The First Step by Tao Wong

TL;DR: An incredibly fun start to a progression fantasy.
Source: NetGalley, so many thanks to the publisher!

Plot: Long Wu Ying never planned on becoming a cultivator but then the army calls and plans change.
Characters: I love a good level headed MC and that’s what we get here.
Setting: Lovely, not too strong but strong enough to set a lovely scene.
Fantasy: This one is based almost entirely on cultivation fantasy, if that’s not your thing you might skip it.

Summary:

Long Wu Ying never expected to join a Sect or become a real cultivator. His days were spent studying, planting rice on the family farm and spending time with his friends. Fate, however, has different plans for Wu Ying and when the army arrives at his village, he and many other members of the village are conscripted. Given the opportunity to join the Verdant Green Waters Sect, Wu Ying must decide between his pedestrian, common life and the exciting, blood soaked life of a cultivator.

Join Wu Ying as he takes his first step on his Thousand Li journey to become an immortal cultivator.

Thoughts:

I’m well aware that I may just be a big fan of this type of book. Wuxia and it’s sister genres and tropes, those really tickle my buttons. And progression fantasy is a recent love of mine as well. So the two of those combined make for a great win.

A Thousand Li is a well known series in the Indie Prog/LitRPG spheres and one I’ve had on my radar for years. There is a reason it has stood for so long and remained popular. It’s a solid read. Long Wu Ying, our MC, is a level headed guy. He fully expected to be a farmer his whole life but at the beginning of the novel is recruited (forced) to the army. We follow him as he barely survives, then is offered the chance to become a cultivator. Then the journey really begins.

This is a chill book, there are moments of tension. Moments where you are worried, stakes are high. But because Wu Ying is so level headed you are confident in him, and he doesn’t make stupid decisions. We get a lot of very fun side characters as well, and some excellent villain types. Overall I really liked this as a start to a new series and I’m excited to keep reading (which I, in fact, have already started with book two.)