Great novel and even greater translations!

Currently I have read up to chapter 757

I think the way MC's apathy towards human-relationship is consistent with the mentality befitting of a Supreme entity or post-human god.

... more>> In my opinion, as an entity aged beyond normal lifespans or obtain transcendent powers then their point of views, behaviors and mentality should naturally deviate from a normal human's.

Unlike the protagonists from most Xianxia novels, where the MC has lived for thousands of years with godlike power but is still behaving like they were young mortal heroes, I think Leylin's character is much more pertinent.

I really enjoy reading this novel, and will always try my best to support the author and translation team. <<less

The first thing I want to say about this novel is that its translated incredibly well. It's easy to read and I hardly ever get confused about who's talking or what's being said.

Story-wise this isn't incredibly bad. If you like these "Other world" stories, then there is a lot you are use to, including OP MCs. There are a few things I find annoying about this series though.

1. "Harem"? This is tagged harem, but lets get something straight here -- this story has 1 character, Leylin. The rest of the characters are all forgettable and there is next to no time paid to developing them. In fact, I think the author trips up and forgets he/she killed a character previously in the story, only to mention them being alive again later on.
2. Leylin. He's an anti-hero MC. I guess because he was formerly a scientist he's suppose to smart and logical to a fault. The author spends a lot of time writing about how he's so in control of his emotions (ditto for most other mages). The problem though is that it makes him have pretty much no personality. Besides wanting to get more powerful, I couldn't tell you what things he loves or hates.
3. World building. Based on stuff in the story, one can assume the planet Leylin is on must be about 2x the size of Earth. Numbers get dropped here and there about how one region has millions of people. The history of the world seems to stretch back at least 100, 000 years. The problem is that there is 0 depth to any of this. There is no sense of structure or rules to anything in the world so you can't get a good feel of what can or can't happen.
4. Deus Ex Machina. This is one of those things you get use to in this genre, but holy cow do I feel like I'm drowning in this device in this story. This kind of ties in with the rules thing, but its also because the author loves to write very vaguely about everything and doesn't bother to cover things that occur. Often times the MC will get into a tight bind only to turn around and make use of some new spell, some new item, or just jump an entire power level after only a few chapters ago having no clue how to do so. The author will then spend 2-4 lines talking about some breakthrough that was made or just hand wave it all away making it seem like it wasn't anything much. A good scenario is MC attacks a place and in the writing he spends most of his time fighting and has to take on the big baddy and then promptly flee. As the reader you look at this and go, "Dam, he got hardly anything out of this adventure." only to find out 4-5 chapters later when the MC needs some item or money, he pulls it out and casually mentions the spoils he was able to get during that adventure.
5. Repetition Repetition Repetition. Expect to read a description about the ranking system of something or some magical thing, multiple times throughout the story. I think I've read something to the effect of: "X thing would usually take others much much longer but because I have the AI chip its not a problem" or a rehashing of the magic ranking system, at least 30 times now. Maybe the author does it to refresh people's minds but if you are binging the series, it stands out a lot and sometimes feels like its thrown in just to add more text to the chapter.
6. No emotions, anywhere. Finally this the last thing that really bugs me. Ya, the MC is this cold-blooded and calculating mage, and I have no problem with that. Real life has a few of those people. But every single person that the MC interacts with is this way pretty much. The author hand waves it away as "this is just how magi think" but even among the powerful and rich people in real life, you still get people aiming to good things. So it comes off feeling more like the author has something wrong in his head or is just a bad writer. For a brief period there is a character that has a sense of justice and wanting to fight the good fight but that quickly passes and its back to a slew of people that are only in it to F- the other person over.

What's good in this series?

1. Imaginative. There are a lot of different monsters, spells, items, and situations that come up. They aren't always well thought out or described particularly well, but you can fill stuff in how you like.
2. s*x and death. This author doesn't shy away from mentioning that the MC humps around. The author never goes into any detail (this isn't an erotica novel) but at least in this respect the MC feels human. People also die in the series. Whether you feels any heartache about them dying though is a completely different matter since most characters are ever developed.
3. Time passes. This is small, but I like when there is some mention of days, months, years, passing buy. The author never really does anything to make you feel like huge changes have occurred though; even if he just wrote "100 years have passed in a flash."
4. Steady growth. I like it when it feels like the MC is growing steadily instead of just going from weak to godlike in the span of 10 chapters. However, because the MC is never written into situations where he'd be in trouble, it can sometimes feel like that's happening.

This is a good series to read if you've been binging JP Light Novels as the pacing and writing are different and better, but it still has a number of short comings. I believe in time this author could actually put out a well rounded serious novel if he got a good editor to keep him check.

Average. A nice breather from most xianxia but suffers from a few flaws.

No one but Leylin really gets fleshed out.

The female characters, on average, suck. To be fair, so do the male side characters. In general the characters are kinda bland. Leylin is extremely logical so he comes off as slightly robotic sometimes.

The AI is too op. Without it, Leylin would probably be kinda weak. Need a breakthrough? The AI will calculate it. Need a battle plan? AI is there for you. It makes me wish the AI had an... more>> actual personality.

Leylin himself is kinda scummy. This is justified by the setting, wherein everyone else is even more scummy, making him seem decent in comparison.

That said, the lack of morality can be a nice break from the waves of heroism coming off other main characters. It's also a nice break from harems. There are very shallow relationships but since Leylin himself doesn't care, they don't get much screen time.

Read it for a different power fantasy. Bonus : frequently updated, good quality translation. <<less

I find this novel to be very enjoyable however it is not for everyone. Starting with the pros, this novel is a nice relief from the MC always being able to be able to fight with people who are several leagues above him (the author actually means it whenever he says something is like heaven and earth), it has a large amount of chapters and is being updated twice a day and the setting and power scheme are very interesting. There is some funny satire about plot armour early on.

On... more>> a more negative note, this novel has many flaws. First is characters. The MC is the only character you can be sure will stick around till the end, every character aside from him is dispensable and are not fleshed out well. The MC is extremely apathetic and does not care at all about other people unless they can help him (could be a pro depending on your preference). Every other character is less intelligent than the MC.

In conclusion, this is a great novel for what it is but don't expect some sort of master piece. <<less

Great! like... super Great. If you are okay with a not so virtuous MC, WMW will be a great read. Certainly a refreshing read in the world of xianxia where all people pursuing the Dao.

... more>>

Spoiler

In this story, people is pursuing the power through research and experiment. Which make it far more relatable than cultivating by understanding the Dao in this modern era

The MC is evil and immoral? yes he is evil. he has moral though, but his standard is low. Killing innocent people is fine, but killing people who helped him in the past is a no go.

The world of magus is not for the weak hearted. No romance, no benevolence. It's kinda super hard to find any good people in this story. Everyone is immoral, where the evil is even more immoral.

[collapse]

The action is kickass and the plot is smooth and deep. it's not for everyone, but you must give it a try. <<less

The Good:

-Neutral Evil MC. Only out for himself, pure and simple. Sheds no tears for those he kills, whether for profit, sport, experiments or convenience. Has no love of order and holds no illusion that following laws, traditions, or codes would make him any better or more noble. On the other hand, he doesn't have the restless nature or love of conflict that a chaotic evil villain has.
-Lore, setting and backstory are somewhat interesting although its pretty much cliche stuff.

The Bad:

-Lots of useless chatter and poorly thought out storyboard with weird turn of events. Character conversations and thoughts feel awkward. Seems like author never thoroughly plan the narrative and plot progression but instead just writes whatever comes to mind.
-Plenty of Xianxia cliches in the storyline.
-Has an interesting cultivation system with potential but unfortunately not expanded on with very little technical details offered but instead lots of gibberish jargon are thrown in just to make it look cool.
-Combat is probably one of its weakest point. Its basically rubbish.

The Ugly:

-MC's special ability generally kills the novel. The A.I. Chip is literally the answer to everything. Defeats the purpose of him being a scientist. Moreover it substitutes for any substantial plot points/armor that could have been used in the novel, essentially lazy writing if not simplistic narrative.
-Dull and bland overall storyline.

Verdict: I really love the MC. A Neutral Evil alignment is a refreshing take in Xianxia genre though I imagine many readers will dislike the MC for obvious reasons if they can't get out of the cliche troupes. Unfortunately everything else in the novel fails at almost epic proportions.

What do you get when you take Tony Stark, stick Jarvis in his head, and drop him into a world of magic with just the clothes on his back? I imagine you would get something rather close to this novel.

We follow the MC as he uses his super powers of extreme data collection and analysis (via an AI chip) to overcome his foes through superior planning and experimentation. Wait, that sounded boring didn't it? Let me try from a different angle.... ehem: We follow our beloved MC as he forgoes... more>> honor, morality, and even his own emotions in order to survive an absolutely ruthless world of magic! The grandstanding before fights is virtually non-existent (well... okay, maybe not "non-existent, " but it's down to paragraphs and sentences instead of entire chapters) the dialogue in fights is terse, the fights themselves take up less than half of the novel (incredible, I know), the political structures are actually somewhat believable, the plot armor is akin to plot cloth, the MC actually knows how to handle his interactions with women, and he also plans ahead!

There are no relationships here in the standard sense. The MC handles everything according to debt, repayment, and return on investment. I find it completely refreshing that the MC actually has contingency plans for if and when things don't go according to plan; he simply doesn't go do things and then expect for his own strength/master/friends/lucky chances/sudden breakthroughs/fate/deus ex machina to get him through whatever the fallout is... unlike some *other* novels. The novel itself tends to poke fun at those novels, and even dedicates an entire arc to the satire of the genre, which I very much enjoyed reading.

To top it off, the translation is done well, and the chapters are plentiful, and the releases fairly regular. If you're looking for something different from the standard wuxia fare, I would strongly suggest reading this novel. <<less

Firstly I would like to say how I passed this great novel many times over because of some reviews I read. And reading it for myself was another entirely different matter.

Why should you read this novel?

For starters, a very very unique MC. Well in this novel, author doesn't portray him as hero, and he isn't one either. The magi concept, it is well defined and there is a proper system. In many similar novels the division of power levels couldn't be so well divided. It is a darker fiction and... more>> well written one too. The downsides everyone is screaming about?

They can't handle our MC, when he is not a hero. Our MC, just like most other fictions have some power/ability which makes him superior to his peers. Its hard to get used to a darker fiction at start, if you are not introduced to it. AND, and most importantly which many people fail to mention, this novel doesn't have romance. At least there is none at this level [chp400]. So if you can't live without romance, this novel may not be for you! <<less

At first I was skeptic about this novel because of the AI chip thing, but as i've began to read more chapters I began to like this novel.

The story is good, but the most strong point of this novel is the main character. Here we have a rather unusual MC, who is more of a villian. It is more pleasant this way, since he is not a hypocrite. He does not think that he's righteous when he kills or plunders others, like some other MCs. He does what needs to... more>> be done, at all costs, he trusts only himself. If it's not a bother, he helps others but not for free. <<less

Love it love it love it! Translate faster, I want to read the entire thing!

The way this is written, it is as if the main character is leveling in a MMO, slowly gaining resources and power. However, it doesn't have that game-y feeling. What it does have is excellent world building which explains the elements actually borrowed from gaming: The A.I. Chip is the reason for character status numbers, and gaming-esque monsters originate from magical experiments or other dimensions. Rather than being overpowered from the start, the main character is... more>> evolving little by little to become overpowered. This is very satisfying and you get to treasure every bit of progress done. <<less

This my favorite together with 'Release that witch'. The MC is as far as novels goes very rational & calculating. Some people criticize it because the MC isn't 'scientisty' enough, which seems kind of weird, because as far as the world in WMW goes there's very little sense in applying a scientific approach to it. Overall I think it's fairly believable that the MC was a scientist in his old world, and also somewhat lacking when it comes to sympathy. That in my mind is not a bad thing however.

Overall... more>> he plays it safe, which makes the whole novel more believable since there's less need for plot armor & deus ex machina to progress the plot. At one point I did feel the MC went a bit to far on the dark side even for my taste, but as of the most recent ark it's gotten a lot better. My only gripe overall with this novell is the fact that the translator has a fetish fort exclamation marks. I don't know if it's a by product of the author, but even if so the translator should fix it up, as of now every sentence which is spoken by the characters ends 90% of the time in an exclamation mark and I can't help but feel every person in the whole novel loves to scream at each others face, no matter what they're talking about. <<less

I care about one thing and one thing only: Am I entertained? The answer is yes. I don't care that there's excessive alchemy. The story is decent. The fighting is above average. The romance is eh... MC is logical and plays both sides (good and evil). Purely selfish for self-gain. Nothing wrong with that. Has some morals, but not many. Strongly recommended

Sadly the series doesn't deserves the hype it gets. I don't mind cynical or cold protagonist. In fact I love antihero protagonists provided they are well written. See Wang Lin from Xian Ni who is ruthless but likable. Reason? It's because the circumstances, story and everything else makes sense.

Now this novel isn't about some ruthless main character. In fact the novel is about conversation between a human and an AI. Yeap. That's it.

No story. Boring world building. (Sorry but creating million kilometers long world doesn't count as strong world... more>> building). The conversations are pretty bland. Side characters are extremely annoying.

Plus most of the screen space is provided to MC's experiments which in fact aren't experiments at all. They are boring to read and you will feel they could have been done offscreen but author wants us to believe that MC is a mad scientist so...

Sigh ~ Just saying that MC is a scientist and talking about experiments doesn't makes it feel real.

Really not worth the read unless you have read everything else. <<less

Several flaws as mentioned by other reviewers:
- Excessive use of exclamation marks. Whenever I see exclamation marks in a conversation, I see the picture of someone yelling. Hence, I always picture people yelling at each other's face in this story.
- MC is not a scientist. He has an OP AI chip, and that's it. Like reviewer @Yin says, this 'get out of jail' is used too frequently.

The unique blend of eastern and western culture, with a ruthless & detached MC sets this novel apart. The story is a shade darker than a lot of of others out there, which is refreshing. A definitive read..

3/5 world-building. The atmosphere is definitely the novel's strongest point and the cultivation system tries to innovate. It however desperately lacks details since the only exposition you'll get is about the enemies when the MC gets into trouble.

2/5 fights. People can launch spells without any restriction. Cast time? How much does it cost? Does it harm you too? Different types of attacks except for how they look/their element? There is no adaptation during fights, you just throw increasingly strong spells until you win. The only semblance of strategy is asking... more>> the AI Chip to find a weak spot in an enemy and calculating exactly how you kill it. The author doesn't bother to explain anything so most time the MC will throw X potion he made or X spell he created, introduced as they are used, to kill the enemy.

4/5 characters. Every character acts in a believable way, apart from the MC.

3/5 scenario. The events are nice and unpredictable but make sense in the overarching story. However, there has been absolutely no hype whatsoever. The MC never really gets into danger since everything is calculated, so the arcs just end without anything really happening, no real climax or big dangerous fight, just MC getting a power up and moving to the next zone.

1/5 MC.

• The MC is, however, very bad. I don't like this type of evil MC but that's irrelevant. He has no personality. He's ruthless and calculating, the end. His life goals contradict each other and are never backed by concrete past experiences. He has no character flaw so he's just an evil Gary Stu. His past life is completely irrelevant and impacts in no way how he acts. In the beginning, he said he wanted to be a Magus to be worthy of his fate (like that means anything). Then it was about being safe (talking about how retiring while not being strong enough was just fleeting happiness) but there were many times when he was way rich enough to go to his previous continent and be safe forever. Then it became about becoming the strongest so he can find the truth of the universe. He is just a tool used by the author, not a real character. I assume he will not evolve in the slightest.
• The AI Chip. It's so insanely broken that it feels unfair. The MC can, and had, calculated every ability from an enemy and simulated the perfect way to beat them just by sensing the energy that the enemy emitted. The Chip is never wrong, and what it does can only be explained if it is omniscient. It can flawlessly use the laws of Physics and Mathematics of MC's world to determine how you can replace the ingredients of an Ancient Magic Spell that improves the force of your soul, while the MC admits that scientists in his world did not even know souls existed. It ruins world-building and makes everything extremely easy. I expect that MC could ask, at any moment, "AI Chip, calculate the ingredients of a potion that turns back time" and the Chip will say "Sure bro no problem, brb in 1 year with the formula". The only reason the MC gets into danger is that he loves putting himself in the most dangerous position possible.

Was worth checking out, but reading 250 chapters was a waste. <<less

I'm almost done (140 chapters left) but I don't believe the ending is gonna affect my review that much. I like this novel (I think?), but there's a few annoying things about it:

• • First of all, the MC is very inconsistent in his character. Apparently, he pursues eternity... because yes he does. Unlike Reverend Insanity where the whole novel displays Fang Yuan's lunacy and obsession towards immortality and his general detachment towards the world and conventional morals, how he's willing to do anything or trample on anyone to succeed, etc... this novel doesn't have any of that nuance. The goal of the MC is to become eternal because why not. He says it like this straight up, multiple times. Yet somehow, I feel like the author didn't think about what sort of person would want to be immortal? My biggest issue is that, compared to Fang Yuan, MC here at times has emotional attachments and a bottom line and at other times doesn't. Sometimes, MC does atrocious acts like massacres and mass mu*ders, other times he says he would never so such a thing. Other times he would never sacrifice his companions, yet later on betrays his companions or leaves them to die. Other times he does unnecessary things like saving their lives and getting into trouble for them, and later on is cold. Sometimes he regrets the passage of time and thinks about the loneliness prevalent in living an extremely long life and the next second says imma be immortal and lonely anyways.
    It just feels like Leylin's disposition is never truly set in stone. I feel like I don't even know who Leylin is? Does Leylin care about his friends? Who knows. Does Leylin care about family? Kind of. Does he care about morality? That comes and goes. He feels like a fake villain, or maybe he's just lying to himself or perhaps he is simply s*upid. What's clear about his personality is that he's a hypocrite and cowardly, loves bullying the weak, and does not trust anyone but his AI chip. If all of that was intentional, then I wouldn't mind. But it doesn't feel like it when the author never points out or acknowledges these clear inconsistencies in his MC; then it just becomes bad character writing.

• • Secondly, the fights become boring soon after the 300 chapter mark or so but become better again in the 900+ mark... Yes, the early fights have a lot of planning to them and stuff. I still remember when the amount of firepower of a spell mattered or you had to take into account whether the amount of magic power MC had was enough to win the fight, but soon... the most exciting engagements are those of the MC trying to run away or survive a trap using the trump cards he has. Later on though, when the the power of laws come into play, the fights become way more interesting. It's trump card after trump card after trump card, every fight. I appreciate that a lot and it made me not drop the novel at one one point.

• • Thirdly, the AI Chip is way too OP. Ok, at the beginning, it's fine. Perfect memory and body control, Analysis, etc. It's whatever. But as Leylin grows in power the AI chip is constantly getting stronger and stronger to the point of ridicule. I have no problem with Leylin himself relying on the AI chip, my problem is the author making the AI Chip a Deus Ex Machina for every single problem Leylin encounters. That feeling you had at the start of the AI Chip not being invincible never comes back.

I think people praising the world building are overselling it. The world building is decent enough for a magical realism novel; nothing too amazing or mind-blowing. It's not as well thought out as some other novels nor is every single environment rich in detail.

Ironically, the best part about this novel is the character interactions and dialogue. Yes, this novel is 90% MC monologue and AI chip shenanigans yet my praise for the author is the thing that he does the least. There is not enough scenes of the MC outsmarting and intellectual face slapping with the power of the AI chip. The comedic relief moments are far and between, although they are hilarious in my subjective opinion.

The writing is fine, although you will see some blatant instances of plagiarism or references to pop culture in this novel out of nowhere. Kinda weird but the translation by Wuxiaworld is very good so I can forgive it.

All in all, it's a very 7/10 novel. It may seem like I hated it since most of my review are my pet peeves about Warlock of the Magus World, but frankly I just wanted to rant. Perhaps these are minor annoyances that arise from me setting my expectations far too high after reading Reverend Insanity. It does the whole "villainous transmigrator seeks eternal life in another world" 10x better so I couldn't help but have it in my mind as I read this, constantly comparing the two in my head. If you liked Warlock of the Magus World then I highly recommend people give Reverend Insanity a try. But if you recently read Reverend Insanity then don't read this one until you've lowered your standards again. Otherwise you'll end up like me: constantly thinking about why Fang Yuan is better in every way.

In any case, this novel is good. Not great, but it ain't bad. Magic system concepts like are all very cool. And they kept me engaged.

Eventually, the world expands when and damn is it fun. I liked how the author wasn't afraid to introduce new systems and kept it fresh as it went along. Good novel.

The MC is the AI Chip. But AI doesn't have a personality. So it ends up being a sh*t novel.

Seriously. It is so shit. Actual MC can't do anything so I dunno based on what he's called a scientist. Any question is answered/figured out by the AI chip with zero effort from the meatbag's part. Seriously? Where is the scientific process?

The problem is you can replace the MC with anyone else with an AI chip and it will have no bearing on the story at all. That's how sh*t it... more>> is. It's not worth reading. <<less

Read this long ago. (NOTE:Not reviewing Novel's plot, but the take in the author's script)

To me is the best Novel I have read, since it depicts the REAL behaviors of a man from modern Earth into a fantasy world.

Humanity is not as good as many Author depict it. We, the people of earth are nice and peaceful because we have the commodities of a modern world.

... more>>

• Food in the fridge
• Education
• Health care
• Technology

If you take away all this, we are beast, we mu*der, we r*pe, we steal.

So when I read a Novel about an transmigration who gets into a world of Cultivation or (insert power mechanic here) and their behavior is... like a boy-scout in a camping trip, or a 12 year old virg*n boy, or just let's hold hands to save the world...... It pisses me off!

You should not have faith in humanity, and the MC of this Novel is like that. a Real Human Being from Modern Earth, being Born into a World of cultivation. so you will see exactly what a normal person would do in these circumstances. <<less

The author has never heard of 'show, don't tell'. That might be fine when it comes to the le*d details depending on who you ask, but it's not fine when spells and everything but people are described as terrifying and 'big wow' with fancier language. It gets old real fast when the MC levels up and his latest spell is described just like the last one, but instead of surprising all his foes due to the sheer power it surprises all his foes due to the sheer power, not to... more>> mention the MC's ego is supremely stroked when everyone describes him as terrifingly cunning and supremely evil, despite the MC being neither of those things.

The MC is... okay. He's a static character with no growth, which is fine. What isn't fine is the author's constant wagging of his 'evil efficiency' philosophy where apparently everyone is the author's definition of cunning and only out to get benefits as the author repeatedly states despite numerous counter examples in the author's own work. Furthermore, the author's definition of cunning is a problem. Any kind of 'cunning' is either a plot twist completely dropped out of nowhere like an Acme Anvil or something someone who still sucks their thumb could come up with. Backstabbing people is not excessive, world-defying cunning, nor is lying.

Back to the MC that I should actually probably talk about. He's dull, bland, and barely a villain. Sure, he commits horrible acts and so on and so forth. However, all his acts are 'reasonable' in a sense that they aren't devoid of logic or born completely out of emotion for the most part. In fact, he's so s*upidly dull and robotic that I'm pretty sure the MC's whole backstory of his soul fusing with an AI did a lot more to his personality than anything else. Heck, an AI MC might make for a more entertaining adventure.

All in all, this was a really bad slog that was very not worth it. I don't know why I read to completion because the ending is crap like everything else. Did I mention the MC is cunning? The author did. <<less