Let me start by saying I’m new to the cultivation genre, and perhaps this is simply a case of the genre not being “for me”. This is, however, my 2nd dip into the genre, and I find this entry to be far and away less-compelling.
First off, Baldree’s narration is fantastic—energetic, articulate, well-differentiated character voices, and well-paced. That’s about the only good part, though.
Otherwise, I felt like I was listening to an otherwise uninspiring anime series or something. It all felt a little too much like a Dragonball storyline, or similar. The world building is somewhat clever, but described so offhandedly that it doesn’t generate the kind of “thirst for more” that other authors are able to create.
The main character possesses an inexplicable strength of will that doesn’t quite make sense, and many of the motivations around face and honor are challenging to relate to, at best. The east-Asian inspired world, dialogue, and lore, and culture are all charming to an extent, but not inspiring by any means.
Again, maybe just not for me, but this is something way better suited to being an Anime or Manga than an actual novel.