Cultivation: I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

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Just as nuclear weapons are only a byproduct of scientific exploration, immortality is merely a small gift along the path of seeking the Dao. The New Dao Master, Grand Wise Teacher, and the strongest cultivator in millennia, Real Person Zheng Fa, is recruiting a personal disciple. The reference materials for applicants are as follows:

Topology in Talismans: Starting with the Little Rain Talisman

Research on Artificial Intelligence in Magical Tools: A Preliminary Exploration of Tool Spirits

Elemental Decomposition of the Nine-turn Golden Pill

Basic Pathways of Formation

Note: Priority will be given to those who have published papers in the Immortal Dao journal.

Associated Names
One entry per line
修仙:我在现代留过学
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Post-’80s Cultivation Journal (1)
Cultivation Chat Group (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Peak Hidden Gems Part 5 (ACTUALLY EPIC STUFF)
  2. WTR / CURRENT READ 2nd Half 2024
  3. Good(No Harem)
  4. Quality Writing

Latest Release

Date Group Release
03/03/25 BOTI Translation v2c66
03/03/25 BOTI Translation v2c65
03/02/25 BOTI Translation v2c64
03/02/25 BOTI Translation v2c63
03/01/25 BOTI Translation v2c62
03/01/25 BOTI Translation v2c61
02/28/25 BOTI Translation v2c60
02/28/25 BOTI Translation v2c59
02/27/25 BOTI Translation v2c58
02/25/25 BOTI Translation v2c53
02/24/25 BOTI Translation v2c52
02/24/25 BOTI Translation v2c51
02/23/25 BOTI Translation v2c50
02/23/25 BOTI Translation v2c49
02/22/25 BOTI Translation v2c48
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9 Reviews sorted by


cazaril
New cazaril rated it
March 18, 2025
Status: v2c27
It's a decent novel, good concept and I had really high hopes for it to begin with. The characters were well written, they felt pretty realistic and so did the setting. I thought I had found a real gem. Then the author decided he was a comedian. Everything became a joke and all the characters became more or less the same just vehicles for a specific type of joke. The author isn't totally unfunny I've had a few good laughs but they are few and far between. Unfortunate because he's... more>> actually good at writing more serious material and can be very funny too. If he just flipped the ratio of humor to seriousness around and kept the best jokes this would be a 4 probably a 4.5. If this is a new author (which it feels like) then I think with some time and polish he will write some really good stuff in the future.

Edit: Seems like an ai translation too by the changing formatting. Fine for the most part but the italics can become extremely frustrating as it emphasizes random words and some chapters decides to italicize all dialogue out of nowhere. A couple times parts of the story were obviously missing and it's jarring as well, I've gone to the raw to confirm. <<less
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The_Follower
New The_Follower rated it
March 12, 2025
Status: v2c62
Like others have said, the strongest aspect of this is its pacing. It never overstays its welcome in whichever place he is and the characters are surprisingly grounded. The scientific approach works pretty well here, though obviously isn’t perfect.

Should probably have a harem tag though since by mid/late v2 he’s kinda sorta in a relationship with a girl in both worlds.
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Reindeer
Reindeer rated it
January 18, 2025
Status: c70
Pacing is an important aspect of any story, and I might even put it on minimum top 3 in terms of importance. Cultivation: I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times is a webnovel that approaches pacing in a unique and interesting way that just somehow seems to work really well, or at least in the short 70 chapters that I've read anyway.

The basic premise of this webnovel is that a young peasant from the cultivation world is able to live one week in his own world, and then the next... more>> week on Earth, alternating between them. His cheat is that he's able to bring immortal cultivation techniques to Earth, and then using Earth's knowledge to comprehend immortal techniques in the cultivation world.

Essentially he is living a time ratio of 1:1 between both worlds, which is a really bold approach when one of those worlds is about old monsters living for thousands of years. I can already feel a headache just thinking about how the author is going to reconcile these two timelines in order not to throw Earth's timeline out of balance. But at least so far in the early parts of the story, it is able to create a fun and unique plot where you're constantly looking forward to how each world progresses.

Premise and pacing aside, a webnovel isn't worth much if its characters aren't able to live up to it, and fortunately this novel has good multi-faceted characters. Living on two worlds, the main character is mature and has a unique perspective that sets him apart from characters on both worlds, which are complete opposites of each other. The author is also really fond of having smart side characters, in terms of cunning and academics. Despite the main character being somewhat clever himself, he ends up being inferior in different aspects to the people he interacts with and has to make up with it by leveraging his advantages everywhere he can. At the same time, he is the calm and steady type of person who is afraid of excessive risk especially when his secrets could easily get him killed at the current stage of the novel.

All in all a fun and unique xianxia webnovel, for once the NU rating actually makes sense. I think it's too early to give it a 5 star if I'm being honest, especially when this type of premise could crumble extremely quickly. But outside of that, I'm confident in the author's writing. As long as he doesn't let the story spin out of control, I think he'll be able to write a character-driven story just fine based on what I've read. After all, the story is very slow paced but is still able to have an engaging story because the author knows that the secret to writing an engaging story is the constantly changing dynamics between characters. I feel like it would be too low to give this novel 4 star, so because of NU's rather inflexible rating system, I'll be giving this a 5 star rounded up. <<less
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Sin30HalfMinded
Sin30HalfMinded rated it
January 2, 2025
Status: c49
This isn't a masterpiece but it's fully deserving of a solid 4.5 star. I'm rating it a five as I found it to be a breath of fresh air and binged through 49 chapters in one sitting.

The biggest strength of this book is definitely the characters. Each character is well written and their actions make them feel alive. Throughout the chapters, it's very easy to get used to them and enjoy their growth.

The pacing is a bit on the slower side but it's executed without any major flaws. Furthermore, the... more>> translation quality is excellent and it makes for a very smooth read.

If there's one thing that I find kind of hard to digest in this book, then it's the sprinkle of humor here and there. But even that could be attributed to the humor not translating over because of the language difference.

All in all, it's a fun read with likable characters and excellent world building. Would definitely recommend. <<less
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Noobao
Noobao rated it
March 10, 2025
Status: c380
Very decent pseudo scientific novel about why cultivation works the way it does but it's also misleading. It initially looks like a slice of life novel but it isn't.

Sects are in a arms race, they're trying to prepare themselves before everything goes to sh*t and the world implodes in a world war against the major powers. It really doesn't look like it in the first 100 chaps but oh boy, when sh*t hits the fans, does it hit. The MC is underpowered and he has to scrap to find every... more>> advantage in order for him and his friends to survive his current situation, so much that I feel like he should have already been ens*aved by some major potency already.

It all doesn't feel real, somehow? You're in the middle of a war in a underpowered sect and who of relevancy died to the mc? A side character from 300 chapters ago that said goodbye to him. Author knows how to show stakes, characters face risks but it all feels fake, his sect has to constantly face higher and higher leved people as the story progresses due to the ongoing war but they're all repelled by the latest invention/item and his opponents sometimes are even s*aved.

The author also messed up his pacing, it's unreal how fast he progresses. For example, it has been 2 years since he assumed his sect and he invented the cultivation equivalent of airplanes for mortals using a completely new energy source. 2 years to invent airplanes? Every other major potency feels like morons too, they spend about 100 years to form a perfect Golden core while the MC gets... 6 months and makes his method a standard, so now everyone can get a perfect Golden core in less than an year. He comes with world breaking new inventions every 20 chapters or so.

Due to the breakneck pacing, modern life has got the short stick too, it isn't much else than a stepping stone for the main character to get some issues solved now. It got some subpar fluff and kindness as always but I can't look at it the same.

The characters are static and I feel the author was forced to put a little romance to attract people. However, it's bait: short and simple, no one there is interested in romance and the MC acknowledged that "Dating feels great, but having someone you can confide in is way better." As if they are mutually exclusive. You can date and confide in your girlfriend you know? Also, everyone is kind and smart and wants to contribute while glazing the main character. Of course they have some aspects unique to themselves but... It really doesn't matter, it gets kinda boring and predictable. The writer is putting this problem in a box by introducing new characters every once in a while but it devolves all the same into glazing.

Alas, I have to short one star from it's original rating, I will probably not pick this up again given how decreasingly invested I am in this novel but it was a decent read.

Read this for the xianxia science if nothing else, it was interesting for a nerd like me. <<less
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Kilo181
Kilo181 rated it
February 20, 2025
Status: v2c43
So far this story has had great pacing. It keeps you wanting to know what happens next. Characters are likeable as well. My biggest worry is that some of the characters we are introduced get forgotten about as the MC moves up in the world.

Unfortunately, you'll start noticing some glaring translation issues as you keep reading. The translators have a difficult time keeping some names consistent which makes me think this is a somewhat poorly edited MTL. There have also been a few instances where sentences are completely missing and... more>> I've had to MTL the source material to find out what happened. <<less
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Ironman96
Ironman96
February 21, 2025
Status: v2c35
4.5/5. A fun, slow-paced novel that blends 2 wildly different environments quite seamlessly. We have a MC that spends 1 week in modern times and 1 week in immortal/xianxia times.

This would usually be a recipe for a disaster as constant jarring shifts of tone and scenery can totally ruin ones enjoyment of a novel. However, its handled quite nicely here as the author takes it slow and focuses more on characters earlier on and then on world building afterwards.

The characters here are truly what make this novel shine. The MC... more>> is a mature intelligent young man that learns good morals and ethics from modern times and brings that back to the immortal world. Once you get to know the characters, the author also throws in some comedy to make the read more enjoyable.

There's been zero action so far, don't expect much action from this novel.

Overall a great read, hope it can keep it up as there's so many different ways this can proceed, very unpredictable as for what's going to happen in the future which is probably another reason why I like it. <<less
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SynicalReader
SynicalReader
February 28, 2025
Status: --
Interesting story, and I especially apreciate the character designs. They are nothing like what I'm used to with Chinese fantasy novels, a regular guy who reacts in a normal way to what is happening, no short temper that turns mc's into mass mu*derers just bc it looks cool, no unreasonable greed, no cannon fodders (there are small fry but they are not there just to be defeated and the defeat is not very humiliating). At the same time I'm not too happy with the website. They published free chapters but... more>> after a week or so I get the error message that the login has expired and the site redirects me to a login page. I do not create logins for online reading so unless this bug in the site is fixed I will not continue reading this novel.

Edit: the problem with the site was fixed.

After reading more novels on BOTI I must say that this novel is probably the best novel available on the website. The writing quality and storytelling quality is a lot better than most novels. Translation quality is also very high and I haven't found many instances of translation+editing laziness that you often find on the majority of translated Chinese fantasy novels. <<less
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Zain545681
Zain545681
February 12, 2025
Status: c28
One of the main strengths of this novel is also its failing point from my perspective. It has good world-building, coherent narrative, nice tone but there is distinct lack of stakes. It's almost slice of life but doesn't really makes me want to read more. It is too realistic is what I'll say is the weak point of this novel for me. If you do not mind then please read. The drama is well done and characters are quite distinct.
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