I second this request. The subgenre needs it. I am reading First Fist, and at least it seems like numbers matter, though we haven't seen the strongest people yet.

Forge of destiny. Each character that’s not the main character feels like they have their own story that’s going on at the same time

Son of Flame might work. It has an entire isekai concept of giving people second chances, and the protagonist is a firefighter that desperately wants to be a better person after squandering his potential on Earth. Kicking down the doors to save people comes naturally to him, but actually being more than a background grunt takes work, and I appreciate the nuance the author puts into self-reflection.

Note that I've only read the first novel so far, but the way it ends strongly implies that there's going to be a focus on building a community with several noteworthy people.

It also might not count as a xanxia story because it has a system and levels, but I don't know enough about the genre to say where it falls on that spectrum 🤷‍♂️

You would probably enjoy Tales of the Teal Mountain Sect quite a bit. Its a story all about a cultivation sect over time, and has a wide cast that are all at different stages of their cultivation journey. Everyone from newcomers to teachers get the spotlight at times as they each have their own personal arcs on the stage, so if you want a story about a world where the wider cast matters this is it

Well Sky Pride is probably the closet one to what you want that is not mentioned in the other comments.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/107917/sky-pride

Also, Cultivation is Creation fits some of the criteria for you. There are other characters that are stronger then MC or near his strength. It's that MC is very quickly turning into a monster talent so who knows how that will play out. But it has one of the best systems I have read.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/100432/book-3-complete-cultivation-is-creation-world-hopping

https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1695040/life-as-a-rogue-cultivator/ might scratch your itch

Maybe depthless hunger, street cultivation and anything else under cultivation by same authors. Depthless hunger doesn’t start as cultivation but quickly taps into it and has at least 3 main characters who are all important in their own ways 

Street cultivation I vouch for mostly because I trust the author.

memories of the fall maybe? it is on Royal road and is excellent, if with a sort of slow start.

Infinite realm maybe.

A story in which every character matters ! Another chance to shill "A regressors take of cultivation" !

great thread. thanks everyone for the recommendations. i've been out of the genre and wanted to get back into it

Beware of Chicken is the Xianxia with the best characters of all time. In the begining it is almost completley slice of life. As the series goes on it becomes a a bit more action focused. But is always focused on the characters from Fa Ram.

You want to read Memories of the Fall.

RemindMe! 8 Hours

Check out elder cultivator. MC is strong but there are plenty of others who do very, very important things. It does end up going from 1 POV to multiple as the story goes along though.

The way of ether forging is another good one. MC is constantly dealing with the after effects of the big shots of the cultivation world making their own moves, just trying to survive.

*sigh*

Why is it Reverend Insanity is always the answer to questions like this?

You probably read it already.

If not… that story holds a bunch of absolute menaces, that aren’t the MC. Not just strong opponents, highly competent schemers who are around for a long time. They could easily be protagonists of their own book. The MC faces genuine setbacks because of them.

You just better be fine with an evil protagonist if you give it a try.

Interesting idea. I’ll see if I can incorporate it into my book. It’s still early stages so perhaps I may be able to! Thanks for the idea :)