Watching the Mountain

Starting around last week, many readers have been urging me to go premium.

Now, it’s finally happening. I wanted to let everyone know that the book will go premium tomorrow at noon. There might be a few minutes’ delay, so please be sure to check it out!

Many of you have probably seen the author’s note I left in the third Chapter. Because of the title, the genre, and the recent traffic from recommendations, I was prepared for this book to have a slow start and for me to have to grind it out.

At the time, the goal I set for myself was just to scrape together a hundred paying concurrent readers, which would allow me to go premium at 200,000 characters.

However, after the book was officially launched, its performance was a huge surprise.

In the first five days, before my contract status was even updated and without any support from my previous readers, the book gained 95 library adds just from organic traffic. Then, on the first day it was officially listed, it got another 95. When I hit a thousand adds and entered the ”trial-run” phase, I started to think this book might actually have a shot at the Sanjiang recommendation.

And it actually happened. I was so surprised and moved.

For some of the big-shot authors, getting a Sanjiang recommendation might not be a big deal, but for me, it’s an honor that definitely comes with bragging rights.

The day I got the Sanjiang spot, I just wanted to shout to the whole world, ”I made it to Sanjiang!” (By the way, that recommendation is incredibly powerful—my concurrent readership shot up by over 1,200 in a single day.)

I’m truly grateful to every reader who has discovered and supported this book. No author can make it without their readers, and that’s especially true for me. I really can’t do any of this without all of you.

So, I want to offer my sincerest thanks and ask for your continued support. I promise to work hard and repay you all with consistent updates.

Next, I want to give a special thank you to my editor, Shi Guang, and the editor-in-chief of Group 12, Ming Yue.

They are both incredibly kind and responsible editors, and I’d recommend them to any aspiring authors out there.

Shi Guang is the kind of editor who treats you with the same seriousness and responsibility whether your book is doing well or not. There’s no stress or pressure when talking with him, because he’s just a genuinely great guy.

When I was on Chapter eighteen, I felt something was off with the story, so I asked him to take a look. Even though it was a Sunday, he still took the time to read it and patiently give me advice.

Our editor-in-chief, Ming Yue, isn’t just skilled at giving writing advice; he’s also the kind of person who constantly encourages you and cheers you on. He’s not aloof at all, is incredibly patient, and often shares little tips and tricks with us.

Oh, and he told me the other day to remember to ask for monthly tickets—to ask diligently and not be shy about it, or else readers will give them to other books.

So, on that note, I’d like to say to everyone: ”Please, I’d be so grateful for your monthly tickets! I really want them! Thank you all!”

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Next, let’s talk about the update schedule. After going premium, I’ll do my best to release a guaranteed minimum of 8,000 characters per day. It would probably be better to split that into four Chapters, since it would seem like more updates, but splitting Chapters is actually pretty difficult. So, we’ll see. It might be two longer Chapters, or maybe three to four shorter ones.

For tomorrow’s launch at noon, I’ll post a batch of four or five Chapters first, then release more in the afternoon and evening. It all depends on how much I can get written, but I’ll do my best to write as much as possible.

Once I get into the swing of things, I’ll aim to hit a daily update goal of 10,000 characters.

Regarding bonus Chapters, I’ll release them next month based on the number of monthly tickets received this month. As for donations, I don’t expect anyone to gift me an Elder or Alliance Leader tier. The economy isn’t great right now, so please spend your money wisely. Just your subscription is more than enough support.

Concurrent readership—it’s so, so important. I’m begging you all, please keep reading the latest Chapters as they come out. Please don’t stockpile them to binge later. It’s especially tough for slice-of-life stories like this one, so please, don’t do it! Even just turning on auto-subscribe would be a huge help.

I’ll continue to work hard to write a great story for all of you.

Finally, thank you all once again. It feels like fate that we’ve all come together here, and I’ll do my best to make our time together a wonderful memory.

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And now, for the shout-out section:

Alchemist!

Author: Buy a Curtain

This is another Xianxia novel that was featured in the previous Sanjiang batch. We met through the Sanjiang event, I believe. I was curious why his book hadn’t been featured yet, so I reached out to him, and we had a great chat.

Even though we were competitors in the same Sanjiang batch, he gave me a ton of advice and was a huge help. His book is about an Evil Cultivator, but he’s a genuinely wonderful person.

I highly recommend you check it out. It features a system-based progression, the writing is masterful, the world-building is solid, and the plot is excellent. I wish I had his writing skills.

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Cultivation: Starting from Mastering Techniques by Not a Prince, but a Frog

Starting by taking a Cultivation Technique as his master, he finds that the mountains, rivers, and all of creation can be his teachers...

A satisfying Xianxia power fantasy.

[He’s a good friend of mine. His book is well-written, but its current stats aren’t ideal. He desperately needs to get to one hundred concurrent readers so he can go premium. This new sprout needs some watering, so please consider giving his story a follow and helping him out.]

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Northern Song Dynasty: I really just want to be demoted!

Author: It’s raining, go collect clothes!

A comedic historical novel full of gags and memes. If you enjoy fun, lighthearted historical stories, I highly recommend it.

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Book Title: The Whole Neighborhood Traversed, But I Can Upgrade Everything

Author: Ape Lion

Blurb:

”While others struggle to survive after traversing to an apocalyptic world, Lin Hang starts out with the ability to infinitely upgrade his house, his weapons, and even his pets! While his neighbors are fighting to the death over a single white-tier card, he’s already figuring out the optimal placement for his purple-tier buildings. They think it’s a brutal survival game, but all Lin Hang wants to say is—’The fun of base-building and farming is just too addictive!’”

He’s another good author friend of mine, and his writing is excellent.

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From University Scholar to Research Giant

Author: Don’t Eat Little Pumpkin

A top-quality academic prodigy novel. The author is someone I’ve supported for a long time. While writing my own book, whenever I ran into the slightest trouble, I’d go running to him, and he would always patiently offer me guidance and advice. Highly recommended.