I  prune this list often with  better replacements. Last page has the "updates"... more>>

1. Charm of the soul pets 2. Mechanic 3. Overlord 4. Throne of magical arcana 5. Mage Adam 6. shrouded sea scape <<less

these novels aren't ranked. all are good and i recommend all of these for you guys to read. there's no (or some may have a little) romance here,  but no harem. ... more>>

♡ contains action, adventure, fantasy, horror, mystery, cultivation, supernatural, slice of life, world hopping etc...
♡ cn, kr, jp <<less

Sequence is CN- JP- KR- Fluffy- (Comedy)- Exceptions- To-reads. Not ranked by number. 
My descriptions varies greatly from a gist, polished review, impressions, or explains key points.        ... more>>

[Flexible Preferences] 
A. Protags are somehow mostly male but I read both!- interesting, has compelling qualities, flawed with development
B. Entertaining, Distinct, & Creative
C. Steady premise, no TERRIBLE plot hole 
D. Romance: good execution, pacing, build-up, & evokes emotion; no bullsh!t drama & brain-dead denseness
E. Vital, relevant, fleshed-out characters
F. Comedic & Fun
G. Danger, Wars, Battles, Strategy, Tactics, Trials, Fights, Thriller, Suspense
H. Lore, Culture, Kingdom, Worldbuilding 
I. Political Intrigue, Schemes, Mind Games, Manipulation, Mystery
J.  Pure tragedies rarely - it hurts!
K. No BL/GL(yet?)
L. Can be R-18 
M. Polygamous-like IF great story | even if you're averse consider my recs. ;)

[Criteria]
1. These are (mostly) 4/5 stars in story, translation and enjoyment according to my flawed evaluation that is mainly 3/10 objective, 7/10 subjective.
2. I have perused the novels or adaptation before sharing my thoughts.
3. Writing must be consistent, coherent and engaging and the ending must at least not be sh!t. Clichés to a point are fine however it needs to be purposeful & executed well. 
4. I will keep adding books that are promising, satisfying, translated.  <<less

my personal 10/10 list. i just thought of sharing the type of content i like with everybody.... more>>

don't hesitate on checking it out because of my pfp. <<less

My Fav List with Only the Best

Light novels in this list are my favorites and worth to read, and these are also the list of mtl ver. and my ratings on them :
2. Save Reloading Immortal: https://comrademao.com/novel/save-reloading-immortal/
3. I Just Won't Play by the Book: https://www.mtlnovel.com/i-just-wont-play-by-the-book/
4. The Ogre's Food Box: https://www.mtlnovel.com/the-ogres-food-box/
6. My Primitive People Are Awesome: https://www.mtlnovel.com/the-caveman-made-me-awesome/
7. Magus Tech: https://jpmtl.com/books/1214
9. This Big Shot is a bit Careless: https://comrademao.com/novel/this-big-shot-is-a-bit-careless/
10. I Really Am Not a Demon Lord: https://www.mtlnovel.com/i-really-am-not-the-lord-of-demon/
11. Monster Synthesis Master: https://www.mtlnovel.com/monster-synthesis-master/
13. RMJI - Immortal World: https://comrademao.com/novel/a-record-of-a-mortals-journey-to-immortality-immortal-realm
15. I Can't be A Sword God: https://www.mtlnovel.com/i-cant-be-a-sword-god/... more>>

List updated occasionally <<less

I feel really bad when I start reading a good novel thinking that it's quite good and doesn't have useless & annoying harem  it turns... more>> out to be one. It's seriously annoying. This list contains novels which aren't harem . Mc have only one wife/gf or none at all. Let's start( uh..... I'm quite new to nu so don't mind my listing style & they aren't in order) <<less

A list of memorable stories I read on novelupdates that covers mostly survival stories, reincarnation in non-human beings, second chances in other worlds and novels that felt unique in some way.... more>>

More often than not, stories I included had some grim parts to them. Where I find it necessary, I'll put a warning. 

Some stories are simply positive. Not everything needs to be dark. <<less

Personal favourites, in no particular order.... more>>

Idk if I'm allowed to put this here but anything QI in this list? Aggregators lmao

More recommendations (this list is non-exhaustive): [The Menocht Loop][Azarinth Healer][Deathworlders][Mother of Learning][Delve][There is no epic loot here, only puns.][Spellgun][The Abyssal Dungeon][Daedalus][Those who aspired to become gods][Apex Predator][I am going to die (in this game-like dimension)][Metaworld Chronicles][The last angel: Ascension][Unbound][Vainqueur the Dragon][Deeper Darker][Mud's Mission][Empire of Salt][Gaia Awakens][The Gam3][Never Die Twice][The Forgotten Conqueror][Tallrock][The Only Real Cultivator][Seabound][Worm][Vaudevillain][A Hermit's Life for Me][Shade Touched][Just A Bystander][Sylver Seeker][Magic-smithing][The House Witch][Apocalypse: Generic System][Rebirth in a Magical World][The Oscillation][Fork this Life][Beware of Chicken][The House Witch][Valkyrie's Shadow][Salvos][First Contact][A Sense for Magic][Romantically Apocalyptic][The Stars Have Eyes]

Extras:[I don't  want this kind of Hero][Weak Hero][Jigokuraku][World Trigger][Hunter x Hunter][Eleceed] <<less

A few hidden gems ... others not so much but all of them totally worth the read. List spans quite a few genre such as Fantasy, sci-fi, cultivation, management, mystery.... more>>

Not all novels in the list will have top ratings. In my opinion the best novels are rated around 3.2 - 4.5. Anything over is mostly BL or FL with some exceptions. Anything below is mostly tr*sh with minor exceptions of novels for people with very specific taste. 

PS: All my recommendations are based on MTL. I rarely read human translated versions ..  <<less

Because I've read LOTM, so maybe my taste is very high / at least I compare it to Lord of the Mysteries. So if the... more>> novel that you think is good is considered low here (I mean there is no low here, the lowest here is only S. The title of the list is also 'Top Rank' so everything is good) Try to read LOTM first, so that you understand why I filled the ranks of novels that you think are good with low scores ([S]) <<less

A list containing novels with zero harem[love triangles in some] and good stories to my preference. Not tags as there is no central themes. But... more>> I can promise you that there is no filler stuff in my recommendations.I will be updating the details and why you should read them often enough. And don't go with the way they are queued, as things may vary from person to person, just take them as a list.If you want to use MTL for novels... use comrademao.. its the closest with OG quality I have come across, they use some good software. <<less

No harem... more>>

- First 18 novels have male protagonists 

Other novel recommendations:

- "starting from fooling the elderly into registering for a cultivation training class" (MC, modern day, introducing cultivation to the world)
- "Immortal's wine store" (Heavenly God MC transmigrates to new world, w system providing missions to brew wine)

 - "watch out! danger ahead" (FMC, horror, survival game to be God, from weak to OP, start was quite interesting)

- "shocking the whole internet! He's not a psychologist at all!" (MC, lifestreams to help change others' fate and cultivate to be immortal)

- "the rich young lady destroyed her dream girl script" (FMC, OP main characters, not your usual dreaming of being in a novel/character w system story -- in fact kinda like downfall)

- "among cultivators, I stand above all" (FMC, aware she'll be killed by novel MC in future, tries to make use of her time to learn as many skills, one of the most hardworking cultivator MC I know)

- "transmigrating as a delicate bundle of luck for a farming family" (FMC, one of the sweetest loving family/friend relationships, with MC being a divine doctor, though ended up going an unexpected plot line, made me tear up many times early in novel, with interesting mix of cultivation/superpowers introduced in later stages, stopped around 800+chapters) <<less

No description.

mostly good fluffy, straight romance. the genre ranges from action, adventure, comedy etc., I hate harem and Love triangles.... more>>

I will add on novels when I come across some.

please note that this is mainly focused on romance and without love triangles, love rivals. There are plenty of good novels without romance tropes. They are not included here.

P.S.... Do comment if you have any similar novels to share.

These are the novels I have personally read. I can assure you that the completed one didn't have those tropes I hate. Now, for the incomplete ones they are highly unlikely to have those tropes. <<less

Honestly, are there any webnovels that are objectively good? ... more>>

Flawless? Without dragging on endlessly, trailing off into a nothing ending or meandering on with a directionless plot? 

I haven't found many and I sure have read a lot.

A lot.

Many that I'm not proud of. The type of novel that if my friends and family found me reading might cause another Isekai.

But also, in the filth and garbage that I often see festering on NU there are plenty of gems to look out for. 

And plenty to avoid.

Keep In mind all these reviews are just my opinions.

Ps. Check the comments for novel recommendations that aren't on NU

PPs: although they are my opinions, you are objectively wrong if you disagree. <<less

List of good cn novel 

Novels on my reading lists set in an apocalyptic world.... more>>

Descriptions may contain spoilers. <<less

How I spent my time in the last 4 years.

Tired on going against the heaven?... more>>

Tired offending people and be chased around like dogs till you have to jump into a cliff?

Tired of 50+ training chapter and another 100+ chapter of training sessions?

Go read the novel below!

Adventure Comedy, the MC may not be necessarily OP but there are no part of the story that MC felt powerless or struggle in despair. No repetitive xianxia trope (at least not that much) <<less

it’s my collection of KR and CN novels (the gold CN not the tr*sh type) and some mysterious and horror maybe some comedy too the... more>> harem is forbidden tho <<less

Chinese novels with MLs that are well-received in the Chinese community, meets at least one:... more>>

1. Rank highly on novels websites like Qidian and Zongheng (mostly QI)

2. Are strongly recommended on novel recommendation websites (eg at least 1k recommendation upvotes or at least 7.8/10 or 4/5 ratings with 1k reviews)

3. Commonly recommended on forums, search engines and blog posts (eg zhihu, sohu)

Notes:

There are novels that meet the criteria but not included like Lord of the Mysteries and Perfect World. May add them in later.

I picked the novels according to what caught my eyes (mostly comedy) or have more well known donghua adaptations (eg soul land, btth) so there may be many novels not mentioned

*Well received may not always mean good or well written, they may just be wish-fulfilment, OP-MC novels that generally cater to many, therefore, highly ranked. (eg popular 'junk food' novels).

This list is used as a compilation for me to ‘try out’. I will update my reviews if I’ve read something here. While I may not have read the novels, I may have read/ watched the dongman adaptations. <<less

Romance heavy novels are in another List

As far as I'm concerned, you can't trust in the overall novel ranking. ... more>>

I am sure there are different reasons for this development. And without a doubt one of them is a female readers' activity. What I mean is that they are much more active and generous in rating, comment section, lists. etc. If you are looking for proof you can try sorting all the novels by rating and here you will mostly see yaoi, shounen-ai, josei, shoujo, romance. Also, many other novels can't escape their influence. I mean, nobody said that they can't enjoy popular seinen novels, right? I am not saying that it's something bad or trying to stop them, but as a normal, straight guy, I can't enjoy the situation either.

So here comes my personal, manlier than even me, top of the novels I've enjoyed reading!

I can't really describe myself as a picky reader, but I have to spend quite a lot of time looking for something that satisfy my preferences. Which are mainly: 

1. No wimp/beta protagonist. (Life is hard as it is. I see no reason to read about someone's indecisiveness and useless tears.)

2. Protagonist with at least average level of intellegence. Otherwise it's too annoying to read.

3. As a litrpg genre fan i've got a soft spot for stories with different kinds of systems.

I guess that's it. <<less

List of novels I've come across, as far as I could remember, in no particular order(Wish I did this when I first started reading novels so I could list everything I've dropped/loved)... more>>

Note: This isn't really a recommendation list. As mentioned in the title, I'll only mention if it's good or bad with no particular explanation because this list is mostly for me... and that I most probably forgot the details on the novels listed here lmfao. 

Most of the "On hold" are novels that has something I don't like(petty or not... well, mostly petty since I'm petty) which makes me stop reading, but put on hold in case I want to read it again(is what I had in mind). It just accumulated because whenever I try to continue to read some it just makes me remember why I put it on hold in the first place and stop reading it entirely, but still have enough hope to not drop it.

Not on NU:

Teaching Heroes Might and Magic (Wanna read) (Hiatus)

I Don't Want To Court Death (Ch. 72) (Good) (Hiatus)

Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse (Ch. 255) (On hold) (Good) 

Abyssal Lord of the Magi World (Ch 105) (Dropped, prophecy bs)

Unnamed god (Ch. 168) (On hold)

Immortal's wine store (Vol. 1 Ch. 131) (On hold)

Inexorable chaos (Ch. 100) (On hold)

Dual cultivation (Ch. 725) (On hold)

Supreme magus (Ch. 32) (On hold) <<less