A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation

RToC is alright, but it really doesn’t deserve the hype. It looks like a xianxia on the surface, but once you get into it, you realize the Dao doesn’t matter, the fights don’t matter it’s all about emotions, grief, and inner turmoil. That’s not necessarily bad, but it throws away what makes cultivation stories exciting. The heart path system is a mess. It basically rewards 'good' emotions like compassion and guilt, while ignoring the darker side of cultivation. Demonic paths barely exist. Why can’t hate, ambition, or even pride be sources ... more>> of power? It pushes a very narrow idea of what 'heart' means. That’s not how xianxia usually works, and it just feels forced here. The MC is another issue. He keeps whining about being talentless, even though he literally has a regression cheat. Like, yeah we get it you’re not a prodigy. But you’ve got more chances than anyone else, so stop crying. The whole 'understanding before vs after breaking through' idea also falls flat. In most cultivation novels, people have centuries to solidify their foundation. Why wouldn’t they catch up eventually? It doesn’t make sense. Honestly, if you’ve read a thousand cultivation novel, this one just feels average. It’s well written, has some nice worldbuilding, and the emotional tone is consistent but it’s not a great cultivation novel. It’s more like a tragic character story wearing xianxia clothes. There are much better cultivation focused novels out there that still manage to balance philosophy, power, and progression without turning everything into moral symbolism. <<less

The first part is exceptional. DO read till the end of first arc. I don't wanna spoil but you'll know it when the first arc ends. It should be before chap 200 but after 110. After that, uh it's not bad but it's just typical Xiaxia slop. You know it becomes "tell not show". Like instead of the first part where we Journey along with MC step by step, it becomes so for the next few months I did this and achieved that. Like a plot summary instead of actual plot. ... more>> Well even that's fine but the plot also becomes completely contrived. If author wants it to move the plot MC will succeed in doing impossible things, if the author needs to prevent it for the plot, somehow MC will fail at basic things. Somehow a certain Scheming monster will not be able to bind the MC at all. (Now some might argue that he bind MC or how MC smartly dealt with it but frankly at the end of day in terms of narrative not once did 'he' stop MC, every plan at the end of the day succeeded. And that's some peak bullshit.) Again if I were reading fodder I would be pretty happy as it's peak fodder. But when I started the first arc I thought I had found peak. Disappointing. Edit: Wanna add that I completely agree with Rucket's review. <<less

there should be a harem tag at this point ngl, this feels like the hypocrite's harem, I will rather read sh*t harem thats at least telling me its harem than this bs where MC has like 4 lovers but HEY IS OK, they are in different regressions... yeah.. thats clearly making it better.... so much so about all the bs not wanting to have a lover bcs his mind will collapse after his regression, dude's literally getting a new lover at every chance, being like oh but it has been ... more>> so many years, as if we haven't read certain novels where MC literally live for like fking millions of years and still remain loyal to their fking dead wife... Was fine at the start ngl but then it became really just bs with inconsistency like this, the characters outside the MC having NPC like personalities after the first few regressions, every character thrown under the bus after they served their purpose I also don't get the bs talent issue, to me it feels more like s*upidity rather than talent, and even when he ascended to a realm which was supposedly having 100x the amount of spiritual energy as in mortal realm, he still took kinda the same amount of time to reach same level as before.... and comprehension normally is about state of mind, intelligence, knowledge etc, MC should be at the top in all of it and yet it feels like someone could show him 1+1 then he says normally 2 then 1+1 but tell him is a cultivation technique and mtfk suddenly acts like is still not 2 and gets stuck forever... <<less

I keep on reading thinking it would turn better but I guess not. The fighting, cultivation, drama it's interesting at first but later it became such a chore to read especially the fighting and cultivation, the info dump is unbelievable, it's soo much I just start to skim through them. Overall it's meh, the only thing that keeps me going is Kim and his martial arts progress.

Dropping this. At first it's not bad. Although the usual inconsistencies of xianxa power levels, the overall is good. But problems accumulate. The MC consider that the people he interact with are not the same after each regression, on what basis? Who knows, just his consideration out of nowhere. But he doesn't give a chance to side characters to prove him right or wrong. He just flees. After 12 regressions, it starts to get annoying. Especially considering the fact that he is 900+ years old... After 900 years, you should ... more>> have learn to give people a chance to speak for themself. On his 12th regression, he decide to investigate the gate of ascension. From the beginning, what is interesting in the MC is hi resolve to get stronger and never give up. No matter what, he knows he is week, he knows his place (although often underestimating himself) and always find resolve to get stronger. But suddenly, because he managed to get golden core strength, he thinks he is a big deal and decide to confront what he should have left for last, when he reaches heavenly strength. But no, he just goes. The the regression process is reset from the ascension realm. Then he is captured by the Mad Lord. He decide to su*cide, but can't, but then when he can he decides that no... Why is he suddenly indecisive? Why was he resolved before? What changed? Overall good if you can bypass that kind of stuff. Sometimes even very touching. But the sudden decisions of the MC that are more dictated by where the author wants to bring the MC than where the MC would naturally go is a bit annoying. But I didn't get to read a novel that I wouldn't end up dropping for that reason, so maybe it's just me. I just feel like a character in a story is, somehow, alive (in the sense that, within a given setting, the character will follow it's characteristics to stay consistent, even when those characteristics implies contradictions). So once the author has built a character, he is not completely free to bring the character wherever he wants just because. It would break the feeling that a character is actually a character and not just an excuse. And the exemples I give are, for me, breaking the MC consistency. <<less

Overrated tr*sh. The power system reminds me of a marvel movie. Why? Because it's incredibly inconsistent/soft. It violates it's own rules every 5 chapters which just makes me think the author is pulling a nasu and just really likes breaking/bending his own setting for added "badassery." and ass pulls. This certainly explains how the MC is capable of achieving his feats with his somewhat mediocre cultivation. This is not a good cultivation novel. It's a Kdrama with a cultivation setting in the background, you can see it whenever a loop happens and ... more>> ends. Introduction of random character>There comes some sort of circumstance to build familiarity, typically sad>some fighting or blablablabla (death of a character usually) happens>arc ends on a emotional note>loop begins. This sh*t is repetitive slop, and it's really really boring. But the fans eat all of it up anyway because of "character development." (I can't see it since he stays a generic good guy through all the novel) and every single arc ending on a somewhat "high emotional" note so it gets a pass for having a climax. In the end of a arc, what a low bar. Ig if you really like this novel then you gotta enjoy ever repeating scenarios where it constantly violates it's own setting and storyline. I pity the pure love fans because not even the heroines were spared from the overarching rules of the tr*sh storytelling lol. <<less

This story genuinely made me remember just how good Xianxia can be when the main character isn't a hyper-lucky mu*derhobo. Premise: Korean MC and his co-workers from a small company get caught up in an accident during a team-building exercise, and get isekaid into a cultivation world. All of them gain amazing talents in the process, except for the MC, and after living a miserable life as a commoner in an ancient China expy, it turns out he's a regressor, and he returns to the day they were transferred to this world ... more>> any time he dies. Using this, he spends several lifetimes slowly mastering martial arts, and then cultivation, beating his lack of talent with stubbornness bordering on madness and exploiting whatever knowledge, enlightenment, and cultivation progress he can carry over from one life to the next. Setting: At first, it appears to be a wuxia world not set in the usual universe, but later, the setting quickly balloons into a huge universe with multiple realms and immortals and so on. Characters: The MC is generally talentless when it comes to martial arts or cultivation, so he has to spend several literal lifetimes (which, in later cycles, once he starts cultivating, reaches into centuries) to get to the same level as his more talented peers. Overall, he's a man with strong morals, always trying to help and save the most people even though, due to his regression power, he could just ignore them to get stronger even faster. There are tons and tons of important characters, some carrying over across the individual arcs, and while there's some romance, and the MC has at least three solid love-interests, he had only consistently made contact with one of them in every subsequent cycle after they got together. Other than that, we have all the usual archetypes, but often with twists, such as how the wise and benevolent master could become an equal in a few cycles later, and then a "junior" by the end of the arc. Plot: While the story revolves around regression, the plot-progression itself isn't cyclical. Each time the MC goes back in time, he lives radically different lives, meeting different people, achieving different things, and learning more and more about the setting. Later on, each cycle also has some very specific goals in mind, such as trying to reach a certain level in cultivation, mastering a certain martial art, or just infiltrating the forces of a villain in trying to figure out their goals and motivations to be better prepared in the later cycles. So far, the first arc (taking place in the lower realm, encompassing the MC's journey to learn martial arts with his boss from Korea/sworn brother and his first steps into cultivation) was absolutely phenomenal. The second arc (taking place in the middle realm) had a really rocky start in the first cycle, but the second cycle was great, the third had some of the most amazing back-and-forth scheming with a villain I've ever seen, while the fourth cycle is also shaping up to be pretty great so far. I'd say it's well worth powering through the early parts to get to the good bits. Overall: This is a bloody great series. It has everything: a strong premise executed really well, a likeable main character, strong side-characters, a very in-depth power-system featuring multiple flavors of cultivation/martial arts with their own philosophies and mechanics, and the cycles allow the author to explore all kinds of genres and plots, meaning the story never gets stale. Add in the fact that it also has an wonderful translation, and it all adds up to a surprise masterpiece. That said, there are some small issues there, such as the MC's constant suffering and setbacks getting a bit tiresome after a while, and the aforementioned first cycle in the second arc being a dip in quality, but all things considered, they only mar the finished product, but don't ruin it at all. I would heavily recommend this one if you're looking for a good xianxia story, a weak-to-strong story, or just find the concept of the MC's regression ability interesting. However, if you're looking for a solid romance angle or fast progression... hell, I would still recommend this one, because it's just that good. Seriously, give it a go, and see if it clicks with you. <<less

I read this right after Longevity Simulation and oh boy was it a downgrade! While both novels focus on cultivation with regression, Longevity simulation is more about coldly analyzing all the information gained with each regression to gain benefits, while this novel is more about creating connections. This novel is all about not forgetting the loss of comrades from each regression, cherishing each connection formed despite time unraveling, and having an unyielding spirit against all odds as they are always stacked against you. Seo, the MC desperately tries to prevent ... more>> disaster happening to his coworkers. This is a good theme and all, but the problem is that the writing sucks. First off: the cultivation. Holy shit. This surely isn't the first xianxia novel I ever read. Why the hell are you introducing imaginary cultivation concepts that copy off of every other cultivation novel? Is it fun to read walls of text about qi building stage and the concepts revolving around ascending each stage? It's like I'm reading a wiki article. And of course, it's all imaginary BS. The author is just trying to increase word count per chapter. Cultivation concepts get repeated OVER and OVER again. It's regurgitated information. Hell no I don't care about star constellation and energy, and I sure as hell don't need all 28 constellations listed out by name only for it to never actually matter. The thing is that most of these cultivation concepts don't matter. And when they do matter, like Qi, intent, yin and yang, it's poorly explained. Everything is overly explained, but not concisely nor clearly. Information regarding intent, each martial stage, and cultivation concepts are always repeated, but not in a great way. The problem is that some of this information carries the novel. This carries out to the fights. The fights in this novel are a joke. They're so poorly depicted. It's just psuedo cultivator or martial intent concepts that carry the fight. There's no real battles that are detailed at all. It's just Seo throwing out his martial intent and killing them, or dodging based on "intent." The swordsmanship depicted in this novel just repetitively repeats the same few stances, and all the fights just become the main character throwing out a few of his stances and killing the enemy. There's no actual detail of the fight other than the stances used and the intent used. It's crazy. Finally, and the reason I dropped this novel is the post core formation stage. All the sudden, Seo is transported to a higher realm and he becomes crazy OP. He effortlessly increases his cultivation prowess and crosses major realms as flavor text. He's able to battle two major realms above his actual cultivation rank and the novel barely explains why. It's just more pseudo cultivator concepts and apparently Seo is so talented and smart that they culminate to him being able to steamroll anybody. The reason these regression novels are fun is because it's an untalented person trying to become stronger with each regression. Seo, I sh*t you not just goes from core formation to Nascent Soul off screen. Really? I cannot stand this novel. <<less