Coiling Dragon

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Empires rise and fall on the Yulan Continent. Saints, immortal beings of unimaginable power, battle using spells and swords, leaving swathes of destruction in their wake. Magical beasts rule the mountains, where the brave – or the foolish – go to test their strength. Even the mighty can fall, feasted on by those stronger. The strong live like royalty; the weak strive to survive another day.

This is the world which Linley is born into. Raised in the small town of Wushan, Linley is a scion of the Baruch clan, the clan of the once-legendary Dragonblood Warriors. Their fame once shook the world, but the clan is now so decrepit that even the heirlooms of the clan have been sold off. Tasked with reclaiming the lost glory of his clan, Linley will go through countless trials and tribulations, making powerful friends but also deadly enemies.

Come witness a new legend in the making. The legend of Linley Baruch!

Associated Names
One entry per line
Bàn Long
CD
Pan Long
盘龙
Related Series
Stellar Transformation (Sequel)
The Desolate Era (Shared Universe)
Recommendations
The Desolate Era (21)
Stellar Transformation (18)
Against the Gods (11)
I Shall Seal the Heavens (8)
Warlock of the Magus World (6)
Tales of Demons and Gods (3)
Recommendation Lists
  1. My Gem Collection
  2. want read
  3. Wow there's a manhua version (ML)
  4. An actual attempt at ranking
  5. Novels That I Have Read Over The Years

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183 Reviews sorted by


TypicalReader88
TypicalReader88 rated it
September 26, 2019
Status: Completed
This novel was the gateway to all other novels for me. If you've just arrived on scene then this is definitely for you. The relationships aren't bad, characters introduced aren't causally forgotten, has good arcs and steady growth. However the ending had me like BRUH. Ok, so this is how the ending went:

Linley reappears and everyone cries out his name. END.

Like TF, the ending chapter was pretty cool and I was looking forward to reactions developments follow-ups *COUGH* mom *COUGH* but that coolness just ends and its kind of a... more>> bitter feeling. This bitter ending lead me straight to Martial World, definitely worth it for a follow up to this. Spoiler: EVERYTHING IS BIGGER AHHAHA! <<less
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strawhat64
strawhat64 rated it
September 17, 2018
Status: Completed
One of the few Chinese novels I have read so far. At first I read the manga adaptation of this novel but it's really not as nearly as good as the novel, also it feels rushed. The novel though is what I would call a masterpiece, at least in my opinion.

The world, the characters. The battles, everything is amazing. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes fantasy novels.
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Giagantic
Giagantic
July 2, 2018
Status: --
Read it twice, once on and off until it was finished then a few months ago.

__

Coiling Dragon was for many the first WN from a chinese writer within the genre of "Xuanhuan" though many still consider it a Xinxia. Coiling Dragon did not get this attention undeservedly as it immediately grips the reader with its unique fusion of both Western and Chinese Elements being a world with both Magus and Warriors. It isn't a flawless story or anywhere near that, however, as it still has similar issues that seem to... more>> plague WN writting as a whole.

Pros:

1. The initial World is well described and vivid and Linley's adventures as exciting as a whole especially within the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.

2. The fights in the beginning are great as a whole and the introduction in the Wushan Township is to this day one of the best introductions in CN WN's.

Cons:

1. Horrendous dip in quality in the second-half, the already few character interactions and relationships became rarer and the world becomes almost vaccuousin the sense that there seems to be so little to see despite the enormity of the lands. Details become increasingly scant both in regards to the topography and battles.

2. The system setup in which to "cultivate" is highly constricting and on top of this not fully developed. There are very few occasions in which the Magus vocation gets appropriate descriptions and coverage as Linley basically only ever uses it for support for the most part and this holds true for basically everyone. On top of this the system itself has zero creativity for example there is basically a set number of spells and that is it and this applies equally to the second half of the novel. The system of Coiling Dragon prevents more dynamic and creative skills from arising, weapons are similarly restricted by their level never being able to overcome to equal those above (High God always loses to Sovereign Weapons / Equipment).

3. Character Interactions as is usual for most CN WN is pretty bad and only gets worse in the latter half. While the first half of Coiling Dragon is decent in regard to characterization and interaction it could've been so much better. Many characters do not get enough screen time and some just up and disappear and when they reappear either skip the reunion or summarize. Basically the novel is 95% cultivation and battle and again it worsens in the later half, This leads to one of the wors issues.

4. Empty ending, SPOILERS, the ending and the last few arcs are pretty terrible as they instilled in me the feeling of "What is the point?" as though there was none. The characters are suppose to matter are given little to no time or discusions, the goal of Linley once reach felt extrordinarily empty. The final battle and conclusion was rushed and the subsequentt ending terrible, this was not what the readers wanted to see after reading what was a massive journey of several million words. <<less
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Kuzan
Kuzan rated it
February 13, 2018
Status: Completed
Story

I liked the main story. Basic model while going to other realms to achieve certain goals which only each of those realms have.

Powers

This is kind of a gripe. There weren't many powers for the main character

... more>>
Spoiler

For instance, he mainly trains in Earth element, which only has 6 moves which he can fuse to create new moves (Eventually fuses 5 together). But, he also had Wind and Fire elements but never used them as much. In fact, he never used fire and only fused like 4 of the 9 wind moves (which he fuses 2 each to form to new moves). Later, he gets Water but never really uses it either. My biggest problem is he becomes a 4-way mutate (able to fuse moves from different elements together) in Book 19. Yet, he only uses a fused move in the very last chapter which is only 2 books later.

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Love

It's never specified why his wife fell for him. At the same time, she rises in power but not the natural way with talent. She also doesn't fuse any of her element. The only good thing is she doesn't die and she's constantly mentioned/seen throughout the story.

Overall

It was still a fun read. <<less
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Reshrim
Reshrim rated it
January 6, 2018
Status: Completed
Great novel and plot build, extremely interesting and well thought novel structure which definetly pulled my interest towards this particular novel.

If your sitting on the fence on whether to read this novel or not, id highly recommend you to give it a read.
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tyrn
tyrn rated it
January 5, 2018
Status: Completed
Coiling Dragon is a novel that suffers from several problems that prevent it from being 5 star material in my eyes. Yet, despite these issues, which I will discuss at length later in my review, it is still a novel worth reading for those interested in action packed fighting, revenge stories, and yes, cultivation and the pursuit of power. For fans of Chinese web novels (Xuanhuan, Xianxia, etc.) Coiling Dragon is stand out work that comes highly recommended.

Now, let us talk about the real issues at hand, the good, the... more>> bad and the ugly. For many of us web novel readers Coiling Dragon was our introduction to the vast world of Chinese novels. For many it holds a special place in their hearts and this is not completely without merit; it is a good novel. Specifically, the novel is good when it plays to it's strengths: the action, the cultivation (power ups), and delivering simple to understand plot lines. But the novel falls apart in other places. Namely in the writing and pacing of the story.

Spoiler

The first 1/3 or so the novel is very well structured, there are power levels in place and the world unfolds in a very neat way so that we can understand where our protagonist Linley is headed. We see him build techniques, grow as a character and undergo hardships that move the story along. All of this slowly changes as the story progress and he becomes a deity and leaves the Yulan plane. Where we initially saw him slowly work his way at the head of the pack now we see more time skips and the development of certain techniques (Blackstone Prison) starts an insidious power creep that continues even until the novel's end. In short, the novel loses it's tension and there is very little suspense outside of the combat chapters.

Which brings me to another point, the novel becomes incredibly repetitive not only in style but also in plot lines. The Linley and company pisses off some guy only to eventually kill them gets old real quick. This is perhaps my biggest gripe with the novel that it starts of so well only to fall into repetition that prevents any of the characters from changing or growing. After a certain point all the characters become static, many of the side characters that were developed in the earlier half of the novel fall to the way side and receive honorary mentions or are used as plot devices. One particularly notable example is his desire to bring back family and friends who have unjustly died. After jumping through some lengthy hoops he manages to do so only for them to have mediocre lines of dialogue and minimal impact on the story. Even our protagonist and his best friend Bebe, who have the most screen time, feel anemic and underdeveloped. All of these negative points culminate in an ending that frankly feels rushed and doesn't deliver to the same level as the first 1/3 or even first 1/2 of the novel.

All these points considered Coiling Dragon is not a 5/5 novel. However these points should not dissuade you from giving the novel a try. When the novel shines it is blood pumping and captivating. There are some very finely crafted high and lows that merit recognition and make it worth reading. Is Coiling Dragon a masterpiece web novel? No. But it a fun read and I believe that most readers will not be disappointed that they gave it a shot.

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BobC137
BobC137 rated it
September 29, 2017
Status: Completed
As many have said before, this novel and stellar transformations were the novels that introduced me into this genre. It got me addicted. Due to this, I always think that CD and ST are the two of best Chinese novels out there.

It has a good plot, and it just has this flow to it, and was almost never dull except for some of the arcs. It's also completely translated and so, I reccomended to not just beginners, but everyone to read CD. Sure it does get a bit boring at... more>> times, however, stick through it and you can experience far better things.

ps - I really reccomended Stellar transformations, ISSTH and Desolate era, good stuff.

(also, dimensional sovereign is great too) <<less
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AndrewOrion
AndrewOrion rated it
July 21, 2017
Status: Completed
Coiling Dragon was one of the first Chinese web novels that I read. I started it all of the way back when it was still hosted on Cnet forums. The story drew me in with its western fantasy elements and slowly adapted me towards eastern fantasy concepts. This is a true story that bridges the east and the west. It might not be the best story ever written, but it holds an important place in my heart for opening me up to eastern fantasy.
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rockinroll39
rockinroll39 rated it
June 9, 2017
Status: Completed
Spoiler

The story is enjoyable, and for the first half or so, its fantastic. In the ladder half of the novel however, it seems a bit rushed, especially the ending, and this story would have been a solid 5 for me if it had dragged on more and didn't feel so rushed, like it was shoving it down my throat. Some great character building early on, but the "tragic" parts later on, aren't so tragic, since something manages to "conveniently" fix it at the last second. MC also get super strong very very quickly in the ladder 1/3 of the novel. in the first 1/3 of the novel, there was emotion, a sense of drive, and some other reason to gain strength, other then the classic "gain strength just because...... (family, friends, myself, etc) ". hes was fighting and getting stronger for a genuine reason that would actually exist realistically. and the middle 1/3 of is still good, just not as great as the previous part.

overall, this story was great 2/3 the way through, slowly got worse over time in the last part, into the cut short/incomplete ending we got. Worth a read, just be prepared for the abrupt ending your get.

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Johnnycabra
Johnnycabra rated it
June 9, 2017
Status: v21c44
Great xuanhuan. This is actually the first LN that got me into CN novels. This is one of the LN In reread every once in a while as its always a joy to read. It had it good and bad parts to it but was in all a great read.

The things that were good about this novel was the way the story developed.

... more>>
Spoiler

It's a story about a boy who, alongside his pet/brother Godeater rat, journey to the peak of power with the help of old gramps in a ring. When the story adds tension with the death of the mc's old ring grandpa and his family, it becomes a journey of revenge as well which is cool. He meets many people along the way as he travels through the planes of existence but in culmination, it's a story about him and his brother, but mostly the MC even if his brother travels with him through most of the volumes in the novel. My favorite part and I would say the best part of the story is the commander war arc were Linley, the MC, and Bebe, the pet/brother, fight for a soverieng to revive their family that had died in their home plane while they were away and others who died just to make sure they can be revived. The arc basically reaches a climax were Linley is taken down by an attack to his soul and it results in him becoming a fusion soul of four elements which rivals that of a paragon, someone who has perfected a set of laws all the way.

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The bad part about this novel would be it's last couple of volumes which seemed rushed and had a weak ending. The problem with that is that most people, especially some in these reviews, forget that this a prequel that has come out after the authors other work in the duelogy, stellar transformation and was written as an explanation\backstory to a character in that book.

Spoiler

In stellar transformation Qin Yu, the MC of the book, journey's to the peak of power and transcends outside of his cosmos and he meets his 'brothers' who have also transcended. One is an old man Hong meng and the other is the MC of coiling dragon, linley baruch. He meets linley a little before the ending of stellar transformation but he goes by an alias and doesn't tell Qin Yu his identity until he finishes his cultivation path, creating a living cosmos as his dantian towards the of the novel.

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Overall the novel was great, it did have a weak last couple of volumes but if stellar transformation is read before this novel, then the ending of this makes more sense. <<less
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CE-NEX
CE-NEX
May 1, 2017
Status: --
I will not leave a review because, intellectually, I know just how many issues there are in this story, but I can't bring myself to give it that actual deserving score.

Yes, just like everyone else in the reviews, Coiling Dragon was my entry way and what a damn fine entry way it was.

Linley is an interesting character. He has a bloodline... he has an ancient artifact... and he has a disembodied teacher... according to Wuxia logic, the story should be over by chapter 10 because his cultivation should proceed at... more>> the speed of light. As it is, that's not the case. The author builds a fantastic fantasy tale that, in story, lasts several centuries and propels the MC into various worlds and conflicts.

The one thing I absolutely love about this story is the central theme of family. Usually, most Wuxia protagonist start the path of cultivation for a particularly convincing reason and after that, that reason deteriorates into superficial nonsense. But the author grounds Linley on the concept of family. Every conflict is for the sake of his family. Whether it be for his father, his mother, his best friend who he loves like a brother, his wife, his children, or even his extended family removed by a hundred or more generations! It all comes down to family. He strives for loved ones and that is what really sings in this story.

He's a monogamous protagonist. A near-extinct species in the world of Wuxia... that's right... he only has one wife who he remains faithful too. Shocking, I know.

The cultivation levels are balanced. One of my biggest problems in Wuxia novels is how high level cultivation pop up like breeding rabbits.

For example:

Country A: Rank XXX cultivator?! They only appear as a once in a thousand year genius!

Three hundred chapters later.

Country B: A mere rank XXX cultivator dares to challenge me?! Courting death!

None of this nonsense as things are fairly well explained and throughout in terms of setting.

It's a good novel. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But definitely worth a read. It has some nice twists and turns and a lot of the characters are believable and likable. There are no evil cousins/step-siblings who are so unbelievably cruel that it just makes no sense. And, in the end, that's why this story is so damn good. It actually makes sense and has a linear plot you can follow and connect the dots to. <<less
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lordofthebooty
lordofthebooty rated it
April 17, 2017
Status: Completed
Amazing, just simply amazing. I didn't even hear about this novel until I was reading the crappy manga version.

The light novel version is just 10000000000x better. The ending was a bit rushed, but it's still a "I have my family and friends/I am OP AF" happy ending.

The author could have went on with another book for sure, an entire new book after that. We didn't even get to see highgods Cesar/O'Brien/Dylin/Haeru and a few other early supporting characters in such a long time. Damn, you really get to see Linley... more>> go from a weak little pissy to a monster with insane fighting abilities. The journey and feels you get, still loved it. Welp, time to go read some other stuff <<less
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Ebtrill
Ebtrill rated it
April 12, 2017
Status: Completed
Spoiler

Damn. What an adventure. This book brought me into the novel translation scene, and if I could, I would forget the book just so I could read it again for the first time. However, that's not to say there aren't flaws. The story in the first plane, before he goes to Fiendgod Realm, is very good. After he ascends, though, it goes downhill. Characters are forgotten, and the ones that aren't become very flat, with IET not bothering to develop them at all. Side characters are thrown out the window and it just becomes a story about Linley and Bebe. The ending does not answer the many questions that were never answered. All that said, though, it's still an enjoyable epic to read and, like I said before, I would read it again for the first time if I could.

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asvaa
asvaa rated it
April 12, 2017
Status: Completed
This is the first Chinese novel that I have read. And I can proudly say that I didn't regret reading it. For me its one of the best Chinese novel out there. All time great. The eastern and western fantasy crossover was a brilliant move on the part of the author, I Eat Tomatoes, one of the greatest among the great Chinese fantasy novel. The names were easy to remember. The Ranking System was well done. The Characters were not 2 dimensional. They had their own personalities. The plot and... more>> scenes were well executed, lots of unexpected twists. The story was enjoyable from the start till the ending. An epic ending. I won't tell other details, as it was a spoiler. That's all. Keep up the good work author. <<less
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LoneDK
LoneDK rated it
March 19, 2017
Status: Completed
The good: The story and writing is good. The story flows nicely, the MC is likeable enough and there are few s*upid moments. There are some arcs that were genuinely interesting that had me glued to my seat. The bad: It gets a bit repetitive at times but not enough that you can't power through. The side characters are mostly underdeveloped, the romance is bland and uninspiring, the cultivation is average. I feel the novel has a lot of wasted potential and the author set up storylines that could have... more>> turned out much more epic but didn't. I find that the 1st half of the novel (before going to higher realms) more interesting than the second half. The ending is kinda crap though. Overall a solid entry level novel. If you are a newcomer to the genre than you are probably gonna enjoy it and even if you are not, it's still not that bad but it's nothing to write home about. <<less
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grrman
grrman rated it
January 12, 2017
Status: Completed
Although I didn't rate it 5 stars, I think CD should be the first web-novel for any western reader. The concepts in the novel are relatively accessible and there are plenty of western terms thrown in which makes it easier on a first time reader. Also the novel will introduce the reader to many of the cliches present in Chinese novels. IET is a good author, he writes exciting stories filled with action. He does however, make his MCs OP, and the center of the universe in the novel and... more>> CD is no exception. CD has some strong characters, and I think the first half of the novel is extremely strong. The novels suffers from the constant focus on the MC in mind, because it diminishes the roles of all the side characters, or forgets about them as soon as their major arc is over. The ending has flaws as well, but I don't think that should stop you from reading it. I really appreciate how there was an overarching goal for the MC that could drive the plot, instead of constant stumbling by the MC into things randomly.

All in all, CD is a solid novel with a strong MC and likable sidekick and it has Western themes that make it a great jumping off point for any first time reader especially considering the translation quality is excellent and the translation has been finished. <<less
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Sweeperkaas
Sweeperkaas
October 7, 2016
Status: Completed
This is the first Translation I ever started reading, finally found some time to give a review.

The plots and turns of this story has captured me to be an absolute fanatic on wanting to read every translated novel I can get my hands on. I'm a huge fan of the Authors work, a big fan for fantasy and fiction works, basically any reading thing I can get my hand on.

I can guarantee you that you wont regret reading this story, more than that I can guarantee you that you will... more>> want to read more novels of this genre after you completed it. Go read enjoy this master piece that takes you on journey you could never forget. <<less
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Konstantin
Konstantin
September 29, 2016
Status: v9
Plot is pretty good in first 8 volumes or so. But power system is too boring, as well as fights. Plotwise this novel is better then most in this genre, but not if compared to plot oriented books or games. Although I can understand why people who read it as one of the first xianxia like it.
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Reddles
Reddles rated it
September 12, 2016
Status: Completed
The first half of the story is really good, its a western style fantasy with swords and magic spells based on the elements. The MC is pretty overpowered, but not to a ridiculous degree, and the story is pretty interesting. If the story just stopped after they took over the world, I would give this a solid 5 stars.

Unfortunately, the story starts to go off the rails about half way through, when the MC gets to the 'saint' level and then especially after he goes to the higher realms. The... more>> author either ignores or forgets his previous world-building, and magic in particular is basically thrown out the window. Many characters disappear or are left behind, even if they're people you'd expect to be important. The characters that do stay around don't have enough development and become very one-dimensional (especially Bebe and Delia). Towards the end the story starts to feel really rushed and nonsensical, and the MC's luck and plot armor go off the charts.
Spoiler

For example, even the coiling dragon ring gets completely retconned. Its original power of increasing the number of spells the MC can cast is completely forgotten, and then it suddenly turns out that it was actually some kind of super rare protection artifact instead. It was pretty disappointing, he never even used the original power to its full effect. I was hoping that in the final battle against the church he would start casting a whole bunch of max level spells one after another, but that never happened.

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Also, a general complaint for all of IET's novels, is that he seems to have no sense of scale. People will routinely spend decades or centuries just sitting around meditating, and once they go the higher realms adjacent towns will be like 5 quintillion miles apart or something. For some reason I'm ok with magic and gods and stuff, but this kind of thing really breaks my suspension of disbelief. <<less
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Brat Peed
Brat Peed rated it
August 27, 2016
Status: v1c1
I am pretty sure that Coiling Dragon is among the first (if not the first) novels that introduced many foreign readers to Chinese wuxia/xianxia genre. Also I have to give credit to RWX with his insane speed - 3 chapters a day. At that time 1 chapter per week was considered as not bad. After the japanese anime/manga and korean dramas now it is the chinese wuxia/xianxia I enjoy at my leisure time.

The reason that this novel seems not very popular is because it's already completed and many user's won't... more>> like to revisit this thread. But I will strongly recommend this novel. Like other people said it you won't be tormented by waiting for the next chapters. Also if you can persevere first 10 chapters it will get much better later on.

Story: Amazing epic story. Has enticing world building, good cultivation system and the protagonist gradually grows from weak to strong. When I first started it I didn't like how the characters were too ruthless, even the protagonist seemed a little savage. But it's a part of xianxia, and in this one it's not as bad as in other xianxia.

Overall: Highly recommended. <<less
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