I found the story style dry & the characters trite, the biggest saving grace being the MC does not have stupid power (although he does have protagonist ability of stupid luck, which is more forgivable). While by no means intolerable, & I appreciate his struggle of a humble commoner opposed by snotty nobles, neither was there anything to really grab my attention & pull me in to what I felt was one of the most generic xianxia I’ve seen. I get the feeling that like the horatio hornblower series, this was to set up a baseline scale to the world, allowing a lot of potential growth to the series, & to, as the title says, be the first step – there’s nothing wrong with a slow burn, it just wasn’t enough to get me to chance the next book. If you are looking for a very grounded & slow xianxia story, you well enjoy this.
