After reading 6 volumes, i recommend just reading Release That Witch instead. Its the same thing except cultivation is replaced with magic, much superior read.
Setting is a world of cultivation and the protagonist gets send back into the distant past, revolutionizing the undeveloped era, introducing inventions of the future and monopolizing the trade and commerce as well as centralizing the government and political structure.
The xianxia part really gets into the way of the novel, with its cliche plotline, monotonous characters and unimaginative narrative. You'll be seeing a lot of the "saving the helpless princess" scenario or a cast of incompetent companions and a protagonist that magically has the answer to everything to badly written antagonist with very dumb schemes that'll make you facepalm at the uninspired turn of events. Throw in boring combat where fighters take turns shouting the name of their powers, skills, moves till an anti-climatic final showdown and it gets extremely tiring. Predictable and boring.
The entire cultivation and technology concept is also poorly thought of. There is very little synergy and makes no sense. Author blatantly throws anything we find in our modern world into the olden cultivation era. Cultivation is in itself a very powerful tool so much so that it makes technology pointless and vice versa. Author tired to make both aspects sync and compliment each other but the ideas are just too far fetched and redundant. In my honest opinion, author took a wrong approach in combining cultivation with technology, its definitely a plausible concept but it also needs logic.
Furthermore, the idea is not very fleshed out, lots of "short cuts" were taken to make the synergy work. Whatever intricate technological workings that are required, are replaced by and explained by cultivation Qi. It is just too convenient. Don't get me wrong, guns in a xianxia setting is realistic and possible but the most important factor is how you weave the 2 vastly differing ideas together and make it sound convincing. Skyfire Avenue and Release That Witch are a good examples of how its done.
If you're bored and looking for something to read to pass time(like me), then this novel ain't too bad. If you want a worthwhile and fulfilling read, then avoid this.
(-26)
