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

Here's a list of novels you might enjoy if you, like me, want to read some good stories that don't force an unnecessary & underdeveloped romance subplot where it isn't needed.... more>>

So these stories will have minimal to no romance, and I despise the harem trope in general. On the other hand, I'm a sucker for good bromance/brotherhood/friendship/found family stories. I also won't add any series to the list that I haven't personally read.

I decided to create this list because I've seen many similar 'no romance' lists on the site from which I've gotten many great recommendations to the point they have now become my go-to sources for new novels.

- - - - - - - - - - -

I'll be trying to organize the list based on how good I personally think the books are, but I'm only really certain about the first 4 being my favorites, the list then gets quite ambiguous, but I personally really like everything on the first page.

In the descriptions, I'll include how many chapters of the series I have read as well as how much romance there has been up until where I've read, as well as additional thoughts/opinions/warnings that I might have about the series.

I'll try to update the list whenever I find another good series to add. If you know of any series you think I'd like based on my list I'm more than open to suggestions! 

UPDATED JAN 1ST: Added 'The Nebula's Civilization' to the list. <<less

(There's a second list, just add a 2 to the name of this list and you'll find it) ... more>>

There are too many novels with cliché romance and harems with annoyingly useless girls. Reading them gets extremely tiring. There are too few novels with absolutely no form of romance or harem. Here are some novels I've found to not have romance/harem or have an harem/romance theme that didn't affect the plot of the novel to the point of it being annoying. 

Feel free to recommend novels that fit the criteria, arigatou^o^

P. S. I haven't read all the novels in this list so I might not be accurate in judging them. And there are some I've read but didn't finish and the novel ended up having romance or harem elements in a later chapter, please feel free to correct me anytime you see that I wasn't accurate. Arigatou minna-san <<less

Noice Novels...they are not in order

Harem stories can go away. I'm tired of that sh*t.

Here is a list of my favorite action web novels. I really don’t like romance and/or harem in my action focused novels, because it almost always detracts from the plot. So, these action novels have absolutely zero romance or harem. ... more>>

The first five are the ones I recommended to everyone and are the only ones that are in order. The following are more of a case by case basis. 

More recommendations (that aren’t listed on NU) in the comments.

All the MTL I recommend are very readable. I can't stand most MTL, including Comrademao and MTLNovel, so the only website that I use is Novelhi. <<less

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

This list is for people, like me, who are tired of romance and just want to read a good story.

My Fav List with Only the Best

These are some of the best novels I've read thus far and I asure you, you will not regret giving them a try. Some of... more>> these are underrated ofcourse so check them out <<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

The first list is a complete one. ... more>>

Since I can only add 100 books per list, I'll continue here. I can't believe that I could even find so many books, I didn't think it'd be possible when I started the first list.Y'all can check out the first list, there might be some similarities, but I'm too lazy to check lol. If there are novels that have romance in the later stages in both lists, please let me know. 
Link to the first list- https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/25820/?st=1 <<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

Xianxia and Qi Cultivation are the hallmarks of the Chinese Novels, but the Chinese Web Novel scene has so much more to offer than Qi Cultivation alone.... more>>

Here is a list of the best Chinese Web Novels that don't use traditional Qi Cultivation.

Like my other list, this list is still under construction. If you have any novels you believe deserve to be on this list, please leave them down below in the comments.

Thank you =]

*** Spoiler Warning for contents listed below *** <<less

since the other list full... more>>

Part 1: https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/45789/?st=1 <<less

After cataclysmic events people develop super powers and there are monsters and dungeons and zombies and stuff... I enjoy this kind of setting most... note that the #numbering is not based on any order
Here are some honourable mentions from Webnovel.com..... more>>

1.https://m.webnovel.com/book/x-rank-hunter_17835567505146605

2. Unlimited power- the arcane path.
3. Ascenders Rift.
4.https://m.webnovel.com/book/infinite-mana-in-the-apocalypse_16709186806051905
5. The Black Market.

I will keep checking out others and expand the list <<less

Also avoiding normal CN/KR cliches such as:... more>>

-Decreased amount of flexing nobility.

-Plotting but not being weak as shit.

-Not crying 24/7 / Alpha MCs.

-Not more than two wives.

https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/evil-cold-ruthless-mc-with-no-love-or-no-wife-or-no-harem.96646/

https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/20556/?st=1 <<less

All stuff I've read till the end and ranked by personal preference. The ones at the front are more accurate, the ones at the end are unsorted. ... more>>

My preference: Meandering slow-burn novels like Mao Ni's stuff get extra points. Harem/romance/face-slapping power fantasies get minus points. Completed novels get bonus points, and terrible endings get points knocked off. Also plus points for character building friends/family/enemies and down points for solo yolo.

English ones not included in rankings: Worm, Pact, Mother of Learning, The Perfect Run, Twig, Lightning is the Only Way, Master this Poor Disciple Died Again Today, Unable to Cultivate I can only Raise Soul Pets

MTL-only: Rebirth of the Noble Mage Behind the Scenes <<less

contains my favourite novels and some novels I don't really like but still added it since some people might like to read it.

Nice novels to read. There is no order and place of the novel doesn't mean anything.... more>>

Also novels that you can't find on this site.

1. Azarinth Healer

2.Defiance of the Fall

3.Birth of the Demonic Sword

4.World's Domination System

5.Supreme Magus

5.The Iron Teeth: A Godlin's Tale

6.The legend of Randidly Ghosthound

7.Mother Of Learning

8.Limits <<less

Or to rephrase: "Novels worth reading"... more>>

All of the novels have lots of translated chapters so that you don't have to worry about them ending after a day of reading

Novels are ranked roughly according to my enjoyment of the novel. Take the ranking with a grain of salt though as you would have a different opinion. <<less

No description.

Well it Will be a compilation of a couple thing mostly cultivation with romantic subplot or romance ... more>>

Well i added some novels with system and some with s*x cause some MC are more ass*xual than an assexual 

The order doesnt really matter.

This is mostly made to close some tabs on my phone i had about 100 of them <<less

A list of cultivation novels I enjoyed and think are good upon a pile of very undesirables. All Completed.... more>>

Honorable Mention:

Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor: One of my absolute favorites. Awesome world-building, Absolutely genius, like genuinely genius MC and other fun and awesome characters. (Webnovel.com) [Work in Progress] <<less

Everybody has their own criteria if novel is good or bad. Mine is pretty simple - if I really like a novel, I read it... more>> again and again and again... <<less