Chapter 71: Sanjiang Testimonial

This Sunday at noon, the book will be featured on the Sanjiang Recommendation. After writing nearly five million words across Qidian and Tomato, this is my first time making it to Sanjiang. I have so much I want to say.

Ever since I wrote that flop of a book, *Starting from Crosstalk*, back in 2019, I’ve spent every subsequent book fantasizing about the day I would make it to Sanjiang. I dreamed of being like other authors, writing a Sanjiang acceptance speech. Five, almost six years have passed. I have finally received Heaven’s blessing. To be honest, this just goes to show that I have no natural talent for writing.

There are far too many authors whose very first book hits Sanjiang, reaches premium status, or earns tens of thousands of subscriptions... Whenever I see them, I always sigh and think they must be naturally gifted by the heavens. Then, I would swallow my jealousy and envy, feeling disheartened as I lowered my head and continued typing away in silence.

Later, I started writing *This Martial Saint Only Wants to Be an Official*. At that time, I was just a beginner, clumsily trying to grasp the crude use of foreshadowing. Simultaneously, a fleeting thought crossed my mind: "Could I write a book entirely built on foreshadowing? Could I write a book where every time a hidden plotline is revealed, the readers are left completely stunned?"

Immediately after, my second thought was to shake my head and mock myself. "How could that be possible? I’m not a genius, and I don’t have a heaven-sent gift. I’m just a failure, a stray dog on the side of the road, an absolute clown."

After *Martial Saint* flopped, I naturally wanted to start a new book. That was in April of this year. Full of hope, I submitted my manuscripts. I was rejected nearly twenty times. I revised it again and again, rewriting it from scratch over and over. This went on for two months. It was no good. It was garbage. No one could understand it.

I remember after the final rejection, I didn’t sleep that night. I sat in front of the mirror in the living room for a while. Looking at my incredibly unkempt reflection, a single thought surfaced in my mind: "It’s true after all. A stray dog, a piece of garbage, a clown."

At that time, my family’s business had suddenly failed, leaving my father two million in debt. Unwilling to stay home and be gossiped about, my mother left our hometown and went alone to Shanghai, working in a nursing home to care for the elderly for a monthly salary of six thousand. My child had also just been born. Although I didn’t have to deal with my father’s debt, I had to cover every single expense for the baby. Even though I was writing two books simultaneously at the time, my total manuscript fees were less than five thousand a month. We couldn’t make ends meet.

My wife stayed home to look after the child and had no income. Everything in the household was being paid for with the last of her savings. Every time her savings decreased by even a penny, it tore at my heart. Sometimes, I would joke with her, asking if she regretted being with me and getting dragged into this mess.

Hearing that, she would frown, storm over with the baby in her arms, and angrily hit me. I would always beg for mercy. Afterward, still fuming, she would tell me to change the baby’s diaper, and I would sheepishly hurry off to do it.

At night, the conversation still weighed on her mind. She whispered in my ear that she believed in me and was willing to give me time... I rolled over with my back to her, pretending to be fast asleep. But I was choked with emotion, completely at a loss for words. She was only twenty-four years old...

Then, my mother called. She told me that the nursing home provided room and board, so she didn’t have much to spend her money on. After paying off three thousand of my father’s debt each month, she said the remaining three thousand was of no use to her and offered it to me. I wanted to refuse. But then I saw my wife’s reddened eyes. And my child... He had just been born, his eyes full of innocent ignorance. He was still wearing the cheapest diapers... I didn’t know how to say no.

I’m not sharing all of this to throw a pity party. It’s just that, in real life, I have no one to confide in, and no one is willing to listen to me say these things. I wanted to get it off my chest, so I can only say it to you all. I hope you don’t find me annoying.

In October, I submitted a manuscript for the last time. This time, I switched to a new editor, Haoyun from Group 9. The manuscript I submitted was *Father Confucian Saint*. I stitched together those previously rejected drafts to form the beginning. It passed.

At that moment, I was ecstatic. I thought to myself that even if no one read it, I would keep writing, because for the first three months after going premium on Qidian, there is a perfect attendance bonus of 1,500 per month. If I did that, I could write three books at once and earn even more each month! That night, I gleefully began preparing the outline.

Right then, a thought suddenly popped into my head—it was the very same thought I had secretly fantasized about last year: "Could I write a book entirely built on foreshadowing? Could I write a book where every time a hidden plotline is revealed, the readers are left completely stunned?"

As soon as those words surfaced, I couldn’t control the excitement in my heart. And so, *Father Confucian Saint, the System Forces Me to Be a Vulgar Martial Artist* was born.

Although many aspects are still handled quite roughly, and though I still struggle to grasp certain elements perfectly, watching the bookmarks in the author dashboard increase day by day brought me to an epiphany. I hadn’t gone down the wrong path! This direction was the right one. And that brings us to where the book is today. I also promise that after the book goes premium, I will update with no less than ten thousand words a day. This isn’t just for all of you, but also for my wife and child.

Lastly, I need to explain the Confucian Dao in this book. My setting is that the Confucian Dao is invincible against those of the same realm. Whether facing the Demon Race, foreign races, or any other cultivation system, it is invincible within the same rank and can even kill those of a higher realm. This is an incredibly overpowered setting, so it cannot exist without weaknesses. Therefore, a Confucian Cultivator’s Vast Righteous Qi can only affect a Martial Artist’s Martial Arts Aura; it cannot affect a Martial Artist’s physical strength.

The reason for this stems from the ancient era, when the Demon Race ran rampant and the Demon Emperor of that time was invincible across the world. The Human Race was in grave peril, on the brink of extinction at any moment. If the practicing Martial Artists couldn’t defeat the Demon Race, what could be done?

At that time, the Confucian Saint stepped forward. Targeting the Demon Race, he staked his very life to establish the Confucian Dao. He sacrificed the physical strength of Confucian Cultivators in exchange for the lethal power that Confucian Righteous Qi wields against foreign races. At the same time, he had to ensure this power wouldn’t harm the Martial Artists who were fighting alongside them for the Human Race on the battlefield. Thus, this is why the Confucian Dao has little influence over Martial Artists.

Ultimately, through the combined efforts of the Confucian Saint and the Martial Artists, the Human Race survived the crisis of extinction. My understanding of Confucianism is exactly this: being willing to disregard one’s own well-being for the sake of the Human Race. I’ve read other Confucian Dao books, and I always feel like they are just immortal cultivation stories thinly veiled as Confucian texts... Of course, that is definitely also because I haven’t read enough of them.

Truthfully, the above is a spoiler, but to avoid disrupting everyone’s reading experience, I’m mentioning it here first. A lot of people have been complaining about the Great Confucian Scholar being taken down by poison... Why not talk about how cleanly and efficiently the Great Confucian Scholar dealt with the Demon Race? Both being at the Fourth Grade, he instantly killed the demon in one move... That’s incredibly overpowered!!

Of course, the protagonist doesn’t have this restriction. When encountering the Demon Race, foreign races, or even the Profound Array Department, Daoist Techniques, Buddhist Teachings, and so on, he can suppress them using the Confucian Dao. When encountering a Martial Artist? *I also know some fist techniques.* That is the key point.

Finally, let me talk about my favorite characters in the book.

First, Zhang Lun. He is just too pure.

Second, Dad.

Third (in no particular order): Aunt Lin, Sai Chuxue, Qin Wanyue, An Shiyi, and the beauties of the South Sea...

And for the very last point. Thank you to my editor, Haoyun. Thank you to a good elder brother of mine, who has two pen names. One is "Loves Drinking Aged Vinegar." The other is "Wealth-Making Lay Buddhist."

*(Important!!)*

I am truly so grateful to him. He was my mentor when I first started writing. He tells me everything; whatever I ask, he answers. He is a true benefactor. I highly recommend all of my bro’s books!! I hope everyone will go show him some support!!