The Sword Rises in the Laughing, Proud Wanderer: Starting with Hengshan Swordsmanship

Is the plan to spend dozens of chapters focusing on the Hengshan Sect and the nameless supporting characters?

The author writes very well, but unfortunately, it goes off-topic. So much detail was spent on this amateur competition, with its elaborate and overly complicated format—was it really necessary? It should end in three to five chapters; getting to the main storyline is the priority. 😅

If it were me, I would kill him even if it meant poisoning him. Liu Zhengfeng would be furious, but Mo would not appreciate it. The two sides are sworn enemies, and should never have become acquainted.

A bunch of noobs fighting each other was somehow turned into a martial arts tournament, and some nobody, a complete novice, managed to produce a skill resembling the "Song of the Azure Sea."

I was worried when the protagonist knew he was going to die in a year, but he didn't care at all and spent dozens of chapters playing around with a bunch of original minor characters.

Do you think an old man like me would like this kind of novel?

I actually really dislike writers these days. They deliberately write overly exciting stories to cater to readers, making even the smallest, most insignificant characters seem like a lot of fun. Every great hero starts as a nobody, didn't they? Back in the days of "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality"? Readers were so patient then.

The protagonist is truly a useless piece of trash. He writes about facing off against garbage in dozens of pages like he's from a dance competition, while constantly spouting inner monologues about being socially awkward and cowardly. Why doesn't he just die?

After reading this book, I can't get into any other martial arts novels. Any recommendations?

The writing is excellent, but the early chapters focus too much on minor anomalies, making one cautiously anticipate the subsequent story development. The selection of Hengshan disciples, even in the original novel, could easily have been given to Lu Chengfeng or Huang Rong in the early stages.