Song of Adolescence

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A broken prince, a shadowy scheme, all that amidst a bloody fight for a throne wrongly succeeded. Join a group of youngsters as they take their first steps into the martial world, towards the grandest adventure of their lives. It all begins in a certain inn, set against verdant mountains and facing a scenic lake.

“Bring us your finest wine and best meat!” Yelled a hulking man who seemed to be the leader of the dozen strong group.

“How much?” The waiter anxiously nodded his head.

“As much as you have!” The hulking man yelled back.

“That’s…”

“HUH?” The hulking man shot the waiter a furious glare.

“Dear guests, our inn operates on the principle of ‘pay first, dishes later’. As such, it will be better if you tell us exactly how much meat and wine you need.” Xiao Se returned their furious stares with a thin smile.

“Who are you supposed to be?” The hulking man eyed him with bulging eyes.

“This humble one is known as Xiao Se, the owner of this inn, the Fallen Snow Villa.” Xiao Se replied with the same smile and with a level of courtesy worth a solid 12/10.

“Well, we have no money.” The hulking man stabbed his blade into one of the nearby tables.

“Oh?”

“But I’m sure you have some!” The man pointed his finger at Xiao Se.

At that, Xiao Se furiously shook his head. “I’m sorry to break it to you but our little inn hasn’t made a single sale in almost a month. I’m about to owe them salaries myself…”

“Like hell if I care!” The hulking man smashed his palm down on the table. “Even if you have no money, that fur coat of yours should at least be worth a hundred odd silvers.”

“NONSENSE!” Yelled Xiao Se, eyes wide open and gaze as sharp as daggers.

The hulking man was stunned, his body even shivering involuntarily for that split second.

“I, Xiao Se, ride only the finest horse and wear only the richest threads! This fur coat of mine was specially sewn by some of the finest seamstresses in the imperial capital in the August Threads. Just sewing it took three whole months, shipping it, another one. Hmph, a hundred silvers? That’s not even enough to buy the sleeves of my coat!”

Associated Names
One entry per line
Great Journey of Teenagers
Shao Nian Ge Xing
The Blood of Youth (Drama)
Youths and Golden Coffin
少年歌行
Related Series
World of Honor (Shared Universe)
Recommendations
Peerless (2)
Thousand Autumns (2)
Golden Stage (1)
Joy of Life (1)
Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know (1)
Mirror: Twin Cities (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Fave time-killers
  2. life-ruining
  3. Chinese Romance Novels Adapted to Chinese Dramas
  4. Adapted to Chinese Dramas / Movies (Includes all g...
  5. no harem romance + good endings

Latest Release

Date Group Release
06/15/22 SNGX Translations c431
06/13/22 SNGX Translations c430
06/11/22 SNGX Translations c429
06/10/22 SNGX Translations c428
06/08/22 SNGX Translations c427
06/06/22 SNGX Translations c426
06/05/22 SNGX Translations c425
06/05/22 SNGX Translations c424
06/04/22 SNGX Translations c423
05/31/22 SNGX Translations c422
05/30/22 SNGX Translations c421
05/29/22 SNGX Translations c420
05/28/22 SNGX Translations c419
05/27/22 SNGX Translations c418
05/26/22 SNGX Translations c417
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7 Reviews sorted by


Eccentric Theorist
Eccentric Theorist rated it
January 25, 2022
Status: Completed
I'm so glad I came back to check on it again! Just a few weeks ago, there were only 60 chapters translated and now it's a complete tome. Many thanks to that kind soul, whoever that translator is, you deserve a big pat on the back.

My verdict: Actually I wanted to give it a 3.5 star but it doesn't seem to be possible. So, 4 stars it is then.

The story is mainly about a group of youth (donghua calls it "Great Journey of Teenagers" and that title was a major... more>> turn off for me but I'm glad I gave it a second try). The main characters are Xiao Se, Lei Wujie, Wuxin and Tang Lian (they are all males). It's all about adventure, brotherhood, heroism and a fair bit of royal family saga. Both the donghua and the novel hardly focus on any romantic relationship although they all have their pairing (and no, it's not a BL novel).

I was introduced to this novel from the donghua/anime. Here's my two cents on the show:

The donghua is really good looking and well animated. Unsurprisingly my first impression was also echoed by tons of fans in the comments section, we all asked the same question: "So, who is the MC?" The first season of the donghua kicked off with Wuxin being the main protagonist but I knew it has to be Xiao Se. His character has the most weight. But after watching the first half of the second season, I was disappointed. Xiao Se was barely featured. He's more like a tag-along of Lei Wujie.

The novel:

It's a bit disappointing to be honest. The story is all over the place. There is no clear distinction between the MC and the supporting characters. Some of the supporting characters feel like the main character while the MC feels like a supporting character. This story seems to have multiple MCs. But despite all its flaws, two characters stood out and left a lasting impression on me, namely: Xiao Se and Wuxin. **apparently, many fans ship them as a pair**

As for me, I just love the camaraderie between them. That was enough to redeem the novel for me, hence my 4 stars rating.

I read somewhere in the Chinese fans forum that the author initially intended Lei Wujie to be the MC but he later switched to Xiao Se when his fans complained that Lei Wujie doesn't have the main protagonist aura. Yes, they are right. Lei Wujie doesn't have that weight to hold the story alone. But the damage is done. The central characters are changed back and forth to pander to the fans' wishes, compromising the coherence of the story.

I'm sure many fans actually adore Lei Wujie's character. To me he's likable but not memorable.
Spoiler

He is a little daft but honest, upright and has a cheerful temperament. Most of all, he is selfless and sacrificial. Wuxin describes him as a pure soul, undefiled by the deceit and decadence of the world. Xiao Se always calls him an idiot but he is not at all aggrieved nor displeased.

On the contrary, Xiao Se is everything Lei Wujie is not. He's a deposed prince who is sly and shrewd but hides a million mysteries. In truth, he just has a painful past that comes back to haunt him everywhere he goes. Naturally, being born in the royal family and was once hailed as the most outstanding prince, Xiao Se is arrogant and opinionated.

[collapse]

On paper, it may seem that he and Lei Wujie make the best partners, something like Sherlock and Watson with Xiao Se being the brain of the team but unfortunately Lei Wujie is no Watson. In my opinion, Xiao Se and Wuxin are the perfect pair as they truly complement each other.

Spoiler

Meanwhile, Wuxin is a young monk, raised by a well-respected abbot of a big monastery. He is just like Xiao Se, calculative and cunningly clever. What I love most about them is their sassy and sarcastic nature. They are like each other's kindred spirit. Before Wuxin was taken in by this abbot at the age of 5, he was the son of the Chief of the Evil Sect who was hell-bent on world domination. When his father was killed, every sect and clan in the martial world wanted to kill him. Twelve years later, they still do. Everyone is either after his life or the secret teaching of the monastery that was passed on to him by the old monk.

When everyone treated him as a menace to the world, only Xiao Se and Lei Wujie stood by him and that was how their friendship and adventure started. In reality, Wuxin is just grief-stricken and lonely when the old monk died. He even abolished his own martial arts in order to appease his aggressors. His ordeals mirror that of Xiao Se's. After Xiao Se went into exile, he was incapacitated of all his martial arts power by an assassin. He became a recluse but deep inside he just yearned for some companies. That was why Wuxin and Xiao Se value Lei Wujie so much. In their eyes, Lei Wujie is just a happy going and loyal dude who would do anything for friends.

[collapse]

The novel is divided into 4 books. The first one is about Wuxin but sadly he only reappears towards the end of the story in order to give way for Lei Wujie. Book 2 is mainly about Lei Wujie, the third and fourth focus on Xiao Se. At a glance, it may appear that Xiao Se has the most attention but if you read the novel, you'll get tired reading about all kinds of unnecessary side plots that are all related to Lei Wujie. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Lei Wujie and I do find him adorable but the story is just terribly biased. The MC of the story hardly gets any backstory, his limelight moments are too few and often too late.

The author introduces you to a million other characters and each one has a backstory but the "supposedly tragic past" of the MC is just skimmed through without much explanation. Instead we get chapters over chapters about Lei Wujie's sword training, Lei Wujie's sister's love story, Lei Wujie's mother's backstory, Lei Wujie's crazy uncles, Lei Wujie's grandfather... the list goes on.

Even the so called assassins group was given a lengthy backstory. The author even gave them a sequel! Like really? Who wants to read about some insignificant bloodthirsty and mindless assassins whose motivation is so contrived and absurd that it's pointless to even give them a story arc. They are just assassins, period! There's absolutely no need for us to read about their background, even love life, etc unless this story is about them but it's not. All I want to read is the main character itself and perhaps a bit more about the main villain. But instead the author had to bore us with all the irrelevant and uninteresting arcs about all the assassins hired by the main villain!

Moving on to Xiao Se, the story should revolve around him but
Spoiler

all we get is a few lines telling us that he was deposed because of a palace revolt of a royal uncle. And another few lines telling us that he is acknowledged as the favourite son of the emperor and the most perfect candidate to succeed his father by everyone. That was all!

Like what exactly did he do to deserve such recognition? What happened during the revolt? Where was he and what did he do after he was deposed? In that timeframe, he was also ambushed and was seriously injured. What happened after that? But again, the author hardly expands on these crucial plot points. Well, things just happen!

One of the main theme of this story is about the 4 protectors of Tianqi (the animals are just symbolism) : the dragon, the bird, the white tiger and the black tortoise, who went all out to protect Xiao Se just because of a dying man's last wish. Honestly, this would have made a very intriguing plot line if only the author spent more time to build up the relationship between

  • Xiao Se and his uncle
  • his uncle and the original 4 protectors
  • Xiao Se and his new 4 protectors

These simple but pivotal questions were never answered: Why would they protect Xiao Se unconditionally? What was so special about this dead uncle (King Langya) that his "original protectors" would heed his last wish and even pass on the job to the next generation? Why would he not ask them to protect his own son instead?

Sigh.. instead, we get like a dozen of rather similar-sounding names of assassins from three different families and their backstory. I know, I can't stop harping on this. I hate the assassins arc!

Another peeve of mine is the ending for Xiao Se. The author puts us through so much of angst and trepidation reading about his struggle for the throne and repeatedly highlights that Xiao Se is the perfect successor. But in the end, he just left with his buddies to go galivanting in the martial world as if all the fights was for nothing.

Apparently the old emperor wrote both his sons' name on two different scrolls as the successor and he specifically gave the scroll to Xiao Se alone (ignoring the other son) and another scroll was only a backup. Here, the author was trying to tell us that the old emperor loves his son so much that he didn't want to pass the throne to him!?? Ok, fine if one thinks being an emperor is a burden rather than a blessing. But why did he write Xiao Se's name in the backup scroll then? What was he trying to achieve? That his two sons fight because both technically have the rights to the throne regardless if one scroll is just a backup? Hello logic??

It's implied that Xiao Se was glad when he saw his brother's name on the scroll because he didn't want to be the emperor anyway. But why spend the whole book talking about all the power struggle and practically every lil' plot is served to remind the readers that Xiao Se is the "chosen one". Even the so-called Sword of Heaven (some kind of sacred sword from the first emperor that has gone missing for hundreds of years) chose him and appeared when Xiao Se needed it the most. What a convenient plot armour!

Reminds me of the Sword of Gryffindor in Harry Potter! But Harry & co killed snakes with it. Here it's just another damn sword that doesn't even respond to its owner later. Yet the author spent the earlier chapters telling us about Lei Wujie's swords and how they responded to him. But what happened to Xiao Se's sword then? Did the sword change its mind? Logic where art thou? or should I ask: "Bias much?" This is what I meant earlier when I said that the damage is done. If the author really loves Lei Wujie so much, then he should have just stuck with him and not switched to Xiao Se. If the author doesn't even love his MC, how can he expects his readers to love him?

I understand that the theme of this story is about the adventurous spirit of youth in the martial arts world. The main characters in this story love the martial arts world and all they want is to be free and unbridled. But it doesn't hurt to give the MC a bit of a glorious moment like: "Xiao Se ascended the throne but later handed it over to his brother, thus showing his magnanimity and disinterest in power..."

Sadly, that will forever remain my wishful thinking.

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All in all, the story is still rather engaging to read but the ending definitely feels a little anti-climatic and ill-conceived. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case with most Chinese wuxia novels. They have brilliant world building concept and powerful protagonists but often fall short because of hastily crafted endings. As I mentioned earlier, the easily swayed author actually brought a character back from the dead to patronise his fans. Granted, that character's tragic death was truly heart-breaking. The last fight scene of that character is masterfully written and definitely deserves a mention! But all this is wasted when that character comes back to life at the finale. Suddenly that tragic death is no longer tragic and I felt like I was reading a primary school kid's first essay where the ending goes, "It was only a nightmare." On that note, I shall stop my ranting. <<less
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SingSongSonger
SingSongSonger rated it
February 12, 2020
Status: c58
I just wanna say this novel is amazing. The characters are all fun and the plot just gets more interesting as it progresses. I really cant believe this novel isn't more popular. The characters have depth, there arent the cliches you often see like the main character being the center of everything, or harems.

The only shame is that there haven't been any new chapters released for 4 months. Please translator, I know you probably stopped because you aren't getting any money. Maybe you can try translating in your spare time?
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Mailin
Mailin rated it
July 1, 2019
Status: c11
Okay, first of all, this is the first time I review a novel so bear with me. I rate this 5 stars because well, I'm in love with this novel. I'm really glad someone picks up this wonderful novel, cause I've been searching for english translation but found nothing then I tried mtl-ing which is really hard n make me more confused. Actually, I saw the donghua first and it was amazing but I don't really get the plot so I wanna read the novel to understand them more. The... more>> translation was good and I can tell they did a great job.

This novel is truly my jam. I love adventure especially cultivation n war. I also love how Wuxin, Xiao Se and Lei Wu Jie interaction. Their friendship is refreshing and Xiao Se character is truly interesting, the comedy also very good. The author did awesome work on this novel, the conflict also deeper than it looks at first. So yeah, this one truly recommended. I'll stay to read this novel <<less
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deathmine31
deathmine31
July 31, 2022
Status: c70
I don't wish to give it a rating since it is a fine novel, but just not my cup of tea. I've seen multiple protagonist movies, yet its been a while since I read a novel with the same premise. Xiao Se, the first character we are introduced to, was the primary reason why I continued reading the novel. The introduction of the novel, the opening arc, was great. The foreshadowing is also something I should mention as being great. The reason why I don't wish to continue reading is... more>> becuase of 2 primary reasons.

1st. The multiple protagonist. Having 100 tags doesn't make a novel more inclusive, it just makes it a mess. Of the 4 protagonist, I've only been interested in Xiao Se and the monk. The monk gets plenty of attention for the first 25 chapters. He is a great character. The moments he speaks his mind concerning his dilemma, are great. Nothing unique but well done for the opening of a novel. Book 2 starts from chapter 28 and continues to 194. And thus far, it centers around 1 protagonist, Lei Wujie. He is not particularly interesting. And its boring following his journey. It isn't a unique tale. He is just your typical standard wuxia MC. The little bit of Xiao Se that we get just aren't enough to justify bearing through this section of the novel.

The 2nd reason is a review on this website. The biggest fault I have with many novels is the ending. If the ending isn't going to conclude a delightful reading experience, I'd rather not invest too much time reading the novel. Wuxia novels have real bad endings most of the time. <<less
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Akito_79
Akito_79 rated it
September 10, 2020
Status: c47 part2
This novel is amazing. The characters are all fun and the plot just gets more and more interesting as it progresses. Give it a try :)
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jademay
jademay rated it
January 19, 2023
Status: c460
I loved this novel. I really enjoyed the theme of youth and how Xiao Se stayed true to himself but I think the romances were forced. I didn't find most of them believable.
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Shaiole
Shaiole rated it
June 25, 2022
Status: c300
441 chapters in. This is a gem. 5 out of 5.

This is really fun to read. A mix of seriousness and fun. This is a bit heavy to read with all the happenings and mysteries. A bit confusing at first when scene changes to random characters.

It feels like a really good ploted novel. Multiple characters with their own notable personalities, back stories and goals. The title song of adolescence really fits. The new generation who has inherited some of the previous gen's will, making their own story with courage, pride... more>> while sometimes fooling around. And no it isn't BL. The MC is a smart guy. But he isn't some super mind genius that has planned everything or knows everything. He knows a lot of things, he has been through some things. But he isn't perfect.

Also, a big thumbs to the translations that contributed to this piece of work. It contains numerous references to chinese culture and poems. Explanations of the names. Too many names, too many sword names.

Although I liked this type of novel very much. Serious heavy novels with a mix of comedy. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone. This isn't a light read. And sometimes author will change scene to some random place which barely makes sense with unknown characters. Other times, you wanna know more about the MC's journey but it shows you the story of some side character that you don't really care about.

Also, the sypnosis is kinda spoilery. <<less
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