The plot of Xian Jian had reached the part where Ji Sanniang, to preserve her dead husband's body, became a female thief.
Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru investigated the truth and encountered the wealthy merchant Liu Shimei, who had abandoned his wife and children.
Both these story arcs were about human nature and love.
Readers found them immensely satisfying.
The latest chapters had been updated.
Readers eagerly clicked in.
However, the plot gradually took a turn for the worse.
"Xiaoyao gege, I don't like you anymore, I don't love you..."
A breakup?
They actually broke up?
This left the readers so heartbroken they started cursing.
"Old thief Jiangnan! I waited so hard for the update, and you torture me like this?"
"Damn it, Old Thief Jiangnan, come out! I have something I want to discuss with you!"
"No! Don't hurt my Ling'er!"
"Damn it, this makes me so angry, but I'm too unwilling to abandon the book. Old Thief Jiangnan, please be a decent person!"
"Ahhh! I never expected this, absolutely never expected it. I thought they would finally meet and clear up their misunderstandings, but instead, we get a breakup!!!"
"Open a harem! We agree to a harem, just don't hurt my Ling'er!"
"That's right, ten thousand people sign a petition for a harem!"
"Both the Yueru faction and the Ling'er faction agree!"
The book reviews were filled with wails.
However, the author seemed oblivious, offering no response.
Meanwhile, online, many people were analyzing the future plot.
"Firstly, Ling'er is the female lead. Even if they break up, they'll surely get back together. But Lin Yueru has followed Li Xiaoyao for so long. Although she was a bit annoying at first, she's gained quite a few CP fans later on."
"The final outcome should be him taking both of them."
"If he takes both, then fine. We just hope the author doesn't torture us anymore!"
At this point, this was the readers' only request.
However, based on their judgment, the ending shouldn't be far off.
After all, the plot had reached this stage, and it wouldn't be perfect to abandon either of the two women.
...
Qingkong Literature.
The Xianxia editorial department.
Zhou Sisi stared blankly at the data on the screen, her pretty face filled with shock.
"Hahahaha..."
After a moment, she threw her head back and laughed heartily.
However, her laughter was too boisterous, causing her to choke and instinctively cover her chest and cough.
"Sisi, are you okay?"
"It's over, it's over, Sisi's been driven crazy by her own curse..."
"Alas... she's really unlucky. After finally signing a high-quality book, she encountered a PK battle with the fantasy big shot Liu Ming."
"Sisi, don't put too much pressure on yourself. If it doesn't work out, contact Jiangnan. We can have a second PK."
"Alas... Sisi, don't be too upset. I'll treat you tonight, let's go out singing to relax."
Her colleagues flocked behind her, offering words of comfort.
They all sympathized with Zhou Sisi's predicament.
But there was nothing to be done.
PK battles were inherently cruel, and this time, a great author from the online literature world had joined. Jiangnan was just a newcomer, so losing was normal for him.
Zhou Sisi coughed for quite a while before recovering.
She picked up her water cup from the desk, took a sip, and took a few deep breaths to calm herself.
Then, she turned back to everyone, her pretty face beaming with excitement: "Awesome! It's awesome! Absolutely freaking awesome!"
The crowd was taken aback.
"What are you talking about?"
"Sisi, what's exploded?"
"Holy crap, you actually like watching that stuff? Your taste is so strong?"
"..."
The editors' expressions gradually became strange.
"Bah, bah, bah! No, I mean Jiangnan is too damn awesome!"
Zhou Sisi was extremely excited, even letting out an expletive.
She pointed at the computer screen, her face splitting into a wide grin as she faced her colleagues.
Only then did the editors understand.
Then they looked at her screen.
In an instant.
The entire editorial department fell silent.
This state of silence lasted for about ten seconds.
"Holy crap!"
"Awesome!"
"Absolutely freaking awesome!!!"
A tidal wave of gasps and exclamations erupted in the Xianxia group.
The noise was so loud that even departments nearby could hear it.
Someone poked their head out, looking towards the Xianxia group's office with a puzzled expression.
What was so exciting about something exploding?
Just then, Chief Editor Li Minghui walked in from outside.
Hearing the cheers from within, his expression darkened.
"What kind of lewd words are those? You're utterly lawless, making noise in the office like this, do you think your Chief Editor is dead!"
Then, he strode towards the Xianxia group's office with a grim face.
Upon reaching the office doorway.
He scanned the scene.
Everyone was jumping up and down excitedly next to Zhou Sisi's position.
"What are you all doing!"
Li Minghui's stern shout echoed.
The office instantly quieted down.
Then, everyone sheepishly lowered their heads, not daring to meet Li Minghui's gaze.
"Chief Editor, come here."
However, Zhou Sisi triumphantly beckoned him over.
Li Minghui, seeing this, walked over with a stern expression.
"Look here."
Upon his approach, Zhou Sisi pointed to the computer screen.
Li Minghui looked at the screen in confusion and instantly froze.
On the screen was the backend data.
A comparison chart of reader retention data.
According to the data, Jiangnan's book, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy," was ranked first.
Behind him was the fantasy大神 Liu Ming's "Holding the Heavens"!
This meant that after three rounds of PK, Jiangnan had actually surpassed the fantasy大神 and ranked first!
This was internal data that had just come out and had not yet been made public, so only editors could see it.
However, all the editors knew what it meant when this news was released.
A newcomer had defeated a great author in a PK battle.
This kind of situation was extremely rare in the history of online literature.
In the past instances where newcomers defeated great authors, those newcomers' books later achieved god-level status.
And now that this situation had occurred again, it indicated that this Jiangnan, as long as he didn't mess up the plot later on, had a very high chance of achieving god-level status with this book!
"Holy crap, awesome!"
This shout.
It was Chief Editor Li Minghui's voice.
...
After an unknown amount of time.
The Xianxia group editors finally calmed their emotions.
It must be said, the Xianxia category was too sluggish, and it hadn't produced such a powerful book in a long time.
Therefore, upon seeing such a phenomenal Xianxia book, they were all incredibly excited.
And this book was signed by Zhou Sisi. As long as it didn't collapse later, her curse would be broken.
"Sisi, please apply for a business trip to meet this Jiangnan. This book might be a Xianxia phenomenon. Talk about the future plot in person; make sure it doesn't collapse. You've just joined the Xianxia group, and you're not very familiar with Xianxia yet. If you have any questions, you can ask us. We'll follow it together and strive to make this book a success!"
Li Minghui directly asked Zhou Sisi to go on a business trip.
Given the current performance of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy," it was enough for an editor to make the trip.
After all, Xianxia was already in decline, and finally, a good book had appeared, so they naturally had to cherish it.
Her colleagues all agreed with what Li Minghui said.
Although this book was signed by Zhou Sisi, and their earnings were not related to them, for the sake of the Xianxia group, they would all help wholeheartedly.
Moreover, Zhou Sisi, as the Xianxia group's source of joy, had good relationships with everyone, and they were happy to help.
"Okay, I'll apply right away!"
Zhou Sisi also wanted to see who this Jiangnan truly was.
Because she had been following this book.
She practically stared at her computer waiting for updates.
However, this Jiangnan's skill in getting stuck on his writing was first-class, always leaving her in agony.
And the latest plot, which had the male and female leads break up, was the most infuriating part for her.
This time, having the opportunity to meet him, she wondered if she could bring some local specialties to urge him to update...