He's a nerd, suffers from OCD, very mature (mentally) and has a godlike patience.

The story pace is slow and steady but so far there's no chapter that I don't enjoy. Not a single "draggy" part. And it's not in any way "dull". The overall story telling "make sense". I guess some people are used to story that doesn't make any sense that when thing's actually make sense they reject it outright. It's not like the other popular novel where the MC are like a game character that levels up and fight enemy (repeat). This one actually has a REAL deeper story to tell. Even without exaggerated battle's with god's and demon's (at least not yet...) the story itself is enough to keep the readers intrigued. I wish there's more translated chapters available so I can binge read it.

This Xianxia novel is really refreshing, something new and yet unseen among all the other translated novels. First of all, we have here something that's really pleasant to read and not just bland. The writing style is simple without being too short, and rich enough to be real light literature thanks to the detailed writings. This comes with a slow pacing and rich story telling with an excellent world building, which I can only say are welcome as they make the novel's quality.

The novel starts, unlike many other, with a really weak protagonist. But although he has no power, he's got a brain and, for once, a personality. Childish at times, smart at other, we see here a really detailed and complex character of fourteen years old evolving into a hostile world which might as well have been ours, as he's just a human being, a realistic one at that, and neither a twenty something transported to another world or the reincarnation of a mysterious elder. Not only is he great, but every other character around him is either likeable, be it his friends or his enemies, instead of being one-dimensional like many other novels, and this is what makes it really a worthy read.

The background is rich in details and tells of many stories, which later turn out to actually be part of the plot, or add deepness to already existing / new characters who are kept evolving alongside our main character. The plot is great, interesting and original, full of actions although not of combats, which are pretty rare but important and greatly detailed, often lasting through several chapters of fully explained although sometimes hard to comprehend battles.

Zetianji is, unlike many Xianxia novels, a work full of richness that's worthy of being a real book, and simply does not compare to his fellow fight grinding compatriots. It doesn't focus on fighting and cultivation but instead builds a world with its own issues, mysteries and characters which each have different goals and evolve along each other. Chen Chang Sheng is among if not the greast Xianxia protagonist and his evolution is certainly the most interesting, being a frail human with actual difficulties in cultivation instead of a lucky go happy finding treasures at every corner of a street.

... Last updated on August 4th, 2016, 7:59pm

... and that's awesome!
I was getting tired of reading only about brainless psychopaths in xianxia/wuxia, but this one is polite, not full of himself, and actually seems to be fairly knowledgeable, although nerdy.
Nothing much to say, apart from that, for now.

... Last updated on August 17th, 2015, 10:01am

He got a brain. A real brain instead of power after some concidence.

It's so hard to find a nerd MC in Wuxia novel. LoL
Which make this refreashing!!

Even though there still no action from the mc yet but his character is good enough to make me hook.

The other characters aren't just there to make the MC look strong or don't have any develop in them like other wuxia. There're many back story and some kind of circumstance in their characters.
Which make me hook to this novel too.

... Last updated on August 8th, 2015, 7:12am

MC is so cool!!! For one he is exactly what I imagine when thinking of upright and honest person. I didn`t know that the Chinese authors can actually pull off something different than the arrogant homicide maniac but here it is!
I enjoy reading it. It is slow and not much action but it has logic and build up that is rare for xianxia. It is well paced and interesting

This is pretty good. The translation isn't as good as, say, that of Against The Gods and could benefit from some editing, however so far the protagonist seems to be more interesting and not as one-dimensional as they are in most light novels. The setting features three races: Humans, Yao (which seem to have the same appearance as humans) and Demons (bad guys with horns). There are hints of upcoming Romance and either a love triangle or harem.

Do I like it -Yes
Is the story good?-Yes ,in my opinion is good even if it's slow in the beginning.Additionally the story does become quick paced and interesting(I'm at CH71 currently)
Why to like male/female lead? -Cool/interesting male lead that is out of the ordinary.Also he has drive a purpose and the female lead isn't a complete waste in the story line
Why else ...-(You will understand if you read it but) -That black/ice Dragon !

... Last updated on August 10th, 2015, 6:36pm

What else need to be said about this gem that haven't already been said? Not many. But some points are worth repeating. Yes, such as:

This novel is beautifully written.
This novel is well-thought-out.
This novel is slower-paced.
This novel has many literary references.
This novel has many clever word plays.
The narrative is detail and poetic.
The characters feel real and complex.
The main character is calm and well-studied.
The author also feels calm and well-studied.

... Last updated on April 28th, 2017, 10:58pm

Though I haven't read too much xianxia, Ze Tian Ji flies right to the top on my list of the genre, which I didn't expect a straight-laced example of it would do so easily.

As far as I can tell, Ze tian ji is atypical for xianxia, and breaks a lot of the norms and conventions; the setting is inherently rooted in the political, in empires and sects that exist in a system where normal people actually exist, while usually xianxia ignores normal people. The cultivation aspects of the story are less mechanical than in others, more mystical and religious with a very strong Taoist or Zen Buddhist koans-and-tea flavor. The main characters are not murderhoboes traveling the world and fighting every Tom, Dick and Zhen they encounter for loot, but young teens attending school or the politicians and other adults looking over them.

Our MC, Chen Changshang, is a very calm and very, very, very collected young boy who leaves his master and the small temple they lived in the countryside to go to the capital for two things: to return and break an engagement arranged between him and the supremely talented young lady cultivator of a noble clan, and to attend school in order to gain access to the mystical pillars of enlightenment that fell from the heavens in ages past to bring the Tao to the world... And to find a way to break his fate that threatens to lead to his death before he is twenty years old.

Obviously, this all leads to misunderstanding, hijinx and Overcoming Great Adversity as our straight-faced protagonist gains the ire of everyone he meets, as they believe him to be an evil schemer, fake, or fool. All the while our MC stays a good guy and gathers companions on his journey of Not Dying.

The writing is professional, the translations are all very, very good with very few untranslated terms, but there is a problem with verbosity and pacing. There is not necessarily too much verbatim repetition, but there is quite a lot of filler, quite a lot of rephrasing things and quite a lot things happening that could have stayed unhappened without any issue, BUT these issues happen only at set periods: during the climactic mini-arcs of larger arcs, at the apex of a battle. All other times the pacing and events flow well, though not necessarily quickly, but when things REALLY start to happen things tend to bog down and there's a lot of fluff. I have read up to chapter 370, and this has happened twice (during the tournament arc's last battle and the 'chase sequence' and last battles of the 'treasure hunting' arc), but please also take note that although I say '370' chapters, that is a lot more text than usual, with longer chapters than usual: it's taken me a solid week of reading to get here, and I'm not a slow reader; easily 60-70 hours. A quick napking calculation indicates that the translated text is nearing 700-800 thousand words already; but crucially, it was worth it for me, and I was able to get through the slow bits, and the payoffs are worth it.

... Last updated on March 3rd, 2017, 9:07am

Based on 129 chapters: Very slow paced. Very little fighting and also that is not done by the MC.
Very little cultivation and power ups.
What it has instead is a very unique MC, some very funny characters and funny dialogues, political intrigue, believable opponents/enemies.
Sometimes it feels more like a western fantasy novel than xianxia.
I expect these will change after the examination/trial will start with more fighting and more cultivation related stuff. I hope it will become a bit faster paced but won't become a generic Xianxia.

If someone is only interested in constant senseless fighting and random powerups with an arrogant a**hole as protagonist, well there is a lot of series around from that type. This series is not for you.