Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 371, "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts," was read by the first reader.

Cao Sheng looked up at the sound and saw Chang Qingshu sitting opposite him, and Cui Xinyu standing to the side with a smile.

"How did you come?"

Cao Sheng smiled.

Chang Qingshu gave a complicated smile. "What do you think? How long ago did you submit the manuscript for the last two volumes of 'The Legend of the Primordial Era'? But you haven't submitted your new book to us yet. Headquarters has been urging us almost every day recently. President Lan even called me personally to urge us. You haven't been answering my calls lately, so I had no choice but to come here!"

Cui Xinyu, who was standing nearby, said, "Boss, he just arrived in Huizhou today. He called you, but you didn't answer, so he called me. Then I called you, but you didn't answer either, so I had no choice but to bring him to the cafeteria to find you."

Cao Sheng glanced at her, then looked at Chang Qingshu across from him, and smiled. "Sorry! My phone has been on silent lately, and I don't answer anyone's calls. It's not targeting you."

Chang Qingshu nodded with a wry smile, "Miss Cui has already explained the reason to me, but I don't quite understand why you're taking this new book launch so seriously after writing so many novels. You've never ignored the phone when you launched a new book before."

Cao Sheng: "Because I'm not entirely confident about this new book, I can only try my best to be as serious as possible."

These words, coming from his mouth, were somewhat unbelievable to both Chang Qingshu and Cui Xinyu.

who is he?

A speck of gray in the Central Plains!

The pioneer of online novels, and currently the most popular and highest-earning online writer.

How could someone like that admit that he wasn't entirely confident about his new book?
With his fame, he could easily write something and have it published now, right?

"Are you serious?"

Evergreen expressed doubt.

Cao Sheng nodded.

Chang Qingshu frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked, "So what kind of story are you writing this time? Why are you not confident? Is it a very niche subject?"

Cao Sheng thought to himself: There haven't been any new topics yet, so it must be a very niche topic, right? Nobody has written about it before.

"Yeah, it's a very niche field."

He nodded.

Chang Qingshu looked at him with a complicated expression, thinking: Sure enough, authors who become famous at a young age all like to write. His life has been too smooth these past two years, and everything he writes becomes incredibly popular. So, he probably feels bored and lacks challenge, and therefore wants to challenge a very niche subject to prove his strength as a nobody.

Although Chang Qingshu has not seen many authors like this in his career, he has heard of quite a few, and he thought Cao Sheng was also such an author.

"How many words are in your new book? Can I see a draft?"

Evergreen asked tentatively.

Although he felt that Cao Sheng was being pretentious, this wasn't the first time Cao Sheng had acted this way; in fact, he had been doing so since his debut.

After his first novel, "Living with an Air Hostess," became a hit, he should have written another work of the same type, both to solidify his popularity and to earn more money.

But what about Cao Sheng?

After finishing this romance novel, I created a brand new Xianxia (fantasy martial arts) cultivation genre—"I Want to Become an Immortal".

There are also later works such as "The Exquisite Pagoda of Heaven and Earth" and "The Romance of the Primordial Era".

Every single one of them is innovative.

Even "The Tomb of the Gods," which seems to be similar to "I Want to Become an Immortal," has made bold innovations in its writing style. The plot pace is unprecedentedly fast, and the male protagonist's cultivation breakthrough speed is like riding a rocket.

Therefore, Evergreen has become accustomed to the fact that Cao Sheng always innovates when he writes a new book.

However, Cao Sheng's words just now made Chang Qingshu doubt that the level of innovation Cao Sheng had this time far exceeded that of his previous works.

Therefore, he wanted to take a look at Cao Sheng's new book first.

I want to see just how innovative Cao Sheng is this time. How niche is the subject matter? Why did Cao Sheng say he wasn't entirely confident?

Cao Sheng looked at the evergreen tree opposite him.

Frowning slightly.

If Chang Qingshu hadn't come to Huizhou to find him in person today, if he had made this request over the phone or online, Cao Sheng would definitely have refused.

Although his new book has enough words to be published and submitted, he hasn't finalized it yet, as he feels there are still many parts that need revision.

But if Chang Qingshu comes here to see him in person today and refuses, Cao Sheng will be in a difficult position.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Cao Sheng smiled slightly, "Okay! Come with me to my dorm in a bit!"

Chang Qingshu's face lit up with joy, because since Cao Sheng had agreed to show him the manuscript of his new book, it meant that Cao Sheng still intended to submit his new book to Xinchang.

This is the best news for Evergreen.

Regardless of the quality of Cao Sheng's new book, as long as Cao Sheng is willing to submit it to Xinchang, the Xinchang headquarters will not hold him accountable for his negligence, and he will not have to worry about losing his job.

"Okay! Okay! Sure! Okay! Then please eat your meal!"

The evergreen tree was very happy.

Cao Sheng glanced at the empty table in front of him and asked with a smile, "Have you had lunch yet?"

Evergreen shook his head. "No! But it's okay. I'll just go out and buy some food after I finish reading your new book. It's really fine."

Cao Sheng: "If you don't mind, why don't you try the food from our school cafeteria here?"

Evergreen was surprised. "Huh? Is that okay?"

Cao Sheng turned to Cui Xinyu, who was standing to the side, and said, "Go and get a meal for me!"

Cui Xinyu smiled and nodded, then turned and left.

……

After about 20 minutes.

Cao Sheng, who had already finished lunch, watched Chang Qingshu hurriedly finish his meal. Cao Sheng took out a small pack of tissues and handed it to him.

Wipe your mouth!

Chang Qingshu took the tissue, thanked him, and wiped his mouth. After wiping it a couple of times, he couldn't wait to ask, "Okay, can we go to your dorm now?"

Cao Sheng looked at Cui Xinyu, who had just gotten a meal and had only eaten a little over half of it.

Seeing Cao Sheng's look, Cui Xinyu quickly stood up, swallowed the food in her mouth, and said, "I'm done eating, shall we go?"

Cao Sheng reached out and pressed down on her shoulder. "No! You keep eating. We'll go first. Come find us when you're done eating."

Evergreen quickly chimed in, "Yes! Yes! Miss Cui, you go ahead and eat. Ah Hui and I will go. Really, there's no need to rush."

Cui Xinyu hesitated for a moment.

Cao Sheng smiled, patted her on the shoulder, and said, "Just eat yours!"

He then left the cafeteria with Evergreen Tree and headed towards his rented teachers' dormitory.

Actually, when they were talking in the cafeteria, many people in the cafeteria were watching them.

The main reason is that Cao Sheng is so well-known at Huizhou Teachers College that almost everyone knows him.

Cao Sheng was already used to being the center of attention, so the attention didn't affect his conversation with Chang Qingshu. On the way to the dormitory, Chang Qingshu walked beside Cao Sheng, glancing around at the surrounding scenery, thinking: In this seemingly ordinary college, Cao Sheng was able to write so many best-selling books and movie scripts. Did the houses and plants here provide him with any inspiration?

In his view, the campus environment of Huizhou Teachers College did not surprise him. The teaching buildings were not tall, and the dormitory buildings looked quite ordinary. The only thing worth mentioning was the exceptionally lush vegetation on campus. The large trees along the roadside, which were at least several decades old, seemed to be silently telling the story of the school's long history.

This also made him wonder: Is the school library particularly rich in books? Does it contain many ancient books on mythology and fantasy? Is that why Cao Sheng was able to write works like "I Want to Become an Immortal," "Tomb of the Gods," and "Romance of the Primordial Era"?

Cao Sheng, who was walking alongside him, saw that he was admiring the scenery on campus all the way. Cao Sheng smiled and did not disturb him.

If Cao Sheng knew what Chang Qingshu was thinking while looking at these views, he would definitely laugh.

He has indeed read countless books.

But most of them were the online novels he read before his rebirth.

It wasn't a work from their school library.

We arrived at the dormitory that Cao Sheng was renting.

As Cao Sheng turned on his computer and invited Chang Qingshu to sit down, he said, "The manuscript of the new book has not been polished yet, it is not the final product. You can just take a look at it. If you really want to see it, you can wait a few days until I polish it."

Evergreen nodded repeatedly, "Yes, okay, okay! I understand, it's alright, it's alright!"

The computer booted up successfully, and Cao Sheng retrieved the manuscript of "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" from the hard drive.

"This is it, take a look! I'll go make you a cup of tea."

Chang Qingshu said, "Okay! Thank you!", his eyes already on the manuscript in the document.

Book Title: The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts

Type: Chinese Martial Arts

Author: Zhongyuan Yidianhui
Synopsis: When the Japanese invaders attacked, the country was shattered, and the land was engulfed in flames of war, the older generation of martial arts practitioners bravely stepped forward to fight the enemy and save the nation.

They elevated martial arts to the status of a national art.

They said, "Traditional Chinese martial arts are for killing, not for performance!"

Unfortunately, after the Japanese invaders were driven out and the country was at peace, martial arts, which were performed but not used to kill, dominated the mainstream media. Coupled with some unspeakable reasons, traditional Chinese martial arts were gradually forgotten by the world.

Wang Chao was originally just an ordinary high school student who knew nothing about Chinese martial arts until he met her, who possessed extraordinary skills, in the park.

From then on, he devoted himself to rigorous training, and with his amazing talent in Chinese martial arts, he gradually rose to the pinnacle of individual martial arts in the world.

……

In front of the computer.

Evergreen's expression turned to surprise upon seeing this.

It wasn't because the book title and synopsis were anything special, but because he felt they were quite ordinary.

There are two reasons why he thinks it's ordinary.

First, by looking at the synopsis, he could tell that the book was a martial arts story set in a modern society.

He searched his mind but couldn't recall a single bestseller.

Secondly... Wuxia (martial arts) has long been in decline.

Jin Yong and Gu Long's martial arts novels used to be very popular. A few years ago, Huang Yi emerged, and since then, no one has emerged to carry the torch for martial arts novels.

Especially after the emergence of online novels, the number of readers who like to read martial arts novels has decreased rapidly. Those who have read online novels basically no longer want to go back to read martial arts novels.

But what is Cao Sheng writing about in this book?
A martial arts story set in modern society?
He would rather Cao Sheng write another fantasy novel, or a novel set in the prehistoric world, or even a novel like "The Exquisite Pagoda of Heaven and Earth".

But what future can martial arts novels have in the context of modern society?
Readers no longer like martial arts novels, can you single-handedly change the tastes of most readers?

"Come on! Have some tea!"

At this moment, Cao Sheng placed a freshly brewed cup of tea next to Chang Qingshu.

Evergreen subconsciously said "thank you".

Then, he turned to look at Cao Sheng, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Cao Sheng smiled and gestured to the computer in front of him, "Keep watching! We'll talk again when you're done."

After saying that, Cao Sheng picked up his cup of tea, walked over to the sofa, sat down, and started drinking tea while checking unread text messages on his phone.

Chang Qingshu glanced at Cao Sheng, sighed softly, shook his head, said nothing, and continued reading the main text of the new book.

He felt that Cao Sheng's new book was probably going to flop.

That's too willful.

They actually chose such an obscure topic.

Do you really think that just because you're a nobody, you can write anything that becomes popular?
Even the best chef can't turn a pile of grass into a delicious dish!
Chang Qingshu read the main text of the new book with a sense of disappointment.

While reading, I mentally evaluated the writing: the style is still good, the quality hasn't declined, and the protagonist's name, Wang Chao, while common, still provides a good sense of immersion for the reader. It's alright. Wang Chao encounters a beautiful woman practicing Tai Chi in the park? Isn't that a bit cliché? Is Zhongyuan Yidianhui's new book going to use a beautiful woman to attract readers in the first chapter? Aren't they afraid of being criticized?

After reading the first chapter, he felt that such an opening would be quite good if it were written by another author, but since it was written by Zhongyuan Yidianhui, it was a bit disappointing. It lacked originality, and the first chapter relied on a beautiful woman to attract readers, which was a poor choice.

He patiently read the second chapter.

result?

The second chapter begins with Wang Chao arriving at Tang Zichen's temporary residence, a small courtyard rented by Tang Zichen, where Tang Zichen begins to formally teach Wang Chao Tai Chi.

This should have been a very common plot, but it left Evergreen Tree completely astonished.

Because the martial arts concepts that Tang Zichen spoke of were all revolutionary and entirely new theories.

Moreover, when Tang Zichen demonstrated the first move to Wang Chao, she showed off her real skills in order to arouse Wang Chao's desire for martial arts.

A seemingly casual punch actually broke a jujube tree as thick as a bowl in the yard.

This surprised not only Wang Chao, but also Chang Qingshu.

Wang Chao seemed to have seen a new world, and so did the evergreen tree.

After that, Evergreen became completely engrossed in the story.

Evergreen was amazed by the training methods, footwork, fighting techniques, stances, names of moves, and the essence of each move in Tai Chi.

Because Tang Zichen's martial arts theory was so detailed and complete, Chang Qingshu gradually began to doubt whether such a national martial art really existed in this world.

Because Tang Zichen's theory sounded too convincing.

When he unknowingly finished reading the more than 8 words of the draft, the way he looked at Cao Sheng was completely different from before.

Astonishing!

At this moment, Cao Sheng, sitting on the sofa drinking tea, seemed to be shining brightly in Chang Qingshu's eyes.

—Could a human write such a work?

(End of this chapter)