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Cultivation Nerd #1
Cultivation Nerd
A Xianxia Progression Fantasy about a young cultivator's quest to grow powerful and surpass all limits.
To defy the Heavens, he must earn his masters in magic.
For Liu Feng, death isn't the end. Now, he's stuck in a new world with magic that clearly doesn't obey the laws of physics, surrounded by arrogant young masters who seek to advance their power by any means necessary.
Good thing Liu Feng has always been smart.
He can absorb texts and master techniques to advance his knowledge faster than others, uncovering the secrets of magic at a fundamental level. Plus he can bring a level of compassion and empathy only a human would understand, to see things from new angles.
But being different makes him a target.
Liu Feng can only avoid the problems and attention of other cultivators for so long before he must fight. Only then can he become a master...
Join Liu Feng the Cultivation Nerd on his quest to surpass all limits and defy the heavens, shattering the arrogance of all young masters on his way. It's perfect for fans of Unintended Cultivator , Cradle, and The First Law of Cultivation!
With nearly 11 million views on Royal Road, this popular web-serial has been completely revised and relaunched into this definitive version now coming to Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible, narrated by John Pirhalla!
To defy the Heavens, he must earn his masters in magic.
For Liu Feng, death isn't the end. Now, he's stuck in a new world with magic that clearly doesn't obey the laws of physics, surrounded by arrogant young masters who seek to advance their power by any means necessary.
Good thing Liu Feng has always been smart.
He can absorb texts and master techniques to advance his knowledge faster than others, uncovering the secrets of magic at a fundamental level. Plus he can bring a level of compassion and empathy only a human would understand, to see things from new angles.
But being different makes him a target.
Liu Feng can only avoid the problems and attention of other cultivators for so long before he must fight. Only then can he become a master...
Join Liu Feng the Cultivation Nerd on his quest to surpass all limits and defy the heavens, shattering the arrogance of all young masters on his way. It's perfect for fans of Unintended Cultivator , Cradle, and The First Law of Cultivation!
With nearly 11 million views on Royal Road, this popular web-serial has been completely revised and relaunched into this definitive version now coming to Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible, narrated by John Pirhalla!
406 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
April 18, 2026
I am feeling like this cover is AI? I hope not. This series gets better and better with each volume. I wish I’d read a bunch more of the original cultivation stuff from China this author is obviously parodying. Maybe I’ll dive into that soon. I love a good nerdy protagonist tho and despite the sociopathic tendencies of the girl lead I do enjoy her. Indiscriminate killing is an uncomfortable byproduct of this and litRPG genres. The author deals with it better with each book at least!
November 30, 2025
Too much nerd. Too little cultivation. Okay, I just wanted to say that. It isn't actually even a nerd story. And it didn't help that the protagonist tried wielding trope powers for progress. And succeeding in the lamest possible way. By the third time some wild, untested power turned out exactly how he expected I decided we weren't so much in nerdtown as we were in author's special pet territory and gave up.
December 9, 2025
It's a terrible, badly written mess. This is why you shouldn't just release a webnovel as-is. Get an editor, for fuck's sake. Shitty prose is fine in a webnovel on RoyalRoad or something, but this is just embarrassing.
The writing is incredibly awkward. The worst offender: horrible run-on sentences, some of which straight up don't make any sense, even if I read them 10 times. An editor would've caught those. After stumbling over the fifth insane sentence in about 20 pages, I gave up.
As long as people keep giving 5 stars to any webnovel under the sun, writing quality will keep declining and we'll get more things like Cultivation Nerd, where the author apparently just throws whatever at the wall and expects it to stick.
Another huge issue? Apparently, no research has been put into this at all. Architecture here is commonly just called "Chinese themed". A roof? "A Chinese-styled roof". A room? "A Chinese room".
There's everything, from "Chinese-styled" to "Chinese-esque", but never any actual care or research put into any of the descriptions. I'm not making this shit up. It's like the author thinks that China is this homogeneous area where everything is just "Asian" and not worth describing beyond that.
The character is reborn into a Xianxia world and has the emotional reaction of a rock: no damn reaction at all. He doesn't even seem excited about the idea of learning things, contrary to what the blurb and title will have you believe. He's just... kind of there: a complete blank canvas.
It's almost like part of a good writing-process is refactoring what you've written previously... which is almost impossible in the medium of a webnovel. The opportunity of a "proper" release could've been used to fix residual issues, restructure things, rework chapters etc. It clearly wasn't, though.
The writing is incredibly awkward. The worst offender: horrible run-on sentences, some of which straight up don't make any sense, even if I read them 10 times. An editor would've caught those. After stumbling over the fifth insane sentence in about 20 pages, I gave up.
As long as people keep giving 5 stars to any webnovel under the sun, writing quality will keep declining and we'll get more things like Cultivation Nerd, where the author apparently just throws whatever at the wall and expects it to stick.
Another huge issue? Apparently, no research has been put into this at all. Architecture here is commonly just called "Chinese themed". A roof? "A Chinese-styled roof". A room? "A Chinese room".
There's everything, from "Chinese-styled" to "Chinese-esque", but never any actual care or research put into any of the descriptions. I'm not making this shit up. It's like the author thinks that China is this homogeneous area where everything is just "Asian" and not worth describing beyond that.
The character is reborn into a Xianxia world and has the emotional reaction of a rock: no damn reaction at all. He doesn't even seem excited about the idea of learning things, contrary to what the blurb and title will have you believe. He's just... kind of there: a complete blank canvas.
It's almost like part of a good writing-process is refactoring what you've written previously... which is almost impossible in the medium of a webnovel. The opportunity of a "proper" release could've been used to fix residual issues, restructure things, rework chapters etc. It clearly wasn't, though.
October 14, 2025
This book will seem very familiar to all who've read a little cultivation/Wuxia fiction. What makes it stand out is a protagonist who is wise enough not to gamble his life every five minutes... and who seems to know he's a side-character in a novel.
September 23, 2025
One of the better ones
November 20, 2025
A fantastic first half of the book. Even a poor outing and trial in the latter half can't ruin it, but it did make an otherwise enjoyable cultivation book go quickly into chaos. IMO it should have been done after more exposition in a second book instead of being a huge tonal change within the first. Looking forward to the second novel.
February 5, 2026
I do not recommend this book
The main character is annoying for the very beginning to the end. He overthinks absolutely everything… even just eating breakfast. I’m sorry I’ll never get this time back. And I can’t even count how many times he said ‘Xianxia’ in this story. Truly one of the most annoying books I’ve read. Don’t waste your time with this book/series.
The main character is annoying for the very beginning to the end. He overthinks absolutely everything… even just eating breakfast. I’m sorry I’ll never get this time back. And I can’t even count how many times he said ‘Xianxia’ in this story. Truly one of the most annoying books I’ve read. Don’t waste your time with this book/series.
April 28, 2026
I really enjoyed this book. It felt very slice of life ish. I really enjoy the fact the MC uses his brain instead of making stupid mistakes just to progress the story line. I started the next book in the series the second I finished this one. I look forward to seeing how his tale will progress.
December 23, 2025
Good story, interesting world and crazy and mighty characters.
September 19, 2025
Good start. This isekai’d MC is one of the more relatable protagonists that I have encountered lately. I like it MCs that work hard to get there results. There is a subtle humor throughout the book because the MC is a fan of the kind of book that he is in. I will definitely check out future books.
June 27, 2025
5/5.
A brilliant take on the classic xianxia cultivation story, with a great twist. Liu Feng was a young boy who harbored dreams of challenging the heavens, but the soul isekaied into him is much nerdier and simply wants to study cultivation, techniques, arrays, and spend his days in peace. Of course, life is rarely that simple, and even the most unassuming cultivator ends up being pulled into matters far beyond their control...
One thing I truly appreciated about this novel is how well it stuck to its premise. Liu Feng genuinely attempts to avoid conflict as much as possible, and even the conflicts he does end up in are usually out of his control. He does not harbor great ambitions beyond reaching a certain cultivation stage so he can study freely, but he also isn't a fool; he knows a certain amount of strength is necessary to survive in this world.
And the side characters! From the mysterious janitor to the kindly librarian to the crazies like Song Song and Ye An, who I'm sure we'll see much more of... This world has a lot of interesting characters and fantastic usage of tropes. Highly recommend to any fan of xianxia!
A brilliant take on the classic xianxia cultivation story, with a great twist. Liu Feng was a young boy who harbored dreams of challenging the heavens, but the soul isekaied into him is much nerdier and simply wants to study cultivation, techniques, arrays, and spend his days in peace. Of course, life is rarely that simple, and even the most unassuming cultivator ends up being pulled into matters far beyond their control...
One thing I truly appreciated about this novel is how well it stuck to its premise. Liu Feng genuinely attempts to avoid conflict as much as possible, and even the conflicts he does end up in are usually out of his control. He does not harbor great ambitions beyond reaching a certain cultivation stage so he can study freely, but he also isn't a fool; he knows a certain amount of strength is necessary to survive in this world.
And the side characters! From the mysterious janitor to the kindly librarian to the crazies like Song Song and Ye An, who I'm sure we'll see much more of... This world has a lot of interesting characters and fantastic usage of tropes. Highly recommend to any fan of xianxia!
November 9, 2025
Very boring and slow
The story lacks direction and the MC is uninteresting. I made it 25% of the way through the book, and almost nothing has really happened. Also, the MC keeps comparing modern morals from his old life... It's the annoying holier than art though trope.
The story lacks direction and the MC is uninteresting. I made it 25% of the way through the book, and almost nothing has really happened. Also, the MC keeps comparing modern morals from his old life... It's the annoying holier than art though trope.
October 3, 2025
As with everything, there is good and bad here. However, the good so overwhelmingly outweighs the bad that I feel it still deserves full marks in spite of the minor ways it falls short. I also don’t give much in the way of spoilers but marked this review to warn any purists that may read it.
We’ll start with my issues (increasing in offense from least to greatest)
1. The magic system in this story is very soft, yet the author seems to have written it with the impression it was more firm. For example, we get the usual breakdown of cultivation and some very rough overviews of aspects of qi, yet it always feels like there’s a sentence or two missing in any given explanation. It’s like there are rough ideas of a detailed system, but no time was spent to actually flesh it out. This is rather nitpicky on my part though, as it could just be a matter of taste and overall doesn’t diminish the story.
2. The protagonist’s power progression is all over the place. It often feels like whatever cool new ability the author wants him to have is “studied” in the previous chapter, then, ten pages later, he’s completely proficient. Yet, the actually increase in his level is drawn out, with him getting only incrementally stronger over the course of the entire book, just with a vast array (hehe) of tricks at his disposal. This wouldn’t be as much of any issue but he starts the novel near the end of one realm of cultivation and is barely reaching the peak 400 pages later. The discordance between his ability and strength grows pretty pronounced by the end. Add to that how there is almost no time between him being completely clueless about a subject to using it in a chaotic brawl and it can get a bit immersion breaking.
3. This is my only major issue with the book and one of the deadliest sins an author can make… bad grammar. Now, let me preface that I’m not one to harp on every typo or missed quotation mark. Mistakes happen. However there is a big difference between the occasional mistake and what seems to be just a tenuous grasp on sentence structure, which is what this felt like. I honestly could not tell what was intentional and what was simply a lack of knowledge. Sentence fragments are all over the place, as the author rarely uses compound sentences, instead using a full stop. And still keeping the ‘but’, ‘and’, ‘or’, etc. at the beginning of the following sentence. One sentence was literally just a list of activities, no object or verb. For someone who is clearly a deft hand at telling a story, the author may want a bit more class time to polish their ability in the technical aspects of writing one. I’ve read enough books to tell the difference between stylistic breaking of the rules and a failure to understand them. This is a clear case of the latter.
Now on to the good! This section will likely be shorter, but is MUCH more important in my overall rating. As I said before, the author just simply understands how to tell a narrative. The pacing,while some say is slow, I think is a perfect rise and fall. There are exciting action scenes spaced between reprieves with a xianxia slice-of-life feel, yet no time feels wasted. All the characters feel like real complete people, even when only encountered briefly. Not to say there aren’t stereotypes or tropes - that’s a given for the genre - but the author approaches them head on and, instead of flattening the characters, uses them build unexpected depth. Everyone feels like they contain their own inner worlds, no one is completely shown at face value, and any time we’re given a peek into another character’s mind, it only serves to enhance the reading experience. No one is a bigger example than our protagonist, who could’ve easily fallen into one of two categories after the start of his journey: softboy pacifist who is scared of everything, or full murderhobo who throws out all his pre-isekai values the second they’re put up against any sort of pressure. This is a master class in walking the line of a character who understands the world they’re in but also would like to uphold as much of his moral integrity as possible. He will kill, yes, but not as a first course of action. He’ll try to resolve issues with talking, but won’t be cowed into submission by threat of violence, unless it’s truly the only option to survive. Basically, it’s refreshing to have a character who is so self-assured in who they are and how much of that they’re willing to compromise. He’s level-headed, avoids conflict when possible but is willing to fight tooth and nail when it’s called for, not only listens to but actively seeks the council of those more experienced, and doesn’t expect anyone to be what they first appear as or what his preconceptions tell him they are. Overall, he really feels like a truly mature adult, rather than a child that just had a job before being transmigrated. It’s sad how uncommon this seems to be in books like this. I will be continuing this series for as long as it goes.
We’ll start with my issues (increasing in offense from least to greatest)
1. The magic system in this story is very soft, yet the author seems to have written it with the impression it was more firm. For example, we get the usual breakdown of cultivation and some very rough overviews of aspects of qi, yet it always feels like there’s a sentence or two missing in any given explanation. It’s like there are rough ideas of a detailed system, but no time was spent to actually flesh it out. This is rather nitpicky on my part though, as it could just be a matter of taste and overall doesn’t diminish the story.
2. The protagonist’s power progression is all over the place. It often feels like whatever cool new ability the author wants him to have is “studied” in the previous chapter, then, ten pages later, he’s completely proficient. Yet, the actually increase in his level is drawn out, with him getting only incrementally stronger over the course of the entire book, just with a vast array (hehe) of tricks at his disposal. This wouldn’t be as much of any issue but he starts the novel near the end of one realm of cultivation and is barely reaching the peak 400 pages later. The discordance between his ability and strength grows pretty pronounced by the end. Add to that how there is almost no time between him being completely clueless about a subject to using it in a chaotic brawl and it can get a bit immersion breaking.
3. This is my only major issue with the book and one of the deadliest sins an author can make… bad grammar. Now, let me preface that I’m not one to harp on every typo or missed quotation mark. Mistakes happen. However there is a big difference between the occasional mistake and what seems to be just a tenuous grasp on sentence structure, which is what this felt like. I honestly could not tell what was intentional and what was simply a lack of knowledge. Sentence fragments are all over the place, as the author rarely uses compound sentences, instead using a full stop. And still keeping the ‘but’, ‘and’, ‘or’, etc. at the beginning of the following sentence. One sentence was literally just a list of activities, no object or verb. For someone who is clearly a deft hand at telling a story, the author may want a bit more class time to polish their ability in the technical aspects of writing one. I’ve read enough books to tell the difference between stylistic breaking of the rules and a failure to understand them. This is a clear case of the latter.
Now on to the good! This section will likely be shorter, but is MUCH more important in my overall rating. As I said before, the author just simply understands how to tell a narrative. The pacing,while some say is slow, I think is a perfect rise and fall. There are exciting action scenes spaced between reprieves with a xianxia slice-of-life feel, yet no time feels wasted. All the characters feel like real complete people, even when only encountered briefly. Not to say there aren’t stereotypes or tropes - that’s a given for the genre - but the author approaches them head on and, instead of flattening the characters, uses them build unexpected depth. Everyone feels like they contain their own inner worlds, no one is completely shown at face value, and any time we’re given a peek into another character’s mind, it only serves to enhance the reading experience. No one is a bigger example than our protagonist, who could’ve easily fallen into one of two categories after the start of his journey: softboy pacifist who is scared of everything, or full murderhobo who throws out all his pre-isekai values the second they’re put up against any sort of pressure. This is a master class in walking the line of a character who understands the world they’re in but also would like to uphold as much of his moral integrity as possible. He will kill, yes, but not as a first course of action. He’ll try to resolve issues with talking, but won’t be cowed into submission by threat of violence, unless it’s truly the only option to survive. Basically, it’s refreshing to have a character who is so self-assured in who they are and how much of that they’re willing to compromise. He’s level-headed, avoids conflict when possible but is willing to fight tooth and nail when it’s called for, not only listens to but actively seeks the council of those more experienced, and doesn’t expect anyone to be what they first appear as or what his preconceptions tell him they are. Overall, he really feels like a truly mature adult, rather than a child that just had a job before being transmigrated. It’s sad how uncommon this seems to be in books like this. I will be continuing this series for as long as it goes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2025
Deceptive Description
Normally a description of a book that is misleading would make for a horrible book but it still turned out to be a great read. While the description claims that the MC's can gain knowledge faster than anyone else and see things in new angles. He really doesn't. He takes time to read foundational books that most people skip or have a more narrowed focus but he doesn't seem to 'read' any faster. He doesn't really use his earth knowledge to find any fundamental discoveries that no one else knows.
From this I came in expecting him to use Earth knowledge of science to break down cultivation and find hidden truths to make him soar in rank and the like. Nothing like that happens.
Instead you get a good cultivation book with a character who does his best to avoid drama. Sure it still finds him but he is aware of it and not clueless when it happens ,more it's unavoidable.
My Favorite part of this series so far is that the character is a reborn who knows of cultivation. Yes other books do this but this book does it in a more realistic and unique way.
When other books do this, they usually claim their character knows about cultivation from reading stories then is surprised by every single things that happens and how the world works. It's like having someone claim they know about chemistry then having no clue that chemicals can interact and react and being surprised by this.
In this book, the character knows about cultivation cliches and is prepared for them, he has knowledge of how things should work. While he doesn't know the technical details as novels about cultivation worlds don't have those, he knows about it. Like how someone might not be a chemist but would know chemistry and that there are elements, chemicals reactions and the like.
It's far more realistic and unique, fun to read. When this character hears about things like some sketchy plot. He knows to turn the other way before some grand elder is on him for learning too much. When he finds a rare treasure, he knows that he should just give it to the young master rather than turn it into a blood feud that will see him chased by some clan.
This book is also refreshing to not only have the cliches but also good characters. Elders who Care, Family that isn't just jealous and spiteful of an upcoming star.
My only hope is that future books has the character do what the description says and use more Earth knowledge and unique views to advance fast. Perhaps when he gets to using QI it will work.
I had hoped with Body Tempering he'd think of some Earth knowledge way or foundational books to find a method no one else thought of to progress faster or better results but that didn't happen.
Normally a description of a book that is misleading would make for a horrible book but it still turned out to be a great read. While the description claims that the MC's can gain knowledge faster than anyone else and see things in new angles. He really doesn't. He takes time to read foundational books that most people skip or have a more narrowed focus but he doesn't seem to 'read' any faster. He doesn't really use his earth knowledge to find any fundamental discoveries that no one else knows.
From this I came in expecting him to use Earth knowledge of science to break down cultivation and find hidden truths to make him soar in rank and the like. Nothing like that happens.
Instead you get a good cultivation book with a character who does his best to avoid drama. Sure it still finds him but he is aware of it and not clueless when it happens ,more it's unavoidable.
My Favorite part of this series so far is that the character is a reborn who knows of cultivation. Yes other books do this but this book does it in a more realistic and unique way.
When other books do this, they usually claim their character knows about cultivation from reading stories then is surprised by every single things that happens and how the world works. It's like having someone claim they know about chemistry then having no clue that chemicals can interact and react and being surprised by this.
In this book, the character knows about cultivation cliches and is prepared for them, he has knowledge of how things should work. While he doesn't know the technical details as novels about cultivation worlds don't have those, he knows about it. Like how someone might not be a chemist but would know chemistry and that there are elements, chemicals reactions and the like.
It's far more realistic and unique, fun to read. When this character hears about things like some sketchy plot. He knows to turn the other way before some grand elder is on him for learning too much. When he finds a rare treasure, he knows that he should just give it to the young master rather than turn it into a blood feud that will see him chased by some clan.
This book is also refreshing to not only have the cliches but also good characters. Elders who Care, Family that isn't just jealous and spiteful of an upcoming star.
My only hope is that future books has the character do what the description says and use more Earth knowledge and unique views to advance fast. Perhaps when he gets to using QI it will work.
I had hoped with Body Tempering he'd think of some Earth knowledge way or foundational books to find a method no one else thought of to progress faster or better results but that didn't happen.
September 16, 2025
Very Fun
Personally, I would highly recommend this book, because I think it’s a very fun addition to the cultivation genre.
I really enjoy the practicality of the main character, his understanding of certain tropes about the cultivation world, but he is also very adaptable to this world. He is a character that knows when to be careful, knows when it’s time to take risks, and definitely someone who enjoys cultivating knowledge.
The side characters are also very entertaining, and they certainly fit within the cultivation world. His eventual best friend is also very unique and her own, well, crazy way. I also enjoy the unique aspect on certain higher levels of knowledge, in that certain cultivation techniques are more powerful with the less people who know them.
Overall, I feel like this is a very fun opening book to the series, and it definitely subverts expectations in a entertaining way. I think just by recognizing the fact that ancient individuals would be more than aware of certain secrets of the world, that other cultivation novels tend to make these entities seemingly overlook. Yet it also understands that the cultivation world is going to build a certain mindset for these entities as well, so the understandable tropes still exist lol.
I think this is definitely a book to give a try Especially if you enjoy intelligent, main characters, and enjoy cultivation novels overall.
Personally, I would highly recommend this book, because I think it’s a very fun addition to the cultivation genre.
I really enjoy the practicality of the main character, his understanding of certain tropes about the cultivation world, but he is also very adaptable to this world. He is a character that knows when to be careful, knows when it’s time to take risks, and definitely someone who enjoys cultivating knowledge.
The side characters are also very entertaining, and they certainly fit within the cultivation world. His eventual best friend is also very unique and her own, well, crazy way. I also enjoy the unique aspect on certain higher levels of knowledge, in that certain cultivation techniques are more powerful with the less people who know them.
Overall, I feel like this is a very fun opening book to the series, and it definitely subverts expectations in a entertaining way. I think just by recognizing the fact that ancient individuals would be more than aware of certain secrets of the world, that other cultivation novels tend to make these entities seemingly overlook. Yet it also understands that the cultivation world is going to build a certain mindset for these entities as well, so the understandable tropes still exist lol.
I think this is definitely a book to give a try Especially if you enjoy intelligent, main characters, and enjoy cultivation novels overall.
February 25, 2026
Written for 13 year old kids. The writing is pretty bad overall.
Killing is taken very lightly, everyone kills everyone. These kids are only 16 years old, and they murder people left and right.
Constantly calling someone "jade like beauty", pisses me off. "Jade like beauty" does this, "jade like beauty" does that. It doesn't mean she is green, in Chinese it is referring to white jade, so basically he keeps saying she is very white.
I don't like that the main character learns "arrays"... as soon as he does, he now suddenly has like 20 spells that were never revealed. But in battle he starts using array spells constantly. New spells doing whatever he needs. It feels cheap.
Lots of stuff in the book makes no sense and there are tons of mistakes. In an early chapter the MC runs away through the woods, and makes it to a town. The town guard doesn't even know what the Blazing Sun Sect is. They don't even know they exist. WHAT??? HOW? He ran to this town, it is ultra close. Later on the book tells you that the Blazing Sun Sect controls more land than whole continents on Earth. And even outside of their control, those territories still pay them tribute.
The book starts off alright, but they keep getting more stupid over time. At some point the stupidity gets so high that I just don't want to read it anymore.
DNF 94%
Killing is taken very lightly, everyone kills everyone. These kids are only 16 years old, and they murder people left and right.
Constantly calling someone "jade like beauty", pisses me off. "Jade like beauty" does this, "jade like beauty" does that. It doesn't mean she is green, in Chinese it is referring to white jade, so basically he keeps saying she is very white.
I don't like that the main character learns "arrays"... as soon as he does, he now suddenly has like 20 spells that were never revealed. But in battle he starts using array spells constantly. New spells doing whatever he needs. It feels cheap.
Lots of stuff in the book makes no sense and there are tons of mistakes. In an early chapter the MC runs away through the woods, and makes it to a town. The town guard doesn't even know what the Blazing Sun Sect is. They don't even know they exist. WHAT??? HOW? He ran to this town, it is ultra close. Later on the book tells you that the Blazing Sun Sect controls more land than whole continents on Earth. And even outside of their control, those territories still pay them tribute.
The book starts off alright, but they keep getting more stupid over time. At some point the stupidity gets so high that I just don't want to read it anymore.
DNF 94%
October 10, 2025
Yeah I recommend it
The narrator sounds familiar to me and perhaps he's done other work under a different name. I'm not exactly sure which but maybe you will recognize the voice or be able to dig up his past work. Regardless it was a fantastic performance in my opinion. As for the story itself this is the first book that I have read by this author. I did go ahead and pick up the audio which you can tell from the first part of this review. I don't do that unless I enjoyed the book. I got to that decision before I even got to the halfway point. I'm definitely coming back for the sequel which fortunately for me should be this December which is not too far off. I basically picked up this book in The Blind using the Kindle unlimited program. It gives me the opportunity to check out new Authors without having to put additional money down. I'll be looking around to see what else this author has to offer and if this is his first story so far then I'll check back later and see if he's launched another. With that said I'll simply say Well done to everybody who had a hand in bringing the story to us, the Amazon readers.
The narrator sounds familiar to me and perhaps he's done other work under a different name. I'm not exactly sure which but maybe you will recognize the voice or be able to dig up his past work. Regardless it was a fantastic performance in my opinion. As for the story itself this is the first book that I have read by this author. I did go ahead and pick up the audio which you can tell from the first part of this review. I don't do that unless I enjoyed the book. I got to that decision before I even got to the halfway point. I'm definitely coming back for the sequel which fortunately for me should be this December which is not too far off. I basically picked up this book in The Blind using the Kindle unlimited program. It gives me the opportunity to check out new Authors without having to put additional money down. I'll be looking around to see what else this author has to offer and if this is his first story so far then I'll check back later and see if he's launched another. With that said I'll simply say Well done to everybody who had a hand in bringing the story to us, the Amazon readers.
January 27, 2026
Blurb isn't entirely accurate
While it IS a fun story I felt a bit misled by the blurb. The MC does not have any special powers to absorb techniques and knowledge on a fundamental level of any kind. There's no OP skills or techniques, he just trains and studies hard with a solid work ethic.
That's honestly it. The MC is also pretty likeable for the most part, other than calling his only friend fatso for most of the book as he didn't learn his name. But he is empathetic and kind other than that.
Breakthroughs don't feel special at all, nor esoteric or mystical in any way. But the story does feel solid. Even if it's hyper aware. Someone from Earth got slotted into a dead body pretty much, so it's not entirely unique or special either.
Criticisms aside, the story is enjoyable to an extent, just not what I was expecting or wanting so I feel a bit misled. Most people will probably like it, and other than my own personal nitpicking there's nothing objectively bad about it. I think it's worth it if you have KU and read pretty quickly, but if your reading budget is low, you can probably skip it and find something better.
While it IS a fun story I felt a bit misled by the blurb. The MC does not have any special powers to absorb techniques and knowledge on a fundamental level of any kind. There's no OP skills or techniques, he just trains and studies hard with a solid work ethic.
That's honestly it. The MC is also pretty likeable for the most part, other than calling his only friend fatso for most of the book as he didn't learn his name. But he is empathetic and kind other than that.
Breakthroughs don't feel special at all, nor esoteric or mystical in any way. But the story does feel solid. Even if it's hyper aware. Someone from Earth got slotted into a dead body pretty much, so it's not entirely unique or special either.
Criticisms aside, the story is enjoyable to an extent, just not what I was expecting or wanting so I feel a bit misled. Most people will probably like it, and other than my own personal nitpicking there's nothing objectively bad about it. I think it's worth it if you have KU and read pretty quickly, but if your reading budget is low, you can probably skip it and find something better.
April 26, 2026
DNF at 73%
The transgression into a wuxia world was totally wasted on the bore of MC. He is so disinterested in the wonders of the new world and keeps rambling on about no longer relevant modern morals from our world while totally disregarding the social conventions of this world. (I would have laughed if he had lost any social status when he decided to cut his hair of impulsively, for example.)
It's not explained why he trains that excessively if he's just a bookish rather autistic pacifistic loner. In the few fights he is in the thick obvious plot armour felt very tiresome.
I kept skimming through the book hoping the story would finally pick up speed and get somewhat interesting but then gave up as everything stayed dull and i got sick of the protagonist's undeservedly cheeky character.
The book needs serious editing many sentences don't make sense.
Criticism and comments
The term cafeteria is very misplaced in a wuxia setting is very misplaced. Especially as they only serve tea..
"Nobody should treat themselves like robots;" i àm too old for this gender crap! What is wrong with the correct use of "oneself"?
Why the f#ck i s a male disciple refered to as "them" all of a sudden?
The transgression into a wuxia world was totally wasted on the bore of MC. He is so disinterested in the wonders of the new world and keeps rambling on about no longer relevant modern morals from our world while totally disregarding the social conventions of this world. (I would have laughed if he had lost any social status when he decided to cut his hair of impulsively, for example.)
It's not explained why he trains that excessively if he's just a bookish rather autistic pacifistic loner. In the few fights he is in the thick obvious plot armour felt very tiresome.
I kept skimming through the book hoping the story would finally pick up speed and get somewhat interesting but then gave up as everything stayed dull and i got sick of the protagonist's undeservedly cheeky character.
The book needs serious editing many sentences don't make sense.
Criticism and comments
The term cafeteria is very misplaced in a wuxia setting is very misplaced. Especially as they only serve tea..
"Nobody should treat themselves like robots;" i àm too old for this gender crap! What is wrong with the correct use of "oneself"?
Why the f#ck i s a male disciple refered to as "them" all of a sudden?
October 8, 2025
It was ok.
The story was just ok. I was a bit annoyed by the constant references to xianxia novels and avoiding their tropes. This only served to keep reminding me that I’m reading a book and taking me out of the immersion. We never learn much of anything about the protagonist’s former life before reincarnating here. Including how they died. I suppose this was to make it easier for readers to self-insert? But this results in the MCs entire personality being paranoia about his fellow cultivators, an obsession with learning all that he can about cultivation, and a strong aversion towards anything that might be a hassle.
The narrator’s voice isn’t bad, but he misread enough words that it was noticeable. Also, there were several places where he obviously read it with the wrong cadence or word emphasis. So, I can’t give him full marks.
I’m on the fence about reading the next book, but I doubt that I will. There is nothing really special about the MC, seemingly by design.
The story was just ok. I was a bit annoyed by the constant references to xianxia novels and avoiding their tropes. This only served to keep reminding me that I’m reading a book and taking me out of the immersion. We never learn much of anything about the protagonist’s former life before reincarnating here. Including how they died. I suppose this was to make it easier for readers to self-insert? But this results in the MCs entire personality being paranoia about his fellow cultivators, an obsession with learning all that he can about cultivation, and a strong aversion towards anything that might be a hassle.
The narrator’s voice isn’t bad, but he misread enough words that it was noticeable. Also, there were several places where he obviously read it with the wrong cadence or word emphasis. So, I can’t give him full marks.
I’m on the fence about reading the next book, but I doubt that I will. There is nothing really special about the MC, seemingly by design.
February 5, 2026
Too elementary.
I feel like the audience for this book is 13 or below. It is definitely not meant to be read by one with any amount of maturity. What is painful is that I like the more calm approach and slice of life touch to this book as many books in the genre take themselves a little too seriously. What this authors ultimately failed to do was build any kind of end goal. This book severely needs direction and more interesting side characters. Even the world the MC is in feels stale and uninspired. And please don’t get me started on the amount of constant exposition for no apparent reason. It almost felt preachy like the author only wrote the book to complain about the world he was writing inside of. If you don’t like it, make the world you’re writing in, the one you would be interested in living. Or make the end goal for your MC the change you want to see. Instead, all we get is needless and repetitive explanations of things we as readers couldn’t care less about while the MC barely trudges along at an above average pace. Such a shame…
I feel like the audience for this book is 13 or below. It is definitely not meant to be read by one with any amount of maturity. What is painful is that I like the more calm approach and slice of life touch to this book as many books in the genre take themselves a little too seriously. What this authors ultimately failed to do was build any kind of end goal. This book severely needs direction and more interesting side characters. Even the world the MC is in feels stale and uninspired. And please don’t get me started on the amount of constant exposition for no apparent reason. It almost felt preachy like the author only wrote the book to complain about the world he was writing inside of. If you don’t like it, make the world you’re writing in, the one you would be interested in living. Or make the end goal for your MC the change you want to see. Instead, all we get is needless and repetitive explanations of things we as readers couldn’t care less about while the MC barely trudges along at an above average pace. Such a shame…
January 29, 2026
This is my favorite kind of story; a standard cliche story told from the point of view of a side/background character. Which with that alone it makes me want to give this story a glowing review, but the lack of any level of editing in this story really brings it down. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like a webnovel, for better and worse.
There are far too many run-on sentences and single purpose scenes. Thing being reiterated multiple times a chapter for several chapters in a row, just to not matter. Or several long stretches of the book that could have been accurately summarized within a single paragraph.
While I like the characters, none of them really stand out until the last quarter of the book. Which can be said about the plot as well.
Overall, this is a soft recommendation for the story. If you can handle a story with some roughness to it, then you will probably enjoy it.
There are far too many run-on sentences and single purpose scenes. Thing being reiterated multiple times a chapter for several chapters in a row, just to not matter. Or several long stretches of the book that could have been accurately summarized within a single paragraph.
While I like the characters, none of them really stand out until the last quarter of the book. Which can be said about the plot as well.
Overall, this is a soft recommendation for the story. If you can handle a story with some roughness to it, then you will probably enjoy it.
October 9, 2025
A Refreshing Twist on the Isekai Formula
Cultivation Nerd caught me off guard in the best way. Instead of another overpowered teenager or chosen hero, we get a middle-aged office worker who just wants a quiet life after waking up in a cultivation sect. Of course, fate has other plans!
What I loved most is how the story balances humour, introspection, and world-building. It’s not just about power levels and flashy fights, it’s about someone trying (and often failing) to hold onto his peace in a chaotic world. The tone is surprisingly grounded for a cultivation novel, and that made it stand out.
Can’t wait to see whether he ever gets that calm life he’s dreaming of… though judging by how things are going, probably not!
Cultivation Nerd caught me off guard in the best way. Instead of another overpowered teenager or chosen hero, we get a middle-aged office worker who just wants a quiet life after waking up in a cultivation sect. Of course, fate has other plans!
What I loved most is how the story balances humour, introspection, and world-building. It’s not just about power levels and flashy fights, it’s about someone trying (and often failing) to hold onto his peace in a chaotic world. The tone is surprisingly grounded for a cultivation novel, and that made it stand out.
Can’t wait to see whether he ever gets that calm life he’s dreaming of… though judging by how things are going, probably not!
October 5, 2025
Written by a fellow Xianxia reader 5/5
My only gripe is that the Author is probably aware of the moral stances of the characters molded by the martial culture of the Xianxia world, BUT it feels like the Author tries too hard to make the MC a "GOOD GUY" viewed through our current moral lens.
It irks me because the MC was portrayed by the author to read the genre, too! But when the known negative tropes are encountered, he always portrays himself as the "Moral One." We know Author, you can always show it through writing and not through the MC saying himself as one, it gets tired after the first to second instances. Nevertheless, it didn't stop me from enjoying the book.
My only gripe is that the Author is probably aware of the moral stances of the characters molded by the martial culture of the Xianxia world, BUT it feels like the Author tries too hard to make the MC a "GOOD GUY" viewed through our current moral lens.
It irks me because the MC was portrayed by the author to read the genre, too! But when the known negative tropes are encountered, he always portrays himself as the "Moral One." We know Author, you can always show it through writing and not through the MC saying himself as one, it gets tired after the first to second instances. Nevertheless, it didn't stop me from enjoying the book.
October 13, 2025
4 stars
It's decent. I like that he's in his own head a lot and overanalyzes. The flow of the dialogue bothers me a little, and the story falls prey to the typical tropes where the main peers he really interacts with (challenged by) are a 'fatty' friend, with the rest being women. But all in all, it's good. He is challenged by guys, of course, but they are more easily dealt with, whereas the girls get prolonged screentime, so to speak.
With all his analyzing, I think that if he had been an evil protagonist, that would have really elevated the story. But him not being evil is kind of a main theme, so I get why he is not.
It's decent. I like that he's in his own head a lot and overanalyzes. The flow of the dialogue bothers me a little, and the story falls prey to the typical tropes where the main peers he really interacts with (challenged by) are a 'fatty' friend, with the rest being women. But all in all, it's good. He is challenged by guys, of course, but they are more easily dealt with, whereas the girls get prolonged screentime, so to speak.
With all his analyzing, I think that if he had been an evil protagonist, that would have really elevated the story. But him not being evil is kind of a main theme, so I get why he is not.
November 3, 2025
Started off ok, but the plot really didnt go anywhere
The MC died and reawakened in the body of a young master, part of a set in an xanthin world. Ok, so far so good.
He finds 2 elders who kinda take him under their wing and he trains very hard. Although he isn’t looking to become some mighty warrior, just strong enough that some old monster cultivator or even an inner sect disciple cant kill him for some random perceived slight.
After awhile, the plot just dies and the MC seems to be wandering around or running away from more powerful murder hobos who are out to get him.
The MC died and reawakened in the body of a young master, part of a set in an xanthin world. Ok, so far so good.
He finds 2 elders who kinda take him under their wing and he trains very hard. Although he isn’t looking to become some mighty warrior, just strong enough that some old monster cultivator or even an inner sect disciple cant kill him for some random perceived slight.
After awhile, the plot just dies and the MC seems to be wandering around or running away from more powerful murder hobos who are out to get him.
September 17, 2025
Sets a standard
This book is why my standard on cultivation stories is so high . It has an MC who is just very realistic and while he does have some advantages it’s all from his hard work . The side characters have a lot of personality through them and he goes through some very interesting arcs in my opinion.
Thanks for the journey HolyMouse and hope that this book continues for the better keep it up . Please give this book a try guys not the best at reviews but the book has a special place in my heart .
This book is why my standard on cultivation stories is so high . It has an MC who is just very realistic and while he does have some advantages it’s all from his hard work . The side characters have a lot of personality through them and he goes through some very interesting arcs in my opinion.
Thanks for the journey HolyMouse and hope that this book continues for the better keep it up . Please give this book a try guys not the best at reviews but the book has a special place in my heart .
October 11, 2025
After an hour and twenty minutes into it, the author is still telling rather than showing more than I'm into.
We have some earth guy (typical, unremarkable, dull) who dropped into a body that 'had the occupying spirit punched out of it'. Zero explanation of why the spirit was hanging around for three days. If the spirit was going around body to body to occupy them and pick up new experiences it would have been more interesting.
On the positive side, the narrator did a good job on the audio book.
This one just isn't for me.
We have some earth guy (typical, unremarkable, dull) who dropped into a body that 'had the occupying spirit punched out of it'. Zero explanation of why the spirit was hanging around for three days. If the spirit was going around body to body to occupy them and pick up new experiences it would have been more interesting.
On the positive side, the narrator did a good job on the audio book.
This one just isn't for me.
November 26, 2025
A very pleasant surprise. It was clear that the author has a love of Xianxia novels, and a good knowledge of them. The story was interesting, with a nice blend of a lot of slice-of-life / academic learning of his new world, mixed with action. My only main issue is that the author was a little too repetitive in his wording - he used "jade-like beauty" seemingly 100 times in a chapter. Ditto with his description of the rarity of Earth techniques. However, for a debut author, this is easily overlooked
December 19, 2025
Cultivation Nerd, book one of the Cultivation Nerd: A Xianxia Progression Fantasy series, is an ebook I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited (KU). Apparently, this book was originally launched as a serial, which explains some of the overlap and repetition, but no worries, the writer keeps the reader absorbed so we ignore those pesky like, well duh, we know this, moments. My first time reading this author, but I found the writing engaging and creative. I'll be waiting for the next book in the series.
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