There is no competition hands down this novel is best cn novel I have read up to date. And yea I have read heck a lot of novels. I love the writing, the worldbuilding, characters and the plot everything about this novel is top notch. I wont say more It is hailed as number one for a reason and it will surely exceed your expectation. If you have finished this go read my house of horrors that is another novel that made me binge asian horror movies like crazy. Maybe... more>> you wont like if you are not horror fan but it changed me completely and made me love horror genre. <<less

Probably one of the best novels for anyone that enjoys fantasy/adventure/mystery. I'll get right into it.

Pros: The first Pro is the lack of Cons.

This is probably the first novel where I feel like there are almost no cons. Like legit, flawless execution in making sure the plot flows smoothly. At every step of the way I'm like, "This makes sense. That character SHOULD act that way", or "Now it makes sense he acted that way, because of these circumstances that we only know now."

The magic system is amazing. There may... more>> exist ones that are on par with this one, but due to the way this magic system works, conflict is inevitable, and those that are merciless naturally rise to the top

It builds slowly. MC has a few advantages, but they are not THAT great. However, he leverages them as much as he possibly can, through bluffs and experimentation. A lot of novels would have rushed him to the top, and skipped his story of self-discovery, so you wouldn't know why he can do what he can do, or why he has become the person he has become. Instead it slowly and steadily builds him up, showing writing is usually not about the destination, but the journey.

Natural Character interactions. It is so relaxed and fluid, you rarely feel as though the interaction is only happening to move the plot from a to b. Instead you feel like the conversation happens, any outcome is possible, and the MC is trying to make B happen so he is trying to make the interaction get him to B, with varying degrees of success. Often the author will write a conversation that is very convenient for the plot, while this author will write their characters in such a way that when they act consistent with their motivations, the plot will progress.

Its hard to explain, but sometimes it feels like the plot/the world forces the characters to progress forward, things happen to them, and if things didn't happen to them than maybe they would never move forward. In this novel things ARE happening, and the characters ARE moving forward, and while there is a relationship between the characters and the plot/the world, such that they don't act in complete isolation of each other, so characters are responding to their situation in world, rather than existing for the purpose of pushing the plot in the right direction.

Possible cons, or why this novel might not be to your taste:

This novel is not a light read. It isn't drama heavy either, but there is real emotion, because you connect with the characters, and the world is not that kind.

It can feel slow, but thats because we've been conditioned to expect tr*sh. Usually we have arc 1, 2, 3, etc, and once those arcs are done who cares? They beat those villains, and so now for the arc4 villains - while this novel shows that every arc is relevant for future arcs, every tribulation is a stepping stone, at any point a character could be killed, and there are clues for the bigger mysteries hidden within these arc.

There is always this sense of possible foreshadowing, so you as the reader come across so much information and have to wonder "Will this be relevant?" The answer is not always yes, but that is like real life. There may be unnecessary details, but there are a lot of relevant details as well, so you understand the MC struggle to understand what exactly is going on, what are the secrets the world is hiding. What is deception, or false leads <<less

i rarely enjoy mystery novel because most of them are confusing but this one is easy to understand, especially the world building and power system. But what I like the most is the side characters, they have their own characteristic and not like a 2D passerby. The MC is clear-headed and not a simpleton who likes to intervene in other people's business (like most chinese wuxia novel)

Lord of the Mysteries (LotM) is a refreshing take on the classic Chinese cultivation theme. It is a beautiful blend of mystery, fantasy, and supernatural.

LotM is set during a Victorian-esque era of steam and industrialization within an alternative supernatural world. It comes complete with thoroughly thought-out lore that slowly expands as the mysteries unravel.

The mysteries have anything but obvious answers as often it is the smallest detail, assumedly the background exposition, that confounds you in the end. Beware of misdirection.

I might say that this is the best isekai novel, no op cheat, no chinese cliches, no harem, the characters feel pretty real and the MC personality is just amazing.

What more do you want?

This is the rarest of gems: a story with fantastic writing and nigh-impeccable translation quality; original and deep worldbuilding (including a fantasy take on Victorian England, Steampunk, Lovecraft, and the SCP Foundation) ; smart and likable characters with plenty of individuality and character growth; and so on.

Lord of the Mysteries is also notable for how it handles typical tropes: there's no harem here, nor are women described in sexualized ways. There's a strong and vivid focus on style, featuring e.g. Victorian gentlemen with top hats and canes. The protagonist is... more>> wonderfully risk-averse, so instead of courting death and then winning through pure luck, he rarely picks unfavorable fights, and always prepares himself extensively. He doesn't win all conflicts, and when he does, it's never due to dumb mistakes on his opponents' parts. The characters, including the antagonists, feel like characters, rather than caricatures. The protagonist has the inevitable cheat abilities of a transmigrator, but these are handled tastefully, with great care, and don't really involve combat; plus his most powerful opponents have their own cheat-like abilities to compete.

The story is almost but not quite perfect. In particular, the extensive world- and character-building make for a *very* slow pace. The first ~7 chapters in particular throw you into this new and unknown world without quite making the case why you should persevere. I advise persisting to chapter 8 or so, at which point the story becomes very rewarding, and stays so throughout its run.

This is truly an exceptional story, and my new highlight of the stories on Novel Updates and Webnovel (above Release that Witch, my previous highlight). It's also a rare example of a transmigration story done right. <<less

I love heavy world-building and characterization in stories and this is one of the best novels I read in both of these categories. The world feels like a real place and it has life! Everything doesn't revolve around the protagonist. All characters have motivation, purpose and more importantly flaws. The novel does start slow but it does reinforce and fleshes out the world for the later volumes.

This is the first translated web-novel that beats out over 90% of professionally edited published books that I've read in my life and I... more>> have read hundreds. If you are bored with the beginning, I recommend try reading to around chapter 100 if you have any patience at all. <<less

Probably one of the most enjoyable CN novel that I have every read, and it is a shame it isn't popularized at the moment.

The setting is probably one of its most striking characteristics, deeply inspired by elements from steampunk, and gothic horror. I am an avid fan of Cthulhu and the Dark Souls Series, so I was drawn right in.

So, where do I start?

I'm currently 419 chapters into this story. I've read it since it started translating on QI. I remember voting for it every day during it's voting period. I didn't have any particular reason to vote for it. I liked the picture. I know there's this whole thing about not judging a book by it's cover, but that saying is a load of sh*t anyway. If we don't judge things by what we first see them as then what, are we supposed to spend 5 minutes on... more>> every single thing we see? That's not possible. I voted for this novel because the cover picture looked nice. Not the one currently on novelupdates, but the one on QI. It looks very professional. Something about it screamed to me that it was going to be very good, and I was right. This novel is extremely good.

One of the things that I think makes this novel amazing is it's take on the supernatural. I don't think it's much of a spoiler if I describe the power system. You drink a potion, you get powers, permanent powers. You have to find the next potion in the chain of potions or you won't improve your powers any further. It's very original. See, when I first saw this book I was under the impression that it was a cultivation novel, and in certain aspects it is. In others however, it's far from it. Gaining strength is a decent point in the novel, I won't say it doesn't exist. However the main drive for the MC is to find answers to questions. So many questions. So many mysteries. Isn't it fitting? The name of the novel is Lord of Mysteries, if there were no mysteries then it wouldn't be entertaining. That isn't to say that this novel is a mystery novel, that isn't the case. It shares aspects with mystery novels, this is true, but it's not strictly a mystery novel, it's not overbearing. This novel is an isekai but the main character isn't an angsty teen. It's very mature, this novel. All manner of topics are discussed. Drugs, prostitution, mu*der, death. It's gritty, but not dramatically so. It's restrained, it doesn't try to be what it isn't, it doesn't play into well known tropes. There is NO harem. In-fact, the MC hasn't expressed s*xual interest in a single female or male character thus far. This novel is really golden. It's so unbelievably good. I'd probably rate it along the lines of the Harry Potter books if I'm being honest. It doesn't read like a light novel at all. It's very sophisticated, but not in an overly serious way. There's plenty of fun little comedic inserts, but they're used sparingly. This Author is a true artist with words. It's really hard to give this novel a review that does it justice. <<less

I can honestly say that this is an amazing novel. You've got mysteries, super-powers, detectives, fights, and f*cking ELDER GODS?!! Dude. This. Novel. Is. Amazing. The ranking is way too low for how much of a gem this is. Great read, highly recommend this.

Man, this novel sure has very interesting beginning, I felt this is so similar to Throne of Magical Arcana, in the premise and worldbuilding.

I really interested and fall in love with this novel as I binged it up to 150ch per day. Then I felt the climax of this novel at ch210-212, the end of volume 2.

And when I hope to get amazing continuity in v3. I start to felt this novel going downhill, author erase all of previous characters with new characters in new setting, with very little transition.... more>> It seems after v2 end, v3 is just a long filler that I cant even bear to read just scan and scroll quickly to learn if any important stuff in v1-v2 ever mentioned again.

I kind of understand why author make new setting with new characters as author lock MC with contract that author has set himself, which will make new progression become harder. But never mentioning other character that MC has met previously and made MC suddenly meet so many new characters, make the plot seems disjoined and forced. I felt I cant even share any sympathy to any new characters introduced after v3.

So for the moment I will drop this novel, and wait for v4-v5 to come out, and hopefully author can merge the characters from v1-v2 into the story again. <<less

The novel is really good, for some it might be considered slow but that just the author introducing the setting of the story. So far it has been interesting and have no complains.

Pros:

1. MC is not OP.
2. No Harem, as of the end of volume 4 there has not been a love interest.
3. MC is not sociopath or psychopath, I'm already sick of this type of characters.
4. The magic system is something new for me.

Cons:

1. Do not get to attached to the side characters, I believe a tragedy tag should be tag on this novel if it hasn't been done already.
2. There are a few repetitive details that should either not be mention or should be shorten, sometimes I feel there is too much redundancy.

PS: I will update as I read the English translation, I have... more>> read the raw through the MTL website and although I can grasp some of the story I might have miss important clues. <<less

Let me start this off by saying, this is amazing. It was unique with the power system and also explained the reason behind transmigration. It ended with a semi-cliffhanger and I'm definitely sure that many readers would be unable to sleep after reading this. The novel has no romance but I'm sure that it definitely portrays familial love properly, with the small mistake of how most siblings would act towards each other.

It's nice to see him willing to throw his humanity to save his family and it's also nice to... more>> see a protagonist that wants to go home. Most of the time, we see a protagonist that accepts their situation calmly. However this MC was surprised to see his situation and also constantly worried about how he would get home. Until he finds out that he is unable to go home and that the world is destined to doom! It's also funny to see him deliberately creating misunderstandings about how powerful he is to the tarot. To the point that they all think of him as some kind of God that lost his power. <<less

I... I'm still speechless to be honest.

It's hard for me to describe what I am feeling right now after finishing this novel. After approxiamately 2 months of nonstop reading I have finally finished this masterpiece. I'm both happy and very sad at the same time. It feels like I lost a good friend.

This novel is about a guy who transmigrated and scammed everyone into thinking he is a God until he actually became a God.

It's such a simple premise and yet I was so absorbed by the world and characters... more>> in this novel.

TBH, I was actually quite bored at the start of the novel. It has so many terms that was hard for me to understand since the author sometimes info dumped us due to how new the world and power system is. However as I read on, I keep wanting to know more and more until I found out that I was unable to extricate myself from this novel.

(If you're currently considering whether or not you should read this, please give this novel a chance. The 1st Volume might be slow for other people since it is just mostly worldbuilding. It is only at the end of the 1st novel that things start to get heated up.)

Anyways, I really enjoyed reading about the interactions between the members in the Tarot Club.

There were so many moments that I had to stop reading and take a breath for a while. It was my first time feeling the reading a novel can be so exhilirating.

Spoiler

AND THAT REVELATION IN CHERNOBYL OMG. I CRIED SO MUCH FOR KLEIN.

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One of the most interesting things that I have noticed while reading this novel is how the author portrayed the Main Character. At first he was a stranger. We know that he's a transmigrator from the modern era and that his only wish to go home. That's it.

As the story progress, I began to feel very close to the MC. He has so many funny and interesting inner dialouges and it began to feel like I was watching and cheering for my friend so that he can achieve his goal of going home.

Then in the later part of the story... It feels like he became a stranger again. I don't know why but he just felt... distant.

This is NOT a bad thing actually. Because once you progress to the plot you will know how keeping your humanity is one of the hardest thing to do when you are advancing into a higher level. It was not an abrupt change either. I just realized this when I kept mulling about the story after I finished reading the whole novel.

The fact the he's able to retain a large part of his humanity at the end was good but I really hope that...

Spoiler

he comes out on top against CW.

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As for the MC's goal. I've already said it multiple times.

He just wants to go home.

It's as simple as that. That has always been his primary goal. As for whether he can achieve his goal, you'll just have to read and see for yourself.

Highly recommended! Would definitely read again. Thank you to the author for making tis masterpiece and thank you to the translators who translated this so well too. <<less

It's the best book in my opinion. As someone who has read several hundreds of wuxia titles and literally millions of pages. It's a great story that's been planned to the end before it starts. It's. Beautiful. Fantastic. Fascinating. Mind blowing.

I have a tendency to avoid Chinese web novels since most of the times they are pretty bad but some masterpieces such as this that pop up every once in a while that beats even the top ranked novels from Korea and Japan. This even became my absolute favorite web novel that is very difficult to dethrone for how great the writing is.

The way every detail (no matter how small) piles up and slowly sets up future revelation and events is just mind blowing even those that feel like the... more>> author just wants to reference something. The world-building is so thorough that the history of this world is layered in more than 5 ancient eras while the environment of each kind of person was explored (the poor, the middle class, the rich, the nobles, the ones with supernatural powers, the ones that are without, etc.) and how they are affected with each milestone of the story. It has one of the best power systems I've seen that could still be entertaining even at the deity level of battles that relies mainly on wits, information and understanding rather than about having the higher power/level/stats/talents. The fights aren't monotonous since each pathway are significantly different from one another and each sequence has a qualitative change from the last. In addition, every power here (aside from consumables) has a significant downside and rules that affects those who use it. It can present horror through madness, unnerving atmosphere, and through gory descriptions that even made me a little sick from imagining it.

If all that still doesn't convince you, the characters are very good especially the MC. He is very careful and witty while still maintaining his humanity and personality in the midst of the growing madness and psychological dissonance he experiences from his power and we can see how his losses and experiences have severely affected him. It has a story that focuses on several characters that were thoroughly explored and developed, in addition the major characters are very likable. The emotional and psychological development of each character is so good that it is a joy to compare them from their first appearance to how they are at the end. What's more, there are little to no cliches here. For example, there are never any enemies that are complete idiots like the stereotypical young masters, douchy aristorcrats and bullies. Each of the enemies are dangerous because they know how to be careful while effectively making use of their powers.

The only cons I could think of are very miniscule such as one part of a volume felt uneventful, one battle in the volume before the last felt rushed, and there is no romance (hell this might be a plus for some since that means little to no drama).

So yeah, easily 10/10. Now waiting for the Book 2. Also plus points for the author in effectively using Bloodborne references. <<less

A masterpiece among masterpieces!

First an introduction of the novel status:

The novel isn't finished yet, what is finished is only book 1 out of 3 books, book 2 will start updating on March 4th of this year (2023).

Book 1 is divided into 8 volumes or say arcs, there is also additional 35 side chapters to book 1. I clarified all this bc alot of people think that the ending of of book 1 is the ending of the novel, bc they're unaware that the the novel still have two books to... more>> finish. That is to say, the "ending" that some people in the reviews are criticizing as being "incomplete" is not the ending of the novel, but only the ending of book 1, so ofc it's still "incomplete" bc the story was never meant to be completed in only book 1!!

Second, my first impression:

When I was first recommended this novel, I was told to wait until I finish reading the first volume bc it's a slow pace at the beginning.

Now I would like to say that I was reading the first volume with the idea that I've to be patient to complete volume 1 first before judging like the reccomends said, but my goodness I was hooked in from the first chapter!! Slow paced? Perhaps only for those who got too used to novels without any thorough worldbuliding.

Finally, why I think this novel is special (no spoilers) :

This perhaps might be one of the few novels that don't just gloss over particular events or instances with explanations of "it happened bc it happened and anyways" but continuously make you aware of why things went this way, the underlying reasons, and possible consequences. You will never be flabbergasted as to why a certain development happened and why it ended in a certain way.

Another thing that I quite like about this novel, is how we readers, just like the MC, are ignorant. Yes, ignorant. The MC get transmigrated to another world to a baffling and a scary situation, where he immediately have to hide some inconvenient traces or evidences, while trying hard to calm himself from panic and figure out why what happened to him, even happened. That baffling and scary situation he found himself in, is to say, the beginning of all future developments.

We the readers along with the MC, slowly understand and explore this new world in his desperate bid to find a way to return to his original world. Along the way, he discovers that this world have mysteries powers, both controlling and managing this world and sowing problems and tragedies. The regular people don't even know that such mysterious powers exist, and don't have any idea of the mysteries underlying this world that are constantly affecting the fragile peace they're living in. It's a world full of mysteries that just encountering, knowing, or understanding a very, very small part of them may lead someone to face indescribable danger, or in most instances die a terrifying death on the spot!

I won't reveal anything more about the novel, bc in my opinion, a heavy mystery genre novel like this should absolutely remain a mystery to you until you read it. That way you will have the great experience of facing all kinds of events and mysteries, and all kinds of feelings along with the MC during this journey.

An important reminder is that no matter what, beware of spoilers. <<less

Undoubtedly the finest book on this website and one of the 2 best I've read in 5 years.
I never ever thought that to read 1400 chapters without skipping anything.
First 80 or so chapters are monotonous to read, but it picks up momentum after that.

Story: Only one word-- genius

Characters: Very well done, it never once felt boring to read the POV of side characters, some of them are so good that I want a spin-off series dedicated to them (Emperor, Pallez, Azik, Evernight Goddess, Anderson and Catteliya)

Amon is already my favorite antagonist to ever exist

World Building: I love stories set in Victorian era, LoM is perfectly tailored for me. There's always so much going on: MI9, Churches, Pirates, Secret order, Aurora order, 0-08... and what not.

Writing + Translation: Not the best but Readable enough (8/10)

I really liked author's naming sense, be it the characters, sealed artifacts, ships, cities, potion names... and what not; THEY FELT REALLY COOL without being cringe.

Comedic elements were well written. Alright I'll stop now.

LoM Book 1:
Rating: 10/10
W+TL: 8/10

It is amazing and extremely interesting novel. This is one those novels where you can re-read the entire novel multiple times and still enjoy. Ofcourse the first time it became a little boring as every thing felt way too much detailed and overly explained but the second time I read this nothing felt extra and even reading the small details felt quite fun. Honestly, speaking I've already read it 3 times and am reading it the fourth time yet it still feels fun to read.

This novel is definitely not without its flaws, but the immense creativity shown throughout the novel was enough to compensate for it.

I'll start with the my favorite element in it; First, the world-building - It's spectacular. The world is so extensive that it feels like it's part of reality, with it's own hidden history, power system, religion, culture and timeline. There are numerous organizations that have their own thought processes, and each character have reasons for their decisions, however, these same characters are also one of the flaws of this... more>> novel. There are many significant and interesting side characters that 1400 chapters aren't enough to fully dive into them. The first 800 chapters or so didn't show any strong development aside from our protagonist. They all have a certain uniqueness surrounding them, but they weren't fleshed out enough, and I felt that they weren't given as much attention as the author did with the world-building. Of course, there are also characters whose developments were done really well; Half of the members of the Tarot Club, for example.

Regarding the story itself, LOTM feels like a slow descent down to a black abyss. It suffers from sluggish chapters and abrupt infodumps from time to time, but it's not without reason. All these descriptive texts are to fully build the world as you are constantly learning about the hidden history of Beyonders. The slice of life segments at the start of the story seem boring at first, but as you progress through the story, you'll realize the signifance of it.

I can't put my thoughts into much detail to avoid spoilers, but I'd recommend to just dive into the story and discover why readers like this novel. <<less