Chapter 80: A Hundredfold More Than Myself

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Day after day passed, and soon the tenth day arrived.

During this time, Liu Ping made a trip to the Daoist temple, only to find that his senior sister had entered seclusion once again and had yet to emerge. In truth, as he learned from Hua’er, she was not cultivating but rather attempting to unravel the countless seals on the two pieces of beast hide Liu Ping had brought—seals as numerous as the stars in the sky.

This made Liu Ping feel all the more indebted to her. Yet, once these restrictions were lifted, he would surely share the secret techniques with his senior sister, and when he became strong enough, he would repay her in full. For now, overthinking was pointless.

Wang Hong had not returned to the academy. Having been nearly drained dry by Roy, then revived with a new heart, it would take at least a year or two for him to recover, so his absence was not unexpected.

That day, after class, Liu Ping hurried to the You Book Publishing House.

At that time, the rear courtyard of the publishing house was bustling with the printing of books. The printing presses had been idle for several months, but fortunately, they were ready for immediate use.

As soon as Liu Ping arrived at the gate, Wang Erxiao, a staff member, greeted him respectfully. “Young Master Liu, are you here to pick up the book contract? Please, this way! The editor-in-chief has instructed me to take you straight to him.”

A few other authors who had come to submit their manuscripts glanced over. Seeing Liu Ping’s youth and the fact that he was already being published, they looked on in surprise and, with a hint of envy in their eyes, thought that perhaps they too might have a chance one day.

Liu Ping noticed them and casually asked, “Has there been a lot of submissions lately?”

Wang Erxiao replied, “It’s strange, really. Ever since you submitted your manuscript, authors have started coming in one after another. Before that, not a single one showed up. The editors said it’s all thanks to your good fortune. Once your novel is published, they expect even more submissions.”

It was indeed due to Liu Ping’s influence. Although “Fengshen Three Kingdoms” hadn’t been published yet and had no reputation at all, being a Qing Book still wielded an invisible influence that led to the current situation. However, these were mostly writers who had been repeatedly rejected by Qingshan Publishing Headquarters and had come here to try their luck—not worth mentioning.

Liu Ping simply smiled and said nothing more. Soon, he was brought before Fang Yi, the editor-in-chief and general manager of the You Book Publishing House.

Fang Yi greeted him warmly. “Haha, Brother Liu, you’ve finally arrived.”

“Greetings, Chief Editor Fang. I’m here today to pick up my book contract,” Liu Ping replied calmly.

Fang Yi smiled, “I know. The contract already bears the official seal and is now in effect. Here’s your copy—keep it well.”

He handed over the contract. Liu Ping inspected it carefully, found nothing amiss, and put it away. Then he asked, “How is the printing of ‘Fengshen Three Kingdoms’ coming along?”

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Fang Yi replied, “It’s going quite well. A hundred first editions have already been printed, all of excellent quality. True works of craftsmanship.” He gestured toward several books on a nearby table. “Here are a few advance copies—please take them as mementos.”

Liu Ping walked over and picked up a copy. The paper was of fine quality, the binding meticulous, and on the cover, an image of Lord Guan wielding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade was vividly depicted. It was a pity there was no color; otherwise, it would have been perfect. To the side, four characters danced above a dragon and phoenix: “Fengshen Three Kingdoms.”

Overall, it was impressive—far superior to the stiff bindings of ancient Chinese books, though slightly inferior to modern hardcover novels. By the standards of this world, it was a rare, high-quality edition, a testament to the immense effort the publishing house had devoted to this novel.

Fang Yi’s face radiated pride. For ten days, he and his editors had worked around the clock for “Fengshen Three Kingdoms,” without a word of complaint.

“Truly excellent,” Liu Ping nodded as he leafed through the book, quickly scanning to the end without spotting a single typo. He then asked, “Roughly when will it go on sale?”

Fang Yi replied, “We’ve been working overtime every day. At most, in fifteen days, it will be released.”

“So soon?” Liu Ping was a little surprised.

Fang Yi said, “This is our last hope; we must move quickly—faster than ever.”

“You’ve all worked hard,” Liu Ping remarked.

“Yes, indeed,” Fang Yi nodded, exhaustion etched on his face but his spirit still high. “After so long in silence, with decay and collapse looming, how could we not rise up and try to turn the tide?”

“You seem to have more confidence in my novel than I do,” Liu Ping said.

“Of course I do!” Fang Yi declared, his excitement even greater than Liu Ping’s.

Seeing this, Liu Ping was left speechless. Soon after, he took his leave, hired a carriage, and returned to the academy.

The carriage moved briskly at first, but as it neared the city center, its pace slowed. Liu Ping pulled aside the curtain to take in the scenery, and soon overheard lively street discussions.

People on both sides of the street were all talking about one thing—“A Single Peach Blossom” had concluded.

“I can’t believe it’s finished. I expected it, but at the same time, I didn’t. I wish Peach Blossom Master had continued the story. I want to read more!”

“Who doesn’t? It’s such a pity! But you have to admit, the ending was perfect.”

“Perfect? I can’t agree with that ending!”

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“Yes, Peach Blossom Master was far too cruel in the end, making Little Fish and Qingfeng part ways. My poor Little Fish! It’s truly heartbreaking!”

“Sigh, I wish the story could have continued. I want to read more about Qingfeng and Peach Blossom. But I’ve heard Peach Blossom Master’s new book is about to be released!”

“What?! A new book will be released soon? Where did you hear that?”

Hearing this, Liu Ping frowned. He hadn’t expected Peach Blossom Master’s new book to launch at the same time as his own. But thinking it through, he realized he was overreacting.

Confident as he was in his own writing, Peach Blossom Master’s popularity was on a whole other level. It hardly counted as a collision at all.

The conversation outside turned increasingly toward Peach Blossom Master’s upcoming novel.

“You all spent so much time focused on the end of ‘A Single Peach Blossom’ and didn’t pay attention to the new book?”

“The news came from Qingshan Publishing Headquarters—how could it not be true?”

“What’s the title of the new book?”

“That hasn’t been revealed yet, but apparently Peach Blossom Master is confident it will be even better than ‘A Single Peach Blossom’!”

“Really? Then I have to buy it!”

“Of course. As a diehard fan, how could I not buy every one of Peach Blossom Master’s novels?”

“Buy it, certainly! But how many copies will there be in the first print run? If it’s not enough, that would be a disaster.”

“The first print run is five hundred thousand copies. There shouldn’t be a repeat of the last time when it sold out instantly, so don’t worry about missing out.”

“Just five hundred thousand? Maybe not enough. It’s being released across the entire province, even in other regions. If you don’t buy early, you might still miss out.”

“Exactly. You have to keep a close eye on the timing.”

Hearing this, Liu Ping shook his head, let the curtain fall, and murmured, “Five hundred thousand copies—one hundred times mine. How outrageous. Everything will be decided in fifteen days. Will my ‘Fengshen Three Kingdoms’ become a bestseller?”