Novels like The Allure of the Underworld
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Allure of the Underworld, best match first.
- 51 I'll Write My Own Youth 青春我来写 Synopsis: When I was very, very young, I had a beautiful older sister. My parents were always incredibly busy and often had to leave home to work in other places. So one day, they brought home an older sister they had adopted for me. She treated me wonderfully and took care of me in every way. But Dad was exceptionally cruel to her. Then one day in middle school, my sister left. I studied as hard as I could, and by the time I reached high school, I finally got into a school in the city and foun 234Reads—Score—14d adds
- 52 The Fire of Our Youthful Years 那些年我们青春的锋芒 To everyone else, he was an honest man and a spineless loser. His middle school years were a living hell, until one day, a friend his age from the neighboring family transferred back from a school out of town and came to his defense with a commanding presence. The boy, Wu Feng, took the baton handed to him and strode ahead, rising from a meek, honest kid into a powerful figure who radiated authority and revealed his sharp edge. 28Reads—Score214d adds
- 53 1980: A New Order in the Underworld 一九八零：江湖新秩序 What is the martial world? Wherever there are people, there will be conflict! The strong survive, and the weak perish. That is the martial world! Relive the 1980s and pay tribute to a youth long gone! This is the story of Han Yue, and how he rose from the bottom to the top of the provincial capital, only to fall again! The road through the martial world is treacherous. Everyone survives by their own wits! Hold on, and you can make something of yourself. Give up, and you're out... (This book is p 4.4kReads8.7Score28314d adds
- 54 The Bad Guys 坏家伙们 When the jianghu is no longer traditional, it’s bound to become driven by self-interest! After the turn of the millennium, a new generation of “bad guys,” born in the eighties and nineties, began to take the stage in their own jianghu! These newcomers no longer revered the spirit of chivalry. They let money clear the way and put profit above all else! To carve out a place for themselves in this treacherous jianghu, they had to stop at nothing and plan every move! The great waves sift the sand! M 5.4kReads8.9Score31914d adds
- 55 Underworld King: From the Detention Center to a Black-Gold Empire 黑道枭雄：从拘留所到黑金帝国 During the Jiajing era of the Ming dynasty, Li Sheng, leader of the underworld gang known as the Four Seas Gang, is betrayed by his subordinates. As he lies dying, his resentment forms a soul, and he unexpectedly travels through time to the modern day. On the day he arrives, Li Sheng is locked up in a detention center. Amid the center’s motley mix of people, he realizes that no matter how times change, human nature and desire remain eternal. The underworld will never disappear. The gang boss fro 89Reads—Score—14d adds
- 56 Underworld Storms: Zhang Yue 黑道风云之张岳 He is the staunchest believer in the code of the underworld, fiercely loyal to his brothers to the point of obsession; he believes most in repaying every blow, dealing with his enemies with ruthless finality; he holds fast to his fighting spirit, staying true to himself to the very end. He is Zhang Yue, the underworld boss known as the Pale-Faced Scholar. 10.9kReads8.1Score60814d adds
- 57 The Peerless Young Master 公子无双 Lin Qi seems like an ordinary delivery driver, but in this city, whether they are business tycoons, renowned doctors, or underworld bosses, everyone treats him with the utmost respect and calls him, "Young Master!" 334Reads9.1Score—14d adds
- 58 Northeast China: The Tragic End of the Underworld 东北往事黑道悲情大结局 This is a fanfiction inspired by the tragic underworld saga Black Morality. It tells of the people who appeared and the events that took place in the four years after Wang Luoguo's death and before Zhao Hongbing's crew burst onto the scene. Readers of Northeast Tales Prequel: Black Morality 1, Northeast Tales Prequel: Black Morality 2, and Northeast Tales: Twenty Years of Underworld Turmoil may have wondered what happened during those four years between Black Morality and Twenty Years of Underwo 4.9kReads6.9Score27014d adds
- 59 The Jianghu: What Is It, Really? 江湖，到底是什么？ [Pure Underworld] [The Jianghu of the 1980s] Where there are people, there are grudges; where there are grudges, there is a jianghu; people are the jianghu! It used to be called the jianghu, but now it's called society! When the storms had passed, Lang Aowen knelt once more before the sacred image of Guan Yu, holding three sticks of incense high above his head. Only one question remained in his heart: The jianghu, what exactly is it? [Serious Warning: The characters and plot in this book are 1.7kReads—Score10114d adds
- 60 Underworld Storms: Qiao Si's Strategists, Xiao Ke and Wang Wei Fan 黑道风云之乔四军师小克王伟范 He was Qiao Siye’s strategist, known as the Brains. Only five-foot-three, he had an exceptionally quick mind, earning him the nicknames Little Zhuge and Ghost Six among the underworld. He wasn’t known for violence, but for his sense of honor and loyalty. Born into poverty, he started out as a bathhouse scrubber and worked his way up to become one of the Three Musketeers of Bingcheng, even driving the city’s first Mercedes-Benz 560. Follow the turbulent life of Wei Wan, the Little Master of Bingc 167.7kReads8.7Score9.2k14d adds
- 61 Underworld Saga: My Big Sister in the Capital 黑道风云：我的京城姐姐 [Not for Young Readers] [Hot-Blooded Underworld] [Brutal Underworld Battles] [The Many Faces of Officialdom] [Face-Slapping Comeback] [Clever, Satisfying Read] He began cultivating at nine and went to prison at thirteen. In jail, Chu He mastered an arsenal of extraordinary skills. With nowhere to turn after his release, he headed for the capital and entered the underworld, winning the support of the capital's most captivating women. With ruthless methods, Chu He outmaneuvered every faction. Sta 3kReads7.9Score33014d adds
- 62 Tales of the Northeast: The Turbulent Nineties 东北往事之九零风云 (Hot-blooded) (Brotherhood) (Youth) (Fast-paced, no dragging things out) The law-abiding worry all day, while the mighty sing all night. Those who harm others for their own gain ride in comfort, while the honest and fair go hungry. Those who build bridges and mend roads go blind, while those who kill and set fires have plenty of sons. I went to the Western Heaven to ask Buddha. Buddha said, “There's nothing I can do either.” This novel tells the blood-and-tears story of Shen Congwen, a great und 6.8kReads8.9Score44114d adds
- 63 Reborn: Forcing My Underworld Boss Dad to Go Straight! 重生：逼着黑道老爸金盆洗手！ [Reborn] [Underworld] [Turning over a new leaf] [Leaving the life behind] In his previous life, Qin Ye and Qin Su were the top leaders of the Fierce Dragon Gang. They had done so much evil that they were executed by firing squad. When Qin Ye opens his eyes again, he has returned to twenty years earlier. In this life, the Fierce Dragon Gang, led by Qin Su, has only just started down the path of organized crime. Everything can still be put right! Qin Su: “Son, we’re already this rich. It’d be a wa 441Reads7.5Score10914d adds
- 64 Big Brother 大哥 At the end of the last century, before the rules were fully established, all sorts of people emerged in great numbers. They exploited loopholes, ran gray-market businesses, and moved between the worlds of crime and respectability. A young man returned from military service, only to be dragged into the underworld. More than a decade of life on the fringes followed: wine and laughter with friends in spring, late-night talks beneath the lamplight; hardship at first, then glory at last. He had walke 4.1kReads9.0Score29214d adds
- 65 Sons and Daughters of the Jianghu: That Midnight Sun 江湖儿女：那一轮午夜的太阳 The rules of midnight are a way of life much like the law of the jungle. At midnight, what you see may be the moon, but in their eyes, it is their sun. Set against the real-life underworld of the 1990s, this story follows Zhou Shenghua's life in the jianghu. 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 66 Destined for a Life in the Underworld from Birth 从出生开始就注定混黑道 No System! No brainless antics! Packed with thrilling, iconic moments from beginning to end! My big brother told me to go to school and protect the campus belle, but I ended up reading her a love letter in front of the whole school? The son of the boss of a rival gang wants to be my underling? A gorgeous, wealthy woman wants me to marry her? It's gotten to the point where I don't even want to run with the gang anymore. I'm surrounded by gorgeous, wealthy women. I really don't want to work hard a 1.2kReads7.2Score—14d adds
- 67 Jianghu Dragon: Underworld Storm in the Northeast 江湖枭龙：东北黑道风云 Three years in prison, and everything had changed. After his release, Lu Tao found himself at a crossroads in life. The snowstorm that year was so fierce it bent Lu Tao’s back. The friendship that year was so warm it helped him emerge reborn and fight his way upstream. Watch as a close-knit group of friends stand shoulder to shoulder, stride through a turbulent era, and build something magnificent! 19.1kReads9.1Score1.1k14d adds
- 68 Desire for Black Gold 欲黑金 [Underworld, Passion and Strategy, Multiple Heroines] Six years ago, Cao Zhishuang broke into the room of the campus belle, a teacher, and ended up behind bars. Now that he’s just been released, an invisible hand has already closed around him. Cao Zhishuang resolutely steps into the game, vowing to uncover the true cause of his father’s death and kill his enemies with his own hands. From then on, he sets out on a one-way road paved with desire and dirty money… 6.4kReads8.1Score67914d adds
- 69 Day One of College: I Start Running with the Underworld! 大学第一天，从混黑道开始！ A powerful underworld boss is reborn as a college student. With the System’s help, he rises once more to the pinnacle of the underworld. [Feel-Good Revenge + Urban + Underworld + Boss + School] Starting out as a college student, the male lead Lin Ao works his way to the top of the underworld, dominating both the criminal and legitimate worlds. He has powerful backing and influence that reaches everywhere. Dear readers, please be patient as you read. The story starts off ordinary, but the excitin 902Reads6.9Score10214d adds
- 70 My Years as a Gangster 我当混子的那些年 The underworld is an endless wilderness, and every gang member is a man prepared to die! The underworld is a narrow path, and every gang member risks his life just to make it through! The underworld is a pure arena of beasts: the winners become kings, and the losers are crushed! Forced onto this path, the young Jiang Liang must now show how he can rule the world with one hand! 112Reads—Score—14d adds
- 71 Tales of Dragon City: Stories of a Small Town 龙城往事之小城故事 A realistic portrayal of northeastern China from the late 1980s to the present, full of grudges, grievances, and social change. Follow a group of impressionable young people as they face a host of challenges and opportunities and discover what it means to grow up. Realistic fiction, not a wish-fulfillment story, with a slow build. 102Reads—Score—14d adds
- 72 I’m No Punk: Three of Us Together 我不是小混混之三人行 Determined not to become a thug, he knows that those who walk different paths cannot work together. Brotherhood, and the revival of the Eight Gates of the underworld. Is a sinister force behind it all, or is something far worse on the horizon...? 323Reads—Score1914d adds
- 73 Jianghu of Snow City, 1986 雪城江湖之1986 What? Young men shouldn’t get too cocky? If you’re not cocky, what kind of young man are you? A story set in the gritty underworld of Northeast China. The moment you pick up a gun or a blade and step into the gangland, you’re destined to become ruthless. If you’re going to live this life, you have to be vicious, cruel, and wild! A veteran returns home from the Vietnam War. To survive and protect his friends, he becomes a blood-soaked, ruthless weapon, wielding blades, guns, and cannons. It’s a w 8.7kReads9.0Score67814d adds
- 74 The Days We Spent Running with the Wrong Crowd 那些年混过的日子 Young and reckless, we chased nothing but our ideals. The storms we weathered in those years, the roads we walked together, and the days we spent making our way through life. The old generation's feuds and entanglements, the younger generation's rivalries: an unknown nobody gradually grows stronger, overcoming hardship after hardship without ever giving up. 3.8kReads7.2Score17814d adds
- 75 The Underworld: The Jianghu Big Shots I Brought to Heel Over the Years 黑道：我那些年收服的江湖大佬 The underworld is a road of no return. It's a last chance for those with nowhere else to turn to make a comeback. Win, and you reach the height of power and become fabulously wealthy. Lose, and at best you die; at worst, you become a cripple. This road takes three parts vision, six parts luck, and one part relying on yourself. By some stroke of luck, I won. When I got out of prison, I didn't have a penny to my name. Now I'm surrounded by beautiful women and rule this whole territory. This road w 6.7kReads8.6Score55614d adds
- 76 Tiger Husband 虎夫 [Born to be somebody, just going through a rough patch for now!!!] 4.4kReads8.8Score37814d adds
- 77 Who Cares About Being Young and Reckless? Only the Victor Reigns Supreme 什么年少轻狂？我只知道胜者为王 [Campus Drama]+ [Street Toughs]+ [School Beauty]+ [Underworld]+ [No System]+ [One Heroine]+ [Not a wish-fulfillment story] Original title: Those Wild Years of Youth at School My name is Chen Qing. I never thought I’d end up going down this road after all… Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictional and is not intended to encourage anything improper. Please do not relate it to real life! Reproduction without permission is prohibited and will be prosecuted. New book: "After Getting Out of Prison, 5.7kReads8.4Score36914d adds
- 78 The Golden Age of the Gangland: A Blood-Red Underworld 黑帮盛世：血色江湖 (Not a mindless power fantasy. Underworld, urban setting, no invincible hero, first person, tight logic, humorous writing. Read with caution if that’s not your thing!) A cursed, tragic fate. A life in the underworld that cannot be escaped. A band of brothers who stand together through life and death, and a dark life longing for redemption. You’ve never endured years of hardship, so of course you can’t understand the underworld in my heart. My story begins after I get out of prison in Ice Cit 112.1kReads9.3Score8.3k14d adds
- 79 The Pinnacle of Nowhere 1 无人之巅1 I went into the underworld because I didn’t want to be bullied... I stepped into the darkness so I’d never have to turn my back on it again. I cast aside my conscience and sharpened my claws, trampling underfoot each person who had once humiliated me. 240Reads—Score—14d adds
- 80 Tales of the Night, Shrouded in Darkness 夜话无明 [5,000 Words Daily] [Collusion Between Officials and Gangsters] [Profit Above All] [Human Nature Is Evil] [Ruthless and Decisive] [No Formulaic Plot] [Not a Power Fantasy] Walk the night roads and knock on the black door. Beyond it lies a dazzling world, but one wrong step could send you into an abyss with no way back. This path has set countless hearts ablaze, and drawn countless others to follow, one after another, eager to risk everything. What sparks will fly when old-school guardians of hon 219Reads9.3Score—14d adds
- 81 The Bloody Underworld: Thirty Years of Organized Crime in North China 血色江湖：华北黑道三十年 [Underworld + First Person + Period Setting] What is the underworld? It’s a place where even if you win in the end, you still feel like you’ve lost. No matter how much you gain, it can never make up for what you’ve lost. My name is Jiang Qiyao. I witnessed thirty years of the underworld’s rise and fall across North China, watching one boss after another rise to power, then fall. After thirty years in that world, I can’t call myself a good person, but at least I haven’t become completely rotten. 3kReads6.7Score13314d adds
- 82 I'm No Little Punk: The Shorties' Hero Squad 我不是小混混之矮子英雄队 I'm determined not to become a hoodlum. Even a short person can stand tall. Not every hero is tall, but every passionate heart deserves to be seen. I won't go along with the ways of the world. I'll walk my own path through the jianghu. The road is long, so may we meet again at the summit... 77Reads—Score—14d adds
- 83 This Godfather Isn’t Proper 这个教父不正经 [Underworld epic] [Dark, forbidden mother-daughter angels] [Love for a widow] [A failed life: the rise of a dragon and an elephant] This is a lament for everything lost. His birth mother abandons him, and he is crowned the voice of the underworld. He takes the blame for the woman he loves and goes to prison, only for her to become a British princess he can admire on the news. He alone falls from a street vendor selling candied hawthorn skewers to a prisoner locked away from the light of day. Th 1.5kReads9.1Score15614d adds
- 84 A Life of Dark Desires 黑欲人生 Keep your hands ruthless, your mind sharp, and your nerve strong. The martial world is a place where people devour one another. Talk about honor and reason? You'll end up without a bone left! [Blood-Soaked Martial World] [Love and Hate] [Powerful Background] [All the Right Ingredients] 16.3kReads8.9Score1.4k14d adds
- 85 The Pinnacle of Black Power 黑权顶点 (Ignore the rating. This is a black-market thriller with guaranteed thrills.) Qin Hui only wants to sell watermelons in peace, earn a little money, and find himself a wife. But the street thugs at the market bully him until he can barely get by. At the end of his rope, he finally picks up a watermelon knife and strikes back. “A man needs either money or power. Better to stand up and fight than live like a spineless loser.” An ordinary man transforms into a big shot, eventually reaching unima 17.1kReads8.5Score1k14d adds
- 86 The Bad Guys: The Storm Rises Again 2 坏蛋之风云再起2 [People have names, and trees have shadows. Who is Xie Wendong? Everyone knows.] As the scorching sun slowly sinks away and the half moon hangs high, as neon lights begin to flicker and night descends, what can we use to prove that we exist? 12kReads9.0Score78814d adds
- 87 The Endless Underworld 黑道无尽 (Period setting, underworld, gritty realism, high-octane) A savage era. An unconventional underworld boss. A story of the jianghu written in blood and tears. So much happened in those years. You can only see it clearly through blood-tinted glasses... 2.8kReads7.7Score29114d adds
- 88 Dirty Cop 黑警 “I gave my heart to the moon, but the moon shines on the ditch.” As a people's police officer, it is my duty to defend the country, maintain social order, and protect the lives and property of the people. But there are always people who operate in the gray areas, acting with abandon and flouting the law. I have no choice but to step in and wipe them all out... 4.9kReads7.9Score33214d adds
- 89 The Youth of Two Generations 两代人的青春 My name is Li Sunan, and I'm a complete... bastard. Please take a moment, settle in, and let me tell you the whole story. From my godfather, Li Zhen, to my second uncle, Cui Lijun, and then to my own dark life. From 1990 to 2020. Thirty tumultuous years in a small city in Northeast China. One act ends, and another begins. Two generations rise and fall, knowing both glory and disgrace. There are no all-powerful crime bosses here. Just a bunch of little people struggling at the bottom... The road 2.3kReads6.9Score10814d adds
- 90 A Young Man's Years in the Jianghu 少年之江湖岁月 The jianghu is a road with no return, a maze, an abyss. Some manipulate events from the shadows, while others struggle for their lives in the mire. Watch who rises above them all, and who comes crashing down. 19.7kReads9.0Score1.4k14d adds
- 91 The Butcher Who Walked Out of Prison 从监狱中走出的人屠 Being part of the underworld isn’t about fighting and killing. It’s about dealing with people. Su Bai had no connections, no powerful backers, and had just spent ten years in prison. After his release, he was penniless, so his older brother found him a job as a computer lab attendant. Watch him turn his life around and make his way in both the underworld and the legitimate world. In the underworld, he’s a big shot with people ready to answer his call. In the legitimate world, he has powerful fri 28.4kReads8.5Score2.3k14d adds
- 92 After My Sister-in-Law Tricked Me into Going to Northern Myanmar, I Found a Way to Survive 被嫂子骗进缅北后，我绝处逢生 806Reads8.7Score10314d adds
- 93 A Gang Shootout Breaks Out at the School Gate, and I Scare Everyone Off 校门口黑帮火拼，我出现吓退全场 At noon, outside the gates of Harbor University. Two local gangs, nearly a hundred men in all and armed with knives, guns, and clubs, are about to fight it out here. At the sight, all the students are terrified and hurry to a safe distance. Only one young man in a white shirt strolls forward with his hands in his pockets, as calm as can be, as if he can’t even see the crowd. The moment he appears, every gang member tenses up. The two leaders nervously walk up to him and bow their heads. “Today’s 3.1kReads6.2Score23714d adds
- 94 Evil Emperor: Sinful Inferno 邪皇：罪恶无间 [Black X Evil Emperor]+ [Passionate]+ [Reborn Big Shot] Nine death-row prisons across the country. Thirty-six top death-row fighters are selected to dominate the underworld. Reborn in the world of the Evil Emperor, he faces Blood Eagle and fights Lone Dragon. What has he to fear from the life-taking Azure Darkness? The strongest gladiator in the country, Chen Zui is the one and only! 8.5kReads9.1Score50814d adds
- 95 The Blood Dragon of Carnage 狂煞血龙 To find her, he enters this battle for power with a band of beastlike brothers at his side... After she is murdered, he raises his blade and unleashes a massacre that shocks the world... His bloodthirsty nature earns him the fearsome title of the greatest killer emperor in history... With his arrival, the underworld is shrouded in a bloody haze for decades... 1.6kReads8.9Score11814d adds
- 96 The Pinnacle of Flame City 焰城顶点 Underworld fiction, urban setting. Beneath the plane trees at Yancheng No. 4 High School, more eyes were watching than there were cicadas singing. Some stared at Chen Shun's dazzling blond hair, as if checking whether a certain rumor was true. Some remembered the pale pink scar at Li Huafeng's temple, as though it still held a trace of his unspent fury. Guo Qiang's silent bulk was like a moving wall wherever he went, blocking out the sunlight and the prying eyes alike. No one knew that these few 33Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 97 Godfather of the Underworld: Planting My Flag in Mong Kok 黑道教父：从旺角插旗开始 Hong Kong is in turmoil, and crime lords rise on every side! Chen Kun is a low-ranking 49er in the 14K triad, with no power or influence. But he's both clever and brave, fearless, and full of brotherly loyalty. With the New World and Wo Shing Wo watching him like tigers, and the ruthless, bloodthirsty Big Circle Gang closing in, he's caught in the maelstrom of a chaotic era. His only way to survive is to risk his life. He rises through bloody underworld battles and makes a name for himself on th 299Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 98 The Legend of Lu Laoqi 陆老七传奇 In the province of Rehe during the Republican era, a catchy rhyme circulated through the martial world: “Lu Laoqi, Li Changjiu, undefeated throughout Rehe; the Beggar, Detective, and Master Shang; Dalong, Qingshan, and Zheng the Crooked; the Driver, Drunkard, and Wang Chaojie; Pockmark, Du Wu, and Liu Minghu; the Twin Fiends, Kou Haiyang, and Yu Xingba.” It vividly described the eighteen peerless fighters of Rehe at the time. Ranked first was Lu Yishan, a boy from a poor family in the province. 27Reads—Score—14d adds
- 99 Making a Living on the Side in Australia 我在澳洲捞偏门 This story is based on real events. I came to Australia with a dream of studying abroad, only to be driven to the brink by reality. From a lowly street-level smuggler to a force to be reckoned with, commanding the underworld and crossing the world, I paved my way to power with cunning and bloodshed. Only when I stood at the summit and looked back did I realize that the most dangerous gamble of all is the one you make with human nature. This is a road with no turning back, but who knows which cor 28Reads—Score—14d adds
- 100 The Gangster Tycoon Who Rose from the Hutongs 胡同里杀出来的流氓大亨 Previously published under the titles Dragon City Years and Thirty Years in a Bloodstained Underworld. This is a lawless age where every corner is ruled by a big shot. This is the story of a naive young man who turns into a bloodthirsty beast just to survive. This is an underworld tale full of thrills and passion! Welcome to the 1980s… 40.5kReads9.2Score3.8k14d adds
