A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 120 Discussion

This is a Korean take on the Chinese Xianxia genre. MC and his work colleagues suddenly get dropped into a world of Immortal Cultivation while on a company picnic. Every one of his colleagues have a special talent or ability except the MC, and the MC has no choice but to live as an ordinary mortal in his first life. However, upon his death, he discovers that his ability was [time loop] the whole time!

Below is my review as of chapter 120 of the raws and so some parts of the review may not be fully applicable to the current translated chapters of 46. However, with the rate the translator is putting out chapters, chapter 120 will come soon.

Main Character:

MC is not talented and starts off weak but he is extremely hard-working and you can feel his progression through each cycle and you really feel that his strength is well-earned. The MC is decently smart, unlike the MC of Reincarnated Swordmaster, and maintains his humanity and morals throughout. One of the things I really like about this story is that the MC actually feels humane and he's pretty much a regular nice guy, unlike some super intelligent genius, cold-blooded rational old monster, or arrogant munchkin MC. The MC acts his age and the maturity gained from his many years doesn't simply disappear due to regression. Even throughout his cycles, the MC forms new bonds and relationships which eventually further his determination to become stronger.

Power System:

The story is quite slow and there is a lot of focus on martial arts, especially at the beginning, but the martial arts system is well-explained and actually really interesting and unique compared to classic Korean Murim and Chinese Wuxia martial arts. In fact, the martial arts system is what got me hooked at the start and continue to read. The cultivation system as well isn't the regular 'pop pills, get more energy, level up' but is based on the actual principles of the world and plays a big role lore-wise.

World-building:

In terms of world-building, we slowly learn more about the cultivation world and the world itself along with the MC as he slowly becomes stronger and gains the qualifications to know. Information comes naturally most of the time, with the story balancing showing and telling, and the obscured image of the world slowly unveils each cycle. Events are influenced by the world, not the MC, and a lot of things that seem like a passing thought or news turn out to have deeper implications and mysteries in later cycles as the MC gains the qualifications to unpeel the layers. There is definitely a mystery aspect to the story, albeit not of the early chapters as the MC doesn't even have the qualifications to see it's outermost layers.

Characters:

There's not many prominent side characters but each of them play a prominent role in the plot and impact the MC. Especially the high-level cultivators, the story does a good job of making you actually want to learn more about these characters and each extra bit of information you manage to get feeds your increasing curiosity. Cycle focused side-characters are not forgotten and are mentioned again in future regressions as well. Some of them come back to play a big role. One of the main side characters is MC's Bro, a teacher, friend, and colleague throughout his many regressions. With each regression, us readers' relationship with the Bro seem to develop as well as we root for him and his success.

Translation:

Translation quality is good. Translation speed is fast (2 chapters a day). Translation release rate is consistent. Does more need to be said?

Honestly, this story is a lot more difficult to translate than many other Korean novels because it uses old speech and the terms are unique as it is based on Chinese Xianxia. So huge props to the translator, especially cuz they let me and potentially you discover this gem.

Fight scenes:

Fight scenes are well described for the most part. In the beginning, as there's no intense fights involving the MC, they are slightly glossed over. Once the MC becomes strong enough to actually fight against his opponents, it becomes quite vivid and interesting. I say interesting because even regarding fights, it's like slowly peeling the layers of an onion. Something that might have been said or described earlier, especially regarding MC's swordsmanship, fluidly connects with something new and, while it's a bit difficult to explain, it makes you have a little eureka moment and appreciate how much forethought the author put into it. Some fights are also really intense and get your emotions riddled up. There's two peak fights especially in the current translated chapters that got me sitting on the edge of my seat. One of them even made me tear up due to the emotional context behind it.

Conclusion:

This is an excellent and quite unique martial arts / cultivation story that I'd recommend to those who enjoy the genre. Even for those who don't, I'd say give it a try and read up to chapter 34. If you're not hooked by chapter 34, then you probably won't find it enjoyable or manage to last when it gets even better later on. For those who are burned out from the influx of Korean munchkin academy, hunter/dungeon, and tower-climbing stories, then definitely give this a try. It's truly a breath of fresh air.