Chapter 79

The Xia Ke Magazine.

The atmosphere in this dilapidated magazine office was as gloomy as usual.

Luo Dashan sat in the editor-in-chief's office with a bitter expression, feeling utterly helpless.

Zhou Hai had resigned. This editor-in-chief, who had worked at *Xia Ke Magazine* for many years, finally couldn't take it anymore and submitted his resignation to the headquarters.

Since the operation of *Xia Ke Magazine* had indeed reached a point of no return, the headquarters approved Zhou Hai's resignation without hesitation.

After saying goodbye to the editors one by one, Zhou Hai left with his wife and children on a train back to his hometown—taking with him all the storms and winds of these years in Tian Du.

Luo Dashan was the new editor-in-chief.

However, Luo Dashan knew that he could only serve as editor-in-chief for a month, because the headquarters had clearly stated that if the magazine's sales remained at just a hundred copies or so after this month, the *Xia Ke Magazine* branch would be completely dissolved.

Luo Dashan didn't believe he could create a miracle and turn things around.

"At least I got to experience the sorrow of being the last editor-in-chief."

Luo Dashan opened the editorial department's email inbox with a bitter smile, finding only a few dozen submissions.

He remembered that when *Xia Ke Magazine* was first established, the online email of the editorial department received hundreds of submissions every day, but now...

Suppressing various emotions, Luo Dashan began to review the manuscripts seriously.

Even in the last month, he couldn't let down his work. After so many years of diligent effort, he couldn't just give up because the magazine was on the brink of bankruptcy.

However, due to the limited scale of the magazine, no famous writers would submit to *Xia Ke Magazine*. Most of the submissions Luo Dashan received were low-quality practice works by inexperienced new writers.

Soon, Luo Dashan finished reading the first submission.

The pattern was the same as usual, and the story was as unremarkable as ever...

After reviewing several more manuscripts, Luo Dashan still hadn't found anything interesting.

"Is the last month going to be the same as before, where I have to pick the best of the worst, forcing myself to choose a story with a somewhat coherent plot?" Luo Dashan felt reluctant, but he continued to read through the manuscripts one by one.

After nearly an hour... Luo Dashan looked at the manuscripts with a sense of deep helplessness.

At this point, only one submission remained in the inbox, and Luo Dashan suddenly lost the interest to continue reviewing.

All the previous submissions were unoriginal, forgettable works, and he didn't think the last one would be any different.

He got up to make a cup of tea, took a sip, sighed, and finally opened the last submission...

As soon as he opened the main text, a familiar poem caught his eye— "In the Jade Capital of Heaven, there are five towers and twelve cities. The Immortal pats my head, and from my youth, he grants me eternal life."

"Very unique, using the great Li Bai's poem as the beginning of the story." This novel opening piqued Luo Dashan's interest slightly. He even looked back at the title of the work— *The Eternal Sword*.

He had read the previous works without even looking at their titles, but this was the only one that made him want to check the title.

As he continued reading, Luo Dashan understood why the work used Li Bai's poem as the opening. The protagonist of the story was named Bai Yu Jing.

The protagonist Bai Yu Jing's sword was also named after the poem, called the "Eternal Sword."

"An old scabbard, the silk wrapped around the hilt is also old, and it's hard to see any killing intent. But the sword inside this old scabbard is terrifyingly sharp. This is the most terrifying sword in the martial world—the Eternal Sword of Bai Yu Jing!"

"People in the martial world fear Bai Yu Jing, and they fear his sword. Because he is the one who kills, and no one has ever been able to kill him."

When he read this part, Luo Dashan sat up straight, his breathing quickened, and his eyes grew brighter!

Luo Dashan had been an editor of martial arts novels for many years and was already tired of the stale tropes. This invincible protagonist setting immediately struck a chord with him.

"Please, don't let the story fall apart!" Luo Dashan was both anxious and excited.

Because the protagonist is almost invincible from the start, with no clear goal or direction, the plot is hard to control, and it's not easy for an ordinary person to write.

Luo Dashan continued reading...

In the quiet room, only his uneven breathing could be heard.

The second hand of the clock ticked, and the tea had cooled.

Gradually, Luo Dashan seemed to forget his role as an editor and began to appreciate *The Eternal Sword* as a pure reader.

As time passed, the plot deepened with each page turn, and Luo Dashan finally understood what the book truly wanted to convey...

"Actually, what makes Bai Yu Jing the most terrifying is not his sword, but his smile. His smile has defeated many great figures in the martial world, and it has saved him from death many times."

This work, which seems to be about a sword, is actually about the power of a smile.

Life is always a deception, and anything can happen. No one knows who will laugh last.

"A person can knock someone down without using martial arts, as long as they know how to use their strengths."

The female protagonist of *The Eternal Sword* is Yuan Zixia. Unlike Bai Yu Jing, who has terrifying strength, she is a weak woman with no martial arts skills. Her strength is her smile—because of her smile, she can easily defeat martial arts experts, and no matter how sharp a sword is, it can't match her charming smile.

"So, the first weapon I talk about is not a sword, but a smile. Only a smile can truly conquer hearts. So when you understand this, you should put away your sword and smile more!"

...

When he finished reading *The Eternal Sword*, Luo Dashan felt as if a new door had been opened in the world of martial arts.

This novel made him realize that martial arts stories could be written in such a way, and it gave him a glimmer of hope... for the revival of martial arts novels!

"A mid-length martial arts novel can contain profound philosophy, with a complete and engaging story that is emotionally moving, and even from a literary perspective, it is flawless..."

Luo Dashan stood up excitedly, ready to call his colleagues to come and read this novel, but he suddenly paused, because he suddenly realized...

Below *The Eternal Sword*, there was another novel.

It seemed that the author had not just submitted *The Eternal Sword*.

In his excitement, he had almost overlooked the other manuscript the author had sent.

The title of the other novel, like *The Eternal Sword*, was ingeniously named— *The Peacock Feather*.