Renegade Immortal Review: Er Gen's Tragic Xianxia Novel

This Renegade Immortal review starts from the Wuxiaworld listing and from readers who finished Er Gen's breakthrough xianxia, or gave up partway. The English edition is Completed at 2,094 chapters, with an 84 score from 154 reviews, so the question is not whether it ends. It is whether you can get through a slow, rough start and a story one reader sums up as "tragedy after tragedy".

TL;DR: 8.4/10. Renegade Immortal is a finished, emotionally heavy xianxia that its fans rank among the best on Wuxiaworld, and readers keep singling out its mortal arcs. Even those fans say the opening is slow, and some readers drop it over a loose spell system and nonstop tragedy. Sample past the early chapters before deciding.

Key Takeaways

• Wuxiaworld lists Renegade Immortal as Completed, 2,094 chapters, score 84 from 154 reviews, translated by Rex. and licensed from Yuewen (checked October 12, 2026).
• Tags: Chinese, Fantasy, Xianxia, Action and Tragedy.
• Wikipedia dates the Qidian original to 2009 to 2012, 13 volumes and 2,088 chapters, and calls it Er Gen's breakthrough work.
• The three reviews on the page are all Recommended; a 2023 Reddit thread is far more divided about the early chapters.

Renegade Immortal Review: What the Page Promises

The synopsis keeps the hook small. Wang Lin is "a very smart boy with loving parents", but the family is shunned by their relatives. One day he "suddenly gained the chance to walk the path of an immortal but found that he only had mediocre talent at best." That gap between ambition and talent is the whole premise.

Screenshot: Wuxiaworld novel page for Renegade Immortal, captured October 12, 2026

The tag row is short and honest: Chinese, Fantasy, Xianxia, Action, Tragedy. There is no Comedy tag. For the genre itself, see What Is Xianxia?.

Some background from outside the platform. Wikipedia's Er Gen article says his first novel, the urban supernatural Tian Ni, "received little attention", and that he then followed an editor's advice to try xianxia, which led to Renegade Immortal (仙逆). That novel "initially received little attention" too, and at around 40,000 characters some readers criticized similarities between its early sections and Wang Yu's A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality. The same article says the novel's popularity grew during the "Mortal" (化凡) section, which Er Gen said he had written "in a style closer to prose." If you know that other novel, our A Mortal's Journey to Immortality novel vs donghua guide covers it.

What Readers Say in This Renegade Immortal Review

The Wuxiaworld page shows three reviews, all Recommended and all about seven years old.

Screenshot: Wuxiaworld reader reviews for Renegade Immortal, captured October 12, 2026

• Econ_ (Editor, Recommended) sums it up as "definitely recommended", but admits "it starts out slow" and that "one could spot the roughness in the early chapters." On romance: "it is not stellar imo".
• Just a curious traveler (Recommended) calls it "by far my favorite Xianxia" and says "The mortal arcs are an absolute treat". The review adds that "A major turning point in the novel's writing and quality would be chapter 250 imo", and says of the romance that "the start of it was bad".
• Lil (VIP, Recommended) calls it "a shining example of the genre", with one caveat: "it can be difficult to follow at times". Lil's view is that "this one only gets better the further it progresses."

The pattern is clear. Two of the three fans name the same weak spots, a slow start and the romance, and all three say the novel keeps getting better as it goes.

Where Readers Disagree

Reddit is harsher. In a February 2023 r/noveltranslations thread, SantoWest asked "Does Renegade Immortal get better? At chapter 164 atm, and feeling a bit bored". The complaint was about power, not pace: "now I feel like Wang Lin just does whatever he wants", which "screams deus ex machina to me."

The replies split:

• Drop it. TheKingOfWerms wrote "I love RI but if you aren't enjoying it by that point best to drop it." Proudmoore said they had picked it up "at least 3 times and dropped it each time", the last time at chapter 1,447.
• Keep going. ambitionhero answered "I think it is still early to quit" and said the book gets better toward the end.
• Pace yourself. Brolyscreaming called it "Overall a good read but take some breaks throughout the arcs", and Conscious_Ad_9684 said it "took my like 8 months to read the book. I took long breaks."

On tone, kx21 put it bluntly: "RI is just tragedy after tragedy for Wang Lin. Guy never gets a break." And ceallachdon, who read it because it was Er Gen, said "it really doesn't seem like he'd found his voice yet."

So the disagreement is not about whether Renegade Immortal has a following. It is about whether the payoff is worth the early chapters and the bleakness.

Want Er Gen in a lighter mood? Our A Will Eternal review covers the novel where, per Wikipedia, he put the emphasis on humor.

How to Sample Renegade Immortal

Use the free chapters. The page showed "2 Free Chapters Every 23 Hrs", enough to read the opening. Readers disagree on where it turns, so set your own checkpoint before you start.

Ask yourself three things. Can you live with a protagonist whose power-ups are not always explained? Do you want a story that the platform itself tags Tragedy? And is a rough opening acceptable if fans say the writing improves? Wikipedia's Er Gen article, citing the China Writers Association, says he sought to emphasize "emotion in Renegade Immortal" and "humor in A Will Eternal" (our A Will Eternal reading guide covers that one). That is the right expectation.

A note on length. The Wuxiaworld page counts 2,094 chapters, while Wikipedia gives the Qidian original as 13 volumes and 2,088 chapters. Neither page explains the small gap. The translator's notice "Renegade Immortal has ended", posted by Rex. seven years ago, confirms the English run is finished. For a screen version, Wikipedia says a 3D donghua "premiered on 25 September 2023" on Tencent Video.

Image: Wuxiaworld cover for Renegade Immortal

Renegade Immortal Review Verdict

Our take rests on the facts cited above: the Wuxiaworld listing and its three reader reviews, Wikipedia's articles on Er Gen and on Renegade Immortal, and one February 2023 Reddit thread.

The Good

• Completed in English at 2,094 chapters, so the ending is already there.
• All three reviews on the page are Recommended, and readers single out the mortal arcs.
• Fan reviewers say the writing and the story improve as the novel goes on.

The Cons

• Even fans call the opening slow and rough.
• Some readers find the spell system loose and the power-ups unexplained.
• Tragedy is a platform tag, and one reader sums the story up as "tragedy after tragedy".

Renegade Immortal gets 8.4/10 here, set to match the 84 score on its Wuxiaworld page. It suits readers who want a finished, serious cultivation story about a hero with little talent and are willing to push through a rough start. It is a weaker pick if you need a tightly defined power system or a lighter tone. For other options, see Best Xianxia Novels in 2026 or the I Shall Seal the Heavens review.

Rating: 8.4/10

How We Checked This

We used 4 sources, all opened on October 12, 2026: the Renegade Immortal page on Wuxiaworld (listing, synopsis, tags, translator's notices and the three reader reviews), Wikipedia's articles on Er Gen and on Renegade Immortal (only its section on the novel and the premiere date), and the r/noveltranslations thread "Does Renegade Immortal get better?", read in full through its RSS feed. Reddit comments are quoted as reader opinion, not fact, and spoiler-heavy replies were left out.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Renegade Immortal about?

Wuxiaworld's synopsis follows Wang Lin, a very smart boy whose family is shunned by their relatives, who gains the chance to walk the path of an immortal but finds he has mediocre talent at best.

Is Renegade Immortal completed?

Yes. Wuxiaworld listed it as Completed with 2,094 chapters on October 12, 2026, and the translator's notice on the page reads Renegade Immortal has ended.

How many chapters does Renegade Immortal have?

The Wuxiaworld listing shows 2,094 chapters. Wikipedia describes the original Qidian novel as ending with 13 volumes and 2,088 chapters.

Who wrote and translated Renegade Immortal?

Wuxiaworld credits Er Gen (耳根) as author and Rex. as translator, and says the English edition is licensed from Yuewen. Wikipedia says the original was published on Qidian from 2009 to 2012 and was Er Gen's breakthrough work.

Does Renegade Immortal get better?

Many readers say yes. One Wuxiaworld reviewer calls chapter 250 a major turning point, but in a 2023 Reddit thread several readers advised a bored reader at chapter 164 to drop it.

Is there a Renegade Immortal donghua?

Yes. Wikipedia says a 3D animated adaptation premiered on Tencent Video on 25 September 2023.

Related Reading

• A Will Eternal Review
• A Will Eternal Reading Guide
• What Is Xianxia?
• Best Xianxia Novels in 2026
• A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Novel vs Donghua
• I Shall Seal the Heavens Review
• Perfect World Review
• Against the Gods Review

References

• Wuxiaworld: Renegade Immortal
• Wikipedia: Er Gen
• Wikipedia: Renegade Immortal
• r/noveltranslations: Does Renegade Immortal get better? At chapter 164