Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 414: A Cultivation System?
During his freshman year, Song Chao slept in the bunk below Cao Sheng. During his university years, he tried to emulate Cao Sheng by writing novels. However, he wrote several new books during his university years but never earned any royalties.

Even after graduating from university and entering the workforce, he did not give up writing.

Finally, a book was published.

However, even after it was published, he gradually found that he simply couldn't write the book for long. The more he wrote, the more painful it became, and writing each chapter was a form of torture for him.

Therefore, after barely managing to write 60 words, he gritted his teeth and finished the book.

At that time, he felt that he had finished this book, and based on his experience in writing it, he should be able to write a better new book, and there shouldn't be any problems with its publication.

With this completed work of 60 words as a foundation, he is confident that his new book will be better and longer.

but……

He submitted three new books to publishers, but all three were rejected.

The publishers he had previously worked with said that his previous book had mediocre sales and reviews, and was even left unfinished, so they didn't think highly of his new book either.

When I submitted my manuscript to other publishers, they rejected it for various reasons.

Some say his work lacks highlights.

Some say his works have a slow plot progression.

Some say his work is not lighthearted or fun enough.

After being rejected so many times, the little confidence he had painstakingly built up was almost gone.

After graduation, he actually kept an eye on Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng has been involved in a scandal, and he is paying attention to it.

He also paid attention to Cao Sheng's scripts selling for exorbitant prices.

He naturally paid attention to Cao Sheng's new book.

That evening, he was in a rented room, using a second-hand computer he had bought with his royalties to go online and quietly read Cao Sheng's new book, "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts," on Qidian.com.

When he started reading "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts", he noticed that the book had received more than 54 clicks and more than 6 recommendation votes.

The latest honor displayed in the Hall of Fame is that the number of people who have collected the item has exceeded 20,000, and this honor was awarded just two days ago.

The problem is—he just saw that the book only has a little over 5 words in total.

It has over 20,000 favorites after only 50,000 words?
"abnormal!"

He muttered to himself, with a mixture of curiosity and a desire to learn, as he opened the book's table of contents and began reading from the first chapter.

After finishing the first chapter, he thought to himself: Cao Sheng's writing skills aren't that much better than mine, are they? So why is his book so popular, while my new book always fails to pass the publisher's review?
Before he even finished reading the second chapter, he let out a sigh of relief, thinking: "What a freak! Traditional kung fu has been written about to death, and you still managed to come up with something new? You've created a new concept and a new cultivation system?"
After finishing the third chapter, he didn't think about anything and eagerly clicked on the fourth chapter.

……

After reading the more than 5 words of "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" currently being serialized on Qidian, he silently picked up the cigarette case on the table, lowered his head and lit one.

Although he didn't say anything more, he knew in his heart that Cao Sheng's new book was very well written. The pace was neither too fast nor too slow, and the plot progressed layer by layer. Not only was the male protagonist's strength improving little by little, but the relationship between the male protagonist and Tang Zichen was also progressing little by little, and the affection between the senior sister and junior brother was accumulating little by little.

It's a story about one person teaching kung fu and the other learning kung fu, which should be a very boring plot, but Cao Sheng wrote it in a way that made him unable to put it down.

He carefully recalled the plot and details of the book, trying to figure out what made it so excellent.
His conclusion was that there seemed to be nothing particularly outstanding about it, but there also seemed to be nothing that was poorly written.

He didn't think Cao Sheng's writing was particularly outstanding; it lacked ornate language and sophisticated structure, and was generally just a straightforward narrative.

While reading, he couldn't feel that Cao Sheng's writing was particularly outstanding, but strangely enough, when he was reading these plots, vivid story scenes seemed to appear before his eyes, and the words in front of him seemed to have turned into pictures.

Is this considered good writing? Or bad?
Song Chao frowned, unable to make a judgment.

As he was thinking, he casually refreshed the page of "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" and was surprised to find that the book's Hall of Fame had a new honor: the number of collectors had exceeded 30,000.

When Song Chao saw the honor by chance, he was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes widened, unable to believe his eyes.

He refreshed the webpage several times and found that the latest honor was still there.

"Holy crap! Only 5 words and already 3 favorites? That's outrageous!"

When he couldn't help but complain, he thought of his new book on Qidian, which had only a pitiful thousand or so collections after 14 words, and felt very bad.

Compared to the number of people who have collected Cao Sheng's book, he feels that his new book is rubbish.

It made him lose all motivation to write his new book.

He stared intently at the honor of "more than 30,000 people have collected this item" for a long time before letting out a sigh of relief.

Then he picked up his phone and dialed Cao Sheng's number.

Sometimes, he felt frustrated that he and Cao Sheng had been classmates and that he had even slept in the lower bunk of Cao Sheng's room.

Because of this past, he couldn't help but compare his own achievements with Cao Sheng's.

Every time he compared them, he felt extremely depressed.

Sometimes, he would feel that it was an honor and an opportunity for him to have slept in the lower bunk of Cao Sheng's room.

Because he was able to contact Cao Sheng and receive some writing guidance and encouragement from him.

Tonight, he wanted to get in through Cao Sheng's back door.

He was just a little worried that Cao Sheng wouldn't answer the phone again, since he knew Cao Sheng rarely answered anyone's calls.

result?

"Hello? Song Chao?"

The call was actually answered, and Cao Sheng's voice came through the phone.

Song Chao sat up straight with surprise and quickly said, "Cao Sheng! Aren't you writing right now? I thought you wouldn't answer the phone at this hour!"

Huizhou Teachers College.

Under the cover of night, Cao Sheng, who was strolling on the track, smiled slightly. "Nothing! I was bored staying in the dorm, so I'm taking a walk on the track! What about you? What are you doing?"

Song Chao: "Oh, me? I just finished reading your new book, 'The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts.' You're amazing! It only has a little over 5 words, but you already have over 3 favorites. You're insane!"

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "When the book was first released, Qidian gave it a homepage announcement for promotion, and today it topped the new book chart, attracting many readers. Without these exposure opportunities, the data would not be so exaggerated."

Song Chao: "That's still pretty awesome!"

Cao Sheng: "How have you been lately? Are you still writing books?"

Song Chao: "Yeah, I recently wrote a book, but the data is only a fraction of yours, so I don't even want to write it anymore."

Cao Sheng thought he wanted to stop writing, so he casually comforted him: "It's good that you're not writing anymore! It's too difficult to make a name for yourself in this industry. If you put the same effort into something else, you'll have a much higher chance of success."

After a moment of silence, Song Chao spoke again: "No! What I mean is, I don't want to write this new book anymore. I want to start a new book!"

Cao Sheng chuckled, "Oh, is that so? That's fine too! As long as you're confident you can write a better new book, then go ahead and write it!"

Song Chao hesitated, then suddenly asked, "Cao Sheng! Can you help me this once?" Cao Sheng smiled, a little curious, "Oh? How do you want me to help you?"

Song Chao: "I... I think the cultivation system in your new book is very special and interesting. You must have created it yourself, right?"

Cao Sheng hummed in agreement.

Song Chao: "Then, could you give me a copy of all the settings for this cultivation system? I want to use this system to write a new book, is that okay?"

After saying that, he waited anxiously for Cao Sheng's reply.

Upon hearing this, Cao Sheng stopped in his tracks.

His expression was somewhat surprised.

You want me to learn a cultivation system?
Has Song Chao turned into a freeloader?
These thoughts flashed through Cao Sheng's mind.

Before his rebirth, he had heard of and encountered several freeloaders.

The freeloaders in the online literature circle are quite interesting. Some of them post on author forums, asking for writing materials for a certain genre, such as: a material package on Hong Kong entertainment; a material package on mainland entertainment; or various settings, characters, and other materials for the prehistoric fantasy genre.

The main point is to get something for free.

Some people will join a certain author's fan group, chat with the author as a fan, and then ask the author for writing materials on that subject.

They want all the materials that others have painstakingly created or collected.

Some people have asked Cao Sheng for it.

But this was the first time Cao Sheng had ever encountered someone like Song Chao, who demanded a cultivation system when Cao Sheng's new book had only been published for 5 words.

Is this something that can be given away casually?

Consider this: Shenji, Chen Dong, Xihongshi, and others always create a completely new cultivation system every time they release a new book. Is it because they're bored? Or are they just doing it for fun?

A completely new and logically consistent cultivation system can often attract countless readers, especially in the early days of online novels, when a brand-new cultivation system was very attractive to most readers.

Looking at the most popular works in the history of online literature, many of them pioneered entirely new cultivation systems at the time.

This shows the value of a completely new cultivation system.
If Cao Sheng's "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" is nearing its end or has already ended, then if Song Chao asks him for the cultivation system of this book, Cao Sheng might just give it to him without hesitation.

Because Cao Sheng had already earned almost all the money he was supposed to.

But his book has only been published online for about 5 words! It's still a seedling, and Song Chao is already asking for a cultivation system?
Perhaps it's because Cao Sheng has been silent for a while.

Song Chao spoke again from the other end of the phone: "Cao Sheng? Cao Sheng, are you still listening? Did you hear what I just said? Cao Sheng? Cao Sheng?"

Cao Sheng: "Since you've already read over 5 words, you should have already seen the cultivation system in my book, right? Why are you still asking me for it?"

Song Chao: "Huh? They've all been released? That can't be! I feel like only a little bit has been revealed! You... you didn't include the subsequent cultivation levels in your outline?"

Cao Sheng continued walking along the track, his smile returning, and casually said, "There are indeed later levels, but only a few simple ones. I'm refining the more specific settings as I write them. Are you sure you want those simple levels?"

Song Chao fell silent.

He is not a fool.

He knew that Cao Sheng had a habit of writing outlines and detailed outlines.

But Cao Sheng is saying this now, and he realizes that Cao Sheng is unwilling to give him the cultivation system.

So he said with a wry smile, "Oh, I see! Never mind then, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Cao Sheng changed the subject, "Are you planning to write about traditional Chinese martial arts in your new book?"

Song Chao hummed in agreement.

Cao Sheng: "If you really want to write, first collect more information on various traditional kung fu! The process of collecting information is also a process of inspiring creativity. When you read those traditional kung fu materials, some inspiration will naturally come to your mind. You can give it a try."

Song Chao said "oh" again.

Feeling down, Song Chao lost interest in talking, so the two chatted for a while longer before ending the call.

……

Huizhou Teachers College.

On the track, Cao Sheng put away his phone, put his hands in his pockets, shook his head, and continued his walk.

He was actually willing to offer Song Chao some help.

But the help Song Chao wanted this time was too outrageous; he really couldn't help him.

"The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" is the first Chinese martial arts-themed work he has put forward in this time and space. If this book wants to give readers more surprises, it is necessary to gradually reveal the cultivation system.

For example: Ming Jin (manifest strength), An Jin (hidden strength), Hua Jin (transformation strength), Dan Jin (elixir strength), Gang Jin (罡 strength), breaking through the void, seeing the spirit without decay.

These higher realms need to be revealed little by little as the male protagonist's realm improves.

Only in this way can we maximize the reader's desire to continue reading.

If all the realms were revealed from the beginning, readers would find the protagonist's current state (Ming Jin) too low and uninteresting, and would eagerly anticipate the protagonist's advancement to the next two major realms.

In the original timeline, how was Shenji's "The Legend of the Dragon and the Snake" written?

Did they write out all the later realms when the male protagonist's realm was still low?
no?
Therefore, if Cao Sheng were to give the entire cultivation system to Song Chao at this point, and if Song Chao were to leak these levels in advance, the anticipation for his book "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" would be greatly diminished.

Why are the works of pioneers in each genre of online literature so difficult to surpass?
Cao Sheng believes the main reason is that when a new theme is first introduced, the gradual release of entirely new cultivation levels brings readers a sense of surprise and awe that no subsequent work can provide.

Many things leave the deepest impression when you see them for the first time.

For example: corpse.

For example: beautiful woman.

For example: a large pile of banknotes.

and many more.

The shock of these things is strongest when they first appear before a person; but as they are seen a second, third, or even Nth time, they gradually become numb to them.

……

The days passed by.

Since "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" topped the Qidian New Book Chart, those who follow the book have noticed that its various metrics are setting new records on Qidian.

5 words, and over 3 people have added it to their favorites.

It has over 7 words and has been collected more than 4 times.

When it reached 10 words, it had over 5 favorites and also climbed to third place on the weekly recommendation list.

……

(End of this chapter)