Xia Nan’s reaction to seeing the goblin ambush—freezing up, then snapping out of it after Maji’s arrow—felt so real. He’s not some instant badass; he’s a farmer who just killed his first monsters and almost threw up. The detail about the sword still having blood on it and him staring at his own reflection to check stats—that’s how you make a system integration feel organic.
Her coming of age ritual is chaotic but memorable. Falling asleep on purpose in the middle of it? That’s power move. The whole “she’s just tired” diagnosis from the imperial physician is hilarious and shows how spoiled she is. Definitely made me miss having no responsibilities.
I’m invested in Zhang’s mission to suppress strange phenomena and make the world know the name of Dragon Country’s Taoism. It’s a classic underdog goal, but told with enough grit and humour to keep me reading. The combination of modern urban life and ancient Taoism is a strong hook.