Paths of Heaven [Steampunk + Xianxia + Grand Strategy]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

A Great Threat looms in the near future... and Wuzhi must prepare the world to fight it.

Chosen by the Will of the Heavens as its Emissary, Wuzhi, the bastard son of the World Sovereign Mu Wudi, embarks on an epic and near-impossible quest to unite the fractured, war-torn world under a single voice. Armed with nothing but his country-toppling looks, silver tongue, and the supreme teachings of his teacher, the Heaven Scheming Devil, the young scholar must not only face obstinate bureaucrats and power-drunk monarchs on his journey but also immortal cultivators, greedy sects, and ancient cults seeking to summon their long-dead God to purge the world of all heretics!?

It's a tall order for any sane person. Fortunately, Wuzhi isn't very sane.

What to expect.

> Kingdom-building, plots, schemes, and political intrigue with ACTUAL consequences and impact on the story.

> A character-driven story with less focus on physical battles and more emphasis on dialogue and choices.

> An MC thatain't right! *spoken in Hank Hill's voice*

>Family Drama that would give Asian soap operas a run for their money.

>An incredibly complex fictional world.

> A more traditional Xianxia wherein 'cultivation' is more than chugging pills and snorting energy.

Paths of Heaven will update1 CHAPTER/DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK.

Link for DISCORD:https://discord.gg/eq8S4R5s

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: ProphetOfEvil

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.3/ 5.0
Followers: 99
Views: 109,544

Chapters(155 total)

What readers say about Paths of Heaven [Steampunk + Xianxia + Grand Strategy]

“Ever wondered what happens AFTER your generic 'cultivation-novel' protagonist attains his immortality, gets all the girls, and kills the '999th Demon-GodKing-Immortal-Deity-whatever' for the millionth time? How would he create a family with his few dozen 'j…”
C0nstanceRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Instead of someone who goes against the heavens and slaps young masters left and right, this story caters to the more strategic side of xianxia and wuxia stories. Style and Story 10/10 - Once again, this isn't OP MC goes against the heavens. This is an intr…”
DCatRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(5)

C0nstanceRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Ever wondered what happens AFTER your generic 'cultivation-novel' protagonist attains his immortality, gets all the girls, and kills the '999th Demon-GodKing-Immortal-Deity-whatever' for the millionth time? How would he create a family with his few dozen 'jade beauties?' How 'good' of a father would he be to the inestimable number of children that he is bound to sire? How would they come to live and who would they grow up to be?
You haven't? Well, don't bother doing it anymore, and just read this novel.
To summarize: Paths of Heaven is a grounded, realistic take on the story of your generic 'blessed by the heavens' protagonist some thirty years after the end of his tale.
It is told to us from the perspective of his firstborn son, who had been abandoned by his generic protagonist father from birth because his birth mother just so happened to be the cheap tragedy-bait heroine who had to be sacrificed to justify another senseless powerup in his generic protagonist father's story.
Style: It's smooth. Everything flows well. The battle scenes are written in a way that inspires tension and generates stakes. It does start out a little rough-around-the-edges at the start -probably because this is the author's first work- but it quickly finds its groove after around Chapter 40 as the author grows more comfortable with his own writing. Overall, nothing too special but nothing that warrants any complaints either.
Story: This is the strongest part of this novel and it is GLORIOUS! I love the narrative. I love the world-building. I love all the politics, both big and small. And I especially love the fact that the ridiculous things that our protagonist does HAVE ACTUAL CONSEQUENCES!
A crucial plan goes south because our protagonist loses his sh*t? Another story might sweep it under the rug and act like nothing happened because PLOT. However, in this novel, not only do we get to see the uncomfortable reality of the burning train wreck, but we also get to touch and taste it.
Above a
DCatRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Instead of someone who goes against the heavens and slaps young masters left and right, this story caters to the more strategic side of xianxia and wuxia stories.
Style and Story 10/10 - Once again, this isn't OP MC goes against the heavens. This is an intrigue--based xianxia, which has the smartest characters in the sub-genre of Xianxia and Wuxia. Style is akin to classical Xianxia/Wuxia literature, in that it uses philosophical conflict throughout the story and it focuses on one aspect of it for each arc in the story, making it so that as the story progressed, the theme always varies, while the main plot is still our Character's driving goal.
The power system, I'd say, would be my fsvorite part. It is quite intriguing, as they feel like concepts given form and are ever growing as the thoughts of people grow to studying more concepts.
I just guess it doesn't have numbers go brrrrrrrrrr which makes it foreign to some average RR readers.
Grammar 4/5 - Some errors her and there, but nothing is immersion breaking. An issue would be the manually added [Author's Note] within the story itself.
Character 5/5 - Typical of intrigue-based xia stories, we have excellently established characters with a dose of slow character building.
unsaveRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I am not very eloquent but this is a Great story and I am very excited to see where this will go.
Though I hope this isn't on a hiatus as it hasn't been updated for 15 days, I hope the author can provide us with an update, eventhough I was getting really pumped up for the latest arc, just my luck I guess.
OriiRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The engrossing and elegant writing in "Pathway of heaven" successfully immerses readers in the richly imagined environment. The expansive landscapes and the sophisticated operations of the airship are all meticulously portrayed by the author using descriptive language. Character interactions are effortless thanks to the conversation's natural and interesting flow. The text is given depth by the use of metaphors and similes, which improves the reading experience. But occasionally there can be a tad of verbosity, which might benefit from a more succinct approach.
The story had perfect grammar all along. There are no obvious typos or grammatical problems, which shows excellent editorial skill and attention to detail. The phrases maintain a clear, consistent structure while flowing easily. The story is much easier to read overall thanks to this author's command of grammar.
The story delivers a fascinating fusion of world-building and character growth. The voyage of Wuzhi, a scholar leaving behind a life of seclusion, is both fascinating and full of potential. The author's skill in effortlessly incorporating elements of fantasy into the story is on display with the introduction of the airship and its significance in the world. The interaction with the lone cultivator raises questions and adds a sense of mystery, hinting at prospective story developments. To give the story more of a narrative thrust, there may be potential for a more clearly defined overall conflict or objective.
Wuzhi is an excellently developed protagonist who is consumed by curiosity and a desire for knowledge. He is friendly and inquisitive, as is seen in his encounters with other travelers, especially the guy from Oakwood Town. The addition of the lone cultivator gives the character dynamics more complexity and creates the possibility of engaging interactions. However, a greater understanding of Wuzhi's inner feelings and thoughts could help readers relate to his path. Overall, "Pathway of heaven" is
VioletMoonRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Overall, by chapter 15 I found myself enjoying the story, but not really connecting with it. The writing is generally grammatically correct with few errors, and it flows quite smoothly. The main reason I have a hard time connecting is because I fundamentally don't relate to the MC at all. I'll go into it more under the character section.
Style: The style flows pretty smoothly, and is definitely distinctly different than traditional western writing. I have not read any Xianxia, so I assume the stylistic differences are inherent to that style of writing. It was a little difficult to get used to, but wasn't a big deal once you just read it for a bit.
Grammar: The only thing I really noticed was missing commas throughout, but otherwise the author does a good job of keep the story active and in the present tense. You definitely feel like you're there with the character. Like I mentioned before, some of the nuances of Xianxia writing were a bit difficult to follow (Fourth Sister, Third sister, This Whuzi etc) but it wasn't incredibly distraction.
Story: It was hard for me to understand the story because it so quickly delves into very specific knowledge about things we as the reader are given little to no exposition about. For example, in the scene where Whuzi talks to the scholar when he first arrives on the aeroplane, most of what he was saying didn't make any sense without more context, so it was hard to get a grasp on why the other guy was so impressed, or why he, as a more advanced scholar on the path didn't already think of those things. The pacing was also a bit sporadic. The first few chapters felt very rushed and I would've loved to spend a bit more time getting to know the MC before he rushed straight into being a perfect golden boy at everything.
Character: The reason I rated this as three stars is because the MC feels utterly alien and inhuman to me. This might be a trend in Xianxia, I'm not certain, but for the average reader he felt very unrealistic. This MC