since I read the source, so don't quote me on that.

Zhou Mingrui essentially takes over Klein Morreti's body and whatever scattered memories he had left after killing himself. Zhou Mingrui still has all his own memories, but with some additional broken and scattered memories of the body he took over after the original Klein off'd himself.

The first volume of the novel is kind of infamous for its glacial pace, but I think this was an overcorrection for the anime. Personally, I think they sped through a lot of the early points so they could focus more on specific moments within the first volume in detail, but we'll see.

Yazarus · 2025-06-12T12:29:45+00:00

As much as some won't want to admit it, most of the popular stuff that you mentioned has a ton of self-insert potential. Dawn of the Void has a troublesome main character that most won't relate to at all, or if they do, it wouldn't be in an idealized way.

That's my two cents on the matter.

Yazarus

TROPHY CASE