RegisterLogin
Theme
Search
Series Group
It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists
Type
Web Novel (CN)
Genre
Tags[ ]
Loading...
Tags List | Request Tag
Rating(3.7 / 5.0, 85 votes)
5    48% (41 votes)
4    15% (13 votes)
3    11% (9 votes)
2    9% (8 votes)
1    16% (14 votes)
Language
Support Book (#ad)
Author(s)
One entry per line
Artist(s)
One entry per line
N/A
Year
Example: 2012
2023
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
650 chapters (Completed)
Licensed
N/A
Completely Translated
No
Original Publisher
One entry per line
English Publisher
One entry per line
N/A
Release Frequency
Every 2.5 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #4821
Monthly Rank: #6691
All Time Rank: #5472
Reading List
[Graph]
On 975 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #11705
All Time Rank: #8854

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

Mu Zhi’an transmigrated into a world of immortals and became a supporting character destined to be a stepping stone for the protagonist. He originally wanted to befriend those heaven-chosen protagonists, but when Mu Zhi’an turned around, he discovered that the girls surrounding him were either the protagonist’s childhood sweethearts or fiancées.

Most inconceivably, those girls who should have liked the protagonist all fell for Mu Zhi’an, this supporting character. Looking at the heavenly beauties beside him, one after another, Mu Zhi’an had a bold idea. He resolved to get rid of the protagonist and turn the tables to become the master himself.

After finally defeating several protagonists with great difficulty and obtaining a large amount of resources, in order to enhance the girls’ strength, he shared the abundant resources with the girls around him. He originally thought that with the enjoyment of so many resources, he would surely be able to prove the Dao and become an emperor in the future, transforming and ascending as an immortal. Until one day, looking at the rolling tribulation clouds in the sky and the several empress characters reborn in the lightning tribulation, Mu Zhi’an’s eyes gradually lost their luster as he muttered, “I’m so foolish, really… I thought that after getting rid of those heaven-chosen sons, I would be the new protagonist of the world and become a powerful immortal in the future. But I never thought… it turns out they were the real protagonists all along.”

Associated Names
One entry per line
ITOTAP
It Turns Out, They Were The True Protagonists From The Start.
It Turns Out That They Are the Protagonists.
Yuanlai, Tamen Cai Shi Zhujiao.
Yuánlái, Tāmen Cái Shì Zhǔjiǎo.
原来，她们才是主角
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
My Villain Destiny: The Apocalypse is Here! (2)
Villain: After Slacking Off, The Protagonist Collapse (2)
Villain: I Possess The Dragon Yang Dao Physique, All Saintesses Turns Into Villainesses (2)
I Am the Fated Villain (1)
Keyboard Immortal (1)
Suppressing the Protagonist in the Start to Seize the Heroine (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Peak Hidden Gems Part 5 (ACTUALLY EPIC STUFF)
  2. Good Harems
  3. To Be Read

Latest Release

Date Group Release
05/14/24 Dobytranslations c13
05/12/24 Dobytranslations c12
05/12/24 Dobytranslations c11
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c10
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c9
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c8
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c7
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c6
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c5
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c4
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c3
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c2
05/11/24 Dobytranslations c1
1…373839
Go to Page...
Go to Page...
Write a Review
12 Reviews sorted by


zogidoggo
zogidoggo rated it
November 5, 2024
Status: c200
Alright so this one, it started fun and got more and more annoying until I just couldn't take it any more. The main problem is there's no consequences for characters, and the mc's harem are complete salted fish. They do absolutely nothing.

So for more indepth, I'll start with Ye Yu because holy sh*t the author at least knows how to make a good hate sink. The problem with him though, is there's no repercussions as stated above. He follows the MC EVERYWHERE constantly publicly reveals secrets, constantly openly antagonizes the... more>> MC, constantly tries to have them killed. And no one reacts. There's a rule in the sect for no fighting, and yet they let him get away with so much it's mind boggling. The MC is horrifically important to the sect, his constitution combined with the sects guardian beast living with him and openly favoring him should be enough for minor protection but no. The elders don't even bother telling him to leave the MC alone, instead they tell him to fight later. This is someone openly trying to kill a massive asset of the sect, for no reason other then being jealous and they let it go. Which doesn't even get into how shady he should look. His cultivation speed is equal to a heavenly talent being supplied resources from eight different factions within the sect and no one cares, instead everyone is constantly harassing the MC.

Now the harem

Bai Ruoxi is the absolute worst sort of partner. She's completely and totally all take, she gives absolutely nothing to the MC, does absolutely nothing for the MC, is extremely possessive to the point her entire dao revolves around chaining the MC to her and being a lie detector. She has the heavenly dao aura (Which is an absolutely massive cultivation speed multiplier) Has the MC with his physique, (an absolutely massive cultivation speed multiplier which also conveniently removes any bottlenecks (even ones that require enlightenment)) And is being supplied the lions share of all the mc's resources and she takes 6 months to go from golden core realm 2 to 5. A process that's said in story to take ~5 years of normal unassisted cultivation to progress the entire golden core stage (with later stages obviously getting progressively harder).

Now that would be annoying, but the absolute worst part? She doesn't help the MC. If he's being confronted? She hides behind the MC. If people plot to kill him? She doesn't go after them. She constantly watches Ye Yu make their lives harder, she stands aside and just lets him sh*t all over them and makes no effort to do anything at all outside of saying she'll duel him. Which he immediately declines and goes for the MC while she stands by doing nothing.

The Ye sisters so far have helped slightly but again they sit back and let the MC handle everything even when they're stronger then him and more connected.

The rest, they matter so little it's not worth mentioning.

Now for the MC, holy sh*t is he abominable. He goes about everything in the most slimy as*hole way possible. He doesn't sit the girls down and talk to them, instead he lies about everything. Every word out of his mouth is a lie, with the author HAMMERING home how little he actually cares about any of the female leads. Every single complement is carefully crafted to coax them, every interaction measured. He doesn't need to be doing this, he's got enough good points to where they would naturally go for him, instead he's constantly manipulating them just to do it. At 200 chapters in, it's starting to look like he just gets off on hurting women emotionally.

He also for some bizzaro reason leaves Ye Yu alone to constantly harass him. He's already proven to be a real threat and he can't even be bothered to do anything other then flaunt his women at him in some childish ego trip. So if you hate c*ckroach characters don't bother with this novel. Because the MC seems to actually enjoy the antagonist hounding him everywhere he goes.

The sect itself is a complete clusterf*ck. Every single female elder wants in his pants and showers him with resources while the male elders want to be his friend because the MC has the sects guardian beast living with him and it obviously favors him. So you'd think he'd have some form of protection right? Well wrong, turns out they don't actually care if he lives or dies. They're so short sighted it's actually insane. Especially when considering they're supposed to be cultivators who can live centuries. They allow what should be an absolutely massive asset to the sect be openly harassed, openly insulted, openly questioned, and worst of all have all his secrets exposed and do nothing. It's so obvious that he has fellow sect members plotting his death and they just don't care. And yet, the next scene we get is them showering more gifts on the MC to get him to sleep with them.

This fic just can't decide what it wants to be. The MC is supposed to be a support character, but he does everything EVERYTHING himself. The girls are supposed to be protagonists, but they have no encounters outside of the MC giving them things. They don't go out and find things themselves, they don't do anything at all. And when they do offer, the MC shuts them down hard to avoid being in their 'debt' while constantly talking about how he wants to be a kept man and how he's willing to rely on his women. But he doesn't and can't because that would emasculate him. So instead the only time he ever does rely on them, is when it doesn't matter.

All of this entire fics problems could be solved if he sat the girls down and actually explained to them what's going on with his physique, that he gains strength from having multiple lovers and that they're going to need that strength unless they want some old hag to kidnap him and lock him in a cave as a live in s*erm bank. Instead it's forced drama and secrets for no reason other then he likes being a douchbag.

Sorry if this is a rambling mess, the frustration just built and built. <<less
11 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
MeatEatingPriest
MeatEatingPriest rated it
June 7, 2024
Status: c70
The description is pretty clear but also kinda vague so here's a first review.

It reminds me of I Am The Fated Villain but with a pretty different execution. It's like a low-powered/low fantasy version. The main character, Mu Zhi'an solves his problems mostly with his high charisma-like ability to manipulate people and schemes. So this novel is more focused on character interactions and planning rather than trying to complete system missions, combat and cultivation. He doesn't have a powerful system and his biggest bonus is being the sole heir of... more>> one of the most powerful families in town. His cultivation is even lower than most of his peers and he usually lets other people do the fighting. He does seem to carry himself in a similar manner to Gu Changge (MC of IatFV) ; cold, a bit detached, teasing women flirtatiously, and generally treating the world like a game he wants to get the highest score in. The plot focus appears similar though even though he has less in his arsenal than Gu Changge; defeat the "protagonists/heaven's chosen" by subverting their relationships and taking their opportunities/items/legacies.

Mu Zhi'an is of course a transmigrator, and he has a system panel but I don't think it's given him any benefits so far aside from displaying his status. He's got the default wastrel debauched villain young master with a terrible reputation start. Aside from his family's resources all he's really got going for him is his own social + scheming skills and genre-savviness. So for the genre he's relatively underpowered which I dig.

The concept of the title, that the female leads are the protagonist has mostly been mentioned in jest when they excel and so far it has generally applied to one character who is presenting as his main squeeze. However he has found a powerful item that was originally meant to belong to a "protagonist" type heavens chosen character that he was unable to use because his destiny/luck is poor as a disposable side character. So maybe the intention is that he will raise a team of powerful female leads like Pokemon to gain benefits from/do the actual work for him?

70 chapters in and I have only encountered the one "protagonist" who is still in pretty solid shape after taking a few losses. There's one main female lead he's pretty involved with and two potential ones on the side. The "protagonist" enemy is stereotypical of the genre, a cultivation mu*derhobo with cheats so the schemes haven't really been too complex. The female characters have not exactly been putty in his hands but maybe less suspicious than they should be. They do seem like relatively well rounded characters with their own motivations though.

There is a fly in the ointment for me though; the writer's incessant thirsty description of female characters. I feel like it's at least once a chapter, often more. It's not even once per appearance expect to hear about a woman's heavy chest resting on a table or how her collar can barely conceal her lofty chest in random interactions or after you've been aware of her appearance for fifty plus chapters. We get it man, she's busty! I don't need a reminder every chapter. Do people actually get something out of these repeated descriptions or is the author just padding his word count?

I feel like that's a decent segue into the translation by dobytranslation. I'd say it's above average. Odd proper nouns and names are consistent typically with pronouns that aren't all over the place. So someone cares enough to at least give it a once over before posting which is always cool. I've noticed a few errors but nothing serious. The dialogue also is generally lucid and not awkward/stilted. I don't think I've had difficulty following as I went through chapters. The only particular niggle I have is I think they use the term "furnace" or sometimes maybe "cauldron" for what is typically described as a core or dantian but NBD. <<less
10 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Chayle
Chayle rated it
June 8, 2024
Status: c65
The best way I can describe it is a mix between "I am the Fated Villain" and "Keyboard Immortal". The MC wakes up in the body of a lecher who is the young master of one of the powerful families in the city. He is extremely cunning even though he has a languid outlook. The female characters all have their own distinct personalities, the longer they get screen time the more they get fleshed out. They are also strong or otherwise special in their own ways, and MC relies on... more>> them a lot - eating the soft rice.

The MC is shameless and can't help taking a look at the beautiful women, but he's not constantly trying to sleep with them, quite the opposite. If a girl throws herself at him out of desperation, he refuses. The relationships develop well. The harem romance is actually really well executed.

He's not that powerful, he relies on his wits a lot. Great comedy. Shamelessness. Naturally stealing others' women. Cultivation. The story feels very well put together, I can't find anything I dislike. <<less
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Robert_Owens62
Robert_Owens62 rated it
August 6, 2024
Status: c166
Absolutely banger of a wuxia novel. The protagonists likes to use manipulation over brute force which leads to more interesting confrontations in my opinion. He also is the master of flirting with multiple women simultaneously, until he isn't. Comedy and harem focused with a good sprinkle of face slapping the original main character.
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Dreyerboys
Dreyerboys rated it
October 5, 2024
Status: c112
It's not great, or particularly good. Other reviews claim it to be similar to Keyboard Immortal and that might be true to a certain extent, but a better description is "Harem Simulator".

It's really just about a guy who isn't satisfied with having one wife, trying to juggle 5, 6, 7 girls while keeping his "behind the scenes" affairs with them a secret.

There's not a good reason as to why, either, other than his special physique can "level up" the women he's intimate with.

The MC is pretty smart and fairly charismatic,... more>> but to me, the Xianxia elements just degrade the quality of the novel.

There's basically no fighting involved (up to chapter 100) and the MC hardly utilizes his "special physique" with anyone but the FL. Even then, her cultivation means basically nothing. The Xianxia elements are really just a way to make the MC more useful than he really is.

The World Building is pretty atrocious because of that as none of it matters. The plot is basically non-existent. We don't even know what the MC is trying to achieve. He doesn't really care for power or love. He already has a wife who will spend 24/7 with him in the bedroom. There's no overarching enemy. For some reason, he joins a Sect...

Spoiler

Honestly, that killed it for me.

Before, we were only focusing on him and the female leads, along with the problems that came with it. That was some good'ol brainless fun. He could face slap a few people, sweet talk the beauties while slowly seducing them, and watch as the women get more powerful to defend him... but now that he's in a Sect, we learn that the higher-ups of the world just want to use him as a pawn.

They know exactly what he's thinking, what he'll do, and more. There are more young masters. More random schemes. Unkillable protagonists. Basically, everything other than what makes the novel good. It just leaves you asking "Why even do this?"

[collapse]

If you like the first 50 chapters, you'll probably enjoy the rest but don't expect too much. I'd only read it if you're particularly interested in this genre and style. <<less
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
tomas147
tomas147 rated it
July 24, 2024
Status: c148 part2
A surprisingly good read. As has been said, it does remind of the better aspects of Keyboard Immortal, so if you like that one, you will like this.

The MC wakes up in the body of a villain (young master, pe*vert, bad attitude, etc) proceeds to seduce the heroines and outsmart the protagonist. Its fairly cliche yet it manages to stay amusing and funny enough.
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
sgrey
sgrey rated it
September 26, 2024
Status: c237
Although I like this kind of story, this particular novel feels like a milktoast shounen version of Keyboard Immortal meets Long Live Summons!. Mainly because MC is very toned down and the dialog is always very plain, surface level and overall not that great. MC when it comes to dealing with enemies displays almost supernatural future-reading deductive ability but when it comes to women, he behaves and speaks like an idiot.

The plot also feels like you are grinding water with a mortar and pestle - things seem to be moving... more>> around, but nothing really happens. Well, there are events and progress, but they happen very rarely. For the past 200 chapters, for example, MC waifus keep finding trouble for him about who he gave a flower to at the start of the story. In addition, MC, like an idiot tells every single waifu exact same line and also tells them some s*upid crap about other waifus that always gets him in trouble. It's always the same one point that keeps popping up. MC also is never proactive and only reacts to events when he is attacked/plotted against, and he himself never attacks or does anything proactively. He kind of has a goal, but he doesn't actively make things happen. He never actively goes after his enemies or even tries to kill them, even if they keep trying to harm him and people around him all the time in the open. We still have the first antagonist back from the start causing him trouble. Maybe it will change later.

Also, one big plot point happening for a while now that in one major sect all super big shots, who just happen to be super sexy powerful curvy women all fight for MC to have s*x with them and MC does all in his power not to do so. Even though there no reason not to do it, he would only gain more benefits. Even his waifu that he constantly does it with afterwards behaves like a little girl on the first date, super shy to even hold hands in public.

Well, overall I would say that this novel is fun despite all the criticism I wrote. I like that events usually happen fast and resolve within a few chapters. What I mean is there are no fights that last for 25 chapters and when something starts, it usually ends quickly and moves on to the next stage. It's not stretched out s*upidly for no reason. I also like that there weren't a big "you don't deserve my daughter" arc, even though there was a bit of that, it wasn't as dramatic and s*upid as in other novels. I liked how it resolved in a more common sense manner, compared to other novels. I also like that there is progress in relationships, but because MC himself is dull in this regard, it is very toned down and whenever he speaks with women it's always very shouneny school-like. It would be much better if MC was more shameless and more sly with better game. The dialog should also use a ton of subtext, but it doesn't, which drags this novel down a lot. All in all, this novel has a decent plot, but the author seemingly cannot bring out full potential of his ideas. <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
ballzack
ballzack rated it
September 12, 2024
Status: Completed
I read about 200 translated chapters and finished the rest with Google Translate, so take this review with a grain of salt.

This is not an action packed Wuxia full of face slapping and arrogant young masters. It's more like pokemon collecting with a Wuxia setting. The main focus of the novel is the MC catching and strengthening his "pokemon." MC is full charisma build and is generally much weaker than his harem (the world in general has more women at the apex of cultivation). This leads to a lot of... more>> fun shenanigans as he tries to juggle the various relationships he is building until it fails spectacularly. The character interactions, which are the bulk of the story, are really fun throughout the novel.

At the beginning of the novel, MC is extremely weak and he really has to work to earn the affections of his harem. This does shift drastically later to the point he is being pursued by many strong masters but it feels valid in the world setting. He remains charming and likeable throughout the novel, although he is very shameless. The harem is full of fun and unique characters that feel distinct throughout. In any other novel, if they were the lead, they would be protagonists and it's quite funny to read his despair at being the "heroine" of the world.

It's not perfect by any means, the author made some questionable decisions about 450 chapters in that he quickly reversed. The author makes the same mistake of introducing too many female leads and not having the time to invest in their stories, as well as leaving some characters out for hundreds of chapters. The ending leaves a lot on the table as well, it felt like the author could've used another 10-20 chapters to really wrap things up but it's enjoyable enough, much more satisfying than other novels I've read.

Don't expect anything explicit, for what is essentially a dual cultivation novel it is very tame, aside from the thirsty protagonist eyeing up every jade beauty he sees (and his obsession with legs and feet.) <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Mahesvara_
Mahesvara_ rated it
November 20, 2024
Status: c218
Quite enjoyable and fun character interaction.

It's focused on the MC & Heroines interactions between themselves, other than that story is average. My main complain is that the immortals and cultivators in the novel doesn't act like actual immortals they're too bothered and care too much about mundane things and they all say thoughtless things, openly tr*sh talking someone they dont like. They just feel like keyboard warriors without the slang words whenever they're in argument.

Characters — Great dialogues between MC & FMC, very fun. They don't fall for the MC... more>> in an instant but still quite fast. I'm not quite fond of the idea of immortals lived for tens of thousands years blushing and falling inlove with the MC and his sweet talks, feels unbelievable. Most women here who lived for hundreds to thousands of years are virg*ns (idk why) Tbh it would have been better if those immortal heroines are people who lost their lovers and MC making them fall in love again, I just don't understand why they would fall inlove with the MC after a few days/months, when they manage to remain single for millenniums.

Action — There's not much action it's almost nonexistent. Not recommended for action lovers.

Cultivation — The novel use lots of cultivation bullsh*t which feels very forced. If you want a cultivation focus story then this is not recommend.

Antagonists — 5% smart villains / 10% average villains / 85% dumb villains.

Plot — The average plot isn't much of a problem because the character interactions is carrying the story.

Schemes — The plans and schemes are not old monster-level but it's not bad, MC has high EQ so it's quite nice.

Romance — Above average romance. Better romance than most cultivation stories tho more innocent.

Women/Girls — The descriptions of appearance of the women are weird and boring, the novel felt like it's using codes when describing their appearance. All women pretty much has the same description (even the heroines) and 100% of named women are beautiful. I want to qoute "When everyone is special, no one is special"! So I pretty much don't care how beautiful the heroines are because there's no ugly women to begin with, so they don't feel special anymore. Heroines isn't unique enough even when compared to side characters.

···

Overall a fun novel if you just focus on interactions & romance. You can ignore everything else! <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
fraazx
fraazx rated it
September 28, 2024
Status: c237
This isn't your usual Xianxia novel, where the characters are just tropes or the plots are illogical, but a better version. The MC, Mu Zhi'an, is a person from Earth who was reborn into the Xianxia world and recovered his memory, right before the main plot kicks off. What should have been your usual Young Master meant to be the stepping stone for the protagonist, has now broken free of his destiny and decided on to become a kept man for the FLs, due to the fact that his physique... more>> can only work on the opposite s*x.

Spoiler

Oh, and he can get the FLs physique if they are in love with him. So, he can also power himself up by going after FLs who have OP physiques. Something a certain review failed to mentioned.

[collapse]

This story, up to c237, can be boiled down to the MC 70% seducing the FLs, 15% scheming against his enemies, 5% cultivating, and 10% of him fighting personally since, well, he's a kept man. He lets his FLs fight for him. Also, it isn't a story where the girls all fall for him, merely because of his physique, but because he actively cultivates their feeling for him. He is a gentleman with pe*verted antics underneath, he likes to throw the same cheesy words to multiple FLs, respectful towards who deserved it, and generally doesn't go around causing trouble. Sure, maybe MC should have killed the protagonist and anybody antagonist to prevent future troubles, but MC takes advantage of his enemies to further his own agenda, unless the enemies are far too strong for him, though when their usefulness is done then their gone.

Now, the Female Leads... All of them have OP stuff to them, so they are arrogant. Some of them are friendly, kind, aloof, shy, cunning, etc etc, but all of them have arrogance in them, no matter how small. Also, they really really don't like that their lover, Mu Zhi'an, is going around seducing other FLs (basically yanderes and him unable to stop himself from expanding his "orcas" pond), so he has to work hard on appeasing them, though there will always be the threat of him ending up in a basement or a dark corner with a FL.

For the other casts, almost all of them act like a character instead of a trope, though you do have the usual bystanders who comment on the Main Characters, but that's basically part of the course. Also, the cultivation in the world got some thought into them,
Spoiler

for example each Core Formation character got different skills or weapons based on their experience of life before entering Core Formation.

[collapse]

Also, I have a few things to say about the manhua version of this -
Spoiler

THAT MANHUA IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM THIS NOVEL! The only thing that can tie the manhua and novel together is the title, character names and major plot. Everything else? Completely different.

[collapse]
<<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
loststudent999
loststudent999 rated it
April 13, 2025
Status: Completed
My greatest regret is that the author's other works aren't completely uploaded onto a CN pirate website so I can read them.

The beginning feels really cliche and makes the work seem less than it is. But trust, it gets sooo much better. If you like soft rice and shura fields, this is it.

Story is about an MC who reincarnates as a small villain in the beginner town of the protagonist. Proceed to follow the plot and discover the truth of his reincarnation and explore. Slice of life. Focus is mostly... more>> on the romance and shura field, navigating around jealousy and how MC has sugar mommies. <<less
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Mr.Mochi
Mr.Mochi rated it
September 27, 2024
Status: c230
It’s a good brainless harem xianxia. There’s no depth to the cultivation and the only thing the MC has going is that he can power up his partners. Add on skills that fall out of the sky, women giving him op items, and a semi-realistic trope cast and boom.

3/5. The drama seems spicy, but nothing really comes of it. The plots are silly and the bad guys are always dumb.
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Leave a Review (Guidelines)
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.

Novel Updates

User Tools

Latest Series

| Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Contact Us