The next day.
A trending topic forcefully ascended to the first position!
#Jiangnan's New Book "Journey to the West", Bai Ye Might Not Be Able to Block This Blow from the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!#
Then, various big shots from the literary circles emerged online.
"I originally thought Bai Ye's "Chronicle of Gods and Demons" was the pinnacle of ancient style imitation, but after reading Jiangnan's "Journey to the West," I realized what a master-level literary work is. This book is filled with various classical poems, and the writing style shows no trace of imitation. It is definitely the work of a master!"
"I've skimmed through it once and am now reading it for the second time. I can even calmly study every single word within it!"
"This is a world of demons and monsters. Sun Wukong is definitely a character that makes one's blood boil. He is rebellious and unyielding. When the Heavenly Dao was unjust, he shattered the Lingxiao Palace. It's been a long time since I've read a plot that made my scalp tingle with excitement. After being suppressed by the Buddha, it made me feel infinitely wronged. However, upon closer inspection, I found that this book is not as simple as it appears on the surface; many parts are metaphorical of reality!"
"The eighty-one tribulations, are the hardships of the master and his disciples, but are they not also our life's journey?"
The momentum between Jiangnan and Bai Ye was already creating a huge stir.
Moreover, Jiangnan's reputation had been on the verge of collapse.
Who would have thought that at this crucial moment, Jiangnan would release a new book!
And it was a new book written in an ancient style!
Generally speaking, classical Chinese, even vernacular, has a high barrier to entry for reading.
However, when everyone prepared themselves for the difficulty and started reading Jiangnan's new book, they found that even junior high school students could understand it!
That's right, although some sentences were unclear, the entire story could be understood by reading through it. Moreover, the more they read towards the end, the more captivated they became!
"What is going on?"
"I can actually understand classical Chinese?"
"It's hard to imagine. If I were to take a single sentence out, I might not grasp its meaning, but when put together, I suddenly know what's being discussed."
"This is ridiculous. Normally, shouldn't it be that you recognize every character, but can't understand it when they're put together?"
"This is where the old rogue Jiangnan excels. He can achieve explosive writing while having a low reading threshold. Compared to this "Journey to the West," Bai Ye's book is definitely showing off his writing skills. I believe most of the people praising Bai Ye's book can't actually understand it, right?"
"Regardless, from today onwards, Monkey King is my eternal idol!"
"Monkey King is awesome!"
Many people who had read "Journey to the West" found that reading only the understandable parts did not hinder their comprehension of the plot.
This was also a very important reason why this book became a masterpiece. The form of ancient vernacular greatly reduced the reading threshold, yet retained the cultural essence of classical Chinese.
And in "Journey to the West," the most outstanding character, of course, was that monkey.
Sun Wukong embodied almost all the characteristics of heroic figures.
He was very intelligent, understood Bodhi Patriarch's intentions, and learned his skills.
He was also very domineering, going to the East Sea Dragon Palace to obtain the Golden Cudgel.
He was defiant, disregarding the inviolability of the heavenly court, and with his Golden Cudgel, he stormed the Lingxiao Palace.
He didn't care about the fate of life and death; he caused havoc in the Underworld, crossing out his name from the Book of Life and Death.
Although Sun Wukong lived in a world of gods and demons, he never had a concept of feudal hierarchy. Regardless of rank, anyone he recognized was his friend.
This was definitely the ultimate template for a male protagonist in a power fantasy.
Moreover, it was a character development route with a progression.
Whether it was his early rebelliousness, his heartbroken departure after being wronged by his master in the middle stages, or his increasing Buddhistic nature later on, every phase showcased the charm of this "Great Sage Equal to Heaven"!
Therefore, since "Journey to the West" was first released.
Sun Wukong has always been the most discussed character.
However.
Besides the characters.
There were also many plot points being discussed by people.
"Why could Sun Wukong cause havoc in the heavenly court five hundred years ago, but five hundred years later he was repeatedly defeated by various mount disciples and young attendants?"
A hot topic attracted much attention.
Indeed, after reading the entire book, the monkey's combat power in the early stages was too strong, but later on, during the journey to the West with Tang Monk, he often had to go to the heavenly court to ask for reinforcements.
As this discussion topic gained traction.
Many other questions also emerged.
"Actually, Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong are evenly matched in combat power; he's just slacking off."
This topic also garnered attention, with some even arguing about it.
Then there were other details, such as how those without connections were killed by Sun Wukong, while those with connections returned to heaven.
The internet then divided into two factions: those who liked the monkey, and those who found fault with him.
At this point, a rather famous figure stepped forward.
"This involves human relationships and social dynamics, which are difficult to understand on the surface. One might even feel that the author deliberately weakened Sun Wukong's combat power. However, upon deeper research, there's a possibility that these immortal mounts were deliberately sent to create tribulations for the monkey. Furthermore, even though Sun Wukong caused havoc in the heavenly court, many heavenly deities had a good impression of him. If he had killed these mounts, how would he interact with the heavenly court in the future?"
With this big shot speaking out.
Other researchers of ancient culture in the industry couldn't stay silent.
"I've compiled statistics. Along the journey for scriptures, although there are eighty-one tribulations, there are forty-four major events. Among these, the monkey alone resolved twenty-five tribulations, sought help for thirteen, and thirteen were jointly resolved by helpers and the scripture-seeking party. Please supplement if there are omissions. From the statistics, the monkey individually resolved more than half of them, so there's no such thing as reduced combat power."
"Monkey sometimes seeks help not because he cannot win, but his primary objective is to save Tang Monk. Therefore, seeking help is for convenience and also to build goodwill. Human relationships and social dynamics are the hidden focus of this book."
"Tang Monk is rigid, Monkey is impatient, Bajie is greedy, and Sha Monk is dull-witted. The four of them all have flaws, but also merits. Such a design makes the story more engaging."
As discussions online intensified.
Jiangnan's book's popularity surged rapidly.
And at this moment.
Everyone realized that in their obsession with this "Journey to the West," they seemed to have forgotten something...
"Damn it, I was so engrossed in reading that I forgot Jiangnan the old rogue is still being bashed online!"
This was the first thought that many people had upon realizing.
Previously, due to the intense backlash, many of Jiangnan's fans dared not speak up. However, this time, they were filled with confidence.
With this "Journey to the West," it was enough to sweep the entire online literature market, and this was just a cursory read; they hadn't even fully grasped the depth of its content yet.
Furthermore, many industry big shots had already begun interpreting the metaphors within "Journey to the West," and some even discovered that reading the book backward revealed an even more realistic story with deeper life insights.
When these interpretations were revealed to the public.
Many readers were utterly astonished!