When should we explain Xianxia cultivation levels in Xianxia novels

[immortal1daoist]

While writing Xianxia novels, should I explain to the readers about cultivation levels at the start of the novel or can I include them in between the novel?

 

[SailusGebel]

Explain it bit by bit.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

Avoid explaining the levels altogether and let the readers figure it out for themselves.

 

[SailusGebel]

Avoid explaining the levels altogether and let the readers figure it out for themselves.

The worst advice ever, love it.

 

[TotallyHuman]

Write your own cultivation manual, attach it as pdf in the prologue, refer to it throughout the story, e.g. "The elder was at the nascent soul stage. The nascent soul is covered in section 1.3, its abilitites in appendix 1 of the manual. Knowing just how amazing it was, Long Aotang couldn't help but open his mouth like an idiot" and when the readers ask you for clarifications you can answer them "RTFM"

 

[Paul_Tromba]

The worst advice ever, love it.

I thought that it was great advice.

 

[SailusGebel]

I thought that it was great advice.

Have you read more than 3 cultivation novels?

 

[PeacefulMyst]

I thought that it was great advice.

nah mate it can get confusing asf theres like always 20 fucking realms with like 6 mid realms in each i can never keep up without the wiki (esp in ones that use different names than norm)

 

[Redemit]

nah mate it can get confusing asf theres like always 20 fucking realms with like 6 mid realms in each i can never keep up without the wiki (esp in ones that use different names than norm)

Don't forget the 14 levels of godhood and then the 8 supreme being realms and than basically becoming a entire universe itself and basically starting it all over again and again and again and again to infinity and beyond

 

[Paul_Tromba]

Have you read more than 3 cultivation novels?

7 specifically and all but two of them were pretty much the same premise with slightly different systems and characters. Some were written well while others were pretty poor in quality and story. The two that were different were weird. One was just mass murder for the sake of power while the other was probably the best cultivation novel I've ever read. Sadly, the author took it down last year on webnovel and I can't remember the name. Though it was about a kid that was a victim of a cultivation MC who had become the ruler and enslaved him. The kid said fuck levels one day and stabbed the cultivator MC while he slept with a with a sharpened stick, killing him and making the kid the new cultivator MC. Levels are never brought up after this accept by other characters because the kid doesn't understand or care to learn how they work. He spends the whole story undoing all the awful stuff the old ruler had done and fighting the rulers old posse.

nah mate it can get confusing asf theres like always 20 fucking realms with like 6 mid realms in each i can never keep up without the wiki (esp in ones that use different names than norm)

Don't forget the 14 levels of godhood and then the 8 supreme being realms and than basically becoming a entire universe itself and basically starting it all over again and again and again and again to infinity and beyond

If the power gap becomes that big then that story has either been going longer than One Piece or something ain't right.

 

[Aaqil]

or something ain't right.

Somethings always not right with them,

 

[SailusGebel]

7 specifically and all but two of them were pretty much the same premise with slightly different systems and characters. Some were written well while others were pretty poor in quality and story. The two that were different were weird. One was just mass murder for the sake of power while the other was probably the best cultivation novel I've ever read. Sadly, the author took it down last year on webnovel and I can't remember the name. Though it was about a kid that was a victim of a cultivation MC who had become the ruler and enslaved him. The kid said fuck levels one day and stabbed the cultivator MC while he slept with a with a sharpened stick, killing him and making the kid the new cultivator MC. Levels are never brought up after this accept by other characters because the kid doesn't understand or care to learn how they work. He spends the whole story undoing all the awful stuff the old ruler had done and fighting the rulers old posse.

If you've read 7 cultivation stories, you should know that explaining levels is crucial.

 

[immortal1daoist]

Thank you for your advice

 

[Paul_Tromba]

If you've read 7 cultivation stories, you should know that explaining levels is crucial.

It is in most. Some cultivation stories leave out the explanation of the levels as it wouldn't make sense for a lot of the characters in the story to know how they work. These usually give some kind of common sense explaination that the MC comes to based on how they level up. However, how the levels actually work are never truly explained. Sometimes this gets used for a form of revelation for the MC and when it does, it is epic because the cost of the levels were so high that had they known the truth, they would have never tried.

There is also my opinion that is separate from this that likes a proper explanation of the levels and how they work. Though seeing the stats appearing in the story always pulls me out of the immersion and I just can't get back in because of it. Are stats bad? No. Are properly explained stats good? Yes. Can levels be utilized properly to make an interesting story? Absolutely. Do the levels need to be explained at all? Only if they matter to the character, the premise, and if it makes sense for the character to know how they work.

 

[PeacefulMyst]

i mean i guess you can make it so the readers know as they go. like the mc encounters a higher ranking cultivator you can use that for a bit of info dump But apart from that if its isekai, then yeah it makes perfect sense to explain it in one go.

 

[gogo7966]

nah mate it can get confusing asf theres like always 20 fucking realms with like 6 mid realms in each i can never keep up without the wiki (esp in ones that use different names than norm)

the confusion is a key part of the expirience

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

While writing Xianxia novels, should I explain to the readers about cultivation levels at the start of the novel or can I include them in between the novel?

If you want your story to be unique, try to introduce "calculation measurement inconsistency" In your story.

For example, Nascent soul in a province might be called 6th stage in the other, and 12 stage can be called advanced realm in other province, and emperor realm in another.

Cultivator "standard" really bothered me. Because in the past there's a lot of currency and length calculation inconsistency between one place and the other.

There's used to be more than just SI and Imperial in the past. It's only after globalization in the 40s-90s that everyone used similar standard.

FCK those infodump explanation that weren't challenged nor questioned. Why nobody ask why did those standard measurements came in first place ? Huh ?

And why da FCK MC can just acquired so much info so perfect in the world filled with inconsistency and false news, where even every single trivial news of today standards would be treated as treasure ?

Information is so rare back then, there's no such a thing as useless news or too much junk info.

Stop those infodump, Let MC Explore the mysterious and inconsistent world himself...

7 specifically and all but two of them were pretty much the same premise with slightly different systems and characters. Some were written well while others were pretty poor in quality and story. The two that were different were weird. One was just mass murder for the sake of power while the other was probably the best cultivation novel I've ever read. Sadly, the author took it down last year on webnovel and I can't remember the name. Though it was about a kid that was a victim of a cultivation MC who had become the ruler and enslaved him. The kid said fuck levels one day and stabbed the cultivator MC while he slept with a with a sharpened stick, killing him and making the kid the new cultivator MC. Levels are never brought up after this accept by other characters because the kid doesn't understand or care to learn how they work. He spends the whole story undoing all the awful stuff the old ruler had done and fighting the rulers old posse.


If the power gap becomes that big then that story has either been going longer than One Piece or something ain't right.

I commend your memory.

I read so many cultivator novel and I can't even remember what they're about...

 

[SailusGebel]

It is in most. Some cultivation stories leave out the explanation of the levels as it wouldn't make sense for a lot of the characters in the story to know how they work. These usually give some kind of common sense explaination that the MC comes to based on how they level up. However, how the levels actually work are never truly explained. Sometimes this gets used for a form of revelation for the MC and when it does, it is epic because the cost of the levels were so high that had they known the truth, they would have never tried.

There is also my opinion that is separate from this that likes a proper explanation of the levels and how they work. Though seeing the stats appearing in the story always pulls me out of the immersion and I just can't get back in because of it. Are stats bad? No. Are properly explained stats good? Yes. Can levels be utilized properly to make an interesting story? Absolutely. Do the levels need to be explained at all? Only if they matter to the character, the premise, and if it makes sense for the character to know how they work.

After my feedback thread, I don't believe that authors would do what you've suggested without messing up. That's why my approach is simple. To not confuse the readers explain shit to them. Especially considering how A LOT of people like this approach and how you can use certain tropes to make an explanation natural. And lastly, it's not a question of "Should I explain or not," it's "when should I explain it?" Btw, the question makes me believe that an author might be one of those who like generic cultivation novels.

 

[TotallyHuman]

Cultivator "standard" really bothered me. Because in the past there's a lot of currency and length calculation inconsistency between one place and the other.

Never inconvinienced me. I always headcannoned it to being a qualitive difference between life forms. We can mistake a meter for an inch, but we can't mistake a perverted silver-haired vampire loli for a chair, right? So, realms stay the same just cause there is an unmistakeable difference between two realms. And, I also headcannon the names to be same there for convinience. Like, how many novels use the words "hour", "day" etc. And, if we want to get really pedantic here, how come some nomenclature is taking you out the immersion when the idea that species across not just planets, but literal universes (i.e. hoomans) stay consistently the same?

 

[ldoronoco]

In-between, treat it like a new level unlock in a game, something shiny and new appears