Today I'd like to talk about the webnovel that brought me into the Xianxia community- Coiling Dragon. Originally I had been reading the Manga adaptation and wanted to know what happened next, so I found the english translation of the original novel online. CD is a chinese webnovel by author I Eat Tomatoes (我吃西红柿). It has a total of 21 volumes spanning over 800 chapters. The teaser blurb follows:
Empires rise and fall on the Yulan Continent. Saints, immortal beings of unimaginable power, battle using spells and swords, leaving swathes of destruction in their wake. Magical beasts rule the mountains, where the brave – or the foolish – go to test their strength. Even the mighty can fall, feasted on by those stronger. The strong live like royalty; the weak strive to survive another day.
This is the world which Linley is born into. Raised in the small town of Wushan, Linley is a scion of the Baruch clan, the clan of the once-legendary Dragonblood Warriors. Their fame once shook the world, but the clan is now so decrepit that even the heirlooms of the clan have been sold off. Tasked with reclaiming the lost glory of his clan, Linley will go through countless trials and tribulations, making powerful friends but also deadly enemies.
Come witness a new legend in the making. The legend of Linley Baruch.
I followed the series thru its highs and lows all the way to the final chapter- I find this kind of story is basically the epitome of Xanxia- a small and weak figure from the backside of nowhere experiences a lucky break and begins the path to strength- overcoming numerous obstacles to eventually stand on top of the world. I found the characterization of Linley interesting, although the author has a bad habit of forgetting about side characters later on. Discussions from people who have read other works by the same author show he has this issue in all his works, I think he just gets focused on his main characters and forgets all the side characters that are no longer relevant. This was the first online translated novel I read and it jumpstarted my love of the Genre.
If you're interested in starting a new book or want to give chinese webnovels a try, you can read the entire thing here:
http://www.wuxiaworld.com/novel/coiling-dragon
If you've already read this one or have insight into Xianxia/Wuxia as a whole, comment below!