Chapter 29: Everyday Life
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Shen Yan had no intention of giving up on writing web novels.
For one thing, he was confident he could become famous quickly. For another, writing web novels was, in its own way, a means of satisfying his vanity.
Oh, traditional publishing was not part of his plans.
After all, that was the private preserve of people like Jia Qianqian!
He did not have a literary giant for a father.
To be honest, in the society of the present day, the web-fiction world was one of the few places that could be considered even mildly fair. As the saying went: if you wrote well, someone would naturally appreciate you; if you wrote badly, even becoming a platinum author would be useless.
Still, Shen Yan might have to write a few novels suitable for adaptation, such as The Sword of Snow and Strife or The Grandmaster’s Husband.
After saying that they would meet, Ji Xiang continued to ask him, “Then what about this Lotus Tower...?”
“It’s a martial-arts story I created by combining the character archetypes from The Flying Dagger of Li with the plot structure of The Four Great Detectives.”
“The character archetypes from The Flying Dagger of Li?” Ji Xiang immediately became interested. “Tell me more!”
“...The protagonist is named Li Lianhua. Ten years ago, he was Li Xiangyi, the master of the formidable Sigu Sect, whose name shook the martial world. After suffering severe injuries in a great battle, he withdrew from the martial world and became Li Lianhua, a physician indifferent to fame and fortune... While tracking down the whereabouts of his senior brother, Shan Gudao, he joins a group of people investigating a series of cases...”
“Investigating cases?”
“Yes. The cases become entangled with the succession of dynasties... In the end, Li Lianhua withdraws from the martial world.”
“Ah... He withdraws?”
“Because he feels that the martial world no longer needs Li Xiangyi. Falling from a position of power and being forgotten is nothing unusual. In this world, there are far more people who add flowers to brocade than those who send charcoal in the snow.”
“Interesting...” Ji Xiang nodded. “Is it being serialized online?”
“Not yet. I plan to put it online after the serialization of the Martial Arts Edition is complete.”
“You mean Modern and Ancient Legends: Martial Arts Edition? I’ll buy it and take a look.”
Wang Jinghua interrupted, “What’s this? You’re thinking of adapting it?”
Ji Xiang replied, “...Why not? Once I’ve finished reading it, as long as the quality is up to standard, we can do it. Don’t forget—Little Shen is the original author.”
“...Where is Little Shen living now?”
“I’m staying at the XX Hotel. I’m planning to return to my hometown tomorrow. I haven’t been home in more than eight months, and I’m starting to miss my grandparents.”
Wang Jinghua nodded. “All right. When the time comes, go straight to Hengdian.”
Shen Yan asked, “When?”
“Ji Xiang will go with you.”
“Ah... That works too.”
“Once we get to Hengdian, we’ll record some songs first, then go to auditions.”
Shen Yan immediately cut in. “Wait a moment. Record songs?”
“The three songs you sang at the bar that day. I’m planning to release an EP for you first.”
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“...An... an EP?”
“Your voice is excellent. I’ve asked Yao Qian to produce it for you.”
“...I don’t like Yao Qian. He’s too old-fashioned...” Shen Yan shook his head. “...I want Zhang Yadong or Luan Shu as the producer.”
“Old-fashioned?”
“I mean he might not be able to accept my style...” After a pause, Shen Yan added, “I’ll put together two more songs, making five in total, and release them as an EP. Albums are difficult to sell these days anyway, so we can only put it online.”
“You’re not planning to shoot music videos?”
Shen Yan was indifferent. “We’ll see how things go. If the songs spread, we can shoot them afterward. Otherwise, there’s no need to waste the money.”
Ji Xiang could not help saying, “...You’re taking this awfully calmly.”
“...That’s simply the larger trend. With the spread of streaming services and the rise of digital music platforms, even cars no longer come equipped with video players...” Shen Yan took out his phone—a Sony Ericsson C702—and opened the music player. “There are more than a hundred songs on here, all of them downloaded without spending a penny. If even I’m like this, never mind everyone else. Only an idiot would buy a physical album!”
The phone was last year’s popular model. He had bought it for 1,400 yuan.
Wang Jinghua sighed. “...Singers really have it tough these days.”
“You’ve managed singers before, Sister Hua?”
“Of course. Let me tell you...”
Wang Jinghua then recounted her experiences when she had first entered the industry.
Her first job had been as a singer’s manager. The first act she took on was the duo Brother—Chu Qi and Chu Tong. Later, singers such as Gao Feng, Dai Rao, Bai Xue, and Li Huizhen also came under her management.
She had switched to managing film and television talent because of Director Chen Daoming.
They talked for more than an hour before Shen Yan finally took his leave.
...
Shen Yan left by taxi. Ji Xiang suddenly said, “Actually, I think the most suitable way for him to make his debut would be to enter a talent competition. With his looks alone, I can guarantee that if he participated in one, he would cause a sensation.”
“...And then another agency would sign him away?”
“Uh... He’s already signed with us, hasn’t he?”
Wang Jinghua countered, “Why would anyone else promote him?”
“...”
Ji Xiang was rendered speechless.
“Talent competitions these days are nothing but one scandal after another.”
“Then... should I just proceed step by step?”
“Discuss it with him. I have a feeling Little Shen already has a plan.”
“That works.”
After a pause, he asked, “Should we get him an assistant? A makeup artist... and a car or something?”
“You arrange it. He’s your artist; I’m not getting involved.”
“Got it!”
...
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After The One had been released, a crowd of people began discussing the novel on the Dragon’s Sky forum.
Dragon’s Sky—also known as Longkong—claimed to be the sacred ground of web-fiction authors.
It was nothing particularly special.
If you were a reader looking for like-minded people with similar tastes, or hoping to recommend books, it was a decent place to visit.
But if you were an author hoping to learn how to write web fiction there... forget it.
That forum had a real talent for criticizing books and tearing authors apart.
If an author spent too much time browsing it, there was no telling how far astray they might be led.
After all, on Dragon’s Sky, anything could be declared a fatal flaw.
The One, however, did not have many such flaws.
From its power system to the overall structure of its world and its layered historical framework, its densely interwoven setting was rich without ever becoming complicated.
Its power system gave the concept of “leveling up” a deeper meaning. It was not merely a matter of making one’s fireballs larger. It represented an elevation of one’s realm.
In the early stages, Body Tempering, Aperture Opening, and the External Scenery Realm might not seem all that different from those found in ordinary fantasy novels.
But the later realms—Legend, Creation, and the Other Shore—were not merely three impressive-sounding names. The meanings behind them carried genuine weight.
Of course, the novel was still in its early stages. It had something of a martial-arts flavor, yet it also followed the conventions of an infinite-flow story. The protagonist had just begun roaming the martial world, and whenever a summons went out, people from every corner of the realm would hurry back to answer it.
This section depicting the martial world was extraordinarily romantic.
Well, there was one fatal flaw: the author, Fried Husky, had no reader group, had not joined any author groups, and barely even chatted with his editor.
There was nothing to be done about it. Shen Yan was busy and had absolutely no time to argue with people.
After returning to the hotel, Shen Yan wrote for three hours, completing three chapters. He saved them to his drafts, then opened the author’s dashboard to check his subscription figures.
His first-day subscriptions were already approaching five thousand.
For 2009, that was an excellent result.
However, The Sun God was about to launch. The Sun God had crushed Records of the Nine Cauldrons and Battle Through the Heavens, claiming eight consecutive monthly-ticket victories and earning the reputation: “Once The Sun God appears, who could possibly compete?”
Even The One would find it difficult to stand against it.
There was nothing to be done about that. He decided to stop worrying about it, shut down the computer, and go to sleep.
He still had to return to his hometown the next day.