Fellow Daoist Chen, Can You Please Stay Away From Me?

If you are tired of the typical wuxia protagonist who spends decades in solitary meditation to gain an edge, "Fellow Daoist Chen, Can You Please Stay Away From Me?" by Ba Ba Wu Di is the refreshing shake-up your reading list needs. This novel flips the traditional power-leveling trope on its head with a premise that is as hilarious as it is restrictive: our protagonist, Chen Shaojie, possesses a system that functions exactly like a parasite searching for free WiFi.

The core hook—that Chen must remain in close physical proximity to powerful cultivators to "leech" their cultivation progress—transforms the standard hero’s journey into a masterclass of comedic tension. Instead of training in a secluded mountain cave, Chen has to stalk, annoy, and dangerously hover around the strongest masters in the cultivation world. It turns the often-staid genre into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, where being too far away means falling behind, but being too close invites a swift end at the hands of the very people he is exploiting.

Beyond the clever system mechanic, the story thrives on its character dynamics. Watching Chen Shaojie navigate the social etiquette of the cultivation world while desperately trying to stay within "signal range" of his targets creates brilliant moments of situational comedy. The prose is snappy, the stakes feel grounded despite the absurd premise, and the world-building manages to feel authentic even when the protagonist is acting like an absolute nuisance to his peers.

This novel is a must-read for fans of cultivation stories who enjoy a healthy dose of humor and unconventional growth. It is a witty, fast-paced adventure that proves sometimes the most effective way to reach the pinnacle of immortality is by simply being an unshakeable, persistent, and slightly shameless shadow to those who have already made it.