May 21, 2020

By:William Lee

This story is not about the action but the backstory that led up to it.

Link to Read/Purchase Novel

Way of Choices is Mao Ni's best known work (also known as Ze Tian Ji). It has very different (and more mature) prose than most Xianxia novels, so we must applaud Hypersheep325 for the incredible translation, it surely could not have been easy.

There are battle elements to this story but the main character, Chen Chang Sheng, or CCS for short, is severely underpowered to start and his character building arc is very slow, which may put off readers early on. However, this reviewer's recommendation is to keep at it, as the payoff gets bigger and better the further you get into the story.

At the core of this story is a battle for survival, about thwarting (and in fact improving) one's fate, and making the appropriate choices given arduous circumstances. The cast of characters that surround Chen Chang Sheng are fantastic, from the lively Tang Thirty-Six to the cute Luo Luo. The villains of the story have complex backstories, to the point that you may find yourself sympathetic to their cause(s), which is a rarity for this type of story.

One weakness to this story (and Xianxia in general), is that the closing sequence is a little bit anticlimatic once the characters are starting to become overpowered, although there are 1184 long chapters to this story so you won't be getting there anytime soon. But one amazing strength is the romantic development, which is beyond compare when contrasted against other Xianxia stories such as I Shall Seal the Heavens or The Second Coming of Gluttony. Not to spoil anything but the developments are incredibly satisfying and members on both sides both have their own distinct personalities and strengths of character that play and intertwine with their partners'.

If you can make it past the early plot development, this story is sure to surprise and is a highly recommended read. 5 out of 5.