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The Undying Immortal System #1
Undying Alchemist: A LitRPG Adventure
A weak soul must not cultivate. Madness consumes the weak of mind. Eternal servitude awaits the weak of heart.
Su Fang arrives in a realm of cultivation unprepared—no skills, no knowledge, and no backing. Like everyone else in this new world, he is given a blessing from the Heavenly Dao to help him succeed, but Su Fang's blessing isn't power over the elements or mastery of profound arts. No, it takes a brutal lesson to teach him that he’s been ‘blessed’ with repetition.
Every time he dies, he returns to the moment of his arrival. The young cultivator uses each reset to grind skills, refine his inner essence, and empower his very soul, using only the memories of countless failures. Each death is another lesson, each life another chance. Yet the world is ruthless, and time alone won’t be enough for Su Fang to make his mark; especially when every reset washes away not only his mistakes, but his triumphs.
In a land where even the strong perish, his fate is he’s an immortal destined to die. Over and over.
Su Fang arrives in a realm of cultivation unprepared—no skills, no knowledge, and no backing. Like everyone else in this new world, he is given a blessing from the Heavenly Dao to help him succeed, but Su Fang's blessing isn't power over the elements or mastery of profound arts. No, it takes a brutal lesson to teach him that he’s been ‘blessed’ with repetition.
Every time he dies, he returns to the moment of his arrival. The young cultivator uses each reset to grind skills, refine his inner essence, and empower his very soul, using only the memories of countless failures. Each death is another lesson, each life another chance. Yet the world is ruthless, and time alone won’t be enough for Su Fang to make his mark; especially when every reset washes away not only his mistakes, but his triumphs.
In a land where even the strong perish, his fate is he’s an immortal destined to die. Over and over.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 10, 2025
395 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
October 3, 2025
DNF
I read about 62% of the book then had to stop. The premise was interesting, but it got progressively worse as the book progressed. The MC is not likable. All he does is cultivate and practice alchemy. He doesn’t have friends or romantic relationships. There is very little tension after the first quarter of the book. No real antagonists, just practice and more practice.
I read about 62% of the book then had to stop. The premise was interesting, but it got progressively worse as the book progressed. The MC is not likable. All he does is cultivate and practice alchemy. He doesn’t have friends or romantic relationships. There is very little tension after the first quarter of the book. No real antagonists, just practice and more practice.
November 14, 2025
What an incredibly depressing book!
A continuous cycle of failure and dying. Being mentally manipulated and used by others. An extremely slow advancement to have 90% of it ripped away. What an incredibly chilly cultivation novel. The only thing you can hope is may be in the next novel things get better. That is if you’re willing to continue reading this series after such a miserable first book. Hopefully starting at the bottom, the only direction you can go is up.
A continuous cycle of failure and dying. Being mentally manipulated and used by others. An extremely slow advancement to have 90% of it ripped away. What an incredibly chilly cultivation novel. The only thing you can hope is may be in the next novel things get better. That is if you’re willing to continue reading this series after such a miserable first book. Hopefully starting at the bottom, the only direction you can go is up.
September 10, 2025
Read it on Royal Road. It's good, but a little frustrating by how the MC just isn't using the full potential of his power. It gets better in the next books and there is some kind of explanation about his inaptitude. Not explicitly stated, but somewhat implied. Overall I'm still following the story live on Royal Road and will be buying the books to support the author.
October 10, 2025
This is a very long and rather monotonous book
The protagonist basically does nothing from page one to when he finally finds out why he keeps getting reborn. He builds no relationships nor does actually take any action to change his circumstances or even investigate why he keeps being reborn. The writing is readable but the protagonist is two dimensional and robotic.
The protagonist basically does nothing from page one to when he finally finds out why he keeps getting reborn. He builds no relationships nor does actually take any action to change his circumstances or even investigate why he keeps being reborn. The writing is readable but the protagonist is two dimensional and robotic.
October 19, 2025
Decent cultivation novel, rogue-like twist.
February 27, 2026
Main character is an unlikable moron.
He could live all sorts of fun lives... but instead he sets himself up to get killed or tortured or whatever other depressing shit.
The MC never seeks out companionship. Never seems to talk to anyone. HE NEVER ASKS PEOPLE QUESTIONS. Only asks the System questions. It makes no sense. In one life he literally works for 100 years making pills, and DOES NOTHING ELSE. You gotta be shitting me with this crap.
Ask this moron what he wants out of life: Uhh, errr... cultivation, and uhhh uhh, making pills, uhhh.
Seriously WTF is this book? Life seems to just be scams and cultivation.
DNF 31%
He could live all sorts of fun lives... but instead he sets himself up to get killed or tortured or whatever other depressing shit.
The MC never seeks out companionship. Never seems to talk to anyone. HE NEVER ASKS PEOPLE QUESTIONS. Only asks the System questions. It makes no sense. In one life he literally works for 100 years making pills, and DOES NOTHING ELSE. You gotta be shitting me with this crap.
Ask this moron what he wants out of life: Uhh, errr... cultivation, and uhhh uhh, making pills, uhhh.
Seriously WTF is this book? Life seems to just be scams and cultivation.
DNF 31%
February 28, 2026
I wanted to like it. it had a really good premise for rags to riches or zero to hero. Somewhere along the way, though, it kind of just fell into a loop without even the facade of anything different. There aren't even really any secondary characters. By the time I quit reading, it didn't feel like any of his gains were meaningful. It might get better and I might miss out, but I got as far as I could go.
February 12, 2026
I decided to rate the books only after finishing the first three books.
The protagonist is a driven bore with no agenda of his own. Despite having been reborn he shows no hobbies, interests or skills from his former life. On the contrary, he starts as a unskilled loser who spends a thousand years and dozens of life to become better. Don't expect any romance or real action - the story is repetitively about cultivation (again and again) and endless studying..
The protagonist is a driven bore with no agenda of his own. Despite having been reborn he shows no hobbies, interests or skills from his former life. On the contrary, he starts as a unskilled loser who spends a thousand years and dozens of life to become better. Don't expect any romance or real action - the story is repetitively about cultivation (again and again) and endless studying..
October 25, 2025
Boring
This whole book was a slog. Especially after the half way point, it is just boring, repetitive navel gazing.
Note to self: Do not continue with prejudice
This whole book was a slog. Especially after the half way point, it is just boring, repetitive navel gazing.
Note to self: Do not continue with prejudice
March 5, 2026
Reviewing the series, not just the novel.
Very rough pseudo-Xianxia with little depth.
So, first of all: as a book about alchemy - even Xianxia alchemy - this novel fails entirely. Alchemy here means: you take a single plant, you perform some Qi-BS on it, boom: out pops a pill. There are no adventures of finding rare alchemical reagents, carefully evaluating and combining them in complex procedures... you take a cheap plant, you put some Qi in it: that's it. That's not really the spirit of alchemy, is it?
The protagonist is so laughably bad at literally anything and everything he does, that even after many hundreds of years, he always stays sub-par at it compared to people with a mere few years of experience. I'm not exaggerating this, that's basically the entire premise this novel builds around. Be prepared to watch the protagonist fail at everything over and over again for very little payoff.
The "undying" part of the novel honestly becomes mostly irrelevant after a while. You usually spend most of a novel on a single life, to a point where it's nothing but tedious and you'll beg for him to finally "start anew".
The Xianxia world is incredibly rough: you rarely get to read about the world's culture (there are even several instances vaguely implying, this world basically has no such thing), and it you do, it's some incredibly weird mixture of Xianxia and modern western society. That really didn't work for me. Imagine a Xianxia world, but suddenly, the character is in a huge apartment complex, visits a modern cafeteria and is part of a late capitalism - multi million people - industrial complex. I was waiting for there to be some kind of explanation for this, but no: the world is just a bit weird and inconsistent.
The cultivation mechanics are bad and seemingly change whenever it suits the story. Usually, cultivation has literally no noticeable effects, so as a Xianxia series, this is a bit of a failure. Sometimes though, all of a sudden, the character is now stronger than he was, depending on his cultivation level, but also sometimes he isn't - you get the point: there are no rules to how the power progression works, it's entirely arbitrary, and if that's not a nail in the coffin for a Xianxia story, then I don't know.
What's worse, though:
Cultivation here never involves introspection, the Dao or defying the heavens or whatnot, it just means: do the correct mechanical task with your Qi. It's like this was written by somebody who is vaguely familiar with the idea of Xianxia, but doesn't really understand what it's supposed to be about. You can only read about somebody doing random BS shapes with their Qi so many times, before it loses all meaning.
Without the introspective aspect of cultivation, basically no combat (worth mentioning) whatsoever, no interpersonal relationships or even interesting (side-) characters, a depressingly submissive main character, and extremely lackluster alchemy... I don't really understand what this novel is supposed to be. I kept reading, hoping the plot would go somewhere, but it just doesn't: it stagnates entirely, to a point where I don't understand why this series even exists. The process isn't particularly interesting, engaging or creative and the plot is entirely nonexistent. Characters beyond the protagonist are almost irrelevant and the main character basically has no personality. If the cultivation were well thought out or engaging, at least, it could still be fun: it just isn't, though.
Very rough pseudo-Xianxia with little depth.
So, first of all: as a book about alchemy - even Xianxia alchemy - this novel fails entirely. Alchemy here means: you take a single plant, you perform some Qi-BS on it, boom: out pops a pill. There are no adventures of finding rare alchemical reagents, carefully evaluating and combining them in complex procedures... you take a cheap plant, you put some Qi in it: that's it. That's not really the spirit of alchemy, is it?
The protagonist is so laughably bad at literally anything and everything he does, that even after many hundreds of years, he always stays sub-par at it compared to people with a mere few years of experience. I'm not exaggerating this, that's basically the entire premise this novel builds around. Be prepared to watch the protagonist fail at everything over and over again for very little payoff.
The "undying" part of the novel honestly becomes mostly irrelevant after a while. You usually spend most of a novel on a single life, to a point where it's nothing but tedious and you'll beg for him to finally "start anew".
The Xianxia world is incredibly rough: you rarely get to read about the world's culture (there are even several instances vaguely implying, this world basically has no such thing), and it you do, it's some incredibly weird mixture of Xianxia and modern western society. That really didn't work for me. Imagine a Xianxia world, but suddenly, the character is in a huge apartment complex, visits a modern cafeteria and is part of a late capitalism - multi million people - industrial complex. I was waiting for there to be some kind of explanation for this, but no: the world is just a bit weird and inconsistent.
The cultivation mechanics are bad and seemingly change whenever it suits the story. Usually, cultivation has literally no noticeable effects, so as a Xianxia series, this is a bit of a failure. Sometimes though, all of a sudden, the character is now stronger than he was, depending on his cultivation level, but also sometimes he isn't - you get the point: there are no rules to how the power progression works, it's entirely arbitrary, and if that's not a nail in the coffin for a Xianxia story, then I don't know.
What's worse, though:
Cultivation here never involves introspection, the Dao or defying the heavens or whatnot, it just means: do the correct mechanical task with your Qi. It's like this was written by somebody who is vaguely familiar with the idea of Xianxia, but doesn't really understand what it's supposed to be about. You can only read about somebody doing random BS shapes with their Qi so many times, before it loses all meaning.
Without the introspective aspect of cultivation, basically no combat (worth mentioning) whatsoever, no interpersonal relationships or even interesting (side-) characters, a depressingly submissive main character, and extremely lackluster alchemy... I don't really understand what this novel is supposed to be. I kept reading, hoping the plot would go somewhere, but it just doesn't: it stagnates entirely, to a point where I don't understand why this series even exists. The process isn't particularly interesting, engaging or creative and the plot is entirely nonexistent. Characters beyond the protagonist are almost irrelevant and the main character basically has no personality. If the cultivation were well thought out or engaging, at least, it could still be fun: it just isn't, though.
October 12, 2025
Wow what a rough beginning
This book was a recommendation for me. I can definitely see why as it is somewhat similar to my normal fair when it comes to reading for entertainment. Let me explain a little bit. We've got a main character who supposedly dies trying to save his sister. We know nothing about the sister or what kind of trouble she was in and neither does our main character. You see he's in a bit of a groundhog situation. He's died so many times that has worn the details off of his first life. Now there was an offer and he did agree to it. When I was being introduced to the story I figured that he would simply be going from world to world or realm to Realm every time he died. I wasn't expecting the same people in the same town in the same building repeating ad nauseam. To be fair that's just a healthy chunk of the beginning of the story. We do get a few timelines where are main character makes different choices and actually makes it into his old age before dying and we start again. I've got no idea now that I'm at the ending of the story where exactly the story supposed to be going. We never really get a good look at the wider world. I will say that this is the first story that I've read by this author and halfway through I switched over to the audiobook. The narrator did a fantastic job and a familiar with his past performances. Seriously I've never seen the guy do a bad job. That was really the highlight of the book. I will say though that now that I'm at the end I am somewhat interested in what happens next. I will say that it's fortunate that the sequel is supposed to be out in Just 2 weeks. If it had been longer than that, and to be honest that may be too long in and of itself, I probably wouldn't be returning for the sequel. I don't particularly care for Cliffhangers although I suppose this is an exactly a cliffhanger and I suppose it is better to have middling feelings about a story then outright hate it. Our main character dies a lot and horribly. It's just this last one where he gets to do it with a bunch of supporting characters. I don't necessarily consider it any kind of a spoiler as it's a groundhog situation and he resets every time he dies. Honestly if you've ever read a book along those lines then you're more or less know what you're in for. The only question is how brutal it's going to be and whether or not there's any redeeming features. At this point I would say it's to be determined.
This book was a recommendation for me. I can definitely see why as it is somewhat similar to my normal fair when it comes to reading for entertainment. Let me explain a little bit. We've got a main character who supposedly dies trying to save his sister. We know nothing about the sister or what kind of trouble she was in and neither does our main character. You see he's in a bit of a groundhog situation. He's died so many times that has worn the details off of his first life. Now there was an offer and he did agree to it. When I was being introduced to the story I figured that he would simply be going from world to world or realm to Realm every time he died. I wasn't expecting the same people in the same town in the same building repeating ad nauseam. To be fair that's just a healthy chunk of the beginning of the story. We do get a few timelines where are main character makes different choices and actually makes it into his old age before dying and we start again. I've got no idea now that I'm at the ending of the story where exactly the story supposed to be going. We never really get a good look at the wider world. I will say that this is the first story that I've read by this author and halfway through I switched over to the audiobook. The narrator did a fantastic job and a familiar with his past performances. Seriously I've never seen the guy do a bad job. That was really the highlight of the book. I will say though that now that I'm at the end I am somewhat interested in what happens next. I will say that it's fortunate that the sequel is supposed to be out in Just 2 weeks. If it had been longer than that, and to be honest that may be too long in and of itself, I probably wouldn't be returning for the sequel. I don't particularly care for Cliffhangers although I suppose this is an exactly a cliffhanger and I suppose it is better to have middling feelings about a story then outright hate it. Our main character dies a lot and horribly. It's just this last one where he gets to do it with a bunch of supporting characters. I don't necessarily consider it any kind of a spoiler as it's a groundhog situation and he resets every time he dies. Honestly if you've ever read a book along those lines then you're more or less know what you're in for. The only question is how brutal it's going to be and whether or not there's any redeeming features. At this point I would say it's to be determined.
February 18, 2026
3 I Just Need To Expand It Until Its Large Enough To Contain An Entire World Stars
Undying Alchemist is the first book in The Undying Immortal System series by Greg Tolley.
I feel like I have spent this entire book holding out, waiting for it to go somewhere. Progress was made, Su Fang has advanced beyond his lacking original abilities and poor fate. Apparently dying nearly 60 times nets a magnitude of centuries lived; that you can barely remember, where you dont learn very much at all, and one dedicated profession does not advance to even mastery. Perhaps I am weighing his achievements against the expectations of OP characters?
Su Fang does not appear to understand his own path either. He is slow to commit to any course of action. It takes half the book before he amounts to anything. Most of his choices I disagree with. But mostly I disagree with his lack of regard for the state of the world around him, even to the point that he dismisses dying at the same time in multiple lives with little regard. The author writes it off as the mental effects of his cultivation techniques having lasting affects on his decision-making abilities. That just seems like a cop out.
The authors voice and way of writing are enjoyable. The cadence, the flow of the words, makes for a wonderful experience. But at the end of this book it seems clear the author did not have a sure understanding of his main character or his world building.
I find myself intrigued with certain aspects of the mystery. What lies beyond the Wastes? Where will Su go from here? What is Heavenly Dao conspiring for? Is there an ultimate goal to his reincarnation? What lies beyond the system? Will he ever stop waffling between making connections and distancing himself? How much more build up will we have to wade through to reach the conclusion?
Undying Alchemist is the first book in The Undying Immortal System series by Greg Tolley.
I feel like I have spent this entire book holding out, waiting for it to go somewhere. Progress was made, Su Fang has advanced beyond his lacking original abilities and poor fate. Apparently dying nearly 60 times nets a magnitude of centuries lived; that you can barely remember, where you dont learn very much at all, and one dedicated profession does not advance to even mastery. Perhaps I am weighing his achievements against the expectations of OP characters?
Su Fang does not appear to understand his own path either. He is slow to commit to any course of action. It takes half the book before he amounts to anything. Most of his choices I disagree with. But mostly I disagree with his lack of regard for the state of the world around him, even to the point that he dismisses dying at the same time in multiple lives with little regard. The author writes it off as the mental effects of his cultivation techniques having lasting affects on his decision-making abilities. That just seems like a cop out.
The authors voice and way of writing are enjoyable. The cadence, the flow of the words, makes for a wonderful experience. But at the end of this book it seems clear the author did not have a sure understanding of his main character or his world building.
I find myself intrigued with certain aspects of the mystery. What lies beyond the Wastes? Where will Su go from here? What is Heavenly Dao conspiring for? Is there an ultimate goal to his reincarnation? What lies beyond the system? Will he ever stop waffling between making connections and distancing himself? How much more build up will we have to wade through to reach the conclusion?
August 31, 2025
This book has not released on Amazon yet, but I have been reading it on Royal Road.
I am pretty sure that I will buy the book on Kindle as a thank you to the author for the posts on R.R.
I am giving the book max stars, even though I am not happy with everything the author has done.
The primary reason for my rating is that the author writes a pretty smart story. Not every move of the protagonist is a good one, but there is a rational/logical reason for what happens.
That is so bloody refreshing! So many indy writers don't have a plot or a bible before they hit the keyboard. Many just "wing it", and promptly write themselves into a corner. The next thing that you learn is that the novel that you kinda' dug, is suddenly on hiatus. Nice ideas, poor execution.
This book/series has probably gone farther than 90% of the works on R.R., and the story still makes sense. The story has serious continuity unlike so many others in this genre.
Personally, I think that the main character is too nice and altruistic. But, he is not a complete, thumb sucking idiot. So, there is that. Heh! :-)
*The protagonist is getting dangerously close to singing Kumbaya in later books/chapters, but he does not stare into his belly button when someone tries to kill him. Don't you hate it when characters do that?*
I am pretty sure that I will buy the book on Kindle as a thank you to the author for the posts on R.R.
I am giving the book max stars, even though I am not happy with everything the author has done.
The primary reason for my rating is that the author writes a pretty smart story. Not every move of the protagonist is a good one, but there is a rational/logical reason for what happens.
That is so bloody refreshing! So many indy writers don't have a plot or a bible before they hit the keyboard. Many just "wing it", and promptly write themselves into a corner. The next thing that you learn is that the novel that you kinda' dug, is suddenly on hiatus. Nice ideas, poor execution.
This book/series has probably gone farther than 90% of the works on R.R., and the story still makes sense. The story has serious continuity unlike so many others in this genre.
Personally, I think that the main character is too nice and altruistic. But, he is not a complete, thumb sucking idiot. So, there is that. Heh! :-)
*The protagonist is getting dangerously close to singing Kumbaya in later books/chapters, but he does not stare into his belly button when someone tries to kill him. Don't you hate it when characters do that?*
January 20, 2026
I just got an amazing surprise from Mountaindale press. I just received this amazing audiobook from Greg Tolley. also I wanna thank M Dale Man for choosing me and sending me this audiobook.
interesting starts off kinda rough where the mc constantly dies and keeps getting knocked back to the beginning. as the story continues he learns what and what not to do also his cultivation makes him go a little crazy. soon he becomes an alchemist. he gets betrayed by his teacher and then again knocked back to the start. he then gets away and starts his journey. he meets a shop owner who then guides him on the path to learning more about alchemy without the teacher who betrayed him. he enrolled in a school to learn how to grow his skill. ok so im halfway through and im struggling. it started off really slow and then kinda picked up and now im just in a stalemate. Im hoping it will pick back up.
ok so it did pick back up and has ended up being a great book through trial and error Su Fang is on his way to mastering alchemy. im glad that i stuck through the book i was unsure if id enjoy it but ended up being on my top 10 list.
interesting starts off kinda rough where the mc constantly dies and keeps getting knocked back to the beginning. as the story continues he learns what and what not to do also his cultivation makes him go a little crazy. soon he becomes an alchemist. he gets betrayed by his teacher and then again knocked back to the start. he then gets away and starts his journey. he meets a shop owner who then guides him on the path to learning more about alchemy without the teacher who betrayed him. he enrolled in a school to learn how to grow his skill. ok so im halfway through and im struggling. it started off really slow and then kinda picked up and now im just in a stalemate. Im hoping it will pick back up.
ok so it did pick back up and has ended up being a great book through trial and error Su Fang is on his way to mastering alchemy. im glad that i stuck through the book i was unsure if id enjoy it but ended up being on my top 10 list.
October 27, 2025
There's something addictive about this story. It's like watching a video of someone building a house solo (with no experience) while narrating every option and frustration. I'm a little surprised that I didn't get fed-up with the slow pace and monotone plot.
The protagonist is a tad bland. Su Fang occasionally gets angry and frustrated but that's about it. The magic/progression system is classic Wuxia with the same gate-kept cultivation manuals preventing students from advancing at their own pace. For the most part, Su Fang accepts these restrictions, knowing his regression gift will eventually overcome all barriers.
One deviation from the norm, which I appreciated, the sect that Su Fang spent the most time in has rules against violence of all kinds. So, from that point forward, there was a pleasant lack of bullying.
This sounds like a negative review, but it's not. I was engaged throughout and will be reading the next book in this series. So long as Su Fang keeps fighting the good fight, and making progress, I suspect I'll continue reading.
The protagonist is a tad bland. Su Fang occasionally gets angry and frustrated but that's about it. The magic/progression system is classic Wuxia with the same gate-kept cultivation manuals preventing students from advancing at their own pace. For the most part, Su Fang accepts these restrictions, knowing his regression gift will eventually overcome all barriers.
One deviation from the norm, which I appreciated, the sect that Su Fang spent the most time in has rules against violence of all kinds. So, from that point forward, there was a pleasant lack of bullying.
This sounds like a negative review, but it's not. I was engaged throughout and will be reading the next book in this series. So long as Su Fang keeps fighting the good fight, and making progress, I suspect I'll continue reading.
September 10, 2025
Like the cultivation process in this book, building a proper foundation for a book series isn't always a fast process. This book takes its time to build out the rules of the world especially regarding cultivation and advancement. It literally takes lifetimes in this pursuit as this book follows Re:Zero and Groundhog Day in the way the MC dies and resets to a set checkpoint using his knowledge of the previous lives and the "system currency" to advance in better ways in the future.
This book is heavily focused on inner monologue. The MC is isolated for most of the book with his own thoughts and musings about the cultivation process. This makes Daniel Wisniewski a perfect narrator. He gives off 1985 Dune vibes with the way he narrates the inner monologue of the MC.
Overall, this is a great first entry for a series. I look forward to seeing how the world expands and grows now that the foundation is built.
This book is heavily focused on inner monologue. The MC is isolated for most of the book with his own thoughts and musings about the cultivation process. This makes Daniel Wisniewski a perfect narrator. He gives off 1985 Dune vibes with the way he narrates the inner monologue of the MC.
Overall, this is a great first entry for a series. I look forward to seeing how the world expands and grows now that the foundation is built.
October 26, 2025
DNF around 60%
Interesting premise, bad execution and dumb MC. 12h into an audiobook is too long to feel like it's just the start of the book with all the basic questions/info dumps and powerless MC that is in a time loop but is too sorry for himself to do anything about it.
If you want to look at how a good way this is done, then Stubborn Skillgrinder does it 5x better. It's way faster, which I'd slow down, but this one is just boring.
The world is much darker but the MC slowly figures out how to improve, then it's betrayal, or arrogant young masters, but he always ends up being deferential to w.e sect he's choosing to let abuse him this time around. There's a little hope that he improves, then he finds out something that invalidates what he knew, knows his mind is being messed with, but does nothing to change that. Lives to 90 a few times already, still suck.
Bleh, there are better things to read.
Interesting premise, bad execution and dumb MC. 12h into an audiobook is too long to feel like it's just the start of the book with all the basic questions/info dumps and powerless MC that is in a time loop but is too sorry for himself to do anything about it.
If you want to look at how a good way this is done, then Stubborn Skillgrinder does it 5x better. It's way faster, which I'd slow down, but this one is just boring.
The world is much darker but the MC slowly figures out how to improve, then it's betrayal, or arrogant young masters, but he always ends up being deferential to w.e sect he's choosing to let abuse him this time around. There's a little hope that he improves, then he finds out something that invalidates what he knew, knows his mind is being messed with, but does nothing to change that. Lives to 90 a few times already, still suck.
Bleh, there are better things to read.
December 9, 2025
This book was really interesting and has some amazing world building but you have to get to about 20% of the way through the book to even realize it's potential. That first 20% isn't a slog, it's just not anything special and for some readers something they have read countless times.
Once you get past that the book is interesting beyond all belief. The main character seems to emulate what a person would try and do going through multiple lives. Now there is a caveot here, most everyone would break after a few lives and not have this motivation or interest. Most would also want people or love which this character doesn't seek out and in the love department actively avoids. I will add that my last statement makes it appear as if there are women or men interested in him and this is completely false.
The end of the book is slow and heavy on the cultivation and how it actually works This leads it to become dull but still the world building and overall story carry the book.
Once you get past that the book is interesting beyond all belief. The main character seems to emulate what a person would try and do going through multiple lives. Now there is a caveot here, most everyone would break after a few lives and not have this motivation or interest. Most would also want people or love which this character doesn't seek out and in the love department actively avoids. I will add that my last statement makes it appear as if there are women or men interested in him and this is completely false.
The end of the book is slow and heavy on the cultivation and how it actually works This leads it to become dull but still the world building and overall story carry the book.
January 2, 2026
Su Fang is thrown to the realm of cultivators, surprised he starts asking questions just to die within minutes. To his surprise, he comes back within minutes. Just to be killed once again. On his third instance he realizes he should stop asking questions and start looking around. He last a little longer. After he finally decides that surviving is a good idea, he understands and starts cultivating. Just to fall prey again to more gifted cultivators around him. He finally works out a plan and extends his life by choosing to be an alchemist instead of a martial artist. His learning curve is pretty harsh but with every life he advances. After a bunch of deaths, he is now working with the system to really improve himself as he discovers cheats to make his body and cultivation strong from the beginning.
Found it really interesting and I can't wait to read the series.
Found it really interesting and I can't wait to read the series.
September 13, 2025
The starting few chapters were full of mystery and surprises as the main character Fang has to navigate not only a new world but also adjust to the System he had been given. At first it seemed like Fang got the wrong end of a deal, but with every new information revealed, he got better at handling the new circumstances and even begin to thrive after settling at a profession he enjoys.
Like many cultivation settings, this series started in a remote location and a clan that hardly had anything positive to write about. That served as a good contrast when Fang eventually found his way to other places. Of course, the larger continent remained much of a mystery even by the end of this book.
Overall, a highly enjoyable book for those who like crafting stories and intricate worldbuilding.
Like many cultivation settings, this series started in a remote location and a clan that hardly had anything positive to write about. That served as a good contrast when Fang eventually found his way to other places. Of course, the larger continent remained much of a mystery even by the end of this book.
Overall, a highly enjoyable book for those who like crafting stories and intricate worldbuilding.
October 18, 2025
if you like alchemy, time loop stories, very little action you will like this book
This is a time loop story about an alchemist if you like time loops, you will like the story, the story centers much on the alchemist building his cultivation and learning how to create pills. There’s very little action in this book, a lot of intrigue and political machinations. If you like this type of book, you will enjoy the story. If you are action oriented, you will not. I decided to give this book a try because I do like some time loop stories but this wasn’t one of them. I’m still giving it four stars because of its premise and I actually read it to the end.
This is a time loop story about an alchemist if you like time loops, you will like the story, the story centers much on the alchemist building his cultivation and learning how to create pills. There’s very little action in this book, a lot of intrigue and political machinations. If you like this type of book, you will enjoy the story. If you are action oriented, you will not. I decided to give this book a try because I do like some time loop stories but this wasn’t one of them. I’m still giving it four stars because of its premise and I actually read it to the end.
December 5, 2025
Repetitive and boring.
Goes into too much detail for mechanics that are ultimately irrelevant to the story and quickly forgotten.
The story itself is just one long training montage with a very low payout.
It needs a lot faster pace, MC needs goals and to show tangible practical progress.
Creating one pill just to make another pill and be exploited by one group just to progress to being exploited by another is plain boring and excruciatingly monotonous when this is all the book has.
This whole book story should be squished into no more than 20-30% of a book and move onto the MC actually doing something, progressing, taking action and succeeding in his strength and goals.
Goes into too much detail for mechanics that are ultimately irrelevant to the story and quickly forgotten.
The story itself is just one long training montage with a very low payout.
It needs a lot faster pace, MC needs goals and to show tangible practical progress.
Creating one pill just to make another pill and be exploited by one group just to progress to being exploited by another is plain boring and excruciatingly monotonous when this is all the book has.
This whole book story should be squished into no more than 20-30% of a book and move onto the MC actually doing something, progressing, taking action and succeeding in his strength and goals.
December 29, 2025
A very good LitRPG book, 3.5 stars.
* Good parts:
- The MC path is not simplistic. Some story turns were beautiful.
- The world is vast and complex.
- Time loop idea which I love.
* Less good parts:
- I felt like reading a PhD in fantasy chemistry. I don't think those ideas map into the real world so the knowledge was a bit heavy for the story line and unusable for me.
- The MC management style was tyranny sprayed with 'caring about the poor'. I found this typical when LitRPG authors made MC to manage others, not just himself. Comparing to other socialist bloodshed utopias, management in this book was not that bad.
* Good parts:
- The MC path is not simplistic. Some story turns were beautiful.
- The world is vast and complex.
- Time loop idea which I love.
* Less good parts:
- I felt like reading a PhD in fantasy chemistry. I don't think those ideas map into the real world so the knowledge was a bit heavy for the story line and unusable for me.
- The MC management style was tyranny sprayed with 'caring about the poor'. I found this typical when LitRPG authors made MC to manage others, not just himself. Comparing to other socialist bloodshed utopias, management in this book was not that bad.
February 2, 2026
Excellent and well-written Cultivation novel inside an isekai time loop. I enjoy the tropes of these kinds of stories (though the brutality of Xianxia can sometimes be too much for me), and I am always interested in a Crafting narrative given how much combat-oriented content I usually read. The MC is interesting enough. More importantly, he's not a complete monster; the story is really clear about the influence of cultivation on a personality and his introspection at the start of a new loop / during the growth of his cultivation are sensible and compelling. I also feel like readers are being led down fewer false paths than most serialized web novels (which sometimes abandon ideas in unsatisfying ways). The time loop mechanic certainly builds in an easy 'eject' switch from bad ideas (not that there have been many, if any). The ending of Book 1 is super cinematic and exciting.
September 12, 2025
Started reading it while it was on Royal Road, and still follow the chapter releases to this day. Rereading the first book after the Amazon launch reminded me of why I loved the story so much.
The story takes a unique approach to a cultivation world, and we get to see the main character struggle and fumble several times before he finally gets his feet under him, and his time looping power doesn't feel like a get out of jail free card.
The story takes a unique approach to a cultivation world, and we get to see the main character struggle and fumble several times before he finally gets his feet under him, and his time looping power doesn't feel like a get out of jail free card.
November 9, 2025
Undying? More like always dying.
An odd story. The main character receives a “gift” that reincarnates him at the same point each time he dies. By the end of the book, he has died uncountable times and learned from each experience. Mostly he uses the experience to continue improving along his path. It doesn’t feel like there is a primary enemy he is fighting, other than knowledge itself.
An odd story. The main character receives a “gift” that reincarnates him at the same point each time he dies. By the end of the book, he has died uncountable times and learned from each experience. Mostly he uses the experience to continue improving along his path. It doesn’t feel like there is a primary enemy he is fighting, other than knowledge itself.
December 4, 2025
It was a bit rough to get through. The beginning was absolutely painful. It seemed almost like the author just wanted to piss on the main character for the heck of it but, then transitioned to something a bit more grindy. That tempo carried through the rest of the book. It's a slow burn, but nothing that gave me goosebumps for major displays of power. Action seemed to pick up towards the end but who knows. It's book 1 so we'll see.
December 28, 2025
unique story
It’s not your usual progression story but I really enjoyed it. It’s about a man who isn’t quite living his life but trying hard all his life to progress. So not a usual tale and obviously alchemy focused so that might make reading a slog if you read for fights. It’s not that kind of story but of relentless progression of a determined character. I am definitely going to read the next book and looking forward to it.
It’s not your usual progression story but I really enjoyed it. It’s about a man who isn’t quite living his life but trying hard all his life to progress. So not a usual tale and obviously alchemy focused so that might make reading a slog if you read for fights. It’s not that kind of story but of relentless progression of a determined character. I am definitely going to read the next book and looking forward to it.
January 1, 2026
hermit
Going from survival mode to a hermit crafter over five hundred years of reincarnation, is this a blessing or a curse?
Guess he could sneak away for a life of leisure every so often, if he weren’t a workaholic.
Does cultivation techniques affect the soul on a permanent or semipermanent basis? Are his first lives of slavery still affecting him?
Is the ultimate goal learning to change himself, improve himself? Is it divinity?
Going from survival mode to a hermit crafter over five hundred years of reincarnation, is this a blessing or a curse?
Guess he could sneak away for a life of leisure every so often, if he weren’t a workaholic.
Does cultivation techniques affect the soul on a permanent or semipermanent basis? Are his first lives of slavery still affecting him?
Is the ultimate goal learning to change himself, improve himself? Is it divinity?
October 27, 2025
Isekai, timeloop, wuxia/xianxia series. Does non of the isekai tropes, some of the time loop, and a good part of the wuxia/xianxia ones. Oh and it's litrpg, but that part is only just a system shop. The book has actually some content to it. So 4/5 wuxia/xianxia stars to it, because that's what it's main stroke is.
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