The Cycle of Occult Arts

It's a mess, another collection of supernatural fiction about the East being colonized by the West. Back then, technology was inferior, so they couldn't fight back; now even Qidian (a Chinese online literature platform) is producing stories about Eastern supernatural beings being unable to defeat the West. There was a novel called "The Corpse Stitcher" with this kind of background, and it still flopped.

I hate this kind of opening. Don't tell me there's a way to fill in the gaps in the later chapters; I can't even stand the first three pages, let alone read the rest.

I only read the first half of the chapter and didn't finish the rest. The writing style is quite solid. However, the protagonist's name is unremarkable, and his age is only 14 years old. These two points deterred me. I can't bear to imagine a 14-year-old calmly using ghost magic. The character is set to be around 20 years old, a thin, bespectacled man with an ordinary appearance, which makes him much more pleasant to be around.

To be honest, you've given it a fantasy/Taoist setting, combined it with Western fantasy/trickery power levels, and then added bronze and silver levels—that's really something!

It feels weird. It starts with an Eastern background and Eastern abilities, then suddenly there's a mercenary system with rankings like Silver, Gold, and Crystal. It makes me feel completely disconnected; it's so strange.

After reading a few chapters, here are my thoughts: I feel like this isn't a new book, but rather a book with the beginning removed.

Well, the pacing was too fast, it felt like a large part was missing. Also, the purpose was a bit unclear; it seemed like something was chasing the protagonist, but the author didn't explain it. So why was the protagonist in such a hurry when I was watching? I completely don't understand.

I dislike stories about clones where the protagonist, lacking real power, insists on participating in chaotic battles between powerful beings, creating multiple clones while the main character hides behind them, and the entire story revolves around these clones. This immediately lowers the quality of the book!

The protagonist says he'll create his own power, but has he actually done it? The beginning is so boring, there's not a single exciting moment.

No wonder it flopped; the world-building was too vast and they couldn't handle it. The protagonist also lacked immersion in the story.