Cang's Ramblings

Chapter 376 372. Comments on the Ten Classics

Today I would like to recommend to you ten classic novels that have been completed for a long time but are still unforgettable.

1. The Great Ruler

This novel is Chen Dong's most popular, kicking off the "Zhan Tian Trilogy," a cult favorite. My favorite is the epic fight scenes, where every character's appearance is accompanied by background animations. Just thinking up the names and images for each of these effects is a real headache. No matter how many emperors, saints, or saintesses there are in the book, they're all just supporting characters in front of Ye Fan. The more powerful and famous a character becomes, the more exhilarating it is to be beaten by Ye Fan.

While this book wasn't the top-performing on the charts during its serialization, to this day, it's a beloved light novel by authors, a must-read for the genre. It's clear that some books may not always top the charts during their serialization, but their continued vitality is truly undeniable. So, if you like Chen Dong, please raise your hands!

2. Immortal Rebellion

This novel is Er Gen's most acclaimed work. The single word "reversal" perfectly sums up the myriad dangers of cultivating an immortal. It also serves as the foundational work for his five-part series: "Gods, Demons, Monsters, Ghosts, and Immortals." Of course, some prefer "Seeking the Demon," and I've read the entire book. However, "Seeking the Demon" is too sad and dark, and I wouldn't reread it after reading it once. "Immortal Ni" is a more gentle novel, even if the protagonist, Wang Lin, wanders the mortal world in search of his beloved woman, which is heartbreaking. However, it remains an unrepeatable masterpiece.

This book is also a culmination of the immortal cultivation genre. The slogan, "We cultivators, why fear a battle?" is heartfelt, unlike some current immortal cultivation novels, which are purely for laughs and lack the essence of immortality. This generation of fantasy and immortal hero authors has taken immortal hero writing to its extremes, to the point where they themselves have nowhere else to go. Therefore, Er Gen's "Three Inches of the World" sits here awkwardly, tasteless.

3. A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

An ordinary village boy accidentally entered a small local sect and became a registered disciple. With such an identity, how could he gain a foothold in the sect, how could he enter the ranks of immortal cultivators with mediocre qualifications, and thus dominate the three realms?
Wang Yu pioneered the genre of mortal fiction with "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality," earning him a place among the legendary writers of Qidian. Breaking Qidian's previous requirement that authors must have a completed book before signing a Platinum Writer contract, he created Qidian's first Hundred Alliance novel. The book, released in February 2018, immediately won the monthly vote count with 100266 votes. In the Xianxia category, the book topped the monthly vote charts in February, May, June, July, September, and October of 2018, before being replaced by "The Dao Lord." Starting in May 2019, it finally returned to the top spot, surpassing the runner-up by a significant margin.

"You and I are all mortals, born in this world!" Most readers are ordinary people. By following the journey of Han Li, a mortal, from the grassroots to conquer the Three Realms, readers can appreciate the hardships of cultivating immortality and understand the spirit of perseverance. This requires not only wisdom, perseverance, and persistence, but also opportunity, escape, and plunder. The novel is about cultivating immortality, but also about life. However, most of us can comprehend life, but we cannot cultivate immortality.

4. Fights Break Sphere

This is a world of fighting spirit. There is no fancy magic. What we have here is only fighting spirit that has been developed to its peak!
The inheritor of the "Terrible Style." Xiao Yan, starting from the lowest level, would often sigh whenever he encountered a Dou Shi, Dou Wang, Dou Zun, or Dou Sheng fighting: "So-and-so, how terrifying!" Example: "Back in the Jia Ma Empire, it was said that Dou Huang masters were terrifying!" And then the fervor got out of hand. "A dignified Dou Zun, how terrifying~" "A Dou Zun master, how terrifying, even riding a horse." "A Dou Zun master, how terrifying! The BMW M2 is coming with bad intentions."

A true "copycat" of its own. "Martial Universe" perfectly inherits all the settings and tropes of "Battle Through the Heavens," permeating the "copycat" mentality throughout without a single surprise. Except for the results! "The Great Lord" completely eroded readers' last bit of anticipation for Tudou, demonstrating its embarrassment at having nothing left to copy. As for "Yuan Zun," the fact that it's still performing so well is simply due to Tudou, a businessman, employing a few marketing tactics. If true fans insist on watching it, I'm absolutely in favor.

5. The Legend of Wukong

"I want this sky to no longer block my eyes, this earth to no longer bury my heart, all living beings to understand my intentions, and all Buddhas to vanish into thin air!" "It turns out that life is so short. It turns out that when you find the one you love, you should pursue it regardless of everything. Because life can end at any time."

This book is a memory of youth, with its quirky writing style, fantastic imagination, lofty ambition, and nonsensical antics. It was a national hit back in the day. It can be said to have expanded Stephen Chow's comedy style and enriched the core of Journey to the West literature, making it a classic among classics.

6. First Intimate Contact

Narrated from the perspective of Pi Zi Cai, the novel tells a poignant and enigmatic love story, like a mourning poem. "I danced gently amidst the throng. Your strange gaze, whether of surprise or admiration, never disturbed my steps. For it was not your gaze that made me soar, but my young heart."

This novel opened a new door to online literature, captivating the hearts of young men and women. Its poignant love story is even more poignant than the Korean dramas of the day. Youth should be so memorable, yet full of scars.

7. "Zichuan" opens with the protagonist Zichuan Xiu leading his troops to defeat the demon army and secure victory in the Third Battle of Hengchuan. In particular, he stealthily kills the demon commander, leaving the demon army leaderless and disorganized. While he appears to be cynical and indifferent, he is actually the one who, seven years ago, led a small force of 800 men to defeat the Liufeng family's rebellion during the siege of the imperial capital.

This is a vintage book, published in April 2003, seventeen years ago. Based on a five-year update cycle, the readership has already shifted three generations. Therefore, the book's style and serialization format are no longer appropriate from today's perspective. But back then, online fiction was just beginning, and all areas were unknown, with no ready-made templates to learn from. It was this generation that pioneered various styles and genres, exploring the depth and breadth of online literature.

8. Zhu Xian

"Zhu Xian" is a novel by contemporary author Xiao Ding, written between 2003 and 2007. It is Xiao Ding's signature work, his representative masterpiece, and a legacy. The novel, centered on the theme of "Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs," tells the story of the coming-of-age of Zhang Xiaofan, an ordinary teenager living at the foot of Qingyun Mountain. Along with "The Journey to the West" and "The Legend of the Little Soldier," it is considered one of the "three great online novels" and is also known as the "martial arts bible of the post-Jin Yong era."

It's a shame that Xiao Ding's subsequent works could never reach the heights of Zhu Xian, as both his success and failure were due to Zhu Xian. But writing is like that; being able to write a work that has been passed down for years is already a height that ordinary people cannot reach.

9. The First Chaos in History

The strengths of this book are readily apparent. The protagonist, Xiao Qiang, a pawnshop employee, is chosen by the elderly immortal Liu Laoliu and assigned a reception mission. He is responsible for welcoming a large number of people from various dynasties and having them live in reality for a year. Upon completion, the protagonist is admitted to the ranks of the immortals, though ultimately, he does not attain immortality. The story's brilliance lies in its use of a variety of nonsensical plot points to manage the daily lives of various powerful individuals and keep them out of trouble.

Zhang Xiaohua later wrote several books with similar styles, but they were obviously not comparable to Chaos. However, in terms of audio development, this book ushered in a new glory.

10. Lord of Mysteries

This book is like a mystery to the novice reader; it is also very difficult for the experienced reader; for the readers who are already in the pit, reading other books is simply "tasteless"! The amount of knowledge is quite extensive. This book uses a lot of space to recreate the mystery and weirdness of the Victorian era, steam and magic, history and reality.

The writing style is incredibly delicate. The details in this book are so exquisitely detailed that they're almost eerie. Eating dinner can be depicted in a magical way, buying a cane can be described by listing the different materials, escaping prying eyes can be described through thousands of paths, and learning about secrets can be interspersed with an entire history. The book is sometimes confusing, sometimes deeply involved, sometimes fascinated, and sometimes terrified...

The plot is quite bizarre. Klein, harboring a huge secret, cautiously survives, doing everything he can to decipher and obtain the mysterious diary left by the "previous time traveler." He gains respect in the fog, gradually grows through learning, and masters secret techniques in actual combat...

【to sum up】

Writing is not easy, so cherish every moment!

I’m Cang Yiwei, and I’m here to promote “Cang’s Ramblings”!
Welcome to the paradise of book reviews.

【Cang's Ramblings】

No water today!

(End of this chapter)