A few words upon completion

It's finally finished!

As I sit in front of my computer writing this closing statement, I can't help but reflect on the past year and a half of writing, and I am filled with emotion.

There was a sense of melancholy, and also a feeling of relief.

The sadness comes from the fact that from this moment on, Xu Qi'an's story has come to an end, and he must say goodbye to everyone. I am gratified that he was able to accompany you for the past year and a half, but all good things must come to an end.

If I were to relax, of course I could rest. Over the past year and a half, my health has deteriorated, and I've developed many occupational diseases, such as cervical spondylosis and lumbar muscle strain. The most devastating one for me was that my irregular work and rest schedule and staying up late for a long time caused my endocrine system to become disordered, and my temper became extremely irritable.

He gets angry at the drop of a hat!

This is a physiological problem that is difficult to control and restrain.

In addition, in order to participate in this event, Qidian needs me to give a specific time, but writing is not a job, and it is impossible to be consistent with every word. I have missed Qidian for many days.

The completion event requires a specific time and the submission of the extra chapters in advance, but I can only write so few words a day, making it impossible for me to write the extra chapters in advance.

So, both the finale and this epilogue were written today. I was rushing to finish the manuscript and became quite irritable, so I feel like I wrote it a little hastily, which annoyed me a lot.

I'm furious, and the staff at Qidian are also having headaches from being constantly stood up. It's a lose-lose situation!

If I don't have any manuscripts saved up for my next book, I won't participate.

Well, after the book is finished, I will update free side stories from time to time. I will write about daily life and Asura situations in the side stories. Of course, I may not write them. If I don't update side stories within seven days, I will mark the book as finished. I won't let everyone's investment go to waste, so don't worry.

If I don't write any extra chapters within seven days, I might serialize them on my WeChat official account, since there aren't as many restrictions there.

You can follow my WeChat official account.

Getting back to the work itself, let me briefly report on the average daily subscriptions. It's a pity that we didn't reach 150,000 during the serialization, but the average daily subscriptions will increase after the book is completed. I hope it can reach 150,000; it's not far off.

As for other achievements, I won't go into them, because I don't think the achievements of the Great Feng need to be emphasized.

After I finished writing "The Second Generation of Demons," I promised my readers that I would write a fast-paced, action-packed novel in my next book, and I have kept that promise.

Many friends in real life, including some readers, say that "The Nightwatchers" is purely a lighthearted story, and it would be even better if some joys and sorrows, or even tragedies, were added.

But I feel like if I did that, the readers would kill me.

Since I promised to write a light novel, I can't break my promise. Actually, during the writing process, I thought about adding some tragic elements, such as the Yunzhou rebel plot, and killing off more supporting characters.

For example, in the final calamity, characters like Master Kou, Asuro, Huaiqing, and Li Miaozhen all have their own "lunch boxes" (meetings with deaths).

But reason tells me that if I write it like that, the readers might be preparing my lunchbox, haha, just kidding.

As commercial works and entertainment products, online novels should simply provide enjoyment and laughter. A little depth and a touch of tragedy are acceptable, but they should always remain just embellishments.

Life is tough enough; if reading novels also makes you feel heavy-hearted, then there's no point in reading them.

Getting back to the main point, the book "The Nightwatchers" has both obvious strengths and weaknesses. I won't go into the strengths, but I'll mainly talk about the weaknesses, namely the fight scenes, which are often criticized by readers. The fight scenes are indeed mediocre, but that's in comparison to top-tier authors who excel at writing fight scenes.

I will practice more in this area while I finish this book, and strive to make my next book a complete transformation.

Another issue is the instability of updates. The Nightwatchers in good condition in the early and middle stages, with high writing passion, producing more than 8,000 words a day. However, as time goes on, the first thing that happens is that the body can't keep up. As I just mentioned, various health problems arise.

Secondly, after becoming famous, there were many more trivial matters. Although I kept declining some events, there were still some unavoidable ones to attend. It was difficult to focus on creation without distractions like in the previous middle period.

From June to July, I was swamped with trivial matters and couldn't concentrate on thinking about the plot at all, which was really frustrating.

Anyone who has written a book knows that authors, especially online novelists, cannot get entangled in trivial matters. Once they have too many trivial matters around them, they are likely to be ruined.

Because creating content requires energy and time, and the high-intensity creation of online novels demands an immense amount of time and mental effort.

I will try my best to stockpile manuscripts for my next book to ensure stable updates.

Next, I'd like to share my thoughts on writing. Actually, it wasn't until I finished writing "Great Feng" that I felt I had truly stepped into the world of writing. Before that, I was just writing randomly, without a clear system or techniques.

How to impress others, how to build anticipation, how to establish a persona, how to manage pacing, how to highlight satisfying moments, and how to write about daily life—these are all methods.

These methods are extremely important.

After finishing this book, I will make a technical summary to strive for an even better next book.

As for my next book, I haven't decided what to write yet, so I'd like to ask for your opinions here. You can leave your suggestions for topics you'd like to see here.

I will select some of the most liked posts and put them on my official WeChat account for everyone to vote on.

Perhaps your suggestion will be the subject of my next book!

Topic submissions are welcome (please leave your comments for this chapter here).

However, I'll mostly stop writing fantasy/xianxia (fantasy/martial arts) stories. I'm constantly stepping out of my comfort zone and challenging myself with new themes. I might fail, but I might also soar to new heights.

If I had finished writing "The Second Generation of Demons" and continued writing urban novels, there probably wouldn't be a work like "The Nightwatchers." That's the benefit of constantly exploring new avenues.

The downside is, maybe my next book will flop if I change the subject matter, hahaha.

But so what? The next book is just a part of my writing career. It's about accumulation and process. I'll face it calmly, regardless of the results, because without a trough, there is no peak.

My biggest takeaway from the online literature market, or more specifically, the Qidian market, is that to become a hit, you must be innovative and have something different from others; otherwise, it's difficult to stand out.

Every industry is scrambling to compete now; without unique features, you're easily swept away by others.

The scroll has become the mainstream in contemporary society.

I want to specifically criticize Laoying) here. Updating 30,000 words a day? Is that even humanly possible?

We're good friends, but I still want to beat him to death (doge).

A comic strip about Nightwatchers will be released during the winter break. I've already read some of it; the artwork is quite good, Xu Lingyin is very cute. I'm sure it won't disappoint.

Anime and TV series will also be released gradually, but that's something for the future.

Here's another shady deal: after "The Nightwatchers" is finished, those looking for something to read can check out Elbow's "The Naming Techniques of Night," the most phenomenal work of the year, which broke numerous records as soon as it was released.

I've wanted to read "The Art of Naming" for a long time, but I was under a lot of pressure and had many other things to do during the serialization, so I never had the time. Now I can finally indulge myself in it.

Finally, the journey of life is long, may we meet again someday!

The series is complete! Hooray!