Is Against the Gods Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read
Quick Answer
Only if you're committed to the genre — this is a huge, unpolished power fantasy with real highs, but it asks a lot of patience and forgiveness along the way.
Quick Verdict
“It hits every beat the genre promises, but never quite earns the harem drama it keeps leaning on.”
Best for: Readers who want an old-school, no-frills xianxia power fantasy and don't mind rough edges in the writing.
Not for: Readers who want careful, consent-forward romance writing or a tightly controlled plot rather than a sprawling, meandering one.
- Type
- Manhua
- Genres
- Fantasy, Action
- Status
- Ongoing
- This review
- Minor Spoilers
- Author
- Huoxing Yinli
- Artist
- Various (manhua adaptation)
- Publisher
- Zongheng
- Platform
- MangaToon
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Format | Manhua (seinen), 784 chapters |
| Run | 2018–present · ongoing |
| Community score | AniList 6.8 · MangaUpdates 6.1 |
| Content | Violence, harem elements, some dubious-consent romantic content |
| Where to read | MangaToon — official |
Overview
Yun Che is reborn from a modern-day doctor into the body of a young cultivator with no talent, in a world where cultivation talent is everything. He starts out mocked and dismissed by nearly everyone around him, and Against the Gods spends its considerable length walking him from that low point to a position of real power, gathering allies, rivals, and romantic interests across an ever-expanding map of realms and factions.
This is old-school xianxia in the most literal sense — reincarnation premise, cultivation ranks, a protagonist everyone underestimates until they very much shouldn't. The novel has been running since 2014 and remains ongoing; the manhua adaptation, currently past 780 chapters, is adapting it at its own pace.
What it does well
The humiliation-to-respect arc that opens the story is handled efficiently, and it sets up the basic satisfaction the whole series runs on: watching people who dismissed Yun Che have to reckon with what he's become. The scope backs that up — new realms and power tiers keep getting introduced at a pace that gives long-time readers a steady stream of new stakes rather than treading water in one setting.
The manhua's fight choreography is a real strength once the story gets moving; larger confrontations are staged with genuine energy, and the adaptation makes good use of full-color digital panels to sell the bigger power-ups. For readers who know exactly what they want from a cultivation power fantasy — escalation, payback, an ever-expanding world — this delivers that without much dilution or self-consciousness about the genre it's working in.
Where it falls short
The harem material is the series' biggest problem. Several of Yun Che's relationships develop through tropes the story doesn't examine with any real care, including at least one moment where he takes advantage of a woman while she's vulnerable — and the narrative moves past it far too casually rather than treating it as the serious issue it is. That's a real mark against the book, not just an old-fashioned genre quirk to shrug off.
Beyond that, the sheer sprawl of the plot works against it. New realms and power systems pile on faster than the story gives any of them room to breathe, and most of the female cast exists to orbit Yun Che rather than pursue anything of their own. It's a common failure mode for this genre, and Against the Gods doesn't do much to rise above it.
Verdict
Against the Gods delivers the specific power-fantasy satisfaction its premise promises, with real scale and increasingly strong fight art to back it up — but the harem writing has a real problem at its center that keeps this from being an easy recommendation. If you go in knowing that and still want an old-school xianxia power fantasy, there's a lot of story here to sink into.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Yun Che's arc from mocked, talentless outcast to a cultivator other people fear is the genre's core promise delivered without hedging, and the early chapters set that payoff up efficiently.
- The scope is genuinely huge — new realms, factions, and power tiers keep getting introduced, so long-time readers rarely run out of new ground to cover.
- Fight sequences are drawn with real energy in the manhua, especially once Yun Che starts fighting opponents who actually threaten him.
- It's unapologetically old-school xianxia — readers who know exactly what they want from the genre will find it delivered without much dilution.
Weaknesses
- The harem subplot includes at least one relationship built on a dubious-consent moment that the story treats far more casually than it should, which is a real mark against it rather than a minor quibble.
- The plot sprawls without much discipline — new arcs, realms, and power systems pile on faster than the story develops any of them with real care.
- Female leads are largely defined by their devotion to Yun Che rather than by independent motivations, a common weakness of the genre that this series doesn't push past.
Similar Titles
Apotheosis
Shares the humiliation-to-power cultivation structure and harem framing.
Another long-running xianxia power fantasy with a similarly enormous scope.
Same genre conventions — reincarnation, cultivation ranks, and steady power escalation.
Where to Read Officially
| Platform | Format | Pricing | Region notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MangaToon | Digital chapters | Free + Paid | Region availability varies | Open |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Against the Gods finished?
No, both the source novel and the manhua adaptation are ongoing, with the manhua past 780 chapters.
Where can I read Against the Gods officially in English?
MangaToon publishes the manhua in English with proper licensing through Erciyuan; Webcomics also carries it.
Is the harem content handled well?
Not consistently — several relationships develop through tropes the story doesn't examine critically, including at least one moment that reads as dubious consent without being treated as such by the narrative.
