Ancient God of War

南方17K Novel Network2023

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Word count: 551K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Since the dawn of chaos, the tribulations of the Three Realms have cycled without end. Tens of thousands of years ago, the ancient battlefield where the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan fought the Demon Emperor Chiyou was transformed by the passage of time into a perilous primeval forest. Within its depths, the energies of immortals, gods, and demons nurture rare treasures—and bury the bones of countless treasure seekers. In Mengxi Village near the Heavenly Emperor City, a young man named Zhang Hao, adopted by Zhang Guanghan and his wife, learns of his origins: his birth parents entered the primeval forest years ago and were never heard from again. He joins an expedition into the forest to find them, encountering a ferocious white tiger and ancient spectral phenomena along the way. A light sword within his body protects its master, revealing his profound connection to the soul of the Xuanyuan Sword. He then enters the academy in the Heavenly Emperor City, rising to prominence in martial competitions and becoming entangled in the feuds of ten great families. He embarks on journeys into the underworld and through wars of gods and demons, gradually unveiling the grand destiny of the ancient war god's return, the restoration of the gods, and the battle against the demon hordes.

Editor's review

This is a quintessential primordial-world xianxia power-fantasy. It opens with an ancient battlefield, an abandoned infant's origins, and a mysterious forest to build suspense; the pacing is brisk and the fights are frequent, making it a good fit for readers who crave hot-blooded leveling-up and grand mythological set pieces. Its strengths lie in the expansive worldbuilding—the Xuanyuan Sword Spirit, the Mysterious Heaven Divine Art, and similar elements carry a distinct flavor of Eastern legend. Its weaknesses are that the characters tend toward archetypes, the romance thread is thin, and the later plot feels patchwork.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy primaeval-world and Investiture of the Gods-style Eastern xianxia settings
Readers who prefer leveling, monster-fighting, and action-packed power fantasies
Readers interested in ancient mythology and reincarnation themes
Web-fiction readers accustomed to fast pacing and moderate length

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer nuanced emotional writing and character depth
Readers who dislike dense action scenes and piled-up worldbuilding

Reading tips

Read the first volume to understand the protagonist's origins and the primeval forest setting before deciding whether to go deeper
Pay attention to the foreshadowing of the Xuanyuan Sword Soul and Mysterious Heaven Divine Art within Zhang Hao—it is key to understanding the later god-demon war
Readers unfamiliar with primaeval-world settings can skim the interspersed mythological background passages without affecting the main plot

About the publisher

17K Novel Network

17K Novel Network (17K小说网) is a publishing platform centred on online literature, with 10,912 titles in its catalogue; publicly available information is limited, and its founding background and country or region are not confirmed. Judging from the existing titles, its publishing scope covers common categories such as male-oriented fiction, Eastern fantasy, urban fiction, female-oriented fiction, time-travel and alternate-history stories, and selected fiction, spanning male-oriented cultivation and urban-life themes as well as female-oriented time-travel and quick-transmigration narratives. Representative titles include Deities: Recruiting Earth Players from the Start, Rebirth of the Nine-Tailed Superstar, Quick Transmigration: When a Max-Level Boss Becomes a Toxic Dad, Supreme Pill King, My Beautiful Wife, Chaos Tang, Wind Howling through the Jianghu, and Great Qin: My Inner Thoughts Overheard by the Ancestral Dragon from the Start, most of which unfold with the length and pacing of online serialization. Representative authors include Yang Zhizhi, Yuyi Tingbing, Xuanyuan Lvedan, Zhenyong, Manyu, Wuweijiu, Meng Qingxuan and Tianyan Junran, reflecting a publishing approach built on contracted online authors and organized by genre.

Volume One: The Eastern Continent
Chapter 1: Mengxi Village
Chapter 2: Ancient Soul
Chapter 3: The Guardian Divine Dragon
Chapter 4: Meeting Yuwu Again
Chapter 5: Entrance Test
Chapter 6: Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art
Chapter 7: The Ten Great Families
Chapter 8: Duel with Nangong Lun
Mythology, Part One: Eastern Legends

FAQ

What is this book about?

While investigating his origins, the youth Zhang Hao is drawn into the destiny of the ancient god of war's return; he goes through academy tournaments, family feuds, and a war of gods and demons, ultimately joining the gods against the demon horde.

How many chapters does it have, and is it complete?

It has 173 chapters, about 550,000 words, and was completed in 2023.

Is it suitable for newcomers who have never read primaeval-world novels?

It works as an entry point; the early part leans toward a youth's coming-of-age, but the later mythological setting is heavier and requires some patience.

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About the author

南方 Author

Nan Fang is a Chinese author about whom limited public information is available. Two works by this author are currently known, touching on two areas: social culture and inspirational personal growth. One of them, a study of foreign nongovernmental organizations' participation in international aid, falls into the social culture category, focusing on how civil society organizations take part in international assistance and showing a research-oriented, socially concerned approach. The other, aimed at general readers, deals with marriage and family life and belongs to the inspirational personal growth category. These two works differ clearly in subject, suggesting that Nan Fang's writing is not confined to a single field but addresses public issues on the one hand and practical needs in personal life on the other. Because no verifiable information is available about the author's biography, profession, or education, little more can be said about the author's identity and experience; readers can only gain a general sense of this author's interests from the subjects of these works.