Gate of God

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This is a strange and inexplicable world…Mountains, water, stones, flowers, grass, trees, wood, the Sun, moonlight, stars… All creation under the Heavens and Earths are sources of energy. In this world, there are all the classics from his previous world, but there is a new addition: The Law of Dao. Fang Zhengzhi was conflicted. I can obtain power from reading books? Should I read Tao Te Ching first? Or should I read The Art of Becoming Invisible? What about the Analects of Confucius or… The Golden Lotus? With The Law Of Dao as his foundation, can Fang Zhengzhi master the Dao of All Creation and open the gate of God?

Associated Names
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GoG
神门
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
A Will Eternal (3)
Tales of Herding Gods (2)
Gourmet of Another World (1)
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (1)
My Disciple Died Yet Again (1)
Ze Tian Ji (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. all of my 5/5 novels
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  3. Academy novels
  4. Novel to waste your life
  5. everything little little in to the middle

Latest Release

Date Group Release
04/22/18 Webnovel c39
04/22/18 Webnovel c38
04/21/18 Webnovel c37
04/21/18 Webnovel c36
04/20/18 Webnovel c35
04/20/18 Webnovel c34
04/19/18 Webnovel c33
04/19/18 Webnovel c32
04/18/18 Webnovel c31
04/18/18 Webnovel c30
04/17/18 Webnovel c29
04/17/18 Webnovel c28
04/16/18 Webnovel c27
04/16/18 Webnovel c26
04/15/18 Webnovel c25
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Demonic Reader lv 451F
New Demonic Reader lv 451F rated it
March 14, 2024
Status: Completed
I almost miss this good novel from biased bad reviews.

The first arc was so very generic xianxi. But after around ch.200, the plot became more juicy.

The MC was transmigrated from Earth with golden finger. Though he wanted to live peacefully, the world didn't allow that. Nothing's free. With the so powerful golden finger, came the greater challenges.

One caveat. This novel was written based on Chinese norms, belives, trends, likes of the Chinese people. It's not written for the Westerner. People who gave this novel 1 star because they couldn't understand... more>> those qualifications should cover their heads with barrels of tofu in shame. IF they suddenly awoke in the middle of Planet Ape, with loads of ammunition and hot weapons but no chance of return : what should they do. May be someyhing which were worse than this MC.

This MC tried to be civilized human like he was before. His decision, of course, might disappoint many killing readers.

Good luck he met some intelligent and sympathy local people. His interaction and conversation with these people surely confused hot head killer-readers as they could not understand the hidden meanings.

After ch.300 the polt changed. No more school tournament. The conflicts between factions in the country began and the storyline started convulated, thus hard to be reviewed or spoiled.

As the internal conflicts solved, another conflicts began. Now it was world wide between Sects of human, demon, and beast. Human began backstab each others as usual. Demons and beasts collaborated to gain freedom for their tribes. S*upid human clan backstabbed all other human, to be able to complete their millenium plan which was started by wrong interpretation of their ancestor's order. The result went wrong. The Gates of God was succesfully openned, the almighty god which was their ancestor came back as planned, to meet the most wunderous destiny ever written in any novel. As the gates were kept openned, more ancient god beasts and god demons continue came back to Earth to be the underlings of the very weak girl. In order to keep the world safe, the MC had to do many ashamed tasks, finally became very powerful by absorbing the vital power of the Earth. By doing so, he released the most powerful immortal boss which their ancestors shed their lifes to seal it under the vital power of the Earth.

BTW, there are too much side characters with name. Most are existed for only 2-3 pages before being killed. Some are very powerful and significant but are easily killed. Very confusing.

That's why the rating 4 of 5 stars And the status of "NOT recommend for biased reader". <<less
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Evanbond
Evanbond rated it
May 10, 2018
Status: c210
Another worse novel. I bet 100 bucks that author didn't plan anything when he was writing this crap. The story goes in a direction that is randomly thought out instead of using common sense or any proper strategy. "Why are people behaving like this? Because author wants them to." This is the message this novel transmits. Same as other novels, the MC gets booed by strangers even if he accomplishes extraordinary merit. I just don't understand this type of mentality from Chinese authors. Do they want recognition from the society... more>> very much? Are they really that much of a loser in real life?

It started off in a good direction but very quickly went downhill. No, more like it jumped off the cliff. MC wants to seat for the exam yet he doesn't know that an ID card is necessary for that. He prepared himself for the exam for 8 years! He doesn't know the content of both written and battle exam yet the author has wanted to make it pass as a comedic plot. There are so many stuffs that makes you want to drop it. A terrible piece, I must say. <<less
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drollawake
drollawake rated it
April 21, 2018
Status: c37
It's like watching a bunch of toddlers argue and play pranks on each other, while thinking they're very smart. Conflict happens for petty, juvenile and s*upid reasons. Personally, I think you'd make better use of your time watching Dumb and Dumber.

Then again, you might enjoy this if you find bratty characters--and romance with them--more cute than annoying, and if you can tolerate inconsistent characterisation. If you're not annoyed after 20 chapters, this might just be for you.

For someone who considers himself a scholar, the MC thinks and acts more like... more>> the village idiot. And I'm pretty sure that lack of self-awareness isn't the comedy the author's going for. In the first chapter, he argues with a rich-looking (and presumably powerful) girl taking his chicken, thinks "What was she doing dressing up this way in such a poor, desolate location? The more important thing was that she dared to look down on him? Even though he was also a little kid, his mental age was over 20! " and proceeds to kick her. Later on,

Spoiler

he realises the girl is looking for revenge and tries to avoid getting noticed. He avoids one of her ploys to reveal his intelligence, thinking "This is obviously a trap. If he was the one who entered the Hall of Dao, he would be the one lying on the floor today!" Two chapters later, he tries to impress guy in charge of the Hall of Dao by reciting phrases that would expose him. After he finally decides to stop staying so low-profile, he ends up robbing the neighboring village's superior hunting squad, showing his six year old self and sowing enmity.

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That same female side character also annoys me. Apart from village-related shenanigans, the first 20 chapters have been related to her many petty attempts at revenge. I bet that cycle will begin once more if they meet again... only for her to predictably end up as his lover. Boo.

Edit: Since I was accused of providing false information. I've qualified my statements and quoted relevant parts of the novel to back up my claims. <<less
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xenocross
xenocross rated it
April 25, 2018
Status: c1000
Ignore other reviewers if they havent read until chapter 130 where the real action begin. The first 100 chapters were like introduction.

This novel is good, really good. It got funny jokes and hitting all the right point in humor. A good novel to read. The action also exciting, even with its plotholes

And the romance were quite well done. Warning, this develop into harem situation later on, but it was natural and not forced.

The biggest strength of this novel is the MC, not afraid of making decision, but also using his... more>> brain to get out of problem. Even using the most shameless method. <<less
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crossfire92
crossfire92 rated it
July 21, 2018
Status: c140
Right. This story is amazing from chapters 0 to 50. If you like funny comedic stories with a good plot this is worth a read.

Now let's talk about the bad news.
After chapter 50 the MC leaves his village behind to take some exams. At this point in the story, all the people in the story excluding the villagers, a couple girls, and some examiners are cookie cutter personalities. For some bizarre reason, the main character is villainized by every scholar in the two cities we visit for exams. What's... more>> even stranger, is that everyone regardless of background does this.

On top of this, almost all these "Scholars" start behaving like muscle brained men. There's a really bizarre contrast to this story. When the MC walks into a room everyone is speaking poetry and elegance. Then they notice the MC and suddenly it's bravado and taunts... There's no poetic taunt, or historical story to outwit the opponent it's pure I'm better than you smack talk.

Naturally, this means the MC is the only one quoting poetry and making metaphors in the face-smacking competitions. But it's bizarre because these people are all scholars. They memorize this stuff for power! I know for a fact if you read enough wuxia you start getting an urge to use these foreign sayings in society. But yet these "scholars" do not behave this way in the story and instead only mock and laugh at the MC.

Finally, I am pretty frustrated because I do not understand the MC's goal. He wants to take the imperial examination but for some reason can't signup for that exam. He has to take several easier exams first and these exams don't test your knowledge they also test combat capability... Against groups of your peers. Meaning ten guys could team up to knock you out of the competition if they so chose to...

So here are my stars:
Translation: 1 Star. (it's fine like 95% of the time and then there's a word that's a completely wrong word and changed the entire meaning of the paragraph and the two following... that makes it REALLY hard to follow the story sometimes.
Story Update Pace: N/A
Story Development: 3 stars
Character Design: 3 Stars (Decent MC, Father, Mother, and some villagers. Everyone else is crud (barely tolerable female lead)
World Background: 2 stars (There hasn't been an explanation of the world yet. But from what I can see its a terrible world. In a world where literacy grants power there are actually illiterate people. Also for some bizarre reason, there are two villages like 45 minutes away from each other by a fast walk being forced to share a food supply by hunting and they don't plant crops. Also, there are demons... Yeah. Dunno crud about them just that the MC randomly punched one unconscious no explanation. Also, there are vicious beasts that somehow have DAO powers without reading. Oh, and demons don't have to read either! They gain DAO powers from eyeballs in their forehead... Wait so this is a world where reading is power for everyone BUT animals, non-humans, and other species? How on earth did humans survive?! Reading is NOT an easy skill in the beginning! Also, where did those books that give power come from!? <<less
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Delusion
Delusion rated it
April 28, 2018
Status: --
Previous comment: This is infact a well-written novel for qidian. Unlike other qidian stories which degrade after a few hundred chapters, the quality of the novel vastly improves as we proceed the story.

Edit: My interest is dropping. Same old blah blah Xianxia
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wait321
wait321 rated it
June 24, 2018
Status: c178
The story is very novel but there’s just way too much filler. It’s great at the beginning. But soon it becomes like 60% tr*sh talk. After each exam, there’s 5-10 chapters of nothing but people commenting on how the hero will fail when we KNOW from his background that he got first. It’s the same for every fight and competition. It’s so boring once the exam starts.
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Cute Potato
Cute Potato rated it
October 30, 2019
Status: c275
I really wanted to like this novel. And I do like several aspects of it, but the dislikes far outweigh the likes. Most of my dislikes could actually be traced back to one thing: weak characterization. The characters' motivations are unclear and most of the times I got confused why they did what they did.
Spoiler

Let's start with the MC. He is characterized as a cunning, shameless, scheming, a bit cowardly yet valiant. When he was 6 y.o, he was presented with a chance to make himself famous and known as a prodigy, and most likely gain the support of the empire. But he instead hid his talent because he was afraid that it was a trap and the villagers he grew up with would PROBABLY think that he is possessed. Granted that it WAS a ploy, but a ploy concocted by a 5 y.o. I could think of some ways to get out of it, and I'm no genius. So already we have a forced plot obstacle.


Now the MC hid his talent and abilities because he was afraid, until one day he decided he shouldn't be afraid anymore, then he became a show-off. But he also repeatedly claimed that he wanted no trouble and only wanted to become a lowly official, build a family, and stay and bring prosperity to his little village. Then he went and caused havoc everywhere, even lied, schemed, and cheated so he could top the imperial exam. He just had to have a full mark on every exam and beat everyone at the battle exams. It's already been established that the MC is willing to hide his abilities to avoid trouble, so why did he go out of his way and created trouble to to top the exam when all he needed and wanted to do was to show a little bit of what he could do, gain a minor position and none of the troubles/enemies? Does he want to be lowkey or does he want to be famous? Well, the answer is it depends on the author's mood that day. Already, the MC's motives and characterizations didn't make any sense.

Move on to the support characters. Everyone keeps underestimating the MC, even after the countless "miracles" the MC able to pull out of his ass. For example, at the age of 7, the MC able to create a divine formation that helped the village, destroy a huge boulder with a single strike, and kill a spirit beast king! A king! When he was 7! Yet the villagers kept on saying there's no way he could do this or that, Every. Single. Time. The parents weren't any better either. They kept patronizing him, doubting his every word when he said he could or would do this and that, scolding him, when he's practically a walking talking miracle factory. It's a forced drama. A horrible one at that, and it goes on throughout the novel. Except for a very few people, every support character in this novel acted this way.

Oh he's a scholar that top the capital exams, unbeaten in every fight, and in possession of a sacred sword that could level a city? Oh he's going to face the "genius" #7768 from so and so mysterious family who owns a mildly famous technique or weapon? Oh there's no way the MC is going to win. He is a nobody, a commoner, too young, too s*upid.


Every. Single. Time.
So, prior to the MC's meteoric rise, there was a genius so great, the commoners and scholars practically worshiped her as a goddess, the generals had to listen to her every word, the princes tried to get on her good side and even gain her allegiance, and even the emperor had to show her courtesy. Then the MC came, did everything she did. Showed even more superior talent, and everyone's reaction is to hate him and even tried to kill him because he's too dangerous. Too talented. W.T.F.

Their reasoning is that he's gonna upset the balance. Upset how? He's a hillbilly from a secluded village, never shown his political preferences, didn't know anyone in the capital, didn't even have the chance to step into the palace? He is an unrivaled talent, instead of killing him, it would make more sense to try to gain his allegiance first. If that doesn't work, THEN you could kill him. But no, let's just kill him. Just because.

The only explanation I could think of is the MC is probably the owner of the most punchable face in the world which explains why everybody wants to kill him merely seconds after meeting him.

So now, the commoners have no respect for him, the scholars envied him, the officials afraid of his meteoric rise, the princes wanted him dead, while the emperor, when he realized that the MC got a hold of a powerful sword, used ploys and schemes to snatch the sword away from the MC. Would you want to be a servant of such empire? The MC would. Because reasons. If I was him, I would take my talent to some other empire/kingdom then destroy this shitty empire to smithereens.


I could go on and on, but you get my point. Weak characteristics, confusing motives, no rhyme and reason to what everyone does. Everything they did is only for the sake of advancing the plot.
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Pixeldrum
Pixeldrum rated it
June 15, 2018
Status: c120
The only thing this novel's got going for it is the unique and i'll be honest, interesting cultivating system. However, just because the cultivation is unique and fresh doesn't make this novel an automatic 5/5.

Take the way to cultivate out of the equation, and the novel is filled with cliches, one sided, one dimensional characters, MC is a mary sue that never loses, and "coincidentally" makes friends with the most powerful people. Many typical "villains" and other archetypes that are repeated over and over again in cultivation novels like these

I... more>> endured for 120 chapters, but it doesn't seem like it will ever get better. Author needs to learn how to write well <<less
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Kailour
Kailour rated it
April 25, 2018
Status: --
This is gonna be less of a review and more of a correction of other reviews that pass out incorrect information.

... more>>
Spoiler

First off, a complaint I'm seeing that's fairly common is that the MC hides his strength. Yes, he hides his strength, he also has many perfectly valid reasons for doing so. Early on in the novel he manages to offend a fairly powerful young girl who seeks him out to take revenge. He hides himself partially to avoid her and also partially so his village won't think hes possessed by some devil and outright kill him. One of the more ignorant reviewers here states "Sure, sure, he has inexplicable knowledge that might get him in trouble. Instead it's better to remain an ignorant villager, preferably forever since he's not worth being a main character." He clearly understands that the MC's knowledge will get him in trouble, but doesn't understand the severity of it. The MC's entire village is illiterate, this includes his family, his friends, even the village chief himself is illiterate. At a point early on the MC hides his abilities because if a 7 year old child somehow knew how to read when he was born and raised in a village full of illiterate people with not a single one of them teaching him to read, they would obviously believe he is possessed by a devil or some other nonsense.

Another thing the same ignorant reviewer (who only read to chapter 19, which is funny cause the MC isn't hiding his strength as much anymore) said was "Hell, one of the other characters even makes note of the fact that everything in a situation worked out exactly how the MC wanted so that he wouldn't get caught, even though he'd gone out in a ridiculous outfit to stand in front of the entire village. As if he'd somehow known she'd tell the guards to stand back and everyone's attention would be diverted at the right time for him to slip away, even though there's no mention of anything taking that attention. It just kinda happened" This person has very clearly never read a Chinese novel before and has no idea what "face" is. The MC had done exactly as she had asked and if she still told the guards to grab him she would have thrown all of her "face" away, as the guards have no idea why shes doing any of this, she hasn't informed them that the MC has offended her in any way, and is too embarrassed to mention that he did!

A different reviewer who I honestly don't believe has read this novel past the first few chapters says "For someone who considers himself a scholar, the MC thinks and acts more like the village idiot. And I'm pretty sure that's not the comedy the author's going for. The female side character is also annoying. Apart from village-related shenanigans, most chapters so far have been related to her many petty attempts at revenge." The MC is currently a 7 year old child, so he must act like a 7 year old child. As for him acting like the village idiot, I honestly don't get where that other reviewer is coming from. Most of the MC's interactions within the village have been him acting his part as a 7 year old child, yes he steals chicken from his neighbor, but he does so because his family is poor, yes he acts childish and baits the neighbors child into doing s*upid things, but that is because that child seeks trouble with him first. Other than that the MC really hasn't acted much like a scholar, and he honestly shouldn't until he has some excuse for knowing how to read in a village full of illiterates.

[collapse]

Anyway, my honest review for this at least up to chapter 45 is: 4/5 stars. It's good to read so far with only some mild irritations, it does have (a) character that makes you hate them right off the bat (if anyone has read the early chapters of 'The Magus Era' its similar to 'her'), it has fairly interesting cultivation so far even though its only revealed very little of it. The MC's personality is fairly likable, he isn't overly ruthless, nor overly compassionate.

But, I am only 45 chapters in, maybe the story will change a lot and I'll grow to hate it, who knows. However, I hate when people throw misinformation into a review, completely missing out on some details (such as the MC being able to read in a village full of illiterates and not understanding why he can't show off his knowledge, like really Fubarone, did you even read the novel?), and yet stating it as a fact. <<less
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Fubarone
Fubarone rated it
April 21, 2018
Status: c19
I managed to make it 19 chapters before I just couldn't take it anymore.

This book is just plain intolerable.

While I'm not a fan of MC's who try to stay low key, this goes above and beyond. Not only does the MC not want to stand out, everything around him seems to work exactly to that effect as well. Hell, one of the other characters even makes note of the fact that everything in a situation worked out exactly how the MC wanted so that he wouldn't get caught, even though... more>> he'd gone out in a ridiculous outfit to stand in front of the entire village. As if he'd somehow known she'd tell the guards to stand back and everyone's attention would be diverted at the right time for him to slip away, even though there's no mention of anything taking that attention. It just kinda happened.

Sure, sure, he has inexplicable knowledge that might get him in trouble. Instead it's better to remain an ignorant villager, preferably forever since he's not worth being a main character.

And the main reason he can't even show a shred of his ability is because he's an idiot who stole a chicken (somehow) from a favored daughter of heaven or whatever, and when she tried to reclaim it, he kicked her into a river. So there's going to be a series of traps she's setting to catch him, but he'll never fall into them because reasons. And he'll look on and chuckle silently to himself because he sees her traps and the other people falling into them, all the while he's still a goddamn ignorant villager who is getting schemed against by the village chief and a rival family.

The whole start of the story is grating on the nerves, and the MC is worthless. He'll somehow stumble into power, all the while hiding it because reasons, and I'm sure everyone around him will suffer for it. His parents will probably die, and maybe even the entire village, but instead of taking the hint that power is meant to be used, he'll see it as justification for his reasoning that he should remain hidden.

But who am I kidding? He'll just keep hiding everything away, and the world itself (a.k.a. The author) will do everything it can to make it the right decision, no matter how irrational it makes the other characters seem. <<less
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StoneTheLoner
StoneTheLoner rated it
June 19, 2020
Status: c467
The story always played fast and lose with realism and believability, but I've decided to drop it because those problems are at the forefront more than ever during the arc I just finished and was way too nonsensical for me to enjoy. The problem stems from something most of you will have picked up on if you read the other negative reviews which is plot armor and hard to believe situations. I definitely picked up on how weird it was for the MC to know so many things and not... more>> others that unarguably should've come up before. Outsider's have reactions that really don't fit what's happened or is happening. And the MC constantly makes amazing *ss pulls that somehow work despite the situation practically demanding they shouldn't. But I put those issues aside until I couldn't anymore. Should one even say a fictional story became unrealistic? Because that's the best way to put it. It's like the author treated his story as wish fulfillment and the plot and narrative only served that goal. The MC is running around battlefields like a headless chicken doing ridiculous things nonstop and somehow... it works. Somehow, because instead of being developed it just seems to happen time and time again.

An additional complain would be the princes and other powerful figures. They somehow turned belligerent, paranoid and obsessive over the MC in a way that isn't reciprocated with the other 2 characters who share the exact same traits that's making them hate the MC. It doesn't make sense! At first the attention was explained because they wanted to prevent the balance from being upset but currently that's already happened hundreds of chapters ago and can't really explain why it's still happening now! It's like they're trying to put a genie back in the lamp after the lamp was already completely destroyed. It's too fcken late, it's not going to work you dipshts! What's more, the humans are currently warring with demons and they're still trying to destroy the MC who btw isn't even invested in undermining the princes. There's no longer any advantage to be had fighting the MC so why does it come up time after time? There was at least 30 different moments where we were forced to watch them try and trick or kill the MC in the latest arc and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they were doing it beyond the author needed to give the MC enemies so he could rise to the occasion and be really cool. They really ought to have had other concerns what with a war going on and other political enemies they still had amongst themselves. This is an extension of the critisism that none of the characters seem to react like the situation calls for and it's by far the most consistent issue the story had after the mc's nonsensical achievements.

I also want to put it out there that the women in the harem aren't as well realised as some of the other reviewers claimed. They follow generic archetypes and are completely one dimensional. They are 400 chapters later what they were when they were first introduced with few exceptions. And in the first place I never really believed any of them outside 1 of the girls had any reason to connect with the MC like they did. For some that even happening would've contradicted their personalities and position. But it happened anyway. Not once, but five different times. It happened because the story said it happened...

Anyway, it's a harem and that should say everything about the quality of romance. You'd be silly to expect anything good and we all should know better than that by now. <<less
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Expatamoeba
Expatamoeba rated it
July 5, 2018
Status: c100
It started out good and I really enjoyed the period when he was a kid. But it went downhill really fast after the exam arc. It was soo s*upid I think the author didnt have any solid plan for the story after the MC grow up. A lot of filler chapters where people keep on hating the MC and underestimating him over and over only to get face smacked after few chapters. And suddenly there's a demon in the exam and the MC killed him in one shot. It was... more>> so random I dont know what the hell is going on. And then MC get some powerful friends for no apparent reason. Sigh what a letdown.

For the pros, well the cultivation system in unique. There's no OP cheat, just the MC previous memory about chinese literature. My favourite part is the relationship between the MC and female lead, Chu Guyan. I like their love hate relationship since they was a kid.

Overall give it a try. I dropped it during the exam arc. Maybe I'll give it one more chance when I got the time. <<less
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openbookworm
openbookworm rated it
May 27, 2019
Status: c302
I have to say that I didn't expect to enjoy this novel as much as I have so far. After reading the mixed reviews posted on this page, I started reading with lowered expectations, only to find myself pleasantly surprised. I'm not going to challenge the posters who went to the trouble of writing their critical reviews or claim that they were flat-out wrong, as I recognize some of the points they have made. However I would like to offer my own perspective, so that any interested readers mgiht find... more>> something that they like about this novel before going in.

A lot of the people have problems with the main character. They say he's too bratty and foolish, that the author has made him into comic relief, and that they don't understand why he is so foolish at times. I have to say that I think they're missing the point.

I find myself able to forgive, and indeed enjoy, the slow start of the novel as it skillfully portrays something that is difficult for many authors to achieve, the mentality of a child. It makes it obvious that for all his past life's knowledge, Fang Zhengzhi is not an adult stuck in a child's body, but is in actually a child himself. It feels like a case of the outside shaping the inside, and keeps the main character from seeming like the stereotypical chinese main character with a gold finger.

After reading so far into the novel and seeing how Fang Zhengzhi grows over the course of this story, I find myself impressed at how the author has managed to subvert many of the tropes and flanderization that afflicts the main characters of transmigration stories. I'm sure many of my fellow readers recognize the symptoms of a bad xianxia character: all about his 'face', kills anyone who gets in his way, acts as if he has a right to any treasure or beautiful woman that comes his way.

In many ways it seems as if Fang Zhengzhi is following the mold, with the way he manages to charm so many impressive woman, annoy so many of his rivals, and even escape many situations through what feels like improbable luck. However, even with these similarities, the author has managed to show that Fang Zhengzi is not a normal main character, but instead a subversion created by planting an ordinary man into an unnatural world, keeping many of the modern day sensibilities that cause him to stick out in this ancient world. This is the cause of the many strange behaviors that have managed to annoy so many readers.

The main difference between Fang Zhengzhi and the stereotypical Chinese MC is that he does not like fighting or killing. Whether it is hurting others or being hurt himself, he would rather avoid it if he can. His main ambition since childhood has been to bring prosperity to his village, marry a pleasant wife, and live a peaceful life without any troubles. He's actually rather intimidated by the outside world, and if it wasn't for the promises that he made to Yan Xiu and Chi Guyan, he would have been perfectly happy to stay in his village for the rest of his life.

From the very start of the story, we can see that he's actually terrified of the world outside his village, and understandably so. If any of us were somehow to be transported to the past as a commoner in a world where a noble has the right to slaughter the lower classes with impunity, I'd argue that most of us would try and stay low as well. He's been blessed with a good family, whose only priority is to see him safe and happy, so he doesn't have the same rebellious drive to succeed that many protagonists and instead he would rather stay ignorant of the troubles of the outside.

During the time-skip, it is said that he was tempted to go and take the examination many times, but allowed himself to be convinced otherwise by his village elder. Instead, I can see it as him backing out of making a target of himself due to cowardice. The main character seems to realize this as well and calls himself a coward many times throughout the story, so much so that it becomes a defining trait alongside his shamelessness. Which again, should make it obvious that he doesn't treat his 'face' the way that a typical chinese protagonist does. This gets pointed out by Yan Xiu during their second duel. He will use any dirty trick he has to survive and avoid being forced into situations where he needs to hurt someone or be hurt himself.

Part of Fang Zhengzi's continual lack of common knowledge stems from his fear of the outside world. He would rather ignore the source of his fears than confront them, so after realizing that his prodigious knowledge of the Dao might paint a target on his back, he never tried to find out he could make use of it. It was only after over-preparing himself for years, studying hundreds of different Daos, that he decided to risk taking the examination. So his ignorance of how to enter the examinations might be foolish, but there are motivations for his ignorance.

Then later when he continues to show his ignorance of common knowledge, after he has passed the examinations and won the double dragon roll, it's important to note who the people are that hold this 'common knowledge'. Even the weakest cannon fodder that rolls on by during the course of Fang Zhengzhi's various adventures, is probably the son of a Count or Earl. If you asked any commoner about this so-called 'common knowledge', they'd probably be as ignorant as Fang Zhengzhi.

This sort-of environment also plays into another complaint that reviewers have had. They don't seem to understand why Fang Zhengzhi keeps getting booed and treated like crap when he's doing all these incredible things. What they seem to forget is that every one of the spectators important enough to be present at these climatic final examinations are either nobles or the servants of nobles. Why would any of these nobles want to cheer for the village brat who keeps making them look like fools.

In a world where sipping from a tea cup can send a message with seven different layers of meaning, Fang Zhengzh's modern, irreverent attitude is like someone who keeps picking their nose and farting while in public. We see this when Fang Zhengzhi first meets the emperor, he's the only one that does not kneel and somehow manages to miraculously escape the fate of having his head chopped off. This makes him unpredictable, and in the subtle world of court politics, this unpredictably is incredibly dangerous. The nobles can see that he's a talented individual, and he might prove useful in the future if they could recruit him, but they're currently treating him like a lit stick of dyanmite that could go off at any moment.

If I had to make a criticism, I'd have to say that there are many times where I can't help but see the inspiration that the author has drawn from Ze Tian Ji. There are so many comparisons to be made, whether it's the inspiration drawn from books, the scene of the main character controlling hundreds of swords in a pocket world, or the love triangle between the female idol of a generation, the naive countryside lout, and the famed young hero. I wouldn't go as far to call it plagiarism, but I do feel that the author has taken many of the story points from ZTJ and put his own spin on them. I would actually go as far to recommend it for those who did like Ze Tian Ji, with the warning that it has more comedic elements and is thankfully faster paced. I would even say that the characters in Gate of God might actually be more relatable than ZTJ's. <<less
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Ner0
Ner0 rated it
June 1, 2018
Status: c134
There's not much I can say about this novel. When you reach this level, there's nothing else to add.

This story gave me lots of ideas due to how good it was, it influenced my emotions greatly. There's no perfection, there's only excellence.

Gate of God is excellent.
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grenfunkel
grenfunkel rated it
April 30, 2018
Status: c60
MC is smart, forthright and funny. He is not like MC of AWE who causes trouble and not admit mistakes or pushes the fault on other people just to be funny. An example is in ch 60 when GoG MC needs examination permit, he does not steal other people's permit so that he will not destroy their future. Instead, MC creates a counterfeit permit. MC is smart but is not perfect like other MC and I like that he stays human unlike other 'perfect' MC of other novels which is... more>> borderline creepy.

MC is not a scholar by the way he is a historian. Being historian does not mean he should act like a scholar when he is in a body of a 6 y/o child. That would be creepy. He is adapting/acting properly as a child even if he reincarnated. The low reviews are not accurate since the story is just in the introductory phase. Better review after 100 chapters. I will be updating my review at that time as well. <<less
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femalenovelist
femalenovelist rated it
April 25, 2018
Status: c43
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found the MC was funny and things are developing at a nice pace.

Give it a try and judge for yourself. Not everyone has the same taste.
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Atami
Atami rated it
May 25, 2018
Status: c120
Recommendation: DON'T READ ANY REVIEWS RIGHT NOW AND JUST READ IT

It is better for you to read this novel and form your opinion on it rather than taking it from other people because there is only 120 chapters released. The amount of chapters is not enough to form a concrete review on the novel itself and we can only predict or hope that it remain the same as the first 120 chapters.

With that said, it is a really fun novel to read so far and I really enjoy it. I... more>> think you guys will enjoy the MC as much as I do. If it help you can look at my reading list and see how much of it matches yours to decide if this novel is something you want to try.

Reviews: Will do it when more chapters are released <<less
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Shut it
Shut it rated it
April 20, 2021
Status: c430
Start out ok, but author keep repeating the story without anything new; since the start until now there only been nothing, but conpetitions. After MC won one competition, he have to go to another one than another one and keep repeated the same thing over and over again. Also, every single important people in the country have nothing to do, but to conduct and watch the competitions, whether it the emperor, the king, the prince, the count officers and other important people always at the competitions like they don't have... more>> anything else to do other than that. And the people keep cursing the MC for no legit reason and no one seem to believe in MC at all, even though he always win the 1st place in the prior competitions even his parents and his villages elders.

I can keep go on and on about the con as it keep getting worst as the story progress.

From start til ~100 chapters I would give it a 4 stars, but until now ~400 chapter I don't even want to give this novel a 1 star rating. <<less
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pandicorn
pandicorn rated it
April 28, 2018
Status: c56
You need to read this shit. Comedy is on point. Schemes are on point. Op ness is on point. Logic is also on point. Plot armor is negligible. Make it to at least the 17th chapter before you start making ur decision.

One of the really good hidden gems rn. Read it.
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MyRAMEN
MyRAMEN rated it
January 26, 2021
Status: c1004
Even with the frequent translation mistakes I loved this novel... however... it becae endless filler from around C300-400. The story is also veryy repetitive and contains countless plotholes. I really wanted to finish this amd I got very close... but I really couldnt bring myself to keep wasting mt life for hours only to finally reach the ending which shouldve been reached long ago. I cant recommend this novel at all with 80% of it being crp to fill the word count and containing countless other problems
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