History Main / SpiritCultivationGenre

* TheSocialDarwinist: A very common attitude among cultivators, including the so-called "righteous" ones, is that the strong both can and ''should'' kill the weak, and that doing so is admirable.

*** Some body types are good for [[SexMagic dual cultivation and/or human "cauldrons"]]. In best case scenarios, this can contribute to their romantic life or push them into becoming a HaremSeeker. In worst case scenarios, they end up as {{Sex Slave}}s risking DeathBySex. BlackComedy series will usually put them in both situations.

** Some settings also include various types of "bodies", which are also received at random. The benefits (and drawbacks) of each body are highly variable. Some body types are good for [[SexMagic dual cultivation and/or human "cauldrons"]]. Something like a Pure Yin or Yang Body will usually be a case of BlessedWithSuck due to the energy imbalance. The best body types simply make the owner TheAce and an InstantExpert

* RandomlyGifted: In some settings, you cannot cultivate without being born with one or more spirit roots, a supernatural organ used to refine your internal energy. Not having one means you will probably be a {{Muggle}} for the rest of your life, though the setting may offer special methods to acquire one or alternative methods of cultivation. Different roots can have different properties, like different ElementalPowers. In some settings, thieves can benefit from spirit root OrganTheft.

* NextTierPowerUp: The Various realms of Cultivation act as this in various stories. In some cases with absurd RankInflation, even the various substages of each realm (Whether they be low, middle or high, or stages numbered from 1-10, for example) can act as this, as depending on the number, the higher rank you are, the more absurdly overpowered you can be compared to someone who is only one rank lower then you, with one moment being evenly matched in battle with a single martial artist of the same realm, the next being able to destroy an entire army of people with a single cultivation rank lower.

* PrivilegedRival: The Arrogant Young Master archetype, which is the most common form of rival in xianxia (Especially the power fantasy focused ones). This character is always a member of a cultivation clan, usually its heir and son of the leader of the sect the protagonist is a part of. The protagonist always starts out as the child of commoners or an orphan who got brought into the sect, and when the protagonist is "mediocre trash" like mentioned above, this guy is usually the one leading the other disciples in their age group in bullying him for his lack of talent. He's pretty much always doomed to die at the protagonist's hands or suffer some other horrible fate once the protagonist comes into his power, except on the rare occasions where he's subject to DefeatMeansFriendship. Since a lot of Xianxia Web Novels are LongRunners with hundreds or sometimes thousands of chapter, you should expect some permutation of this character to show up a lot, often as heirs to other sects, children of famous cultivators or even princes. Stories with female protagonists will equally have her go up against various similar Young Mistresses.
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: A problem for many of the power fantasy focused Xianxia in particular. Quite a few authors have a problem of going on and on about how "good" and "righteous" their protagonist is even while they commit all kinds of terrible deeds, which the narration will claim is justified. This isn't always the case. A few authors actually do seem to know how to make genuinely good and sympathetic heroes and others more deliberately make their protagonists [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] or [[VillainProtagonist Villain Protagonists]]. But its still a frequent enough issue to be a subject of parody.

* KarmicMisfire: Whether the laws of nature are decided by a SentientCosmicForce or JerkassGods, either way, they tend to be arbitrary enough to not care ''who'' gets punished for UpsettingTheBalance so long as someone is, so an evil cultivator using TheScapegoat for a DangerousForbiddenTechnique is completely fair in their eyes.

* Literature/AncientGodlyMonarch: Story about a Qin Wentian with broken meridians who find a way to cultivate.

* "Literature/WarlockOfTheMagusWorld" is all about what happens when a scientist from a futuristic world reincarnates in a World of Magic and Knights.