Chapter 136: On-shelf Remarks
Translator: 549690339
It’s been 66 days since the book’s release, with over 270,000 words written, and it’s finally time to put it on the shelves.
I’d like to thank everyone for their continued support which has made the launching of this book possible during Sanjiang recommendation period.
Let me first discuss a couple of problems I encountered during the writing process.
Things such as developing flintlock guns in the ancient world and reaching advanced tech levels seemed too outrageous, and why guns can’t be used in the Immortal Cultivation World.
Many readers were bothered by these aspects, which I hadn’t anticipated.
I’m not sure how many years everyone’s been reading, but in my impression, transit novels featuring technological advancement and a sweep through the world were quite common more than ten years ago. Nobody said they were unreasonable. I just omitted the detailed process involved.
As for why guns can’t be used in the Immortal Cultivation World, I believe every Immortal Cultivation novel can pose this soul-searching question.
Why? Because it’s the world of immortality I’m writing about. I have set it up this way. If a series of advanced tech weapons could really be used in the Immortal World, that would involve Li Fan repeatedly reincarnating, creating a steel torrent, and striding against the Immortal Cultivation World. That would be another story.
There are many more minor problems like these, which may have arisen due to my lack of consideration. I didn’t expect today’s readers to be so scrupulous.
However, overall, they aren’t grave issues.
What really affects the structure of the book in a fatal way is the process in which Li Fan comes to the Immortal Cultivation World for the first time and discovers the transfiguration of the Misthaven Ocean is too short and too rushed.
Here’s how my original outline goes.
Li Fan arrives at Liuli Island after great difficulty and hardships, and joins a ship’s crew with much effort.
Then, after a fierce battle of wits with Zhang Haobo and leveraging the underwater treasure hidden in advance, he takes over the position of the captain.
Then he washes away the Immortal-Ordinary Miasma in the Spirit Pool, and after a few years, arrives at the Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
On the island, after finishing tasks for some time, he finally accumulates enough contribution and exchanges it for a water attribute technique.
Just when he thought smooth sailing on his cultivation journey was ensured, he finds out, after only a few years, that the water attribute spiritual energy in heaven and earth is increasingly scarce.
The cultivation speed is getting slower and slower.
The entire Misthaven Ocean is sealed off, where one is allowed to enter but not to leave.
Panic spreads among cultivators, followed by the gradual start of slaughter. Li Fan has to escape from Ten Thousand Immortals Island and take refuge on a
secluded island.
Later, as the seawater dries up and reveals the seabed, Li Fan comes to a sudden realization and understands the reason for differences seen in his previous and current lives.
In between, I originally planned to write at least a hundred or so chapters.
Like the first volume of The Lord Of Mysteries where I would lay sufficient groundwork before unveiling the plot twist.
But I had to change course midway.
Because you might not know, when this book reached 100,000 words, it only had a little over a hundred in collections.
I couldn’t even appear on the new book recommendation list.
If I really went according to the original outline, it would have been my doom.
So I had to speed up the pace and completed the plot twist in just over forty chapters.
Although its performance started to improve afterward, there’s still something missing.
Like I said, it was too rushed, too hurried.
It also inevitably led to many flaws, such as the underwater treasure being too new, not at all resembling a hidden treasure in the sea.
But I could only try to make it round as much as I could.
Another problem is that the Heart-Refining Spell of Xuan Huang greatly shortened the charging time of [Real], when I set it up, due to lack of experience, I designed it to reduce the time directly by 11 years.
This led to the necessity to fill up these 11 years before I could continue the plot of the previous life.
Which in turn caused the issue expressed by many readers about the slow progress.
Because I am not just writing about this life, but also laying down plot elements for the development of the story in the next life.
These two are what I consider to have quite a significant impact on the structure of the book.
The rest are all trivialities that don’t have much impact.
Now let’s talk about a few issues that readers often bring up.
The protagonist’s cultivation level increases too slowly.
This book is not a traditional level- up, monster-killing story. Furthermore, with the protagonist practicing the Doctrine of a Hundred Lifetimes, a fast cultivation speed in one lifetime is of little use to him.
The protagonist’s cheat is too powerful.
I just want to ask one question. With the protagonist’s current skillset, if his realm is elevated to the Immortal Realm, can he become a match for the Celestial Dharma Bearer?
You’re practicing the law that others have left behind for you, how could you possibly win?
So, the protagonist’s cheat is not even powerful enough, and it must continue to grow.
The problem of using [Real] to form the foundation.
[Real] is beyond this world, involving the law of time, so it is impossible to use it for foundation building at the initial stage.
How the protagonist uses [Real] for foundation building, please wait and see.
Finally, some explanations.
I am indeed a newbie, not a sock puppet of any established author.
Please forgive me if parts of my writing seem immature.
I will strive to improve myself and hope for your continued support.
My work situation is fine, so no sob stories from me.
Writing is mostly driven by interest.
As a part-timer and a novice, it takes over four hours each day to write 4,000 words. It’s indeed very challenging.
Perhaps when my cognitive speed improves in the future, my typing efficiency will increase.
Writing is a way to pass on wisdom. On the first day of He Zhenghao’s cultivation, he delivers a lesson:
[“Some mountains may seem towering, but their luck has run out and will never progress further for the rest of their lives. Some may now only be small mounds of earth, but who knows if they will become sky-scraping pillars after several years?”
“Much like this Lesser Wei Mountain underfoot that was barely noticeable back in the day, but a mere few decades later, it gives you a clear view of the smaller peaks.”
“Of course, like the countless peaks beneath this Cloud Sea, most remain insignificant throughout their existence, silently looking up at the mountains above the sea.”
“If this is the destiny of mountains, wouldn’t it be more so for humans?”] This line was also self-encouragement for me.
At that time, this book had less than a hundred in collections, while some other books launched around the same time already had thousands.
I can only encourage myself in this way.
Now, with your support, the performance of this book has surpassed that of most other books launched around the same time.
Thank you all again.
Thanks to those who have been voting and rewarding.
I would also like to thank Editor Fuchen for his continuous assistance.
The book will be released at 12 0’clock tomorrow, there may be a slight delay.
The first three chapters will be released in succession, and two more chapters will be added a little later in the evening.
If you think the book is well written, please subscribe.
See you all tomorrow!
