Beware Of Chicken

This story has RUINED all other xianxia and cultivation-type novels for me in the best way possible. Yes, sure, power-fantasy it up-- but I want a cast of characters who're, hm, actual people! And it delivers so consistently! Love it love it love it!

I actually make myself forget about this story for a few weeks on end, just so I have a nice pile of chapters to devour all at once like a MONSTER. This story has all the things I actually really like-- building up a territory the slow way, discussion of farming techniques, the inherent problem of chasing Buddhist/Taoist immortality in a fundamentally selfish and capitalistic way, trauma fucking people up and how to actually move past it, funny antics... love this story so much!

Story starts strong, was recommended to me, a not so fan of XianXia because "come on it's XianXia but not it's funny, give it a look" so 6months later I gave it a read and lo and behold, it delivered.

The first volume is great, uplifting, simple and strong, and gives off very feels good moment.

I considered stopping there because it kinda wraps up very well on itself and could stop there in an open ended nice, well done finish : they lived happily ever after.

I didn't.

I should have.

The story starts winding down after that, the plot slows, we get explainations for stuff that does not, or should not get some (think midichlorians)

And it starts falling into generic XianXia and Isekai tropes

Some characters get developed, some get undeveloped. What's the plot again ?

Ok we got dragged to the end of volume two by some very weak plot proposition, there's a slight mystery that did not interest me, and now it's the main plot point ? Is that why we get 5 chapters of background on it ?

This should not be expressed as such but to cut it short : main character went from giga Chad to whiny soyjak for absolutely no reason

Shoulda stopped at the end of volume one, I'd still have nice memories about it.

On a positive note, I do recommend volume one enough that it is worth paying for it, even paywalled as it is now

Jin is the first xanxia isekai cultivator to arrive in his new world, take a look around, and say bugger this.  This is a creative colorful and interesting story with plenty of comedy, action, romance, and dang near anything else you might be looking for as long as it isn't sci fi.  This series deserves it's place on the Best Rated page.

This was a breath of fresh air, and I love it to bits despite just having found it. The humor is grand and the interactions between characters feels natural and while reading it, there were few times I did Not have a goofy smile on my face. So many Xianxia stories have face slapping and constant pushing to be stronger, while few look at the other side of cultivation, that of comprehension and simply being at peace/one with the world. I highly recommend anyone to try it out!

Though it's certainly sneaky about it. The story starts out as subversion thanks to the reincarnated MC saying a big, fat no to every Xianxia trope that ever grated on someone. Turns out it's not subversion at all though, but a reconstruction of the genre overlapping the reconstruction of the world in-universe, if Little Sister is anything to go by.

Featuring guest appearances by Mother Nature, Brain Damage in his role as the source of all wisdom, the elusive Sane Housewife, and Jin Rou's loud, colorful, magnificent cock.

Rooster! I meant a rooster, get your minds out of the gutter.

I really enjoy this story, as someone who loves fluffy domestic/slice of life/comedy isekai. If anyone is a fan of such anime/manga/light novels as Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu, or Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi, or Saihate no Paladin, or even Mob Psycho 100, you'll almost definitely enjoy this. It's funny, it's sweet, and it's got some fun wuxia worldbuilding and creative blending of magic and modern ideas.

Is it a bit over the top in its silliness and character power growth rate at times? Sure! But even if it wasn't obviously meant to have some silliness from the very title onwards, the characters and worldbuilding are absolutely the stars of the show. Perhaps the only technical element of the story I could critique is how insanely quickly the main character's romantic relationship moved, but even then, it's such a fun, healthy, well-written relationship I ended up just enjoying it. 

tl:dr: Not going to be your cup of tea if you want traditional action/drama cultivation-focused wuxia. However, if you're here for cute, hilarious and heartwarming farming sim & found family tale, then this is for you!

Thorough character building that leans towards uplifting energy. Enjoyable side characters. A few twists for captivation without getting side tracked. Influence  takes place on all character interactions and has some side character perspective that is funny and adds to the over all story. I like the final chapters that hit towards trou le that the MC might get entangled with. Only disappointing part is limited measurable growth in MC. Power and hits elude to significant changes happening but nothing tangible.

Yeah, I might be an ol' fuddy duddy, but I really like the calm, straightforward pace of this story. The romantic relationship is done VERY tastefully and is a natural part of the story. I like the character development, I like the plot - especially since it does NOT have the forced and exaggerated DRAH-ma that tends to just exhaust me.

I'm delighted that my dear daughter recommended that I read this fic, because I really love it!

If this story was just about a man who reincarnated into a disciple's body only to decide to cultivate the land instead of himself it would be pretty good. But it is so much more than that.

This is a story about love and respect.

It's like a well made blend of 11 secret spices only all of them are love. You've got the types that the characters show: familial, romantic, communal etc. You've also got the meta types that go into the actual writing: the love of cultivation stories and their tropes. The love of stories themselves. Even love for comedy.

This story has layers.

Style
Rock solid. Jin Rou provides a candid first person perspective, every other character is done in third person. There is always something to anchor our perspective which makes switches simple and clean. There's even a little bit of fun thrown into these switches, a homage to the fact that Jin Rou is not from this world: he names his rooster Big D. Everyone else hears it as Bi De. Simple. Clean. Fun.

Story
I could gush about the story for thousands of words. It starts out simple but it doesn't waste any time getting to some good meat. The pacing is kept brisk by frequent perspective shifts and time skips. The writing rarely does one thing at a time but doesn't spread itself too thin in doing so. There are also so many delightful juxtapositions, most of them based on the subversion and fulfillment of cultivator/Xianxia tropes. It's just great.

Grammar
There's some frequent spelling/punctuation mistakes. A couple instances of correctly spelld wrong words (ie 'woods' instead of 'words') in places that provide a hiccup. Starts out reading like a first draft with some editing but improves as it goes on.

Character
The characters are marvellously well done. They all feel like living, breathing people with aspirations, tribulations and nuance. Thanks to the constant character development going on in the story we get to know them pretty well. And then we get to see them develop relationships with the rest of the cast or find new characters to get introduced to and learn about and oh man it's great. Overall the cast has a pretty humble bent to it for a cultivator/Xianxia story but it fits perfectly with the story.

Overall a must read.

I’m new to this genre, and had only surface-level understanding of the tropes. Beware of Chicken (BoC) was a joy to read, and it has spoiled me for all others. It’s become the measuring stick I use to judge similar stories.

Style: 

BoC begins as a light-hearted slice-of-life story about a Cultivator who rejects the climb to the Heavens and instead turns farmer. It’s cozy and personal, so you care about the journey as well as the characters.

It’s a relaxing read, as there’s little gore. As a xianxia world, there is violence and strife, but it’s not explicit. 

The protagonist remains grounded and down-to-earth—connected to the reader—and much of the humor comes from a juxtaposition of his internal perspective versus the world’s expectations as BoC plays with tropes. On this matter, the story does a great job of introducing tropes before it inevitably subverts or pokes fun of them. You’re let in on the joke, even if you haven’t read much in the cultivation / progression / isekai genres. 

Story: 

The story starts with a bit of a bang, but then it slows down to lower stakes of a farmer learning to love his land. It’s cozy and humorous. By the end of Book 1, you will understand the characters, their back stories and support systems, and the world they inhabit. Each new book raises the stakes as the protagonists branch out to the wider world, encountering its power dynamics and politics. New characters are developed as they are incorporated into the story, so it never loses the personal connection we feel to the people we’re reading about.

Central themes are threaded throughout the work. The style remains consistent even when we start getting more action sequences and the pressure ratchets up.

Character:

This is a character-driven story, so even the tropiest “Young Master” has a backstory and a reason to exist, not just as a cardboard cut-out so our protagonist can slap faces. Characters have realistic fears that they have to face and overcome to progress. 

The characters in BoC grow organically; the plot doesn’t force growth. Characters react in understandable ways as events unfold. You can follow each character’s progress instead of being bewildered by the ‘system’ or having to guess the exact shape of a character’s plot armor. No “Gary Stu” or “Mary Sue” here—even as characters grow in power, they remain true to their prior characterization.

Grammar:

Each chapter of BoC is edited before it’s released on RR, though the published books are further polished and chapters may be shuffled a bit. Chapters on RR contain small spelling and grammar errors of course, and some spots that should be italicized but aren’t. All very minor, and no hindrance to enjoyment of the story.