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

How would you bring technology into a fantasy world? Make sense of the magics? Feed people and get rid of the corrupt nobles? This is specifically on developing a city or territory, not:
- Developing a dungeon/core (see my other list: https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/10742/)... more>>

First, a few worthy mentions that aren't on NU:
1. Castle Kingside (rewrite) - a lot of inspiration from Release that Witch, imo improved! Warning: it's slow. Kingdom only begins around c60ish.
2. The iron teeth - although territory development comes late in the story, it's well done and exotic, being based on a goblin kingdom
3. 1632 (published book) - an American village goes back to the 30 years war. It's much less fantastical, but has a lot of similar elements to other kingdom building novels.
4. The Eagle's Flight - highly intricate fantasy webnovel
5. Defiance of the fall
6. Randidly Ghosthound - neither Randidly nor Defiance of the Fall focus on kingdom building, but they both have elements related to setting up a post-apocalypse system city - complete the quest to get the village crystal/coin!
7. The Expansion (Legend of the Arch Magus) - [have not yet read] - recommendation from Hitexh in the comments
8. Enlightened Empire - weaker than the others <<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

Novels that have no lasting romance or love interests. There will be no smut, harem (if MC attracts some people, I don't mind until it becomes a major part of the story or MC becomes interested in them), or ecchi, and BL/GL also count as romance. The list includes a personal rating and (often rambling) review/description.... more>>

Of course, it's also about my tastes, so this list will be mostly fantasy and action novels (op mc will be a common feature). I am a wordy person so I also don’t mind wordier books, too... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The list is in no particular order, but novels with <100 chapters and on hiatus/slow updating (less/around as often as 1 chap/month) will go in the back, starting at #33. This is because I assume people are looking for binge reads like me.

DISCLAIMER: The list is subject to change and revision - my impression changes as I think about them/read more. I cannot guarantee a novel has no romance later. I'll try to update this rec list as I read. No promises though, so my descriptions may be outdated.

~
Similar lists (insert after the "viewlist/" in the URL): 68396, 3797, 46727, 20556, 7097, 25820, 47958, 19335, 48107, 50847, 29345, 44031 <<less

When the protagonist is an unfaithful loser, do you have the urge to transmigrate into the novel to give him a good beating? If so, I present to you a list of novels I enjoyed with an overpowered male protagonist and no harem. Featuring:... more>>

- overpowered protagonist
- no harem, preferably no romance
- loner, antihero, or evil protagonist (not a guarantee) <<less

This is the stories that I like, you can read it if you want but I warn you, they are wholesome but some of them are tragedies that's why even if you are fulfilled and the ending is so good you will be frustrated because there are no more chapters...... more>>

Anyway don't mind the descriptions down there ↓. I'm a role player in Rpg games and gaming community that it even affect me in real life....

Oh there's no harem here, I'm not really fond of that genre.

I still have so many to recommend but still finding them.

- No Ranking. <<less

Here some of my favorite novels, i tend to like novel without romance, harem, ecchi, or tragedy tags. I also like stories with great side characters rather than just focusing solely on MC. So if you look for those harem seeking protag and usual face slapping novel then sorry~ this isn't for ya...... more>>

P.S (edit 12/21) i removed all novel with romance hints, enjoy~ <<less

I don't like romance and I hate harem with a passion. If you are alike, WELCOME, FELLOW COMRADE!... more>>

Do not worry, I have read all of these either to near completion or TO completion so you can rest assured. I put them here with confidence.

Novels are slightly ranked. The only noteworthy rank you should be paying attention to is the novels on the very top and bottom of the list. Top meaning I love them to death, bottom meaning it's the novel I despise the most atm.

Note; don't worry! My list won't contain even a little bit of romance. Some might have some one sided love for the MC. You don't need to worry though, MC will not ever return feelings even at the end of the novel!

(In desperate need for a female MC with no romance, so if you've got any, PLEASE comment!) <<less

Get that harem sh*t out of here.... more>>

A BL reader's curated guide (with comments) to exciting non-BL stories with either no M/F romance or very little late romance. And NO idiotic, horndog MCs!!! <<less

Guys I know you read this title a lot of times. But I am sure most of you will find my list and be like, I read some of these and they are great and you will try the rest.... more>>

Ps: Plz drop down in the comments and tell me your favourite novels that aren't in the list. (List and reviews will be updated cause quite a few are ongoing) and the pursuit of good stories are endless

Ps: I added a list of dropped novels in comments so U can avoid them.  <<less

Sharing several years of my reading experience.... more>>

I was slowly creating this list for about a year. When I've got nothing else to do I was gradually expanding it and that's the result.

***

To make it more descriptive and clarify some things I've put what I consider the main focus of the story under the 'Main Tags' line.

I've also added some comments to express what I thought about most novels that I've read.
As a bonus I've thrown out here some things that people look for or try to avoid like romance and mentioned similar titles that I've read myself.

***

Tags' explanation:

Mature:
FL - foul language, G - gore, E - ero elements.

Romance:

'No Romance' - nothing worth mentioning/mc is a loner, No Romance(?) - I haven't seen any, 'Romance' - only 1 heroine, Yanderes - self-explanatory, Harem - if MC is in CONFIRMED relationships with
several love interests, not a japanese useless one.

***

'My reading progress' line is a show of my 'sincerity'. At least I know what I'm talking about cause I've read it till cXXX.

***

Rating:

10/10 - Perfection (for me).

9/10 - Not 10/10 but pretty close.

8/10 - Something good/worth reading

7/10 - Readable

6/10 - Read with caution / Only 'Readable' under specific circumstances

***

P.s I've read a lot of novels (more than 200), so I've chosen more popular titles, or at least novels that I've liked more than others. So very few novels here can be considered questionable or 'hidden gems'. <<less

if your bored read this list, it will entertain you trust... more>>

PS: Mount Tai

if you guys have anything to say, feel free to say it in the comments. This list is more inclined toward romance but it does have some books that are Action only or MC only and have no romance.

There is no order, almost all if not all books are pretty good to most people

this list does include BL but it's only like once or twice! <<less

My all time favorites, absolutely no romance. Listed in order of personal enjoyment. Near the end of the list, it becomes something more like "yeah this was pretty good," but nevertheless, I did enjoy it. ... more>>

Sidenote: I find it hard to read novels where MCs are too brutal/ruthless, so don't expect many recs on those novels. 

Recommendation: I highly recommend Mother of Learning. Originally an english webnovel, so it's not on novel updates (It's on royalroad and fictionpress). No romance, and the time travel/time loop is well done. It's completed at 800k words. The writing has it's flaws, but I personally found it incredibly enjoyable. 

Summary: Zorian, a mage in training, only wanted to finish his education in peace. Now he struggles to find answers as he finds himself repeatedly reliving the same month. 'Groundhog Day' style setup in a fantasy world.

Another english webnovel that's really good is Never Die Twice. Completed. No romance. Villain MC. LitRPG.  <<less

IN THE PROCESS OF FIXING THIS READING LIST! C= C= C= C= C=┌(;・ω・)┘... more>>

this list has the novels for those who want:

- romance novels (comedic undertone, light reading, lots and lots of FLUFF) 

- no romance novels (where romance doesn't bu*t into an amazing plot and makes you want to dry heave)

- misunderstanding novels (specifically ones that evoke laughter or amus**ent)

warning: all of these novels have (or will have) my opinion and terrible descriptions !! 

i hope you have fun reading 

(*￣▽￣)b <<less

Stories whose plots are related to infrastructure development in both the BL and BG genres

Novels where the MC creates Systems to power/manage their minions/followers and mostly stays behind the scene and let their minions/followers do most of the hard work... more>> or face the problems for them. <<less

Some novel list:
* My Dungeons Are Popular... more>>

*The Strong Man from the mental hospital [novel/manga]

*I Let You Manage the Beast Taming Arena, Now Everyone Became Divine Beasts?

*Thirty Years of Demon Slaying at the Demon-Slaying Department

*I Can Farm Attributes From Ghosts!

*都市：我的地摊专卖限制级商品！[My Stall Sells Only Restricted-Level Items! ] Note: the translation version may change some parts that make it look like a racist so try the raw. 

*I Have a Miniature World

*Why are All My Disciples Demon Lords!

*I’m Really Scared 

*After Transmigrating as a Demon, I've Been Adopted by Angels!

*Since The Red Moon Appeared

*I Have a Time and Space Garden

*I, the Creator of Demon!

*Killer: I can shapeshift infinitely

*Death Inquisitor

*I Can Create Perfect Accidents.

*Five Frozen Centuries

*Deity Hero: Me! Gaining Disciples Makes Me Stronger!

*80 Years Of Signing-In At The Cold Palace, I Am Unrivalled

*Turn out I'm a Great Cultivator

*I Turn Out to Be a Grand Master 

*Hide in the Banished Palace and Level Up To A Big Boss

*A Man Living in the Countryside Would Fly Up to Heaven at Daytime

*As A Cardinal, I Don't Do Overtime

*Xianxia: I Can Download Fully Levelled Abilities

*Becoming God with Spirits

*Pleasure Helping Spirits System

*Self-cultivation of the Exorcist [horror/fanfiction/Parallel worlds]

*Full-time Artist

*Creation Notebook

*The system invites me to be a teacher

*The Fat God System <<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

I made a list that includes what I considered the best of the best but I slowly built up a sizable list of novels that I wouldn't consider "great" but were a pleasant/tolerable read regardless. These managed to avoid most of the annoyances I have with novels while remaining interesting enough to keep me reading for a decent amount of time. In no particular order.... more>>

If you want to check my best novels list then click my username. <<less

Primarily Career/Shop/Kingdom Development, but there also could be some novels that I like. Most of these novels do not have romance or harem tag as I am not a big fan of these in novels that aren't primarily written as romance.... more>>

I now have a part 2! <<less

Just some of the best webnovels imo!... more>>

Open to recommendations!  <<less

No description.

That are all novels that I read till the last chapter at that point. The higher ranked the better, at least in my opinion...... more>>

Other good novels from other websites:

Deathworld Commando, Chrysalis, Mother of Learning, Authors POV, The perfect run, Nanomancer Reborn, Supremacy Games, Devourer, A (Not So) Simple Fetch Quest, Spider Queen, Birth of the demonic sword(ch. 900), Alien Evolution System, Imposter system, Tree of Aeons, The Game of a Blood Mage, Zero Fate against the world, Reborn: Apocalypse, Empress: A World Conquest Isekai, Super Minion, That time an American was reincarnated into another world, Isekai Speedrun, Warlock of the Magus World(ch. 280), Doom Valley Prep School, Reborn as a DRAGON, Lazing about in a Dating Sim, reborn as a demonic tree, TREEvolution, Apocalypse: Reborn as a Monster, Re: Evolution Online, Heros Carnage

Fan-Fiction: 

Naruto - Dream to Immortality, Avatar - Awakened Gamer, One Piece: Desperate, HP - Dimensional Wizard, Naruto: Tango with Death, HP: the arcane thief, HxH: A selfish Wish, Naruto: I became a god, So I'm a Supreme Being; so What?, Game Cafe in Marvel and DC, Getting Warhammered, Magnum Opus, Marvel: Game Maker System, Travel through the Multiverse, Overlord - The Origin, MHA: I am Shigaraki Tomura, Possessor in Naruto, Solo Leveling: Reborn as Thomas Andre´s Son, Star Wars -  Road to Eternity, Attack on Titan: Redemption, I am Rimuru Tempest, HP: Magic of the End, I am Kyuubi  <<less

These are all of my favorites. They range from cute love stories to suspenseful action. Take a look if you’d like.

No BL, No Romance and No Harem.