Dao of the Web - [An Isekai Cultivation Story]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Can a naive fool thrive in a cutthroat Xianxia world with…the power of friendship?

Yung is a gentle soul. Transmigrated into a world of cultivation yet unwilling to yield to its savage ways, he vows to cultivate not the dao of power, butkindness.One problem:a sudden scandal with the realm's most desired princess has everyone believing he’s her gigolo! Now forced under a deadly spotlight from every heaven-defying hero, will Yung let his peaceful dreams die, or will his friendly nature let him walk a better path? After all, as a wise immortal once said: "Maybe the real dao is the friends you make along the way!"

What to expect:

-Witty Main Character

-Political Maneuvering

-Earth Technology Adaptation

-No Harem

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: CatVI

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.1/ 5.0
Followers: 2,773
Views: 952,023

Chapters(115 total)

What readers say about Dao of the Web - [An Isekai Cultivation Story]

“I’ve been reading it for a while and I can say that the MC, the characters, everything is going at a great pace and with good character development. Everything feels somewhat natural. What I do dislike is how confusing some of the political stuff becomes, a…”
ReDeathRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“I gave this the four stars because of two main things. 1. I like Eastern Fantasy a lot. 2. I like silly isekai fantasies a lot too. 2a. Personally, I like this particular one a lot because it hits a lot of personal... preferences. It's the kind of thing a g…”
StultusRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

ReDeathRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I’ve been reading it for a while and I can say that the MC, the characters, everything is going at a great pace and with good character development. Everything feels somewhat natural. What I do dislike is how confusing some of the political stuff becomes, and I tend to have a hard time understanding it, maybe because english is not my mother language. Either way, it’s nice.
StultusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I gave this the four stars because of two main things.
1. I like Eastern Fantasy a lot.
2. I like silly isekai fantasies a lot too.
2a. Personally, I like this particular one a lot because it hits a lot of personal... preferences.
It's the kind of thing a guy fantasises about in far off distant day dreams that he knows are no way ever going to happen in reality because they are both outlandishly foolish, and would be horrible to actually experience.
CatVI lampshades in his story, and it made me like the main character all the more for it. The MC points out the absurdity of his situation and it's uncanny similarity to basically any dude's private hormone fantasy. He's in a magical land surrounded by cute girls with a special talent that attracts cute girls. It also lets him know what cute girls are feeling so he doesn't have to play the emotional guessing game - he can just tell when a girl is into him.
The MC, upon pointing this out basically shrugs his shoulders and continues on his path.
For some extra example/context for what I mentioned earlier.
A good example of a fantasy that would be horrible to experience but fun to imagine is Harems! Harem fantasy is one of the most common fantasies a guy can think of. Who doesn't like to imagine a bunch of beautiful girls swarming him?
But in reality, having tons of girls all demanding your attention and affection around the clock would be horrible, the emotional labour would exhaust you, or you would have adopt such an uncaring attitude to the emotional states of your "loved ones" that they would inevitably sink into some unhealthy mindset or break up with you.
CatVI points this out too. I like it.
Crimson wolfRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It's a great change from the common xianxia. The characters feel real, with an emotionally intelligent mc (a refreshing change) who has no shame saying what he wishes. The world is immensely immersive with a story that flows, and a romance that I can't wait to see come into fruition.
Now comes the spoiler territory and deep dive into the story:
Characters
The characters all have flaws, like Yungs naivety originating from his origins and his golden thigh to hug, (Yung's golden thigh)Nyanya's emotional reliance and fear of connections from the betrayal of a former love, who came back with a harem after saying they'd wait for a hundred years to be together, and Chao's arrogance ingrained into him by those who raised him, his inferiority complex from being crippled in the past, and societies expectations of those with power and potential. His obsession with Nanya also causing him to slowly tear apart his relationships from before he healed, being both and amazing display of character writing and a disaster that you can't help but keep watching unfold. But despite that, you can't exactly hate him. You can't hate anyone for their flaws actually, almost all of them are trying to move past their pasts in their own ways.
I would give more stars but 5 is the limit
Style: I'm not the best at assessing this category honestly, but I can safely say the author has found his style, making everything flow smoothly. I'll make it 5 stars only because I want the extra stars from character to be put here despite my inexperience in writing this category.
Story: Unlike the old version, I can safely say that the new synopsis is much more accurate than what the old one says. To be honest it took me a long time to realize that the web didn't mean just the web between characters and the golden strings but also
The world wide web(seriously, it took me like two or three months, I literally facepalmed.)
. Although, I do wish to say I can't Wait to see the old versions synopsis come to fruition.
Lucian T. EinarRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall:
Dao of the Web presents a refreshing take on the Xianxia genre, blending elements of fantasy and isekai with a dash of humor. It deserves recognition for its unique approach.
Style:
The author's style is engaging, pulling readers into a world of cultivation without overburdening them with excessive terminology or overexposition. The story unfolds at a fast pace, keeping the audience's interest. Although sometimes, I might wish for it to slow down a little. Nothing bad, though.
Story:
Dao of the Web offers a compelling storyline with interesting twists on common Xianxia tropes, and that's telling a lot coming from me, I'm not particularly fond of Xianxia, Wuxia, cultivation, and related stories. The plot is building up nicely, and it's evident that there are grand plans in store. The world-building is exceptional, and the story delivers a fresh perspective on a genre often plagued by clichés.
Grammar:
The grammar is well-executed, making the reading experience enjoyable. Typos and errors are minimal and get addressed promptly. Frankly, I'm not particularly good at spotting errors, so I wouldn't be much help anyway.
Character:
The characters in this story are a standout feature. They are well-fleshed out and feel like real individuals. The main character's journey is relatable, and the interactions between the cast are engaging. The story delves into the characters' flaws and emotional depth, making them stand out in a crowded genre.
In summary, Dao of the Web is a must-read for those who enjoy Xianxia stories but are tired of the same old tropes. This novel offers a fresh and engaging take on the genre, with well-crafted characters and a promising storyline. Give it a try; you won't regret it.
Conscript ReportingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The majority of this review is the one I wrote for the previous iteration of this novel before the relaunch and it does contain spoilers. I am keeping most of it as it is for now as only the prologues have been uploaded but I will change the review as it needs to be if the relaunch addresses and fixes some of the issues I identified with the initial story. From the prologue itself, it seems that CATVI has put in significant effort in cleaning up its pace-breaking length from the previous iterations whilst keeping the meat of the content there. It also reads much more coherently than it did in the past, so that's a plus. We'll see if the writing continues this trend as it continues to be reuploaded. The one thing I sincerely hope for is that CATVI decides to use the translated terms for the story this time around instead of the Chinese words in English. What I mean by this is that in the old story, the author would say 'Shen' Cultivation instead of 'Faith' cultivation and it would really mess up my personal flow in the reading of the story as I had to take time to remember what is being referred to where if it was just the English words then I would quickly have understood and the flow of the sentence and story would have been unaffected. I understand this is a stylistic choice but it's not one I really care for tbh.
Style: Style is relatively fine and perfect, except for the first 3ish chapters plus the prologues. In those establishing chapters the pace is almost at breakneck speeds and there's almost no chance to learn and get a rudimentary understanding of the main character and his background. Essentially why, we should care about him and his "sacrifice" to be reincarnated. We do not know his family and relationships, all things that would have been nice to get a rudimentary understanding of so that we can understand that his choice to be reincarnated is actually a sacrifice and not just a highly convenient and beneficial deal for him when he deals with the greek
AdellonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This is a very good start. Love the conflict between the transmigrator and protaganist as well as the sensible common sense and realistic thinking the MC has (our MC). Introduction to the world could have gone more smoothly, the beginning was a little difficult to follow, maybe it was the language style.
I like the romance beginning and how the MC thinks about it, hope the relationship is well documented and sane.
Hope it becomes more epic and more sensible and heartfelt, hope even the MC grows in maturity.
Mr Monday, Warden O' HellRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
To be honest, I originally only started reading by accident, clicking on it instead of another. Don't regret it in the slightest.
Great Grammar, the story is interesting, the main character acts how i suspected he would in his situation (i will not spoil, nor do i actually know how to hide stuff under spoilers. I feel like i should find that out soon), and the first few pages really hook you in. I recommend a read, if anyone sees this. I truly doubt that but ahwelp.
ethelesRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I find it regretful that this is a cultivation story. It seems to play the same role here that it does in every story in the genre: bullshittery that supports an endless power spiral, that forces drama out of every minor conflict over 100 spirit stones, the root of the Nine Sun Yang Lotus or the Four Yin Cucumber by putting permanent power—nay, the entire future of the character—on the line. And every permanent advancement means nothing, because there’s always a bigger bully or another treasure to chase, a heaven above heaven to pursue, that makes the protagonist the underdog and makes the supporting cast irrelevant. After you’ve read a few thousand chapters’ worth of this stuff you really lose your appetite for more.
But genre aside? I love it. I don’t see how the protagonist is a disney princess—nowhere near naïve enough for that—but he’s clever, decent and fun. I love seeing him make plots, the way he salivates at the sight of his fox-tailed mistress and mispronounces her name, the exchanges between said mistress and her maid: it’s well-written and enjoyable. It’s not often that I read a genre I don’t enjoy out of the sheer joy of reading, but here we are.
I can’t help but recommend it to anyone who enjoys eastern fantasy stories. And if you’re a fan of good character writing and dialogue, you might enjoy this even if it’s not a genre you’d normally indulge in.
[Edit: Some 50 chapters in, the prose is no longer as polished and I find myself coming back less to this story. It’s still good, but overall it feels more like 4-stars-good than 5-stars-good. I’m amending my review to reflect that.]
Tarrying_soulRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
The novel is good, but I think more world building will make it top-notch.
Proper Cultivation realms(they are not intuitive or clear enough)
The lore behind fiends, proper explanation of MC powers or his obession behind the goddess of fate
I don't like the time it took for our MC to adapt to the world he is in(75+ chapters). I firmly believe in you snooze you lose.
I think the last chap I read is affecting my review as
MC doesn't give proper importance to his gf secrets which may very well affect them later down the line. I mean they are already facing a cult, only plot armor can avoid the dreadful scenarios playing in my mind.
I will most likely edit the review, but for now the novel didn't leave me with good mood.
I think fleshing out our Mc's thought process will help the story.
I mean why he thinks romancing with someone who's family can kill him with a yawn is good thing, if the maid wasn't chill he would have died in his sleep.
The reasonable actions of our MC should be on how to feel more alive or to explore his new body, as his prev body has faults. But it is glossed over, i just think his previous unique body condition doesn't add anything to the story.
Grammar, style everything is fine. I suggest you read some chapters if the confusing cultivations realms doesn't deter you, then you will like the story.
TrypticRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
I don't mean to accuse, but this story often feels like it was AI written or at least AI assisted. Individual scenes and paragraphs use detailed and colorful language, but it's a variety of language from totally different cultures that feels like a hundred stories mashed together.
In the beginning, the story constantly throws out terms and doesn't explain them. There is almost no explanation of how the world works, when things are introduced. Sometimes if you're lucky the story explains something later on, but not when it's relevant.
The MC is presumably from future Europe, but uses slang that's specific to California and always talks about thigh-hugging, an idea that doesn't really outside of China. He says generic quotes, but then has ideas that are super specific to certain places on earth. That's where a lot of the AI feeling comes from, since an AI is good at coming up with common things that people say in certain circumstances, but AI is bad at separating what one person wouldn't say based on their background.
On top of this, the MC's character traits and abilities seem to fade away and blend into his personality soup after a few chapters: AI is bad at keeping track of facts over a long stretch of writing, and it tends to forget what it wrote before. The first thing he gains is the ability to sense the emotions of others, but then he constantly forgets and ignores this ability in situations where it would be the most important thing for him to use.
The story sometimes tries to preach with offhand judgemental statements or even grand moral speeches. It isn't always bad, but if you're going to go down that route then you'd better have an intelligent, mature, and polite statement to make. Readers don't like to be talked down to, and having all the NPCs in the room applaud and thank the MC for his moral highground speech is not endearing. It takes a LOT of work and effort to earn a moral speech that people can appreciate.