I originally thought the book would go premium on Friday, so I could save up a few Chapters. But then my editor suddenly notified me this morning, and I was completely blindsided.

I’m also surprised that this book has made it all the way to the fourth round of recommendations.

Because I failed the very first trial.

I had to write without any official exposure until 200,000 words, and I’ve come this far from a second-chance revival round. For that, I must thank all of you for your continuous support.

I’ve carefully read every single comment from every reader.

I’m an author who listens to advice.

Whenever more than one person raises the same point, I immediately take it seriously and make corrections.

...

Because the book’s performance was poor in the early stages, I continuously cut subplots from the outline to speed up the pacing.

The book has been out for 57 days, and I’ve written nearly 300,000 words.

The official word count shows 260,000 because I revised the beginning, deleting at least 40,000 to 50,000 words. I was modifying it so frequently that the backstage system nearly locked me out, and the process also used up all the stockpiled Chapters I had before launch.

After that, although its performance improved, it was still limited due to those earlier critical flaws.

I can only keep brainstorming future plot points to ensure everyone is satisfied.

Take the "Dan Fighting" Chapter, for example. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

In fact, according to the original plan, the protagonist and Tributor Li were definitely supposed to have a match.

Tributor Li would cough up blood, which would seep into a Pill, and Ye Jingzhou would discover the trick.

But as I kept writing it, it just didn’t feel right.

So, the protagonist just killed him instead.

For that Chapter alone, I spent nearly four hours polishing it back and forth to achieve the final plot twist.

...

Next, a few simple explanations.

Although I’m a Level 5 author, I used to write on Chuangshi, and the writing style and readership of the two sites are vastly different.

This means my Level 5 status is highly inflated.

Please think of me as a Level 1.

I’m a part-time writer, and I’m getting a bit older, approaching my forties. My physical and mental stamina often can’t keep up. Moreover, writing 4,000 words a day takes me at least four to five hours, and that’s before factoring in the time spent refining the plot, which makes things quite difficult.

Readers who followed me from my last book should know that I also developed frozen shoulder last year. When it flares up, it feels like the worst stiff neck imaginable—I can’t move my neck or shoulders.

After I’m done writing, my back often aches for a long time.

On that note, I recommend the "Eighth Set of Broadcast Calisthenics." After doing it, the pain really isn’t as bad.

While ensuring quality, I will try to post extra updates.

Thank you to all the friends who have been voting and donating.

Just posting two Chapters on the day the book goes premium would be unacceptable. I should post at least 10,000 words, though I might not be able to finish it all in time.

I’m going to grab a bite to eat, then get back to writing.

There will be another Chapter at 8 PM.

I’ll slowly make up for the rest... Orz...