TLDR: if you enjoyed reading stories like Reverend Insanity, you might enjoy this.

Sick of reading generic novels about arrogant young masters who barely have two functional brain cells?

Martial Cultivator is an intricate story where any random character's IQ is higher than everyone in MGA combined. Every character has their own agenda and schemes to achieve their own goals. The dialogue is engaging and has greater depth, showcasing each character's thought process and motivations. This novel might feel slow initially, but it gradually draws you in and captivates you with the... more>> story instead of nonsensical planet-exploding power levels.

There's a lot of foreshadowing and subtle hints given which makes the reader ask questions. The author doesn't give you the answer straight-up, so you might need to speculate based on the nuanced interactions between characters.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy a more complicated story where the characters engage in wits rather than just power level. But the strength of this novel is also its weakness because readers who enjoy mindless generic novels will find this boring. <<less

I quite liked it at first but as the story goes on two glaring prpblems appear:

1. The villains are too cunning behind the shadows, too s*upid in the light. Whenever they scheme against the MC/the good guys, they seem to have infinite resources and intelligence. When they fight the MC, they're suddenly all "INSOLENCE! YOU SHALL DIE!"
2. The protagonists are a bit mary sue. They never lose, at most tieing/escaping, they have genius levels of planning, and the FC especially is just straight up psychic. She always knows what's going on, and always has all the information the MC needs.

It's still an okay read. If there were more good stories in this genre I'd give it a 3.5, but since there's much worse tr*sh out there, it's a 4.

Great read. Akin to Ze Tian Ji and Immortal Devil Transformation. The story has smart MC with interesting cast of characters. Battle scenes are concise and tactical without ridiculous move names. As I read it, I can clearly sense the machinations of the world moving so I haven't been bored at all. It really helps that there hasn't been useless training montage.

Update after reaching 354: Generally my thoughts are the same as my older review. Just a little more bored by it. The story won't wow you, it tends to be predictable and for all its attempts to make characters more nuanced, they aren't necessarily more interesting than your typical Xianxia novel. Many of them lack defining personality, often relying on conversational styles that are overused in other novels of the same genre. The stuff I mentioned in my older review.

The main protagonist is pretty boring. They give him this... more>> whole "he's better than people his age because of his experience in life or death situations" thing, which is convincing when he's fighting people around his age, or daoists who don't specialize in combat. But when he's fighting a martial artist with experience at the northern border or cultivators a couple realms above him it gets pretty unconvincing when the same tricks work against them. The story does a bad job of convincing the reader that he should be beating these opponents beyond being due to their own incompetence. As other readers have mentioned, its narrative setup is fairly similar to Ze Tian Ji for reasons I won't spoil, but it fails at a lot of the things that make Ze Tian Ji standout. Mainly, memorable characters, well written action scenes, and narratively distinct arcs that each offer something different. The story of Martial Cultivator often feels aimless, at least to me. Which isn't inherently a bad thing, but it just doesn't do enough well to justify the slower pace. The first couple of arcs are actually pretty good at feeling memorable, but after a while it feels like you are just going through more of the same. Whereas Ze Tian Ji has really rewarding payoff for its story arcs, I can't really say the same for this. There aren't really any real payoffs, its just one arc blending into the next.

The old review:

This novel is an enjoyable enough read. It's the typical face slapping xianxia novel but executed much better than most. The protagonist and his enemies will constantly talk about giving face, using the same insult where some guy says "Your father!" when hes mad. He will constantly win fights either using a bare minimum of cunning or for seemingly no reason at all. The big shots will go "You're a cheeky, shameless brat, but I like you kid!". What separates this novel from the rest are two things. First, the characters are much more interesting than the usual fair in terms of personality and character interactions. Second, the romance is pretty good all things considered, comparatively at least. This should probably get a romance tag if we're being honest. I don't think this will go in the direction of a harem given where the story has gone so far, but I have no expectations given these types of novels history.

It should be noted that while the translation does start out rough, it eventually gets better. <<less

Unlike the braindead web novels favoured recently, this novel feels much more artistic. As others have mentioned, the characters are multi-dimensional and intelligent, and there always seems to be a swirling undercurrent that is alluded to through foreshadowing but yet keeps you guessing. The fight scenes are also elegant and poignant, reminding me of the scene in Hero (2002) where Jet Li fights Donnie Yen, while an old man strums a Guqin. All this makes for a compelling read that keeps your brain engaged yet does not lose out on... more>> entertainment value. <<less

Unique Xianxia novel.

No brain dead characters, no harem, no system.

What else can I say, it shows character growth and doesn't have a repetitive plot. The schemes and conspiracies are well planned and thought out. MC is also not two faced, once he makes a promise he follows through on his word. The fights are vivid and intense unlike most one hit one kill situations.

Give Martial Cultivator a try, even though the first few chapters are slow its 100% worth the wait.

oomaaagah, very unexpected read with such nicely written human relationships, cultivation, yeah, who cares about cultivation. The lines are written like classic wuxias. Kinda makes me reminisce of Tianya Mingyue Dao, or perhaps of the xianxia genre, it wud be Nightfall.

As of the current free translation (165chp) :

It's an easy 5/5 if we compare it with standard xianxia.

Perhaps 4/5 compared to well written ones.

Engaging read so far. As another reviewer said, it has similarities to Ze Tian Ji and Immortal Devil Transformation, it also reminds me a lot of Nightfall. The dialogue is good and the characters have solid reasons for acting the way they do, that said, it doesn't have the same literary flair as the other novels mentioned above, though this does make it an easier read.

The MC is mysterious and badass, though, still has embarrassing moments, which is refreshing. He has no talent for the immortal path, so is forced... more>> to take the route of a martial cultivator to accomplish his goals (whatever they are).

Equally refreshing is how this (so far) is a cultivation story grounded in the mortal world, away from the various immortal sects. Unlike other novels, where mundane and immortal are firmly separated, these sects are a blight on the Great Liang Dynasty, treating the country and its people as ants.

Naturally, MC has clashed with the sects, that said, however, the MC has unknown origins and unclear motivations meaning Great Liang may not necessarily be a sworn ally either.

I'm looking forward to reading more, and would definitely recommend it. <<less

Really good one, the dialogue is engaging, the character also really flash out, with interesting trait.

It's bit slow because the story spent so much depth on the character and their inner self, absolutely worth the read.

Also kinda similar to Older Er Gen works.

Inside a small, quirky store, Emma, wandered between aisles of odd trinkets and colorful knick-knacks.

Suddenly, Emma stopped dead in her tracks, staring wide-eyed at an oddly shaped rock sitting on a wooden table.

“The rock is purple, ” she declared, her voice serious and full of wonder.

... more>> Just then, Chen Chao who was in the corner of the store froze.

Chen Chao wasn’t just hearing a random statement. To Emma, it was just a quirky observation. But to Chen Chao, those words were a signal. The purple rock wasn’t just an oddity—it was the key to an ancient mystery. A coded message tied to a long-forgotten treasure.

Chen Chao took a step forward, eyeing Emma with a knowing gaze. There was a pause. Then, Chen Chao nodded sagely, as if he understood everything. <<less

A better written version of Way of Choices but with worse plot. The characters are surprisingly similar to Way of Choices that it often breaks immersion. The male main characters are pretty much the same, genius with a hidden background. The female main love interest is also the same, super genius who helps the MC. The female 2nd main triangle love interest is not exactly the same but serves the same purpose, competition with the main female lead. Then we have some superficial plots but the main plot is the... more>> struggle for royal power of the empire and how the MC's 'deep', totally not surprising, background ties into the power struggles of the past.

I would say that the writing in this novel is superior to Way of Choices. The prose of Way of Choices gets really tiresome at times, overly flowery, overly lecturing and not story telling. This novel's prose has good pacing, good descriptions, good dialogue. Overall, just good.

However, the plot feels more stale compared to Way of Choices. Its hard to describe. But Way of Choices, despite my personal struggles with its writing quality, still kept me turning pages for quite a while, far longer than this novel.

Overall, it is still worthy of a 80/100 because it is above the tr*sh tier cultivation novels and deserves a read to see if you like it personally since everyone's tastes are different. <<less