You will find a lot of historic Chinese manga and dramas in which cultivation techniques are shown. However, what exactly does cultivation mean?

Are you asking that? Well, the cultivation of manhwa, which is also called the Taoist technique, allows people to get skilled in learning various sorts of martial arts.

These sorts of manhua’s are always full of sizzling action scenes and often represent characters with amazing and sometimes special abilities. There are many cultivator manhwas available, whiche have been enticing readers for years.

I have also gone through a lot of them. Let me tell you, I have been reading these for the last 8 years or so, and now I do have enough recommendations for you. Are you ready for my top choices?

20. Return of the Immortal Emperor

Most of us want to be born into a rich family and live the life of a character who has everything right at his or her feet. Have you ever flipped the coin and thought about how it feels to be a branch of a great family?

Well, you will spend your life in the shadows of some great personalities from your family. The Return of the Immortal Emperor is a perfect manga that shows both sides of this coin.

One day, the central character gets a chance to teleport himself to a whole new world where he trains himself hard for the hardships of life, and it is entirely worth reading how he takes care of his responsibilities to his family and himself when he returns.

19. God of Martial Arts

Well, the name shows it all – the God of martial arts. It already highlights how strong the real character would be shown. This manga will help you develop a special respect for martial arts.

In this manga, you will be amazed that the weakest martial arts can do nothing except break rocks with their power. But when we talk about the most powerful ones, they can even split huge mountains into two parts just with their power.

You see that their martial arts skills decide their deaths and lives. And yes, you can call this manga slightly overpowered, too. This manga is famous for many reasons. For me, I picked it because of its extremely interesting story.

And the determination shown in the characters when they keep trying hard to become the strongest is worth reading.

18. Spirit Sword Master

Sword mangas have always been tremendous to read, and Spirit Sword Master is one of the most chosen mangas of this genre. The story revolves around a strong warrior who returns to his younger days.

It becomes a pretty dramatic scene when we get to know he loses all his experience and power and becomes a pretty weak young lord.

How will he face his enemies in this state? And what does he have to do with his past life regrets? There is a thing called Spirit Sword which can help him again grow his powers and fight against his enemies.

So is this guy again going to turn into a supreme warrior in all three worlds? Or is the mystery folded up for the next series? Does this guy justify his character? How cool is the animation? Check this manga to know it all.

17. Martial Art Reigns

Martial Art reigns is a popular manga with a very powerful storyline, and yes, there’s a lot of grief in this manga. Ye Ming, the main character’s life, becomes pretty tough when his parents are killed in his early childhood.

The grief increases when you get to know that one from his family even tried to catch the culprits or even help this poor fellow.

As you already expected, this fellow trains very hard, but do things work how they were planned during and after this training? Let me give you a hint – things went worse, and the reason was his family members! Later, an old man enters his life and influences him in the way of his parents’ revenge.

16. The Master of Diabolism

Now, this enemy is full of disturbance and clashes. You see millions of people halting towards Wu Xia, who is the Demonic sect’s founder and a grand master as well. In this manga, you find that he creates a lot of chaos in the world.

However, you see this guy getting defeated by the rival clans. The reason is that a few of his closest and most trusted men backstabbed him. This is a story of betrayal. However, this guy gets a second chance for revenge against all his “once upon a time” dearest men who left his clan.

This cultivation manhua is full of mystery and comedy, besides being a decent choice for martial arts lovers.

15. Descent of the Demon Master

If you like stories where the main character is shown in grief or faced with some sort of accident right at the beginning of the story, and then he is shown turning into a hard and strong character later on, then Descent of the Demon Master is a perfect manga for you.

The main character, Jin Ho Kang, is shown,n in a very pathetic situation where he loses his whole family in an accident right in the beginning. Not just that he even loses both his legs. You will be in grief after seeing how miserable life he lives after that.

Later on, he enters the cultivation world, and within 5 years, you cannot imagine how much he transforms. He joins the demonic cult, and he is the first outsider in history to become a leader of this cult.

Now, when he loses his life in his enemy’s hands, the story takes a sharp turn, and he magically returns to the time when those accidents didn’t ruin his life. So, how interesting does it sound? Check this manga.

14. Turn The Tide

This manga is pretty much Jackie Chan, where the main character lives in a pleasant countryside area and trains himself in martial arts. If you have watched the movie Drunken Master, starring Jackie Chan, you will be very easily able to get the feel.

Most of the time in the manga, you find the world dominated by evil people, while the heroes are shown as weak initially. This manga falls in the same category. You see a real struggle from the main character’s side right from the beginning.

Although his family supports him very well, he doesn’t find himself growing in skills, and no progress is seen. You will be amazed to know the reason behind this was actually a spirit who had captured his body.

One day, this spirit comes out, and then the tables turn. A ghost guides him (yes, you read that right). And makes him a high-level martial artist. What happens after? Does he use these powers for good things?

You will need to read it out.

13. The Servant Is the Demon King?!

Many who read “The Servant is the Demon King” found it disgusting. The Demon King Eifan Zuho is shown extremely overpowered and survives for thousands of years, beating death.

During this time, he gains ultimate knowledge and power, which he uses to take over his enemies. Again, like our previous choice, this plot has some betrayal, and you can already expect how such a strong fellow can be defeated that easily.

The Demon King gets a second chance in this manga and returns to life as a young servant. So, would it be possible for him to take his revenge, or would he need to regain all those powers to bounce back?

12. Cultivation Chat Group

Many of us are bored with our daily life, isn’t it? We want some thrill in our life. If you are the one, then the Cultivation Chat group can be a super choice for you. This anime shows a normal college dude joining a random online chat group.

However, he gets to know this is no ordinary group. There are group members from Wuxia and Xianxia Obsessed people. And all of them have some stupid names. They are even able to communicate with the ancient people, who are called “Fellow Daoists.”

There is a lot of discussion going over regarding cultivation levels. And this dude soon finds himself fitted perfectly in this group. Later he finds that various members have been inhabiting mountains for thousands of years without meeting death.

There are a lot of interesting happenings throughout this manga, but I don’t want to give a spoiler.

11. Against the Gods

The central character of Against the Gods, Yoon Chae, is just a normal dude behind which there is always a huge group of fierce people who just make fun of him.

All have a common idea that he is entirely useless. However, the tables turn when he is awarded something that everybody dreams of a poisoned pearl from the heavens.

Now he has to protect this special treasure from his rivals so he jumps off the clouds and cliff. There are a lot of people who do hate him but at the very same time, want to make some fake relations with him to get what they want.

The main character needs to be strong enough to face all these evil guys. High-end training is the only way to gain that level of strength, and he walks on the same path. Will he be able to protect his treasure, or will the treasure fall into the hands of some ridiculous dude?

It is extremely interesting to watch Against the Gods.

10. All Hail the Sect Leader

I have gone through a lot of cultivation, manhwa. However, I have a special level of respect for those based on historical settings. In “All Hail the Sect Leader”, you actually find that the protagonist is no way closer to the members of his sect in terms of power.

This warrior’s disciples are actually abnormally strong and a thousand times better than his teacher. Do you really feel this is going to create any disbalance?

You’ll be thrilled to know how determined the leader is to become the invincible cultivator and gain ultimate powers that make him a perfect martial artist to rule the world.

9. Soul Land

We went through a few Mahalwa where the protagonist rebounds and fulfills the things needed. However, this one can be kept in the category of Isekai Manga because the rebirth takes place in a different world.

Previously, he is shown as a genius seeking the sect’s eternal truth. However, this was not allowed. Hence, a few members chase him down, and this leads to his death. He rebonds as a blacksmith’s son, where a weak spirit possesses him.

In this world, everybody is valued with the power of their spirit, and it is worth reading whether he is able to survive in this different world.

8. Rebirth Of The Urban Immortal Cultivator

Chen Fan has developed a great love for cultivation. And this is why he was picked up at 30 from earth and put on the road of learning cultivation under a perfect master.

It will be unreal for you to know that he cultivates and becomes one of the most powerful cultivators in the world after a strong 500 years of training.

However, you find that this is a certain period where he can easily be defeated. That is when his body isn’t able to handle the high-end energy during the anti-catabolism. Well, he dies. However, the very next moment, you find that he is reborn on earth in his teenage years and lost all his powers.

The knowledge that he gained during this 500-year era is still stored in his brain. Will he be able to use most of it?

7. Spare Me, Great Lord!

This manhwa comes from a very talented writer, the “Spare Me, Great Lord!”. Lu Shu is the main character whose parents leave him at a very young age. His parents give him only one thing: a walnut-shaped necklace, which he loves and cares more about than his life.

However, this necklace gives him a sort of mental burden, something that is attached to some bad memories. He does save himself in a very terrific vehicle crash because of this necklace.

Lu Shu is shown as a deep seeker, wanting to explore the world around him during his business trips. He also wants to know more about himself. Lu Shu is a true seeker.

6. Metropolitan System

Right from the beginning, you stay very packed with the story of the metropolitan system. This Manwa is much different from what we have discussed till now. We see Jiang Bai to be a very successful gambler.

He enters a high-risk casino, wins millions of dollars, and tries to escape to save that money. However, he gets killed by a rival driving a truck. But the story doesn’t Stay as simple after that.

You see his soul getting transported to a world similar to Earth, and matters get worse there. This time, he is poor and pathetic, lives below poverty, and has absolutely no money to build his life. Also, he is stuck with a very weak body.

He gets in touch with a cheat system offering special powers that help him gain several abilities, generate great wealth, and become stronger. But at the same time, the curse is that with the growing power and strength, he will face more troubles.

5. Lord Xueying

Are you a fan of overpowered heroes? If yes, Lord Xueying is a perfect manhwa for you to read. The story takes place in a small territory called the Snow Eagle Territory. The story mostly revolves around a clash of two clans.

Since Jiuying is the protagonist of this story, one of the two sons of the rulers, he sees that his mother’s clan is evil, and they arrest their family. He trains himself very hard in his spear technique and takes an oath for revenge.

This adventure truly proves to be legendary, and it’s based on a very popular novel. However, a few fantasy elements are sprinkled, adding an extra layer of joy.

4. Banished Disciple Counterattack

The world is hard; the world is cruel. You cannot take it for granted that the way you love people, they will love you back the same. The way you show your loyalty, everybody will be equally loyal to you.

This is all that Banished Disciple Counterattack teaches us. I was extremely impressed with the main character, especially because of the level of loyalty he shows for his sect. He risks everything to complete the task given by the sect that wants him to guard the spiritual field.

However, a few enemies and a few insiders don’t look upon our main character as the right person and want to defeat him to destroy the spiritual field. Yes, that happens. The sect overthrows him for that reason.

The loyalty wasn’t supposed to be questioned, but this fills poison in his brain. He believes that he is cheated. He got nothing in return for his loyalty. He felt he had high hopes from his peers and felt they would protect him. Well, things never worked that way.

It is worth reading how he bounces back and faces the cruel world.

3. Battle Through the Heavens 

The battle through the heavens is a manhwa that will mark its presence in almost all similar lists to mine. You can feel the importance of martial arts when you go through this one. The Prophetic Progenist Xiao Yun’s world is all about martial arts, where he tries his best to rise to the top.

In this world, it is shown that success is measured with the level of cultivation you know, which sets him on a special journey where he faces many battles. This manhwa is a great mix of martial arts and cultivation, and the way the main character’s life changes is worth reading.

You don’t see anything too overpowered, and that links the story to reality. Honestly, you feel more connected.

2. Peerless Battle Spirit

Would you like to mix martial arts with fantasy and harem? If yes, then Peerless battle spirit has a lot to cheer you up. This story takes place in Kanglain territory, where one can awaken the Martial spirit.

Kin Nan, the centralized character, possesses special talent and is considered a potential cultivator.

After that, things change when he becomes a grade one martial spirit. Will he be able to break the chain of conventions and become a hero?

If you like your main character facing difficulties and still making his way through, Peerless battle spirit is the right choice for you, as it will surely motivate you.

1. Strongest Abandoned Son

You find a few manhwas starting with Kural attacks from the enemies and the destruction of clans or villages where the only person surviving is the main character, who rebuilds himself, trains himself, and takes revenge. This one is pretty close.

You see, the foes brutally attack Ye Mo’s clan. They even killed his master, who wanted to save his life. Now, when this guy wakes up, he finds himself in some extremely strange sort of place.

His soul was transmigrated into the modern-day world. His body looks new but is weak. He got humiliated everywhere, especially at his school. He is shown to come from a pretty rich family but still leads an extremely miserable life.

His family kicks him out. He faces a lot of tests in life. Now, he decides to cultivate and become strong enough not to take revenge in this life but return to his world to avenge the death of his beloved master.