The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Ruyi arrived at the office early in the morning and discovered that Li Changle had already released a new book. As expected, it was a wuxia novel.

She was stunned. Was he really that impulsive? He'd decided to release a new book and just done it, without even telling anyone at the Chinese Web Novel Platform. He'd simply published it... This...

We didn't even know you were releasing a new book, Great God!

Didn't you want to promote it? Build anticipation beforehand? Keep your readers on tenterhooks?

Ruyi hadn't had time to read the newly released novel when she hurried off to ask Qinghe, the editor-in-chief, what was going on.

Seeing the editor-in-chief's bewildered expression, Ruyi immediately realized that Great God Xiaoyao clearly hadn't told him about the new book either.

Well... that was ridiculous.

"Editor-in-chief, didn't Great God Xiaoyao talk to you? Why did he just publish the book out of nowhere?"

Qinghe was just as stunned. He'd assumed Li Changle had already told Ruyi that he was releasing a new book.

He'd even been about to scold Ruyi for not arranging publicity in advance for a newly crowned Platinum author.

But it turned out Li Changle had made the decision on his own and hadn't given anyone at the Chinese Web Novel Platform a heads-up.

"He didn't tell me. I thought he'd already told you."

"Never mind. That's not important now. The top priority is arranging a recommendation slot for this novel, The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

"Oh, and homepage promotion, too. See if we can get it set up for tomorrow..."

"Got it."

Ruyi immediately got to work. She might have looked like a wide-eyed cutie, but she was perfectly capable on the job.

The office instantly filled with chatter as everyone started discussing Li Changle's new book.

"He's so impulsive. He just published a new book without even talking to us..."

"That's one thing, but he actually wrote a wuxia novel. I've never seen anything like it..."

"Who writes wuxia novels these days? Anyone normal? You?"

"Absolutely terrifying!"

"If you've got time to make snide remarks, why not take a look at how he writes? I think this novel's pretty good..."

"Two or three tens of thousands of words in the opening chapter. I've never seen an author this impulsive..."

"This guy's a real oddball among webnovel authors. Most authors would love to keep a book going forever and write ten million words. But he only wrote just over a million words for Legend of Sword and Fairy, then wrapped it up in a little over a month!"

"Hey, if he'd written more than a million words, the plot wouldn't have been so tight. I think a little over a million was just right for Legend of Sword and Fairy 1! That's what a masterpiece should be like."

"It shows he's got vision. He wasn't just focused on the royalties. I've also heard that a bunch of investors have started approaching the Chinese Web Novel Platform, saying they want to adapt Legend of Sword and Fairy into a TV series!"

"Seriously? Can TV dramas these days even be any good? They'd better not turn the Legend of Sword and Fairy world I love into a pile of crap."

"Holy crap, this The Legend of the Condor Heroes novel doesn't even feel like a webnovel to me..."

"I know what you mean. It feels like the style of traditional wuxia novels."

"Hey, you know what? I think this opening is great. It takes me back to reading wuxia novels in class back in the day..."

"Honestly, putting the story aside, the writing is really good. It's every bit as good as the novels by the great wuxia authors I read as a kid."

"Seriously. The writing's way better than in Legend of Sword and Fairy. It's incredible!"

"Do you think it's possible that Legend of Sword and Fairy was just practice for him?"

"Yikes—absolutely terrifying! If that's true, then this guy Li Xiaoyao is incredible."

"You haven't heard? Last time Ruyi visited him in Wangcheng, she came back bragging that this guy Li Xiaoyao was a young man in his twenties—and a handsome one at that!"

"Holy crap, really? Someone in their early twenties can write like that? I don't believe it!"

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"

"Believe what you want. That's what Ruyi said. Besides, doesn't the Chinese Web Novel Platform have a writers' conference at the end of the year? You'll find out then."

"Damn, are we even allowed to live? He's handsome and a great writer. Did he save the galaxy in his last life or something..."

"What are you all whispering about?"

Ruyi walked in and saw a few people chatting in the office. It sounded like they were talking about Li Changle.

"Ruyi, didn't you say that the author called Li Xiaoyao was really handsome? Do you have a photo? This guy doesn't believe you."

"Ahem, Ruyi, it's not that we don't believe you. We're all just curious to see how handsome someone has to be to earn such lavish praise from you."

Ruyi regretted bringing it up. She'd been so happy when she took a photo with Wang Siyi last time that she'd forgotten to ask Li Changle to take one with her.

Now, every time she thought about it, she regretted it all over again.

"Whatever you imagine Li Xiaoyao looks like, that's what he looks like."

Ruyi pondered briefly, then replied.

"I'm not talking to you guys anymore. I have work to do..."

What a bunch of bores. She rolled her eyes at them and returned to her desk, where she started slacking off by reading The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

After all, this was a wuxia novel by Great God Xiaoyao. It was definitely worth reading. Ruyi had complete faith in Li Changle.

"Peach blossoms bloom untended, while distant grasses merge with evening crows. Ruined walls encircle a few old wells; each once belonged to a home."

As expected, the opening was familiar. Another poem. Great God Xiaoyao really loved putting poetry in his novels. He was genuinely talented...

He was one of a kind among the authors at the Chinese Web Novel Platform. The writing in this novel was even better than in Legend of Sword and Fairy, Ruyi thought.

The first chapter, "Wind and Snow Shocking Change," was only a few tens of thousands of words long, yet it had already brought Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin's heroic integrity and brotherly loyalty to life.

Qiu Chuji's peerless martial arts and upright character, as well as Bao Xiruo's kind yet weak-willed nature.

A dazzling wuxia world of family, country, and the wider world unfolded before her eyes. Ruyi was engrossed, but then the chapter ended.

"That's it?"

Ruyi froze. It was way too short; she wasn't ready to stop reading. She thought this novel was even better than Legend of Sword and Fairy.

Having read all kinds of wuxia novels since childhood, she preferred these traditional wuxia stories.

"Ah..."

She sighed and went back to read it again. She'd been too focused on the plot the first time, so now she wanted to take a closer look.

She felt that the opening of "Wind and Snow Shocking Change" had already planted a lot of seeds for later.

The story flowed smoothly, the writing swept boldly from one scene to the next, and the wuxia feel was spot-on. Many readers might not like this style, but Ruyi truly loved it.

She glanced at the reviews. The comments section was lively, with opinions sharply divided.

"That's it? It's already over thirty thousand words, and I still don't know who the main character is. At first, I thought it was Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian, but those two got killed off right away... This opening is way too slow."

"The person above clearly didn't read carefully. It's obvious that the main characters are the two babies who were just born..."

"This opening isn't as direct as Legend of Sword and Fairy. The fights are great and the writing is excellent, but I'm not used to this style..."

"This is what a wuxia novel is supposed to be. You guys don't know what you're talking about. I'm hooked. This author is incredible."

"Agreed. It takes me back to reading wuxia novels as a kid. It's got that feeling."

"The author doesn't seem like a webnovel writer, but the book is pretty good."

"I won't comment on anything else. I just want to know if this damn author's going to write another tragedy. Legend of Sword and Fairy had me bawling my eyes out. Screw this, give me my money back!"

"Judging by this opening, I think this damn author is up to his old tricks. But it really is good."

"Can't this author write a power fantasy novel for once? I want to read something fun..."

"I can't get into it. It's not my kind of book. I'm out..."

The comments were split down the middle. Some readers couldn't get enough, while others couldn't even make it through the opening.

Ruyi didn't pay much attention to the negative reviews. This was just how things went: readers weren't the only ones choosing webnovels; authors were choosing their readers, too.

You could say the writing style wasn't your thing, or that you didn't like the book, but you couldn't say it was bad.

From the moment Li Changle decided to release The Legend of the Condor Heroes, he hadn't expected everyone to like it.

It might not appeal to as many people online, but The Legend of the Condor Heroes had great literary merit. Once it was adapted into a TV series, it would probably become a hit all over again.

Qingfeng, a top Xianxia author, was clearly paying close attention to Li Changle's new book, too.

After reading the ending of Legend of Sword and Fairy, even he, a webnovel author and a top name at that, had wanted to send Li Xiaoyao a box of razor blades.

He was so damn ruthless. Qingfeng had never dared to put his own readers through that kind of heartbreak, but Li Xiaoyao had.

And even after readers cursed him for it, they still paid attention when he released a new book.

"A role model for us all..."

Qingfeng couldn't help but sigh. He'd already finished reading The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and he knew good writing when he saw it. The prose...

Even if he spent another hundred years writing novels, he'd never write like that. The plot flowed beautifully and was tightly paced. Qingfeng felt he'd learned something new.

Watching a guy called Li Xiaoyao write novels really was something else...

Qingfeng checked the authors' group chat. It was already blowing up.

"Have you guys read that new book by the guy called Li Xiaoyao?"

"I have. He's incredible. I could write for my whole life and never develop prose like that..."

"Exactly. Forget the plot for a moment; the writing and style alone are enough to keep me studying it for ages."

"Is this guy crazy? He actually wrote a wuxia novel. Readers these days don't go for wuxia..."

"I saw the comments section for this book. Some people said they didn't like it, but nobody insulted the novel itself..."

"Are these even readers? My books get cursed out, and the readers insult me along with them..."

"If your writing were that good, your readers would put you on a pedestal..."

"Looks like I'm still a useless hack who can only write simple, formulaic stories. I can't learn this stuff."

"This book feels like it's aimed at a TV adaptation. I don't know what happens later, but just the plot structure of the first chapter could already be made into a TV episode."

"You're right. You could practically use it as a script without changing much."

A webnovel author who'd started out as a screenwriter chimed in.

"I was so dead inside from writing novels, but now my heart's beating again. Damn, I want to write a wuxia novel, too!"

"I wonder if Li Xiaoyao switched over from writing traditional novels. His writing keeps getting better with every book. Maybe Legend of Sword and Fairy was just practice for him."

Qingfeng didn't say anything. He was rereading the first chapter of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, studying the writing and style.

After going through it several times, he finally accepted that he couldn't write a novel like this. He couldn't even measure up to Legend of Sword and Fairy.

Qingfeng sighed, feeling discouraged all over again. They were both human, so why was there such a huge difference?

"Holy crap, I forgot to write again. Never mind, I'll ask for a day off..."

Qingfeng decided he wasn't in the mood to write today. He might as well slack off and post a single chapter announcement.

He gave getting too engrossed in The Legend of the Condor Heroes and forgetting to update as his reason. He also reminded his readers that anyone who hadn't read it should give it a try—it was worth it!

The readers flooded the comments section with one post after another. This author was unbelievable.

"I've never seen anyone so shameless."

"But I think the opening of The Legend of the Condor Heroes is great. It really has that wuxia feel..."

"I just can't get into wuxia..."

"I couldn't get into this book at first either. But when I kept reading, I realized it had a lot of charm. It's a good book, and it's completely different from the novels that are popular on the Chinese Web Novel Platform right now..."

"I majored in Chinese literature. I read the novel, and you couldn't write something like this without some life experience. The author's probably a big-name, bestselling writer who publishes offline. I just wonder who..."

The Legend of the Condor Heroes had only been out for a day. It only had one chapter, and Li Changle hadn't discussed the release with the Chinese Web Novel Platform beforehand.

Even so, it had stirred up quite a buzz on the platform. Lots of people were following Li Changle's new work now, from editors to readers to fellow authors.

But Li Changle paid none of that any attention. He was just an emotionless content-transferring tool.

He was busy writing. Ever since Wang Siyi had sent him a selfie and told him she was going out to record a song, she hadn't contacted him again.

"Life sure is lonely as snow..."

Li Changle was working hard at his computer. He was a little tired; he'd already written another twenty thousand words that morning. He stood up and stretched.

Then he heard his phone ring on the desk. He picked it up, took a look, and froze. It was Wang Weimin.

Li Changle suddenly felt a little guilty. Had Wang Siyi asked Uncle Wang to come after him?

Why did he feel guilty? He'd done nothing wrong. He hadn't mistreated Wang Siyi.

He pressed the answer button and asked cautiously,

"What's up, Uncle Wang?"

Wang Weimin's stern voice came from the other end:

"What did you promise me before?"

Huh? What had he promised him? Hadn't he promised to take care of Wang Siyi? Did he really think Li Changle had been bullying her?

"What... what are you talking about, Uncle Wang?"

"You brat, I told you to submit something for the Poetry Competition. Where's your submission? The deadline's today. Are you entering or not?"

Thanks to the book friends Chengshimei and Kakedi for the tips. Thank you!

I've seen a lot of readers asking for more updates, and I'm really happy about that. I'd like to apologize to everyone who's been asking. Before the book goes premium, I can only update four thousand words a day. Even if there's only one chapter, the author makes it long...

Once the book goes premium, I'll definitely post a lot more. It depends on how much I've saved up in advance. All I can say is that I still have a decent backlog, and I'm working hard to build it up.

I'm not sure when the book will go premium yet. The main thing is, the book has already reached 120,000 words and still hasn't gotten a single recommendation slot (sob). With no recommendations, there are still so many people reading it. All I can say is, you're all true fans. Thank you so much!

As usual, please add the book to your library, and vote with your recommendations and Monthly Tickets~