Warning: There will be some strong language down below. Read at your own risk and please take this as a grain of salt since it is my bias opinions. I wrote this in depression so please forgive me if I'm going too far with this. I actually love Wuxias and Xianxias in general. I have nothing against them!

This is going to be REALLY long so be prepared to feel my burning wrath!!!

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What is a story?

I guess it's something you read to pass your time for the goal of entertainment.

The goal of a story is for the writer to express himself in his own way.

But who cares about what a writers are truly trying to express through letters?

Nobody, and I mean nobody.

Even I don't care about who actually wrote some of my favourite fictions.

All I care about is one thing: And that is what I personally like about the story.

I don't care how the writer is an amateur teen or an skilful old man.

If their story is good then it's good. If you've read up to this and haven't just skipped to the bottom, then I commend you for being such a patient person~

Moving on, what kinds of stories do I like as your average, everyday reader?

Don't bullsh*t me and ask why I'm not asking you about your thoughts, if you've read this description then you know I'm here to be long-winded.

I like just about anything that can properly get its point across and is entertaining to read throughout the writer's journey as he explores his concepts. What I like is when people have the guts to write no matter how they think others feel about their work.

It shows motivation, it shows that even if your characters are flawed and unreasonable, you can make up for it through improving over time.

It shows that you, as a 'mere' amateur writer, are a person who loves to write!

I commend you amateur writers!

I commend you for your ingenuity in trying keep your works fresh and new.

Now don't get embarrassed because I might end up cursing you later on if I find that one your works have horrendous English! (Joking)

Now let me try and put my meaningless thoughts onto this as an outlet.

So... What is it with martial artists or cultivators in xianxia novels these days anyway? Why are they always cardboard cutouts of the same formula?

If you've read My Disciple Died Yet Again on Novelupdates, a breakdown of the Xianxia tropes, you'd see that there are a lot of bullsh*t written these days- No, if you've read a bunch of Xianxia novels you'd realise the same thing: Reincarnated Xianxia MC's are f*cking morale-less d*ckheads. (Your own opinions may vary since there a thousands of stories in the world and what I've read is only a drop in the bucket compared to all of them.)

What do I mean by that? Let's go back and think of a novel I hated to my very core: Peerless Martial God!

Don't get me wrong. When I first read the story, it was my second Xianxia I read after Coiling Dragon, so I found it quite good at the time I read it.

However, after reading stories like ISSTH and World of Cultivation, I've come to the conclusion that most writers trying to write a Xianxia only know how to write one kind of male protagonist in a novel. There seems to be various stereotypes created for Xianxia's that amateur writers are unable to NOT include in their stories.

It's almost like writers are scared that the readers wouldn't notice that this is indeed a Xianxia and use whatever cliché tropes they either do or don't understand well enough to make it look more like a Eastern Fantasy (Xianxia).

Even things like 'face' is just put there to make it look more Xianxia-ish...

You might have wrote a similar book and have done the Xianxia tropes I have listed justice, but I'm here to talk about my bias thoughts on ones that hopelessly fail to meet the mark, so stop reading this if you think I'm aiming at you. This is just a rant I'm writing to express my bias thoughts!

1. Protagonists NEED a Harem.

It's not that a protagonist can't be faithful to one girl, it's just that he doesn't want to, because 'beauty'! (And I really hate perverted twats who think with their dick instead of their brain. I can't even describe how angry I get when a MC boils down his motivation for risking their life as: "Because that girl over there has jade-like skin.")

A protagonist who sees a beautiful girl NEEDS to stick to her and act like he's not interested in her when his monologues clearly show he's definitely keeping an eye on her! This is either done until he's done messing around with her or has moved on to the next harem target that is in the vicinity...!

Some people do the harem genre justice by showing how the Female Leads would fight for their lovers affection or not accept the each others existence unless there's a very good reason for them to like each other.

The novel named 'Sevens' does this in a good way by making it so each female harem member has their own reasons for being part of the MC's harem. Some have affection for him, some just want to stick with him because he has a lot of strength, and the list goes on.

However, some writers decide that such interactions are unnecessary and that adding more reasons to love that girl through an entire 'arc' before throwing her to the side is passable!

Well I'm here to tell you naive writers who were about to write a Xianxia about a protagonist who is supposed to be likeable that it's not 'passable' at all!

Take well-written yet strangely still annoying stories (in my bias opinion) like Against the Gods as an example of why you shouldn't try to force in harem members due to reasons like... 'plot'.

In the story: The MC loses his girl and decides that he will live his new life brightly. A likeable beginning where his perversion only made him more human.

He has a fiancé, who he marries, then is forced to grow stronger in order to gain a place in the irrational world he lived... In order for him to survive!

The first part of Against the Gods was amazing because of how unique the character was and his shamelessness.

And no, I don't mean he was a lustful *sshole that chased around women, I mean the Meng Hao type of shamelessness that really gets us to laugh with his antics as he grew.

That was until the real idiocy of the novel came along and he had a bunch of 'love stories' with different women.

All of them, who for some stupid reason, either don't know if each others existence or are completely fine with him going and being an adulterous b*tch who practically doesn't feel like it's necessary to 'love' an amount of women he can actually keep track of.

How many times will a guy like him try to travel around the world to visit the multiple families he 'made' all over the magical world he lives in anyway...?

You can write love stories, you can say that their hearts connected because they went through life and death together, but how the hell is a guy supposed to truly 'love' a giant harem!

Does he remember all of their names?

Good~ Then does he remember which girl he's DIDN'T fall for due to some 'fated coincidence'? What bullsh*t writer calls this sh*t 'true love'?!

It's basically a Disney written lifestyle for them... Now that he saved them from some horror, they HAVE to be in his harem. They HAVE to like him for one reason or another, no exceptions.

And this is with every fricking beautiful girl that is introduced in the story!

Some writers take a step beyond that and make the girls 2D images of whatever fetish they might have and not even try to characterise them.

Take Martial God Asura as an example of this, do you remember the name of even one of his harem members? If you do, do you even remember how their personality was unique to the others?

I especially hate it when some character is just supposed to be a b*tch because that's SUPPOSED to be their character trope. Then these 'redeemed villains' think that they can be forgiven for everything they've done because they're beautiful and no other reason than that. It's as if being incredibly cute really wipes away all your sins...

Take the misuse of the Tsundere trope as an example. People like Tsundere's because they are a lot more entertaining than cute girls who don't talk much and blush all the time, but just making a girl hyperactive like a guerrilla who attacks the MC just 'because she's a Tsundere and no other reason' doesn't cut it.

You can't simply write that a girl has anger management issues then call her a Tsundere! Now I'm gonna have to mention a Tsundere done right...!

Toradora, Monogatori series, perhaps someone has already made a list on YouTube on different dere tropes.

Getting back to the main point, you can't just personify a character as a Dere trope. A female lead MUST have their own motivations other than the MC. Though not doing that for side characters is acceptable in such a story.

After all, aren't there many great Xianxias who made use of tropes effectively so that a bland mob of side characters could become more than mere cannon fodder for the MC?

After you've written a female lead, you must not let them become 'baggage that must be protected because females are useless in a fight' because that sexism right there. Who says a female CAN'T be badass? I'm sure that there are many none-revenge-driven/special/reincarnated female leads in other novels that are strong and wise.

Having a Female Lead doesn't mean having a damsel in distress that can't do anything without the help and grace of the MC's presence in the story...

It breaks the previous characterisation if you portray them as a badass first before turning them into damsels... since badasses fight against all odds!

I can't even describe how angered I was when Strongest Abandoned Son kept on showing how the MC's harem members kept on having assault/kidnap/rape attempts happening around whenever the MC was off on his journey to increase his cultivation.

A Female Lead must at least grow to become stronger in such a story or they'll just become cannon fodder for the MC's enemies that are really, really strong. And if they start off a loner, don't make them that criminal bitch who thinks everything they've done to the MC is all water under the bridge cause she fell for the protagonist...!

Getting laid doesn't equal becoming a good person. If you have watched Kill Bill: You'd see that just because your character has a family now... it doesn't mean that the atrocities they committed can be easily forgiven.

Why is it all female Xianxia characters have to be special due to some weird reason or another in order for the MC to gain more ridiculous power? (Except I Shall Seal The Heavens though since that is a bloody masterpiece that I love to death since characters aren't thrown to the side and have proper endings!)

Can't a normal female character gain strength without using cheats? I get that girls usually have less physical strength in such novels, but a Xianxia is a world with magical power called Qi, who says a girl who uses spiritual energy that has no relation with physical strength to defend herself HAS to be weaker than a guy using it?

I mean, I've read stories where females have been introduced as 'strong individuals', but they usually turn into damsels later on so the MC can be a badass... Why do females always have to be 'saved' from men by the MC?

In fact, compared to blockhead guys who normally use brute force to get things done, shouldn't girls be more skilful in utilising Qi due to them having more of a reason to use their intellect and strategic tactics? Do the only things special about women in Xianxia's have to be their 'Physiques'?

Oh, and let's just not mention that physique in ATG that made the Female Lead a universal target for all cultivators under the sun!

Why did that even exist in the first place? The 'Heavens' mentioned by MC's in Xianxia's are usually the Authors writing the MC's journey to power. Why the hell would you do a dick-move like creating a Physique which is basically a walking target?!

In fact, just adding sexual elements into cultivation without properly explaining it just makes it sound retarded. It makes no sense whatsoever that NO ONE would be dual cultivating other than the MC and a few others.

So just fucking a girl for a few days straight equals great power? Why doesn't everyone in a Xianxia world use this 'technique' if it's so awesome?

Oh yeah, because most of the time such methods are 'evil', and all the general population of a Xianxia world that's usually showed as morale-less and selfish who'd do anything for power actually 'care' about right or wrong~!

Now that's a laugh...

It was a good concept when it was used in Martial World, within a faction of the first Sect he joined, but the execution was done wrong due to them saying that such people are naturally evil. If you're going to use such a mature element in your novel, just don't turn it into a reason to turn females into sex objects. A dark part of society doesn't have to be all 'evil'.

Sometimes, people just have their circumstances, maybe some are not evil but misguided in the path of cultivation or something. Either way, objectifying woman in novels is just stupid.

Stories like this are what get on my nerves the most, they portray the protagonist as a saint who's doing the girl a favour by sleeping with them before basically turning those Harem members into a target for his enemies.

The next thing closely relates to this:

2. Antagonists = stupid motherf*ckrs!!!

Every antagonist has to be evil for the sake of being an evil guy with no other motives than to d*ck around.

They are characters who the readers compare the MC to and think: Isn't the MC fricking Jesus-like in this world?

There's no antagonist that is against the main character for a good reason.

In Dragon-Marked Martial God, these kinds of evil mob-like antagonists were actually very enjoyable since they were fleshed out as template photocopies the MC knew about of beforehand. They were interesting despite their lack of depth due to the Author's ingenuity.

But other people just don't understand how these enemies are supposed to play out. They tend to just get a random evil guy, make him somehow bump into the MC, then the action of punching each other pursues.

They don't have any other meaning than fighting each other or becoming a stepping stone for the MC's glory.

They pop out the bushes everywhere like Pokemon, but these are the kind the MC HAS to either cripple or kill!

It's not like they HAVE to be written in such a way. Some authors do a good job of showing a misunderstanding between the MC and antagonists.

In fact, the other guy might not even be an 'villain', since you could write it like their difference in views caused them to have no choice but to clash.

That's not saying that cardboard cutout antagonists are bad, nope, you just have to write more about the reason they do what they do in the first place. It could be greed, love, hatred, whatever is fine. Just don't make them a kind of 'generic evil' that does not have any reason to be evil other than for the sake of screwing people over.

If you're a really good writer and want to make a memorable antagonist. Make one that actually wins against the MC without losing anything in return. An antagonist that really makes the MC feel powerless due to his strength and scheming mind. Such characters are ones that people love seeing defeated.

I remember that the only true villain that kept me engaged was from True Martial World, it was a villain that had his own backstory, his own potential.

He wasn't just some snob who's going to get his ass handed to him by the main character... he was guy who you would hate to the bone, but also understood somewhat and sympathise with even after he got his just desserts.

He was an antagonist that was stronger than the MC and defeated him in battle. No plot armour helped the MC win by default nor was there some sudden master popping up and saving the MC plus family at the last moment.

The MC lost in an unfair battle, and was caged as a result. Even though he was in the right, the Antagonist was just that strong and scheming.

He was a true antagonist that made me hate his personality to the bone, but I never got tired of seeing him be trampled upon by the MC, the one who at least had some morales in his heart.

Maybe I'm just ranting about nothing.

Maybe adding antagonists like that would waste too much time for the author to flesh out. But either way, you can't just say someone is bad because they are 'evil', there must at least be something that makes them hated.

Like greed, anger, a judgemental personality, whatever is fine really. It just has to be a reason that's believable.

Now let's look at the most important point that I really hate in Xianxia's:

3. Morale-less or idiotic MCs!

Writers are addicted to portraying their characters as the personification of Jesus who can never do wrong... even IF they kill, rape or murder people.

Take Martial God Asura as an example of this. The MC is a pitiful guy: Other people plotted against him that made him like an 'Asura', but his whole attitude towards it was like: 'I'm still a good person even if I act like a devil.'

Is he out of his mind...?

Oh wait, how could I have forgotten to mention the 'Anti-Heroes' who are 'good people' despite being *sshats!

You can write that character is morally wrong and be done with it, but if you try adding an excuse on top of it: The story becomes really retarded fast.

Anti-Heroes are generally people who you can emphasise with, not sympathise with, because atrocities are bad no matter how you look at it.

If you want your character to be a villain, then make him a villain. Don't try to make him an abomination that tells the reader how sad he is after doing something so ridiculously sinful!

I remember a scene in Limitless Sword God (I think it was called.) where the MC raped a girl and started to say useless shit about how he is still in the right while he was doing the deed. It almost made me barf from how cringeworthy the scene actually was when reading it.

Rape, Murder, and every other criminal act is a crime no matter how you spin it. A long explanation on why the character is good person despite doing criminal acts like that is bullshit. The law of the jungle is what creates Xianxia characters and most of them only listen to the bigger fist, but that doesn't mean crimes are justified.

Someone who does such things for survival can be forgiven to a certain extent depending on circumstances.

I remember a scene in Wu Dong Qian Kun where the MC was barely still morally right because his will was messed up by a mind technique.

The girl he was trying to talk sense into really wanted to cut off his manhood and ruin his cultivation to save her own life. Plus, it was her fault for not checking whose tomb she was robbing anyway because that dead guy she wanted to steal from was bananas...!

Now, making the girl unlikable and then putting a scene where he 'accidentally' rapes her isn't forgivable in its own right. 

Just because a beautiful female hates you, it doesn't mean that you've suddenly earned a rape pass since it's wrong on so many levels that I just can't describe. This is supposed to be a story about enlightened beings who can control such urges, isn't it? I didn't understand why would the author talk about getting better control of one's heart when they can't even resist temptations straight in front of them.

However, if you were to write a scene where the rape part was unable to be avoided like in that Jewel Kingdom thing... (Can't remember that other novel the author of Dalu Douluo wrote.) Then it can at least be forgiven in some extent depending on how the two react to it. And yes, I meant the both of them, because how the girl takes it matters more than the guy!

Have you ever heard of a story that depicts the girl getting raped as something forgivable? The guy's heart doesn't matter in such cases even if he IS regretful of what happened. The sadness he experienced will never be able to compare to the girl's trauma.

If you want to make an antagonist out of the MC instead and skip the girl's feelings, then never justify criminal acts like that as something 'good'.

Never pull a MGA and say that the MC is regretful before moving on...

Either way, whether the MC is right or wrong, he will always be on the 'light side of the force'. The antagonists on the other hand will always be on the 'dark side'. Everybody will hate them regardless of why they do their evils.

Let me tell you writers, yes, I'm talking to you there who was about to pick his pencil up to write about your saintly protagonist who never does wrong.

An MC's imperfections make him more human. I'm not saying give him reasons to be a complete d*ckhead, I'm saying that imperfections are fine.

Take the MCs from stories like Otherworldly Evil Monarch and Realms in the Firmament, they are a good example of this! These two MCs make mistakes and lose some of their battles because of their personal flaws. 

There are MCs that sometimes don't understand the mistakes they make themselves, that's why the writer addresses them lightly and makes a joke out of their lovable antics.

Those MCs are a lot more believable than your average high schooler becoming the saint of the realm because he's the only 'good guy'.

That's not to say that I hate goody-two-shoe MCs since those guys are nice to read, but even in the end of that, they are not really that memorable at all.

In fact, I know that murder is normal in a dystopian society within a Xianxia world, but saying murder is acceptable because of it doesn't sound believable.

In Chaotic Sword God, the MC kills a guy within a restaurant and everyone just decides to ignore it as if it was none of their business to judge.

However, such a scene is unrealistic for many simple and obvious reasons!

For example: Even if you live in a world where the murder count has already crashed through the roof, would you not be scared of a psychopath who kills people in broad daylight? Do you think the next person couldn't be you...?

Wu Dong Qian Kun is known for its good fight and bullshit power jumping that doesn't make sense, but even that had a lot more believable world built.

Killing may be the norm for Xianxia worlds in general, but making Xianxia worlds that don't at least put Life and Death Arenas for bitter hatred doesn't make sense. Having it play out like that at least it shows that there's some authority keeping order enforced.

Also, saying WHY the MC is smart isn't enough for the reader to judge his intellect. You must show and not tell when it comes to that type of stuff.

Just by saying an MC's certain action is ingenious won't make him one. Since it will only display how much of a retard he is if he can't continuously make such decisions throughout the novel.

If the MC is just a regular guy who somehow thought of a ingenious idea due to seeing the problem in a different perspective, the character will look less retarded later on when he makes a mistake since it will showcase how he isn't a perfect person... and that his good ideas are due to his different perspective on the problem, not due to being the smartest guy in the room.

A character can be smart and calculating, but putting a bunch of numbers he calculated in his head isn't enough for him to be smart.

Which now brings me to the last one:

4. The MC is a Special/OP existence!

If you're not going to make full use of reincarnation besides giving him a cheat, then the main character might as well be a guy who either comes across a cheat artifact or is born from a special blood lineage.

Don't pull a BTTH on your readers by disregarding it halfway through.

Writers tend to make special MCs for the sake of spicing up the plot, but in a world where the distance between the MC and those around him grow to a level it becomes unsurpassable is what turns the readers off from Xianxias.

Only stories like Undefeated God of War that have a likeable MC that is surrounded by a cast of interesting characters can be forgiven for having an MC that can't be beaten. Actually, it is not like the MC of that novel can't be 'beaten', it's just that he's basically an immortal cockroach that always survives no matter how dangerous the situation becomes for him.

Which is normal because he's the MC, no reader truly expects their MC to die because he was beaten by someone.

Even if he loses a battle, all he needs is to learn from his mistakes, and grow stronger as climbs to the worlds peak.

Take Naruto as an example- And yes, I mean that Naruto anime you probably threw to the side after the shipuden ruined the entire 'ninja' experience.

I'm not going to talk about how everyone turned into overpowered mages that could shoot a pile of spells with fast-paced hand signs.

What I'm going to talk about is how you were REALLY affected as time went on in the Naruto franchise. (I wrote this rant before Naruto ended so please don't judge me. I love Naruto as well. Especially its sequel Anime!)

The main character was a special guy who had an OP fox inside of him, but what really made him special wasn't his strengths, but his weaknesses.

He was a guy used basic tactics to fight his enemies and lost horribly. He grew stronger with his team as the anime progressed like any other character.

However, the change from that reckless and special teen in the first half and the saintly guy in the second half made all the other fleshed out characters meaningless when sh*t hit the fan.

Like when Pain destroyed the Leaf Village and the only thing they could do was sit tightly while watching Naruto fight for the village without help.

Especially Sakura... she was practically MADE to be hated since she didn't even try following her usual character and beating the life out of Pain with her great personal power. (Which by the way, is pretty f*cking strong for a Medical Ninja who should only be taking a supportive role in combat.)

The Sasori fight was great in my bias opinion that doesn't matter much...

Now back to the point:

In most Xianxia's, those characters we all liked in the beginning are all thrown aside because they can't keep up with the MC's improvements and are unable to harm him in any way, shape or form.

The MC is always invincible, and even if his weakness is exploited, he's like Superman who's been exposed to kryptonite or whatever...

The MC can be a special individual with great power, but if he's too special, the whole meaning of him interacting with others becomes another part of slice of life. They never make a impact on the story because he is too damn strong!

Well, it's not like you can't have someone who's both special but has room to grow. But like I said before, he must lose a battle completely if you ever want him to look like he actually struggles, no exceptions allowed.

He can be saved after having his ass handed to him, because if he isn't then the story would end. What's important is to always showcase that there's always someone stronger.

Peerless Martial God and many other Xianxia's do this by having the MC get chased, but fleeing from a battle isn't losing, it's just a draw. Allowing your character to understand his weaknesses like in Absolute Choice is what you must do in order to flesh him out.

A special MC doesn't make him perfect.

If you are able to think of more things you hate about MCs in Xianxias, just comment your honest thoughts.

Well then, I'm out, see you later~