Quick summary: Tomorrow, over 10,000 words will be updated, launching at noon!
For those not in a rush, let’s sit down and chat.
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Reading a new book is like glimpsing light through a hole.
On a snowy night, readers approach houses glowing with light, their windows covered in paper.
You can roughly tell the brightness of each house, but not its interior or what the owner is doing.
Only by peering through a hole in the wall can you see the furnishings inside.
Carefully turning your head, you glimpse the room’s layout through the narrow hole, catching the faint glow to understand what kind of ho this is and why it’s lit.
Once you fully see and feel at ease, you knock lightly and step inside, sharing the rare light of this snowy night.
This light cos from my heart, shared with all who wish to join .
It’s not a blazing light like the sun, illuminating everyone, nor a surgical lamp, banishing all shadows.
It’s just a lantern, a candle, a single bulb—the faint light I can offer.
But it’s enough to brighten this small room.
I hope you can see through this light.
*
Now, for so updates on performance: Mu Xu’s follow-up reads have surpassed 10,000.
This is, without a doubt, my best-performing book to date.
I’ve written five published novels before Mu Xu, totaling over nine million words, with three hitting 10,000 subscriptions and one considered a premium work.
But none of those three ever achieved a first-ti premium status.
Their success ca from steady, engaging plots, gradually built over ti.
This book marks the highest achievent in my writing career.
It makes a bit anxious—I’m not sure if I can maintain this hard-earned success.
At the sa ti, I’m proud.
I’ve always stuck to the principle of “If I don’t understand the plot’s logic, no matter how interesting it seems, I won’t write it.”
Sudden, unexplained success would only shatter my worldview.
So, I only write what I understand, what I can grasp, and what I can recreate.
The skills honed in my previous book proved useful!
So authors claim they’re “practicing” after a flop, but before starting Tower of Overturn, I told everyone I was writing a book specifically to practice.
While writing Players Super Justice, I felt my shortcomings in many areas and lacked experience in certain fields.
Players Super Justice was doing well, so I didn’t dare experint with new ideas for fear of ruining it.
I firmly believe: if you don’t practice, you’ll never learn; if you don’t experience, you’ll never understand.
So, I recorded all the ideas I wanted to try but wasn’t sure about and practiced them in Tower of Overturn.
To eliminate distractions, I chose a genre I wasn’t skilled in—science fiction—purely to test reader reactions to different plots, character developnt, and writing styles, then refine accordingly.
It’s like creating a ga character with a buzzcut or bald head to focus on the essentials!
I chose science fiction out of love for the genre.
You can love sothing even if you’re not good at it!
I call this “compromised idealism.”
While chasing dreams, I still focus on improvent and results.
It’s like balancing cool aesthetics and strength in a ga—not just chasing looks or pure power.
When I wrote Blood of rcury, it was all instinct, with no outline or plan.
I was left with many regrets, thinking, ‘If only I’d done this differently.’
I recorded those regrets, determined to “co back and make things right.”
With Players Super Justice, I wrote in a way that appealed to a broader audience, and its success was ten tis that of Blood of rcury.
But that book brought new regrets, so I optimized again with this one, and its performance is four tis that of Players Super Justice.
As long as you commit to “effective learning” and constant self-criticism, improvent is real!
That said, my health is getting worse.
My schedule has shifted to sleeping at 10:30 AM and waking at 5:30 PM.
Writing eight hours a day feels like I’m about to ascend to another plane.
This book’s outline is set to last about two years, roughly three million words.
I just hope I don’t collapse.
After finishing this book, I’ll rest for six months to a year.
I’ve already booked a friend’s villa in Wuzhi Mountain, Hainan.
Soon, this cat will head to Wuzhi Mountain to recover like a monkey.
The month-long break I took wasn’t enough.
Though the outline, setting, and inspiration were mostly set last October, half of that break was spent recovering.
*
Now, for the gratitude section—
First, thanks to my friends for their chapter recomndations.
I’ll treat you all to a al next ti we et!
Next, a huge thanks to my editor, Jia Nan!
Before this book was published, Jia Nan worked with extensively on the setting and outline, offering imnse help.
A big shoutout to my incredible operations officer and artist, [Can Without Grain]!
Can is unbeatable—look at this book’s cover and the cover for Tower of Overturn, both drawn by her!
She also crafted the character designs and various rchandise for this book, all by hand!
What kind of god-tier operations officer is this? Do you have one? (shouting)
She’s hosting a giveaway in the comnts section, offering free rchandise she made!
Authors can’t sell rchandise, but giving it away for free is fine!
I’m covering the shipping costs, so go check it out later!
Next, thanks to all the readers for their donations!
A special thanks to Fu Luo Li Tian Ze Lu for the Silver Alliance donation!
Since eting during Blood of rcury, Tian Ze has donated one to three Alliance Leaders monthly.
On another platform, she’s donated three Silver Alliances, plus one Golden Alliance each for Players Super Justice and Tower of Overturn, along with several Silver Alliances for Tower.
Huge thanks to Tian Ze, my beautiful supporter—I feel like a kept cat!
Thanks to Yin Tian Shen Yin, Li Tian X, Mood Complex, Ying Ni Yan, Yu Zhou Ge, Chai Ke Fu Si Ji Ta Ke Wei Qi, Mu Feng Zhi Ge, Wei La 0205, Gu Xin Xuan, and Zuo Bo Jia Ye Zi for their Alliance Leader donations!
Thanks to Cang Jing ng Hai, Dian Si Ji Zi, and Yao Du Ting Ri for their Helmsman donations!
And thanks to everyone for your donations, votes, and subscriptions!
This is the best start I’ve ever had (Small Rock Fist clenches)… though that phrase feels a bit unlucky, so never mind.
*
Soone once asked , “Can you really stick to two hours of daily study? How do you ensure you keep learning every day?”
The answer is simple, and you’ll see its feasibility right away—though it might not work for everyone.
Basically, every day, after starting work (writing), I imdiately stop to read a book.
My intense desire to avoid work and escape its pressures pushes to read more to kill ti.
In that mont, I enter a space free from work’s burdens, and my learning efficiency skyrockets.
It’s like doing howork and flipping through a textbook to find answers.
The strong urge to avoid howork drives you to read the textbook carefully, even things you’d normally ignore.
In that escape from reality, those things beco sweet.
Back when I was a student, to avoid howork, I’d even read dicine bottle labels for ages, let alone extracurricular books!
This proves people will do anything to procrastinate—and can achieve anything in the process.
This book’s inspiration cos from tons of books and gas.
This cat only does two things at ho: read books or play gas.
I can’t count how many ga settings I’ve woven into my books, but it’s a lot.
My friend Yin Tian and I are different.
Writing itself is his joy, but for , writing is just a skill I’m good at.
My ultimate goal is reading and gaming—writing is just a byproduct of the inspiration overflowing from those.
If anything feels familiar, it’s a homage!
Thanks to gas like Granblue Fantasy, Final Fantasy, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, and Cultist Simulator for inspiring with their beloved worlds!
Lastly, I’ll share my book list, as so have asked for it multiple tis.
I ant to share it at a good ti, but I forgot during the busy New Year!
If you’re not interested, feel free to skip this part—it’s mostly unrelated to the book, just a knowledge-sharing mont.
Below are books I’ve read since Players Super Justice began in 2019, up to now—four years’ worth!
These include books I finished, reread multiple tis, or partially read.
This list gives a sense of my tastes.
It’s not just for readers who enjoy this book but also for fellow authors as a resource for creative materials.
These books should be available for purchase, but this isn’t a recomndation list—everyone’s preferred genres differ, and my reading is quite eclectic.
To avoid seeming like a shill, I’ve excluded web novels I read.
The books aren’t ranked; they’re just what I’ve read.
I’ll only briefly comnt on books I’ve reread multiple tis.
I won’t include books I read years ago but haven’t revisited recently.
I forget silly books as if I never read them—erased from my ntal cache.
I’ll list any I recall, though I might miss so.
For books with multiple versions or similar titles, I’ll include the author for clarity.
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Books I’ve read but didn’t finish:
Scott’s Wicca Magic
Witchcraft: A History of Fear
Lewis Ri Blouqui’s Cattle Raid
Robert’s Strange Spirits
Su Tompkin’s Astrological Aspects Study, Astrological Magic: Basic Rituals and ditation
Leo Strauss’s History of Political Philosophy
The Third Wave
Criminal IA
Borges’s The Book of Sand
Tess of the d’Urbervilles
Sun, Moon, Star Murder Case
The Bible, Protestantism, and the Rise of Natural Science
History of International Relations, Volu 3
Books I’ve finished:
Story Morphology
Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande
Myths of Fire’s Origin
1844 Economic-Philosophical Manuscripts
Origins of Ancient Chinese Thought and Yin-Yang Five Elents Theory
Toffler’s Power Shift
Guide to Western Mysticism
Secrets of Alchemy
Avesta: Zoroastrian Holy Book
Pastoral Bible
Understanding dia: The Extensions of Man
Studies in British and Arican Novel Narrative Theory
Detective AI
The Vanishing Thirteenth Step
Headless: Cursed Object
Twelve Hours of Chang’an
When Mysticism Knocks
Hor’s Odyssey
The Moon and Sixpence
Stranger Music
The Glass Hamr
Edgar Allan Poe’s Poetry Collection
Man and His Symbols
Yes, Minister
Thomas Rollston’s Celtic Myths and Legends
Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon
Uragawa Kazuhiro’s Delta Tragedy
Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light
Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus
Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat
Deep into History: Studies on Marx’s Historical View
Guo Qingguang’s Communication Studies Tutorial (Second Edition)
Higashino Keigo’s Black Laughter Novels, Crooked Laughter Novels, Doppelgänger, Who Killed Her, Tragic Puppet
Pas’s The Bow and the Lyre
The Weight of Butterflies: Nelly Sachs Poetry Selection
Milton Biography
Friedrich Schiller’s Letters on Aesthetic Education
The Alphabet Killer Club
Pamuk’s My Na Is Red
Rigveda Close Reading
Bhagavad Gita Comntary
Liu Zhongyu’s Chinese Monster Culture
Ye Shuxian’s Heroes and the Sun: Reconstructing Archetypes in Ancient Chinese Epics
Okajima Duo’s Klein Bottle
Detective Twilight Traveler
Books I’ve reread multiple tis in the last three or four years:
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko’s Black Magic Notebook (Great reference, very clear)
McKee’s Story (Highly recomnded—every novelist should read it once)
Frazer’s The Golden Bough (Recomnded for anyone writing mysticism)
Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat 2 (Much stronger than the first)
Purple and Black (Wonderful fantasy story)
Tagore’s Poetry Selection (This cat loves poetry; a foundation for Tower of Overturn)
Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s Rashomon Short Stories (My high school mories)
Hitchcock Short Stories and Scripts from Tis Literature Press: Rebecca, North by Northwest, Double Killer, Killing with a Borrowed Knife, Midnight Pursuit (My middle school mories, still fresh)
Gibran’s The Prophet, Sand and Foam (Poetry 1)
Death Fugue: Paul Celan’s Selected Poems (Poetry 2)
Lord El-lloi II Case Files (My favorite light novel, probably)
Fate/Zero (Second favorite!)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Foundation for Players Super Justice)
Faust (Also a foundation for Players Super Justice)
The Godfather (Practically my childhood—I was so young when I read it)
The Complete Sherlock Hols (Childhood 1)
Agatha Christie’s Detective Novels, Complete Collection (Childhood 2)
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Lastly, I recomnd the public account [Literature Theory and Criticism]—you can occasionally find great books there.
I doubt many readers will scroll this far, but as is tradition, I’ll end with this:
Hope we et again tomorrow.
—May happiness always be with you.
(Chapter End)
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