In my own view this is an alternate version of tales of demons & gods (TDG) but with slow pacing

now let's talk the pros and cons of this good novel

PROS

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1. the characters build up is superb no 2D attitudes everyone has its own story
2. MC is NOT ARROGANT nor NARCISSISTIC does not kill wantonly if not provoke or schemed with
3. the author does not force MC to make s*upid decisions/action just to make the story move forward unlike some novel cough spirit realm cough
4. i dunno why there is a mature tag here so far there were no obscene situation involving the mc
5. MC's harem does not involve girls but old men hahahahahaha
6. story is beautifully written at the start

CONS

1. the story has slow development perhaps this is the reason why some people dislike the novel
2. the author is a perfectionist to the point that there is a lot of side stories aka fillers to be found just imagine playing RPG then your goal is to finish each subquest before proceeding to main quest lol
3. repeated flowery words just to make the word count big, for me this is the most hated part of the whole novel ugh
4. some fighting scenes are quite long it span from 5 chapters to 10 chapters : (

well if you can tolerate the flaws of SOTR you can enjoy the novel to its fullest I recommend this anyone especially to TGD lovers just give it a try <<less

[Edit] Now, I officially will not continue reading this. I cannot tolerate it any longer. It has become boring and rather rushed.

Final Rating:

• Story: 2 (it had a great potential but sadly went down the road)
• translation: 3.5

[/Edit]

Unique plot. This is the only novel with this kind of premise, which is why I'm still reading its updates. I can ignore other negative aspects of the novel except for one - the romance. Honestly, I don't like the women in this novel except for Hopefully, there won't be any romance for her in this novel because I dread for her character development as I observed how the author wrote about his female characters. There was also a woman whose I get it that the woman deserved it but the thought that she 'felt' something for him when she was hit by him cringes me. I was like, "Really?" with a facepalm. I mean, are the women here THAT lacking of self worth? As a woman, I don't agree with the author's view on women, much more about the romance. Anyway, I'm still reading the novel for the story plot. I'm just annoyed when women get involved. Some women, I can tolerate. Some, I can't. About the situation with Miss Dan, I didn't like the development though I was relieved that Jiang Chen

That way, his 'mature' and 'responsible' character was maintained. Still, it was enough for me to confirm NOT to expect a good portrayal of the genre Romance from this author. But for the unique plot alone, I hang on to this novel. So I guess it means that I like this novel compared to other reincarnation or transmigration stories as I intentionally gloss over the negative parts in order to finish the novel. A thumbs up to the author for that :)

I would give this a 2.5/5, but I rounded it up to 3 because I'm still reading this novel.

I like the novel, but the author executes it poorly. There are too many flaws so there's no way I can give this a 3. I'll keep this short since others have the same pros and cons for this novel as I do.

Pros:

... more>>

1. 1. The MC is cool and collective. He isn't another dumb MC who kill others without disregards to the consequences.
   2. No harem, but there are girls that falls in love with the MC. He only loves one girl so far.
   3. Learning about his past life. This is the main attraction for me. I am still reading this novel so I can see him ascend to the heavenly plane and meet his former life's disciples he mentioned.

Cons:

1. 1. The dialogue between characters is horrific; this type of padding word count is my biggest complaint. It's dreadful having to read the useless, unnecessary dialogue between antagonists throughout this novel. They become useless later on, and all of them have the same personality--arrogant and s*upid. You will have to skim or else you will drop this novel out of frustration. Too many fillers and repeating the same things in this novel.
   2. All of the MC's companions become useless. They are rarely mentioned after their arcs concluded. Some will follow the MC, but there will be hundreds of chapters where none of them will be mentioned. There is no development for them after the MC saves them so don't bother even remembering their names.
   3. People can swear a heavenly oath--meaning if someone lies, they will die by being struck by lightning. The author really dropped the ball on this one. Most situations can easily be solved by doing this, but it's not used for plot progression.
   4. Last but not least, the novel drags on for far too long. 1300 chapters in and we are still in the mortal realm. We are past the halfway mark for this novel, and the MC isn't the strongest one yet. I fear that this novel will continue to drag on until the 2k chapter mark, where the last 500 chapters will be about the heavenly plane. I would rate this a 2 if this happens.

There are many cons to this novel, but there are good parts that keep me coming back. One poster said it best, it's like a "roller coaster." My main reason for still reading this novel is to see the MC ascend to the heavenly plain. The story hasn't been so bad that I would drop this novel. I rarely ever drop novels. I drudge through them with the art of skimming. <<less

The story and setting are quite good and the MC development for now is interesting. Let's see where it will go.

Props to the translator for the good job.

I've been reading this novel for quite some time actually. But this is the first time I write a review about it.

To be honest SOTR is not the first and only one chinese martial arts novel that i've read and still reading and surely will not be the last. I spent my childhood days reading martial arts novels similar like SOTR (before internet days and tv channels only provide so so entertainment.. Im 37 by the way.. LOL).

Anyway my review is I like to enjoy reading a good book with... more>> a good story and SOTR is one of the many good books that I read daily. Apart from the "slow" (it means I am eager and hungry for more releases) daily releases I have nothing to complain about. This book has accompany me basically in ALL my activities during work, off work, holidays, etc.

Kudos to the writers, translators, editors, and of course the readers that's been involved with this story since day 1. Thank you for your hard work delivering all these chapters and make us who can't read chinese or japanese able to understand and enjoy the story.

I also would like to point out that although the plot maybe just maybe quite boring for some of us here. I personally like these kind of plot. It's predictable but I still like it though.

I hope my first review is good enough and my english is acceptable to all the readers here.

Many thanks! <<less

I will be reviewing this novel by it's story, characters and it's translation team. With the last one being because I feel that the translation team is an important factor if you're reading the novel while it's still being translated.

Story:

The premise of reincaration isn't exactly original anymore, but what mainly attracted me was the description that gave me the feeling the MC would be domineering, and that the one reincarnating was millions of years old. I was immediately hooked on the idea that we'd have a real badass of a... more>> character. Sadly this isn't exactly how it turns out in the story itself.

The story isn't boring or badly written, but at the same time it's not amazing either. The way the story usually plays out is that the main character Jiang Chen (JC) travels to a place where he befriends good people who are somewhat powerful, while clashing with bad people who are usually close to or at the top of the hierarchy. Trouble ensues and he defeats the bad guys, promoting both himself and his friends in status. Then he arranges some stuff so that his friends are safe after which he travels to a new region and the cycle starts over again. This might sound like I find it boring but I don't, the story has enough small twists and an interesting enough world to keep it fun to read. What's less fun to read are a lot of the fights. Sadly the author is quite bad at writing exhilarating fights, most of the time they end up as 50% fight, 50% fighting move info dump. So the fights become dragged out and you just want to get back to whatever problem JC is busy solving.

All in all the story is fun enough to keep reading, but the execution could have been more interesting.

Characters:

The characters also leave some things to be desired. The thing that bothers me the most about JC is that he doesn't feel like a million year old wise sage. Instead it feels like his bearing is just more mature than all the other characters, and that he happens to have incredible knowledge of both the martial and pill dao. He very rarely goes all out and usually restrains himself from getting too much attention. He's not a badly written character mind you, just a lot less cool that he could have been in my opinion.

Most of the friends that he makes are nice characters that are fun to read about. Sadly almost all of them have very poor aptitudes (compared to him and his memories) so most of them get left behind or only play very small roles. The only exception being a love interest (for now at least).

The antagonists are usually just annoying and arrogant "young master" types that have little substance to them besides just being that kind of character.

Translating team:

I said it in the beginning, but to me the translation team if very much part of the experience when reading a novel that's being translated. If you can see that they have fun in translating and communicating with the community, then that really adds to the whole reading experience. And in my experience this team is one of the most, if not the most, fun translation groups. All the members are nice people who are quite active in the comments and are very easily reachable on the Discord.

They release a very steady 7 chapters a week, and everyone gets an extra chapter is someone signs up for the highest advance-chapters tier. The best thing is that Etvolare, the main translator, loves to throw in extra bonus chapters every now and than for any reason that she can find. Her favourite LOL team won? Have an extra chapter to celebrate! The team lost? Have an extra chapter to compensate the sad feeling! Now obviously this doesn't happen all the time, but both her and her team are working very hard to give us surprise chapters just because they can. And to me this shows that they have a lot of doing this. <<less

"SOTR is cool. U guys shud read." Jokes aside, here's the not-even-semi-profesional review:

Let's start with a premise of the story. Protagonist, Jiang Chen was a son of Celestial Emperor, highest position currently known in novel. Due to a pill his father concocted, even tho Chen was not a cultivator, he lived for millions of years untill he reincarnated, and that's where the story starts. (Many reviews might say it, but it isn't very boring when he reminisces about being son of this and this.) Due to living for... more>> such a long time, he has knowledge about almost everything, which is his only apparent advantage.

MC starts from the lowest kingdom out of 16, all of which is an outer part of a lower region of a continent. (Like in most other novels, which kinda makes sense as mostof these MC-s fight the system). His cultivation speed is awesome, but he is constantly pitted against stronger and stronger enemies. In that regard, this novel is like many others, but there are more positive people here.

There is a big plot overhanging his whole situation, in addition to many sub-major plots, which is good for a story. These plots are mostly searching for this or that people, but it feels kinda normal.

Story has a making of a harem and at this point it might actually advance that way, but it's very vague about it.

Fights are not very boring in most cases, though you might see yourself skipping some of them.

And these concludes all the major things, detailed dryly. <<less

Interesting at first but lately I find it difficult to continue reading this. Author prolonging the story too much. For example, there is a chapter about the thoughts of a side character about the MC and this is a whole goddamn chapter.

The format of the story is repetitive. Beat the Minions - Minions leader - Faction leader. At the same time, this would also helps the other faction who MC have good impression to win.

For those who likes transmigration with a cool headed op protagonist, this a good try but... more>> if you're a hot tempered reader who dislikes what I said above, then its up to you. <<less

The novel is great. It really keeps you on your toes. The MC although sometimes seems a little bit overpowered. His knowledge from his previous life helps him a lot. Waiting for him to breakthrough to emperor realm and the to great emperor and kick emperor shura's ass. Sometimes the flow of story seems slow "like his breakthrough to ninth level of sage realm took 2 chapters " could have been done in one chapter. Overall a must read, keeps you thinking what will happen next.

This novel has, in the beginning, a new way of write for me who english isn't my nature language. But the story, development, ranking ups, this novel gives is sensational. When he goes from a nobody mortal to a otherworldly cultivator with his heaven-defying potential that is given to him by pills makes for himself, the lucky which only protagonist have for treasures is things which gives the taste of a novel of this genre.
I hope don't have much of "oh junior don't your dare make this" "your are a mere ant with your cultivation of Rank 1000 Semi-God" "oh threatening me? You don't know the immensity of heaven and earth" even knowing that will have at least one of this.

The only cons is the Jiang Chen's demeanor that does not fit his age of millions of years and remaining citing that if not for his past life he could not do this and that. [If I rembember something more I put here later]

(I only read four novels currently therefore I don't have comments regarding something bad or good in interpersonal relationships)
The rest is very good in this novel.

I've always felt that Sovereign of the Three Realms is an odd novel; if you look at it in a broad sense, you will find that every (if not most) arcs and characters are filled with the usual clichés/tropes found in other xuanhuan novels and yet in many instances they are done in a completely different way and somehow the story feels quite gripping (well, at times at least).

Let's look at the MC: He's a reincarnator with an amazing amount of knowledge in techniques and alchemy, however he was never... more>> able to put most of it in practice due to his physique; in his new life he replaces his recently dead namesake in the lowest of the lowest realm; how did the old Jiang Chen die? he was caned to death because he farted on a public ritual (he later figures out that he was actually poisoned (so that he would fart) as is usual in these stories) ; After his reincarnation, he must now use his supreme knowledge to get ahead in life (as a cultivator/martial artist as well as his own station in life), in this life he can cultivate so he uses the best (read: most appropiate, he is aware he can't "practice the numerous grand methods") method to cultivate and he pushes himself and his allies using his top-notch alchemy skills.

He is very prideful, but not overtly arrogant... actually he is not quite like that in the beginning, disregarding the knowledge of the so-called 'experts' and considering every sect as useless and filled with arrogant people; later on he does figure out that, not only there are things to learn in low-level places, but also that not every sect is filled with arrogant, overbearing, and in the end, worthless people; in this sense he outgrows his initial arrogance, settling himself in a prideful personality.

As far as his martial genius goes: he is considered as a martial genius by everyone, unlike other reincarnators however, he is not some kind of secretly unappreciated kind of genius (the kind that has superior spirit roots that look like tr*sh roots) he simply knows the most efficient method to cultivate, he is supported by superior medicine, and he trains in three particular techniques that reinforce his overall foundation; in fact, later on (in what can be considered a tournament arc, there's a proper TA later though) those three techinques help him steamroll the competition and look like a massive genius.

He has solid moral principles... that's not to say that he is unwilling to kill, or that he won't shamelessly take things from people, that he does, he does not however, kill indiscriminatedly, r*pe, plunder and most importantly: he is not romantically fickle he does not go from place to place collecting waifus like they were pokemons, in spite of this being a harem, the harem is pretty subdued.

And by far my favorite feature about the MC is his intelligence, and I don't mean all the knowledge he earned in his previous lifetime, I mean the fact that he is not reckless and his actions most of the time have a purpose, also he doesn't voluntarily get into a fight he cannot win, and when he does he some insurance, either in the shape of some strong backers or the many spiritual beasts he convinces into following him. You can expect a lot of planning and scheming since he doesn't solve everyhing with mindless violence.

Now that we got the MC aside, let's talk about the story arcs themselves, as I stated previously, the plot itself looks clichéd but it's not, you will find many familiar plot points: the "single father, missing mom who is actually from a higher place", the "helping family become politically strong", the "tournament arc to get into a sect", the "competition to prove which sect is better", "waifu with powerful background", "accidental aphrodisiac encounter/imp**gnation", "proving I'm awesome at alchemy", etc. as you read, you will discover that things are not done quite like other stories, and are in fact quite freshly executed.

Overall it's quite interesting, so far there are several plot points that could have been simply tossed aside but are instead foreshadowing (for better or for worse), there are plenty of characters that aren't simply discarded once the MC goes to a new place, and in the end if you don't mind the classical xuanhuan scenarios, you will love the unique perspective the author paints them with, beware though that the villains in this novel are simply some of the most infuriating people ever written, and you will not be able to wait until their inevitable demise (a fact that made me build a quite the stockpile when the novel was around chapter 500) ; with a surprisingly gripping beginning, I highly recommend it if you actually like the genre and everything it offers. <<less

Tbh, sotr is a typical template of a chinese novel. Reincarnated MC, OP arts, mysterious background from one parent, starting city was the edge of the cultivation realm, one dimensional greedy villians, side characters that only serve to accentuate MC's greatness. On the top of my head I can name a few more novels with similar tropes. Its only saving grace is that it is slightly well excecuted. The mini arcs are short enough and not that draggy. Face slapping provides timely entertainment. Overall, read it if u don't have... more>> any other novels you'd wanna read. <<less

I started reading it because I like novels where MC is knowledgeable and cunning (in this case cuz rebirth). I got hooked to it quite easily, though there were times when I dropped it for a while but I always returned (fortunately). :) Although there are places when I started thinking "why is it that way?" either because it wasnt clear or not explained. (But these are the minority)

All in all its a good read and really enjoyable in my opinion.

SOTR has it's ups and downs. It's a well written novel but my problem with it is that it has it's phases.

Chapters 1-130: This is the first arc. I enjoyed it because of its unusual beginning. The author is creating a unique story it seems like.

Chapters 131-183: 2nd arc. This is where most people stop reading the novel I believe. There's a big difference in quality and depth between the start of the novel and this second part. However if you struggle through it, it starts picking up again.

Chapters 184-__:... more>> This is where the story truly begins again in my opinion. From this point on the MC shows his character and depth in order to overcome all the trials set before him. There is some repeat of MC "accidentally" offends someone important, they fight it out, he wins, his opponent calls his backup situations but they're not all the same. After-all this is a wuxia novel, if we couldn't complain about this it wouldn't be one.

Finally, for me personally I enjoy this novel. It's not for everyone but I believe that many people will still enjoy it. <<less

I really love reading SOTR translated by etvo. I think the battles, action, and plot are very interesting. I get disappointed at times by the weakness of the villains, but that's what happens when you have a MC with OP memories. Really looking forward to continuing to read this translation.

The plots in this novel build up very slowly like a barrel collecting all the water dripping from a pipe before bursting out when full. However so far, the plots are interesting and every time when it was the turn for the MC to retaliate, it felt good. I find that it's more enjoyable to read it when I have nothing going on because the storyline may be very dull when the plots are brewing.

There are ups and downs in the storyline but every time a new arch begins, it... more>> becomes overly boring. I find that skipping through the chapters would not cause you to miss much major plots due to the fact that the author (as any other wuxia novels) kept on repeating the same explanation over and over again.

I don't seem to find much plot holes in the novel, but the major plot hole is when the MC couldn't see through a lady in disguise when he was supposed to be an all-seeing-being. Furthermore, the fact the it never entered his mind that he had screwed some lady for so long with all those clues that he came across is really infuriating. Other than that, the overly "brotherhood" thing is also a little annoying from time to time.

Overall, I think the novel is a good read. <<less

Been following this novel for years and am loving it, I do have some issues with how they drag some plot points for example at the moment there is a secret concerning a girl that the author is teasing us with as all the readers have figured it out but it's getting dragged on and there was an enemy he consistently beat but they kept escaping before he could kill them but it was satisfying when he finally did. This has a well build universe and cultivation system and while... more>> the MC is OP that only concerns his knowledge he still has weaknesses when it comes to knowledge of cultivation which gives him needed flaws. <<less

SOTR, oh boy, here we go. So at the very start of reading this novel, I felt that it was slightly unique and different than most other xianxia novels that I've read on the premise that Jiang Chen was actually pretty intelligent compared to the other mc's. Obviously the reincarnation trope has been done before, but I was impressed by his wits at the start and had high expectations for him. The start of this is like any other xianxia, you start off weak and poor, with a low cultivation... more>> and lacking in resources etc, etc. Nothing too different from other xianxias other than the mc's personality, but for me an intelligent MC is what I look for above all other criteria, so it was somewhat of a present suprise for me at the start.

Unfortunately, like all xianxia they all end up going downhill at a point and leave you with a breadth of mixed feelings. I keep clinging to a hope that Jiang Chen won't disappoint me, but xianxia authors really have a way of pissing you off which I believe is intentional at this point. Now I'm sure the author will never read this review, but I will list the points that I think if improved would help the story quite a lot and make it much more powerful and interesting.

First off, and this extends to all xianxia's and not SOTR, enough with the cookie cutter villains! I'm sure that there are much more original ways to introduce conflict between a sect and the MC other than having an arrogant lackey provoke the MC over and over again. "Goon 1: HUHU I'M THE BEST, YO YOU KID YOU BETTER SHOW ME RESPECT AND CALL ME DADDY AND MAYBE I WON'T KILL YOU FOR NO REASON HAHAHAHAHA." Mc:"I COULD IGNORE HIM BUT MY DAO HEART OR HE OFFENDED MY FRIEND OR BLA BLA BLAH I WILL SPARE NONE HUHUUU SEE HOW FIERCE I AM" -- proceeds to insult or kill him -- word goes to a sect elder or whatever, and suddenly he's enemies with the entire sect because of someone in an unimportant position behaving atrociously. This is by far the most infuriating trope that exists in all of xianxia. You see, the problem with this kind of theme is that it doesn't only happen once or twice, but rather it happens ALL THE TIME, and as readers it's really frustrating to read about. Tian Mingzi from Martial World is an example of a GOOD villain, and by good I mean he has depth of character and intelligence unlike other braindead cookie cutter goons. He was unrelenting and sometimes it felt like we'd never get rid of him, but he was a STRONG antagonist, xianxia needs more of these.

Now for my second point, Authors need to STOP praising their mc's so damn much. It feels that every other line, they're talking about how amazing and incredible their MC is even when it's for something so unimpressive. Ironically, one of the things that is often talked about in xianxia, "tooting their own horn, or blowing their own horn" is done so OFTEN by the authors theirselves. It feels like the authors of xianxia are having a competition with each other to show off who has the better MC. We understand that the MC is amazing you don't need to remind us once every single paragraph. "IF IT WAS ANYONE OTHER THAN JIANG CHEN THEY COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS, JIANG CHEN WAS ABLE TO DO THIS BECAUSE THIS, JIANG CHEN IS BASICALLY GOD", we get it. If you're ahead of your peers in something, you're not supposed to receive praise in that regard because you're expected to excel there. Everyone knows that you're a pill dao genius, there should be no surprises there. Getting praised by other characters in the story is fine, because they're not in the know, but when the author himself is praising him during a process it's very silly. We know that what he's doing is amazing, but it's also expected of him. Otherwise, why would he be a genius? Does the author think we have alzheimers and forget about how prodigal the MC is every minute? For example, when the author explains the evil golden eye the first time, we understand that it's an amazing technique and all that, all is good and fine. But then everytime the MC uses the evil golden eye, he'll never miss an opportunity to say, "only jiang chen could pick up on this because of his evil golden eye, he's so damn amazing, whereas he should just be saying, "jiang chen picked up on that with his evil golden eye". We already know it's amazing and he's amazing, you don't need to constantly praise him and it.

Third point, PLEASE cut down on the hindrances guys. It feels like there's always some sort of shackle that the mc's have, be it friends or lovers. Jiang chen still has his followers from the very first arc for no reason entirely other than to show "Jiang Chen is so kind, so loyal, so gracious, so magnanimous, he will always do the very best for anyone who doesn't treat him poorly." I'm sorry to say this but these body guards and friends of his are minor characters that nobody really cares about. In my opinion, in these kind of fantasy worlds that focus on cultivation, MC's really need to just focus on their dao and cultivation much much more. In fact, other than good humor, the thing I enjoy the most when I'm reading xianxia is when I'm reading about the MC's powering up and their cultivation. The world and process of cultivation is really beautiful, imaginative, and descriptive. It's nice to read about, and since this IS the premise of these stories - it really needs to be focused on much more. The MC will often talk about how he realizes he's weak and needs to focus more on increasing his strength so he can do as he pleases, but then he'll proceed to care about the needs of these minor characters cause you know, I'm so benevolent, I put others before myself, EVEN when I have NO power to do anything.

Fourth, romance. The romance in xianxia is really really weak. It feels forced and fake. Jiang Chen doesn't really even have romantic feelings about Dan Fei, he likes her a little but not enough to actually like her that way, but the author decides to force the relationship with the classic aphrodisiac trope that all xianxia writers love so much. JC gets drugged, and unknowingly sleeps with Dan Fei and gets her pregnant, and is unaware of everything to boot.... ok then. Now let's talk about Huang'er. While the Huang'er is slightly better than most other relationships, I still feel that it was merely off the premise of superficial qualities. "Her temperament is woah!!!! Her looks are woah!!! (granted he didn't know she was attractive at start but it's all t he same really) But that can be accepted, but what truly bothers me about romance in xianxia are how the females fall in love. If you're strong and/or handsome they immediately fall in love with you no questions asked. Jc cures huang'er and proves his talent, Huang'er, "OMG I'VE NEVER SEEN SOMEONE LIKE HIM I'M IN LOVE." This is the true reason they're together, the author tried to fool you with the whole flute playing scene where she promised if she ever played the flute with someone she would love them and all that, but that was just a ruse to blind you from the true reason she fell in love with him. Forget about Huang'er even, let's talk about other female characters. They always talk about how the minor girl characters always have strong male characters as their "ideal lovers" in the cultivation world, this really bothers me. If they were normal girls I would let it slide, but the girls are all CULTIVATORS. They should care about CULTIVATION more than romance, it seems silly and sexist that males focus on cultivation while females focus on love in xianxia.

Finally, for how amazing the MC's are made out to be, they could really be much more amazing than how they're presented. I feel like authors intentionally make their MC's s*upid. Even the most intelligent ones from them act really s*upid sometimes for no reason other than the author wanting to pull out some weird plot armor bs which is completely unneeded in the first place. I feel like the authors really ruin their MCS. They turn a very intelligent MC like Jiang Chen into an idiot randomly, they don't have him do something that he would and should do which is very uncharacteristic because of this weird plot they're brewing, and they then proceed to excessively praise them for something not that impressive and for something that's expected of them.

There are some other things I could talk about, but these are the most prominent things that bother me with this novel. All in all though, I still enjoy the novel but at the same time it really bothers me sometimes. I feel like if these things were to be modified then it would make for a much better read. <<less

Wow, what can one say about Sovereign of the Three Realms?

The story in a nutshell - supremely knowledgeable being (Jiang Chen) is reincarnated into the dead body of an absolutely idiotic scrub, giving him (Jiang Chen) a chance at living the life of a cultivator, something he was never able to do due to being born crippled (cultivation-wise) in his first life.

The Bad

1. 1. Lack of challenges. The story suffers from a poor execution of the reincarnation concept, because Jiang Chen (JC) knows just about everything. He has all the answers, every time it counts. Not every single time in the story, but any time it counts. The story is replete with pill battles, tests and other issues that he simply breezes through because he knows all, sometimes leaving you wondering why the competitions were written into the story in the first place

1. 1. Terrible battle descriptions. About 1 out of every 15 battles by JC is interesting (moderately interesting). I don't understand how writing about an impression (it was like clothes fluttering in the wind) is supposed to make it better, as opposed to describing what's actually going on or how an attack is being executed. I generally visualize battles as much as I can, but for the majority of the ones in SOTR, it's like describing the colours in a... more>> room in the middle of the night with no lights on. There's some slight improvement as the story goes on, but not by much. Anyone who's read Heavenly Jewel Change, Legend of the Dragon King, Monarch of Evernight or Godsfall Chronicles will understand why good descriptions matter in battles. Enough said.

1. 1. Over explanation and over introspection. The story has a habit of explaining one thing from 20 different angles, and from the perspective of people you could care less about. JC will (internally, nonvocal) explain why he did something. Then his antagonist will explain why they think JC did it. Then JC's supporters will explain why they think JC did it. Then the opponents supporters will share their own thoughts. All the while you're sitting there screaming - "ok can we PLEASE MOVE ONN!!!!". It's an exercise in frustration.

1. 1. side-characters sympathetic with the MC are usually relevant only in the short-term, and very quickly become irrelevant and unnecessary (outside of being the only handle for the author to add emotional content to the story). This wouldn't be too bad if the MC was a solo-ist, but becomes a glaring issue because he always drags them around with him, and they are always helpless and of little actual use story-wise.

1. 1. Dubious background. For a million year old character, JC has a ridiculously low amount of emotional awareness. Also, the idea of a million year old dude being a celibate AND clueless fellow challenges my suspense of disbelief every time a romantic possibility crops up. Frankly, it's absurd and ridiculous.

The Good

1. 1. Scheming - Jiang Cheng is usually very good at schemes, counter-schemes and planning. He's devious and creative, able to handle most opponents intellectually. He can roughly be considered a much nicer version of Leylin Farlier, with Yun Che's diagnosis-by-sight abilities and extreme proficiency at all things to do with pill concocting.

1. 1. Most male characters (non-antagonists) have well developed personalities that make the story interesting to read whenever they are shown.

1. 1. SOTR truly shines whenever JC goes adventuring (as opposed to staying in a sect or a fixed area where it slowly devolves into tedium). The story is at it's best and most worth reading about when he is on the move, even the interactions rise to a realm higher.

1. 1. The translator and her team are very social and fun.

Worth a try for those who value intellectual stories and place little value in fights. Overall 2.5/5 <<less

I started reading Sovereign of the Three Realms because I heard the MC died because of a fart.

Character development for side characters you once thought would play a huge role will become just "named followers" (instead of a random servant) of the MC. Which is too bad because I was genuinely looking forward towards the development of his early followers.

Tournament arcs are decent, I especially like the alchemy/pill making parts. Sometimes the inheritance info dump gets boring (Ancient Crimson Heavens Sect arc). MC always gets trapped for some reason.

The faceslapping... more>> parts are good too, this novel does not need several chapters just for the "build up to get faceslapped" shtick (unlike some novels do).

One of the things I really like about this novel is the attitude of the MC towards romance and women. He does not flirt/chase/judge "kingdom-toppling beauties" (unlike a lot of chinese novels). The thing that keeps me reading is the MC. Because unlike most chinese novels where the MCs are justice hypocrites, Jiang Chen is a decent guy.

I think most of the criticism on this novel are just overall tropes of most chinese novels. Repetitiveness is an inherent part of chinese novels especially the ones that have more than a thousand chapters. If you can get past the generic chinese novel tropes like the weakest sect > weakest kingdom > weakest continent etc., then I guarantee it is a pleasant read.

If you like novels that have pillmaking, MC that is not a horndog, MC that is not impulsive mu*derer (unlike other novels that have an MC that are supposed to have great patience but kills people because of an insult), and MC that actually thinks before he acts, then this novel is for you.
Old men harem ftw! <<less