The next day.
After Lin Yuan got up and washed, he went downstairs for breakfast. When he was ready to settle the bill, the owner of the breakfast shop waved his hand with a smile.
"No need to pay," said the owner.
"Why?" Lin Yuan asked.
The owner smiled even more happily. "Our breakfast shop has a new owner, Sun Yaohuo. He saw your photo and said you're a good friend. He also mentioned that from now on, you're the most precious lifelong free super member in our breakfast shop."
"Thank you," Lin Yuan replied without insisting.
He was genuinely surprised.
It's said that stars in the entertainment industry like to invest in restaurants. Unexpectedly, Senior Sun Yaohuo is also interested in this.
He recently opened a milk tea shop, and today he invested in a breakfast shop.
Should he consider investing in one too? Forget it. I am not thinking about it for now.
The first volume of "Jade Dynasty" is already complete, and Lin Yuan plans to release it as soon as possible.
Let's choose the Silver Blue Library as the publishing platform.
Lin Yuan has a good impression of the Silver Blue Library. During the serialization of "Tennis Prince," both the distribution and promotion channels were quite well established. They even improved the contract terms midway. He sees no reason to change the collaboration partner.
In addition, Lin Yuan had a good experience collaborating with "Interesting Reads," a subsidiary of Silver Blue Library.
They were generous with their remuneration.
Unlike the last time when he was somewhat uneasy, this time, for "Jade Dynasty," Lin Yuan is quite confident.
With this in mind, on his way to school, Lin Yuan sent a message to the editor Yang Feng: "I've finished my new book."
"So fast?" Yang Feng almost instantly replied. "Can you send it to me now?"
Yang Feng's quick response is because he set Chu Kuang as his special focus.
Although he handles communication for many authors, Chu Kuang is the biggest name he's responsible for, so he must pay attention.
Without waiting for Chu Kuang's reply, Yang Feng's fingers swiftly tapped the phone screen to continue questioning: "Is the new book still about tennis? This should be the sport you understand the most, and with the experience of the last one, it should be easy to create another success."
Yang Feng encourages Chu Kuang.
In his view, Chu Kuang's new book is bound to continue with his expertise in sports themes.
This is something everyone in the Silver Blue Library's Young Adult Fiction Department is eagerly anticipating.
Chu Kuang: "No."
Yang Feng: "Then what is it about?"
If not tennis, is Chu Kuang planning to write about the currently popular sport of basketball or football? Lately, many in the industry have followed Chu Kuang's lead in writing sports-themed novels, mostly focusing on football and basketball. Is Chu Kuang planning to teach these people how to write about basketball or football?
Quite domineering!
Well deserving of being Chu Kuang!
Yang Feng feels that his speculation is almost certain, but when he sees Chu Kuang's answer, he freezes. Because Chu Kuang's two-word reply makes even an experienced editor like him feel somewhat unfamiliar:
"Xianxia."
Chu Kuang wants to write about sword cultivation.
The problem is, what is Xianxia? Yang Feng feels like he's about to explode. As a professional editor, he certainly knows what xianxia is, but precisely because he knows, he feels a headache. "Like 'Immortal Demon War'?"
"Similar."
Lin Yuan had checked the information before and knew that "Immortal Demon War" was the most recent work in the xianxia genre by Lan Xing. After this work, there haven't been any noteworthy xianxia novels in Qin Prefecture for about eighty years.
"Can we talk on the phone?"
"I'm about to start class."
After saying this, Chu Kuang didn't reply anymore. However, Yang Feng's inbox did receive a novel titled "Jade Dynasty." For a moment, Yang Feng was both amused and exasperated. This Chu Kuang really wants to take the niche to the extreme! Writing a xianxia novel?
Is Chu Kuang an ancient relic?
Clearly, he's still a college student.
Readers who hold sentiments for xianxia probably need to trace back to Yang Feng's grandfather's generation. "Immortal Demon War" was a work cherished by that generation. In the current era, someone wanting to write xianxia is something Yang Feng finds hard to imagine.
...
Yang Feng arrived at the company with a mournful face.
Colleagues found Yang Feng's appearance quite strange. "Another author decided to retire?"
"Even more terrifying than that."
Yang Feng said, "Chu Kuang has started a new book."
Everyone paused, then burst into laughter.
"This is a good thing."
"Why do you look so gloomy when Chu Kuang starts a new book?"
"Yeah, if Chu Kuang is willing to write a long novel, you should be happy!"
"I was worried before that Chu Kuang might collaborate with other publishers. Now it seems he's quite satisfied with our Silver Blue Library."
"Is the new book still about tennis?"
"I feel like he might write about basketball or football."
"..."
Colleagues discussed it with interest.
Yang Feng looked at everyone and said, "Chu Kuang's new book is xianxia."
The editorial department fell silent instantly.
After a long time, someone cautiously asked, "Is it the kind of xianxia I know?"
Yang Feng forced a smile, "Ever heard of 'Immortal Demon War'?"
Really? Xianxia novel?
In this day and age?
Everyone looked genuinely confused, and the scene quieted down again.
Ignoring everyone, Yang Feng had already seated himself at the desk.
Anyway, he had to review it to see what Chu Kuang had written in this xianxia novel.
To be honest.
Yang Feng almost forced himself to open this "Jade Dynasty." The first thing that caught his eye was the prologue.
"Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all living things as straw dogs!"
This is the first sentence of the prologue of "Jade Dynasty."
If Yang Feng had read fewer books, he might have thought this sentence was extraordinary. In fact, in his past life, some even thought this sentence was an original creation of "Jade Dynasty."
However, Yang Feng had read the "Tao Te Ching" and knew that this sentence came from that work.
Laozi was one of the most famous figures of the Spring and Autumn Periods.
So, regarding this sentence, there are two academic speculations.
The first speculation is that Laozi wanted to express a view of fairness in Heaven and Earth.
The second speculation is that heaven is not merciful, treating all things as lifeless offerings.
Regardless of which speculation aligns with Laozi's thinking, Chu Kuang's choice to use this sentence as the opening of the novel is somewhat seizing the initiative.
It seems Chu Kuang didn't randomly decide to write xianxia; he did some homework in advance.
But why did he have to insist on writing xianxia? Yang Feng shook his head and continued reading.
Editors are quick readers, and Yang Feng is no exception.
Prologue, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Yang Feng read through it very quickly.
But when he reached Chapter Three, Yang Feng suddenly stopped.
As if someone pressed the pause button.
When the scene continued, as if rebooted, somehow, Yang Feng actually reopened the prologue of "Jade Dynasty" and started reading it again.
This time, his reading speed was incredibly slow, almost reading word by word.
This is the first time in Yang Feng's editorial career that he has read a book at such an unbelievably slow pace—
As if afraid of missing a single word.