Volume 1 is pretty much finished. Since my plotlines are all continuous, it's a bit hard to divide them into concrete volumes, but let's assume this is the end of Volume 1.
Honestly, I don't know if someone of my standing is qualified to write something like this, but I'm doing it anyway. Mainly, I just wanted to chat with you all.
Of course, if you don't care for this, feel free to skip this chapter.
First, let's talk about the plot of Volume 1.
My original plan was for each volume of this book to be around 500,000 words. Volume 1 went a bit over, hitting 620,000 words, but since it is indeed important, it's not a big deal.
Volume 1 is the story within Dawn City, revolving around the conspiracy of the City Lord, who serves as the ultimate big boss.
Writing from the perspective of a "starting zone" city while trying to unfold the background of the entire world's lore, as well as the core personality traits of the male and female protagonists, was not an easy task.
The content of this volume will be the core that makes the entire book work, whether in terms of the plot or my personal writing style. While it is a complete story in itself, it also serves as the prologue to a much larger narrative.
If we are destined to cross paths through this book, once you finish reading everything, you will probably understand what I mean. I hope this book can accompany many of you through a stage of your lives.
As for the plot, there's no need to say too much. Liang Shuguang is a deeply contradictory character, and that's about it. Whatever kind of person you judge him to be from reading between the lines, that is who he is. Liang Shuguang won't explain himself, and neither will I.
Merits and faults are meant to be discussed openly in the light of day. If one lacks that kind of resolve, they shouldn't even begin.
Before I even started writing this book, I kept wondering: in the face of such a heavy and terrifying world, with a male protagonist who treats the world entirely like a game with an invincible mindset, and a female protagonist with a resolute Dao Heart facing an Evil God despite her weak body, what kind of person would be qualified to stand on the opposite side of the chessboard as their opponent?
An existence with supreme, transcendent power? I think it has to be more than that. The scale of power is purely up to the author's settings; I could say he has the power to destroy the world, or even the universe, but that's meaningless. Merely piling up power levels cannot convey even a fraction of a character's depth.
And Liang Shuguang is one of the answers I've provided so far.
Some people might feel that I've given Liang Shuguang too much focus, making him seem different from other characters.
I want to say that everyone has their own time in the spotlight. Liang Shuguang's appearances condense over thirty years of his pain, distortion, sin, and ideals, so it's natural for his character to show an explosive burst of development in a short time (and honestly, I haven't even written his full picture yet).
Others will have their own explosive moments. The personalities of the male and female protagonists, in particular, need an entire book to fully unfold. The characters must match the world's setting, the villains must be worthy of the heroes, and the heroes must be worthy of the villains.
Now, let's talk about this book itself.
Before starting this book, I had a hope. I hoped to write a book that even readers of mindless, self-indulgent power fantasies could enjoy—something with zero barrier to entry that they could smoothly and satisfyingly read through.
But as they enjoy the ride, it would be best if they suddenly realize that there's more to it. That this book has a plot and characters capable of evoking different emotions and philosophies in different people. It should feel like something worth engaging their brain for, becoming an "intelligent power fantasy."
That is my goal, and it has always been my goal. Writing this way is indeed difficult, though. Normally, you either have pure, non-stop self-indulgence, or you filter out readers early on to keep only those who want to read closely. I was very worried about chasing two rabbits and catching neither.
That's why the metrics for this book were terrible when it first started. Seeing other books of the same period flying high with gimmicks, I felt a bit numb. After all, I'm an Old-Timer myself, so starting off like that didn't look very good.
But I persevered, and eventually, I found readers who appreciated it and watched it blossom. Now, the book's performance is doing quite well.
However, the situation is even more complicated than that. You might not know this, but Tomato Novel was a bit turbulent a while ago, adjusting its recommendation algorithms, looking for Great God authors, and so on.
During this turbulent phase, many authors' books saw a drop in traffic. There was a rumor that Tomato Novel was favoring certain individuals while leaving others in the dust. Consequently, many of them started attacking the authors suspected of being favored, leaving bad reviews and the like.
Since my book ranked quite high among new releases, it was naturally assumed to be one of the "favored" ones. As a result, I received some hard-to-describe, slanderous, and abusive comments. But I really don't have any special connections, nor has Tomato Novel given me any special treatment (so far, though I hope they do in the future, haha). The readership curve of this book has actually grown steadily day by day over the span of two or three months; there was never any explosive spike in traffic.
I'm not writing this to specifically attack those who spread rumors and abuse me, as I've seen plenty of that sort of behavior and usually ignore it anyway. I just wanted to say that despite all that, the book has still reached a 9.5 rating. Thank you all for your love, which has also driven some people into a state of impotent rage.
I still believe that sincerity can move people, and I still believe that doing the right thing will lead to meeting the right people. This is also why I am writing this volume summary now.
For those who treat this book as a mindless power fantasy, I have no objections. Just read and enjoy. With my writing style, reading it for pure, mindless satisfaction is absolutely fine, and I personally believe that entertainment is the root and core of web novels.
To those who got halfway through, realized it wasn't to their liking, and quietly moved on, I thank you for your tolerance and for understanding the mutual respect of agreeing to disagree. To those who spread rumors and slander me, I wish you a speedy recovery in finding the right direction in your lives.
And most importantly, to those who truly love this book and follow it diligently, I hope this book can be a gift from me to you, allowing your minds to enter a fantasy world that is truly worth your time.
Alright, that's it for the summary. On a side note, today should be the last day of my giveaway event, so make sure to seize the opportunity.
Remember to give me a follow. There should be opportunities for similar events for this book in the future!
I've had some things to attend to over the past few days, constantly boarding planes and such, which made it impossible to write normally. Thus, I could only stay up late into the night to write and then edit whenever I found a spare moment.
To any readers who have been waiting for updates, I am truly sorry. I am back now, and updates will return to the usual time of midnight.
Once Volume 2 begins, to celebrate climbing the Peak Leaderboard, I should be releasing extra chapters for a while. Please give me plenty of positive reviews and help spread the word. My promise to release extra chapters for a month if the score increases still stands.
I hope you'll keep up with the daily updates as much as possible, as this is very important to me. Just treat it as a bedtime story!
Love you all. o(^-^)o
August 10, 2026, Commander of the Camp of No Return.
Rate on N.U.
