Chapter 3

The *Great Jianghu* has seven meeting rooms, named after the seven luminaries: Sun, Moon, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The Sun and Moon meeting rooms are large, used for important or large-scale meetings, while the other five meeting rooms are used by various departments for topic selection and temporary team meetings.

This meeting was held in the Moon meeting room, indicating its significance.

Editor-in-Chief Zhou sat at the head of the table, his expression stern. The various editors and deputy editors sat quietly, not daring to make a sound.

"Don't make the atmosphere so tense. Today is just a regular topic selection meeting," Zhou said calmly. These leaders always seemed to forget that they were the ones who created the tense atmosphere, yet they pretended to reassure everyone.

"That's right. Mi Hu submitted a manuscript to me today," Zhou said, waving the manuscript in his hand. "It's a mid-length martial arts novel. Pass it around and share your thoughts."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the meeting wasn't about the author's departure, and the tense atmosphere eased somewhat. One of the editors suggested, "Let's divide the manuscript and read it together."

For these experienced editors, the starting point of reading the manuscript had little impact on their final judgment. The white pages flew into the hands of each editor like snowflakes, and the office fell silent.

Mi Hu, who had already read the manuscript, smiled at the editor-in-chief, who was still pretending to be calm. Zhou's composure was truly remarkable; he glanced at Mi Hu and calmly played with his ring, completely detached from the situation.

"Really putting on a show," Mi Hu thought to herself.

"Where is Chapter Eight?"

Half an hour later, one editor suddenly spoke up. The others quickly chimed in:

"Where is Chapter Seven?"

"I want Chapter Ten!"

"Where is the finale? Give it to me!"

Editor-in-Chief Zhou remained unperturbed by everyone's reactions, but Mi Hu's smile grew wider. As expected, "This is the effect I wanted."

For these well-read editors, finding a book that made them eager to read was a rare treat!

After a brief chaos, everyone got what they wanted, and the room fell silent again.

"Oh, how could this be?"

"Ah..."

"I see."

...

As everyone delved deeper into the story, sighs and exclamations filled the room, whether for the characters or the story itself.

"Martial arts should prioritize the spirit of chivalry over combat, with combat as a supporting element. The story should be interesting, breaking conventions, and embracing a broad perspective to create a new era of martial arts novels." A young male editor read this note aloud after finishing the manuscript. "Creating a new era, that's quite an ambitious goal."

"Brother, do you think the author can achieve this?" Mi Hu asked, seemingly seeking advice.

"This manuscript does have its unique qualities, but it's too early to say if it can create a new era. Mi Hu, you've read the manuscript, and I'm sure you noticed the heavy influence of old-school martial arts novels."

"Brother, you make a good point, but..."

"I disagree with Brother Kuang," another editor interrupted before Mi Hu could finish. "While there are elements of imitation, we should focus on the innovative aspects. As the saying goes, 'No destruction, no creation.' However, whether it's social or literary reform, the basis for breaking conventions is still the existing works. This story may not be exceptionally brilliant, and the emotional descriptions are not particularly moving, but the new elements it introduces are worth considering and exploring, especially the author's final note, which shows the author's ambition and vision."

Hearing this, Mi Hu immediately nodded in agreement. Kuang shook his head and countered, "Martial arts novels, by nature, cannot do without combat. The combat scenes in this story are very cliché and rigid. The emotional descriptions, which are crucial in a novel, are also quite bland."

"I have a question," Mi Hu, who had full confidence in the manuscript, said, "Have any of you read a martial arts novel like this before?" She emphasized the words "martial arts," and no one responded.

"Brother Kuang's points are valid, but they are too general. These criticisms apply to many novels, especially the popular youth pain and sorrow novels. In our traditional thinking, martial arts novels are just about fighting, but this *Dragon Tiger Battle in Jinghua* introduces new elements, showing an ambition to treat martial arts novels as novels. What do you all think?" Mi Hu concluded her argument with a question.

"I agree with Mi Hu. In the past month, I've received nearly a hundred manuscripts, and nine out of ten are youth-themed, with the same old sad and painful stories. The male leads are all unbearably handsome and from noble backgrounds, while the female leads are typically poor, like Cinderellas, but they are all self-reliant and often throw money at the male leads, questioning their respect for others. Strangely, these rebellious male leads are masochists and become interested in the female leads after being slapped, then can't help but fall in love." Another editor said jokingly, and the others nodded in agreement.

"The typical setup is that the male lead is a cold, wealthy young man, and the female lead is a simple, kind girl. After a series of dramatic events, the male lead discovers the female lead's kindness and falls in love with her."

"Usually, there's also a wealthy female secondary character who has a betrothal to the male lead. She is beautiful but has a venomous heart and is morally corrupt. She constantly plots against the female lead, but her true nature is eventually exposed by the male lead."

"Sometimes, there's also a male secondary character who inevitably punches the male lead in the jaw and says, 'XX or XXX is a kind and simple girl. If you dare to hurt her again, I won't let you off.'"

"Another classic line is when the male lead, in a touching manner, tells the male secondary character or male Nth character, 'Actually, we've all been changed by XX or XXX.'"

...

The discussion quickly turned into a complaint session. Editor-in-Chief Zhou finally broke his silence, coughed, and said, "We're off-topic. Although it's enjoyable to listen, we need to get back on track."

For these literary professionals, going off-topic during meetings was a common occurrence, but they also had the skill to turn birthday parties into topic selection meetings. Kuang, the editor, returned to the main topic first. "Everyone's criticisms are valid, but have we considered why these things are popular?" He paused slightly and added, "The market, because these things have a market."

"As creators, we shouldn't be led by the market; we should lead the market," Mi Hu countered.

"Is that so?" Kuang smiled and looked at Mi Hu. "What about your book *Staybird*?"

*Staybird* was Mi Hu's debut and breakthrough work, which she completed at fifteen. She didn't capitalize on its success but instead became an editor, occasionally writing critical pieces. Mentioning this book was a powerful counterattack.

But Mi Hu wasn't fazed. She met Kuang's gaze and said, "That was my work from two years ago. By bringing up a two-year-old work to discuss today's topic, aren't you indirectly proving my point?"

A brilliant move!

Kuang was stunned, stammering and unable to respond. At this point, Editor-in-Chief Zhou finally stepped in to take control:

"I've heard everyone's opinions, and they are all well-considered. Let me summarize." Everyone immediately fell silent, focusing their attention on him.

"Let's not talk about this book for now. I'll share a statistic. Last year, our *Great Jianghu* lost nearly 15% of its market share, while *Ding Xiaoshuo* gained 10%, reaching about 63%. In the past three months, the situation has continued to worsen. *Ding Xiaoshuo* has established its dominance in the youth literature market, and our *Great Jianghu* might have to be renamed 'Small Jianghu.' At the company meeting last week, Boss Bo made it clear that if the situation doesn't improve this year, we might all have to part ways."

The meeting room was so quiet that even heartbeats could be heard. The once-glorious *Great Jianghu* facing such a day was disheartening.

"However, there's no need to be overly anxious. We won't sit idly by. Many measures are being implemented, and one of them is this manuscript. My opinion is that if we create a good momentum, promote it effectively, and guide the author well, I believe martial arts novels will enter a new era. Even if we don't reach the ideal state, we can at least attract a new batch of readers."

The editor-in-chief had the final say, and with his endorsement, *Dragon Tiger Battle in Jinghua* would definitely receive a strong push.

"Mi Hu, you're responsible for contacting the author, understanding the situation, confirming it's the right person, and hearing their thoughts. Xiao Tang, you'll write the promotional copy," Zhou looked at Kuang and continued, "The promotion will be in two phases. Before the article is published, the first phase should be low-key, focusing on guiding the concept of new martial arts. After the article is published, we'll proceed with the second phase based on the response. Got it?"

"Got it." Everyone responded in unison.

"Let's get to work!"