A day later than planned, I finally brought Volume Three to a close in a way I was happy with.
I'd originally estimated that this volume would end right on March 4, exactly one year after I started writing the book.
After settling on "Dark Stars" as the ending for Volume Three, I'd been happily working toward that schedule.
However, a long business trip took a serious toll on my energy, so I had no choice but to push the ending back by a day. This end-of-volume summary was delayed along with it.
But enough about that. First and foremost, thank you all for your support and encouragement.
For the sake of a smoother reading experience, I stopped thanking everyone one by one at the end of each chapter starting with Volume Two. But I've noticed every vote and every tip you've sent my way.
I've been writing this book for exactly a year now. The three volumes add up to 1.27 million words, which is a pretty slow pace, even by Qidian standards.
So I can certainly understand why some readers might want to punch me in the face... In fact, my editor may have been the first to feel that way.
After repeatedly "encouraging" me to no avail last year, my editor had given up on my update speed and finally gritted their teeth and said that quality came first.
Still, I should explain that this update pace is a compromise I settled on after careful consideration.
In my view, the most important thing in a story is for it to get more and more exciting, moving through its ups and downs all the way to the climactic ending.
So for me, it's hard to become more efficient the longer I write. My typing speed is practically constant.