New Moon Publishing House.
"Wang Can, how has the youth literature section you're in charge of been performing lately?"
Chief Editor Fang Zhongzhi glanced around the office before asking Wang Can, who oversaw youth literature.
"Chief Editor, we recently recruited a young writer named Fengye from Youth Daily, and his performance has been quite good…"
Wang Can had just started speaking when Gao Zhangtian, who previously handled the supernatural category, gave a cough and stared at him.
Under Gao Zhangtian's gaze, Wang Can, who had been about to boast, flushed red and said guiltily, "Fengye's performance is… average. Since its publication, his book has sold 200.000 copies. As for the other youth authors, they've sold 30.000, 20.000, and 10.000 copies respectively."
"The numbers are neither high nor low. Wang Can, what's going on?"
"Chief Editor Fang, our operations have actually been quite strong. Plus, this is Fengye's first publication, so these results are acceptable. However, we've also faced heavy competition from Mota Publishing. They launched an author named Nianhua at the same time, which drew a lot of public attention and took a significant share of the market from New Moon Publishing."
"Alright. Gao Zhangtian, what about your side?"
"Chief Fang, I'm sorry to say that the results for our supernatural category this time are also quite average."
Gao Zhangtian had been waiting for this meeting for a long time. Now that the chief editor asked, he suppressed his excitement and said in a very low-key tone, "Since the last meeting, I've only published one set of books in the supernatural category. So far, it has only sold over 400.000 copies. The sales are quite poor, just barely double that of Wang Can's youth literature section. I should reflect on this, Chief Fang. But don't worry, I'll keep working hard and strive to reach a new sales milestone this year."
Gao Zhangtian's humblebrag instantly filled the meeting room with laughter.
"Damn, Gao Zhangtian, you're ruthless. That move was brutal."
His friend Hu Ming secretly gave him a thumbs-up and said admiringly.
But the impact of that jab was too strong. Wang Can's face turned ashen in an instant, and he said angrily, "Gao Zhangtian, what do you mean by that?"
"Wang Can, this is a meeting. Why are you shouting? Did I say anything wrong?"
"Hmph, you just got lucky and stumbled upon a good book. Without it, you'd have been kicked out long ago."
"Oh? Making decisions for the chief editor now? I've always wondered, is New Moon Publishing actually run by you, Wang Can? Chief Fang, you saw that. I strongly suggest replacing the head of the youth literature section."
"Gao Zhangtian, f*ck your…"
Wang Can was about to throw hands, but the other editors quickly held him back.
"Wang Can, do you think this is your home?"
"If you keep this up, I might actually consider Gao Zhangtian's suggestion and remove you from your position."
Fang Zhongzhi tapped the table and said coldly.
"Chief Editor, you saw it too. Gao Zhangtian is clearly provoking me."
"Oh? Then was he wrong? The supernatural category sold more than double the amount of your youth literature section. As the person in charge, don't you feel ashamed?"
"But…"
"There's no 'but.' I only look at results."
Fang Zhongzhi made the final call. "Alright, let's continue the meeting."
...
September 7th, 11:00 PM.
In one hour, Huang Yifan would release 'The School Belle's Bodyguard'.
However, just before publishing his second new book, a novel titled 'Starcloud Swordsman' caught his attention.
8.000 bookmarks in 24 hours.
Entered the new book rankings at #8 within a day.
Reached #1 on the new book rankings within two days.
Already accumulated 5 alliance leaders.
Any one of these stats alone would be enough to shock people.
Even though Huang Yifan hadn't been following Feilong rumors lately, he could tell this was a new book released under a pseudonym by a top-tier author.
Using alternate accounts to publish new books was completely normal. If you didn't have at least several pen names, you'd be embarrassed to call yourself an author.
Even Huang Yifan, who had just entered the writing scene, already had three or four pseudonyms.
But the moment he was about to release his own book, a top-tier author suddenly appeared with a new pseudonymous work. That felt anything but normal.
Feeling puzzled, he casually opened the Feilong forum.
After reading the post challenging him, Huang Yifan roughly understood what was going on.
It seemed that appearing in the homepage interview as a 1-star author had stirred up quite a bit of resentment.
This author, Tianxia Weigong, was probably dissatisfied with him and wanted to suppress him.
Huang Yifan nodded to himself but didn't take it seriously.
The path of writing is never smooth. To become an elite author, to reach the top, one must endure countless trials.
This was merely the first stepping stone before him.
As long as he stepped over it, one day when he looked back, that stone would be nothing more than a grain of sand.
Time passed slowly. It was now 11:50 PM, just ten minutes before September 8th.
At this moment, many night owls on the Feilong forum were still awake.
Some were idly posting.
Others were browsing for entertainment.
Naturally, at this critical moment, Tianxia Weigong's post once again attracted countless replies.
"Only 10 minutes until the 8th. I wonder if The Number One White Under Heaven will release his new book at midnight."
"I really want to see the clash between the two novels right now."
"Yeah, but I wonder who will win, Tianxia Weigong or The Number One White Under Heaven dominating the midnight release."
"Are you blind? Didn't you see that an elite author has stepped in?"
"True, OP, I was wrong to doubt your strength before."
"I originally supported The Number One White Under Heaven, but now I'm backing the OP. Your new book is amazing and very impressive."
"Agreed. As expected of an elite author. Even with a pseudonym, it still radiates overwhelming dominance."
"A stunning work. Let's see how The Number One White Under Heaven responds."
"Respond? With what? His novels have never impressed me. Whether it's 'How a Bad Guy Is Made' or 'I'm Just a Scoundrel' he guided others on. He just writes banned stuff. His new book is probably the same. I think The Number One White Under Heaven is going to get crushed this time."
"If anything, it's his own fault for being too arrogant. If he had just quietly written his books, he might have become Lingdian's Rookie King. Now look, he hasn't even secured that title and has already provoked an elite author he shouldn't have. Let's mourn for The Number One White Under Heaven."
On the other side of their screens, just like many on Feilong, even more people stayed awake in a certain group chat.
They stared at their screens, constantly refreshing Lingdian's webpage.
They were waiting for the release of a new book.
White Jade Hall Mingming: "So nervous. I wonder if White Boss is nervous."
White Jade Hall Xiati: "I'm nervous too. This time, his opponent is way too strong."
White Jade Hall Miaomiao: "Yeah, who knows which elite author he offended. They actually used a pseudonym just to suppress a newcomer."
White Jade Hall Youyou: "I wonder if White Boss can withstand this wave of pressure."
White Jade Hall Qingcheng: "No matter what, we just support White Boss with everything we've got."
The White Jade Hall group was buzzing with discussion.
But just as many fans were feeling worried, one member suddenly jumped out and shouted.
White Jade Hall Hongmeng: "What's there to be afraid of? He's an elite author, but our White Boss is an elite among elites. Where are the three thousand disciples of White Jade Hall? Join us and battle at midnight!"
"A man should kill. White Jade Hall Wulei is here."
"Kill without mercy. White Jade Hall Fusheng is here."
"An eternal legacy. White Jade Hall Xingyun is here."
"All lies in killing. White Jade Hall Yexing is here."
...
White Jade Hall Mingxi: "My blade is already thirsting for blood. Battle."
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