"Greetings to the Cult Master!"

Dongfang Bubai, lit. Invincible East, is the master of the Sun Moon Holy Cult. To maintain his position, he forces the congregation to consume poison pills. He mutilated himself to learn the skills in the Sunflower Manual and is the most powerful martial artist of his time. However, cultivating the manual causes his nature to change.

Yang Lianting is a lowly handyman working atop Blackwood Cliff. He is not a good person and doesn't think of himself as one either. He intends to right past wrongs, but doesn't succeed just because he wants to. He repeatedly hurts the one he loves, yet remains by his side in both their past and present lifetimes. Yang Lianting tries to redeem himself by letting go of his desire for power and position, by disregarding societal norms, and most importantly by treating Dongfang well.

The novel focuses on Dongfang Bubai and Yang Lianting, who fall in love with each other across two lifetimes. It is 66 chapters long and concisely written, with each chapter the two gradually grow closer. Their relationship progresses from master and servant to married couple as they build mutual trust and learn to express their love for each other. The ending resolves their conflicting lifetimes with a plot twist that matches their characters.

The novel is written from Yang Lianting's perspective, as such the reader is mostly limited to his view. He connects past and present events whenever he gets caught up in his memories. Certain connections and inconsistencies in narration are often brought up again in later chapters.

Though the plot is primarily about the two main characters and the hurdles they face, the various side characters liven up the scenes. Including the gruff Tong Baixiong, scheming Zuo Lengchan, and money-grubbing Monk Huiming.

Revenge isn't the main focus of the plot, but connects the characters together. Prior to the novel, Dongfang Bubai usurped Ren Woxing's position as cult master. Justification for the characters' actions depends on perspective. It's not a question of good vs evil, rather both sides want to take revenge against the opposing side. From Ren Yingying's pov, she tries to save her father from an unscrupulous traitor. From Yang Lianting's pov, he acts against a scheming superior to live peacefully.

In fact, all of Blackwood Cliff agrees that even the 'good' Righteous Path consists of a bunch of hypocrites, much less the 'evil' Sun Moon Holy Cult, where one can get killed in the blink of an eye. However, the heavens decide over one's fate and committing evil in excess may lead to karmic retribution.

---

In case these names sound familiar, that's because this fanfiction takes place around ten years before the events of Jin Yong's Smiling, Proud Wanderer. Prior knowledge isn't necessary to read this novel. However, the first chapter can be confusing because a lot of information is introduced at once. If you want to read up on their 'past life, ' I recommend taking a look at chapters 30 and 31 of Smiling Proud Wanderer.

Unlike Jin Yong's work, this novel is not a Wuxia epic with countless colorful characters and expansive worldbuilding. This novel is main character-centric, the side characters and antagonists have little screen time, as such they are underdeveloped in comparison. Dongfang Bubai and Yang Lianting's characters are consistent throughout, but can be hit-or-miss depending on your preferences. Furthermore, for a Wuxia novel the fight scenes between martial arts experts and the scheming between sects are minimal at best.

Yang Lianting (MC) is the seme/gong and Dongfang Bubai (ML) is the uke/shou

What I understood up till now is that Yan Lianting, a lowly commoner guard used various means to get close to Dongfang Bubai, the cult master for fame & power. He used Dongfang Bubai, hurt him in every possible ways one could again and again then left him like a used good. Even so Dongfang Bubai is the most important person in his life in both past & present. I kinda understand his reasons because in a world like that, where the weak are stepped on by the strong, he needed power to withstand. But does this excuse his mistreatment of Dongfang Bubai? NO!

Yang Lianting is a scum, he used Dongfang Bubai, treated him cruely, disregarded his love, kept lover outside just because Dongfang Bubai couldn't give him children. He got closer and closer to Dongfang Bubai until ML couldn't get out of his trap. (I don't know what else he did since I haven't read that far). Tbh I really hate him ad probably can't forgive his actions but at present he's a changed man. Since the novel has given him a second chance then I'll wait and see how far he can go with his reborn self.

As for Dongfang Bubai— he's what you call a person with sharp tongue but soft heart. In the past, Dongfang Bubai loved him despite everything Yang Lianting did to him. He even changed his original voice into a high pitched girlish sound just because Yang Lianting didn't like his original voice and ridiculed it. If this isn't devotion then Idk what is!!! Since this novel is from Yang Lianting's pov I'm not yet clear about Dongfang Bubai's character.

My favorite chapters are 59 to 61. Dongfang Bubai's pov of the past is heartbreaking to read. Though the next few chapters were comparably mediocre, chapter 66 was a great resolution to the novel. I went back and skimmed through chapter 48 onward. The hints and the red herrings were there. Dongfang Bubai keeping silent about remembering their past life for over a year (!) just to keep Yang Lianting happy, fits his character too well.

how lingfang had basically imprisoned Bubai in a courtyard underneath the cliff he went to train at was just disrespectful and demeaning for him (Bubai). At that point, I was really feeling for Bubai and was cursing at Lingfang for being a slag gong. And when we find out that Lingfang slept around with multiple beauties because he was such a coward that he didn’t want to admit that he liked Bubai... ! Forget about it, I was basically begging Bubai to cry, get mad, run away, throw a fit, something!!! But noooooo. But then, then!! We find out that Bubai had known all along about all of this and was willingly kept and ab*sed by said slag gong! The dog blood drama had be choking in anger and I wrote off both Bubai and Lingfang. After all, it takes two to tango. While I hurt for Bubai, he had encouraged Lingfang’s behavior and was too much of a doormat, which was how they spent an entire lifetime without ever realizing that Lingfang actually felt the same way. It’s too much guys, I’m dying.

This novel can be compared to 2HA, as in both the MC (gong) used to be bad to the ML (shou) in his past life, but then gets reincarnated as his past self, from before he's done all that evil, and gets to redo it all, making it up to the person he loves.

Sounds like Dongfang (...) should therefore be an interesting read, no? Well, it isn't, however much I wanted it to be.

Firstly, the MC - Yang Lianting (YLT) - and this is the most angering difference between it and 2HA - used to be a real s*umbag to DFB (Dongfang Bubai) in his past life *despite knowing perfectly well DFB was in love with him*. In fact, YLT banked on it, milking it for all its worth, with absolutely no regard for DFB's wellbeing/feelings/sanity. Reading him recount the past it took me haf the novel just to get past my dislike of this character.

Secondly, Dongfang. Sadly, however badass he were, it is all being annihilated by The Power of Shou. Because he might be the most powerful cultivator in the world, cruel and cunning, but we have to remember he IS a shou. God forbid he has a strong, commanding presence! He is supposed to be the weak *woman* after all! Therefore, whenever LYT is nearby, he flips a switch and instantly the ONLY adjectives that the narrator deems to describe Dongfang with are: submissive, meek, with limpid eyes, watery eyes, hazy eyes, expression covered with a layer of watery vapour, soft body, suple body, thin frame, thin waist, fragile body... it goes on and ON. And then on top of that, you get literal paragraphs every few pages like clockwork describing how stunningly beautiful dongfang is. Over. and. over. and OVER. again.

Thirdly, if you were to extract all the paragraphs talking about nothing but Dongfang's beauty, ones musings on their undying love for the other, their mutual declarations of love and romantic promises, as well as LYT's self face-slapping about how badly he treated Dongfang in his past life.. over and over (I mean, deservededly so, don't get me wrong, but reading this over and over every few pages.. it gets old FAST).. if you remove ALL of that, then I don't know if this novel would be half as long as it is. Perhaps even less. The sheer amount of text I skimmed over is just ridiculous and still I felt irritated reading repetetive tripe dialogue over and over again.

So at some point I just couldn't take it any more, couldn't keep reading just to be able to mark it as "read" on my kindle app.. enough time wasted.

So, if you're hesitant, just give it a few chapters. If you find the novel irritating as I had, feel free do drop it, secure in the knowledge that it does NOT, in fact, get better.