He was in college, but his songs were at the Grammys.

There weren't many comments, only about twenty, but almost all of them were questions and complaints.

For readers accustomed to traditional martial arts or fantasy novels...

The unfamiliar concept of "fighting spirit" is like throwing a strangely shaped stone into a calm lake; it doesn't create ripples, but rather an instinctive repulsion.

What angered them even more was that this book occupied a recommendation spot in the "King of Immortals" essay contest.

That's a major traffic source!

How many authors would fight tooth and nail for a spot, only to have it given to a "bizarre" book like this?

It was with this dissatisfaction that Yang Houchao clicked on the link to "Battle Through the Heavens".

He is 27 years old and works in operations at an internet company. In his spare time, he is a well-known novel review YouTuber.

The Bilibili account "Chao Ge's Book Review" has over 80,000 followers and specializes in reviewing various online novels, known for its sharp and objective commentary.

As a seasoned wuxia and xianxia enthusiast, Yang Houchao grew up reading novels by Huang Pei, the supreme wuxia novelist from Blue Star.

Later, with the rise of online literature, he plunged into the world of fantasy and martial arts, having read at least four or five hundred novels.

He pays close attention to the "King of Immortals" essay contest and makes a video every week to comment on the newly listed works.

Earlier today, he saw someone complaining in the fan group: "Brother Chao, has Qianjie Bookstore gotten too big for its britches? They gave a recommendation spot to some weird book called 'Battle Through the Heavens,' with a really messy setting."

Many people below echoed this sentiment.

Yang Houchao was working overtime at the time and casually replied, "Let me check it out, guys. No rush, we'll chat during the live stream tonight."

After getting off work and having dinner, he sat in front of his computer and habitually opened the Thousand Worlds Library page.

As expected, "Battle Through the Heavens" was featured in the recommended section.

He first opened the book review section, glanced at the negative comments, and made a general judgment in his mind.

This is yet another self-indulgent work by an author who prioritizes "setting" over originality. The plot and character design are likely to be a mess.

He replied to the latest comment: "Let me judge this book. I'll update the video tomorrow and talk about this 'casual' author and the recommendation criteria of Qianjie Bookstore."

The reply instantly gained dozens more likes.

"Brother Chao is awesome!"

"Waiting for Brother Chao's sharp critique!"

"Someone needs to speak up and say something fair!"

Yang Houchao smiled, closed the book review section, and opened the main text.

He adjusted his posture, habitually picked up the thermos next to him with his left hand, and gripped the mouse with his right, preparing to begin what he called "judgmental reading."

He usually jots down his thoughts, logical flaws, writing problems, and plot contradictions in a notebook while reading, accumulating material for tomorrow's video.

"Battle Qi, Level Three!"

Yang Houchao frowned as soon as he started writing the first sentence.

Fighting spirit?

That's a really new term.

He patiently read on.

The text is clean and concise, without any unnecessary words, and it evokes vivid imagery.

Yang Houchao subconsciously typed two words into his notebook: "The writing is passable."

Then he saw the protagonist, Xiao Yan, a former family genius who had now become a "useless person" who could barely maintain even the third level of Dou Qi.

The clansmen's cold stares, the father's sighs, the boy's frantic training in the backyard late at night...

Yang Houchao paused for a moment while holding the mouse.

This "fall of a genius" setting is quite rare, and the author's handling of it is very delicate.

Instead of overemphasizing the tragedy, it uses a calm touch to depict the coldness of human nature as one falls from the clouds and the temperature around them plummets.

He continued reading without realizing it.

Nalan Yanran, accompanied by elders from the Yunlan Sect, went to the door to annul the engagement.

The atmosphere in the hall was tense, with Xiao Zhan's face ashen, Nalan Yanran's haughty gaze, and Elder Ge Ye's seemingly polite but actually pressuring words...

Then, the young man in black, in full view of everyone, tore up the engagement and wrote a letter of divorce in blood.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; never underestimate a young person's potential!"

The moment those words caught Yang Houchao's eye, his hand gripping the thermos tightened abruptly, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged slightly.

A long-lost, almost instinctive sense of dread crept up my spine.

It seems like... I haven't seen such powerful lines in a novel for many years.

It was not a feigned roar of passion, nor a whining cry of malice, but a vow, stained with blood and hatred, squeezed from the very marrow of a young man's bones when his dignity had been trampled to the extreme.

Yang Houchao stared blankly at the screen, not moving for several seconds.

The notebook was still blank, except for the first four words.

He forgot to record the criticisms, forgot the "judgment," and even forgot that he was a review content creator.

He just wanted to keep watching.

I want to know what this young man named Xiao Yan will do next.

I want to know what's hidden inside that mysterious black ring.

I wonder how he will step onto the Yunlan Sect three years from now.

Yang Houchao put down his thermos, leaned forward unconsciously, and stared intently at the screen.

He saw the aged soul floating out of the ring, the Medicine Master.

Seeing the Burning Technique, the strange fire, and the world called "Dou Qi Continent," he saw only the tip of its iceberg slowly unfolding before his eyes...

I finished reading 20,000 words without even realizing it.

When Yang Houchao subconsciously scrolled the mouse wheel, wanting to open the next chapter, the page displayed "Latest chapter has been read."

He stood there, staring at the prompt, unable to react for a long time.

That's all?

That's it?

What fighting techniques will Yao Lao teach Xiao Yan? What other turmoil will occur within the Xiao family? How will the pressure of the three-year agreement be resolved?

Those settings that I just found "inexplicable" a moment ago.

Battle Qi, Battle Master, Battle Master, Great Battle Master—at this moment, these terms were unusually clear in his mind, even somewhat interesting.

Yang Houchao leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

The light from the computer screen shone on his face, and his eyes, which had been preparing for "judgment," now held only a complex emotion.

There was shock, surprise, and a touch of resentment at being caught up in the story.

He glanced at the time and realized that almost half an hour had passed.

He originally planned to spend only ten minutes "glancing" at the footage before creating the video material.

Yang Houchao rubbed his slightly sore eyes and looked back at the novel page on the screen.

"Battle Through the Heavens", by Suiyi.

He was silent for a few seconds, then opened the book review section.

The negative comments from before were still there, but seeing them now felt somewhat irritating to him.

He thought for a moment, typed on the keyboard, and replied to the latest comment with another message:

"After reading the first 20,000 words, here's my conclusion: It's pretty good. The setting is novel, the author handles it very well, and the story has great tension. The 'Don't underestimate a young man' part is a classic. I will continue to follow the updates. Also, I suggest that readers who haven't finished reading at least read up to the part about the annulment of the engagement before making a judgment."

Reply and send.

A few seconds later, new comments began to appear below:

"Really? Chao, you've been bribed?"

"I just finished watching it too! Chao Ge was right, the part about breaking off the engagement was absolutely brilliant!"

"I admit I spoke a bit too loudly before."

"The premise is a bit strange, but it's quite engaging once you get into it..."

"The author is updating so fast! 20,000 words a day? I wonder how they'll update later."

"Added to bookshelf, will update tomorrow."

Yang Houchao looked at the comments, smiled, and closed the page.

He opened Bilibili, ready to change the title of the video he was going to post tomorrow.

He deleted the post he had originally planned, which read, "How could this kind of book take up the recommended spot for a fantasy novel contest? Thousand Realms Library, wake up!"

He thought for a moment, then retyped:

"A 'strange' new book, and the saying 'Never underestimate a young man's potential'—A brief discussion of the stunning opening of 'Battle Through the Heavens,' a work that appears 'casual' yet is not."

Then, he opened the live streaming app and adjusted the microphone.

He originally planned to criticize a few new books during tonight's live stream.

But now, he has changed his mind.

He wanted to have a good talk about the book "Battle Through the Heavens".

Let's talk about that boy named Xiao Yan.

Let's talk about the phrase that gives him goosebumps: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river."

At this very moment, in the male dormitory of Jiangyi.

Chen Ming had just returned from playing basketball, covered in sweat, and was drying his hair with a towel.

Tang Yuan and Zhou Xu slumped in their chairs, panting heavily from exhaustion.

"Ming-ge, those three-pointers you made today were spot on!" Tang Yuan gave a weak thumbs up.

"Keep it down, sit down." Chen Ming smiled and walked to the computer to sit down.

He opened the author backend of Qianjie Bookstore and glanced at the data for "Battle Through the Heavens".

Clicks: 3872

Favorites: 512

Comments: 43

Not good, but not bad either.

For a completely new setting and a completely new author, Chen Ming was already very satisfied with this start.

He opened the book review section, glanced at the questions and discussions, and remained calm.

When the original "Battle Through the Heavens" was first released, it went through a similar phase.

The emergence of new things is always accompanied by doubt and misunderstanding.

But good works will ultimately speak for themselves.

However, what he didn't know was that in another corner of the city, a content creator named Yang Houchao was excitedly telling the story of "Dou Qi Continent" to hundreds of viewers in his live stream.

Unbeknownst to them, in the backend of the Thousand Realms Library, editor Xiaoqing was staring at the slow but steady data growth curve of "Battle Through the Heavens," her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

What they didn't know was that in a group of novel enthusiasts, people had already started discussing topics like "Which is stronger, battle qi or internal energy?" and "Just how overpowered is the Burning Technique?"

The ripples of new things are spreading outwards in unseen circles.

.......

.......

P.S.: Dear readers, the author will be featured on the recommendation list tomorrow. I hope you will have time to read it.

Following the author's new book release period is really important.

Please, please! ○|￣|_.

I am deeply grateful for the gentle breeze and the soft strains of the strings!