All-rounder Artist

Chapter 463: Chapter 441: A Single Stone Stirs up a Thousand Waves_1

Teacher Yuanyuan lost…

Even though these one-on-one literary duels are meant to have a fifty-fifty outcome, and Teacher Yuanyuan and Hu’s books are on the same level, it’s not surprising who wins or loses. Yet, this defeat is somewhat of a blow to the Qin people.

“What a shame.”

“The sales and reputation of Yuanyuan and Hu’s books are similar, the difference is minuscule, but it’s precisely the minute difference that determines the outcome of the literary duel. Now the Yan people will start to strut around.”

“So, is this their successful revenge?”

“At most, they’ve just saved a bit of face.”

“The Yan people can’t compete in short fairy tales, so they challenge us in long ones. Moreover, Teacher Yuanyuan only lost narrowly, whilst the renowned short fairy tale authors from Yan Continent were completely crushed by Chu Kuang’s ‘Fairytale Town’!”

“…”

The setback of Teacher Yuanyuan inevitably affected the morale of the fairy tale circle of Qin Continent. Chu Kuang, the King of Short Fairy Tales, became everyone’s last comfort. Shui Zhourou experienced a similar emotion.

“Lost again.”

Shui Zhourou started to chuckle bitterly.

In the first round of the deputy editor’s performance competition, she and Zhang Yang both lost to Lin Xuan. She thought she could turn the tide in the second round, but in the second round, she lost to Zhang Yang again. Even though the gap wasn’t significant, just like many people discussed …

A loss is a loss.

The future editor of the Fairy Tale Department would probably be chosen from Zhang Yang and Lin Xuan, depending on whether the company values long or short stories more. Her hope seems the most bleak compared to theirs.

And in the next office…

Zhang Yang finally shook off the gloom of being crushed by Lin Xuan in the performance of short fairy tales and became exuberant: “Teacher Hu is indeed a literary duel master with eight consecutive victories, even Teacher Yuanyuan was defeated by him!”

“It’s a nine-win streak now!”

The assistant was equally excited: “After eight literary duels in Yan Continent, Teacher Hu has won all of them. Including the duel with Teacher Yuanyuan, he has won nine literary duels consecutively, which is also Chu Kuang’s record.”

“To be fair…”

Zhang Yang’s smile disappeared slightly: “Chu Kuang’s nine-win streak was one-off against nine, much different from Teacher Hu. Taking into account previous victories, Chu Kuang should have ten victories in a row. He even defeated Leng Guang in the mystery genre.”

“That’s still pretty good.”

The assistant chuckled: “Although Lin Xuan has Chu Kuang, we have the help of Teacher Hu. The situation is not too bad. In terms of importance, long fairy tales are more crucial than short ones. Even though our sales are not as high as ‘Fairytale Town’, the advantage of long fairy tales is there.”

“I hope so,”

A twitch cornered on Zhang Yang’s cheek: “I always get this uneasy feeling as if something bad is about to happen. My right eye has been twitching since this morning, it’s said that twitching of the left eye means gaining wealth while the right means disaster.”

Zhang Yang felt uneasily worried.

Upon hearing this, the assistant was taken by surprise, then seemingly thought of something, almost simultaneously with Zhang Yang, they turned their sights to the left wall. They knew that the office separated by this wall was the office of Lin Xuan, the third deputy editor in the department.

“Hu won.”

Inside Lin Xuan’s well-soundproofed office, Zhang Cheng’s face was slightly heavy: “Looks like our biggest competitor for the editor position is Zhang Yang. I originally thought Shui Zhourou would be our main competitor.”

“No competitors.”

Lin Xuan smiled: “We just need to solidify our advantage in short fairy tales. I think Chu Kuang’s new fairy tale will be completed soon. Make sure to reserve space for me then, and leave the cover space for Chu Kuang’s work…”

“Beep beep beep beep.”

An email alert sounded suddenly.

Lin Xuan turned her gaze to the computer screen, her smile widening: “It’s better to come at the right time than early. Just as we were talking about Chu Kuang’s new work, Dezhi, the chief editor of the detective department, sent Chu Kuang’s new fairy tale.”

“Shuke and Beta?”

Zhang Cheng had heard Lin Xuan mention this.

Lin Xuan nodded and quickly sat down in front of the computer, eager to open the novel. However, when she saw the content, she was left slightly stunned.

“What happened?”

“See for yourself.”

Lin Xuan’s expression was priceless.

Zhang Cheng hesitated, unconsciously leaning over for a glance. His face immediately mirrored Lin’s expression. Chu Kuang’s “Shuke and Beta” seemed to be not a short story as expected, but a bona fide…

Long fairy tale?

Meanwhile, in the outside world.

After Hu defeated Teacher Yuanyuan in the Literary Duel, the atmosphere in the Qin Continent’s fairy tale community was downcast. In contrast, the fairy tale circle in Yan Continent was invigorated, as if the humiliation inflicted by Chu Kuang had somewhat dissipated.

“Awesome!”

“Satisfying!”

“Revenge!”

“Though we lost in short fairy tales, we Yan people have turned the tables in long fairy tales. Teacher Hu is indeed remarkable. Now, the Qin people can only console themselves with Chu Kuang. The reign over long fairy tales is ours!”

“Teacher Hu, what a man!”

“If this were a round-based game, our score with Qin people would be one-to-one now. If only Chu Kuang didn’t write long fairy tales. It would have been more satisfying if Chu Kuang were Teacher Hu’s opponent this time!”

“…”

The atmosphere in the fairy tale circles of Qin and Yan was starkly different, and this contrast permeated the internet. Finally, Netizens from Yan Continent could proudly declare:

“We won!”

Some Yan Netizens arrogantly tagged the Qin people: “I told you before, Teacher Hu is great at writing long fairy tales. You didn’t believe it, but now you know how powerful Teacher Hu is, right?”

“Teacher Hu is mighty!”

“Our cats are stronger!”

“Allow me to revel in victory for a while. Teacher Hu, representing Yan Continent, defeated Qin. Where is your Chu Kuang now? Oh, I almost forgot. You said that Teacher Yuanyuan is the Chu Kuang of long fairy tales in Qin Continent.”

“…”

The Netizens from Qin and Yan hadn’t held back their banter because of the events between Yuanyuan and Hu. They fired at each other every day. Now that it was time to determine the winner, the Yan people didn’t hesitate to press the attack!

“What a weirdo.”

“Why are you showing off so much?”

“Dare Hu challenge nine opponents?”

“Our Teacher Yuanyuan was narrowly defeated.”

“Even though Hu won, I haven’t seen anyone declaring him the King of Long Fairy Tales. Our Chu Kuang is the King of Short Fairy Tales as recognized by the Literature and Art Association. How can you compare with that!”

“…”

When the Qin people counterattacked, they seemed a bit filled with indignation. Chu Kuang’s nine consecutive victories had previously been a sharp weapon used specifically to attack the Yan people’s weaknesses. But now, Chu Kuang became the fig leaf of fairy tales in the Qin Continent.

In Literary Duels, winners rule and losers weep.

Only the victor gets the final laugh. Regardless of the size of the gap in the outcome, no one will remember the runner-up, except for people like Cheng Zhiyu and Yue Lun. For now, when Yan people claim their superiority in long fairy tales, the Qin people don’t have any solid ground to retort.

However, that very night…

Silver Blue Books, which drew attention due to successive battles in the fairy tale circle, released another shocking book preview: “Chu Kuang’s first long fairy tale, ‘Shuke and Beta,’ to be published in five days.”

This news stirred up waves!