The Demon Hunter — I Eat Tomatoes' novel
At a glance778 chapters · completed
The Demon Hunter adapts Cang Yuan Tu (沧元图), I Eat Tomatoes' (我吃西红柿) novel serialized on Qidian from 21 August 2019 to 19 April 2021. Fifteen-year-old Meng Chuan is the top student at Mirror Lake Academy in Dongning Prefecture. Scarred by the loss of his mother when he was a child, he vows to become strong enough to protect humanity.
Origins and publication
After very long novels like Swallowed Star, I Eat Tomatoes wrote a tighter story with Cang Yuan Tu, at 778 chapters. He returned to a world of high-level martial arts (高武), where progress goes through the body and then the mind, in clear stages. The threat comes from another world, that of the demons, who open rifts to invade human lands. The novel keeps the readability behind the author's success, with a central love story between Meng Chuan and his childhood friend, Liu Qiyue.
The novel was published in 13 volumes by Anhui Literature and Art from December 2019, before the online serialization had even ended.
How it differs from the donghua
The donghua, launched in June 2023 on Youku, is often cited among the most beautiful recent adaptations, with a 3D style reminiscent of ink painting. It stays faithful to the plot but condenses the academy beginnings and some training passages. The novel develops the Meng family's life, the humour of Meng Chuan's father and the politics of the prefecture's great families further. Since the novel is short for the genre, the donghua can aim for a complete adaptation.
Reception and success
Cang Yuan Tu is considered one of I Eat Tomatoes' most accomplished novels, thanks to its pace and well-controlled ending. Readers also appreciate the relationship between Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue, more mature than in many novels of the genre. The donghua boosted its profile, especially for its art direction.
Trivia
- Meng Chuan's father, Meng Dajiang, reportedly paid his son's master a thousand taels of silver to teach him a sabre technique.
- The title Cang Yuan Tu roughly means "the map of the Cangyuan world".
- The novel is set in Dongning Prefecture, under the Great Zhou dynasty.
- It is one of I Eat Tomatoes' shortest novels, which makes it more accessible than Swallowed Star.
My take
Cang Yuan Tu is the I Eat Tomatoes novel I recommend first. It gets straight to the point, its fights are clear and its ending is satisfying. The style is simple and some side characters lack depth. But for a cultivation novel you can finish without spending months on it, it is an excellent choice.
Who is it for?Readers who want a complete, well-paced martial arts story, and fans of solid couples.
— Spidermas, for Donghua Fan
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The authorI Eat Tomatoes 我吃西红柿The author who won over the West