Kergonan

Saint Seiya ?

from a distance.

I first saw Lightning is the Only Way when it was initialy published on Gravity Tales (yes, I’m an old timer) but at that time, I was only into translated Chinese and Korean novels and I had my doubts about original stories written in the same style. It was only last year in 2025, after reading a number of original works on Webnovel and elsewhere which were just as good as translated ones, that I decided to read a book by Warmaisach. He had written a number of tales in the meantime, but I settled on his first. So, how is LitOW, the first original work I saw in this community? First, the setting is a classic of the Eastern genre, a number of worlds of progressing power organized as in a pyramid, with the most powerful at the top, in such a manner as to produce as much powerful cultivators as possible. Enough informations are given to grant this universe a solid and logical feeling, but also an overall impression of brutality. Yes, the world of LitOW is brutal and merciless, even more than the average Er Gen setting. The power system is quite well made and logical. It includes four different facets with Body, Energy, Will-Aura and Laws. Body is the least detailed and gets fused with Energy in the highest stages. Energy is the standard of ranking, mainly dependant on assimilation over time and from crystals and is of no challenge if a character has enough Will-Aura. Will-Aura is a more important factor in it reflects the degree of will-tempering a character has and there’s only one way to get it, the hard way (i.e risking one’s life in combat or trials). It also gives a logical explanation on how someone can fight above his level, that and the Laws. This last part of the system is the comprehension of the underlying workings of the universe, their use in and out of combat, access to “special” powers and covers a wide set of themes, from elements and matter to more abstract concepts like danger and the soul, with convergence at the highest Laws. The cast is one of the best points of the tale. While they have their core traits, the ones who exist during more than an arc show their evolution as time and the story move forward. Their changes are coherent, given the setting, but be warned, there are no ‘good” characters here. The world is ruthless and while some people are nicer than the others, no one has the moral high ground in the end, including and especially the protagonist, the deuteragonist, the protagonist’s father and the main antagonist. As a main character, Gravis is an interesting case, as the story shows us his evolution from a determinate but young and naïve child into a cultivating anti-hero ready to any sacrifice to reach freedom through various stages of anger, questioning, sharpening and other types of growth. I can’t say anything about the deuteragonist since his existence is a major plot point of the novel. The Opposer, the MC’s father, is present from the get-go, but only unveils his traits and reasons of his hostility against Heaven as the novel goes on. Heaven, the main and final antagonist of the tale, is also present from the beginning, both his power and ability to scheme are top notch among the villains of any book I’ve read and he remains an ever-present threat only kept in check by the Opposer and the necessities of maintaining his universe. The story itself is good, very good at some points. The battle scenes are well-though and innovative, the rise of Gravis takes a lot of unexpected turn as Warmaisach likes to play and act against the usual tropes of the genre (sometimes humorously), some scenes of introspection give welcome insights in the protagonist’s and other character’s psychology and the ending, while not great, is good. Sadly, it suffers from a number of flaws. One is that the style is a bit rough and dry sometimes, a bit because of the characters’ nature, true. Then you realize there are issues with the pacing of the tale. LitOW is the author’s first novel and it show. You must also see that the merciless setting is not made for everyone, as a lot of good characters close to the MC will die, and in this world there is no coming back. This is not a light-hearted saga, but a dark, gritty cultivator tale, not for everyone, a tad too dark to my taste. The quality of the writing is very good, with very few mistakes and typos. In conclusion, Lightning is the Only Way is quite a good tale, rough in setting, characters and story, with an author who can depart from the usual Eastern fantasy tropes to give the reader some surprises, but it can be too dark at times and the protagonist, while understandable, is not always likeable. My final verdict is a 7 out of 10, which can go up to 8 if you like dark, anti-hero stories. Warmaisach shows potential in his first novel and it is no wonder to me that he has persistently been at the top of Webnovel’s author. Still, I will take a little time before going back to one of his works. Meanwhile, I’ll go read one or two short stories before going for my next long novel. Thanks to Warmaisach for writing this novel and Noel, Raikyodeus and Chaotic_Luck for proofreading it. Kergonan out

not fainted, feinted

feint, not faint.

Also known as the Land Down Under.

comprise --> compromise

I wish you a quick and complete recovery .

quiet, not quite.

you didn't know where*