Oat_Meal - Profile

Desolate Fate is a re-write of another novel called A Desolate Life. I'm basing my review on ADL, which I read all 256 chapters of. This is a better written xianxia then most of what is available on webnovel and other sties like royal road. It avoids the bad tropes and cliches common in other cookie cutter stories, yet still stays true to the genre. The world building and cultivation system are consistent, and you can tell the author has done a lot of work behind the scenes to make everything feel purposeful. The story takes follows the protagonist's rise in the cultivation world, as well as his exploration of his mysterious past. Each volume is a satisfying story arc in and of themselves, while all still progressing the meta plot. The first few chapters contain foreshadowing for a reveal that comes 250 chapters later, while not feeling out of place. The main character definitely grows and changes throughout the chapters. The main character starts out as young child, forced into a "righteous" sect that has killed his family. He struggles with his anger, and the conflict of wanting to get revenge while not going too far. His innocence is broken and for a while he becomes a lot more demonic, which can turn away some readers. The villainous lead tag is there for a reason. In his heart of hearts though, the MC does not want to be a killer, or evil. He is forced by his circumstances for a while, but eventually works towards gaining redemption.