As you can see, this book has now come to an end.
After sixteen months, I finally finished it, albeit with great difficulty. This brings me a sense of relief, yet also a profound sense of loss. This much-criticized book left me feeling constantly exhausted and emotionally drained over those sixteen months. I was always filled with the feeling of having let my readers down, and for a long time, I felt deeply guilty about it, which led to nightmares and a constant state of anxiety. o(╥﹏╥)o
"You need to write a fast-paced, exciting story! Not an essay!" "Severe case of pretentious writing!" "Too drawn out, you padding king!" "Where's the protagonist??" "Where's the system?!" "Why write so many minor characters? Do they contribute to the plot at all?"
I have no way to refute these criticisms; they are indeed true. o(╥﹏╥)o
I must honestly tell all readers that this book is indeed an immature work. Many readers came because of the "exciting" element implied in the title and synopsis, but ended up finding it lacking in enjoyment. For this, I must apologize to these readers, but they probably won't see this anymore. (╥╯^╰╥)
But I still have to apologize for not giving you a good reading experience. Although this is a free novel, I have always believed that wasting other people's time is a crime.
However, I still have to say that from writing light novels to micro-group portraits, the large amount of details, side stories, and character descriptions are all part of my constantly evolving style. When I was writing, I was met with a lot of criticism. I thought about changing it, but I also felt that this was my style. I had to find my own style, rather than the more widespread "pure light novel writing style".
Of course, this might also be due to my inability to control the "power fantasy" writing style, but in short, I've gone down this path to the bitter end, so I accept all criticism and thank the readers who have offered it; I shamelessly take it as encouragement. o(╥﹏╥)o
Aside from the critics, I'm also very grateful to the supporters. Although there's very little left to write here, I'm truly thankful for you all. Sometimes, even just seeing one or two comments saying "the writing is delicate" or "the character development is good" makes me happy all day long, and I feel quite pleased with myself. At the same time, I keep reminding myself, "See, there are still people who can resonate with you. Keep writing like this; it's the right thing to do."
Perhaps I'm just being sentimental, but I often find myself caught in a state of distress, anxiety, and inner conflict, and I genuinely enjoy reading these comments, even reading them over and over again. I have no idea whether continuing to write like this will lead to better and better books in the future, or whether it will simply degenerate into garbage.
I feel that all the content in this book is my own hard work, and I really don't want it to become a worthless piece of trash. Especially the characters, basically all the named characters, I have put a lot of effort into shaping them, trying to avoid homogenization as much as possible. So I have to use more words to describe them and write about their differences, which has angered many readers.
The root cause of this "deterioration" of the novel indeed lies with the characters. When I was writing chapters 109 and 110, "Returning Home," the insignificant character "Zhu Ba" suddenly made me think twice and start to veer off into a non-feeling novel style.
When I was writing chapters 150 and 151, "The Caged Bird," the character "Jin Changge" suddenly triggered my illness. It was a common "literary youth syndrome" among authors, a syndrome I've had since writing my first book. By the time I wrote "The Caged Bird," I was completely and utterly afflicted.
Damn it, is there any medicine that can cure this "intellectual youth syndrome"?! (╯︵╰)
However, it was precisely because of these occasional bouts of illness that I was able to write two characters that I am most satisfied with: the brother and sister Jin Changge and Jin Jiande. Unlike the protagonist, who is "great, glorious, and righteous" from beginning to end, these two supporting characters have a clear growth trajectory. In a web novel, this might not be the right way to write it. As many readers have said, "What's the point of putting so much space on these kinds of characters?"
But there's really no way around it. Compared to protagonists with a single personality, I prefer to write supporting characters with complex personalities. Only when I write about them do I feel like I'm writing a living, breathing person, rather than an NPC character who makes a grand entrance and then gets defeated.
The formula of constantly appearing NPC characters, the protagonist defeating them, obtaining rewards, and then encountering the next NPC character, repeating this process, could certainly fill hundreds of chapters. However, rather than continuing like this, I would much rather fill the story with real, living people, that is, the stories of minor characters.
The prodigal bandit Zhu Ba, the farmer Hu San forced into rebellion by officials, and the little beggar Wen'er who gradually walks from suffering to happiness—if this book truly created a world, then I sincerely hope that these little people can all live happily.
Because the world is made up of these ordinary people, just like us.
However, this is undoubtedly contradictory in a novel that uses "military expansion" and "war" as its gimmicks, so my writing is also contradictory, especially in the later stages, after we went overseas.
When I was writing the Salisnor continent arc, my mind was filled with anti-war thoughts. I was so immersed in the writing that I even felt sad when I wrote about the deaths of those "villainous characters".
Driven by this conflicting feeling, I became increasingly exhausted as I wrote, instinctively resisting the idea. Therefore, I ultimately didn't include the conquest typical of military epics, but instead ended with a peaceful conclusion.
Therefore, in the end, the powerful Yan Kingdom used a military exercise that demonstrated its combat strength to make the other countries wary and dare not launch wars again. I think this is in line with the logic of reality.
Of course, in pure wish-fulfillment stories, there will always be foolish villains who constantly provoke the powerful protagonist. I really don't want to write such stupid villains. The protagonist's system is already too powerful, so powerful that no matter what kind of villain is created, they can't fight him. So, I'll stop here.
If the process of overthrowing the Kim family can be described as "a dead tree sprouting new branches," then I have already finished writing about this theme.
As for the war with the Delta Federation Empire overseas, the theme was "anti-war," and I wrote about it to the fullest extent. After finishing the theme, I, who am seriously obsessed with literature, have almost poured out all my desire to express myself.
Therefore, I apologize for not satisfying everyone, but now I have found my own style, and what I will write next is works with a consistent style from beginning to end, so that no one will be "misled".
The new book is already in its early stages. It's a fantasy novel without a system, and it will focus more on the protagonist's character development. However, I still need to acquire more knowledge and recharge my energy. I hope there will be readers willing to read it when it's ready.
Finally, I want to thank all the readers who have clicked in to read this. Thank you for reading; it gives me a living and allows me to continue writing book after book to fulfill my dreams. Thank you so much!
Bowing deeply in gratitude!
The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow forever. Until we meet again, everyone. Love you all! (＞?＜?)
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