This Harry Potter like happy go lucky atmosphere really doesn't do justice to novel. Gritty atmosphere there is far more intriguing.

Yeah I thought something was missing smh.

So you telling me this is actually lucky charm go happy atmosphere here they heavily downgraded, to the more darker tone from the novel aww that's a let down XD.

The first scene is complete village massacre and undead. Novel pretty much continues in that tone while animation tone goes to the PG-3 village festival.

I'll just write how novel goes and you compare it to animation.
- Beginning is pretty much the same
- When children are brought to sect, everyone starts arguing who will take Lin Yu, while Zhang Xiaofan is pretty much treated as "if only we can dump him on someone"
- He is dumped to smallest peak (only master, wife and 7 disciples) and since no one expects anything from him he is demoted to handle food for others (translation, trash on the trash peak). The only thing he is given from the peak at the point where animation is now is 2 most basic steps of Qi routine and no one ever looks if he passed that or not
- The event where he gets stick and saves the little sister doesn't really end like that. He pretty much takes all the blame and everything
- Pretty much only person that interacts with him is little sister (but, that is only because she feels good showing up as superior as you see later) and he falls for her. Other disciples are not bad to him, but they don't treat him as equal and more as squire
- Up to the point where he fights Lin Yu he is pretty much condemned to chores and only things he can practice is the things he got at the beginning (which he can't show in the world as he would be treated as evil heretic)
- Fight with Lin Yu is a bit different as little sister loses, but she is saved by the same guy. Big difference is how events went there. Zhang Xiaofan tries to explain that Lin Yu never bullied him in the first place, but he gets smashed by his peak master so hard he is unconscious few days, while whole thing ends up in arguing whose fault is.
- Little sister feels a little guilty and gives him 2 more steps to Qi skill and promises that if there would be a problem she will take full responsibility. And when he says he will do his best to become stronger than the guy who saved her, he is simply put down by little sister as how nobody like him would ever amount something, especially compared to that guy and starts hyping him even more because she loves him
- The time between that fight and competition is actually 1 whole year. Every other disciple on the peak is pretty much forced into training, while Zhang Xiaofan is left out to prepare food for others and do chores so they can train. Being left out by everyone and downplayed to nothing by little sister pretty much serves as trigger to build up pent up resentment during that year and train like crazy where his main goal is to prove he isn't nobody like everyone treats him
- The competition doesn't start with Harry Potter like fireworks. After initial discussion where he is left out again, not to mention everyone laughing at him because his treasure is a stick (go figure, he never (officially) got even basic skill past most basic level, where could he get a treasure). He is so angry he runs away to be alone and this ends up with him hiding whole night from sect protector monster (which is sensing evil items on him... ball and stick)
- He never activates his stick before the first fight (in animation that happens 2 times)

Now the events of next 2 episodes which will most definitely be cut out since atmosphere they have wouldn't allow it. At least atmosphere won't ever be that gritty. I tagged it as spoiler, but even if you read it there will be no change, With so much changed atmosphere they can't evolve story this way anyway

- He again realizes how left out he is on first fight. No one from his peak even bothers that this is his first fight and they go and watch everything else. The only person who cares about his fight is the guy who tried buying monkey from him and the rest of the viewers are watching his opponent. After being at disadvantage in the beginning, his pent up resentment pretty much drives him mad and only after that he first activates the stick which is activated by anger or similar feelings, only problem is that it is extremely high level treasure and he needed to almost go mad to activate it
- Second fight... while they are surprised he won his first round... no one bothers to watch him again. And that is all until only he and little sister are left in competition where there is just a comment "we're off to watch little sister,... you do your best"
- Little sister is eliminated and her character does 180 because Zhang Xiaofan is still in the game.
- Huh? People from his peak finally caring to watch his fight (ohh, wait... there is no one else, lol)? His peak master yelling "That is my disciple"? The only person who didn't watch was... guess this... his little sister. You can guess what kind of blow this hypocrisy was. He gets eliminated in semifinals after facing girl few levels above him and having almost comparable treasure to his stick. But, even then fight ended almost in mutual destruction where the other party was so badly hurt she lost next fight due to inability to fight
- While he was unconscious... another trouble popped up. Where did he learn upper levels of the skill? Some elders demand execution (most simply because they want the stick) and in that time the little sister who promised him to take the blame for what she did... pretty much watches and it is more like she is hoping he really would get executed simply because her peak superiority complex was ruined, while peak master pretty much defends him because he is scared he would lose the competition results and peak status wouldn't improve
- In short, pretty much the only person who was really on his side was the guy wanting to buy monkey. Now, when you consider their meeting few days ago was just random event... that tells you how sad the treatment he had until here

Damn that is gritty and grim, the novel def paints that image that would be more intriguing to watch. Now as you say they change up the tone from the novel I just hope they say true as the reason why he wants to become stronger, so nobody don't treat and look down on him like he worthless and home welcome mat people just walk all over him.

Well, it is a short novel, only 300 chapters and worth reading. I posted the link in comment below

That kind of changing is not lonely event. They are probably worried that they would lose viewers if content is too gritty. Or you have it like Wu Dong Qian Kun. Animation skips so many vital explanation things from the novel it is barely comprehensible. Like, why Lin Dong can absorb the mental power (events when he got his mental root symbol are completely omitted and changed, so good luck ever fixing that) or the beginning events with the stone he found (in novel everything happens gradually and it is easy to understand not to mention the place where he finds it has good clues, in animation it embeds in his hand at start... he can already do advanced things... how and why?)

And is noble aspiration based off this too

Had high hopes for it from the first episode now not so much and with u saying it had to be more darker I fell robbed lol...what do u think about the live action they did

Oops, posted to you instead of 2 posts up, lol.

As far as LA, I don't watch them after I watched how they butchered Wu Dong Qian Kun, that one is still making me have nightmares about horrible production, bad acting and insane screenplay writers. Main problem is that novels like this simply need great amount of FX to work and live actions are low budget made with lunch money they didn't spend day before because they skipped it

What live action this based off of??

hmmm...I will have to check out the novel then

readnovelfull . com / zhu-xian-v1 . html

It is short, 300+ chapters only and the way they cut content says they'll end up in 2 seasons

Only strange thing there are names, somehow translator decided to translate those too and MC is called suddenly Shaw Danon after first few chapters

i am going to join the battle too

When this guy was first showed, I liked him as a kid but now he's become a teen and a coward

Our MC got a bye....fantastic. Anyway what the hell happened to his stock?🤯🤯🤯

as A child he won't give up In this episode almost cried Just because she was fighting someone This guys ridiculous

The main characters fighting style is fart in the wind Because he is a total flake I mean Jesus Christ have a personality already. what happened to the kid advertised in episode 1 who didn't give up

is there a manhua of this?

Mc the wimpy kid 😑

Well if plot armor just so happen to make him advance to the next round without fighting, then I guess it does lol.

He would've lost....i think dude looks sus

You should give up, when your divine weapon is less valuable thn MC's ladle

I promise you that spirit thing is trying to tell/warn you ppl

The MC is so dumb for me

Found another worthy donghua

hahaha the song they played when the competition started reminded me of a 90s rap song

🤔