Kergonan - Profile

Transmigrating to Modern Earth from the Future I started to read this novel because I wanted a good short story between the often thousand chapters long chapters tales I’m fond of. So, let’s go first with the one good thing about this book, the author has good grammar. Everything else is a letdown. It is not a short story, it’s a supposed-to-be long novel that has been abandoned by the author, so it’s not a completed story, more a short road leading to nowhere. The original premises, a hyper advanced AI from the ten of thousand of year in the future, sick of its pointless existence, tries to self-destroy ends up in a modern Earth in a human body, is wasted. The main character (Lumen) is a generic isekai character who ends up a collection of tropes, appears quite stupid at the end. And I say Isekai purposefully, as in the first 10 chapters, the action leaves Earth for an unoriginal fantasy tutorial then fantasy world setting, with a system trope which is good at first but unexploited. Finally, the writing is alright at the beginning, but toward the end of the first volume, it starts to go bad, and for the second (and final volume of the tale), the storytelling becomes incoherent, sloppy, repetitive (filler), just bad to the point I had to force myself to read the last chapters. In conclusion, this novel is a wasted opportunity, in character and setting (a cheat, as it almost doesn’t take place in modern Earth), the writing is awful and it is no wonder the author gave it up. My final verdict is a 1 out of 10. P.S: I can’t even thank the author for the effort of writing this novel, as the last 10 chapter were a torture to read, and he did not even have the sincerity to say in the synopsis that it was not a completed tale, but one which would remain unfinished. I wasted my coins for nothing.

Unlimited Power – The Arcana Path I started to read on Webnovel with The Wizard World, plus Throne of Magical Arcana is one of my all times favorite, so you can say I have a fancy for tales about magic and arcane. Seeing this novel well placed among the collections ranking of completed novels, I decided to give it a go… Sadly, I faced quite a disappointment. While the first fifth/quarter of the novel is pretty good, after that point, the writing starts to feel dry, the plot repeats itself with long isolation/grind sequences that even the numerous humorous cliches and trivia can’t make more digest. It leads to a rushed and mediocre ending, which I welcomed as, after reaching the third fifth of the tale I really had to force myself into a reading forced march in order not to leave that story behind without finishing it. The cast is okay, but the protagonist becomes a weak point of the novel, as he feels quite a feeble, bland victim of circumstances rather than a hero or anti-hero, even with the major plot revelation toward the end. The writing contains plenty of wrong uses of tense, grammar mistakes, confusions of homophones, at least one by chapter even in the last one. Clearly, the author needs to improve in this field. In conclusion, I dislike that novel enough that I don’t want to elaborate any further. Just know that Unlimited Power – The Arcana Path is a bad/mediocre novel, a bare 3 out of 10 which high ranking I just can’t understand. I wasted my coins on that book and I will stay away from all the other tales by ExSoldierLv99. If you want to read an excellent story of wizards and magic, go read Throne of Magical Arcana by the awesome Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also on Webnovel, it is worth every coin. Now if you excuse me, I’m off to read Reincarnated with the Strongest System, hoping that it is the excellent novel its top ranking indicated, for I need to wash my brain of that last bad experience.

True, the title of this novel is not the most engaging one, but its good place in the ranking of both Novelupdates and Webnovel, as well as the first chapter of the manhua adaptation made me give it a go. So, was I well inspired ? The protagonist, Zhou Wen, appears at first as a gaming obsessed loner, he really is an intelligent, pragmatic and focused character. In fact, his ability to absolutely focused on a task or event is his main advantage. He also has a low emotional quotient, which leads to many comedic situations, especially in his relations with women (there is no romance, but most attempts on him are really funny). He also is something of an anti-hero at time, as shown with his mercilessness toward his foes. Overall, a very good main character. But he is not the only one, as most other characters are as well made as him. Whether they are allies (like Li Xuan), his foes, his mentor or others, they have their own traits, merits, flaws and goals. Those are important as part of the plot for the relations between some of these people with the MC can be fluid, depending if their aims (both over and/or hidden align with those of the protagonist). Speaking of the plot, this and the setting are the best points of the novel. What seems at first to be a story of academy life in a world of mixed martial arts cultivation and pokemon training is in fact a tale of conspiracies, power -play, rife with both epic fights and rich intrigue (even the epilogue has its surprises). Add to this the facts that there are few scenes of pure power suppression (most foes have weaknesses the MC can cleverly exploit) and that the special gaming phone Zhou Wen uses for power-up is both powerful but also has severe limitations, and you have an excellent story that will keep you on edge until the slightly rushed but fine and open ending (if you want a comparison, it’s not Lord of the Mysteries, it’s the level right below). The power system, while simplistic at first, is quite good, moreover the protagonist progression is not exactly the normal one. The translation is excellent, no mistake, typos of mistranslations I can remember of, as usual for CKTalon My final verdict for Let Me Game in Peace is a 9 out of 10. It’s one of the best novel available on Webnovel, I can only recommend it. P.S: Thanks to Twelve-Winged Dark Seraphim for writing this story and to CKTalon for translating it.

Doomsday Pillars The last short novel I read on Webnovel has been a big disappointment. Seeing that Earth’s Greatest Magus has been consistently well rated for the past two years and its author wrote a short story, I decided to give a try to Doomsday Pillars, both to erase the bad taste the previous tales left me with and to see if I would go for the writer’s longer novel at a later date. The plot of the story is classic but pretty well written story of a reincarnator in a zombie and later « demon » apocalypse, but done in a very « realistic », pragmatic and griity style. Moreover the plot seems to indicate a more complex metaplot encompasing all the novels in the Avan-verse. This lead to one of the flaw of the novel, as the ending is a bit abrupt and in the form of a cliffhanger since it is the first part of this universe’s « Apocalypse Trilogy », whose second book is being written as of now. The main character is a decisive factor in the tales, as he is not a young man, but a middle-aged husband and father who acts accordingly, and with a perserpective of the bigger picture. The other characters are also well-made although not equally. By the the way, the author changes perspectives to other characters in many points of the story, often for a serie of chapters, which adds quality to the story. On side note, the realistic, gritty mood of the tale means that (good) characters will die, sommetimes in poignant ways. The power system is well made but rough (it seems it’s explained in more details in other books of the Avan-verse) but fine. A big flaw of this novel is the high number of vocabulary (confusion of homophone) and grammar mistakes that can be found, as well as the occasional typos. There are less of these in the last tenth of the book, but a recheck would be needed. In conclusion, Doomsday Pillars is a fine short novel with a griity, realistic mood, good character and a well-made setting, although some of it only gives us a peek in the author’s universe (in which all of his tales take place), but it is weakened by an uneven writting quality (vocabulary mistakes) and an abrupt cliffhanger ending. My final verdict is a solide 7 out of 10, and I will certainly read other novels from this writer at a later date. Kergonan out. P.S : Thank to Avan for writing this novel

An early badly written novel. The author seems to be confused where he wants to go in terms of both story, style and mood. Plus it appears to me a waste of coin, as I read that tale as a prologue to "Guardian of the End", also by BlackFlamer. But it seems this sequel has been abandonned. Seriously, there are way better novels to read here, translated and original. Add to this poor grammar, typos and errors of vocabulary, and my final verdict is a 1 out of 10. Kergonan out.

The first novel I read on Webnovel, and the reason I initially came here was « The Wizard World » by Get Lost, which I really liked although it was not the best novel I enjoyed. So after a few years, I decided to give Mystical Journey, by the the same author, a try as I was attracted by the original setting. So how did it go ? The setting is quite peculiar here as it is plural. The main character is a transmigrator who travels from one universe to another (about half a dozen) as the novel moves forward. Each world has its own flavour, nations, factions and power system. Most are in a time period that goes from the late 19th century to the early 21th century, except for two, one which is a futuristic space opera/mecha setting and another which is a european medieval-fantasy setting (with heavy inspiration, I even dare say plagiarism from Dungeons & Dragons, especially Forgotten Realms and Planescape). They are good, but not great, as the regular switching from one world to another (mostly without coming back) makes it hard to grow attached to one setting and truly explore its depth. The same could be said for most of the characters, as they almost always restricted to a given universe, and are functional, except for a some of them with a few quirks (not always well written). As a result, you have hard time to connect to them, especially as the story goes on, just like the main character. Garen, as a protagonist, is not much of a hero, more an anti-hero.It is driven, careful, observant, but ultimately self-centered, except for the few character he feels indebted to. In fact, as the novel progresses, he grows more and more callous, detached from humanity, and while not sadistic, will casually kill any number of beings (human or others) if it serves his goals. By the way, his goals remain mostly selfish and vague during the whole tale, beside the quest for power and survival (sometimes in the latter parts, even the MC wonders about what makes him carry on, and can’t come with a satisfactory answer). I can sum him up as a cold, intelligent but undriven and unlikeable opportunist. With such a protagonist, it is hardly surprising that the story starts to grow stale form the mid-point. Each transmigration into a new world is maked by an early period of weakness, then a growth in power according to the rules of the setting, with Garen being primarily motivated by survival and not much else. Even if each world has its own secrets and plot, the cycle ends up being repetitive, and even if there is a multiverse plot centred around an ancient multidimensional civilization whose powers the protagonist tries to make his, it is not exploited as it should. In fact, the feeling of detachement brought by the main character gets so intense in the latter arc that you end up looking at him as a secondary character in the great scheme of thing, a passing journeyman. Add to this an abrupt and frustrating ending, and you’ll feel a bit little you’ve wasted your time. For the power system, well, each unverse visited has its own, sometimes multiple of them, with characteristics relevant to the world’s plot. Some lessons learned in a given universe can be used in others and there are a number of trans-universal systems, one of them used by the MC and which drives a part of the novel’s plot (that plus him own unique « cheat »). Sadly, as the tale progresses, the systems get less and less grounded. The translation is average, mostly correct, but sadly with a significant number of typos, mistranslations of homophones, changes of names from one chapter to another … It is still readable, but it can make the experience upsetting. The translator truly has room for improvements. In conlusion, with a varied but depth lacking setting, barebone character, defective protagonist and sometimes enjoyabe but ultimately repetitive and stale story with a frustrating ending, I can say that this Mystical Journey lead me to nowhere. My final verdict for this very average nove lis a 4 out of 10, a 5 in the translation is ever corrected, and I doubt it will. The Wizard World, also by Get Lost is much better. In any case, i twill be some time before I read another novel of his. Kergonan out. P.S : thanks to Get Lost for writing this novel. For EndlessFantasy Translation, thank you but you need to improve.

CuttleFish That Loves Diving is one of my favorite Chinese writer and since I finished his last completed story and the current one is far from over, I decided to proceed with one of his earliest work, « Martial Arts Master ». So, did this string of excellence date even further back ? The characters are of excellent quality, even if, as it is logical, not everyone has the same depth. The protagonist, Lou Cheng, is a very well made contemporary martial artist, obviously not with the usual callous attitude found in this kind of novel, although he shows ressources of strong willpower and lateral thinking, he has the refreshing normalicy of a modern young adult/student. Outside of martial arts and his passion for his girlfriend/wife, he is a serious, tame otaku as well as a good son and friend. Speaking of his love interest, Yan Zheke is a real deuteragonist in this novel (in fact, if not for her noticeably shorter « screentime », she would be a true second protagonist). She is equally well-written, strong and feminine, remarkably intelligent (often more perceptive than the MC) and driven. The rest of the cast is excellent, with each character having his own flavor, whether it is for the sassy best friend Cai Zongming (who really deserves the nickname « Talker »), the mentor, geezer Shi, the other friends, Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke’s parents and grand-parents (all of them likeable and concerned about their descendants’ life, but quite different in their behaviors and backgrounds), the rivals, competitors and antagonists, all of them are finely made, this is definely a big strong point of the book. The setting is also pretty good, in fact I find that it is the one that best answers to the « Magical Realism » definition. It is our contemporary world, but an added level of low-to-mid supernatural abilities. China, America and Japan are all present (although with some liberties, but nothing major) with their real names and other countries are also present, but under different name (Gaul for France, Albion for the United Kingdom …). As for supernatural powers, they are part of the world, almost entirely because of martial arts, but they are not omnipresent (being a martial artist at a significant level is a full time job that relatively few people have the talent for, especially at the higher levels) nor omnipotent (martial artists are powerful, but they can’t go against the might of a state level, well equipped and trained army, even at the « Physical Invulnerability » level). As it is, the setting created here by Cutttlefish That Loves Diving shines because he has made it « credible ». On a side note, there is a patriotic bias of the author, but it keeps quite clear of the obnoxious nationalism found in a lot of Chinese contemporary fantasy novels. The power system is also quite well-made. In fact there are quite a number of them, all linked to martial arts (even distantly) but each with distinct characteristics, strength, weaknesses and cultural background. One is clearly based in the hard body training of Muay Thai, a Japanese one has clear influence of Karate’s Kiai, others in America and Europe are based in Christianism, Satanism, Animism/New Age, and I leave the Egyptian one and the rest to your imagination. The most detailed system is the Chinese one (logical) and it is quite diverse in itself (one sect is Buddhist, another Taoist and pretty much everyone at high level has powers related to one or more elements), unified by the various stage the martial artists go through : Body Refining, Dan Qi (use of Chi), Inhuman (acquisition and /or reinforcement of supernatural abilities) and Physical Invulnerability (relative). The protagonist is a peculiar case, as due to events I won’t spoil here, he includes elements of the mostly abandonned Cultivation system in his martial arts path, which makes him a bit of a trailblazer and is a significant part of the plot. For the plot, sadly it is where it shows that the author was writing one of his early novel. The story is good, but he tried to include too many genres into one. You see, Martial Arts Master is a martial art novel, a sport novel, a romance novel and a cultivation novel, all rolled into one. And while Cuttlefish tries to keep every plot type separated in its own chapters, it is simply too much, even if each element is very good by itself (especially the cultivation and romance parts, which seem natural and believable). Add to that long chapters (good to keep most fights in one chapter) with pacing problems (mostly due to the overwhelming number of tournaments chapters compaired to other types of action chapters), and you get a story that, while being good, very good in some parts, is also rather heavy to digest, forcing the reader to take breaks regularly (which is a pity, as the food scene are very good ; clearly Cuttlefish is a gourmet). The somewhat abrupt ending is, for this reason, appreciated. The translation is pretty good, especially for the description during combat, although with (I may be mistaken) some technique names of the side character change from one chapter to the other. So, in conclusion, Martial Arts Master is clearly an early novel of Cuttlefish That Loves Diving : the characters are excellent, the setting and power system are very good but the plot, although good, is overstuffed and suffers from pacing issues (something the author greatly improved in his next novels). With the few translation problem found there, you got a good story, with some very good parts and some others you really have to push through. Overall, my final verdict is a 7 out of 10. It is obviously above average, but not in the same league as the excellent novel Lord of Mysteries and Throne of Magical Arcana (both 10 out of 10). P.S : Thanks to Cuttlefish That Loves Diving for writing this book and Larbre Studio for translating it.

So I'm going to keep it short, because I've wasted too much of my time on that novel. I've read this story because it is the first in JKSManga's System trilogy. My Vampire System has been continuously ranked in Webnovel's top ten for over a year and I want to read its prequels before I get to it. Well, MDS is a beginner novel and it shows. The MC is good, some side characters are alright, but the rest of the cast is average to bad. The background is barebone. The power system is vague, badly implemented and the worst I've ever read. The story is awful, incomplete, full of deus ex machina and feels overall artifical, leading to a rushed and unsatisfactory ending. Finally, the writing is terrible, full of typos, bad grammar, characters confusions, mistakes on homophones. Really, I work as an English teacher, and none of my students, even the worst of them, would make so many errors. I hope JKSManga took an editor/proofreader with his other novels, otherwise, reading them will be a torture. So, I hope the next volumes of the My System trilogy are better, it seems they are, but after such an experience, it will be some time before I read the second book. My final verdict is a 1 out of 10 (my first). If you want to read a very good/excellent dragon-themed novel, go for Coiling Dragon by I Eat Tomatoes, that's the novel that brought me to Chinese novels, and it is awesome. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to read Martial Arts Master by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, an excellent author, who so far never has disappointed me. Kergonan out

The Legendary Mechanic is the first and apparently the only novel written by Qi Peijia. I came to it after reading and liking the first 20 or so chapters of the manhua adapted from it. So, was I misguided ? The protagonist, Han Xiao (a.k.a Zero, Black Phantom, latter Black Star), is not a nice person. He is shameless, thick-skined, grudge-holding (although not without reasons), greedy and wicked. But he is also courageous, extremely intelligent, a great strategist, tactician and politician, kind to his allies (current and prospective) and determined to reach his long terms (overly good) goals by any practical means, even if it involves working with former or potential enemies. He has a few quirks like being an excellent combat driver/pilot (though his nauseous and vomiting passengers might disagree). In short, he is the perfect anti-hero for the setting of the novel, as I can only compair him to Gargoyles' David Xanatos. The rest of the cast goes from good to excellent. Whether they are friends or foes, they are never black or white, but all exist in shades of grey. Pretty much every named character has its own motivation, personality, merits, flaws and quirks, which conditions its interactions to the others, so that the shift of relationships (from helpful to neutral to antagonistic and vice-versa) feel logical and natural. The main antagonists (like the Germinal leader) have good reasons to be so, sometimes you are even sympathetic to them. Likewise, the allies (like Hila or Kasuyi) don't help Han Xiao out of sheer goodwill, but because their short or long terms goals converge with his or because they feel like them owe him. Also, the "players" characters are well made too, as the author clearly give them psychologies that humans would have if their were playing a MMO. Oh yes, because the setting is a "video game"... although the world is shown the be real when the game is not on... well, I can't tell you what is really going on without MAJOR spoilers. Let's just says this: Han Xiao, great player/pusher in the "Galaxy" MMO, ends up in the universe of the game (in the body of a minor, unknown character), but into the past, even before the first closed beta, and the world is to him as real as his original's was. He then uses his knowledge of the game (both the setting and the system) in order to not only survive the various major crisis, but also strenghten himself and latter his faction (in fact, a good deal of his efforts are made in order to delay, counter and beat one of worst antagonist faction of the setting). In this sense, the background and the plot are those of a great space opera. But there are periods of time during which the players access the game, where they appear as quirky "Immortals" (for their ability to resurrect). Their actions and presence has major effects on the setting, as their avatars get the usual boons (leveling up) and drawbacks (level caps) one has when playing a MMORPG. Plus, the players have their lives around and outside the game, as it is visible in the game's forum. It results into a very original setting with two pretty different moods, as the players don't appear inside the "Galaxy" universe when it "updates", and it results in periods of time when the players aren't present (which are mere days for the MMO's users, but take months, years and even decades for Galaxy's inhabitants). On a side note, Qi Peijia's bias toward Chinese players is pretty obvious, but it does not go (too much) into obnoxious nationalism. Han Xiao takes full advantage of his knowledge of the setting, system and players to move forward in a story rich in cliffhanger and plot twists, but it is no smooth sailing, since the protagonist knows a lot of the background of Galaxy (and makes the most of it), but he does not know everything (in fact he discovers numerous elements which surprise even him). Furthermore, his presence and interventions on an ever greater scale change the History of the setting from his time as a player, first in relatively minor ways but in the end in decisively, often for the better. The power system is well made, divided into two parts: First, it is based on the five MMORPG basic main classes that when maxed open access to stronger evolved classes, as well as a number of various secondary classes which grants more specialized skills, but are less powerful. The five basic classes are Pugilists (Ki using martial artists), Mages (mana spellcasters), Psychics (mental power users), Espers (super-power users, think X-Men or Stormwatch) and Mechanics (machine makers and users). All of them are well-made but we only get a in-depth exposition of the Mechanic class and its evolutions, and only the pure Mechanic branch at that (the others, Mechanical Pugilist and Cannon Master, are set aside), which can be a letdown for the curious. Second, at various level caps, the character goes into a race evolution (influenced both by its inate genetics and external factors), which will raise its overall power, but also grants him a variety of skills depending on the selected evolution branch. The one taken by the protagonist is quite interesting and in fact opens a number of story hooks. Finally, Han Xiao status of transmigratted player offers him quite a few boons, including the player interface, quest prompt, leveling like a player and more (equally relevant) abilities, all of which are related to a major plot of the tale. The translation is good, even very good, but not excellent, as there remain typos, mistranslations and confusions of words even in the last part of the novel. Still, it does not impair the reader understanding of the plot. So, no, I was not misguided. With an excellent main character, an equally awesome cast, a great setting and a very good but incomplete power system, all in the service of a wonderful story generously sprinkled with a healthty dose of good (adult) humor and irony, The Legendary Mechanic is one of the best space opera/MMO novel I've read. Qi Peijia was able to perfectly mix the two genres into a delectable adventure which will keep you on edge until the last chapter. Its only remarkable flaws are the "incomplete" power system and a translation which never breaks into the excellence territory. My final verdict is a 9 out of 10, and a 10 out of 10 if the translation is ever corrected. If the author can keep the same level of quality in his future works, I'll read them with pleasure. Thanks to Qi Peijia for writing this novel and to chickenpau, Chocolion, AtlasStudios and Chuchutrain for translating it.

World Domination System is the non-translated Chinese style fantasy novel I've read. So, did KillerHemboy create a dominating masterpiece ? The world although it feels kinda small toward the end of the novel, has a lot of depth, with numerous layers of mysteries that get peeled like the layer of an onion. Some details seem a bit too convenients at times, but it really put a true originally to what appears first a classic medieval-fantasy setting. The characters are good overall. The main character, Daneel, is very good, with a fine progression and trials that make him grow into the world dominator suggested by the title. The core cast is also quite good, especially his best friends and love interrests, who also get some fine growth as the story progesses. By the way, the romance aspect, while not the best I've ever read, is still great, progressive and does not feel forced. The rest of the cast is a mixed bag, especially for the antagonists, who, mostly because of the setting, have the same motivation. THe one exception being the last major antagonist, whose psychology is well developped. The power system is pretty well done; with two main path to power for fighters and mages (the MC is a dual user), with specialisations and perks depending on the affinities and skills of the person. The titular World Domination System plays a significant part in the protagonist's ascension, but while it is powerful, it is not an almighty plot armor. It has flaws, requires great efforts to upgrade and while relevant up to the end, does not take away from the story and maturation of Daneel. The plot is pretty good itself (a save the world tale with a bit of orginality), but sadly is mostly centered one track from the first third of the novel. It suffers also from a pacing problem, especially toward and at the end, when the action is frantic nearly without pause, even at the end. I understand that it is necessary to prepair for the second novel in the serie, but it can be tiring to read. The writing itself is good but mared with numerous typos, paragraphs cut into two part, not only in the beginning, but right until the last chapter. This makes for an upsetting reading experience, especially since a lot of the typos and other mistakes are really easy to spot. Sometimes it feels like the author does not reread himself. In conclusion, WDS is a good, even very good novel, but it suffers from three big problems: a big of a restrictive setting, pacing, and quality of the writing. It is quite a pleasant reading, not an excellent, but you can't get wrong with this book. The final verdict is a 7 out of 10, so a high 3 stars reading (in case the author ever comes back to this tale to correct the typos, it would become an 8 out of 10 / 4 stars reading). If KillerHemboy can improve and correct these flaws in the second volume of the story (Rise of the Godking, also available on Qidian), then we will have true masterpiece.

Cuttlefish That Loves Diving is the author of Throne of Magical Arcana, one of my favorite Chinese novel, and certainly the best with a wizard as a main character in my opinion. So, is Lord of the Mysteries a confirmation of this writer's talent or a letdown after one excellent novel ? The answer is, thankfully, the former. This tale is simply awesome, a story of intrigue, mysteries, investigation, occult and horror that will keep you on edge until the end. True, it starts slow, with a third to a half of the first volume being an introduction to the setting (still fresh), but after that, you just won't be able to let go until the finish line, and maybe even beyond, for CTLD stated that it is only the first part of a trilogy. Just one warning, unlike TMA, there's no romance, which in this case, is not a bad thing since I can see how the author could have managed a love story with the main character without making it feel artificial. The protagonist, Klein Moretti, is an excellent character, who progresses in his adventures with wits, intelligence and prudence. His victories are almost never the result of his guts (although they play a part in some of them), but careful planning, deductions and wisdom. He knows he can't face everything the world throws at him and pulls back if needed. He also assumes a number of different identities as the story progresses, as really plays them each as a different person. The others characters are equally well written, from his associates in his own little conspiracy, to the antagonists (there is not only one major antagonist), to the world's important figures, the secondary or even tertiary characters, each and everyone of them is unique, with its merits, flaws, quirks, likes/dislikes, disposition and often secrets. That's why I can only stop here so I don't spoil the story. For the same reason, I won't go into much details about the setting. The protagonist is transmigrated into a Victorian/Industrial Revolution world with rivalries between nations, piracies and colonisation, but which hides an underworld of occult conspiracies, mysteries and power games between occult entities (human and non-human) of tremendous, a world where knowing thing above your power level can literally drive one mad or into a monster. The power system, by the way is very original. The Beyonders obtain their power by drinking potions made of occult ingredients, each potion having a name (Seer, Warrior, Sleepless ...) reflecting the power it grants. In order to progress in power, a character must assimilate the product and then drink the next elixir in the path (and you better not try mixing potions of different paths). Again, I can't go any further without unveiling some major elements of the setting and story. CK Talon's translation is flawless, which is a requirement for such a story where there's a highly complex intrigue without useless element. He showed himself again as one of the best in this business. So, in conclusion, the Lord of the Mysteries confirm Cuttlefish that Loves Diving as one of the prime Chinese fantasy author, on par with Er Gen and I Eat Tomatoes. The story of intrigue, occult and horror is excellent, the characters are awesome, the setting is wonderfully well built and the translation is top notch. I give it a full mark, 10 out of 10 without hesitation. I still prefer Throne of Magical arcana, but only as a matter of personal preference, both books are must-read. PS: thanks to Cuttlefish That Loves Diving for writting this novel, CK Talon for translating it and Qidian for publishing it.