The Rash Scholar’s Ink-Wash Cultivation

The basic premise is that the more recognized a skill in music, chess, calligraphy, or painting is, the more spiritual energy it gains. The more spiritual energy one has, the faster one cultivates; the faster one cultivates, the stronger the skill becomes, creating a positive cycle. There are many similar premises, and they're not inherently problematic.

Danqing (a type of traditional Chinese painting) is now considered a traditional Korean art form. South Korea copied Chinese Danqing, applied for UNESCO World Heritage status, heavily promoted it online, and even bribed traitors within South Korea. They even labeled Danqing on Baidu Baike (a Chinese encyclopedia) as a traditional Korean art form, claiming it was plagiarized by China.

The main character seems effeminate.

I liked the beginning, with its unique approach to cultivation through music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. However, after the game was released, these arts were no longer the main focus of the protagonist's cultivation, and I didn't like the return to traditional swordsmanship.

This novel shouldn't be on the male-oriented page. I've read dozens of chapters, and the protagonist is like an old woman's foot-binding cloth—long, smelly, and repetitive. He repeats the same phrases and words in every chapter, which is numbing to read.

The first 15 chapters were completely bland and lacked any exciting moments. The world-building wasn't explained much, nor was the cultivation system clearly defined. Instead, a lot of detail was devoted to describing the protagonist's etiquette, making it even less relatable. 😴😴😴

I don't know what the author's idea was, but I don't quite understand why this thing is a modern writing style but it has to be dressed up in the skin of classical literature. Why is that? The author may not have realized this issue, so I'll explain it: classical literature focuses on the description of emotions, and the framework of the story serves as evidence for that description.

Am I getting old? Are the golden first three chapters of a novel really that unimportant now? Can't we just not write them properly at all? Even though *Da Feng* is... Well, it still had a major climax in the first six chapters and got through the first major hurdle. I think those so-called masterpieces also follow this formula, but what was I doing after the first four chapters?

This time, the author didn't write about the magical loop of my family raising me until I was eighteen and I don't owe my family anything, right?

The protagonist has poor aptitude and no cheat codes, yet his cultivation speed is surprisingly fast. It doesn't make sense, does it? It's contradictory, right? But that's how the author wrote it; it's almost as good as having a cheat code.