Novels like The Jianghu: I Am the Kingpin
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Jianghu: I Am the Kingpin, best match first.
- 101 The Black Son of Heaven 黑天子 [Realistic Underworld + Everyone Is Smart + First-Person] An unconventional workplace in a bygone era, where people deal in social connections as well as bloodshed. This “workplace” is hidden behind two veils. One is called the world beyond the law, and the other is called the underworld. My name is Chen Chunsheng, a survivor who experienced both worlds firsthand. 30Reads7.3Score—14d adds
- 102 I'm the Black Mafia Emperor! And You Think You Can Bully Me? 我是黑道皇帝！你跟我玩霸凌？ [Not Traditional Gangster Fiction]+ [Multiple Heroines]+ [Hot-Blooded]+ [No Laws] Su Jing, the gangster emperor Hua Gong, dies in international waters and transmigrates into the body of a young man. From an unknown nobody to a triumphant comeback! From a timid coward everyone despises to the revered leader of Huaguo! With his ruthless methods and a swift blade, Su Jing conquers Huaguo’s underworld! 7Reads6.1Score114d adds
- 103 Shadows of the City: Ling Dongyang 都市暗影之凌冬阳 This novel explores the undercurrents lurking beneath modern urban life and the growth of an individual. With its suspenseful plot, complex relationships, and keen social insight, it portrays an ordinary person's struggles and perseverance in the city, as well as his journey to find hope in the darkness. Through Ling Dongyang's eyes, readers will gradually uncover the truth and experience a battle of courage, wisdom, and humanity. The protagonist, Ling Dongyang, is a young man who has been throu —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 104 My First Half of Life: A Bloody Underworld 我的前半生：血色江湖 [The rating just came in and it’ll keep rising, so don’t let it scare you off! This book is entirely handcrafted, and writing it isn’t easy. Hope you enjoy it!] Eight years in the army, decorated for valor, only to have his future stolen by a substitute! He moves to the city for work and tries to keep his head down, but is forced into a dead end! His brother goes to prison, and his sworn brother dies a tragic death. Good people have no way out, while the wicked run rampant! He abandons the strai 1.4kReads8.4Score13714d adds
- 105 Heading South in 1996: I Take My Young Aunt and Conquer the Underworld 九六南下：我带小姑奶闯江湖 [Period] [Fleeing an arranged marriage] [Heading south for work] [Passionate underworld] [Multiple heroines] New Year’s Day, 1996. Chen Yaozu, a poor lad from southeastern Henan, flees south overnight with his young grandaunt, who is being forced into marriage. As soon as they arrive in the Pearl River Delta, his classmate’s cousin kicks him out of her rental, leaving him homeless. He steps in to help someone, only to be hunted by gangsters. At the factory, he’s bullied, and people even set thei 802Reads—Score10114d adds
- 106 Northeast China Underworld: The Autobiography of a Crime Boss 东北黑道：一位黑道大哥的自传 [Urban] [Underworld] [Outlaws] [A Cast of Villains] [Justice Served] [An Unvarnished Northeastern Chinese Gangster Story] The underworld rises and falls, settling old scores in blood. To others, the jianghu is about loyalty, passion, and settling scores with a thrilling flourish. The jianghu I’ve seen is nothing but deceit and betrayal. There are no bonds of brotherhood, only greed. There is no mercy, only merciless extermination. On this road, a knife is leverage, blood is the price, and a cons 31.3kReads8.8Score1.7k14d adds
- 107 Schoolyard Storms, Northeast Underworld 校园风云，东北江湖路 [Wherever there are people, there will be a world of the underworld] [A Northeast underworld story] [Decisive and ruthless] [A road of no return] [First person] [Recollections] [This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.] My name is Han Tian. I was kidnapped by human traffickers as a child and forced to beg on the streets. It wasn't until Uncle Han rescued me from them that I was given a name. He showed me that a person could live like a re 14Reads—Score—14d adds
- 108 After I Got Out of Prison, My Sister Forced Me to Inherit a Billion-Dollar Fortune 出狱后，姐姐逼我继承亿万家产 Food delivery rider + Sanhe drifter + brotherhood in the underworld + rise to the pinnacle of power. Revenge and face-slapping + unexpected fortune + underdog's rise + tight, logical plotting. A Southeast Asian power struggle + fierce mercenary battles + leading your brothers to the top. My ex-girlfriend clings to a rich man and mocks me: “All you'll ever be in this life is a garbage picker!” Late one night, three sexy older women corner me beneath a bridge. “Your parents left you hundreds of mi 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 109 Underworld: My Childhood Friend and I Rule the Middle School 黑道：我和发小，制霸初中 [Positive Energy] [Underworld Intrigue] [Brotherhood] [Decisive and Ruthless] Some say brotherhood has no place in this day and age. That was, until they laid a hand on my childhood friend... Xie Wendong: A man of few words and a ruthless streak, he’s always the first to grab a brick when his childhood friend is bullied. Liu Chuang: Hot-tempered and never blinks when taking a bullet for someone. Xie Wendong is the only man he’ll ever follow. 128Reads—Score—14d adds
- 110 The Bad Years of Youth 2: Wang Hao Returns to China 不良之年少轻狂2：王浩回国篇 [First-Person] + [Urban Underworld] + [Fan-Fiction Sequel] + [Humorous Style] + [Not Mindless] The two heroes of Beiyuan are both indispensable. During my year and a half in Arabia, I made a name for myself all over again, but a phone call from Sister Nannan left me no choice but to return to that familiar place... One day, Yuan Shao’s Forest Bar was suddenly trashed by a gang of mysterious masked men. And it wasn’t the only place. Yu Chengfei also disappeared while investigating, so I boarded a 4.2kReads—Score18214d adds
- 111 The Game of Fortune: My Life in the Underworld with the Girls of Dongguan 富贵棋局：我和东莞姐们的江湖路 In the 1990s, who ruled Shenzhen’s underworld? That would be Shenzhen King Jia Dai! I was just a hotheaded rookie fresh to the scene, but to protect my beloved Sister Qingshuang, I beat up Zuo Shuai, who was in a wheelchair. Zuo Shuai was Jia Dai’s lifesaver and sworn brother. He’d just had his legs crippled in Macau, and now I’d gone and beaten him up too. Jia Dai promptly put out a hit on me... 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 112 Bad Boy, Wild and Arrogant 不良，飞扬跋扈 40Reads—Score10714d adds
- 113 I Took Beating After Beating Until I Had Every Block Under My Thumb 一直挨打的我，打服了所有的街区 (Hot-blooded gangland action, lots of fights, no harem, no female lead, no System, no invincibility, the protagonist isn’t a saint and shows no mercy.) After three years of being bullied in middle school, Lu Jinnian spent the summer training until he had incredible stamina and could take a beating. After getting into Qingfeng High, all he wanted was to live a quiet life. But the school was practically a collection of warring territories, with each grade staking out its own turf and fists decid —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 114 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
- 115 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
- 116 The Years We Shared, Brothers 兄弟们的那些年 [Underworld + Ensemble Cast + Decisive Action + Dramatic Rescues + Passionate + Expansive Worldbuilding] A boy watches his parents die horrifically in a gang war, then is forced to leave school behind and descend into the bottomless abyss of the underworld. He forms a bond of life and death with four brothers, growing amid bloodshed and making his stand amid tangled grudges and passions. Through this gauntlet of flashing blades, he swears that every blood debt will be repaid in blood. 23Reads—Score10414d adds
- 117 A Song for the Underworld 混子的挽歌 [Raise our cups and toast the rugged road through the underworld.] [Through blood and fury, a brotherhood that lasts a lifetime.] A naive, timid young man, to keep from losing the brothers at his side again, chooses to take up a three-foot steel blade and step into a world stained red with blood. Behind the brotherly bravado and drunken revelry of the underworld, the only things that never change are ruthless exploitation and cold reality. The people he meets make him sick. And little by little, 2.4kReads7.3Score23914d adds
- 118 Tales of the Hong Kong and Macau Underworld 港澳黑道往事 Told from a third-person perspective and set in the otherworldly port city of Aocheng, this novel explores the social issues of a particular era in Hong Kong and Macao. It also depicts the tragic fate of the underworld and the darkness of human nature in another world. At the same time, it reflects on gang culture, showing readers the cruelty and unsustainability of life in the underworld, and the harm it causes to individuals and society. The story is entirely fictional. Please don’t imitate it 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 119 Dongguan: Starting by Conquering a Powerful Woman 东莞：从征服女大佬开始 [Guan City fiction + urban underworld + period drama + passionate + ultimate wish fulfillment] A man must have courage and grit. When his cousin was carried back to Niulan Village, crippled, Chen Xiaolong accompanied his cousin's wife south to Dongguan the next day. Dongguan in 2008 was a chaotic place, crowded with all kinds of people and gangs. To protect his cousin's wife, Chen Xiaolong stepped onto a blood-soaked path through the underworld. The worlds of black, gray, and white were turbulen 30.9kReads7.8Score1.7k14d adds
- 120 Black Panther: The Bloodstained Throne 黑豹：血色王座 [Black Gangster Revenge Thriller | Two Powerful Leads Raised Together | Strong Female Lead’s Growth | Ensemble Cast | Love Triangle Chaos] At twenty, she became the youngest female gang leader in Dong Province. But her story began in a corner of Dawnlight Orphanage, where Xiao Mo gave her a name. “A smile that can beguile Yangcheng and captivate Xia Cai. I want you to bloom into the most dazzling flower in the world.” She thought they would be together forever, until he fell into the hands of B 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 121 A Blood-Red Underworld 血红色的江湖 The martial world is a blood-red place... This is not a power fantasy. Through real-life experiences, it shows everyone just how cruel the martial world is, and warns them to stay out of it. Yang Hai, a young man from somewhere in Northeast China, was determined to enter the martial world. Ten years later, his heart has turned cold. The glories of the past have vanished like smoke, and all that awaits him is judgment! 1.7kReads—Score12414d adds
- 122 The Road of No Return 明知不归路 [A passionate story + decisive and ruthless action + unexpected twists + brotherhood] A group of children driven to the brink by evil forces are brought together by the King of Assassins. They endure hellish training every day, all so they can rise to the top and wipe out their enemies! They've lost their youth and their families. All they have left is a heart full of rage! The heavens cannot contain the myriad paths of the Dao, My fate is mine to control, not Heaven's! 485Reads7.1Score—14d adds
- 123 I Got Beaten Up Several Times Right After Starting School 刚开学就挨几顿打 When faced with school bullying, would you keep your head down and endure it, or fight back with all you've got? Sen Hao is beaten up several times soon after starting middle school. But he grows stronger through adversity, eventually crushing underfoot each person who once bullied him. 114Reads—Score—14d adds
- 124 The Underworld’s Top Scholar, Raised in an Orphanage 孤儿院走出的黑道状元 The Underworld's Top Student, Raised in an Orphanage 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 125 Underworld King: From Fool to Tycoon 江湖枭雄：从傻子到首富 “No jumping into the river here. Violators will be fined 500 yuan!” From that moment on, Li Dongliang’s fate changes completely... [High-spirited Martial World] + [Decisive and Ruthless] + [Genius-Level Intellect] + [Fast-Paced] 47Reads—Score214d adds
- 126 Lone Wolf of the Underworld: I Came from Hell 黑道孤枭：我从地狱来 Orphaned at eight, I spent eight years keeping my head down. I came from hell, and I came for revenge. When the lone wolf strikes, the underworld runs red with blood. Those who owe me will repay me tenfold. Those who wrong me will be ground to dust! 201Reads—Score—14d adds
- 127 I'm a Goodfella, but a Gangster in the Underworld 白道哥，黑道我 My new work is out! You can read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you enjoy it. Your support is what keeps me writing, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! 35Reads6.7Score—14d adds
- 128 Gangland: Starting by Winning Over a Stunning Beauty 黑道：从拿下极品红颜开始 [The short drama adaptation of this novel, Urban Good Guys, is now streaming. It’s exciting and thrilling, so come watch!] [Urban life + underworld + mature beauties + conquest + multiple heroines + comedy + feel-good power fantasy + period setting + underdog comeback] An underdog comeback story with multiple heroines! In 1990s Donghai, country boy Chen Feng starts out guarding a nightclub. With his fists and his brains, he carves out a bloody path, gathering brothers, seizing territory, taking 64.9kReads8.3Score4.9k14d adds
- 129 Neither Black nor White? A Quack Doctor Twice Over 亦黑亦白？双料庸医 I'm a clinic owner. One act of justice made me enemies with the underworld, and from then on I began walking a path where I could operate in both the criminal and legitimate worlds. The world isn't simply black or white. It's both black and white. This isn't exactly a power fantasy. There are gangs, passion, and humor, as well as brotherhood between men who support one another and rise to the top together. 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 130 Shan Jin Underworld: I Took Down the Whole Jianghu 山晋黑道，我打爆了江湖 [Underworld, passionate, multiple heroines, first-person] My name is Xu Haoqiang. I live in Longcheng, Shan Jin, a coal-producing region. In 1997, at the age of twenty, I joined the underworld. I let money do the talking, and even the truth has to bow its head. I let the rules of the underworld do the talking, and both the legitimate and criminal worlds have to make way. From there, my influence spread across Shan Jin and beyond… 861Reads6.4Score10314d adds
- 131 The Arrogant Bad Boy 不良之嚣张 His name is Xiao Zhangyu, but beneath his brash name lies nothing but silence. Xiao Zhangyu is a rural transfer student whose flashy name belies his quiet nature. At his new school in an unfamiliar city, he fades into the background like a transparent shadow. Introverted, sensitive, and poor with words, he is an outsider on the fringes of the class. Even his humble crush on his deskmate, the school beauty Tan Feifei, is something he can only bury deep in his heart. A clash at an internet cafe ma 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 132 My Days of Being Bullied at School 校园被欺负的日子 The main characters are Wu Ming, Zhang Qiang, and Zhou Yao. This isn’t a brainless power fantasy, but a bumpy story of growing up. When my brothers fight, I run; I’d never touch a friend’s wife, but if my friend’s away, anything goes. A life of gaming on credit and gambling for tokens in the arcade. 11kReads8.2Score67114d adds
- 133 A Long Road for a Lifetime 长路终生 The untold stories of the modern underworld, filled with love, family bonds, and friendship. This is the story of someone who endures a life of hardship and trials. I hope you'll show your support. I'm a new writer, so please be patient and offer advice on what I've done well and what I can improve. 64Reads6.8Score—14d adds
- 134 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
- 135 Dark Glory: Twenty Years in the Underworld of Northeast China 黑暗荣耀：东北江湖二十年 1.3kReads8.8Score10614d adds
- 136 Tales of Black and White: Leaping Through the Dragon Gate 黑白往事之跃龙门 (Hardcore underworld, a rise from humble beginnings, ensemble cast, smart characters, a realistic coming-of-age style, not a mindless power fantasy, not first-person! Readers under 18 should exercise caution!) How much impact can one misunderstanding have? Enough to change someone's entire life! Can someone with a damaged brain still be a gang boss? Not only can he, he can be a great one! In the early 1990s, the tide of the market economy swept across all of China, stirring up everyone just like 2.4kReads7.0Score14714d adds
- 137 The Underworld! 黑道！ [Gangland, realistic, no wish fulfillment, no mindless plot, no System, frequent updates] Five years ago, Lin Jun enlisted in the military. During those five years, he earned countless military honors. Five years later, Lin Jun returns home after leaving the military, only to find not a happy life awaiting him, but his mother's cold corpse. To avenge his mother, Lin Jun has no choice but to embark on a path of no return, stirring up countless waves in the underworld! 34.9kReads8.5Score2.6k14d adds
- 138 The Gray Years 灰色岁月 He walks the edge of the law, yet never crosses the line of his conscience. This is the story of a generation’s wild rise, and of one man’s redemption amid the era’s towering waves. A gritty business-war novel about the entrepreneurial boom in Pengcheng in the 1990s, it follows an ordinary man driven to desperation by fate as he defies the odds and changes his destiny in the tides of the times. 2.8kReads7.7Score24114d adds
- 139 From Rags to the Top of the Underworld 白手起家，干到黑道之巅 [Crime syndicate fiction + brotherhood + passion + shocking twists!] Beneath the gods and Buddhas, all are believers. First, crush the Azure Dragon, then wipe out the Divine Gang. I! Will become the one and only peerless gangster! 351Reads6.8Score—14d adds
- 140 Black Shark 黑鲨 I can’t stand you, so I’ll beat you up! You made me unhappy, so I’ll make you pay! White can be black, and black can become white, because even under the brightest lights, shadows are always there. Blunt and revealing, but not judgmental. This may not be the pinnacle of crime fiction, but it is absolutely a trailblazer in the genre! Just wait and see! 557Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 141 Those Confused Days of Youth 那些年迷茫的日子 One thought can lead to heaven, another to hell. Half a life wasted, with the past too painful to look back on. I once ruled my corner of the world, and I once ended up in prison. From being adored by everyone to the desolation of today, I dedicate this book to the friends I once had. 726Reads7.1Score—14d adds
- 142 The Era After the Martial World 后江湖時代 [Underworld + Passionate + Satisfying + Ensemble Cast + Jianghu + Big Shots + School + Comedy] “After midnight, we call the shots on this land, whether you’re on the right side of the law or the wrong one!” Jiang Nan stood proudly at the summit like a solitary eagle, looking down at the young generation shining like stars across the jianghu below. “The Su District...” “The tragedy from ten years ago will never happen again in our generation!” “I’ll make sure everyone knows that this era belongs 24.8kReads8.9Score1.6k14d adds
- 143 Southwest Storm: Turmoil on the Black Sea 西南风云：黑海沉浮 When I was eighteen, I met someone who led me down a certain path. Some describe this path with the idealistic word “jianghu.” But the jianghu you actually find yourself in is better summed up by a rather funny saying: “After all this time, I’ve made no friends, only learned lessons.” My name is Lin Dongxia, and I’ve learned my fair share of lessons. 33kReads9.3Score3.2k14d adds
- 144 Underworld: Blue Skies 黑道：青天 At a class reunion, I kept a low profile and was mocked and sneered at by my former classmates and teachers. Just as I was about to leave, the class beauty from back then suddenly stood up to defend me. 22Reads—Score—14d adds
- 145 I Transferred to a Gangster School, and No One Dares Call Themselves King Anymore 我转校到黑道校园，没人再敢称王 My new work is here! You’re welcome to read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Your support motivates me to write, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! 222Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 146 The Maid in the Presidential Suite 总统套房的女佣 Born into poverty, a young woman heads south to the city to support her family. She takes a job as a room attendant at a five-star hotel, making beds, cleaning toilets, and vacuuming every day. Along the way, she gets entangled with several male guests and attracts their attention. Naive and inexperienced, she tries to change her fate, but gradually loses her way in the city of desire... 247Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 147 The Boss 老大 After I accidentally saw my stepmother, Zhang Xiaohong, looking alluring in the nude, my father sent me back to the countryside. I spent ten years studying hard, hoping to make something of myself, only to be framed and thrown in the police station on the day of the college entrance exam. With fate against me, I kicked open the door to the underworld and left behind a miraculous legend in the city of Zhongjiang. [Not a mindless power fantasy + romance and career advance side by side + gripping p 154Reads7.4Score—14d adds
- 148 Does the Ice-Cold Senior Have a Secret Crush on Me? She Denies It 冰山学姐暗恋我？但她不承认 [No System]+ [Not reborn]+ [Sweet romance]+ [Easygoing everyday life] "Move." "Senior, I really didn't do it on purpose! Let me make it up to you with milk tea, okay?" "I don't want any." "Then tomorrow... should I bring you some again?" "Do what you want." "Your laughter is too loud." "Senior, smile a little. I'm sure you'd look lovely." "...What's there to smile about?" "Senior, your ears are red." "It's hot." "It's fifteen degrees today." "...Be quiet." "Why does this keep happening?" 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 149 Cat Life I 猫生I This is the story of a cat born in England and the life it lived. From escaping an unloving birth family to becoming a stray; from being adopted by humans several times to being abandoned again and again... For a time, it joins a stray-cat organization called “Northwest.” During its time with Northwest, it has all sorts of interesting adventures with the other cats. This book features many different animal organizations that together form a complex social system. The protagonist must survive in —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 150 Big Brother of the Streets: Starting as a Demobilized Soldier 社会大哥：从退伍军人开始 My name is Wang Yi. Wang as in “king,” Yi as in “number one”! My big brother told me there are three essentials to making it in the underworld: being ruthless, knowing when to endure, and having a plan. But he never told me that life in the underworld would mean blood and tears, death and farewells! Countless bones pile up in the wilderness, and the law's net is wide enough to catch every hoodlum. Of the countless gangsters out there, only one or two ever make something of themselves! And I'm on 8.2kReads8.7Score80914d adds
