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Modern Patriarch #1
Modern Patriarch 1
In the ruthless world of cultivation, one man refuses to play by the rules.
When Yao Shen, Patriarch of the Heavenly Sky Sect, ascends and regains memories of his past life on Planet Earth, he realizes that he can no longer allow himself to accept the cruel and violent ways of Eliria, the realm of cultivation.
So he decides to change it.
It was time to found a new sect. One based on the values of honor and equality over senseless violence and discrimination. A sect where all, from the mortal farmer’s son to a sect elder's daughter, were held accountable to the same rules.
Welcome to the Modern Sect.
When Yao Shen, Patriarch of the Heavenly Sky Sect, ascends and regains memories of his past life on Planet Earth, he realizes that he can no longer allow himself to accept the cruel and violent ways of Eliria, the realm of cultivation.
So he decides to change it.
It was time to found a new sect. One based on the values of honor and equality over senseless violence and discrimination. A sect where all, from the mortal farmer’s son to a sect elder's daughter, were held accountable to the same rules.
Welcome to the Modern Sect.
- GenresFantasy
443 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 9, 2024
444 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 21, 2024
This is a book in which nothing happens. The central premise finally "starts" around HALF WAY through the novel. He doesn't even interact with a mortal or start any reforms in this book. The "solution" proposed around 80% through the book is kind of interesting, but still no work begins in this novel. I've never read a novel with pacing this poor. Stop pontificating so much and do something! This really feels like a book written by an immortal person who has forgotten what it is like to have limited time to spend. I bet the second book is better just by merit that something must happen in it, but I doubt I'll get to it. 10/10 premise, I'm sad that the prose, plot and pacing can't carry it.
April 9, 2024
A Fun Twist on Sect Building
This was a fun twist on sect building with a wonderfully complete cultivation system set in a world full of mysteries waiting to be uncovered.
This was a fun twist on sect building with a wonderfully complete cultivation system set in a world full of mysteries waiting to be uncovered.
May 12, 2025
Absolute DNF, 20%
Reductionist Xianxia meets neverending, nonsensical yapping.
The idea behind Modern Patriarch is a Xanxia world reduced to its most unexciting basics. Apparently, they don't have cuisine worth mentioning apart from basic nourishment, they don't have entertainment apart from combat tournaments, basically no culture at all, and all the Xianxia cliches have been turned all the way up. This, already, kind of disappointed me.
The story begins with the protagonist ascending to the highest known cultivation stage. The elders of the other (enemy) sects are already here and, due to his ascension, supplicate to him immediately. Through a very (!!!) wordy monologue, the protagonist proposes they band their sects together into one big sect, and that's pretty much it: The End.
Then you get another huge (!!!) monologue, where the character explains almost the same thing in different words, to the rest of the present sect members, to which they kind of agree and now they're his sect: The End?
No seriously: do we keep going from here? It kind of feels like the story should end here: the protagonist has already done all the interesting things, and all that follows from here is organizational stuff, and that's not really what I signed up for. I expected the plot to be a bit more... revolutionary I guess? This was such a terrible way to start the novel.
Then you get a dialog that starts with one character asking a single question, and ends with 10+ minutes of explaining totally unnecessary details about anything but the topic of the actual question. That's a running theme here btw: 10 minute rants in between singular lines of an ongoing dialog, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.
This story does not respect your time. Sure, I could spend 2 hours listening to what should really have been conveyed much more artfully in 10 minutes, but I'm not really going to enjoy myself in the process. I tried the audiobook, and during one particular piece of info dump, I found myself skipping ahead over and over again, and it just wouldn't end. Every time I found myself still being rambled to about this and that, but never the story at hand. After the rant was over, I continued listening, likely having missed nothing of importance.
Add to that the super weird cast of narrator, who a) has a rather monotonous way of speaking, and b) keeps screaming into the microphone during the protagonist's "big" monologues, and you get yourself an unpleasant experience.
And it's such a shame, because I really liked the idea of a Xianxia story with a humanitarian character trying to make a change in the world as a revolutionary. That's not really what this is, though.
I would've given it a higher rating, because the actual writing (that is, the wording) is good. It's just that I can't recommend it to anybody, I so strongly disliked the experience. Also: This definitely isn't for Xianxia fans (source: me)... but if you dislike Xianxia, you probably won't enjoy it either. So, who is this for, really? I guess it's for people who don't have much of an opinion on Xianxia either way?
Reductionist Xianxia meets neverending, nonsensical yapping.
The idea behind Modern Patriarch is a Xanxia world reduced to its most unexciting basics. Apparently, they don't have cuisine worth mentioning apart from basic nourishment, they don't have entertainment apart from combat tournaments, basically no culture at all, and all the Xianxia cliches have been turned all the way up. This, already, kind of disappointed me.
The story begins with the protagonist ascending to the highest known cultivation stage. The elders of the other (enemy) sects are already here and, due to his ascension, supplicate to him immediately. Through a very (!!!) wordy monologue, the protagonist proposes they band their sects together into one big sect, and that's pretty much it: The End.
Then you get another huge (!!!) monologue, where the character explains almost the same thing in different words, to the rest of the present sect members, to which they kind of agree and now they're his sect: The End?
No seriously: do we keep going from here? It kind of feels like the story should end here: the protagonist has already done all the interesting things, and all that follows from here is organizational stuff, and that's not really what I signed up for. I expected the plot to be a bit more... revolutionary I guess? This was such a terrible way to start the novel.
Then you get a dialog that starts with one character asking a single question, and ends with 10+ minutes of explaining totally unnecessary details about anything but the topic of the actual question. That's a running theme here btw: 10 minute rants in between singular lines of an ongoing dialog, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.
This story does not respect your time. Sure, I could spend 2 hours listening to what should really have been conveyed much more artfully in 10 minutes, but I'm not really going to enjoy myself in the process. I tried the audiobook, and during one particular piece of info dump, I found myself skipping ahead over and over again, and it just wouldn't end. Every time I found myself still being rambled to about this and that, but never the story at hand. After the rant was over, I continued listening, likely having missed nothing of importance.
Add to that the super weird cast of narrator, who a) has a rather monotonous way of speaking, and b) keeps screaming into the microphone during the protagonist's "big" monologues, and you get yourself an unpleasant experience.
And it's such a shame, because I really liked the idea of a Xianxia story with a humanitarian character trying to make a change in the world as a revolutionary. That's not really what this is, though.
I would've given it a higher rating, because the actual writing (that is, the wording) is good. It's just that I can't recommend it to anybody, I so strongly disliked the experience. Also: This definitely isn't for Xianxia fans (source: me)... but if you dislike Xianxia, you probably won't enjoy it either. So, who is this for, really? I guess it's for people who don't have much of an opinion on Xianxia either way?
April 14, 2024
Modern Patriarch was a refreshing take on Xianxia that delves more into sect leadership and stakes that are larger in scope. If you enjoy the optimism and progression found in HFY themed stories this is for you. The characters and challenges feel realistic and continue to interest. I also found the author's style quite relaxing to read.
The challenges and twists in the story are gripping, with events and character motivations clear to a level that makes it convincing and but also keeps you engaged. There are no cheap tricks used to increase tension for the reader. The characters and story crafted well to keep you interested.
The prose is very easy to follow, and whilst the pace can be slow at times with the explanations of wider context, it's always rewarding when following through. It's definitely not as lengthy as Xianxia usually is, and it avoids issues typical in the genre - of repetition and excessive world building. Each part of the world shared feels crucial to understanding the causes and consequences of actions in the world.
The protagonist is someone who you can't help but support and root for. Their motivations and actions are convincing and realistic. At the same time, not all of their thoughts and plans are revealed to the reader, allowing delightful culminations and revelations.
A variety of perspectives are used to great effect in expanding the world and understanding characters more deeply. I think it's a good balance of various perspectives with the protagonist.
I feel the conflict between characters and clashes of opinion could be explored further. We don't see as much into the inner thoughts of key side characters however it doesn't feel like that is the focus of the story. The interplay of characters motivations with events would be very chaotic if we went much deeper.
Also, whilst the stakes can often feel high, I think the dark side of the world and antagonists could be explored further to paint the world more vividly. The wider world feels expansive and mysterious. I can't wait to see where the story takes us next!
The challenges and twists in the story are gripping, with events and character motivations clear to a level that makes it convincing and but also keeps you engaged. There are no cheap tricks used to increase tension for the reader. The characters and story crafted well to keep you interested.
The prose is very easy to follow, and whilst the pace can be slow at times with the explanations of wider context, it's always rewarding when following through. It's definitely not as lengthy as Xianxia usually is, and it avoids issues typical in the genre - of repetition and excessive world building. Each part of the world shared feels crucial to understanding the causes and consequences of actions in the world.
The protagonist is someone who you can't help but support and root for. Their motivations and actions are convincing and realistic. At the same time, not all of their thoughts and plans are revealed to the reader, allowing delightful culminations and revelations.
A variety of perspectives are used to great effect in expanding the world and understanding characters more deeply. I think it's a good balance of various perspectives with the protagonist.
I feel the conflict between characters and clashes of opinion could be explored further. We don't see as much into the inner thoughts of key side characters however it doesn't feel like that is the focus of the story. The interplay of characters motivations with events would be very chaotic if we went much deeper.
Also, whilst the stakes can often feel high, I think the dark side of the world and antagonists could be explored further to paint the world more vividly. The wider world feels expansive and mysterious. I can't wait to see where the story takes us next!
September 15, 2024
The blurb is off, but I'm willing to give this a go.
I'm fifty percent through this book, and nothing of interest (to me) happens. I should have listened to my gut and not pick this up.
Introducing modern ideals and morality into a culture that recognises "out by the roots"as the peak of conflict resolution makes no sense. With what I read do far, this story would not be of interest to me.
If the protagonist was a nobody that was reborn in that world, got powerful, and went into some wilderness to live, then attracted a bunch of weak people and introduced modern ideals and helped them get powerful... I can see that story working.
This is about somebody that is known, and already powerful, imposing his sense of modern morality on everyone else. I don't see that working, nor interesting me. The only reason I picked this up was because I though the protagonist would have introduced modern tech. I mean, that can still happen, but hasn't so far, and from what I see so far, the possibility is vert slim.
The last quarter of the book is when all the talk of dao added up to what the protag wanted. I was right.
Introducing modern ideals into his culture none of that interests me. Maybe if the story was told differently, I would have liked it, but three quarters of the book was basically nothing, at least nothing that interests me.
I will not continue this series, nor read anything else of the author. If you want to try some rambling semi-philosophical musings of what makes a human, and what makes them so great, turned into some powerful magic cultivation dao, go ahead.
2/5 Stars
I'm fifty percent through this book, and nothing of interest (to me) happens. I should have listened to my gut and not pick this up.
Introducing modern ideals and morality into a culture that recognises "out by the roots"as the peak of conflict resolution makes no sense. With what I read do far, this story would not be of interest to me.
If the protagonist was a nobody that was reborn in that world, got powerful, and went into some wilderness to live, then attracted a bunch of weak people and introduced modern ideals and helped them get powerful... I can see that story working.
This is about somebody that is known, and already powerful, imposing his sense of modern morality on everyone else. I don't see that working, nor interesting me. The only reason I picked this up was because I though the protagonist would have introduced modern tech. I mean, that can still happen, but hasn't so far, and from what I see so far, the possibility is vert slim.
The last quarter of the book is when all the talk of dao added up to what the protag wanted. I was right.
Introducing modern ideals into his culture none of that interests me. Maybe if the story was told differently, I would have liked it, but three quarters of the book was basically nothing, at least nothing that interests me.
I will not continue this series, nor read anything else of the author. If you want to try some rambling semi-philosophical musings of what makes a human, and what makes them so great, turned into some powerful magic cultivation dao, go ahead.
2/5 Stars
April 11, 2024
Modern Patriarch is the first book in a series about a person who refused to take being average as a given. He worked hard, blazed his own path, (some of which he regrets), and made a name for himself, especially after he's accomplished something no one has done in centuries.
It's a pretty good story, and I look forward to the next one in the series.
It did get a little slow toward the end of the book, but I guess that's to be expected, considering the ground being covered there, but I expect the next book to be just as interesting as this one was. If you're a cultivation fan, you'll enjoy this one, if you like normal LitRPG with crunchy stats, loads of skills, andplenty of action, well, I can only promise you one of the three, but it's still a pretty decent story, even with that. (I'm not sure if these kinds of books are growing on me or not, but they certainly seem to be better written than they used to be).
It's a pretty good story, and I look forward to the next one in the series.
It did get a little slow toward the end of the book, but I guess that's to be expected, considering the ground being covered there, but I expect the next book to be just as interesting as this one was. If you're a cultivation fan, you'll enjoy this one, if you like normal LitRPG with crunchy stats, loads of skills, andplenty of action, well, I can only promise you one of the three, but it's still a pretty decent story, even with that. (I'm not sure if these kinds of books are growing on me or not, but they certainly seem to be better written than they used to be).
July 3, 2025
The starting premise of the book was genuinely interesting. It follows the patriarch of a sect who, during a breakthrough, regains memories of his past life on Earth. Using that knowledge, he sets out to build a modern sect—something that really had potential.
But the pacing completely fell apart. The story moves *incredibly* slowly. By the time I was 60% into the book, the actual story had only covered about 24 hours of in-world time. It felt like everything was being dragged out unnecessarily. Honestly, the book could’ve been trimmed down to a fifth of its length and still told the same story—probably better.
I kept reading, thinking, “Okay, now it’s going to take off,” but pages later, we were still stuck in the same place.
What makes it more frustrating is that the worldbuilding is massive. You've got a full cultivation world, plus elements like elves, Earth, and possibly even more worlds in play. There was *so much* that could’ve been explored, but instead, the plot stayed bogged down in one moment for far too long.
But the pacing completely fell apart. The story moves *incredibly* slowly. By the time I was 60% into the book, the actual story had only covered about 24 hours of in-world time. It felt like everything was being dragged out unnecessarily. Honestly, the book could’ve been trimmed down to a fifth of its length and still told the same story—probably better.
I kept reading, thinking, “Okay, now it’s going to take off,” but pages later, we were still stuck in the same place.
What makes it more frustrating is that the worldbuilding is massive. You've got a full cultivation world, plus elements like elves, Earth, and possibly even more worlds in play. There was *so much* that could’ve been explored, but instead, the plot stayed bogged down in one moment for far too long.
April 10, 2024
This is Xianxia for people who hate Xianxia or at the very least written by someone who seemingly hates Xianxia. From the moment the protagonist regains his memories of earth he despises the world around him and the Author seems to have goine out of their way to make it as miserable as possible. Supposedly they don't even have passable food and the world is completely devoid of non-martial pursuits, even by Xianxia standards that is a sub-par setting.
Meanwhile modern earth is presented as a paradise despite the fact that comparably he lives a better life in the new world. Back on earth he was seemingly an average office worker meanwhile in this new world he has achieved the pinnacle of cultivation yet seemingly has no pride in those accomplishments left over. Despite supposedly being either still the original cultivator or a fusion of both his past and present personality he acts as if he is his earth self looking at his lifetime of deeds through an outside perspective.
Meanwhile modern earth is presented as a paradise despite the fact that comparably he lives a better life in the new world. Back on earth he was seemingly an average office worker meanwhile in this new world he has achieved the pinnacle of cultivation yet seemingly has no pride in those accomplishments left over. Despite supposedly being either still the original cultivator or a fusion of both his past and present personality he acts as if he is his earth self looking at his lifetime of deeds through an outside perspective.
April 15, 2024
This book is entertaining
Like another review says, it is a fun twist on sect building...for now. It is a fun twist because the motivation of the MC - building a world safe and equal for mortals and cultivators alike- is quite different (and rather refreshing) than the standard ones in the genre. However, the primary desire of people reading Xianxia is to see the MC rise to the peak in power. The author, so far, has satisfied this itch. The issue I see is that the author doesn't make these two main plot threads (personal strength and worldly equality) go hand in hand. There are awkward switches from chapters focusing on personal power to chapters focusing on the "fair and equal sect/world" theme. If the author can't somehow merge these two plot themes, future books are going to be tiresome.
But that's in the future. This book, by all means, is wholly entertaining and fun, so five stars 👍
Like another review says, it is a fun twist on sect building...for now. It is a fun twist because the motivation of the MC - building a world safe and equal for mortals and cultivators alike- is quite different (and rather refreshing) than the standard ones in the genre. However, the primary desire of people reading Xianxia is to see the MC rise to the peak in power. The author, so far, has satisfied this itch. The issue I see is that the author doesn't make these two main plot threads (personal strength and worldly equality) go hand in hand. There are awkward switches from chapters focusing on personal power to chapters focusing on the "fair and equal sect/world" theme. If the author can't somehow merge these two plot themes, future books are going to be tiresome.
But that's in the future. This book, by all means, is wholly entertaining and fun, so five stars 👍
April 24, 2024
interesting
A martial arts cultivator reaches a new level of power and reclaims memories of a past life. These memories alter his personality and makes him feel that he has a way to improve the world. He begins by the political landscape and working create a world where there is fairness. He has not been rolling factions for his local area. He has also discovered massive secret and begun construction new unified city.
The story is interesting. There are constant … exposition pauses, so that there is little linear story progression. Additionally this is not a stand alone novel so there is not a self contained plot but a multi book story arch. Please enjoy
A martial arts cultivator reaches a new level of power and reclaims memories of a past life. These memories alter his personality and makes him feel that he has a way to improve the world. He begins by the political landscape and working create a world where there is fairness. He has not been rolling factions for his local area. He has also discovered massive secret and begun construction new unified city.
The story is interesting. There are constant … exposition pauses, so that there is little linear story progression. Additionally this is not a stand alone novel so there is not a self contained plot but a multi book story arch. Please enjoy
June 4, 2024
Good stuff!
First of all, I want to say that this is really to my taste. I like cultivation stories. I like slice-of-life. I like it when the hero is not a brooding antihero, preferring WW or Supes to the Bat.
This has all of that, plus it's in the third person, which I prefer. And, as a bonus, it's not one of these common body-snatcher stories - where someone is transferred to someone else's body. Which, when you think about it, is creepy as all get out and I really don't like it. Here he just remains memories of a previous life, which is much less ethically fraught, IMHO.
So, in conclusion, recommended.
First of all, I want to say that this is really to my taste. I like cultivation stories. I like slice-of-life. I like it when the hero is not a brooding antihero, preferring WW or Supes to the Bat.
This has all of that, plus it's in the third person, which I prefer. And, as a bonus, it's not one of these common body-snatcher stories - where someone is transferred to someone else's body. Which, when you think about it, is creepy as all get out and I really don't like it. Here he just remains memories of a previous life, which is much less ethically fraught, IMHO.
So, in conclusion, recommended.
April 22, 2024
Whether or not you love or hate this book depends heavily on whether or not you can tolerate arguably abysmal pacing.
The technical writing is on another level compared to most Royal Road originals, and so is the character writing but I often found myself skipping five-six paragraphs at a time and not missing anything of note. I have seen more covered in thirty pages by other writers that is covered in 200 here.
It is very competently written but like most Aethon books it’s arguable whether or not it’s competently edited.
The technical writing is on another level compared to most Royal Road originals, and so is the character writing but I often found myself skipping five-six paragraphs at a time and not missing anything of note. I have seen more covered in thirty pages by other writers that is covered in 200 here.
It is very competently written but like most Aethon books it’s arguable whether or not it’s competently edited.
April 15, 2024
A fun twist on cultivation stories. The already powerful protagonist awakens his soul remembering a previous life back on Earth. Thus begins his new goals to make a more merciful society that can lift up the mortals and cultivationists to new heights and get people to respect and cooperate with each other.
It’s a good twist. I like this story is not about levelling up, confronting the next bad guy and forming a harem.
It’s a good twist. I like this story is not about levelling up, confronting the next bad guy and forming a harem.
May 14, 2024
Not for me
DNF at 9%
Classic story telling mostly follows one rule: introducing a relatable character, establishing his/her motivation, despicting an interesting scenario around and having the protagonist try to overcome his challenges. This story breaks with this tradition and unfortunately not in a good way as i found no reason to care about anything happening and didn´t find any pay-off to keep me invested...
DNF at 9%
Classic story telling mostly follows one rule: introducing a relatable character, establishing his/her motivation, despicting an interesting scenario around and having the protagonist try to overcome his challenges. This story breaks with this tradition and unfortunately not in a good way as i found no reason to care about anything happening and didn´t find any pay-off to keep me invested...
April 10, 2024
Yawn, yuck pooie! DNF'd... Too much world building. And people that were introduced that seemed interesting like Shadow got lost in the doldrums. I was gonna try to listen a bit more just in case I hadn't been in the right head space but after reading a couple of reviews. I decided not to bother. And well the narrator was OK I guess, but he didn't do anything that impressed me...
April 14, 2024
This story takes a more realistic view of a xianxia world. There is no face-slapping, the characters feel like they are alive and unique with incredible worldbuilding, having all the good parts of a cultivation story while adding even more depth. The main character has a likable personality and they're not a pushover. I immensely recommend reading this book!
April 18, 2024
There are some cool concepts in this book. It was novel having the protagonist starting well along his cultivation path instead of the beginning. Because of this there is a lot of exposition in the beginning of the book to bring us up to speed. There are some pretty awesome fight scenes throughout the book.
July 29, 2024
***DNF***
I gave up 40% of the way through. The book starts with the MC leveling up to a soul emperor which hasn’t been done in like forever. From there up until I gave up he just walks around talking to people. Reorganizing his sect, rooting out corruption, talking to disciples, etc. Oh and huge info dumps, can’t forget those.
I gave up 40% of the way through. The book starts with the MC leveling up to a soul emperor which hasn’t been done in like forever. From there up until I gave up he just walks around talking to people. Reorganizing his sect, rooting out corruption, talking to disciples, etc. Oh and huge info dumps, can’t forget those.
July 28, 2025
A "modern" 21st century person reincarnates/possesses the body of a magic kung fu patriarch and supposedly changes up everything by being "modern". Despite all the mentions of how the "modern" value will change the magic kung fu world, it reads exactly like a generic English language wuxia novel. Even more so in book 2. Not recommended.
April 24, 2024
Made it to page 33
Just couldn't get into this.
I need fifteen more words to post this review and I really have nothing else to say.
To be fair the book may get better farther along I just couldn't take it.
Just couldn't get into this.
I need fifteen more words to post this review and I really have nothing else to say.
To be fair the book may get better farther along I just couldn't take it.
May 8, 2025
DNF Berger 20%
Interesting enough premise but feels like it needs several solid rounds of editing. The biggest problem is the exposition: far too many info dumps and too much unnecessary backstory for everything.
Interesting enough premise but feels like it needs several solid rounds of editing. The biggest problem is the exposition: far too many info dumps and too much unnecessary backstory for everything.
October 26, 2025
Remembering a past life in another world Yao Shen used what he remembered a way to combine three waring factions into one to face a true enemy. I love how he was able to join the two other factions with his own without destroying their honor.
April 24, 2024
Honestly I really love xianxia cultivation story but I can't get into this one.... after 45% i cannot continue anymore. dnf for now, might pickup this book again later.
June 3, 2024
Interesting
I liked the world building and the pace of the book. Interesting main character. Looking forward to reading more cultivation adventures in this series
I liked the world building and the pace of the book. Interesting main character. Looking forward to reading more cultivation adventures in this series
July 19, 2024
Fantastic!
What an amazing book! I absolutely loved this book and such wonderful characters! I can not wait for the next book to come out!
What an amazing book! I absolutely loved this book and such wonderful characters! I can not wait for the next book to come out!
August 30, 2024
Not that good....
April 27, 2025
Very, very slow start.
A good premise but it gets bogged down in trivia and info about the setting that would be better shown than told. Needlessly long and boring fight scenes.
A good premise but it gets bogged down in trivia and info about the setting that would be better shown than told. Needlessly long and boring fight scenes.
April 15, 2024
It's a fun approach with a twist to the Xianxia stories. A high-level cultivator ascends and starts to reform his sect with some modern earth-based customs and his fellow sect members don't understand where all his ideas are coming from.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews