Chapter 74

After receiving the 50,000 yuan, the atmosphere at the dinner table instantly became extremely harmonious.

For Lin Mu, receiving a substantial sum of money and finding a place to publish "The Wandering Swordsman" was a significant achievement.

For Wang Yang, it was even more delightful. He had completed half of the task assigned by his boss and had also befriended a promising martial arts writer.

Unfortunately, the situation for "Story World" over the past two years had been far from optimistic. The rise of the internet had made various anecdotes the least valuable things, and short stories or small jokes had long lost their publication value.

Back in the 1990s, if you found a joke magazine in someone's home, it would certainly bring a pleasant surprise. So many jokes, filling an entire book—how satisfying it must have been to read!

But with the rise of the internet, anecdotes were rampant, and readers were even too lazy to read jokes!

"Story World" was no exception. Over the past two years, it had continuously reduced the number of short stories and improved quality, but sales still declined uncontrollably, dropping to over 200,000 subscriptions and over 100,000 scattered sales.

Therefore, Wang Yang's previous words were not empty. If "Martial Arts" and "Martial Arts Stories" could leverage the momentum of internal martial arts to increase sales several times over, the trouble it would bring to "Story World" would be catastrophic.

"The first thing I did coming here was to make you, Lin Mu, my friend, and that has been achieved. Next, it's the second purpose, cooperation."

Wang Yang took out a contract from his briefcase and handed it to Lin Mu.

"This is our magazine's highest-level contract. Lin Mu, please check if there's anything you don't understand or are unsatisfied with. If you think it's acceptable, we will follow this contract for our future cooperation!"

After entering this industry, Lin Mu had some understanding of the contracts in this field. The most important part was the method of calculating royalties and when they would be paid to the author after publication. Other aspects were not particularly noteworthy.

However, Lin Mu paid more attention to another aspect.

"This point, regarding the copyright of the published novel, states that within six months of publication in 'Story World,' it cannot be published on any other platform."

"Also, the copyright of the article remains with the author, but if 'Story World' prints particularly outstanding works into a complete novel, the author defaults to allowing it, with a 3% profit share. I have some reservations about this."

...

After some discussion, Wang Yang called and requested the boss of "Story World," and they reached an agreement with Lin Mu.

The first point changed from "any other platform" to "other magazines, novel websites," and the six months were reduced to four months.

The second point changed significantly. All copyrights belonged to Lin Mu, and "Story World" only had the initial serialization rights, not any other publication rights.

However, if "Story World" had the capability to publish a standalone martial arts novel, Lin Mu was willing to continue cooperating with "Story World" on an emotional level, but with more appropriate profit sharing and the publication area and minimum monthly sales for the novel.

It was clear that Wang Yang was very sincere about this cooperation, agreeing to contract terms that many small writers could only dream of.

The dinner was a great success, with the guests and host enjoying themselves.

Several village elders and the women who helped were excitedly discussing today's events as they left.

Women are always gossipy, especially with such explosive news today.

It wouldn't be long before the entire village knew about the scene at the dinner table.

"Lin Mu, I consider myself a loyal fan of 'The Linked City.' The book isn't finished yet. If you have any saved drafts, could you show them to me?" Wang Yang asked with a smile.

Lin Mu didn't think much of it. There probably wasn't anyone on Earth with a photographic memory like Huang Rong, so he didn't have to worry about the other party being a manuscript thief.

In the side room, Lin Mu took the computer that was playing an animation and opened the document.

"Hey, 'The Linked City,' 'The Wandering Swordsman'? Is this your next novel?"

Seeing the two documents in the folder, Wang Yang was pleasantly surprised.

"Sure, let's start with 'The Linked City.' If you're still interested later, you can read 'The Wandering Swordsman.' This is the novel I plan to collaborate on with 'Story World.'"

Wang Yang suppressed his excitement and started reading the unpublished chapters of 'The Linked City' first.

By reading these later chapters, he could understand Lin Mu's grasp of the big picture, as the overall conception of a novel is the most challenging test of an author's plot arrangement skills.

Once he started reading, he couldn't stop!

Jin Daxia's novels have a characteristic: most of them start with a moderate level of excitement, but as the plot develops, various exciting stories unfold, drawing readers in rapidly, with one climax after another.

'The Linked City' falls into this category.

In the first chapter, it doesn't reveal much, but from the second chapter onwards, the strong narrative and character appeal burst forth like a volcano.

In the Great Snow Mountain, Di Yun, with his supreme internal power, battles Hua Tiangan and becomes entangled with Shui Sheng.

After leaving the mountain, he returns to his hometown and discovers "The Tang Poems Anthology," which is actually "The Linked City Sword Manual."

From the mouths of his two malicious masters, he learns about the grievances of the previous generation and gradually uncovers the cunning and viciousness of his teacher, who should have escaped.

Reuniting with his junior sister Qi Fang at the Wan family residence, he gifts her "The Tang Poems Anthology," but Wan Zhenshan discovers the secret of 'The Linked City.'

Wan Zhenshan's bizarre actions at night, tearing down walls, send chills down one's spine.

Qi Fang, upon learning of Di Yun's injustice and the truth about her father's wrongful execution, is killed by her husband out of a momentary softness.

Burying Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua together, he discovers that Ling Shuanghua was buried alive and the secret of 'The Linked City' that had been destroyed!

In the final chapter, the secret of 'The Linked City,' a vast treasure, draws countless people into a struggle, and Qi Changfa, who should have been dead, reappears!

Each chapter bursts with excitement, and in Lin Mu's view, even "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes Trilogy" do not match the bizarre plot twists of 'The Linked City.'

This is why Lin Mu always believed that 'The Linked City' could stand out among Jin Daxia's novels.

Initially, Wang Yang was still evaluating Lin Mu, but once he delved into the story, he forgot everything else.

Only at the end of the story, when he saw Shui Sheng waiting for Di Yun in the Great Snow Mountain, did Wang Yang finally breathe a long sigh of relief.

"I'm convinced! In all the years I've been collecting manuscripts for 'Story World,' what bizarre stories haven't I seen? But none of them can match your book!"

"The first great martial arts book! 'The Linked City' is truly deserving of the title!"