Book picks similar to
The Shadow Sect by Peter Hackshaw


fantasy
cultivation
progression-fantasy
dnf

Brightblade


Jez Cajiao - 2020
    From the beautiful to the terrible, it was all held in delicate balance by the Eternal Emperor and his children. For ten thousand years, the empire was the bastion that protected the sentient races from the darkness, but the revolution changed all that...Jax's a pretty regular guy, has a job he tolerates, a girl he kinda, sorta loves... and he fights creatures from the UnderVerse in his sleep, leaving him covered in horrific scars when he wakes up...When his brother vanishes, and five years later he's kidnapped as well, he's given a stark choice by his asshat of a father; Go to the UnderVerse in reality, travel to the capitol of that ruined realm at the center of existence, and open a portal for the Noble Houses to return home...or die.Slowly.That's the good news, the bad is that he has to survive the arena first, to prove his right to go...twelve will enter, only one can leave....Please be aware this is a dark LitRPG Fantasy and contains sexual references, violence and swearing. Ever wondered what would happen when a regular guy ends up in another world getting hunted and having his body torn apart? Yeah...that's why there's a lot of swearing...

Azyl Academy


Chris Vines - 2019
    Grow stronger and save my world." Just one semester until graduation, and I died saving a little girl. This wasn't the end, though, as a deity chose me to save another world. I woke up in the body of Kupiec Aiden, in a world where magic was real. Unfortunately, unlike many isekai novels I've read, I retained none of his memories, and had to learn everything. His family took me in, and I recovered from his sickness before learning about magic, or Aether as they called it. I discovered that I had immense innate talent in Aether Gathering, and was offered a scholarship to attend Azyl Academy, the city's premier institution. Where do I fit in this world, and how am I going to be key to saving it?

Mana Master


Bruce Sentar - 2020
    Isaac joins the class of humans known as mages who absorb mana to grow more powerful. To become a mage he must bind a mana beast to himself to access and control mana. But when his mana beast is far more human than he expected; Isaac struggles with the budding relationship between the two of them as he prepares to enter his first dungeon.Unfortunately for Isaac, he doesn’t have time to ponder the questions of his relationship with Aurora. Because his sleepy town of Locksprings is in for a rude awakening, and he has to decide which side of the war he is going to stand on.Disclaimer: There are adult situations and harem relationships.

The Dao of Magic #1


Andries Louws - 2018
    But seriously though, I'm sitting on a mountain so far away from civilisation it might as well be the godforsaken arse of the world and these control freaks still won't leave me alone. I'm about to ascend and can't wait to leave this crapfest of a planet. Turns out, the powers-that-be decided that an unaffiliated rogue like me is too big of a risk to let run around free. So they sent all the sect-, organisation- and churchmasters, hidden Dao protectors and other bigshots my way to kill me. This failed, obviously. I managed to ascend in a glorious shower of divine power and ascend, after which someone else managed to bitch slap me to another dimension altogether, unfortunately. Long story short, I just woke up in a valley watching some critters murder each other while trying not to freak out about how bad it smells here. Soo… where the fuck am I? Why is that deer fighting a feathery squirrel? Why am I teaching this baby rabbit saved from a cannibalistic mother how to kick beings in the face with the power of qi? Fuck it, let's just kidnap some clueless kids and teach them the wonders of the supernatural power called qi, alright? Come join Drew as he adventures across a rather primitive medieval, low magical fantasy planet while trying to regain his status as a cultivator who spits in the face of the heavens and the earth.

Forge of Destiny, Volume 1


Yrsillar - 2020
    The Sect grants new students only three months to prepare and grow before the true challenges begin and the disciples are freed to battle each other for resources and strength.Contending with tests, strange teachers, unfriendly peers and her own ignorance, Ling Qi must not only defeat many obstacles, but find those willing to stand at her side when the truce ends.Can she learn to not only survive, but thrive on that journey?Inspired by ancient folklore, modern martial arts and Xianxia, this fantasy novel offers a mixture of life and action while developing a world both fantastic in setting yet familiar in the humanity of its inhabitantsIllustrator: Melody ChengEditor: Lynn Chang

Foundations


J.D. Astra - 2020
    His acceptance letter in hand, Jiyong is sure nothing will stand in the way of his dreams.When a street brawl lands him in a coma only weeks into the year, his chances of graduating are all but shot. With an unlikely digital companion, he’ll have to rebuild his magic core and catch up on all his classes, or risk being dropped from the academy at the end of the year.But kingdom life is not like the outer-cities, and kingdom kids are far more ruthless about who they’ll allow to climb to the top. Jiyong will have to train hard and fight for every score to make it in this wealthy academy for powerful families, all while supporting his own from afar.From J.D. Astra, author of Viridian Gate Online: Firebrand, comes a brand-new Cultivation Academy series, bursting at the seams with nanites, martial arts, and LitRPG goodness.

The Hero of the Valley: Volume 1


Gary Spechko - 2021
    Chosen by the Gods, he is thrust into a world he knows little about and must grow stronger to face powerful invaders from other worlds.

Entriss Online (Watson's Worlds, #1)


David J. Pedersen - 2021
    The game was his life — by day, as one of their lead developers; by night, gaming as the accomplished Mandorf the Wizard. After years of leveling up, both professionally and personally, everything he had worked for was going to end. His goggles-and-gloves virtual reality MMORPG was being replaced with Everyworld Online, a next-gen game that provided full immersion so players could experience a world that looks and feels real.After stumbling on an unknown quest that kills anyone who approaches, Ian discovers an enormous amount of orphaned code that had never made it into the game. Moments before being fired, he checks in the code, enabling The Left Hand of God quest chain, an unexpected world event, and the frightening reality of a fully immersive Entriss Online.

Enter System


Tom Larcombe - 2021
    When a message appears in his line of sight, blocking out absolutely everything else, he nearly freaks out. The message warns that the world has been in a variant Natural Laws beta test for millennia and that it's about to revert to the norms.Deciding that even if he is insane, it's not going to hurt anything to try to prepare, he settles in to do so. Despite the atrocious lack of skill the System has with the English language, he manages to work his way through enough help files to get a clue of what's coming. After sharing his discovery with a few friends, they all start to prepare together.Once the change begins, the small group races to create a Safe Zone, an area where monsters will not spawn and where they can gather other survivors in an attempt to rescue as much of the town as possible. Along the way they discover that the new System can award classes that resemble those of the games the group has played, as well as magic for those capable of grasping it.With monsters spawning throughout the town, everyday animals being mutated into dangerous creatures, and a System that desperately needs English language lessons, they'll do their best to save as many of the local residents as they can.This story is approximately 155,000 words long and DRM free.

Mask of the Fallen: A Cultivation/Progression Fantasy Series: (War Priest Book One)


Harmon Cooper - 2021
    

Atomic Mage


Garrett A. Carter - 2020
    This isn't a fade to black kind of book, so be ready for a wild time.

Reincarnation


Michael Head - 2021
    A man fated to destroy it. There’s a prophecy to ignore.Jim was thrust back in time, returned to his body at the moment he started cultivating. Anyone else might have given up, but Jim doesn’t have that option. He’s already made the mistakes that doomed him in his first life, and he knows what to do to make it right. Jim wants to right the wrongs of the past… or, future? All while a pair of angry gods torture him through lack of sleep.He must find a way to reach the top of the cultivation world without drawing the attention of those who would take his knowledge of the future for themselves. Jim has seen how the world ended, and he is determined to fight his way through the world’s hidden foes and defeat his destiny.Weakened to merely a shadow of his former strength, he quickly learns that fighting alone may not be his best option, even though fate seems to like it that way.Luckily for the world, Jim thinks fate is stupid. He doesn’t care what it wants.

The Last Physicist


Dominic Stal - 2021
    Especially when you’ve witnessed the end of the world and the demise of all you’ve ever loved.As a particle physicist, William Jenkins is as unsuited to survival on an alien world as any normal thirty-something post-doc could be. Thankfully, he’s not alone. With an A.I., magic, scientific curiosity and most improbably, a deity on his side, Will must come to terms with his new reality before otherworldly terrors forever extinguish the light of hope on this new world.Meanwhile, as the forces of darkness amass to invade her home, Effni Naridia, Qaseri Ranger and Guardian of her peoples, must face her own demons. By undertaking a trial, Effni could determine not only the fate of her city, but unravel a mystery aeons in the making.The Last Physicist features elements of progression fantasy and Gamelit, and is perfect for those who enjoy stories by Andrew Rowe, Will Wight and Andy Weir.Warning. This novel contains questionable quantum mechanics, general relativity and magic.Note: this book also features profanity, vivid depictions of violence, pain and gore, along with depictions of mental health issues (including PTSD, generalised anxiety and depression) some readers may find distressing.

The Retired S Ranked Adventurer : Volume I


Wolfe Locke - 2021
    Something is different.The obvious next step?Retire.Settle down. Start his own tavern. Drink with magic girls.Maybe not in that order.Get your copy of "The Retired S Ranked Adventurer" and set off for an adventure.

Savage Divinity


Ruffwriter
    Follow his journey to find normalcy while living in a savage world, filled with myth and legends, monsters and Demons. In a land where the strong rule, the weak serve, and bloodshed is a way of life, peace is a luxury few can afford."