A Thousand Li: the First Stop: Book 2 Of A Xianxia Cultivation Series

I read the first book in the series and was hooked. It was a fun story that had good pacing, a interesting MC and a world of possibilities that showed our MC grow a fair bit from his origins as a farmer.This book, while following the same MC and friends made in the first book, is just slow. The story starts slow, the MC power growth is minimal, and there is just no real feel of progression.The power struggles and politics of the first book are essentially missing, Wu has little power growth, and the friends and side characters remain pretty much unchanged with mild hints at romance in the future.Dunno. Book is ok, but was nowhere near as fun and interesting as the first.

The protagonist messes about for an entire book. Nothing of note was achieved, and they guy appears so wishywashy that it hurts to read at times (which is why i found myself skipping a lot). The writing is decent and the side characters are interesting, which is why i decided to rate it a 4 star.Have an entire book filled with taoist bulls**t in leau of actual progression is a big nono. If the next book continues in this vein, I'm afraid I'll have to pass on this series. Non of the sect politics that was introduced in the first book is even hinted at in this book. The one antagonistic elder that emerged was swiftly brushed under the carpet.In short, the guy did nothing and ran around with his finger firmly stuck up his ass with seemingly no clue how to remove it. Annoying as hell, and hopefully remedied in the next book.

This book is a bit slower than the first book. There's still some great action scenes but the majority of the book is about the main character exploring the options and requirements of being an Inner Sect disciple.I have to admit early on I was a bit dissatisfied, I wanted more "big stuff" to happen.But on reflection I think the pacing and the story are great. The character has real depth and interesting relationships. It was refreshing when Wu Ying hesitated to go on obviously dangerous missions, reacting more like a real person and not like a typical Chosen One trope.I hope people who liked the first book aren't put off by this one. Yes, the pace is a bit slower but it still covers a lot of ground, introducing the reader to the big decisions Wu Ying faces about choosing fighting styles and a supporting profession.I've read a lot of translated xanxia webnovels but I eventually stopped because while the ideas are usually wildly creative, the writing is typically weak because of the crushing schedule the Chinese webnovel market demands. I never thought I'd encounter a book that was a genuine xanxia story but also so well written.Looking forward to book 3!

The First Stop is a book that focuses on two things in my opinion; character and world building. That is not to say it is devoid of action. The main character continues to train inside the sect and makes several journeys outside of it. However, this main character doesn't shoot up the ranks of cultivation like some other novels of this genre. By the end of this book he still has the lowest cultivation of his companions, but he doesn't feel like a weak character to the reader. That is because the main conflict of this book isn't that Wu Ying must become strong because of X. The conflict is that Wu Ying needs to find his reason to cultivate, why he wants to become strong and how he should go about it. He certainly does learn and grow as a character as this novel progresses.Old characters are further developed and new ones are introduced. None of them could be called "cookie-cutter" as they all have their own personalities and motivations. they appear to all have their own character arcs that will continue past this book, and I am looking forward to learning more about them.As for world building, we are introduced to the nitty gritty details of how this cultivation world works. as Wu Ying seeks to learn about himself and his strengths and weaknesses, the reader is introduced to the different trades and skills of the cultivation world. the reader also begins to understand things like how the economy of this world and even attitudes towards sex. one thing I will applaud Tao Wong for, is moving away from the tired trope of Noble vs. Peasant, which was my only Dislike of the first book. It stands to reason, that, as cultivators become more powerful personal might would become more important than their birthright.Over-all a slower paced, more thoughtful addition of the series. if you liked the first book, you'll like this one. the First Stop (even the title implies it will be slower paced than the rest of the series) Doesn't disappoint. I cant wait for book three.

As far as cultivation novels go this is at the same level as Will Wight's cradle for a western reader like me. None of the language or structure seemed strange, any cultural references were easy to catch onto and the story develops at a great pace. It doesn't rely at all on the main character being OP and maintains a really nice balance of growth development that seems realistic within the story. The other characters are talented but not to any insane level which makes the story feel much more grounded without losing great action sequences (which can be difficult to write) and great buildup for those bits of action dotted within the story.

This book being the second alike l did not hold a lot of hope for ,but it's very good and well done and a very good read

I enjoy reading this book and can not weight to reed the next

After achieving entry to the inner sect the mc has to discover his secondary path by which he will be able to afford the tools to progress along the path of a cultivator. He's a plodder not a prodigy so he has to learn the hard way. Lots of exploration. The tale picks up in the last third of the book as an expodition to fetch a rare ingredient is launched. Lots of cool creatures and some good combat sequences using cultivation abilities. I'll be reading the next entry.

I think that my favourite thing about this novel (and this series) is that the protagonist isn't really great at anything. He's not the best, he doesn't grow rapidly in power above everyone else, and he's not a genius. In many ways he's an everyman in a cultivation world, observing and reacting to the wonders around him, as well as trying to find his own place in it. The result is quite a satisfying story about personal growth, and a very relatable hero.