Chapter 17

The best-selling king, Xue Muliang, has been famous for a long time, with countless loyal fans. His name is a guarantee of sales. On the other hand, Shuke and Beta have become the most famous mice in the country over the past half month. These two advertisements fully demonstrate the shrewdness of the store.

With his own new book information, popular authors' serials and new articles, and the gossip about himself and the female writers under his label, Xue Muliang had no worries about the magazine's sales ranking first this month, even though he delayed the April issue until May.

Now he needed to focus his main energy on the Children's Day special issue, and wait for the national book survey to announce that "The Apex Novel" had once again topped the magazine sales chart.

Xue Muliang held a cup of coffee specially prepared by his assistant in one hand and flipped through the latest fashion magazine with the other. Through the large floor-to-ceiling window behind him, one could see the unique building that symbolized Jianghai.

Xue Muliang's arch-rival, Han Shuo, once joked that he couldn't confirm he was in Jianghai if he couldn't see the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Orange Pudong River.

A gentle knock on the door broke the young CEO's peaceful morning. Without turning his head, Xue Muliang said, "Come in."

A young, capable man with a serious expression walked in, holding a small, cute magazine. He walked to the desk and solemnly said, "Mr. Xue, 'Children's Literature' has released a bi-weekly issue, continuing the serialization of 'Shuke and Beta.' According to the latest monitoring data, its sales are far ahead of our magazine."

Xue Muliang was stunned, suddenly raised his head, and asked in a deep voice, "What did you say?"

The young man handed him the magazine and said, "This is called 'Reading Frontier.' It consists of excerpts from 'Children's Literature' and the serialization of 'Shuke and Beta.' It costs five yuan per issue and sold over 100,000 copies on the first day, more than double our magazine's sales. The momentum hasn't slowed down yet."

Xue Muliang felt a dizzying sense of unreality, placed the cup on the table, and stood up to take the thin, unremarkable magazine. He muttered to himself or to his subordinate, "Bi-weekly issue, when did they start publishing bi-weekly issues?"

"This is the first issue, they say it's for the serialization of 'Shuke and Beta,' and it will continue in this format."

Xue Muliang, unable to understand, flipped through the magazine and commented, "Such an ordinary cover, such a rustic illustration, how could it possibly sell better than our magazine?"

"It's still the popularity of 'Shuke and Beta.' It's said that children under ten are all reading this fairy tale, and it's very popular."

Xue Muliang flipped to the 'Shuke and Beta' section, read for a while, and then looked up. "Xiao Zhong, you can go out first, I'll take a look."

The young man named Xiao Zhong nodded, turned, and left the office. Xue Muliang closed the magazine and muttered, "Liu Jingtong, Liu Jingtong..."

At that moment, Liu Jingtong was sitting in his room, rapidly typing on the keyboard. 'Seven Swords Descend from Mount Tian' had reached the tenth chapter. He had promised his girlfriend, Mi Hu, that he would send all ten chapters today. If he did, Mi Hu would cook a new dish for him to try.

Additionally, after relentless effort, Liu Jingtong finally obtained the "right to study at home." The process of obtaining this right was quite complicated:

During an English class, Liu Jingtong accidentally fell asleep and even said a dream phrase, "A great hero serves the country and the people," which caused the whole class to burst into laughter and the English teacher to be extremely displeased. The angry English teacher immediately used a classic punishment technique, calling Liu Jingtong to answer a question. However, Liu Jingtong answered the entire question in English and even asked the teacher a few questions. Unfortunately, the English teacher couldn't keep up with his pace, so Liu Jingtong had to ask again in Chinese.

After that, he was never called to answer questions in English class again.

Liu Jingtong then used this "vile" method to deal with the other subject teachers, gaining temporary freedom in class and achieving his first victory.

Next, he personally went to the head teacher's office and had a heartfelt conversation with the head teacher. He humbly and straightforwardly pointed out that the teachers could no longer teach him and applied to study at home.

Before this, several subject teachers had subtly expressed the same idea, especially those with children, who genuinely hoped he would go home after learning that he was the author of 'Shuke and Beta.'

The dream phrase "A great hero serves the country and the people" also became a popular saying in the school, and Liu Jingtong earned the nickname "Liu the Hero," truly achieving the status of a legend even when he wasn't around.

Years later, when Guo Jing became famous, his classmates of the same age would feel endless emotion. They never imagined that a dream phrase from a transfer student would become the strongest voice defining a great hero in the world of martial arts novels.

...

Liu Jingtong's eyes were fixed on the screen, but his hands didn't stop moving: [Er Shen turned the corner of the mountain and just reached the plateau. He saw the two black figures standing in the middle. Ling Weifeng held his single sword at chest level, and Gui Zhongming crossed his double swords, coldly laughing, "Gentlemen, you walked so slowly on this short distance!" Er Shen was both surprised and angry, knowing that the enemy was deliberately challenging them. He cursed in his heart, "Don't be so arrogant, what's the big deal about lightness skills? Wait until you taste our Wu Hook Sword technique!"]

At this point, Liu Jingtong paused. The tenth chapter was almost complete, with only the last paragraph left. He stood up, stretched his arms, and imitated Ling Weifeng holding his single sword at chest level, then mimicked Gui Zhongming crossing his arms. He muttered to himself, "This martial arts action design seems a bit rigid, like something from a picture, too formal and lacking in grace."

He tried a few more movements, shook his head, and suddenly shouted, "Left hand sees the dragon in the field, right hand swings the divine dragon, watch my Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms!"

Just as he finished speaking, the phone rang, startling him. He knew it must be Mi Hu, as she was the only one who knew this number, which was registered under her ID. He deliberately let it ring a few times before answering:

"Hello, Mi Hu, what's up?"

"Who are you calling 'Mi Hu'?"

"Oh, Xiao Hu, what's up?"

"Liu Jingtong, do you want to die?"

"I don't want to die, I want you." Liu Jingtong blurted out, then felt the atmosphere turn strange. He prided himself on his quick wit, but this time, he reacted too quickly.

"Cough, cough, I was just writing, my head is a bit foggy, and I haven't even had breakfast. My mind is full of story plots and character dialogues. What did I just say?"

"Don't pretend, I have something important to tell you." Mi Hu wasn't angry at Liu Jingtong's joke.

"Only one paragraph left, and the ten chapters will be complete."

"Good boy, but that's not what I'm calling about. Um—" Mi Hu hesitated, then said, "Has anyone from 'Children's Literature' contacted you?"

"No, why?"

"Have you seen the news or microblogs, forums?"

"I really haven't been distracted. I swear, I've been diligently writing and haven't connected to the internet at all."

"Who said that? You're just being guilty. I'm telling you that according to the latest monitoring data, the bi-weekly issue of 'Children's Literature' serializing your fairy tale is far ahead of 'The Apex Novel.' Now, all the magazine and publishing houses are talking about it."

"Really? That's exciting news."

"Sounds fake," Mi Hu scolded, but couldn't hide her pride, after all, this was her little boyfriend, "Our editor-in-chief decided to use this momentum to promote your 'Seven Swords Descend from Mount Tian.' Then—"

"Absolutely not!" Liu Jingtong firmly interrupted Mi Hu, "Liu Jingtong is Liu Jingtong, Gu Yongsheng is Gu Yongsheng. I don't want them to be connected."

"Why?" Mi Hu sensed the seriousness in Liu Jingtong's tone and became serious herself.

"First, I believe that the author should maintain a sense of mystery, and the best way to communicate with readers is through the text itself. Second, fairy tale authors, due to their younger audience, don't have a fan base. The media and businesses are interested in the works, not the authors, which is why I published the fairy tale under my real name. However, martial arts novels have a more complex audience, and there are more issues. I don't want to mislead readers because of these two identities. Third, I don't like what you're doing."

Mi Hu listened quietly, and after a minute, she finally reacted, saying firmly, "I promise."

"Good girl."

"You—"

Mi Hu was taken aback. Although she liked to act tough with Liu Jingtong, she would fully support him on principle. She understood that the more laid-back and friendly a person like Liu Jingtong was, the more their principles and boundaries should not be crossed. But his sudden retort made her unable to hold back, and she scolded, "You scoundrel."

"Hehe, looking forward to your cooking."

"Foodie! Alright, go back to writing, I'll talk to the editor-in-chief."

"Okay."

Liu Jingtong hung up the phone, feeling refreshed, and returned to his seat to finish the last paragraph of the tenth chapter:

[A while later, Luo Da and the others also arrived, including a red-clothed girl with bright eyes, gazing at the yellow-shirted youth, Gui Zhongming.

At this moment, the morning sun rose, and the dawn light illuminated the strange rocks in the secluded valley, revealing them clearly. The heroes and Mao Huanlian sat on the ground, watching from the side, while in the uneven valley, the two sides faced off, tense and ready for battle.

It was truly: The sword qi in the desolate mountain pierces the heavens, and the myriad trees stand silently, awaiting the rain.]

...

Just as Liu Jingtong hung up with Mi Hu, in a top-tier office building in Jianghai, a young man in designer clothes also hung up the phone. He had just made three calls to the three most famous authors in the company.

He had made special preparations, even releasing his own scandal as a gimmick, but it ended up like this, with a defeat that seemed irreversible.

"Am I really going to have to release nude photos?"

The new aristocrat of Jianghai, with a stern face, clenched his fists and slammed them on the table.

Mobile users, please visit for reading.

Previous Page AD Start

Previous Page AD End