Cang's Ramblings

Chapter 1504 Review of "The Cultivation Version of the Ming Dynasty"

Today I'd like to talk about a fine historical text.

"The Cultivation Version of the Ming Dynasty", author's complete subscription.

Recommended reason:

Currently serialized with 900,000 words, it achieved 10,000 subscriptions and 50,000 favorites in two months, making it a featured post and ranking 248th on the monthly ticket chart. Overall, the data is not bad, but that's all I can say.

The author's name is Quan Ding, currently level 4. He's not a newbie; his previous account was Lu Zhuichao, where he wrote "Rebuilding the Cultivation World Starting from the Southern Song Dynasty," a 40-word unfinished novel. He also wrote "Huang Chao Saves the World from Collapse." Wow, it's clear he has a lot of aliases.

I've skimmed through the story, and to put it simply, it's somewhat interesting.

The protagonist's name is Zhu Youjian, and he has been reborn twice. Originally a modern person, he died unexpectedly and was reborn in a cultivation world. He finally reached the Purple Mansion Realm, but when he was about to break through to the Golden Core Realm, his master, senior brothers and sisters joined forces to possess him. He was reborn again in the Ming Dynasty, 15 years before the country's fall.

A dignified expert of the Purple Mansion Realm spent a year cultivating in this desolate place before awakening the first level of the Fetal Breathing Realm, only then daring to step out of the Longevity Palace to receive the court officials' audience. Thus, he displayed his immortal techniques, temporarily quelling the factional strife. His past life was indeed that of a master of online history surfing; he was well aware of the Donglin Party's methods and fate.

At the same time, he realized that in order to establish a new immortal dynasty and regain his position as a supreme deity in the Purple Mansion and even the Golden Core realm, he still needed to find a way to preserve the Ming Dynasty, especially his own throne. Therefore, he began selling Spirit Aperture Pills to his officials through auctions, a very insidious method. This was because it was a very cunning move, as it tested people's hearts. The nobles were certainly willing to pay, while the upright officials were more concerned about their reputation.

That night, the protagonist, disguised, left the palace to investigate, paying particular attention to the actions of the corrupt officials. He discovered that they were colluding to drive down the price, all agreeing to offer only five hundred taels. Good heavens, the corrupt officials really were broke. The next day, when the auction began, the protagonist not only changed the auction location at the last minute but also raised the starting price, directly calling out a base price of five thousand taels. The nobles had also secretly plotted to acquire as many Spirit Aperture Pills as possible to suppress the civil officials. The corrupt officials initially remained calm, but once the first person turned against them, the price skyrocketed. I thoroughly enjoyed this auction scene; the author vividly portrayed the corrupt officials' true colors. As a famous performer once said, "To have face is to have no face, and to have no face is to have face."

Later, the protagonist secretly revealed to the eunuch beside him that he had over 27 of these pills, but he was only using them for experiments. He also planned to cultivate spiritual fields and plants to completely alter the spiritual energy of the world, helping him achieve the status of a Foundation Establishment Emperor. Indeed, by now you should understand that the pacing of this book is relatively slow, especially regarding realm advancement.

The author himself stated that he consulted many books, such as "I Am God!", "Xuanjian Immortal Clan", "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality", and "Becoming a Talent in the Initial Saint Demon Sect", etc. He also expressed that the early stages of writing the new book were not easy, and it was rejected dozens of times by internal submissions, etc.

For me, the book's concept is quite novel. Although it is categorized as history and involves some historical events and figures, it does not concern itself with historical accuracy. Instead, these elements are merely used as background for the story, with the main focus being on the protagonist's growth process.

Especially in terms of emotions, although he wasn't truly heartless or devoid of love, his methods upon awakening could be described as truly "ruthless and decisive" and a "heartless emperor." This is different from typical historical or cultivation novels. It's very much like the growth history of a small dynasty in a small world, such as the Huangting Kingdom in *Sword Comes*, or a certain monarch in the Lotus Blossom Paradise. Actually, it's just some minor Kalami, haha.

However, the book also has its less-than-ideal parts later on. The plot starts to feel padded, some characters' scenes become less engaging, reader interaction is low, and there are subtle signs of instability—it might be abandoned altogether. I hope my premonition is wrong. But judging from past experience, it's more often the case that it's right. At one time, I even had the reputation of being the "Fifth Poisonous Milk" (a term used to describe someone who jinxes their predictions). Hehe~
【to sum up】

Writing is not easy, so cherish every moment.

I’m Cang Yiwei, and I’m here to promote “Cang’s Ramblings”.

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