A Martial Odyssey

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

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With one step, an ocean is crossed. With one swing, an immortal is slain.

Grisla Orlith's name has been in contention for centuries; millenia. Has he ever existed? Is it true about him?

They hear of the future, but they don't know his past. Assumed as a genius from heaven, a warrior without peer.

But back then, from those that knew of him... only saw a worthless boy.

[Adventure, Wuxia, Martial Arts, Fantasy]

For those not in the know, this is a book with some western and eastern fantasy sprinkled in. This is a work coming from someone who's a long time fan of the genre and would like to add my own flavor and spin to it, and I particularly dislike the shallow xianxia characterization and development. To counteract that is about eighty percent of the reason I'm writing this. The beginning might be a slow burn but I promise I'm bringing up some awesome scenes and moments once you're invested. Again, this is not some fast food xianxia. But I can say that as a lover of the genre I won't be completely shying away from the stuff that got myself hooked into it in the first place.

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Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2020
Author: KayTea

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 3.9/ 5.0
Followers: 384
Views: 198,747

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

EddieAzevedoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story takes place with a protagonist, and his family, who sees himself as the victim of manipulations by much more powerful individuals. Spending years through such losses, he has two possibilities of advancing in the world of cultivation.
Here we have our typical Xianxia common places, which everyone criticizes, but if we don't observe, we simply deconstruct the plot as not being a cultivation story.
Confess that I don't like POV, and until then the author created a flashcack arc, but he hasn't wasted much time with these practices, which for me is a positive point.
As this literary genre is characterized by an immense development, we will see that the author will carry out everything and will not give up in the end.
D.N. NewynRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
... and also faithful to the representation of real people with real emotions striving for real goals. Cultivation stories often fall into this trap of maniacal characters with wishy-washy moral compasses whose only aim is to attain godhood. A Martial Odyssey by KayTea instead gives us the best of the Cultivation genre with a side of realistic developments.
The characters are easily the best aspect of this story. Cultivation stories are very often character-driven, and the MC makes or break the story in many cases. The MC, Grisla, is presented with depths and heavy weights on his shoulders. Other characters like the Elder is well-crafted too, and I have nothing but praises given to the author in this respect.
The prose is a more meticulous and verbose style, which might put some people off but is a delight for me. Sometimes it gets a bit exposition-heavy, and I suggest the author can move some of that exposition to dialogues or break them into chunks to relay to the readers later on. Other than that, great work.
I didn't find any glaring grammatical mistakes while reading this, so I've elected to give grammar a full 5 star.
The story is faithful to the genre, so don't expect any groundbreaking twist or exciting novel stuff. There's a fine mix of Eastern and Western influence in the book, though, and I'm curious to see how the author blends them together. I'll definitely keep an eye out for future developments, and you should too.
TheeRealFeelsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm giving five stars simply off of the potential this story has. At current, I would say it is a 3.5 out of 5, BUT that's is due mostly to pieces that haven't been dropped into place yet.
While there are bouts of overdescription and also areas where the fundamentals of the world could afford to be expounded upon, I believe that when a story makes you earnestly think about the why after reading it, it has nowhere to go but up. Highly recommended read, and something I'm gonna keep my eyes on.
MaverickmanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I wasn't too sold on the cover of the book. It had a bit of a tacky stereotypical Chinese aesthetic in my opinion. If you self-publish this on Amazon, I'd recommend swapping the cover out. Maybe consider looking at the covers on Qidian/Webnovel translated novels for inspiration.
Also, here's the thing about combat. All methods and instruments of combat, are at their core, lethal. Unless I'm missing something, Rei Han was never taught by the mentor about the philosophy behind this and about the safety mechanisms to wield such a power safely, and it was why he went all out and almost killed the MC. So the Elder was at fault for Rei Han almost killing the MC. A teacher once wrote this on Facebook and I find it very appropriate for this.
Weapons and combat arts are instruments of murder. If you can't accept that in your heart and carry it and recognise the discipline and responsibility it places on you before you lay your hands on the weapon, then you're not qualified to even come near one.
"Every cut you perform, every round you shoot, and every strike you make leads you to that end, to the moment when you are forced to use it to kill or maim.
"If you can't accept that and learn when not to do that, then you should not be let near anything that can ever harm anyone.
"If you pick up a weapon to gain power but refuse to accept that what you have done is willingly grasp the power to murder another, then you might as well not bother, because no matter how mighty the weapon, you can't picture yourself taking a life with it, and you think 'it's not good enough, it will fail me, I need more power' and you go off seeking a bigger gun instead of fixing the real problem, which is not in the tool you use but the with the will with which you wield it.
"As long as you think a weapon is a toy and repository of power, you will never be able to use it for its purpose, and ultimately, it won't fail you but _you will fail it_.
The story was decent, just not really the kind of thing I l
D.M. Rhodes (Razzmatazz)Royal Road
★★★★ 4.0
This review is outdated. I've added a full star from the original review after coming back to read some more of the story. The story itself has really progressed far and it looks like the author has been working very hard! =)
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Okay. So. Where do I start. Very minor spoilers ahead, but nothing gamechanging.
First off, full disclosure this review is being written in the context of a review swap. As of this posting I have read all ten available chapters. This is my very first time reading Wuxia, so please take that into consideration when reading the following as there might be tropes pertaining to the genre that I am unaware of.
Style
The style of the writing is.. ah, stiff. The writing is very red-light, green-light and I am missing a real clear sense of fluidity in the prose. It’s like reading a telephone book in some parts, the author likes to sprinkle in some fancy words especially in chapter 1 but there isn’t much behind them, they feel really out of place when they pop up actually as the writing is very featureless and plain until suddenly a mountain appears out of nowhere and then we go back to the norm. There were several terms I felt were awkward but I chuck that up to my own personal lacking as I am not familiar with ‘eastern’ web-literature and the phrases commonly used there.
Grammar
The writing is solid enough to stand on its own two feet. While reading I only found 1 thing I would count as a real grammatical error, so for 10 chapters that’s actually really good! I don’t have much to say as the spelling, punctuation and use of commas and semicolons is on point! Good job here!
Story Score
Okay. Again. I have never read a Wuxia before so I had no idea what I was getting into and now coming out of it; I have no idea what just happened. The story focuses around our protagonist, a young man named Grisla, son of a once renowned Gihren who has fallen ill in his age and life. The actual plot line we’re following, I am a little unclear about but as of now,
GyeigRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
This story reminded me a lot of a book series I've dipped my toes into - Will Wight's 'Cradle' series. From the magic, to the worldbuilding and how the characters interact with each other, there's a lot of similarities to draw between the two. Unlike Cradle, however, this story has escaped the swamp of mediocrity and has flashed of brilliance, which sadly aren't realized to their fullest.
First off, the characters are decent, but nothing special. Some are decently well rounded, others leave a little more to be desired. Thing is, in this genre of story, that's a major step up. My previous experiences with characters in these stories felt like a robot had written the thing, so that clears the (admittedly low) bar. The main character is interesting to read about, and the author does have something on hand here.
In terms of story, it's again well executed. The main character is struggling with the fact that he is just about the weakest man in his environment, and seeing him relate to that is interesting. Less interesting is the worldbuilding, which feels very video gamey at times. If that's your thing, you'll probably end up enjoying it. If not, you're probably not going to dig this story very much.
Prose wise, it's serviceable. There's no special word choices or really memorable sentences here, just workman writing overall. It does get points for not throwing wave after wave of vague worldbuilding terms around, which many stories on RR and in this genre struggle with, but again this isn't anything special.
Overall, if you're a fan of these kinds of stories, I do heartily recommend this one to you, and everyone that's not should give it a shot and see if they like it.
kazarnowiczRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
Please note: this is done as a review exchange (and I can highly recommend doing one with KayTea - their review helped me a lot). I have no experience of Wuxia, and I think my frame of reference may be further skewed by my experience of Japanes video games. They overlap a lot with manga, which I understand is different although I can't currently see the nuances. This means that some things can have been lost on me.
Overall:
It's clear that KayTea has an idea where the story is heading, and I'm not sure what their stated goal about "xianxia characterization" means - but if it is about characters, I think that KayTea does an excellent work of introducing the characters, one in each chapter so that I get an idea about who is in play. The premise is interesting (although I would have preferred not to know how it would end as per the synopsis, but perhaps this is a genre specific thing) and I think that KayTea does a good job of using the terse style interaction I associate with Japanese storytelling (I'm not sure what else to call it).
This terseness spills over a bit into the story, which KayTee uses a poetic language to counteract. It works most of the time, but there are a few places where I'm lost (I'll include some examples at the end). The drawback of this is that there's a pull and push in the flow, where I'm unsure of how to pace the scene in my head. Sometimes I feel yanked forward, and sometimes I feel like it's slower than I expected.
I think KayTee does a good job with the overall flow and pacing of introducing the other characters, and revealing just enough of he overall story to keep me interested in the next chapter. There were a few places where I wondered what Juve really can't do (as a reader, it helps me understand the rules and sets expectation) but that can be my inexperience of the genre.
I would love to read another genre by KayTee, I imagine it would further show this newbie in wuxia the unique quirks that I'm sure are there, but many of which ge
zimbimbarooRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
The writing style feels boring to me. Nothing stands out as particularly funny or suspenseful. There is a very large flashback that just seems misplaced within the story and delivers the absolute minimum of useful information with the maximum amount of words. The only reason I don't rate the style lower is because I have seen far far worse on this website.
The story itself is meh. It has a pretty generic plot with a pretty generic execution. Nothing particularly better than the rest, but also nothing particularly worse. It's right in the middle of what can be expected for this genre.
Grammar is solid. Not perfect, but few things are. No complaints. Well done.
The characters. . . I hate them. Every single character feels deeply unsatisfactory to me. This might just be personal preference, but they all seem rather wooden in a way I find difficult to articulate.
The only exception is a character that has been given almost no "screen-time" and is the undisputed ruler of a vast conglomerate of clans. She is a young woman who somehow inherits the knowledge and cultivation of her predecessors. That is so far the only character that has seemed interesting to me. But at least the characters are not completely one dimensional. There is dynamic progression and layered emotion, so that saves this from a one star rating.
Overall, it's just boring for me. I do think that big fans of the genre might enjoy this more than I do. It ticks a lot of the trope boxes just right.
I don't hate it, I just struggle to maintain interest.
To each their own.
David WillRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
I thought the premise of the story interesting. The first few chapters were slow, but that happens. I tried to keep reading waiting to see when something would actually happen but it just feels like the story is not going anywhere.
There are hints that there is something special about the MC, but so far everything is about him being shat on. I get it, there should be adversity or the story is boring. But really, I have no interest in a story about a character that constantly gets shat on. If the story is not moving forward (at best, moving sideays), then there's no point in continuing it.
It is disapointing, but I just don't see a point in continuing the story. I stopped at chapter 8. If you can't catch and keep my attention after five chapters (in a book), I stop reading. I tried to go further with this but I just couldn't find it myself to keep going. A lot of exposition, but it doesn't go anywhere.
I wish there would have at least been hints about his mother instead of just getting shot down. Maybe then there would be a hint of what's to come and a reason to keep going. I like the author's style, but the story was unfortunately lacking (in my opinion).
Anhi RanyRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
Edit: This story used to have litrpg tag now it is removed. I decided to remove 1 star because of that so it would be 3.5 in RR standerds
The story is a by the numbers cultivation story and does not stand out in anyway. The characters are a bit better than your run of the mill wuxia but are still plagued by those tropes. I was duped into reading this because litrpg + cultivation is generally at least somewhat interesting ,it has no litrpg and very little new in the cultivation system.