In Pursuit of Eternity - Book 1 [Cultivation, Progression]

Information

Status

Completed

Year

2024

Author

K.J.Clay

• 5. Breakthrough
  Aug 5, 2024
• 4. Consequences
  Aug 2, 2024
• 3. The Journey of a Thousand Miles
  Aug 1, 2024
• 2. Childish Concerns
  Aug 1, 2024
• 1. Wait, There's More?
  Aug 1, 2024

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• HikingmumRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Very intriguing start to what is shaping up to being a very interesting plot. So far it has that balance between creating a build up of both character and action without being too slow.  It's definitely left me guessing which way things will unfold and that's a good thing as I don't like predictability.  Character development is solid without being overdone.  The main character Zhujio is believable as is his journey of discovering his Qi.  His inner dialogue is realistic and quite funny at time.  It makes him endearing and relatable.  His inner dialogue reveals a dry sense of humour which is very appealing.
  There's a good amount of action so far with a promise of a lot more to come.  I'm enjoying the writing style and found myself reading all the available chapters in one sitting with each chapter making me wish that I didn't have to wait for more.  There's enough detail in each scene without getting bogged down in too much detail.  This makes the story flow well and the pace is very readable.  I'm fairly new to this genre so not sure how it compares with others but I'm enjoying it so far and it's inspired me to explore more like it.
  I love finding a new author and so far this one seems very promising.  I'm looking forward to future chapters.  I'm hoping that there will be a romantic interest at some point.
• NotTolstoyRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is starting out as a very compelling story. It is a cultivation novel of the Xianxia type. The “wake up in a new world” theme has been done many times (although I still love it) but the twist of starting out as a conscious adult locked into a baby who now has to grow up physically is a very entertaining twist.
  It is starting with the usual skills progression theme, but done with a more skill and class than I expected from a first time author. The world scene is imaginative enough to head in any direction, but I’m already sensing the author gently nudging the story towards something not yet revealed… which is what I want in the opening parts of a good novel.
  Many authors rush development of Qi, which can spoil the mystery. This author, however, has done a great job of keeping the story moving quickly but not in any way sacrificing a sense of struggles to be overcome, and even a faint sense of foreboding. The twist of starting in the child’s body is a great way to add to this sense of struggle.
  I am very much looking forward to the next chapters!
• Ecrit vainRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I'll start out by saying that I've read the content available on patreon as well, which as of this review is up to chapter 26.
  This story is an interesting take on the standard cultivation system. I despise spoilers, so I'll try to keep things vague, but the author seems to be taking things in a different direction than I expected.
  I'm not entirely sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet - the author seems to have a plan, but it remains to be seen if it will work out or not.
  I will say that while the story takes a little while to find its feet, as of the latest chapter I read (26) things are heating up.
  Definitely has potential, and I'm eager to see where it goes.
  The Grammer is overall fairly good, though there are a few typos here and there. The characters feel pretty decent - while some of them haven't been fully fleshed out yet, we are starting to get a peek behind the scenes as to their histories and motivations, which is always good to see.
  Overall, I would say that this could be an excellent story, assuming it makes the distance.
• ArcanaVitaeRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  What grabs my attention in this story is the sheer realistic take someone being reincarnated into a Xianxia would go through. It kinda reminds me of Mushoku Tensei in a way where the main character is someone who is curious about the world's power system but also dedicated to building a new life for himself.
  The sheer mystery and wonder of Qi is being subtly shown more and more with each chapter. Zhujiao has to learn and experiment to grow his understanding of it and even if it's something he's very passionate about it still takes time to learn about Qi.
  Also the need to adapt to a new culture as well as the changes in circumstances he experiences throughout his life is dedicated wonderfully. Zhujiao has a habit of rolling with the punches and to keep on moving forward. It's not done in an unrealistic manner either, he grieves, needs time to process and doesn't handle thing perfectly but he's able to keep and moving which is a trait that's gotten him noticed in addition to his intelligence.
• XiaolanRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Good read, story development was okay because the progression was gradual and well-timed. However, I find that at certain point the motivations and nuance needed to flash out the world building and character interactions falls flat.
  Considering the character development, I was confused , to say the least. I was surprised that the character keeping his memories from his previous life sort of didn't affect how he carried himself, because his brashness and later timidity should be more attributed to the teenage he was at. Yet, such a position does not support the age the character was at before he transmitgrated.
  The way the writer held on to tension was not engaging for me. I felt those moments were too wordy for my liking, constantly pulling me from the immersion I had built up because of the situation in the moment. The heart of the story tension suffered when the author almost always delved into tangents that more often than not pushed me to skip sections of text just to get to the progression the moment of tension needed to keep me engaged.
  Overall, it was a great short read and it serves as a great testament to the skill of the writer, and shows promise for his future works.
  PS: I don't really care for the tags, because I just read the summary and decided to read
• MonusRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  And the overall rating is, compared other ratings of mine and the respective quality low. But this story did a few things in the most recent chapters I disliked a lot.
  I'll put those issues in the spoilers further down below.
  From the technical side of things the story seems mostly fine. I'm not a fan of the present tense. I found it especially painful in the earliest chapters. Maybe I got used to it, but I didn't like it. This however doesn't factor into the score as that's a stylistic choice which I can and have overseen.
  Thinks I dislike though are perceived character inconsistencies. This is mainly a me thing as I've discovered over the years in exchange with other fiction readers, but I dislike those.
  Spoilers are "highlights" from comments I've made.
  Rational MC -> author needing to include some sort of plot with tension and uses the Gangmember next door and drugs (alcohol) to introduce the MC to some sort of shady stuff that's just going to be tedious to read.
  MC in the body of a 12 year old drinking alcohol.
• Doomed BobbyRoyal Road

  ★★★ 3.0

  It starts out good but the MC is hard to read about.  He is supposed to be reborn and 40 years old but never once does he act like it.  Spends the entire second half of the book with no impulse control at all, thinks nothing through.  Was very hard to finish the book
• Randy SmithRoyal Road

  ★★★ 3.0

  First, I would like to say that the writing was quite excellently done, but beyond writing quality I found the plot to be some what predictable, filled with many western story clichés.
  This is your typical story of someone transmigrating into another word and discovering some kind of extraordinary abilities. But it doesn’t feel like a cultivation story in fact, I am pretty sure you can substitute the word Mana for Qi and mages for cultivators or Guilds for Sect and the story would not change very much.at all. There was just something missing that would make this a cultivation story. Plus, for some reason, I really didn’t like the main characters, timid and frightened nature. He really didn’t come across as a main character in a cultivation story. The one thing I really did like about this story was the twist with having modern technology strangely showing up out of the blue. The best I can give this would be to call it a shallow western cultivation story. And the only reason I would continue reading this is to see how the sub plot of the mysterious modern technology would play out in this story.
• DangerMittensRoyal Road

  ★★★ 3.0

  It started strong. The dialogues are well-written, and unlike other novels, this one provides a reasonable explanation for the arrogant and reckless behavior that cultivators typically exhibit. MC is also not unreasonably strong. Actually, his being too weak is a problem.
  But a poorly written sequence of events brings the rating down. I'll read a few more chapters and hope the author doesn't keep repeating the same mistakes.
  By 37 chapters in, the MC has lost his mother, his master, his job, and his cultivation, and he's now set to be a fugitive for the foreseeable future. He has restarted his cultivation on the right path. However, due to the lingering effects of his previous path, all cultivators will believe he is following the wrong path, which is deemed harmful to the cultivation society and must be purged. Now he has to escape a gang, potentially a sect, and random cultivators who do not like him.
  So what did he gain for all the bad things that happened to him? A single step forward.
  If this isn't grim-dark, I don't know what is.
  The pacing is awfully slow. 1 minor stage of cultivation for 37 chapters is terrible. At this pace, it would take a few hundred chapters just to get out of the first level of cultivation.
  We do not know how many levels of cultivation the world has. But if other novels are to be relied upon, this novel will take at least a few thousand chapters to finish.
  I personally don't mind that but it might put off some readers.
  Note to author:
  In any progression fantasy, if the protagonist doesn't gain anything from their struggles, you'll end up relying on plot armor to keep them moving forward. Only luck or cunning can save someone who lacks the power to save themselves. However, the MC of this novel is too naive to be cunning, which makes their survival feel unrealistic.
• NoTime..Royal Road

  ★★★ 2.5

  I personally find the character of the story to be quite lacking. With both lives combined he is nearing 40 years of age I believe it said. And he just continuously acted like a reckless, impulsive fool. His actions through the story would have made more sense if he did not reincarnate at all but was just truly a child.
  The story is not really slice of life either. Typically in a slice of life you expect relationships and friendships as well as detailed explanations of the characters emotions, actions etc but we get none of that at all mc is basically a selfish hermit who shuns and excludes himself from everybody. He states he loved his mother but would just constantly ignore her and go against her wishes. His actions even lead to her death which bothered him but not as much as the damage he caused to his cultivation. It seems almost as if the mc is just going to devolve into being a classic cultivation murder hobo borderline demonic cultivator because of his lack of care and concern for anyone but himself
  Lastly the tags for this story are not correct. I believe there should be grimdark or something of the sort. Because the mc is forced to suffer a ton both mentally and physically in a very short time period.