Abstract Chinese web literature has recently exploded in popularity, drawing attention from both readers and scholars. Most of the scholarship focuses on reception and dissemination; relatively little pays attention to thematic or esthetic aspects of the form. This paper intervenes in this gap by arguing that Chinese web literature should be read in continuity with the broader history of Chinese literature. While scholars like Zhang Ning have emphasized the uniqueness of web fiction, this article argues for a profound continuity of tradition. It concentrates on a paired set of genres: the wuxia and the xianxia, represented by Jin Yong and the web novelist Er Gen. Drawing from scholarship on both historical forms and contemporary writing, this article argues that contemporary web fiction ironizes the traditional martial protagonist, and so represents a further development in a centuries-old tradition of popular fiction. Through irony, the authors of web fiction re-create the wuxia hero into a protagonist engaged with the anxieties of contemporary readers: a character who manipulates the hyper-competitive society around him to create a counter-society made up of close friends. Finally, the article argues that scholars of Chinese culture and literature would do well to pay attention to the literary continuity between wuxia and xianxia, since the development of the form can serve as an index of how contemporary readers are engaging with the society around them.