[Pursuit of Truth] This story is the reason I got a Qidian account. Anyone who knows Chinese webnovels will know Er Gen. Arguably the best author in the genre, his characters are well developed, the worlds are unique and breathtaking, and the story moves at a solid pace. Pursuit of Truth has always been the novel of Er Gen's I have been most anxious to read considering that it feels different from Wang Lin and Meng Hao. Wang Lin can often feel like a killing machine, cold and unfeeling due to the lack of internal monologue. Meng Hao can sometimes be outlandish and other times his plot armor shows. Su Ming I think is the most human of the three. His motivations from the get-go are family, and he develops naturally from there. I have no idea why this isn't the number 1 novel on this website. It is in my book.
[The Portal to Wonderland] I often get excited with a new story because of the strong world building and diverse characters at the beginning, only to end up disappointed that those literary techniques fall by the wayside so that the author can focus on harem building and repeating the names of cultivation levels/techniques/etc. over and over again. Not so with Wang Yu's body of work. Each novel he writes starts with an MC with distinct motivations and a strong list of supporting, and more importantly recurring, characters that make you invested and help drive the plot. Each world feels vibrant and the political/social intricacies don't seem as forced. The methods of cultivation are unique and intriguing. Most importantly, I never felt like the story drags on for too long in one part or harps too much about a concept to the point of beating you over the head with what it is trying to say.
[The Avalon of Five Elements] What sells this story for me is it's world building and characters. When reading about where the story takes place you can actually picture it. I often find that webnovel artists fail to do one of the most important things when writing a story: show, don't tell. Any good book will make you visualize what you are reading in your mind's eye. With TAoFE I can actually map out the world, and thus I can understand where I am and what is happening better, and become more invested as a result. The author does a fantastic job in all of his novels creating a lineup of diverse characters, each with unique motivations and personalities. Even the overtly evil characters give reasons behind their actions. Too often when you read Chinese webnovels the villains are the bad guys just because they don't like the way the MC looked at them, they are just sadistic psychopaths, or some other flimsy reasoning. In this story every character has a purpose beyond being a foil for the main character. The plot moves at a steady pace too. There is little I can say against this novel.