[Completed] CN Novels

‘Misunderstood MC + Shop-owner’ tropes, while initially entertaining, it became repetitive and boring after a while. Author had some pretty decent world-building on the grand scheme with the lores and mysteries but it wasn’t satisfying enough.

Phenomenal masterpiece read [S+]. Top-tier world-building with rich plot and mysteries. Mysteries and mysticism will stretch your imagination to the maximum. It has a very slow start (Vol 1 - 213 chapters), but it creates a solid foundation of the world settings. Tarot Club will keep you reading though. No romance and it is not needed (coming from someone who likes a tinge of romance). It is written so differently from other CNs that it doesn't even feel like one. I highly recommend to read line-by-line and truly immerse yourself into the world created for the best experience, try not to skim through like some of the CNs out there. Enjoy the beautiful ride. I have read many WNs & LNs (CN/KR/JP 100+) and this one is truly worth reading. This is just book 1 and apparently a trilogy series. Book 2 will be out in 2023 and I hope that it will be just as great so it will be a timeless masterpiece. A must read. Well done author and translators!

Decently good casual read [B]. The unique thing about this novel is that there are interactions between both the MC and FMC throughout the entire novel from the start to the end (almost every chapter). Take note that this is a slice-of-life coming-of-age shounen wuxia martial arts with romance. If LOTM has this constant subtle tension throughout with zero romance, this novel is on the flip side with zero tension (stress-free no worries) and full-fledged romance. World-building and plot are both simple and straightforward. The plot is heavily centred on two elements; first, the progression of MC and FMC relationship, second, the progression of his martial arts. Initially, the romance seems kinda cringey at times and make you feel that MC is too much of a simp. However, as the relationship progress everything about their relationship will gives off wholesome vibes (and they are both extremely loyal). If you don't vibe with their relationship, you most likely won't like this novel. The fights are mostly in tournament format, just read through the first 100 chapters and you will know what to expect. There is no "arrogant young masters" trope and does not really have any hateful characters. This is my 2nd series read by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving after LOTM. Nothing too spectacular but if there is anything that sells the novel to me, it will be the "fresh" romance relationship between MC and FMC plus with the addition of martial arts along. Thanks for the work author and translators.

More lows than highs and would be better if not for the translation [B-]. The settings are heavily based on Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese mythology and classics such as the "Journey to the West", and with the mix of the infinity genre for the first half of the series. There were a few fun arcs; some from the Samsara worlds, those with Gu Xiaosang, and some minor characters' mini arcs with their point of view. The majority of these mainly occur before chapter 1000, because from the 1000s onwards, the accumulation of more characters appearing with different titles and many things happening makes it confusing to read. This is more so with the inconsistent names/titles at times due to the translation. Many of the characters later on are taken reference from "Journey to the West" and it would be even more confusing for those with no knowledge of it. I am lost at times wondering what is going on and who is on which side. This is a novel that is difficult to translate especially with the names/titles and the Buddhism/Taoism terms. The translation was bearable and I decided to switch to reading the MTL early from chapter 715 onwards while cross-reading with the translation as I heard that many terms/names have changed in the late 700s. The translations from the late 700s onwards are ridiculous and incorrect with the context, for example "divine weapons" becomes "heavenly troops", "immortal" becomes "fairy", "grandmaster" becomes "guru", "old demon" becomes "witch", "seclusion" becomes "isolated practice", "karma points" becomes "good deeds", "heavenly execution axe" becomes "scorpio axe", and "pure maiden sect" becomes "plain girl sect". You get what I mean. Even if they refer to the same thing in Chinese, depending on the context, it can refer to different things and the translation is just horrible and awkward sounding. Another thing is the entire series uses "Vacuum Hometown", I believe a more accurate term would be "Void Origin". The MTL (wnmtl. org) I use is better than most MTLs sites and have more accurate terms/sentence structures/elaboration (don't worry it is not broken english) compared to the translation. The only huge problem is that the pronouns are often mixed-up. For example, "I, he, her, him, she, you, they, we, them, yours... " are often interchanged and it can be slightly confusing. Overall, I feel that the entire series needs to be be re-translated by a highly qualified translator with more accurate terms to really show the truth worth of this novel. It is really a pity. There a couple of times where I wanted to drop this novel, the first which I remember is around the early 800s, but I persevered and around chapter 820, there was a fun arc which made me read on (this will happen a few time where the lows are truly low, worsened by the translation which makes it weary to read). Ending is kinda anti-climatic but the author has mentioned about it in his afterword. He understands the flaws and know his areas of improvement. Epilogue was good and there was a decent closure. This is my 4th series read by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving after LOTM, MAM, and TOMA. Good but butchered by the translation. Way too many characters in the later half with info dumps and is partly confusing (might be due to translation as well). Thanks for the work author.

Fell short [B-]. I can tell that this is Cuttlefish That Love Diving earliest work, because it wasn't that good. First quarter of the novel (early 200s), I felt that there was some huge potential in the making here but it just didn't met my expectations subsequently. One striking problem that I have with this novel is the lack of character depth. There are literally almost no one you can latch onto or are interesting enough, the MC just barely makes the cut and even then, you won't feel excited or anticipated in any of the other characters appearances in the novel. Yes, including the FMC (probably only like 5 chapters max enjoyable). This make it less immersive and lacklustre. This is like an unpolished mixture of Martial Arts Master (in terms of romance) and Lord of the Mysteries. The romance here is half-baked and you can see how the author uses certain elements as a draft for the later better romance work in MAM. You can also notice similar concepts and ideas being way more developed in LOTM, while here, it just seems unrefined and draft-like. In short, its like the blueprint for the good romance in MAM and the top-tier world-building in LOTM. It was unique that it involves magical science (aka arcana), and was interesting at some points. However, character development was horrendous and it was just mainly him using his knowledge from his previous world. This is my 3rd series read by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving after LOTM and MAM. It wasn't horrible, but it was kinda unremarkable. Thanks for the work author and translator.