Too many 1 star reviews already. Do they hate it because of Qidian or are they too lazy to even attempt to comprehend the greatness of this story and its lazy MC?

Mao Ni has done a great job already as usual of his works. He always takes a really slow approach with his stories, but I thoroughly enjoy it just as I do Ze Tian Ji. I prefer slower stories with a great plot and interesting well-developed characters over super fast action-packed stories with little to no plot with thousands... more>> of plot holes and very generic characters.

Mao Ni does a really good job at developing his characters even though it can take a lot of time as his stories are slow after all. There are characters that start out undesirable only to slowly over time become so much more interesting until they become one of the best characters in the story. This is one of the reasons Mao Ni is one of my favorite authors.

To really finish this review off I will say do not worry about things that you do not understand in the story. It is a slow story and we are not supposed to understand everything. Over time the overall plot will be revealed and things will slowly start to unravel. This author definitely likes it when his readers try to speculate what everything means. I find it fun to speculate in a story as it really, at least for me, shows how invested I am in a story.

So, should you read The Path Toward Heaven? Absolutely!

Even if you don't like slow stories you should at least give this one and Mao Ni's other novels a try. <<less

Let's be clear: the translation is quite horrific in all its parts, it can't even claim a 5. I'm not a native speaker, but I can feel safe saying that it would be trashed by every English teacher: the grammar is all over the place and there are consistent incorrect spellings due to total lack of editing. I must admit that it is still readable enough to be understood, even if I can't say it's enjoyable by any means, I've seen worse. But then there is the true fallacy of... more>> the work of the team, and in this kind of novel, it's truly a huge problem: they don't stick to the inworld terminology they have chosen. In some cases, when it's minor stuff, it's not problematic, only annoying, but when we're dealing with toponyms, associations and cultivation terminology, all quite important in the novel, that really impede the ability of the reader to understand many details, sometimes even major ones, impoverishing the original work, that it's quite the hermetic one. I found it simply insulting to the author.

If you can deal with this, like many others do, the novel it's quite interesting. I found it intriguing even if it's not my cup of tea, so I can say for sure that's well written. The protagonist is quite unique: he stands on his own, but doesn't trample the others, he sees the world from above, for right reasons, but doesn't force himself on the others, he makes others influence his choices, but he's not dependant on them, he teaches others and learn from them. Besides this, he has his reason for his superiority, not dependent on some kind of lucky find, like in the 90% of the cases with xianxia. All over, a well-written character, quite interesting and quite lively, even in his lifelessness. The other important characters, three, for now, are also very well written and unique in their own way. The world building it's quite yet undeveloped, and I don't expect much expansion in this sense since the novel revolves around the sects' world (and this is why this kind of novel it's not my cup of tea). For the plot, I can't evaluate it for now, since the real events the author seems to wish to narrate have not yet been put in motion, and, for now, the protagonist is simply still immersed in his mysteriousness, so we don't much of him. I trust the author, so I aspect this to turn as a good novel, but for now it's still simply a well-devised work that lacks of its substance, and that survives thanks to the strength of the characters that animate it. <<less

I gave the authors other work ZTJ 2/5 stars in a rather popular and negative review of the novel. I feel like the author somehow found my review, translated it to the chinese, then took many of my points and fixed them in this new novel.

The author seems to be focusing on a small number of side characters to develop and give interesting personalities. Additionally the main character is also relatively interesting for a xianxia novel while avoiding many of the cliches that overpowered old men protags encounter. The pacing... more>> has been greatly improved by reducing character bloat and increasing the action in the novel.

Hopefully the story will stay consistent, and not end up having dozens of side characters like ZTJ, which just led to bloating of the novel. <<less

This novel is unfortunately getting unfair ratings because it was picked up by QI and people cant let go of all the drama.

However, I don't think the novel deserves a high rating either. The novel is marred with poor editing and grammar. Mao Ni's other novel, Ze Tian Ji (ZTJ), has a translator that is much better at translating Mao Ni's flair into english. The pacing isn't as good as ZTJ, none of the characters introduced so far really mean anything to me. I'm not sure who the protagonists could... more>> be said to be between the female lead and one of the two male leads but either way it goes I don't care at this point because I don't understand their motivations, too much is left unsaid. ZTJ made you feel things for even the smallest side characters and so far this novel can't make me feel anything for anyone. I'm disappointed but I'll continue to read in the hopes that it gets better. <<less

Have you read manga "Noblesse"? This is the cultivation version of it. Love it.

The protagonist is the exact same character like MC in Noblese. But at least this one can talk more.

Feels like a novel written by an adult, for adults. The characters seem much more human than the usual Xianxia cardboard cartoon characters. By c168, there haven't been any major plot holes, or those usual retarded moments where even a child would act less self-destructively than the average Xianxia MC. Pretty decent.

This is such a refreshing novel, just like MaoNi's other books. If you ever need to take a break from the typical xianxia novels, this is your book. It is confusing in the first few chapters but it will start to make sense later on due to the slow-pace (about same pace as western novels) and well-designed plot. Like MaoNi's other novels, there is mystery, which will keep you guessing constantly throughout the story. Also the characters are well designed!! Not your typical Mary Sue MC Vs. love... more>> rivals... you will literally fall in love with the characters as they are unique in their own way. <<less

For now, this a gem! I love MC, he reminds me of MC from emperor's domination (but less op, less arrogant, lazier and more indifferent). While some ze tian ji fans (i love ze tian ji too) might be disappointed because this novel is simply different, it's undeniable that this is a very good novel. It has good action, interesting characters and world, great MC and some elements of mystery. Also unlike ze tian ji this one is not extremely slow paced, and that's a great pro for me.

Well, I haven't read a lot, but it is promising just like ZTJ, but maybe a little faster... Not as insufferably disciplined and a goody-two shoes tho. But the main reason I want to write this comment is cuz I wanna ask Jed1 if he really was satisfied with ZTJ. Cuz I damn well wasn't! Do you really feel that ending was satisfactory? I'm now too scared to commit to anymore of his novels.