Ze Tian Ji

Description

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To pick is to choose. This is a story about choices. Three thousand worlds full of gods and demons, with a daoist scroll in your hand, you are able to control the entire universe…

At the beginning of time, a mystical meteor came crashing down from outer space and scattered all over the world. A piece of it landed in the Eastern Continent. There were mysterious totems carved upon the meteor. Through viewing these totems, mankind comprehended the Dao and established the Orthodoxy.

Several thousand years later, the fourteen years old orphan Chen Changsheng left his master to cure his illness and change his fate. He brought a part of a marriage vow with him to the capital, thus beginning the journey of a rising hero…

Associated Names
One entry per line
Fighter of the Destiny (TV series)
Trạch Thiên Ký
Way of Choices
ZTJ
择天记
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
World of Cultivation (9)
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (8)
Transcending the Nine Heavens (5)
Nightfall (4)
Joy of Life (4)
Pivot of the Sky (4)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Novels That I Have Read Over The Years
  2. Novels I have read
  3. The Mt. Tai of Chinese Novels
  4. Light Novel list
  5. Timeless Masterpieces - the Best Novels Ever

Latest Release

Date Group Release
07/17/16 Novel Saga c196
07/10/16 Novel Saga c195
07/06/16 Novel Saga c194
07/02/16 Novel Saga c193
06/29/16 Novel Saga c192
11/27/15 Ze Tian Ji Translation c107
11/27/15 Ze Tian Ji Translation c106 part2
11/26/15 Ze Tian Ji Translation c106 part1
11/26/15 Ze Tian Ji Translation c105 part2
11/26/15 Ze Tian Ji Translation c105 part1
Write a Review
205 Reviews sorted by


archigoel
archigoel rated it
January 1, 2016
Status: --
Simply the best Xianxia out their. Frankly this story has spoiled most of the xianxia works for me. After reading this I realize how s*upid, shallow and pathetically vengeful MC’s in normal Xianxia are. I have read this till 718 chapters (using systranslate), and all complaints about powerup etc will be addressed. If I EAT Tomatoes works are 90% powerup techniques, getting treasuers with 10% of story mixed, then “Way of Choices” is 90% story with 10% other random stuff.
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AtlasBri
AtlasBri rated it
April 28, 2022
Status: c820
Not gonna lie this novel was dope.. But I have a few issues with it. first of all the MC, I usually like heartless MCs but this guy wasn't bad at all but the fact that he was always so nonchalant about his death pissed me off, You have so many people depending on you but everytime you are likely to lose, you instantly think about committing su*cide. Wtf?!!

Secondly the chapter he was using his blood to create cinnabar pills, Zheuxi warned him that it could affect his progress to... more>> the Saint level, what did this guy say? He said it's for the people and the world, he doesn't care about himself... The author tries to make us feel the MC is calm and wise but most of his decisions were so dumb... If he became a saint he wouldn't be suffering from numerous assassination attempts. Let's all imagine Tang 36 was the MC it would be so much fun. The reason some people think the novel is boring is because the MC isn't sharp enough, his plot armour is too powerful!... imagine reading a novel where the MC always thinks of death as the only way for the world to progress, annoying right?

Still remember the chapter the demon lord told him to sacrifice himself and die so that the world can have peace, The dragon girl by his side was nervous bcus she knew the type of dumb MC she followed and the fact he lets most of the people that want to kill him get away pisses the most... Like why would you do that??!

But without considering the fact the MC is a dumb f*ck.. the novel is peak level, it was intricately written

Still waiting for him to be a little heartless. it would be so much fun😏 <<less
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ersyadiaz
ersyadiaz rated it
November 7, 2021
Status: c276
Whoever recommended this sh*t to me and told me hang on for a bit, f*ck you.

Now, I really don't mind slow-burn novels. But this? This is just the peak of Dao of Wordcount. It's like author's mother would die the moment he wrote one less words in those shitty chapters.

The "padding" is applied to the whole chapter (s). Yes, not just a few sentences, but chapters. Author really loves chugging the readers with meaningless chapter-length "explanation" that would be completely irrelevant in the next few chapters anyway.

The fights scenes... more>> is just... Ugh. There's no real tension in it. Just when the fight is about to get interesting, this d*gsh*t author just decides to write an entire chapter explaining the feelings of fighters or even went as far as chugging another redundant explanation that had just been explained a few chapters back. I'd rather read the short 4-5 paragraphs fight scenes instead these piece of crap. <<less
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edvy69
edvy69 rated it
February 18, 2021
Status: c16
it has mild intrigue at the start like who is his family ? Why did a dragon want to eat him ?
but that was not enough to drag me through such slow, boring, unfulfilling story for 16 chapters
from what ive read he is unreasonable and I am left hanging waiting for him do something ANYTHING
or for someone to do something like hell why not get some random to kill him or what not lets move along

tldr; it is slow and unfulfilling to read SKIP
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FuckYou rated it
August 23, 2020
Status: c1020
I personally adored the novel. The pace sorta peeved me at the beginning but I eventually acquired the taste for it. The only thing I literally cannot f*cking stand is the romance.

Luoluo is literally the perfect person for Chen Changsheng simply because she has emotional depth. For Chen Changsheng and his "fiancée, " they went through ONE event and suddenly it's decided this life and death interaction supersedes all emotional and romantic prospects with Luoluo. The author tries to push it off by saying "Oh he thought she was like... more>> 2 years younger than him" and I'm sorry but f*ck right off. You can't tell me that absolutely no one has made him aware of this literal PRINCESS' real age even ONCE. ESPECIALLY Tang Thirty Six who is completely aware of Luoluo's feelings AND loves to tease the sh*t out of people.

Besides, the fiancée's and Chen Changsheng's romance didn't come from the life and death situation, WHICH HE HAS BEEN THROUGH WITH ALL THE OTHER SIDE CHARACTERS MULTIPLE TIMES, it came from that bullsh*t "I can't help but look at her" crap. The dude's like "Man something about you makes me f*cking h**ny and lovey-dovey" and I have to physically restrain myself from throttling the author. This dude is about to DIE, like, he has CLEARLY stated he doesn't have time for romance. You're telling me she's just pretty enough that he decides "Nah my death can be put on hold, gotta get feelings for this random chick I ran into." And for some symbolic bullsh*t the author is like "ok let's make them both learn half of a super art EACH, because that means love." Bullsh*t my guy. Complete and utter horse crap.

The author PUSHES Luoluo to the side for literally like HUNDREDS of chapters - she deadass doesn't f*cking show up and is only mentioned when he's forced to mention her - purely because he wants to push this cliché despite him saying "God I try to avoid clichés." Then? Have him actually? Go through with the f*cking plan??? And annul the marriage????? Have him get with the girl who UNDERSTANDS him and has gone through with so much with him and has supported him and has BEEN supported BY for like the entire f*cking beginning. Like, they mutually support each other, have had CLEAR moments when they have gotten close. They trust each other and are each other's emotional support. They are each other's motivation, they enjoy all of the time they spend together. Like, dude, author, what the f*ck are you doing here?? This is the most fleshed out romantic prospect in any cultivation novel I've EVER f*cking read and he's like. "Nah bro, the genius fiancée with the reborn phoenix bloodline is totally better and non-cliché."

And then the author makes her super guilty for "lying about her age" and it's like, no, this never happened. She didn't f*cking mention her age. Chen Changsheng got confused, and then she felt like if she told him, this man that she knows is the most qualified to heal her, but isn't close enough to know whether or not he'll quit being her Master (teacher) if he knows they're the same age. And can you blame her?? This super polite dude who was very AGAINST teaching her and is super mature, composed and takes roles importantly, who she doesn't know too much about yet holds her fate in his hands. Of course she'd just casually neglect to mention it. After that it's just awkwardness and slight guilt that stops her from mentioning it.

The author genuinely feels like he's purposely making sh*t as DIFFICULT as possible when it comes to Luoluo and Chen Changsheng purely because he fancies the romance with the genius chick instead. I hate it so much. The political stage is so interesting, and Chen Changsheng and his crew are on such a tightrope when it comes to their very lives and it's all so brilliantly set up. But the second it comes to romance the author just defaults into basic bit*h xianxia/wuxia/xuanhuan mode.

The only interesting point of Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong's (fiancée) romance that isn't cultivation-oriented is Qiu Shan Jun (Dragon reincarnated longevity sect dude) who has to deal with the fact that the girl he loves doesn't love him back. His feelings of the matter, which is reflected in his actions and motivation is like the only reason I even tolerated this shitty romance. His character depth was the only part that seemed MEANINGFUL when it came to Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.

The author was brilliant when it came to world building and political tension, but the second it comes to romance I'd rather let Shakespeare and his tragic works write the bloody story. Absolute pisstake. It infuriates me and I felt real physical pain in my heart when reading over Luoluo's thoughts when it came to Chen Changsheng because the author is so clearly pushing her out of the way for a sub-par romance. God f*cking dammit man. <<less
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Fract
Fract rated it
November 19, 2019
Status: c800
It's pretty disappointing for a novel that I saw a lot of potential in. The first half of the novel is outstanding, but later it sinks into endless filler content with the unending additions of confusing and unnecessary plot elements and characters. Reading this novel was like traversing a muddy swamp. Every step, every chapter was painful.

The first half was well paced and although the power levels are kind of confusing it was generally pleasant to read (I began reading after watching the 3rd season of the anime). I liked... more>> the romance story as I thought it was an interesting twist, and I found the periodic light-hearted banter among the group of friends provided a refreshing break from the action.

Then the battle at the bridge happened (too lazy to look up its exact translation), and all went to dust.
Spoiler

the MC's friends were all gone for one reason or another, and the fiancee leaves as well

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) were dragged out beyond belief, and I found it confusing and I honestly didn't care about any of it. It became so bad I put the book down altogether after the end of the revolt.

I see a lot of reviews describing it as "slow-paced", and I guess you could take that approach, but keep in mind it is not just slow-paced, it is extremely slow-paced, and it seemed like the author was just shooting for word count.

As for a general review of the novel, ut gives me the impression that a lot of the conversations were supposed to be "deep" (considering the meaning of life, straight truthiness and all), but their meaning was pretty shallow and the same basic concept is repeated throughout all of the MC' conversations with others. Also worth mentioning is that MC doesn't really have a likeable personality, or a personality at all for that matter. He just gets wronged over and over by a bunch of people, and I guess it's supposed to build your anger, but I didn't really feel that either. I feel like the side characters are much more interesting than the MC.

I really wouldn't recommend reading this because it's a massive letdown and really such a shame that such a great beginning was put to waste. <<less
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Shirai
Shirai rated it
July 24, 2018
Status: c1000
Ze Tian Ji is one of the better reads I've embarked on, and one of the few Novels here that actually has some level of writing skills behind it.

Show, not tell. This is one of the most basic rules that majority of the novels being translated fail at from the get go.

Characters actually act more like experts and adults of their age except for the eccentric ones. Most other novels? Characters of 1000 years of age still act and react like youngsters. It might not be comepletely realistic characters, but... more>> at least more believable behavior than most novels.

Plot? While the obvious plots are obvious, certain results that seem unrelated to the grand plot would end up being a goal of other characters. Small and insignificant details are brought up to being significant for another character's personal goals.

The conversations and interactions of the characters are well written and a joy to read. Most characters have their own things to strive for, while servibg their roles in the story simultaniously. <<less
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Varno
Varno rated it
July 21, 2018
Status: afterwords
The best novel I have ever read. I love the poetic but somehow measured prose, the characters, the romance and the slow read of the novel. The main character is relatable. Beating out those supposedly reincarnated individually, in other novels, because of the sympathy that he shows. The side characters aren't forgotten. The same cast has been present since the beginning, they go the background, and come back again. The fights are epic. Powers are at a high mark at the lower cultivation levels in this novel, with a relatively... more>> lower ceiling, compared to others in the genre. Though it is a wait to the first fight, for me, it paid off, and they got even better. The plot and schemes. You will never know where this story is headed because, 'show don't tell', is adhered to. And it being so complicated makes the story shine with every unexpected reveal. 5/5. <<less
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Sinasina
Sinasina rated it
July 3, 2018
Status: c1003
The novel is 5% story progress, 35% cool writing & interesting cultivation mysteries & 60% filler. The characters are very two dimensional, the romance sub-plot is the worst kind I have found in a webnovel too. 3 stars because it's somewhat unique & interesting, but outside of that it's pretty bad & difficult to get yourself to turn the pages.
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Not Red Yet
Not Red Yet rated it
February 25, 2018
Status: c180
This novel is all the filler parts in other cultivation novels bundling together in 1, I don't mind the slowness but when you have 1-2 chapters of just the peanut gallery's commentary about a fight then its just crap.

The Grand examination is an example since it starts at chapter 129 and ends at 180, the bad thing is that most of its just talking or when the fighting starts it switches to a section of history or the peanut gallery talking about it.

Like someone before me stated if you like... more>> reading the Bible than you'll probably love this slow dry novel. <<less
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kaalv
kaalv rated it
November 26, 2017
Status: c694
The best Chinese webnovel I've read. Excellent translation quality and editing work. Regular releases. The only webnovel I've read so far to have a scene that made me cry ... more>>
Spoiler

(c208)

The story is introduced slowly but you get to know the characters quickly. While some of the characters are tropey, like Tang 36 or the Young Master-type character like Tianhai Shengzue, this never comes off as cookie-cutter. While reading I felt like I actually understood and could identify with the majority of the character's motivations. I never felt like there was some cackling villain idiot that is so prevalent in other Xuanhuan novels and I loved it. I enjoy the story very much and look forward to reading it every day.

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<<less
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prinsewa
prinsewa rated it
November 3, 2017
Status: c646
A good read with a simple and nice story, if readable. It is definitely beautiful and absolutely not prose. The novel is indeed different, but before comparing you need to consider that what allows us to judge and make opinion on most chinese novels is their common traits. This one is performing in another category. I say performing due to the writing style of the author. With picturesque scenes, and the emphasis on descriptive details, it gives a feeling of theater. This makes its audience target more specific and so,... more>> lesser.

In my opinion this novel is emotion oriented. It aims at moving the reader, inspiring feelings through intricate characters, their interactions and a larger point of view. You'll have more social situations than solo events, more people crossing paths than adventure. The difference between blurry and mysterious, you know something is happening, probably knows the actors, but not yet how it'll occur. Not the usual novels where author suddenly strikes with lucky encounter, unknown entity pulling strings in the shadow...

Now, the author's way of going around to describe everything and the strong literary imprint might be a plus otherwise but this is a web novel, meaning periodic releases, screen reading, and sustained engagement through sensational. People wait for it, not always comfy at home, and expect a minimum of gratification each time. That's where this novel failed to deliver. Since the rushes of excitement are too sparse, it is harder to read 'until the next explosion' like one would with common web novels. It appears slow and draggy, even scattering about.

In the end it's a matter of individual preferences and definitely patience. That being said, if you can grow attached to characters (preferably more than a handful) it could make a smoother experience. <<less
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spunk
spunk rated it
October 15, 2017
Status: --
It truly is the best series I've read.

It's completely different from the other stories.

The MC and the FMC are just too likeable.

... more>> MC isn't born OP. Rather, he has defect. How he struggles to break through is so fascinating to read.

MC doesn't get any treasure or memory or other power ups. He interprets the dao and cultivates.

FMC isn't like any other. Perhaps the best one. She isn't just a mad-in-love heroine like other novels have.

FMC has her own dreams and their love develops rather by coincidence. It's soooo wonderful when they first meet and how the love blooms. MC is truly loyal to her, and wow, they are so cute together. <<less
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eseul
eseul rated it
March 25, 2017
Status: c275
I don't think I need to explain to anyone how amazing this author fleshes out her story. The characters are all strong and the plot is amazing. If there is anything I can be picky about. There are times when the author stops the chapter at a cliff hanger and then suddenly the story will tangent off to a different direction for several chapters. Everything is interesting and well written, but it becomes really annoying when the cliff hanger isn't resolved for more than 20 chapters to explain the history... more>> and flesh out characters. I feel like the order can change to give the readers a less irritable experience. but I still give the author a 5 star because of how original and amazing the story is. <<less
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Koruya
Koruya rated it
February 3, 2017
Status: c346
You know, there is many people, who say that ZTJ is slow pacing, and so on. But I can you tell, that all that it is a bullshit. There is no slow pace, there is detailed world. I can be sure, that most of people who says that ZTJ is slow, skip almost half of chapters, because there is too much details. Fancy words? No needed details? Slow pace? Its all is a crap. Because story don't have much action, is suddenly become slow paced. Because story have much more... more>> details and personality over characters, its become fancy words for quantity. This novel really need R-18 tag, since there so much people, who can't understand and still say a word.

Someone said, that MC got all things for him on silver plate, I really want to laugh on that. ZTJ is different from standard xianxia, where law of jungle rule the world, understand that, then you will see a world of ZTJ in new light.

ZTJ isn't perfect, nothing is perfect. It have it's own charm and it's own pace. Don't put a label to something, only because you don't like it. Overall, I really enjoy ZTJ, but at same time it really sad that I can't read it all. <<less
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Snooty
Snooty rated it
February 1, 2017
Status: c160
The premise of the story was that an incredibly hardworking genius cripple is forced to revive a destroyed/disgraced school. Along the way he picks up a ragtag team of rejects and with his guidance he turns them into the worlds most powerful. The first 100 chapters are excellent, then the story turns on it's head and breaks everyone of it's promises.

Everything good that happens to the MC, happens because of sheer dumb luck. An enemy is plotting to kill MC? Here's the world's strongest general to defend him. MC can't... more>> cultivate? Here's a little power up that makes him stronger than top 5 peerless genius youths because he showed somebody a little kindness. MC has no influence? Oh wait, everyone who joined his school has some sort of insane family background. It's just really weird because the story goes so far to establish that he's hardworking and that he's super knowledgeable, but yet everything is handed to MC on a silver platter. His enemies let him live after insulting them because they think he's tr*sh, but normally they could have just ended him and the story within the 2nd chapter. <<less
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anon anon anon
anon anon anon rated it
January 31, 2017
Status: c338
i was considering this novel between 2 and 3 stars as of last 50 chapter. I liked the novel in start, but then it started dragging on and on and on and on and on... and on...

... more>>
Spoiler

in last 30 chapters they are in mausoleum, waiting for monsters wave to come. after 10 or so chapters of waiting for monster wave to come, fight starts. and in fight he starts to summon swords. and history of every sword is more or less described in every chapter. oh look this sword was famous for "insert side story here". ffs 20-30 chapters is one fight cause of random fillers.

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i liked the story cause it was little different from standard. I dont mind slow start, or world building, but when you start inserting fillers inside of fight just to bump up # of chapters, you ask yourself why am I reading this... <<less
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renecop545
renecop545 rated it
September 3, 2016
Status: c120
Lots of hype about this book, but it suffers from the same problem as True Martial World insofar as there's a lot of useless exposition (author would really benefit from having an editor) and some events in the story are not well-planned out (some plot events just happen abruptly without transition or foreshadowing). I'm not sure if these problems are a symptom of the loss in linguistic elegance due to the rough translations, as I've heard that the original Chinese source is supposed to be well written, so I'll check... more>> out the raws in the future and update my score according. Unfortunately as of now I can't rate this web novel too highly.

Edit (as of ch 365) : OK whew the novel really picked up once you get past the beginning arc, I wasn't a fan of earlier chapters since the original raw is filled with a ton of idioms and plays on words and the first translator wasn't able to do them justice, but Gravity Tales has done a solid job with translating the later chapters and it's grown into one of favorite novels of the genre. Deserves to stand among the greats like I Shall Seal the Heavens, Transcending the Nine Heavens, and Heavenly Jewel Change. <<less
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patcan3609
patcan3609 rated it
May 3, 2016
Status: --
A slow beginning but powerful descriptions. The setting and world building is built upon layers of details, each of the introduced characters are multi-dimensional with their own plans to prepare. The amount of metaphor used to describe the scenes and backgrounds heightens the quality of the novel. The main character is likable with his calm and mature demeanor while being unaware of the world's situation. However, as the story progresses he develops and learns from his inexperience creating a rich and complex character.
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NaM
NaM rated it
May 3, 2016
Status: --
Its a story about a young man whose fate is sealed and was destined to die in the age of 20, due to that he decided to change and alter his destiny.

Good novel and a Good read so far..

The MC was a clean freak, calm hardworking, careful yet death fearless (because he know that his gonna die sooner or later) smart guy, apparently being secluded for a 10-14? Years gave him a downside which is not having the current world common sense and social experience which cause him troubles.

The downside... more>> and uniqueness of this novel was its abnormaly slow pace power up which is also its uniqueness because it wasnt the same with other xuanhuan chinese novel.

If the other CN novel was like a raging waves for its fast paced aggressiveness. This novel was like a calm lake waiting for something to make it quake.

Recommended for patient readers and also those cunning onesones. <<less
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