The news of Bai Ye's comeback had set the entire internet ablaze with his new book.
Moreover, his novel "Chronicles of Gods and Demons" could be described as phenomenal, both in its writing and its story.
It even presented a certain learning curve for readers new to the online literature scene.
Bai Ye's writing style had always been revered as god-like by veteran readers, and his choice of words and sentence construction carried a distinct classical charm.
His previous books had even been studied and analyzed by many literature enthusiasts.
He was not only a supreme deity in the online literature realm but also a titan in the traditional literary circles.
"Readers who can skim through this book can leave now. You must savor every word and sentence to understand the brilliance of Master Bai Ye."
"I used to read very quickly, able to finish a million words a day without issues. But reading Bai Ye's book, I spent four days on 500,000 words. It's just too amazing. With this writing, no one in the online literature circle can match him!"
"A masterpiece! Not just in online literature, but even in traditional literature, there are few books like this!"
"Master Bai Ye has truly brought the gods and immortals in his books to life!"
"Number one on the bestseller list, number one on the online popularity list, this is what a supreme deity is like, terrifyingly so!"
Bai Ye's new book had truly conquered the online literature market.
Not only that, but even Zhang Cheng Bing, the president of the Writers Association, personally promoted it on Weibo.
"Bai Ye and I are old friends. After reading 'Chronicles of Gods and Demons,' I must exclaim that this is a breakthrough for him. I dare say 'Chronicles of Gods and Demons' is absolutely another peak for Bai Ye!"
Zhang Cheng Bing had bestowed extremely high praise upon Bai Ye. He was also considered the most authoritative figure in traditional Chinese literature, so the direct use of the words "absolutely" and "peak" was enough to convey his excitement.
It wasn't just him.
Even the Poetry Association and the Calligraphy Association, which were related to ancient culture, joined in the excitement.
All scholars under heaven are one family; be it literature, poetry, or calligraphy, they all fall under the category of culture.
In the cultural circle's group chat.
Shen Ling Yun, president of the Calligraphy Association, and Wu Tian, president of the Poetry Association, praised the book without reservation!
Shen Ling Yun: "This is undoubtedly the best online novel I've read in nearly ten years. No, it should be called traditional literature!"
Wu Tian: "Bai Ye's literary foundation is indeed formidable. This book is a waste in the online literature circle!"
"Bai Ye must be around forty years old. If he were ten years younger, he would be considered the peak of the younger generation."
"There aren't many capable individuals among the younger generation now."
"That Jiangnan is quite good."
"Jiangnan's writing is excellent, but there's still a gap compared to Bai Ye. Actually, I have higher hopes for Ting Yu, but unfortunately, he has no intention of entering the cultural circle and is just focused on writing songs."
"Haha, I also think it's a shame..."
Everyone still vividly remembered Ting Yu's "Orchid Pavilion Preface" from the last cultural exchange event.
Whether it was couplets or poems, he had completely outshone the literary circle.
If he had pursued traditional literature, no one would doubt his achievements.
Unfortunately, he was solely focused on writing songs and had no aspirations to develop in the literary world.
...
Just as the literary elites of the entire internet were praising Bai Ye.
A surprising trending topic appeared at tenth place on the rankings.
#Jiangnan's Xianjian Saga Ended, Why Isn't He Starting a New Book? Is He Scared?#
Clicking on the trending topic revealed a long analytical post published by a small account.
It analyzed the impact of Bai Ye's comeback on Jiangnan's fame.
Then, it analyzed the situation if Jiangnan were to start a new book now.
The conclusion was that he would be crushed by Bai Ye, leading to a decline in his fame.
The appearance of this trending topic at this particular time made many suspect a deliberate promotion.
Because there was no prior indication, if it weren't for this trending topic, no one would have thought that Jiangnan's delay in releasing a new book was due to fear of Bai Ye.
"What utter nonsense! Isn't the reason Old Thief Jiangnan hasn't released a new book because he's been delayed by his new movie and TV series?"
"What kind of garbage marketing account is this? Jiangnan and Bai Ye aren't on the same platform, what competition do they have?"
"I think the blogger is right, Jiangnan is scared. He must have heard about Bai Ye's comeback from his editor and has been afraid to release his book since."
"Even if he released his book, the platform wouldn't let him. After all, Qing Kong Literature relies on the great god Jiangnan for its livelihood. If Jiangnan's book is crushed, they'll likely lose a lot of readers. It's better to play it safe and not release it, waiting for Bai Ye's popularity to fade."
"I think not releasing it is the best option. After all, although Jiangnan is popular, he's only been in the industry for a little over a year. There's no need for him to compete with these veterans who have been in the game for decades."
"Haha, it's all because Jiangnan's fans are too arrogant, thinking that after writing a couple of Xianxia novels, he has the ability to challenge a supreme deity!"
Previously, Qing Kong Literature was dominant because of Jiangnan's presence.
Now that other platforms saw an opportunity to put down Qing Kong, how could they let it pass?
As long as the notion that Jiangnan was afraid of Bai Ye was solidified, other online literature platforms could use this to their advantage.
And then break the dominance of Jiangnan in the online literature market.
Besides other online literature platforms, many fan groups also joined in.
The reason was simple.
"Since you Jiangnan isn't letting our idol film, then we'll ruin your reputation!"
However, what surprised everyone was that the top star Zhang Qing Yun, who had been most affected by Jiangnan, and his fans remained conspicuously quiet.
But that didn't matter, as fans of other celebrities had already started the attack, and people simply didn't notice him.
In an instant.
The online discourse was overwhelming.
Unlike the online literature platforms, the fan groups were very experienced in manipulating public opinion. They had clear divisions of labor; some people attacked Jiangnan, while others pretended to be Jiangnan fans and mocked those who criticized him across the internet.
The popularity of this matter subsequently escalated, showing signs of becoming unmanageable.
#Popular Author Jiangnan Scorned by the Entire Internet, Will He Respond?#
This trending topic was directly pushed to the top by various factions.
"Is this stirring up public anger?"
"It's quite normal. Since Jiangnan started filming, he's offended too many traffic fans. Now that there's such a good opportunity, how could they possibly let it go?"
"Although Jiangnan has many book fans, they have a fatal flaw: many of them don't use Weibo. And the main battlefield for gossip is Weibo, so they can't control the comments at all. Jiangnan's Weibo is almost drowned in negative comments."
"I quite like Jiangnan. I'll see if he can get through this. After all, his works have always been masterpieces, and everyone can see that he's being targeted by capital and traffic."
Many onlookers were discussing under the trending topic.
No one was foolish; simply not releasing a new book wouldn't cause such a stir.
This was clearly being driven by rival platforms of Qing Kong Literature and those fan groups.
However, as the situation escalated, many neutral observers also got involved.
And everyone was waiting, waiting for Qing Kong Literature's stance and Jiangnan's own response.