End-of-Volume Summary
This volume is finally finished. My spiritual sense is overdrawn, and my body has sounded the alarm—my back and waist are starting to hurt.
I need to take a short break to repair my sea of consciousness and recuperate physically.
By my rough calculation, I'll need about five days:
One day to rest, one day to handle personal matters, and three days to organize the outline, detailed plot points, and foreshadowing for the next part.
I'm mentally and physically exhausted—I must take a day off.
After being shut in every day to write, all kinds of real-life chores have piled up. I need to take some time to deal with them all at once so I can return to writing with peace of mind.
The outline and detailed structure for what's next are also extremely important.
They concern the larger world map, major powers, the grand scale of events, Mo Hua's cultivation progression, the reunion of key characters, and the turning points in their destinies.
All of these must be carefully planned and thought through in advance—connecting all plot threads and foreshadowing, organizing the major conflicts and cathartic moments—before I can truly start writing.
So, the workload is huge. I need to focus all my energy on developing it.
Here, I offer my sincerest apologies to everyone who's been following along.
I have sinned. I repent. (.·.·.）
Okay, that's the serious stuff out of the way—now let's chat a bit about the story.
The Qianxue arc ended up way too long. There was just too much content—it took a whole year and a half to write, over two million words. The range of scenes, factions, characters, story arcs, realms of cultivation, array formations, and the triple cultivation system of spiritual power, physical body, and divine sense… It's all too much. My brain is fried.
Especially toward the end, when I had to wrap it all up.
I had to detonate all the conflicts, smooth out the plotlines, close up the foreshadowing, give every character their moment—without overshadowing the protagonist. I had to convey emotion, depict grand-scale events, deliver satisfying payoffs, resolve the final clash, lock in Mo Hua's fate, and let key characters appear…
And still consider how it all felt for readers reading along…
My spiritual sense was being drained at a multiplied rate.
Then I got flamed online, and I almost spiraled into a breakdown.
There was a point when I thought I wouldn't be able to finish this volume. But I gritted my teeth and made it through. In the end, everything landed safely.
I can finally breathe a long sigh of relief.
Looking back now, I realize that even from the outline stage, the Qianxue arc was a massive pitfall.
I was too naïve back then to notice it.
This volume spanned a wide range of maps, from second-grade to fifth-grade regions.
Cultivation levels also spanned a wide range—from Foundation Establishment to Void Piercing.
The central theme of this arc was cultivating the Dao through learning.
The secondary theme was "side quests" outside the classroom.
And the core plot climax was the Sword Conference followed by the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice.
It involved factions and characters from the Dao Court, the Qianxue Institution and its local branches, the elders and disciples of the Great Void Sect, other sects (Four Sects, Eight Schools, Twelve Streams), and the talents from each; noble families (Shangguan, Wenren, Gu, Shen, etc.) and their members; Mr. Tu; evil god factions; demonic sects; and tons of small characters and background plots…
All of this packed into a single volume, within one enormous, complex map.
Tying all these threads together and pushing them to a single climactic event—
While also juggling serialized reading rhythms, the protagonist's growth arc, narrative perspectives, and emotional payoff—
Now that I think back, my brain is still buffering.
That said, because it was so complex, I also gained a lot from writing it. I accumulated a wealth of experience in managing plot and building emotional arcs.
Future major story arcs won't be this convoluted anymore. And I definitely won't write something this long again.
There'll be more flexibility with character design too—no need to keep everything so constrained.
After this long period of refinement, Mo Hua has now truly cultivated the Dao and will begin journeying the world on his own strength, seeking to prove his path.
The journey of cultivation is long. Familiar friends will start reappearing…
I'll need more time to think through the specifics.
Finally, thank you to everyone who's accompanied me through this volume.
Thanks to all the Alliance Leaders. I didn't get a chance to thank you properly this volume, but I'll repay that debt in the next one. （.··.）
And thank you again to:
Together Cultivating Immortality, Yeeeeea, Extinct Dinosaur, Shangguan De'an, Sang Chen, Chubby Fish, Fu Dong dd, Yangren, Brazilian Wood, billyen, Fragrant Tea with a Lingering Aftertaste, Ouyang Ergou, Yi Qu Dong Qiu, PYHuang, Wonton Water… and many others for your generous rewards.
I missed a lot of comments when I was too overwhelmed, so this is to make up for it.
Lastly, to plant a demon in my own Dao heart:
Here's hoping I can update more frequently in the next volume~
(.·.·◎) — That's Mo Hua's silly ghost face.