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Chapter 1426: Chapter 1178: Martial Arts Craze

On the global internet.

“Chu Kuang is releasing a new book at the end of next month?”

“Looks like Lu Yang’s plans have fallen through. He probably wanted to catch that old rascal off guard during his creative downtime, but who would expect the old rascal to act so fast with his new book!”

“No denying he’s a powerhouse when it comes to writing.”

“I remember the Harry Potter series ended in June. Don’t ask me why I remember so clearly—it’s been barely three months to the day!”

“This makes things even more exciting!”

“If Master Lu hadn’t suddenly jumped in, I honestly don’t think the old rascal’s new book would’ve come out so quickly. After wrapping up such a long series, he’d definitely deserve a good break.”

“Break? Nah, keep working overtime!”

“The new book is wuxia. Not exactly surprising, since the Easter egg at the end of ‘Kung Fu’ already hinted at the genre.”

“But can wuxia really compete with Lu Yang?”

“From what I recall, people in Wei Continent haven’t read much of Chu Kuang’s wuxia.”

“Middle State people even less so.”

“The genre seems a bit restrictive.”

“It’d be better if he lost—the drop in rankings would probably make him write even more enthusiastically afterwards!”

“No lies detected!”

“Alright, let’s keep rooting for Master Lu, no explanations needed!”

It felt like throwing fuel on the fire.

As soon as news of the new book broke, the situation escalated from Lu Yang’s sudden attack to an epic showdown between two top-tier writers.

This battle was tied to the title of Qin Continent’s number-one author.

The rivalry between these top-tier authors became even livelier.

However, Chu Kuang’s choice of genre for the new book sparked considerable debate.

Indeed.

While Chu Kuang’s ‘Legend of the Condor Heroes’ trilogy reignited many readers’ interest in wuxia, back then Wei Continent and Middle State weren’t part of the integration.

This means:

Many readers from Wei Continent and Middle State still don’t have much enthusiasm for wuxia.

The situation has improved quite a bit, as Chu Kuang’s global fame with the Harry Potter series has led many readers in Wei Continent and Middle State to discover his earlier works, including the Condor trilogy.

Additionally, the wuxia-imbued movie ‘Kung Fu’ made significant contributions to this shift.

At the very least, people from Wei Continent and Middle State became less resistant to wuxia.

Still, wuxia’s appeal in these two continents pales in comparison to its influence in other regions.

And yet, the top-tier authors’ ranking battle spans all eight continents of Blue Star.

When the authors’ abilities are closely matched, even a minor flaw could lead to one side’s complete failure.

However!

Just when everyone thought so—

To be precise, the day after Chu Kuang announced the genre of his new book—something absolutely shocking occurred!

…

Wei Continent.

A local bookstore.

“Has Chu Kuang written some kind of wuxia trilogy before?”

“You mean his ‘Condor Trilogy,’ right?”

“In short, Chu Kuang wrote three wuxia novels in the past.”

“Exactly.”

“Are the trilogy’s stories connected?”

“The first two are deeply interconnected through their characters. The third shares some temporal and world-building links, but character ties are relatively minor.”

“Give me one copy! No, scratch that—I’ll take all three!”

“Same here!”

“Since that old rascal is writing wuxia again, I need to catch up on his other wuxia books beforehand.”

“I’m interested because ‘Kung Fu’ paid homage to the Condor Trilogy. I want to check out exactly how it did that.”

…

Middle State.

A major bookshop.

“I’d like a copy of ‘The Return of the Condor Heroes’!”

“Buddy, you’re reading out of order. You should start with ‘The Legend of the Condor Heroes.'”

“Already read that one.”

“Oh, great. Then no problem—I’m buying a copy of ‘Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer.'”

“That’s the third book in the Condor Trilogy, right?”

“Yep. After finishing the Harry Potter series, I read all of his books except ‘Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer.'”

“Do you think Chu Kuang’s new book ties back to the Condor Trilogy?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll read it first just in case.”

“What if there’s a connection?”

“Even if there isn’t, Chu Kuang’s new book is wuxia, so it’s worth catching up on his earlier wuxia works.”

Exactly.

The day after Chu Kuang announced his new wuxia book, his ‘Condor Trilogy’ suddenly surged in popularity across Wei Continent and Middle State!

In fact, its popularity had already been climbing before.

The movie ‘Kung Fu’ referenced many parts of the Condor Trilogy.

News of Chu Kuang’s new wuxia book merely gave readers in Wei Continent and Middle State extra incentive to catch up.

A wuxia craze!

…

At home.

Lin Yuan paid no attention to outside matters, wholeheartedly focusing on writing his new book.

Throughout his life, Jin Yong wrote numerous wuxia novels, revising them from time to time.

At this moment—

The book Lin Yuan was working on, ‘Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,’ was also a novel that Old Man Jin repeatedly refined, focusing a great deal on revisions.

Take Tianshan Child Granny as an example.

In the earliest version of the novel, her martial skill was named [The Kung Fu that Reigns Supreme over the World].

The name reflects Buddha’s “Over heaven and earth, I alone am supreme.”

Then came the Trinity Press version, which is the most read edition of Jin Yong’s wuxia novels.

The reason is that TV adaptations of Jin Yong’s wuxia stories were mostly based on this version, making the skill famously known as [Supreme Solitary Reign Skill].

In the 21st century, however, Old Man Jin suddenly released a Century Revised Edition.

This revision sparked heated controversy, with the biggest debate centering on Wang Yuyan’s storyline.

As we know, Wang Yuyan ends up with Duan Yu at the conclusion of the story.

Yet, in the latest revision, the “Fairy Sister” ends up with the erratic Murong Fu!

The impact on longtime fans was unimaginable!

Some even mocked, “Jin Yong is just a writer—what does he know about ‘Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’?”

And it wasn’t just the Fairy Sister.

Xu Bamboo’s affair with Dream Lady also underwent some changes.

Of course.

Dream Lady’s character shift wasn’t as dramatic as Wang Yuyan’s.

In the new version, Dream Lady sent her personal maid Xiaolei to Duan Yu as a concubine. The reasoning was that Xu Bamboo had promised Duan Zhengchun to assist Duan Yu in his quest for marriage in Western Xia, but Xu Bamboo himself became the prince consort, feeling guilty about breaking his promise. He offered Xiaolei as compensation.

Moreover—

Dream Lady presented the “Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum” quartet, with the reasoning that as they were aging, “one day they must marry someone,” to Duan Yu as well.

This didn’t happen in the Trinity Press version:

“If he likes your beauty and charm, he can appoint you one, two, three, and four as queens. If he dislikes your mischief, he can lock you in the dungeon for seventeen to twenty-eight years before letting you out!”

Duan Yu always enjoyed unmatched luck with women.

But since he already had countless beauties around him, there was no desire to take any more concubines—much less lock them in a dungeon. So, he named the quartet princesses, treating them like younger sisters instead.

The revised edition ends with Duan Yu asking Xu Bamboo, who seemed dejected, why he was unhappy.

Xu Bamboo answered that he wasn’t happy because he could no longer be a monk.

Was that really the reason?

You’ll have to decide for yourself.

Regardless, Lin Yuan didn’t dare to declare whether the revised or Trinity Press version was superior—opinions differ from person to person.

The System didn’t help Lin Yuan make a choice.

Without a definitive answer, Lin Yuan decided to weave elements from various versions. He kept pieces he personally felt were good, discarded those he didn’t like, and followed the narrative structure of the Trinity Press edition while occasionally incorporating revised scenes. After all, the new edition had its merits.

There’s a popular saying in the creative circle:

Once a work faces the audience, it no longer belongs to the author.

If even Jin Yong, who spent years revising his wuxia novels, couldn’t satisfy everyone, what hope did Lin Yuan have?

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