It's definitely a super trashy genre but I wouldn't say "unethical shortcuts" is the standard for the main characters. There are some series where the MC is a good guy like 永恒圣王/Eternal Saint King where the dude
spoiler
almost exhausts his lifespan trying to invent a method that will allow the general population to cultivate
It's also not without value in terms of social commentary in the typical dynamic of the orthodox sects which generally end up being hypocritical oppressors vs demonic sects which the downtrodden have no choice but to turn to.
The nature of the setting does lend itself to aristocratic social structure as individuals are capable of accumulating reality warping actual power which I can understand but unfortunately there's often a lot of other reactionary elements in terms of gender dynamic, nationalism in thinly veiled real-world parables, treatment of queer characters, etc
I've always just been a fan of the high fantasy concept of a consistent power system available to everyone as opposed to superheroes, but it sucks that Xianxia in general just sucks lmao. Wish I could read one by a leftist, preferably with an actual editor instead of retconning shit every 50 chapters and having no idea what to do for an overall plot.
It's definitely a super trashy genre but I wouldn't say "unethical shortcuts" is the standard for the main characters. There are some series where the MC is a good guy like 永恒圣王/Eternal Saint King where the dude
spoiler
almost exhausts his lifespan trying to invent a method that will allow the general population to cultivate
It's also not without value in terms of social commentary in the typical dynamic of the orthodox sects which generally end up being hypocritical oppressors vs demonic sects which the downtrodden have no choice but to turn to.
The nature of the setting does lend itself to aristocratic social structure as individuals are capable of accumulating reality warping actual power which I can understand but unfortunately there's often a lot of other reactionary elements in terms of gender dynamic, nationalism in thinly veiled real-world parables, treatment of queer characters, etc
I've always just been a fan of the high fantasy concept of a consistent power system available to everyone as opposed to superheroes, but it sucks that Xianxia in general just sucks lmao. Wish I could read one by a leftist, preferably with an actual editor instead of retconning shit every 50 chapters and having no idea what to do for an overall plot.