It is a bit hard to review without spoiling, but I'll try ^_^
This novel was and is by far my favorite Xianxia. I thoroughly enjoyed it from the beginning to the very ending. I was sad when Wang Lin was sad, hyped when he was angry, hyped when Main Spoiler Antagonist appears, hyped when mortal arcs appear, hyped when he comprehend stuff, hyped when.....eh, let's say I got hyped plenty of times.
Renegade Immortal basically starts out somewhat slow, but it gets better and better increasingly upwards, without stopping. Said beginning is still being appreciated, as for those familiar with Xianxias, it is still a change. The MC goes from a naive, normal boy seeking to please his parents to a ruthless and scheming cultivator. His growth is almost tangible, and some arcs can bring you to tears.
Not only that, I honestly never expected this much depth even from an Er Gen novel (PotT aside). Hype wasn't the only thing I, we felt, we basically comprehended alongside Wang Lin, were sad when he was sad, pitied him in the rare moments he showed his loneliness, loved(?) when he did. I enjoyed every single bit of it. Of his struggle to succeed.
The writing was absolutely great. It starts out rough as it is the author's first work, but you can see it and *feel* it evolve as time and chapters go on. Expect deep writing, that sometimes brought readers to tears. The mortal arcs are an absolute treat that defines and what is in my opinion the main defining factor of this novel, that separates it from the rest. True Dao comprehension.
A major turning point in the novel's writing and quality would be chapter 250 imo.
Wang Lin is a well-written character, and the side-characters are also absolutely great. Some are sadly inevitably forgotten, but many still stuck and almost every one left an impact, big or small.
The antagonists are done quite well, and honestly the main antagonist is one of the best-written antagonists I saw. There was real suspense, and they left enormous impacts.
If there is something that'll bring this novel down, it would likely be the romance as it is a bit weird, in the sense that the start of it was bad, but the following process and consequence was good, which leaves a bit of a sense of incongruence. You enjoy the writing, but when you think about how it started...well, not stellar imo.
And although it is not the main focus, there is some great comedy moments in this novel.
TL;DR long story short, if not the best, then one of the best novels in Wuxiaworld and Xianxias in general.
To end it with a "chapter chart". It's rough, but hopefully gives an idea :
0-100 : Decent
100-150 : Gets better, good
150-250 : Great
250-500 : Amazing
500-2088 : (one of) Best Xianxia you've read
This is Renegade Immortal.
PS : For those who'd want to continue reading the Er Gen series, then following Ri, I reccomend reading, and in that order : Pursuit of the Truth -> I Shall Seal the Heavens -> A Will Eternal -> A World Worth Protecting
It is a bit hard to review without spoiling, but I'll try ^_^
This novel was and is by far my favorite Xianxia. I thoroughly enjoyed it from the beginning to the very ending. I was sad when Wang Lin was sad, hyped when he was angry, hyped when Main Spoiler Antagonist appears, hyped when mortal arcs appear, hyped when he comprehend stuff, hyped when.....eh, let's say I got hyped plenty of times.
Renegade Immortal basically starts out somewhat slow, but it gets better and better increasingly upwards, without stopping. Said beginning is still being appreciated, as for those familiar with Xianxias, it is still a change. The MC goes from a naive, normal boy seeking to please his parents to a ruthless and scheming cultivator. His growth is almost tangible, and some arcs can bring you to tears.
Not only that, I honestly never expected this much depth even from an Er Gen novel (PotT aside). Hype wasn't the only thing I, we felt, we basically comprehended alongside Wang Lin, were sad when he was sad, pitied him in the rare moments he showed his loneliness, loved(?) when he did. I enjoyed every single bit of it. Of his struggle to succeed.
The writing was absolutely great. It starts out rough as it is the author's first work, but you can see it and *feel* it evolve as time and chapters go on. Expect deep writing, that sometimes brought readers to tears. The mortal arcs are an absolute treat that defines and what is in my opinion the main defining factor of this novel, that separates it from the rest. True Dao comprehension.
A major turning point in the novel's writing and quality would be chapter 250 imo.
Wang Lin is a well-written character, and the side-characters are also absolutely great. Some are sadly inevitably forgotten, but many still stuck and almost every one left an impact, big or small.
The antagonists are done quite well, and honestly the main antagonist is one of the best-written antagonists I saw. There was real suspense, and they left enormous impacts.
If there is something that'll bring this novel down, it would likely be the romance as it is a bit weird, in the sense that the start of it was bad, but the following process and consequence was good, which leaves a bit of a sense of incongruence. You enjoy the writing, but when you think about how it started...well, not stellar imo.
And although it is not the main focus, there is some great comedy moments in this novel.
TL;DR long story short, if not the best, then one of the best novels in Wuxiaworld and Xianxias in general.
To end it with a "chapter chart". It's rough, but hopefully gives an idea :
0-100 : Decent
100-150 : Gets better, good
150-250 : Great
250-500 : Amazing
500-2088 : (one of) Best Xianxia you've read
This is Renegade Immortal.
PS : For those who'd want to continue reading the Er Gen series, then following Ri, I reccomend reading, and in that order : Pursuit of the Truth -> I Shall Seal the Heavens -> A Will Eternal -> A World Worth Protecting