Beware of Chicken: A Xianxia Cultivation Novel: Beware of Chicken, Book 1

Beware of Chicken #1

by CasualFarmer, Travis Baldree (narrator)

A laugh-out-loud, slice-of-life martial-arts fantasy about...farming????

Jin Rou wanted to be a cultivator. A man powerful enough to defy the heavens. A master of martial arts. A lord of spiritual power. Unfortunately for him, he died, and now I’m stuck in his body.

Arrogant Masters? Heavenly Tribulations? All that violence and bloodshed? Yeah, no thanks. I’m getting out of here.

Farm life sounds pretty great. Tilling a field by hand is fun when you’ve got the strength of ten men—though maybe I shouldn’t have fed those Spirit Herbs to my pet rooster. I’m not used to seeing a chicken move with such grace...but Qi makes everything kind of wonky, so it’s probably fine.

Instead of a lifetime of battle, my biggest concerns are building a house, the size of my harvest, and the way the girl from the nearby village glares at me when I tease her.

A slow, simple, fulfilling life in a place where nothing exciting or out of the ordinary ever happens...right?

The first volume of the blockbuster progression-fantasy series—with more than 16 million views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction, Slice Of Life, Humor, Cozy, Cozy Fantasy

Audible Audio

First published May 24, 2022

Reviews

[Steve Naylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating 5.0 stars

This is it. The cultivation book I have been waiting for. While I like the genre I almost always feel like something is missing. Joy. Happiness. Cultivation is supposed to be taking in the energy of the world to perfect yourself. Why then does nobody seem happy in those stories? If you can see the majesty of the universe why can't you appreciate it's beauty? Gaining power for power's sake seems kind of stupid to me. Yes it is interesting for a while but there has to be more than that. This book is all about that other. This book is about a cultivator who realizes that he shouldn't live to cultivate. He should use his cultivation to live. He goes against the troupe of cultivators taking from the world to become stronger. This person wants to go off and live his life, be a farmer. He doesn't want to have anything to do with fighting to the death or killing monsters. He uses his chi to help the land and finds purpose in life. Balance.

It actually is a beautiful story. It is about appreciating the beauty in the world. Understanding that there is a balance in all things. A cycle. You might think from that description this is a serious story. But, remember the title. There is a lot of ridiculousness as well. There are many parts that are hilarious. I spent most of the time while listening to the audiobook with a big smile on my face. The narrator did an excellent job. I highly recommend this story and have placed it on my favorites list.

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm using a Kindle Unlimited free trial to expand my horizons and get to the bottom of my Amazon/Kindle recommendation feed, which for reasons is full of crap. Those reasons probably have to do with my frequent searching for hilariously bad fantasy novels. The result is a ton of litRPG harem books, frequent titles by D.L. Harrison, Whiskey Flowers and the like, wish-fulfillment fantasy, all that stuff. But it had the benefit of sparking curiosity and led me to want to understand the popularity of some of these sub-subgenres that largely come from serial web fiction. And so I look at some of the titles that seem appealing, search for the reviews that call out terrible writing, and check their page counts because they often turn out over 700 pages and that's just too much to ask.

This book, Beware of Chicken, was the best-sounding of the bunch I recently considered. Written by CasualFarmer which I think is a pseudonym, it is apparently very well regarded on webnovel sites that cater to its genre. I expected Wattpad-level writing to dominate, but this RoyalRoad place actually has a sub-rating for grammar if you can believe it.

Anyway, now I have at least the basic understanding of the terms:
-xianxia and wuxia
-cultivation
-progression
-isekai
-litRPG (which this novel is not, and I have yet to try properly, that's what the KU free trial is for)

The first couple of chapters of Beware of Chicken were a little rough for me, because it's not geared towards xianxia cultivation isekai newcomers. The main character on the first page referring to himself in the 3rd-person confused me, and I didn't get why all of sudden there was a modern personality inhabiting his body after a couple pages of formal Chinese fantasy-style dialogue. But that's okay, because the clean, straightforward and well-written prose produced an enjoyable reading experience as the inital story developed.

I felt at first like it was going to be a 3-star read (perfectly acceptable by my standards), but it grew into 4 stars, and then 5 (and then down to 4 again after a cooling-off period), progressing like the progression fantasy it is. What sold me, in addition to the very good quality writing, which I chalk up to the Canadian education system, was the positive characters. I like my grimdark, my bastards, my interestingly-hateable characters, but man did I enjoy the extremely likeable, pleasant, and friendly people that populate this novel too. Them, and the animals of the Fa-Ram that the MC establishes. It starts off with the titular chicken then expands to multiple POV farm critters that are just the best. This is a good opportunity to show off one of the wonderful illustrations that pepper this bound volume of an ongoing webnovel:



It's not really a completed novel in its own right, or at least not in the typical story structure I expect with most fantasy. It doesn't have a true story arc, or character arcs. Instead, the story and characters . . . progress. They move forward, and forward some more, with occasional new threats appearing that become mini-episodes in the larger tale. I felt the lack of those usual arcs as the book went on and its focus and pacing wandered a bit. But it worked, because this is a progression fantasy (of which cultivation is a sub-type). The medium is the message, it seems. The book has a good stopping point, following a certain major life stage, but nothing is over. The series is still running strong, with multiple updates weekly, currently in "book 3," and I made the mistake of checking the author's Patreon and questioning my life over how much he gets monthly from supporters right now.

I learned a lot about the cultivation genre and tropes simply by how this book flips them. It's a fun story, with multiple Canadian insertions and not just how nice the MC is. I don't think of it as parody or satire, but just something that subverts tropes and produces a fun, endearing, often goofy and intense story.

[Tawfek · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 205 pages
I just can't go on anymore honestly, I know this is sarcastic, but it's not the second coming of Don Quixote, not by any stretch of the imagination.
Somethings were funny, but the entire cultivation thing wasn't, you can't make fun of cultivation, when you make it work!
The MC is cultivating in his own way, the Rooster is cultivating even more probably, and is living the fantasy of a cultivator without even knowing shit about it.
You can't make it funny, if it's actually serious, not even by making a rooster cultivate, or a rat cultivate.
That fight between the rat and the rooster, was just boring, a boring fest.
I have been struggling with this since page 175, and even though i usually don't rate dnfs, I am rating this time, I was past 40% of the novel.
I am not saying that a slice of life cultivation novel wouldn't work, i am saying that this is just a horrendous way to go about it.

I know I am not the most decisive person in the world when it comes to dnfs, since I take my sweet time to finally say enough, even with real people, even with relationships, I am way too patient, way too nice when I shouldn't be, but at least there is comfort in knowing I won't have to read the 2 and half more books of this series, or the more that will be released later.

[Kanyau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not realize how much this genre needed a book like this. Irreverent in a wonderfully earnest way. Whitty and funny and a book that succeeds in making you feel while not taking itself too seriously. Excellent worldbuilding with organic exposition and the best damn rooster any man could ask for.
Our main character is lovable and charming with a hidden depth to him that is so close to the surface its easy for characters to miss it; hiding in plain sight. This book manages to poke fun at the xanxia tropes while reinventing them. And the relationships were refreshing to witness and read.
Plus the way the characters translate English words into their own dialect was both endearing and hilarious.
I'm sure this will become an isekai staple in very little time!

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm having a really hard time describing this, even in my head. It's an isekai story, though only barely. We learn early that the protagonist is from our world, but few details beyond that he's familiar with Xianxia stories and feels like he is in one. Which allows him to hang a giant nope sign on the future he's currently on and find somewhere to live quietly on his own farm.

So he goes from being the least of a powerful sect to the most powerful guy around in a sector of the world he chose for its lack of people/things who might xianxia the place up. So it's kind of slice-of-life and with very little cultivation or death-defying action. I mean, some powerful stuff sniffs around but most of the threats are taken out by the curiously powerful farm creatures who happen to congregate in his home. It turns out that being kind and gentle pays dividends that he's not even seeking and I found that very engaging.

But what kept me going, and made me laugh out loud way more than usual (enough for Melissa to remark on), were the farm friends. Big D the rooster is fun, sure, but Chunky stole my heart and Tigger shouldered her way in somehow as well. Essentially, Jin creates a farmily with his sapient, cultivator critters and they are a delight. Add finding a fine lady to love and appreciative neighbors and I was all-in before I was even halfway through the novel.

Seriously, the humor was broad and with a heart to it that drew me in completely. I'm calling this an easy five stars and only wish I knew who to recommend it to because it is just so weird.

A note about Xianxia: I admit I have no idea what this word/genre actually means beyond that it's a type of Chinese adventure story. Contextually, it means something with noble heroes battling for supremacy in deadly duals against man and beast alike, all searching to be the best and bloodiest. But I can't vouch for it that I understand it beyond the internal clues of this story. I'm not sure if it would have been more engaging if I knew more of the genre or not.

A note about Chaste: Jin finds a lovely romantic interest and their romance is wonderful. They get married during the course of the story and they certainly have sex. But there is only kissing and some fond intimacies like hand holding on the page. It was perfect for this story and I'm glad the author had such a light touch.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
This is a fun slice of life fantasy that plays with the cultivation subgenre. It's fun but not the deepest story. I enjoyed this one but I don't feel compelled to continue on. If you are looking for a lighter fantasy read, this is one you may want to check out.

[Linh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a ton of fun!! Doesn't it feel so good to pick a book randomly and it turned out to be awesome?!?

Beware of Chicken is the most fun I've had with a cultivation novel for a long time, not counting danmei. It's hilarious, mostly low-stake, relatable, and just... such a feel-good read! Highly recommend this to anyone who loves the cultivation genre. 🥰

I'll definitely be checking out the 2nd book!

[A.R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely hilarious. It is fun, lighthearted, and just enjoyable. The humor hits well, the action is fun, and the characters lovable. Seriously, so glad I found this webnovel

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 4.44 ***

Adorable, cozy, slice-of-life farming LitRPG!!! 😀👍

[Starch · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fine.

The plot, while being a fun twist on the genre, was not very interesting to me. There was barely any action, barely any drama, and the characters weren't interesting. Being a comedy and little else, it all came down to the humor.

I didn't like the humor. Or rather, whatever humor I did like was not enough to make me like the book as a whole.

The story is a decent twist on the genre (a cultivator works as a farmer, while his farm animals go through the usual Xianxia storyline), but the execution is not good. Also, I think Travis Baldree's narration might not have been a good fit for this story, and may have negatively affected my experience with it. The only reason I finished the book was that it did manage to instill a pleasant, lighthearted coziness in me. Though I did consider quitting a few times.

The story is told partly in first person but often moves to other points of view, even within the same chapter. Why first person, then? The answer, I think, is the wish fulfillment aspect of it, which is done quite badly here in general: The protagonist reincarnates from our world into a fantasy world, but it seems the author didn't put much thought into why. He reincarnates into an existing person and gains all of his memories, so this isn't a plot device to have a clueless protagonist who has to learn about the world alongside the reader. He also doesn't seem to have any specific motivations or regrets from his past life, which are another popular reason to use an Isekai premise (redoing one's life, avoiding past mistakes). Add to that the unfitting first-person partial narration, and the fact that everyone seem to immediately idolize this guy's character even though he's just an average guy with superpowers, and what you get is a wish-fulfillment fantasy that's badly executed on all fronts. Seriously, the majority of every character's inner monologue is about how amazing the protagonist is. It goes on for the entire book.

The "pacifists are the best fighters" trope is one I never liked, and sadly it's part of this story too. The protagonist doesn't want to fight or become stronger, but rather work on his farm and have a peaceful life. But it just so happens that working on his farm gives him amazing Chi powers and makes him a much stronger fighter. I know it's partly meant as a joke here, but it's yet another thing I didn't find funny. In our society, which praises peacefulness, it is a common (and contradictory) fantasy that being peaceful leads to combat strength. Personally, I think the fantasy of training and getting stronger is healthy, while the fantasy of avoiding hardships and magically becoming the strongest is unhealthy.
Had the protagonist been weak, there would have been no issue. But no one would have read this book in such a case. While masquerading as a peaceful farming story, it is still very much a power fantasy -- only an insincere one.

The issues with animal sentience in regards to animals-as-food was done badly. In short, the protagonist only eats animals that "can't think", while declaring that animals who can think "are people", as if regular animals can't think. Pigs are some of the smartest animals around, yet the protagonist's decision about eating them basically comes down to whether they can speak or do math. It's ridiculous, and attempts to easily solve a very uncomfortable problem. Once again, it's an insincere fantasy.

The sexual awkwardness is the usual for this kind of story, with the protagonist spending far too many words explaining why he felt uncomfortable undressing a wounded woman, and the same woman later admiring him in her mind (over and over) for not taking advantage of her. The romance, on the other hand, is handled maturely enough.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, funny, and sometimes gruesomely violent story about a young Canadian man who reincarnates into a xianxia universe and decides the cultivator's life is not for him, since the person whose body he is now inhabiting died in a freak accident while being bullied by senior cultivators of the sect. He starts a farm out in the country, and it isn't long before some of his farm animals are exhibiting some rather unusual behavior. They're incredibly smart, one might even say... sentient?

As with a lot of these cozy fantasies, sometimes it feels like there must be violence at times to create tension and break the rather homogenous, if pleasant, mood. A cute romance, an endearing cast of characters, and occasional references to Canadian staples like hockey and maple syrup add to the fun.

I listened to this one in the car with my partner, and since I wasn't giving it my full attention in its latter half, I haven't given it a "finished" date for now. There isn't a sense of urgency to it, which, perhaps, was reflected in my attitude toward it. I didn't feel like I missed out on much, to be honest, which isn't necessarily a mark in its disfavor.

Edit after relistening to the second half: I still didn't feel like I'd missed out on much, plot-wise. :D But it was nice catching up with some of the cute scenes that I'd previously zoned out on. This one's much more about cozy vibes and humor than a typical fantasy arc... and, much like the cozy anime and manga I've dealt with, the pleasant drone can also be soporific at times. Stories like this are more affecting when the evils of the real world are hinted at, and you do see a bit of that here.

Travis Baldree's narration was quite good, though after listening to a couple of the pieces he's done (this and Legends & Lattes), I'm not fond of how he voices female characters.

[Camila T 🍉 · Rating 5 out of 5]

You never hear about the reasonable people. It’s always the caricatures that get the screen time.

Minor spoilers ahead.

This was my first contact with what is called a Xianxia trope (in very vague terms, something akin to the japanese Isekai stories, in which we have a 'normal' person living the life of another, in some other time/space/dimension through some device/means that could be explained or not throughout the story), and I loved it.

Rou is a cultivator that ends up dying, because he is considered too weak and is picked upon the stronger cultivators. Jin reborns in Rou's body, and decides to leave the Sect he was thrust in by his grandfather. With a few coins generously given by the Chief of the Sect and a plan, he decides to make a good life, a better life than in the Before, for his sake and for Rou's.

After a strenuous voyage, he buys what can only be considered baren land, a few days away from the closest village, for the sake of his peace of mind. With his knowledge from the before and Rou's, we have the start of an epic story, with sentient animals, thrilling fights over dominance, tales of ambition and remorse, a marriage, a giant snowman, lewd ice pieces and even hockey!

So. A Profound-level Spirit Beast that was a chicken. A medical rat. Would there next be pigs that could shake the earth?
There was a happy squeal from outside and the thunder of trotters, as the heavens decided to mock her. Her eyebrow twitched. She took another breath, as her father had told her. A deep breath in and out, to center one’s self.
“You get used to it,” Senior Sister said, her eyes lidded with amusement.


I hope I don’t have an entire ecosystem that’s sentient. I want to eat meat, damn it

I had a lot of fun reading Jin's journey, along with Bi De, Ru Zi, Washy, Chun Ke, Pi Pa and Tigu. This is a very domestic tale, even thought we have many other things happening. Jin just wants to live in peace, and that's what we get from him: someone who just wants to tend to his farm, have a good life, with friends and family. Also, Meimei drunk is my spirit animal. Can't wait to read more from them.

“Remember that everything is connected,” I finally settled on. “The water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat. Everything has some part of it that leads into each other. Disrupting one thing can disrupt many others. Fixing one thing can fix many others.”

[Nicholas Perez]

*makes threatening clucking noise*

[Wolfgarr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its funny.. I have seen this on Royalroad for quite some time and always just ignored it.
But now i am kicking myself. Its a REALLY good story. Quite a few laughs while reading this book.

would recommend this to folks with a good sense of humor
those who are uptight need not bother

(The MC is not some weak willed stupid feminist ideology twit that seems to be popular in a lot of books now days) +1 for Strong smart male character.. kinda rare now days

[Sirona Leopold Montenegro Valverde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm the kind of person who has trouble naming their favorite... anything, to the point I worry sometimes that I may not like anything. It's probably not true. I do remember liking things. I liked books. I just don't remember what those books were. But it does seem that most of the books I liked I either forgot about or in some way grew out of liking them. I hope I will remember this one in the years to come.

I discovered the xianxia genre rather on accident, and it had caught my interest. I've been on the lookout for some good books or comics to read, and came across Beware of Chicken on TvTropes, and the first chapters got me hooked.

This reads a little like a deconstruction of the genre, what with all the criticism peppered at the arrogance, entitlement, and overall destructive nature of cultivators, presumably the Canadian author speaking with the protagonist's voice against the more problematic aspects on an otherwise beloved genre. I wouldn't know, as this was the first novel of the sort I've managed to get invested in enough to read through the first volume. Perhaps having read a few more classical and cliche counterparts would have given me some context to view the book in a different light, but I must now play the hand I've been dealt.

On its own, Beware of Chicken is a slice of life with the main cast formed mainly out of cultivators and spirit beasts. The main character, Rou Jin, wants to leave the cultivator life and doesn't give a slight toss about unparalleled strength, but his literal cultivation of the lands of his farm translate into cultivation of his Qi, inadvertently driving his power level to unparalleled heights (I'd mark it as a spoiler, but I believe "the xianxia hero gets stupid strong" shouldn't come off as a shocking twist). It's noted early on that Azure Hills, the province he's settled in, is rather sparse in Qi, to the point that high level cultivators consider the area beneath their notice, so it's ambiguous whether Jin really is getting stupid strong by being in tune with nature or something, or if his place of birth is so dense in Qi that he's only strong compared to what the province has to offer, while still being a low level schmuck by the standards of the sect he just left.

Regardless, the main focus is not power levels, but the relationships the characters form as they help each other, party together, and occasionally trade pointers. It paints a wholesome picture of community and friendship. One thing I've noticed is that hardly any bad things happen for the main characters. This is a novel about things going basically alright.

And I love it. I seem to have exposed myself to a lot of stories with heavy themes, high stakes, nasty characters, and hard times. In Beware of Chicken this just isn't the case. Most characters are friendly to Jin and to each other, and want to help him, and are nice, and I have just walked this cursed planet without the slightest inkling of a clue how much I needed something like this in my life!

Which is why I give this book five stars. I imagine my past self from when I first started to use this platform wouldn't have knocked down at least one star, if not more. I used to think being a harsh critic and digging for flaws was the proper way to enjoy a story. But stuff happened, and now I don't. Beware of Chicken may not be perfect, but I absolutely love the characters, the story, the way it's written, and I'm currently re-reading the chapters that were published so far, while waiting for new chapters with baited breath.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this one on RoyalRoad when I need to take a break from reading bad litrpg books.
If you collect litrpg then your collection needs this one.
If you don’t read litrpg you still need this book in your collection. It’s that good.

[Chip · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. It’s, I dunno, cute. A little Mary-Sueish, but cute.

[Dave Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was really damn good!
What the hell is this book? What is Beware of Chicken? Well, that's complicated and simple.
The short answer is: Beware of Chicken is outstanding! original, inspired, heart warming, smart, and of course funny.
The more complex answer is: What version are we talking about? The free one, or the slightly more traditionally published one on Amazon?
-Let's jump ahead a bit. Beware of Chicken is a huge mash-up of 5 or 6 different things. It is cultivation (xianxia) mixed with Transported to another world (Isekai) and elements of the 'Refusal of the Call' and 'don't want to be a hero' trope, all presented in a comedy way that satirizes each of the ingredients wile paying homage to them all.
Now also include Farmcore/survival/climb the tech tree/crafting elements and little touches of a dozen other flavors, wink at the camera, and occasionally lighten things up with insights of profound wisdom. Ta-Dah! that's the basics of Beware of Chicken.
Wouldn't such a Frankensteinian monster of so many disparate parts be a shambling ungainly mess? You would think so, But strangely this thing works and feels like a single organic whole.

"WOW" you might say "Good thing it doesn't get any more complicated than that". Well, I wish you hadn't said that because now it does thanks to your hasty words.
There are three books in the series so far, but only one of them is for sale right now (June 2022). How can that be? Because this was all originally posted on Royal Road.com and it was a big hit so all of Volume 1 (except for chapter one of Vol.1) was removed from Royal Road and published? for sale at Amazon on Kindle & Audiobook. But... if you love book 1 and want to read book 2, you have to read it for free (with ads) at Royal Road.com (for now) but dude, if they already made an audiobook out of book 1 then book 2 should be for sale soon, and probably already is by the time you read this.
I mention all this because I fully expect you to love the hell out of this book and instantly turn to buy book 2 only to find it missing from the kindle shelves and yet there are reviews for it here on Goodreads so "what the hell is going on!" you will shout.
I would spare you this pain, but sadly it is all an inescapable part of the curse you called down upon yourself when you so carelessly said: "Good thing it doesn't get any more complicated than that" at the top of the previous paragraph.
So did we get that all straightened out? Good. In conclusion This is a pretty damn kick ass book and unless you completely Hate the title with the passion of a thousand suns you are gonna like this book. If you DO hate the title... I don't know what to tell you. you got that stupid curse for nothing.

[Elena Linville-Abdo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stars: 2 out of 5.

I like cozy cultivation novels from time to time, but they need to be well written. Unfortunately, this one isn't. The writing style is passable, if pedestrian, but the odd POV shifts sometimes mid-chapter make the story rather confusing at times. It is also way too long by at least 150 pages, so it becomes a slog in the end.

My biggest problem is that all of the fun action and actual cultivation and journey of self-discovery happens not to the protagonist, but to... his farm animals. Yep, you read that right. I mean, it was fun reading about Bi De becoming self-aware and striving to better himself, and Chon Ke the pig is a delight, but their story pretty much peaks at about 30% into the book with the big battle between the chicken and the rats who try to invade the farm. If this story was only about them, that would have made for a fun short story, and I would have happily rated it 5 stars.

Unfortunately, the protagonist's story is a lot less interesting, probably because he is the perfect example of a Gary Stu. He is a modern world guy whose soul got shoved into the body of a dying cultivator in this strange new world. That would have been a wonderful opportunity to explore a fish out of water scenario and make Jin try to adapt and survive in this new world, slowly learning the language and culture, making friends, and ultimately finding a place where he fits. Yeah, that doesn't happen. He has all of the original soul's memories and abilities, as well as the starter capital to do pretty much whatever he wants. Oh, and he is so much better at cultivation... and farming... and fighting... and pretty much everything than anyone else. And everyone loves him or is in awe of him, and yada-yada-yada.... Yawn. 

There is no conflict, no tension, no obstacles to overcome. What obstacles there are, a series of coincidence always helps our protagonist along. Well, sorry, but this makes for extremely boring reading. Not to mention, doesn't make me like the protagonist any better. There is no point of mentioning any of the other human characters because their only distinctive features are how much they love/admire Jin.

It's sad when the animals in a book have more personality than the humans. Needless to say, I will not be continuing with this series.

[Narilka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody was kung-fu farming...

Beware of Chicken by Casualfarmer is the first volume in the series by the same name. It is a casual cultivation story where the main character, Jin, rejects his society's vision of what it means to be a cultivator and go live a quiet life on a farm with his animals. What is his society's idea of a cultivator? One who practices the cultivation of qi in combination with mastering martial arts and tends to be a total jerk to anyone else who is considered weaker than themselves. I see why Jin rejected the idea.

This was definitely a case of the right book at the right time. Apparently I needed a fantasy slice-of-life about a cultivator who decided to become a farmer. Turns out that farming is a powerful way to cultivate even if no one realizes it! So many funny, laugh out loud moments in the story. Plus I loved all the animal points of view!

I listened to the audio book narrated by Travis Baldree. I think Travis had fun working on this one, especially with how he did the animal's voices.

It's straight on to Volume 2 for me.

[Alex Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most ridiculously wholesome books ever.

Man makes farm.

Man makes animals strong.

Strong animals protect farm.

Man falls in love.

Farm happy.

Also kung fu and multiple beheadings (but who’s counting).

3.75/5

[Maria Klondike · Rating 4 out of 5]

HA! Another thing I love but wasn’t expecting Goodreads to have!

This is for the people who are tired of day to day life and just want to go live on a farm somewhere, but not a real farm, because that’s a lot of work, but a magic farm. One where animals develop sentience so they can help you do chores and become your friends/children/disciples. One where you live a simple life, far removed from the politics and noise of the city, loving the land so much that the land loves you right back. One where you grow delicious magic food that sells for a lot so you never have to worry about money. One where there aren’t any building permits so you can build the place of your dreams.

This is also a story where your farm cat turns into a human so she can enter the martial arts tournament and your koi fish that washes the dishes fights a giant turtle so he can turn into dragon and your chicken goes on a quest to reach the next level of understanding in his cultivation journey.

All in all, what starts as a cozy ride with endearing characters evolves and grows as the world starts to take notice of a new power. Even as stakes get higher and perils increase, our characters remain endearing and forgiving and determined to help where they can, and to be silly when they can too.

[Terho Reuhkala · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I thought that I'd not like it because the name and synopsis made it sound like the protagonist would be too weak for the genre where personal strength is everything.

I was wrong.
I should have known, really. There are a myriad of Daos and they all can lead to enlightenment and immortal ascension. That much is common sense for any xianxia reader.

The book might just be good enough reading for anyone, but being somewhat familiar with typical xianxia settings and tropes will probably help avoid a lot of confusion. If you know about the generic idea of cultivation realms/stages you're probably good to go.

The story contains a lot of comedy, but beyond that there's a plot, fights, progression and foreshadowed threats and other events in the horizon for the second book.

If you already have read some xianxia previously, you should be reading this book since yesterday. It's free to read on RoyalRoad. It's so far the best work on the site for me, and I've read dozens upon dozens.

[Bonnie Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly funny book about a guy with powers who just wants to live a simple life as a farmer. The really entertaining part of this book is when you get to read from the chicken's point of view.

[Kaja · Rating 2 out of 5]

This what not at all what i hoped it to be.
Apparently, fans of the genre are absolutely in love with it, but i cannot for the life of me see how this book could get a rating of 4.6??? It felt like a web novel written without an editor.

[Charmane · Rating 2 out of 5]

[NO SPOILERS]
Overall, I found this book OK. If you are into slice of life, with a lot of focus on romance then I would certainly give this book a go.

The world's setting was very interesting. I wanted to figure out more and more about how the world functions and is made, which you get decent glimpses into throughout the book.

I personally found the book quite dull with the main character reminding me of Gary/ Mary sues. The first volume contains a lot of happy coincidences that tend to get underwhelming and dull since luck is always on their side. Technically everything progresses fast but somehow comes off at a snail's pace.

The supporting cast life solely revolves around Jin, the main character, and makes everyone feel one-dimensional. Jin is strong and kind despite the history in this world generally saying a cultivator is a horrendous person, so anyone who meets him is pleasantly surprised. Though, it just never ends with the exception of 1 character mid-way, who then ends up being the same.

The writing isn't great, I just found it OK at best. Plus, everything felt like it was trying to get the perfect set-up for volume 2, so a lot had to happen in a condensed time frame with no care for the overall pacing.

[Huda Al-Mossalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite book alert 🔔

Also I already know this is going to be a favorite series (it’s interesting how my two favorite series Cradle and this are self published, truly an abundance of great art and stories are being self published)

This review will contain only one quote that will be sufficient in delivering the humor of the story, at least a little of it

”It was kind of strange to me, but hey, I’m not going to disrespect anybody’s customs unless those customs involve ritually sacrificing people. In which case, I’m disrespecting the shit out of them.”

I don’t feel like writing a detailed review cuz honestly i don’t know how it, other than this was a banger book from start to finish.

In the words of a wise man … gud book.

[Shonari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy cow chicken! This is a really good book! Probably in my top five favourite books of all time.

Apart from a rocky first chapter that seems to rush through the initial scenes (which may be by design), the book really started to pull me in. The characters are endearing and relatable, the farming is enjoyable, the action is fun and the story is captivating.

This book reminds me so much of some of my favourite anime series. As a matter of fact, I could see this being turned into a really popular anime.

PS. The book title initials are the sounds a chicken makes haha. BOC BOC BOC

[William Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting

Read this on Royal Road. So happy to be able to pay CasualFarmer for hours of fun.

Language can be coarse. Some scenes not suitable for younger readers, but this doesn’t veer into harem and explicit sex.

I cannot recommend this highly enough.

[Freedom · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 stars. Amazing. Added to my favorites shelf. Do not pass this book by.