Chapter 5: The Novel Explodes in Popularity, the First Bucket of Gold

Chapter 5 The Novel Goes Viral, the First Fortune

Three days passed.

Li Wei attended classes during the day, cultivated at night, and wrote his novel afterward.

Occasionally, he flipped through *The Legend of the Mage 8* to learn about regional customs and magical knowledge.

During break time, Professor Guze sat on the dais sipping tea and reading a book.

Students whispered in low voices throughout the classroom, discussing the wildly popular new novel—*The Dragon Knight*.

Maple City had barely over two hundred thousand inhabitants, with only one-tenth living in wealth—no more than twenty or thirty thousand.

Among them, even fewer enjoyed reading.

The literary circle was small; everyone knew each other.

After someone read *The Dragon Knight*, they eagerly recommended it to friends, and soon the novel blazed through Maple City like wildfire.

Even the apprentices of the Mage Tower had heard of this sensation.

Some had read it; others had only heard tales.

"Can bathing in dragon blood truly awaken draconic lineage?"

"Impossible! Novels are all fabrications. Dragon blood is as scorching as magma—any human who bathes in it would be reduced to cinders."

"How can you say that? In *The Legend of the Dragon Slayer*, Adam slew a great dragon, drank its blood, awakened draconic power, and became the mightiest warrior!"

"That’s different! One was an ordinary man, the other a dragon slayer!"

Ordinary folk cared whether Lein could survive his crisis, whether he’d achieve vengeance.

But the Mage Tower apprentices were more intrigued by whether the fantastical encounters described in the novel could possibly be real.

Guze slowly closed the fifty-sixth edition of *Starfire Anthology*, tapped the desk with his teaching ruler, and said, “Class begins.”

At once, the students scrambled back to their seats and fell silent.

After class, Li Wei carried the next manuscript of *The Dragon Knight* to the Starfire Literary Society.

When Jimmy saw him, he could hardly believe it—the author of *The Dragon Knight* was so young.

“Hello, I’m your editor, Jimmy.”

“Hello, I’m Li Wei, an apprentice mage at the Mage Tower, and also the author of *The Dragon Knight*—Mu Ren.”

Li Wei handed over the manuscript, proving his identity.

Jimmy’s heart trembled as he glimpsed the unfolding plot—Lein embarking on his path of vengeance. He began flipping through the pages, utterly absorbed.

Only moments later did he suddenly remember—he was supposed to be hosting a guest.

He hastily set down the manuscript, smiling sheepishly. “Forgive me. Your story is simply too captivating.”

Li Wei smiled gently. “No harm done. It’s my honor.”

Jimmy quickly led him to the chief editor. When Chief Editor Gus learned the author of *The Dragon Knight* had arrived, he came out personally to greet him.

Li Wei sat across from Gus in a quiet room, while Jimmy hurried to pour tea and refill their cups.

Gus skimmed a few pages of the new chapters, then turned to Li Wei. “Mr. Li Wei, the Starfire Literary Society is willing to offer a high price to buy out the rights to *The Dragon Knight* outright.”

Li Wei shook his head. “I don’t intend to sell the rights. Instead, I propose a revenue-sharing contract—I receive a portion of the profits. In return, all my future works will be published exclusively with Starfire.”

Gus looked troubled. “I’m sorry, but we’ve never done such a thing before.”

He tried to persuade: “A revenue share may not amount to as much as a lump-sum purchase. Our buyout offer would surely satisfy you. Won’t you reconsider?”

Li Wei shook his head again. “No, I only consider the revenue-sharing option.”

Gus’s expression grew slightly awkward. He didn’t know how to proceed.

Buying out a work was simple—estimate monthly sales of *Starfire Anthology*, subtract costs and fees, calculate the profit margin, and decide how much to pay.

But revenue sharing? Too many variables. Just calculating the actual earnings would be a tangled mess.

After all, *Starfire Anthology* didn’t only publish *The Dragon Knight*—it included poems, essays, travelogues by others.

Yet Li Wei had anticipated this. On his way here, he’d already devised a solution.

He looked at Gus and said, “I myself am a loyal reader of *Starfire Anthology*.”

Gus glanced up, intrigued.

Li Wei continued, “But it only releases one volume per month. The update speed is far too slow.”

Gus sighed helplessly. “One per month is already pushing it. High-quality submissions are dwindling. We have no choice.”

Li Wei suggested, “Why not publish *The Dragon Knight* as a standalone weekly release?”

Gus stared in disbelief. “Weekly updates? How is that possible? Even if each installment is short, you couldn’t possibly create new content every week!”

Li Wei remained inwardly unimpressed. Was writing five or six thousand words a week really so difficult?

Back in his past life, he used to write twenty thousand in a single day.

But arguing wouldn’t help. Facts would speak louder.

“I’ve already written sixty thousand characters for the novel,” Li Wei said calmly. “That’s enough for ten installments—over two and a half months of weekly updates. Mr. Gus, you should understand better than I how much profit this could bring Starfire.”

Gus paused, weighing the idea. It seemed feasible.

Given current sales trends, if *The Dragon Knight* were released weekly as proposed, its two-month sales could surpass the entire annual circulation of *Starfire Anthology*.

And crucially—it wouldn’t undermine the anthology itself.

*Starfire Anthology* primarily featured poetry, essays, and travelogues.

Its readers were a different crowd from novel enthusiasts.

Novel readers might buy the anthology just to read *The Dragon Knight*, but those who loved the anthology wouldn’t stop buying it just because a separate novel existed.

Gus was beginning to waver.

He said, “Please wait a moment. I need to consult with the others at Starfire.”

He glanced at Jimmy. “Jimmy, keep Mr. Li Wei company here.”

Jimmy nodded quickly. “Of course.”

Li Wei sipped his tea, calm and unhurried.

Rushing never cooked a good meal.

By now, *The Dragon Knight* had already made its name.

With his manuscript in hand, any literary society would welcome him.

It was Starfire that should be anxious—not him.

After deliberating with the other founders, Gus returned, convinced.

They discussed revenue shares, debated fiercely, and finally settled on a fifty-fifty split of net profits after costs.

Once the commercial contract was signed, Li Wei prepared to leave.

Gus called after him. “The first chapter of *The Dragon Knight* has already been published in *Starfire Anthology*. Since it’s hard to calculate shared royalties for that, we’ll pay you this month’s fee at the original buyout rate. Starting next month, we’ll begin calculating your share.”

Li Wei nodded upon hearing this, not dwelling on the trivial matter.

Not until Gus handed him fifty silver coins did Li Wei exclaim in surprise: "So much money?"

Gus smiled and said, "Originally, the Spark Literary Society planned to pay three gold coins to buy out the first six chapters of *Dragon Rider*. If you’ve changed your mind, we can sign the buyout contract now."

Li Wei was momentarily speechless, astonished that Gus still intended to purchase his story outright.

Pocketing the fifty silver coins, he shook his head. "No need."

With quiet confidence, he smiled and said, "The sales of *Dragon Rider* will surpass your expectations."

Gus chuckled softly. "Then I shall wait and see."

(End of Chapter)