Boring, mediocre.

The first half of the story was fun and enjoyable, but then the quality dropped off a cliff. The plot completely stagnated and turned into an endless barrage of nationalism and racism. Incredibly disappointing.

MC is hypocritical, whiny, and unlikable. He takes advantage of a mentally handicapped teenager for his powers, and only begrudgingly helps him afterwards. Later, he literally kicks a newborn puppy when it’s not performing exactly as he wants, and generally treats his contracted animals like garbage. Also, despite being betrayed by his girlfriend and claiming the he will never trust anyone again, the MC hits on the first woman he meets post-apocalypse.

This is a refreshing read. While there is conflict, there’s an actual reason for it, and the focus of the story is on the MC’s growth. The MC is smart, is a decent human being and actually has a personality (as opposed to the standard xianxia template where the MC only has parasocial relationships with others). It’s nice to have a “standard” xianxia story where the MC isn’t a mass murdering, manipulative psychopath. The interpersonal relationships in the story make sense- there are genuine friendships, but also realistic hostile relationships. Small matters don’t turn into blood feuds and conflicts are resolved in a myriad of ways instead of instantly devolving into murder.

I do not recommend reading this novel. While the conception of the story is good, the nonchalance with which the protagonist regularly commits mass murder and ransacks the homes of intelligent, sapient people just to get more resources is extremely disturbing. It would be awful even if the protagonist was portrayed as a villain, but it’s evident that he’s intended to be a “good guy.” I was excited at first since stories like this are often filled with Chinese nationalism/ racism and this one wasn’t, but this is just as bad. It’s really a shame because the power system and family/clan dynamics were really interesting.

The story starts out okay but after ~100 chapters it turns into the MC flirting with practically every female character, getting into a fight, repeat ad nauseam.