Review Detail of AbsoluteZero in Heavenly Jewel Change

While Heavenly Jewel Change offers a short period of entertainment, the shortcomings eventually cause this novel to fall short of greatness. Let's start with the unique aspect of the novel, or what appears to be at first glance, the cultivation system. Jewels, an interesting representation of the usual power scheme and one that, early on, is novel enough to garner some excitement. However, they became far less important, actually becoming irrelevant, as the novel continues. What should be the unique foundation of each character and enemy eventually turns to bland repetition or outright unimportance. Characters come next, most importantly the main character, and here's where the real disappointment comes. The MC can be outright infuriating. While the novel continually claims he is intelligent or charming it fails to be expressed in the actual writing. It feels as if he's saying the obvious thing or doing something downright ridiculous, and then being praised as some genius from the heavens. In actuality, his genius and talent throughout the entire novel come across as blind luck and easily given. There's never a point where he says something stupid or normal and isn't heralded as a genius of his time. He could say, "air, it keeps you alive" and everyone around him would be enlightened by his gigantic cock and unmatched brain. Okay, that was a little more fire than I originally intended but that's how it feels throughout HJC. It's not much different for his harem. The world building. Not fantastic. There are different powers with their own unique aspects but they never shine as all that unique. Where there should be distinctive differences there is once again bland descriptions that end up feeling vague and almost irrelevant. Now what I've written may seem harsh, and perhaps it is, but each novel needs a method of standing out. HJC has that at first, some unique aspects that make it exciting to read, but they are abandoned or turned into another bland trope eventually. Is it a decent novel? If you can stand the stomach-turning way he gets his harem, perhaps it is. To me, it's worth reading at first but not in its entirety. The Ruffian Battalion is where the MC belongs and it's where he should have stayed.