A Word About the Story's Pacing, and Thanks to My Readers

I know the story's moving a little slowly, but this setup and background are necessary. I'm also doing my best to move the plot along quickly.

This novel was first published on Taiwan Novel Network → It offers you a reading experience free of missing or out-of-order chapters.

From the moment I put the "Mortal's Journey" tag first, I'd settled on the story's direction. I've outlined the whole book, and expect it to run about 4.5 million words.

I can write a gimmicky, imaginative story and guarantee a satisfying moment every five chapters for the first 100,000 words. But what about after that? What about after 500,000 words? I can't make any promises.

I'm an experienced author, too. I've had three novels featured on Qidian, won first prize in a writing contest, and signed a long-term contract. I've also had a novel outside the site reach 10,000 subscriptions and earned a six-figure monthly income from writing. But none of that lasted.

I know all too well how important it is to keep the plot steady, because I've learned that lesson the hard way.

In this book, the protagonist's personality in his previous life is a central pillar for many later plotlines. So I need enough space to show what he's like, as well as his shrewdness and his principles and methods for judging and using people.

In the future, the protagonist will cultivate all seven schools of magic, which will consume enormous resources. He'll also need to maneuver among all sorts of factions and cultivate his own double agents.

Laying the groundwork for his character and methods now will keep things from feeling abrupt later and make the plot unfold naturally.

In this world, even more powerful and bizarre forces will appear in the future. Power won't be the only thing that matters.

Often, you can only climb the ranks by working within someone else's system. Many of the irreconcilable conflicts and satisfying moments I've designed come from that.

The Wizard Alliance's future trials, the Empire Civil War, the struggle for resources during the Plane War, expeditions into the Abyssal Tide, the Theocracy's battles over faith, the Astral Realm Research Institute's many experiments, the schemes of various cults, the Bounty Guild's power struggles, the fight for the Lost Holy Grail, the Ancient God Brotherhood's members devouring one another... and more. They all have their own rules and frameworks.

The people and factions involved each have their own interests and goals, too.

How can you find common ground despite your differences? How can you use an enemy to take down a rival? How can you use a rival to get rid of the mole right beside you? How can you use a mole to kill an enemy?

The protagonist excels at working within these rules, making one move serve several purposes and turning it into a win-win, win-win-win, or even win-win-win-win! That's how he maximizes his gains.

I originally planned a few more chapters about the exams, but I've cut them. Tomorrow, the protagonist will head straight out of the city, launching a tighter new arc and dungeon. His signature method, comparable to Old Devil Han's Great Evolution Art, will soon make its debut.

I'm confident the story ahead will be solid and steady, but Qidian's recommendations now depend above all on reader retention.

So I have to think about how to keep more readers coming back during the early chapters.

Please keep up with the story every day. I'm building up a huge backlog of chapters, and I promise I'll surprise you down the line.

Finally, thank you all for your support, comments, monthly votes, and recommendation votes. Your positive feedback is my greatest motivation.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. I'll make changes whenever I can.

Bows deeply in gratitude!