Forge a path to success

Writing funny jokes and filler articles...

Therefore, the Yingshi Town arc has a lot of Gintama-style witty remarks and many comedic scenes with little actual information, such as Sora throwing Vande out to scout ahead, the two of them beating up an eel, and eating stones while wearing an eel headgear...

Honestly, apart from the eel headgear joke which I was fairly satisfied with, I thought the rest was terrible. It was too weak and the pacing was too loose. How could they write a story like this? I'm doomed, everyone's going to criticize me to death!

Surprisingly, the response when the story was serialized was actually quite good.

Compared to the deep-seated hatred and bitterness within Huilong City, this story, with its relatively low information content and lighter pace, seems surprisingly acceptable.

Honestly, from that moment on, I realized that I had made a fatal mistake in positioning myself and this book, but what's done is done, and it's too late to undo it now.

Thanks to the relaxed atmosphere in the early stages, the contrast effect when revealing the truth was quite satisfactory, uncovering a corner of the truth about the unfortunate world of the Submerged Realm. The final immortal mech battle successfully stirred up emotions, and I think it was one of the most successful boss battles I've ever written, with nothing to criticize except that it felt too much like the final battle.

Looking back now, although the Yingshi Town arc was very difficult to write, the overall effect was actually quite good. If there was a major mistake, it was putting the unfortunate Qi Su in this...

So why is Yingshi Town so stuck? What's the original story?

In the original design, the Yingshi Town arc was the entire second volume, featuring a mid-volume boss and a final boss. The main boss was naturally the Immortal Machine, and the planned mid-volume boss was—

Mr. Shakhs Ibn Ould.

That's right, Mr. Shax was originally supposed to appear in Yingshi Town as the Immortal Machine's partner. His original identity was a mercenary recruited by the Truth Empire after he transmigrated!

In the original story, he was responsible for sniping Akong on Mount Yingluo. After discovering the truth about the God Kingdom, he clashed with the Immortal Machine, chose to leave alone to fight Akong, and played a key role in stopping the True Machine in the final boss battle. However, on the one hand, this role overlapped with Vande's (stealing the show), and on the other hand, the environment made it difficult for Shax and Akong to have a proper fight. Therefore, Shax was moved to a later story, and the Yingluo Town arc, without one of the core characters, became very...empty... which is why there were these problems in the early stages...

The story changed later on, which is what they call "a single hair can affect the whole body".

Golden Leaf City Chapter

After the Yingshi Town arc ends, what is the next story planned in the outline?

It is a desolate wasteland.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but Yingshi Town was originally designed as part of Volume 2, while the Despair Wilderness was the large map for Volume 3, which was meant to be the counterpart to the Zero Island arc. However, due to story adjustments, Yingshi Town became the beginning of Volume 2, and it was impossible to directly transition to the Wilderness later on. Therefore, I hastily created a large transitional chapter that introduces the characters and connects the two parts.

This massive transition zone is Jinye City.

Actually, the entire Golden Leaf City arc was something I rushed out during the few slice-of-life chapters after the Yingshi Town arc ended. Except for a few characters who were planned in advance, the rest were purely improvised. The main purpose of this arc is to introduce the characters and show the characteristics of different paths in the early stages, so I chose a background similar to the Holy Grail War to create a super free-for-all.

There are regular factions (Akong's group, Shakes' group, and Qingye), unlucky guys caught in the crossfire (Iceman and Gulibo), a mastermind behind the scenes (the café trio), and a giant sea monster (Jinye) that everyone teams up to fight. The elements are plentiful, and the content is definitely substantial. I was worried about messing it up while writing, but after actually reading it... it's actually not bad.

The situation is a bit complicated to predict, but things actually go surprisingly well. The introduction of new characters will generate plenty of buzz, and their conflicts will keep the story moving forward smoothly without resorting to compromises like "just sit down and talk it out." There are cute girls and animals, so there's no shortage of interaction, and there are also passionate men, so there's plenty of action.

This is my first time writing a chaotic battle scenario, and overall, I'm quite satisfied with the Golden Leaf City arc. If there are any problems, they are mainly two.

1. The motivation of each group is relatively weak.

Akong needs the Dragon Tree Talisman to stabilize his spine, Wuhe needs the Stone Seed to make a talisman, and Qingxia needs the Stone Seed to return and save the settlement. In the original case, all three groups had a strong motivation to find the Stone Seed, but in reality, only Wuhe seemed to be in a hurry. This is largely due to my early arrangement for Qingxia to come into contact with the Stone Seed. However, what is more fatal is that Akong doesn't really care about his own life. He takes life and death too lightly, so he doesn't have a strong sense of urgency.

If he needed to create a talisman to save Huaisu or Fande's lives, he would likely be extremely motivated, perhaps even resorting to unconventional methods. But if he used the talisman to save himself, he would be content with either gaining it or losing it. This ingrained nature of his is very difficult to forcibly change. To solve this problem, perhaps the Ice Man should also develop some interest in the types of stones, or perhaps delaying Qingxia's contact with the stones would create a greater sense of competition.

2. Huaisu's knightly storyline has a relatively weak presence.

The timeline in Golden Leaf City is actually sufficient. In the days leading up to Akong's duel with Shax, there's ample room to insert a separate episode about Huaisu and the Knight Ghosts. Three chapters would suffice. Such a solo episode would better highlight the subsequent eruption of the inherited will and make the emotional transmission during the duel with Olek more believable.

Unfortunately, the Golden Leaf Chapter isn't a full volume, but rather a "transitional chapter." With that in mind, I strived for rapid development, wanting to quickly advance the story and get Huaisu into the "main event" of the Wilderness after his upgrade.

In retrospect, this was far too hasty, but all the prior arrangements were in preparation for the sudden shift into the wilderness after the end of Golden Leaf City. If we didn't go, it would seem extremely strange, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue writing.

As an aside, there are no abandoned cases in Kinyo City.

Because the entire story was conceived in a rush before writing, and I used everything I could think of, I really didn't discard any plot elements.

Despair Wilderness

Ah, finally we've reached the Despair Wasteland, the most difficult story I've ever written. When I was writing Cangdu, I thought Volume 0 would be the most painful, but I was wrong. The Despair Wasteland is the most despairing of all!!

I don't even know where to begin my analysis, because the design of the Desperate Wilderness arc has changed repeatedly. In the initial outline, the Desperate Wilderness arc only involved a corner of the Heavenly Prison (i.e., the current settlement). The background of this story involved a power struggle between the Knights, the Lustful Demons, and the Institute of Historical Truth, with the main characters being Qingxia and...

Berne Law.

In the original outline, at this point, Bernhard could no longer tolerate the protagonist group's repeated escapes from fate, so he personally imprisoned them in the Heavenly Prison, deciding their fate was sealed. A-Kong would encounter the Benevolent Elder there, and guided by local legends, obtain the deadly sword, the Divine Slash, and learn the Radiant Heaven Style. The final battle would be a three-way fight between A-Kong, Qingxia, and Huaisu against a (significantly enhanced) Bernhard. The three would overcome fate, escape the Heavenly Prison, and return to the present, leaving behind a clue for a future return to the Heavenly Prison—a setup for a major future event…

The story isn't too long, the power levels aren't inflated too much, and it offers new insights and reveals some world-building details, which is all quite good. In terms of power, Bernhard is strong enough to be the opponent after the Demon Blade is drawn; it's just a matter of replacing the current Warm Hawk battle with a battle against cultivators, and then everyone can call it a day – similar to how we declared the Despair Wilderness arc over after defeating the Warm Hawk with Dryheartfire.

Against this backdrop, the rivalry between Xiaoye and Yexing can still be played out, and the entanglement between Qingxia and Xiangyu Yao's identities remains feasible. A Bone-Praying Elder, compared to the current high-walled Lords of Cinder, seems less excessive, making him a reasonable choice for creating a sense of oppression and perfectly complementing the unusual atmosphere of the funeral procession. As for Vansalal, who appears early on, placing him as a ally secretly guiding Akong and his group forward, only revealing him as a supervillain awaiting the hero upon their re-entry into the Heavenly Prison, makes him seem more cunning and plausible.

This kind of thinking is quite good. Why not make slight modifications to the original draft and instead write a completely new story?

Because I was out of my mind.

There's no excuse; I was just out of my mind. Although I took several breaks between volumes two, due to the numerous revisions to the outline, I never really figured out the direction of the story. In the early stages of Despair Wilderness, I even had that feeling of writing whatever came to mind.

With the added pressure of daily updates after starting work, I realized that the more time I spent on the outline, the less time I had to write the manuscript. To maintain updates, I would hastily spend a day or two coming up with a "general direction" and then write without thinking twice. I frantically developed characters, created settings, and quickly accumulated a backlog of chapters, otherwise I wouldn't be able to keep updating. After starting work, I only had a few hours to write each day after get off work. This sense of urgency forced me to keep moving forward, but I didn't have time to check if the overall direction was correct. By the time I discovered the problem, it was too late.

I pretty much discovered the problem during the Battle of Vaklo, which took up seven chapters and revealed my chaotic state of mind. On one hand, I wanted to convey the oppressive atmosphere of the old guys; on the other hand, I wanted to show the growth of the characters after they leveled up; on one hand, the story was too stressful and needed some relief, so I added comedic scenes; and on the other hand, I needed to focus on the core characters and write their arcs well.

These...contradictory...demands were like Vakuro's two heads biting each other. I only managed to sort out my thoughts near the end of the writing, but it was too late. I couldn't just issue a statement saying I was dissatisfied with the story and was going to rewrite seven chapters, thus taking a week off; that would turn it into a One-Punch Man reboot.

Therefore, after the Battle of Wakolo, I rushed back to the settlement to recuperate and clarify the details, which finally got the narrative pacing back on track. Otherwise, the story would have really fallen apart, I'm serious.

After the settlement, the plot finally returned to my control; side quests were cut where necessary, and daily life scenes were written as they should. I'm quite satisfied with the writing of Akong's healing of the broken heart technique, the interactions between Xiaoye and Yexing, and the entire scene up to the final sword-wielding kill of Wenyao. Although the three days of despair in the middle were too stressful, the ending had an uplifting tone and became more comfortable.

However, another drawback also became apparent at this point: the main characters were too numerous, and all of them had leveled up, making it impossible for them to all rush in and fight Vansalal at once. Therefore, I had to choose a One Piece-style one-on-one team battle, which made the pacing a bit slow and became a necessary but not very anticipated part of the continuous battle.

However, given the already unbalanced structure of the main chapters, I'm relieved that I was able to finish writing it safely. As for the other details, I won't be too demanding anymore. Human ability has its limits, and I'm well aware that I can't write a perfect story. Summarizing my experiences and focusing on writing what I'm better at, rather than forcing myself to tackle things I'm not good at, is the best approach for both myself and everyone else.

Now that my reflections are almost over, I'll just casually talk about the characters in this volume.

·Wu He

Wu He's performance exceeded my expectations (laughs)

In other words, right? This is a minor character whose fate is easily predictable. But the actual reaction I got after bringing him into the scene surprised me. I wrote about his despicable shamelessness and his inferiority complex and arrogance with ease, and his brief recollection and his self-inflicted death were the finishing touches.

This seems to be the first minor villain I'm truly satisfied with. Compared to Jane in the previous work, he's not as detestable; he possesses a certain sympathetic quality, yet he himself makes a mess of everything. I enjoyed writing the old man's commentary; the saying "all scheming and plotting, karma and retribution" perfectly encapsulates this.

·Sax

Shaq performed as well as I expected.

We've got enough boxing characters; we need someone with some tech skills. His fighting style is unique compared to the others, with a personal flair, and it's easy for him to spout nonsense—this distinctiveness is exactly what I need. His personality is also straightforward; he craves excitement but has his limits. A life-or-death duel would settle all grudges and erase past grievances, so he wouldn't mind fighting alongside Ah Kong. Even in comedic episodes, he has Guli Bo as a partner to create laughs.

It's comfortable and convenient. This is a different kind of assassin from Akong, with his own pursuit of strength, carrying the flavor of an Earth madman.

· Nightfall

When Qingye first appeared in Jinye City, she wasn't particularly memorable; it wasn't until the Wilderness arc that she truly began to develop. She provided us with valuable fan service and a rare sense of youth, and her scenes with Yexing successfully established her character.

I was initially quite apprehensive, worried that the story of Qingye's cultivation would be considered old-fashioned and boring. Fortunately, Xiaoye, this lovable girl, successfully stood out, making all the hard work in writing worthwhile. Her storyline with Yexing is one of the parts of this long story that I'm most satisfied with.

·Qingxia

However, clearing away flaws is quite difficult.

Johnny Depp, the protagonist of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 7, has a famous line: "He's a man who went from negative to zero." Because Johnny is physically disabled and has a troubled past, if the baseline for a normal person is zero, then before the story began, he was practically a negative number. This statement also applies to Kiyoka, who is the most...unique...and...risky...female protagonist I've ever written.

It's rare for a female protagonist to start out in a negative situation, isn't it?

Her identity as a lustful demon destined her to have bizarre thinking, her centaur appearance made her difficult to be approachable, and when she first appeared in Golden Leaf City, she was entirely in the form of a vicious big boss, luring everyone into the wilderness without any attempt to hide her intention to manipulate them. Given these actions, it's understandable that Qingxia wouldn't be very likable, and might even be somewhat disliked.

Later in the story, the conflict between race and identity becomes more prominent, forcing Qingxia to make her own choices and fight a bloody battle. Only then did she go from a negative number to a zero, and by the end, she rose to a four, finally achieving a positive outcome. After all this hard work, Qingxia's acting career finally turned from negative to positive.

Qingxia is a microcosm of the entire second volume, experiencing many twists and turns before finally landing safely. She had a truly difficult time, both for herself and others; all one can say is, "Thank you for your hard work."

·Chongming

In the initial design, Chongming and the Commander were actually two different people. Chongming was the one who defeated Vansalal back then, hoping to leave behind his sword, while the Commander was a weak fighter who only knew how to talk big and inspire everyone to move forward. I wanted to use this contrast to show the two different sides of the Remnant Souls.

But in reality, this design seems ridiculous. The official, who occupies the majority of the writing, is about to leave after his story ends, while the protagonist, whom everyone cares about, is merely a tool given the knife. How can this be acceptable?

So I boldly merged Chongming and the commander into one, creating the current Commander Chongming, a man with a dark heart and a terrible temper, yet who always forces himself to pretend to be a good older brother. Like Qingxia, he's the kind of guy who does a lot but isn't very likable. I can't make a definitive judgment about him yet—after all, Chongming's storyline is very long, and we've only just begun.

We'll leave the question of who the Lord of the Broken Heart really is for later.

Vansalar and the Demon King's Army

Vansalal is a good villain, a good boss, and a good guy. His personality and behavior are interesting enough that he can deliberately go easy on the main characters without it feeling abrupt. His backstory is enough for me to write five chapters of flashbacks, and everyone still enjoys reading them. His demon army is just as unreliable as him. These guys, each with their own unique personalities and troubles, enrich the viewing experience of the enemy camp.

My favorite Demon King's army is Vaklo, and their interactions with Vansalal and everyone else are very interesting. I had a lot of fun writing this.

Why did it die the earliest? Of course, it's because I was out of my mind. What else could it be?

Back to Vansalal, the best thing about him is that he's a bad guy.

He was wrong, he had problems, he had to be defeated; he sought defeat, not victory. Yet, within the turbulent world of the Dark Realm, his extreme methods also cultivated many talents. The ideological conflict between the Archmage and the Nightmare King caused him, who should have been defeated, to rise again in the end. Just like before his fall, what drove this man was always his sense of responsibility.

In the end, what defeated him was Ah Kong's rebuke, and also his own original aspiration.

The nightmare is finally over, and the King of Nightmares can finally rest in peace.

·

So, that's about it for the reflections and sharing of rejected proposals. Now it's time to look to the future.

First, let me talk about the story of Forging Fate and my long-term writing plans. The background story of the Submerged Realm is much more complex and profound than that of Cangdu, and the amount of text in my previous works is probably insufficient to tell this story well. In addition, everyone has witnessed my update efficiency after I started working, and I even began to study slow-paced novels in order to take a break. The pressure of daily updates and the tight schedule are a large part of the real factors contributing to the chaotic planning of Volume Two.

I don't intend to make a name for myself by writing online novels. My expectation for this book is that it will earn me enough to treat my parents to morning tea and buy gifts for my blind date. If I don't earn that, it will give me enough positive emotions, which is also good. But writing a book while working is not the same as writing a book while studying. The fatigue I accumulated from writing 90 words of "Zhu Ming" is even heavier than that from writing 200 million words of "Cang Du". This can also be seen from the increasingly frequent breaks in publication.

Even more detrimental is that while I've made some money, writing has become increasingly exhausting. The heavy backdrop of the story makes writing quite unpleasant. I can't fit in the romance and pranks I love; the main plot, no matter how I push it, is always a story of bitterness and resentment. Such stories are only suitable for writing a short, intermittent installment, not for writing under constant pressure. After all, the starting point is to bring joy and happiness to the readers. If I'm not happy writing, and the readers aren't happy reading either, then the story truly has a problem.

Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided to divide this book into two parts. The first part, which I am currently writing, concludes with the completion of A-Kong's personal goals and the resolution of past grievances. There will be a gap in the story, similar to the Sabaody Archipelago arc in One Piece, during which I will briefly touch upon the leveling-up aspect, which is my least favorite skill. The second part will then continue the story after the gap, with A-Kong becoming stronger.

After finishing the first part, I need to take a good break and then write a purely self-indulgent campus romance story full of outdated and cheesy tropes to relax. This story isn't expected to be very long; if I don't come up with any new ideas, it'll be a few hundred thousand words long in one volume. This will be a way for me to adjust my mindset and writing style. Once I'm happy and enjoying writing it, I'll come back with a completely new look for our less melancholic "Forging Destiny II." I think this is the best way for me.

Of course, I found it funny when I wrote this myself. Usually, it's the popular commercial works that are ranked in terms of popularity. You're making a ranking of your self-indulgent works, which makes you seem like you're taking yourself too seriously. If you don't want to write anymore, just stop writing and start a new one.

But... how should I put it... I feel that authors should always have a responsibility to their readers and their books, and can't just stop writing whenever they want. Even if you have to temporarily put down your pen for various reasons, you must still write a relatively satisfactory ending to the story you already have, so that you can say to the book and the characters, "Wait a while, I'll be back to continue."

As it stands, we're still quite a ways from finishing the first half, so please rest assured that this book will continue to be written for some time. Also, please understand that if I were to write five million words in one go, I'd really be in trouble.

Now that we've covered the long-term plan, let's talk about the short-term goals. Since this volume is just too heavy with sorrow and resentment, I've decided to bring out the long-awaited Volume 5. I've finally returned to my hometown, it's time to rest, cultivate myself, and enjoy a truly stress-free daily life. Feel free to suggest any daily life ideas you'd like to see in the comments section below; I'll select some interesting ones.

After Volume 5, the next volume will be set in the Divine Tree City, and it is expected to be a story that is not really filled with bitterness and hatred.

Akong is already incredibly powerful. With the Bane of Calamity, the Godslayer, and the newly added Deathwing, he's practically the ultimate weapon for the final battle. Therefore, the second volume won't spend much time on "leveling up," nor will it dedicate much space to auctions, treasure hunts, or dungeon runs for acquiring items. Because, as it turns out, I'm simply not good at writing that kind of narrative flow, nor can I execute those wave-after-wave upgrades and arrangements. So, there's no need to be demanding; it's better to let the story unfold at its own pace.

In terms of combat, the goal for the next volume is to avoid any life-or-death battles except for the final one. The characters who have conquered the Wilderness are already true heroes, and even a Momentum 4 Harrier is no match for Sora. If we make him fight any longer... it would make him look like Ash and Pikachu arriving in a new region, which wouldn't be right.

While I won't completely avoid combat, I'll strive to portray the strength of the fighters and create worthy opponents that A-Kong can fight with equal skill. Even if I accidentally write an invincible story where everyone is defeated in one move, I won't make A-Kong struggle through any kind of hardship due to various reasons or limitations—that would be pointless and unnecessary. The wilderness is over; it's time to return to the bright reality.

I won't be writing about leveling up or treasure hunting; everyone still has to work, and A-Kong will still have goals. I plan to focus more on the customs and culture of this other world in this volume, and reveal the backstories of some characters. In the process, I'll gradually adjust the story's style, returning to the sunny, upbeat, and cheerful tone I prefer. Indeed, the anime world is cruel, but always being so bitter and resentful isn't good. If you have power but can't laugh, then it's not the character's personality or the environment that's the problem; it's my fault.

The key elements of the second volume will be predictable after you finish reading the ending. Having rambled on for almost a million words, it's time to talk about the boss. Also, the connection to Earth has caught up with us. I'm currently considering whether to combine these two parts into one story. If that's not suitable, I'll simply split them into two chapters; I'd rather have separate chapters than create a two-volume Frankenstein's monster.

That concludes this end-of-volume musings. Finally, as always, thank you all for your subscriptions, comments, donations, and support. Thank you!

After a three-week hiatus, the 3.5 volume resumed serialization on April 7th.

Chapter 254 Scholarship for Outstanding Graduates

"Can you feel it?"

The room was pitch black, the atmosphere eerily quiet. Qingxia nestled under the covers, only her serious head peeking out. Ji Huaisu quietly closed the wardrobe, turned around, and said sternly, "So, you felt the same way... that strange and murky atmosphere..."

"Who goes there!" Qingxia suddenly looked up.

crunch...

A piece of ceiling was flipped inside out, and Qingye was upside down with his head hanging down, his eyes deep and serene.

"Finally, even you slowpokes have noticed. The mysterious force lurking among us..."

The three of them—Qingye on the ceiling, Ji Huaisu in front of the wardrobe, and Qingxia in bed—exchanged a glance and said simultaneously, "Something's not right!"

“Yes, something is definitely not right,” Chu Hengkong said. “Especially the fact that the three of you were chatting in my bedroom is particularly strange.”

The lights snapped on, illuminating the room. Chu Hengkong stood in the doorway, holding a toothbrush and a toothbrush cup, with the dazed-looking Fan De perched on his shoulder.

His gaze swept over his wardrobe, his bed, and the ceiling of his room. The girls he was looking at smiled and waved, as naturally as if he were the one who had wandered into the wrong room.

He went outside, closed the door, and made one last check to confirm that this was indeed his own dormitory. Then he opened the door again, meeting everyone's confused gazes.

"Ah Kong, is there something you need?"

Chu Hengkong nodded and smiled: "Get out of here within three seconds."

"Hey hey hey hey hey—"

·

"Is this acceptable? Tell me, is this acceptable?!" Vande slapped his tentacles, looking heartbroken. "A single man washes his face and brushes his teeth at home, ready to go to bed, only to find three female hooligans hiding in his bedroom!"

The three female hooligans were completely unfazed, even looking proud. Van der was increasingly heartbroken: "What kind of manners are these? What kind of character? I'm embarrassed to even call you vulgar!"

Qingxia rolled her eyes and said righteously, "Fande, you're even more vulgar than us, always flirting and getting close to single men!"