Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 512 The champion posted an attack on Cao Sheng
"Wait for me! I'll be there in a bit."

After saying that, Cao Sheng hung up the phone, went downstairs to call Qu Hai and Huang Lijun, and went to the Oriental Sunrise Hotel to have dinner with Qian Zhenyu.

About the same time.

Duanren sat in front of the computer, looking at the new book list on Qidian, and remained silent.

He followed the trend of "Cultivation Chat Group" and wrote "Cultivation Chat Group", which has been published. However, like Cao Sheng's "Cultivation Chat Group", it is not qualified to enter the Qidian New Book List because it is less than 5 words.

This is one of the rules for entering the Qidian New Book Ranking.

He glanced at the top ten books on the new book list for a while, then silently opened the page of "Cultivation Chat Group" and saw that it had already exceeded 100,000 total clicks. Then he opened the page of his own book, "Cultivation Chat Group," and saw that it only had 106 clicks. He pursed his lips, feeling a great sense of disappointment.

He knew his fame couldn't compare to that of Zhongyuan Yidianhui, but the two new books, with only a few thousand fewer words, had such a huge difference in popularity, which he still felt was unfair.

That's so unfair!

Is the quality of my book so much worse than Zhongyuan Yidianhui's "Cultivation Chat Group"? Is that why there's such a huge difference in popularity?
He doesn't believe it!
In the original timeline, he was also one of the early platinum-level authors on Qidian.

Of course, they have exceptional abilities.

At this moment, he kept switching between the pages of the two books, "Cultivation Chat Group" and "Immortal Cultivation Chat Group," comparing the popularity of the two new books. After about ten minutes, he finally stopped switching between the two books, silently opened the draft document of "Immortal Cultivation Chat Group," and after a moment of contemplation, began to write.

He is well-educated and experienced, having read many martial arts novels and online novels, exceeding the reading volume of many of his peers. He also excelled in Chinese language during his student days.

Therefore, he didn't experience as much pain when writing.

I write intermittently, sometimes deleting a whole paragraph and rewriting it.

He wrote his online articles like he used to write essays, striving for perfection in every paragraph.

He believes that many authors cannot be this meticulous, and if he could be this meticulous and serious about every chapter, he should be able to surpass many of his peers.

He considers this his core competency and persists in it.

……

at the same time.

Magic City.

Zhang Shuang, the 2000 New Concept Writing Competition champion, was also sitting in front of the computer, silently looking at the click and recommendation data of "Cultivation Chat Group".

He didn't know that in the original timeline, he wasn't the champion of the New Concept Writing Competition.

In this current timeline, under Cao Sheng's influence, many people's life trajectories have been altered. For example, in this timeline, Guo Xiaosi and Han Er became obsessed with online novels early on, lost interest in writing essays, and joined the ranks of online novel writers at a very young age.

Naturally, he did not participate in the New Concept Writing Competition.

Neither of them has received any honors from the New Concept Writing Competition.

And Zhang Shuang?
His life trajectory in the original timeline is unknown to the world, but now he is the champion of the 2000 New Concept Writing Competition.

However, the influence of the New Concept Writing Competition in this timeline among young people is far less than that in the original timeline.

Because Cao Sheng ushered in the era of online literature in this timeline ahead of time, and under the influence of Cao Sheng's trendsetting works, the development momentum of online literature in recent years has far exceeded that of the original timeline.

It has attracted countless talented individuals to the online literature industry.

Many young people are also becoming online novel readers without even realizing it.

Having witnessed the boundless creativity of online novels and their completely colloquial writing style, they had absolutely no interest in reading the winning entries from the New Concept Writing Competition.

In short, the number of readers interested in the winning entries of the New Concept Writing Competition in this timeline is more than half that of the original timeline.

With so many fewer readers, the competition's influence naturally diminished.

As a result, even champions like Zhang Shuang from the New Concept Writing Competition didn't gain much fame.

but……

This title of champion in such a major competition makes Zhang Shuang very proud.

I believe my talent is definitely among the best of my peers.

He also believes that his talent is recognized, otherwise, why would he be able to be admitted to Fudan University after winning the championship?

Yes!

He is now a student at Fudan University.

I entered Fudan University in 2001 and am currently in my second semester of freshman year. I'll be a sophomore soon.

With summer vacation approaching, he recently had an idea: to write a novel and publish it on Qidian.com to earn some royalties.

The title of champion in the New Concept Writing Competition made him very proud, and being admitted to Fudan University through a special program also made him very satisfied, but the prize money for the champion was not much.

Having arrived in Shanghai, a first-tier city with a developed economy, he has come to realize that everything here is about money. Those without money are just nobody or a pauper, while those with money are the boss.

He wants to be treated like a boss.

Thinking back to his freshman year of college, he started writing online novels and earning royalties. He quickly gained both fame and fortune, and changed one beautiful woman after another.

It's hard for him not to be tempted to imitate him.

He wanted to replicate the success of Zhongyuan Yidianhui.

I firmly believe that I will succeed and make a name for myself in the online literature industry.

If I can win the New Concept Writing Competition, why can't I win the online writing competition?

With this mindset, he carefully prepared a new book, which was recently published on Qidian. The pen name he chose for himself was also imitating "Zhongyuan Yidianhui" (meaning "a touch of gray in the Central Plains"), which is "Zhongyuan Yidianhong" (meaning "a touch of red in the Central Plains").

A touch of red in the Central Plains...

Zhang Shuang used the name that Cao Sheng didn't dare to use back then.

His new book is titled "Ethereal Aura".

only……

His book has been published on Qidian for over a week, and it has finally exceeded 5 words and entered Qidian's new book list, but it is ranked 87th.

They are still far from being in the top 10.

The book has barely surpassed 1000 total clicks, 104 recommendation votes, and 83 people have added it to their favorites.

Looking at Cao Sheng's new book, which had been published less than two days ago and already had over 10 clicks, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment.

"It's not fair! It's so unfair!"

He muttered to himself with a grim expression. He had already read four chapters of the main text of "Cultivation Chat Group". He felt that Zhongyuan Yidianhui's new book was very mediocre and the writing style was not as good as his own. Why was his new book so unpopular while Zhongyuan Yidianhui's new book was so popular?

Why?
Is the reputation of the Central Plains really that great?

Shouldn't the competition be about the quality of the work, or about fame?

Compared to this, is there any hope for new authors to succeed?
After staring at the various data of "Cultivation Chat Group" for more than an hour, he gritted his teeth and decided to take a gamble!
He logged into his author account and posted a thread in the book review section of "Cultivation Chat Group".

The title is: "I am Zhang Shuang! Winner of the New Concept Writing Competition!" The post content is: "Zhongyuan Yidianhui, have you read my winning essay? Can you comment on my writing style? Do you dare to give your opinion?"

I know you're very famous, but ask yourself honestly, does your skill level and the quality of your work match your current fame? Putting everything else aside, just look at your new book. How do you think its quality compares to my "Immortal Aura"? Can it even be compared?
Your current fame is only due to the advantage of being the first to write online novels. Ask yourself: if you hadn't been lucky enough to be the first to publish a novel online, would you have the fame you have now?

Do you dare say that if you had published this book under a new author account, it would have been as popular as it is now?
Do you realize that you've become a cancer in this industry? You've taken away too many exposure opportunities from other authors because of your fame!

Finally, I hope you can review my novel, *Immortal Aura*! My book is already on Qidian; you don't need to go there. I hope you can give a fair and honest review!

……

The post has been sent.

He sat in front of the computer, his expression shifting constantly.

He knew that posting such a message would inevitably offend Zhongyuan Yidianhui.

but……

He felt the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

If I don't post this, I won't offend anyone in the Central Plains, but when will my work become popular?
When will I become famous in the online literature world?

At least once I post this, many readers in the "Cultivation Chat Group" will notice me. Even if Zhongyuan Yidianhui doesn't respond, many of Zhongyuan Yidianhui's readers will likely take a look at my "Immortal Aura".

That's the benefit!
It would be even better if Zhongyuan Yidianhui responded.

It will definitely attract more readers and writers to notice my novel, "Fairy Aura".

Even the editors at Qidian might treat me differently because of my status as the champion of the New Concept Writing Competition, and give me more good recommendation slots.

So he posted the message without hesitation.

As for whether offending Zhongyuan Yidianhui would be detrimental to his future?
He didn't believe that Zhongyuan Yidianhui had such influence.

Despite his great fame, Zhongyuan Yidianhui was just a writer; no matter how much he earned, he had no real power.

Even if Zhongyuan Yidianhui posts an article criticizing me, it will only increase my fame. What's there to be afraid of?
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, he kept refreshing his post's page, sometimes once, sometimes again.

As he refreshed the page again and again, just as he expected, the number of comments under his post increased.

He expected the insults and sarcastic remarks, and he wasn't angry.

Even if these insults and sarcastic remarks are unpleasant.

For example: "Wow! The champion of the New Concept Writing Competition? That's terrifying! 'Fairy Aura'? With so few clicks, you dare to brag?"

"Zhongyuan Yidianhong? Even Ah Hui wouldn't dare to use such a pen name, and the poster actually dares to, awesome!"

"Zhang Shuang? The champion of the 2000 New Concept Writing Competition, right? Do you think writing online novels is the same as writing essays?"

"Zhongyuan Yidianhui only had the advantage of being the first to post online? Wow! This must be the worst attack Zhongyuan Yidianhui has ever received since his debut, right? Tsk tsk, ignorance is bliss! I'm impressed!"

"《Immortal Aura》? Did the poster think we wouldn't recognize the meaning of 'aura' when choosing such a title? Are you trying to show off your writing skills? This lousy title is obviously a flop. And you still have the nerve to say that 《Cultivation Chat Group》 is better? Who gave you the courage?"

……

"Who cares who gave me the courage?"

Sitting in front of the computer, Zhang Shuang muttered to herself, pursing her lips.

These insults and sarcastic remarks were all within his expectations. After all, this was the book review section for Zhongyuan Yidianhui's new book, and it was almost entirely filled with Zhongyuan Yidianhui's fans. Naturally, they would criticize him for posting such a thing.

He doesn't care.

He only hoped that more people would see his post, and that Zhongyuan Yidianhui would respond positively, preferably with a comment on his post titled "Fairy Aura".

He believed that someone of Zhongyuan Yidianhui's status would not be so shameless and against his conscience as to say that his novel, "Immortal Aura," was poorly written.

He is very confident in the quality of his new book.

He firmly believes that the writing style of his book is unparalleled in the online literature world.

This is a new book written with heart by the author who won the New Concept Writing Competition!
Looking at the entire online literature industry, how many authors can write better than me? Why am I the champion of the New Concept Writing Competition, while they are not?
……

With his constant refreshing of the page, the number of comments under this post quickly exceeded 100.
What pleased Zhang Shuang the most was that the number of clicks on her book, "Immortal Aura," had indeed increased significantly. The book had only garnered a little over 1000 clicks in more than a week since its publication, but after she posted this article, it gained more than 170 clicks in just over an hour.

If this growth rate can be maintained, the total number of clicks should increase by more than 1000 before midnight tonight, which is equivalent to the data from the past week or so.

Therefore, even though he saw a lot more criticism in his book review section, he didn't care.

……

Huizhou.

After having dinner with Qian Zhenyu, Cao Sheng did not rush to leave, nor did he take Qian Zhenyu to her room to do anything improper.

Under the cover of night, he took Qian Zhenyu to Binjiang Road, got out of the car, and walked side by side with her on the sidewalk of Binjiang Road.

It's already the end of April.

Along the riverside pedestrian walkway, willows are already swaying gently, their branches several meters long hanging down and swaying in the wind. In the flower beds along the river, colorful flowers can be seen everywhere.

White-walled, black-tiled houses and shops line the roadside, and as far as the eye can see, the city is ablaze with lights.

Taking a walk in such an environment is truly refreshing.

The air at night seems fresher than during the day.

The slight coolness actually made people's minds clearer.

"Hey! Cao Sheng, have you been coming here for walks along the river quite often these past few years? It's so relaxing!"

Qian Zhenyu, with her arm linked with Cao Sheng's, turned her head to admire the surrounding scenery while asking a question.

Cao Sheng had a smile on his lips.

"No! I just come here for a walk occasionally."

He said.

Qian Zhenyu looked at him in surprise, "Really? Why? With such a beautiful view, how can you resist coming to see it more often?"

Cao Sheng: "I'm lazy! Most novelists are homebodies. They find it troublesome to even go out to throw out the trash, so of course they're too lazy to go for a walk."

Qian Zhenyu chuckled and shook her head. "You! If I had come to Huizhou to study with you back then, I would definitely have come here for walks often. This place is so beautiful!"

Cao Sheng: "During your years studying at Fudan University, did you often go for walks?"

Qian Zhenyu shook her head, "No! What's so interesting about Shanghai? It's all skyscrapers, all the same, there's no such beautiful scenery at all."

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "That's how people are. They always take the beautiful scenery around them for granted. Do you believe that people from other places who go to Shanghai will travel around and feel that they can't get enough of the sights?"

Suddenly, his cell phone rang in his pocket.

I took out my phone and saw that the caller ID read "Jin Hezai".

(End of this chapter)