Chapter Forty-One: The Emergence of the Coiling Dragon

Although this was an era of peace, a world ruled by guns and artillery, violence and conflict would never truly disappear. Possessing great martial strength was never truly useless.

Just like what happened today—Su Tong felt utterly stifled. If he’d had the ability to resist, he would have already taught that bodyguard a lesson.

“Goodness, that gave me such a fright!” Su Tong came to, and the little demon popped into the air, drenched in sweat. “I was already prepared to die with you, you know. Ha! The great demon lives yet again—how marvelous!”

Su Tong was also still shaken. This side mission had been far too perilous and thrilling; a single misstep could have spelled disaster.

Thankfully, he’d seized upon the crucial detail.

However, the so-called ‘lucky fruit’ didn’t seem to have any immediate effect. Did it mean that, if he hadn’t consumed it, a different and perhaps even more troublesome general from the Three Kingdoms would have appeared?

“The system is even more cunning and rational than I am. Since it issues such missions, it proves this world is far more complicated than it appears. But I think, if you persevere through the early stage, the system will become utterly loyal to you and offer its full support. Ha, the wisdom of this demon is no joke—I’ve been right so far, haven’t I?” The little demon was exceedingly smug.

With both the main and side missions completed, the system wouldn’t issue another task for ten days.

In these ten days, Su Tong needed to make thorough preparations.

First and foremost, he had to arrange things for Xiaoyu and Xiaoxiao. If the next side mission failed and he perished, their eccentric father surely wouldn’t be able to support the two sisters.

“Little demon, what do you think I should exchange for?” Su Tong shared his thoughts with the little demon.

The little demon bared its fangs and claws, clearly displeased. “Host, your priority now should be to gather faith energy—that’s fundamental. As for those remaining thousands of points, I suggest you exchange them for songs. Quickly launch them through the showcase platform and release them. That way, you’ll gather faith energy much faster.”

Even the best songs needed the right channels for promotion; otherwise, it would be like writing a diary and locking it away—no one would even know you exist.

Su Tong didn’t have millions of fans like a celebrity, nor did he have a management company. Press conferences, entertainment news—such things were out of the question for him.

“But if I don’t prepare something for Xiaoyu and Xiaoxiao, I won’t be able to focus on anything else,” Su Tong knew that the little demon had a sharp and far-sighted mind, so he had to seek its advice.

After much pleading, the little demon finally relented, albeit reluctantly. “This world also has online original fiction platforms. Why not upload ‘Jade Dynasty’? Haven’t you already exchanged for the entire thing? Subscriptions and copyright royalties should be more than enough to see both sisters through university.”

Su Tong hesitated. If he uploaded Jade Dynasty now, the fans who followed his showcases wouldn’t get to listen to his storytelling anymore.

It was thanks to those loyal fans that ‘Remembrance of Nu Jiao’ had come this far.

Doing this felt a bit like betraying them.

“I’ve got it!” Su Tong’s eyes lit up. In his previous life, there were many wildly popular online novels that didn’t exist in this world. Why not exchange for one of those to take the place of Jade Dynasty?

“It’s decided. I’ll exchange for ‘Coiling Dragon.’” Su Tong opened the points mall. He’d loved this Western fantasy novel by I Eat Tomatoes in his past life, following every update so eagerly he could have cursed.

Because the author often took breaks and got writer’s block in the later stages of ‘Coiling Dragon’—and it was such a brilliant work that every hiatus drove impatient readers to complain.

“Eight thousand points?” Seeing the exchange price, Su Tong was startled. How was it several times higher than Jade Dynasty?

The little demon, already disapproving of Su Tong’s plan, sneered from the sidelines: “Jade Dynasty has far fewer words than Coiling Dragon. And besides, prices are rising. Let me tell you, right now two thousand points can get you an instrumental track for a song, but soon even twenty thousand points might not be enough.”

Was that so? Su Tong nearly spat blood. He hurried to make the exchange, fearing that if prices rose suddenly, even eight thousand points wouldn’t be enough for Coiling Dragon.

Su Tong started up his computer and downloaded Coiling Dragon into a folder.

Without delay, he registered an account on the largest site in the Great Qin Empire, called “DotDot.” He applied to become a writer, created a new project, and entered the title “Coiling Dragon.”

Success!

The name hadn’t been taken.

“Wushan Town, an ordinary small town in the Fenlai Kingdom west of the Yulan Continent’s greatest mountain range, the Mountain of Magical Beasts.

The sun rose over Wushan Town, and a faint morning chill still lingered. But almost all the townsfolk were already up and working, and even children of six or seven had begun their customary morning exercises…”

The first chapter was over eight thousand words. Su Tong uploaded it and waited for the newly assigned editor to review it.

It was the middle of the night, so of course, no editor would be reviewing it then. By the time he returned the next evening, it should have been approved.

Personally, Su Tong didn’t think Coiling Dragon’s first three chapters were that gripping. If he hadn’t known I Eat Tomatoes was a master storyteller whose plots only grew more exciting—and that the mid-to-late monthly ticket wars created such a frenzy—he wouldn’t have followed it so closely.

He felt that Tomato’s cultivation sequences were sometimes almost too detailed and vivid, as if they were real.

But he was publishing this as a new author, so he had no idea how things would go. Su Tong was a bit anxious.

After working on side missions and other tasks, it was past three in the morning before Su Tong, exhausted, finally collapsed into bed.

By seven thirty, he was up again, fixing breakfast and lunch for Xiaoyu and Xiaoxiao before hurrying off to his part-time piano teaching job.

These gigs paid out daily, so the money came quick.

As for Coiling Dragon, waiting for the contract and royalties would take at least two or three months.

After finishing his piano lessons in the morning, Su Tong returned home at noon and checked his author dashboard.

Still no approval.

It wasn’t until after dinner, as he was about to head to the café for his part-time job, that he refreshed his dashboard and finally received a text message.

Approval granted!

“Ha! A masterpiece is born—let’s see how I turn this world upside down!” Su Tong laughed heartily and uploaded four more chapters in a row.

He looked just like an eager newbie, unaware of upload techniques. But he’d heard some insider tips: only after uploading twenty thousand words would the work be eligible for editorial review.

Once in the editor’s queue, if they liked it, the author would be contacted for a contract.

Su Tong was eager to sign as soon as possible, to start earning sooner. A good book would never stay buried for long—its time to shine was only a matter of time.

At the same time, Su Tong posted a message on Weibo: On DotDot, the masterpiece “Coiling Dragon” is now officially online.

With that, he shut his computer, hurried out the door, and dashed to his café job.

After he left, fans of Remembrance of Nu Jiao saw his Weibo post and began bombarding him again.

“Oh my, big brother’s started writing now!”

“Big brother, you rascal, changing careers?”

“Hey, why is it Coiling Dragon? Where’s my Jade Dynasty? I want to read Jade Dynasty.”

“He’s such a troublemaker. Why quit livestreaming to write online fiction? Is there any future in that?”

“But just for the sake of ‘Legend of Wukong’ and ‘Jade Dynasty,’ even if Coiling Dragon isn’t as good, I’ll still support him.”

…