All-rounder Artist

At night.

The Yongning Village Entertainment Group.

Suddenly, my sister forwarded a piece of news: “Why Chu Kuang was destined to miss out on the GOAT award this year from a data perspective.”

Then she tagged Lin Yuan: “Is Chu Kuang really planning on aiming for the GOAT title this year?”

Lin Yuan lifted his head and silently looked at his sister, who was messing with her phone on the sofa.

Why ask in the group chat?

Within the group.

Jian Yi showed up, and began bragging:

“Being too famous isn’t good either. I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had time to read novels. Is that old rascal Chu Kuang already preparing to aim for the GOAT title? Hasn’t he only written three fantasy novels so far?”

Xia Fan ignored Jian Yi’s bragging and said, “But Chu Kuang became GOAT with just these three novels.”

Jian Yi and Xia Fan are both fans of novels, so they knew Chu Kuang well.

Lin Yao, who wasn’t into novels, knew of Chu Kuang through her sister, but lacked a clear grasp. She curiously asked:

“Is it impressive to become GOAT with only three releases?”

Her sister explained: “I’m not sure about Zhong Continent, and the places like Han, Zhao, and Wei, but among the four Provinces of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, only four fantasy writers have become GOAT with three releases!”

Lin Yao: “That doesn’t sound scarce though.”

Sister: “Indeed, it’s not scarce, but in terms of quality, Chu Kuang is the best. His three novels are brief, while the other three’s total word count is much greater with each book over three million words.”

This is also what people found fascinating about Chu Kuang.

Other authors usually extend a successful novel as much as possible.

But Chu Kuang’s fantasies were over a million words, with his longest, “Ghost Blows Out the Light,” at around two million words.

Lin Yao seemed very interested in Chu Kuang and asked another question:

“And what would it mean to be GOAT with four releases?”

Her sister responded without hesitation: “It would mean becoming the first among Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan fantasy writers. No one has ever reached the top with just four fantasy novels, so I believe Chu Kuang needs at least five releases!”

This is also why the industry is not optimistic about Chu Kuang.

Reaching the top with three releases is already quite incredible.

But getting there with the fourth?

Too difficult.

At least it would take five, right?

There should be some buffering, right?

This is under the premise that everyone has high hopes for Chu Kuang.

That’s why people say Chu Kuang’s new book needs to be twice as good to top the fantasy genre.

Lin Yuan did not participate in the group discussion.

However, he did agree with these analyses.

He was indeed a bit away from becoming the GOAT.

Generally speaking, two more fantasy novels would do the trick.

But…

If it comes to “Journey to the West,” common sense can’t apply.

Not to mention, doubling the effort.

Even if all his previous three fantasy novels were combined, they would be dwarfed compared to this book!

Moreover.

Compared to his previous three fantasy novels, “Journey to the West” has not only a fascinating storyline but also unquestionably high literary quality.

This is a monumental piece of work!

In the current era where fantasy novels generally emphasize storytelling, suddenly there’s a work that balances story and literary quality so well. Its influence can be anticipated!

But before the novel is written, these words don’t make any sense.

Lin Yuan spent the next few days writing “Journey to the West.”

By mid-October.

Lin Yuan had finally finished this grand piece!

He sent the two versions of the story directly to Jin Mu.

Jin Mu laughed: “I will send it separately to Silver Blue Books and the Literature and Art Association.”

Lin Yuan was taken aback: “The Literature and Art Association?”

Jin Mu nodded: “Those aiming for awards need to register their works with the Literature and Art Association, because they need time for the selection.”

“Okay.”

Lin Yuan had no objections.

Half an hour later, Jin Mu had successfully sent the message.

…

Literature and Art Association.

The Fantasy Novel Department was currently holding a meeting.

A woman in her fifties, wearing glasses, sitting in the main seat, began to speak:

“The situation for this year’s GOAT selection has pretty much been settled, and it shouldn’t change by the end of the year. But there’s still one slot for the ultimate deity that needs to be deliberated. Currently, we have three nominations.”

The crowd was stunned.

“Three?”

“Isn’t it two?”

“Devil Child and Night South Wind.”

“Besides the three that have already been confirmed, these two have the strongest qualifications, so the fourth slot should emerge from between these two.”

“Three people, are you counting Chu Kuang too?”

“I see great potential in Chu Kuang, but it seems like he still falls short of the standard.”

“Even though Chu Kuang is releasing another novel at the end of the year, I fear one novel won’t suffice to cover such a large gap.”

…

The leaders of the department expressed their views.

Evaluations of the GOAT and ultimate deity were always topics of repeated discussions during their meetings.

The list for the ultimate deity was basically confirmed as well.

The last available fourth slot had always been debated between Night South Wind and Devil Child.

As per usual, the final decision would depend on how their year-end works performed, providing a more accurate judgment.

But in today’s meeting, the leader mentioned that there were three nominations…

The sudden appearance of the third nomination could only mean Chu Kuang, who would be releasing a new book soon.

The female leader wearing the glasses said: “Yes, the third nominee is Chu Kuang. Don’t rush to conclusions about anything. Since the selection is fair, Chu Kuang, who meets the threshold, should naturally be included. If his end-of-the-year work is good enough, he might just take the fourth spot.”

Good enough?

The crowd chuckled, then shook their heads.

The Literature and Art Association had already studied Chu Kuang’s case.

His previous work, Ghost Blows the Light, was good enough, wasn’t it?

But even if Chu Kuang releases another work at the level of Ghost Blows the Light at the end of the year, it still wouldn’t meet the standard for the fourth ultimate deity as much as Night South Wind and Devil Child!

However, the Literature and Art Association had a good impression of Chu Kuang.

It was said that the bigwigs above also paid close attention to Chu Kuang and had even praised him privately.

So, no one said much more.

At this moment.

An assistant came over and whispered something into the female leader’s ear.

The woman’s eyes lit up, and she smiled, saying: “Chu Kuang has just sent over the contents of his new book, Journey to the West. How about we take a look first? If it’s not up to standards, we’ll consider Devil Child and Night South Wind for this year.”

“It’s been sent?”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, the meeting assistant walked in with the manuscript.

When everyone saw the manuscript in her hand, they were taken aback, asking, “Why are there two copies?”

“Let me confirm with you all that yes, there are indeed two copies of Journey to the West.”

The meeting assistant explained: “Teacher Chu Kuang has written two versions of the same story, one in Classical Chinese and the other in contemporary colloquial Chinese.”

“Oh?”

A leader laughed: “People have been saying Chu Kuang needs to produce two more fantasy novels to become the ultimate deity, and he really did write two versions, huh?”

Another leader shook their head: “But if the story is the same, then no matter how many copies there are, it will still count as one.”

Yet another member said: “I find it quite interesting. Not just anyone can manage to write in Classical Chinese. Chu Kuang’s talent really can’t be underestimated.”

“Let’s take a look first.”

The woman with the glasses spoke up and picked up the Classical Chinese version.

Of course.

There were also those who began with the modern colloquial version.

It wasn’t a matter of not understanding Classical Chinese, just a matter of preference.

For people at the Literature and Art Association, whether it was Classical Chinese or even a more obscure style posed no reading barriers.

If they couldn’t understand the Classical Chinese version of Journey to the West, they would simply be padding out their resumes.

They would have to apologize to everyone on Blue Star.

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