This Badao truly lived up to his reputation as a Level 7 god tier author.
Even though Huang Yifan had never read Badao's work, he still had to admit that Badao's Four Seas speech was indeed well written.
It was domineering yet full of passion.
Once this Four Seas speech was released, who knew how many readers it would stir.
However, after reading Badao's Four Seas speech, Huang Yifan's fighting spirit was completely ignited.
Badao, if you want to fight, then let us fight.
Even though we did not know each other before, since you have already called me out by name, if I do not fight back, would that not disappoint you?
With heroic fervor surging in his chest, Huang Yifan opened a document and began writing his Four Seas speech.
Four Seas Speech: The Song of a Man.
A man should kill, and kill without mercy. An undying legacy through the ages is forged entirely in slaughter…
The Song of a Man was a classic work by Qiu Sheng in his previous life, and it was also a killing intent poem that had been widely quoted across countless novels in his previous world.
Badao's Four Seas speech was indeed written with surging passion, but to Huang Yifan, that kind of speech was nothing more than a drizzle.
At once, Huang Yifan directly brought out this killing intent-filled The Song of a Man from his previous life.
He wanted to see whether Badao's domineering passion was sharper, or whether his own piece that spoke of killing everyone under heaven carried a greater edge.
…
Badao VS The Number One White Under Heaven.
No one knew who leaked the news, but before the new round of Four Seas recommendations even began, the entire Lingdian world was already buzzing with news of Badao and The Number One White Under Heaven appearing on the same stage for a PK.
Gossip like this, arenas like this, even if they were only rumors overheard casually, were extremely eye-catching, let alone when they were real. Moreover, novel writers were mostly homebodies, and their lives did not have much entertainment. Occasionally, having some gossip or battles was considered a kind of seasoning for life.
The first to react were naturally the various authors on Lingdian Chinese Web.
"I didn't expect next week's Four Seas to really be Badao versus The Number One White Under Heaven."
"That the Number One White Under Heaven is courting death. Just because his recent results are decent, he thinks he can challenge a god tier author?"
"He really is courting death. I read Badao's Four Seas speech. Damn it, it's written so hot-blooded. Even if I weren't Badao's reader, after reading that speech, I'd want to vote for him. Next week's Four Seas ranking, Badao will definitely win."
"That goes without saying. Badao is already a Level 7 author. Who is The Number One White Under Heaven? If it weren't for that bunch of trolls on Feilong cursing him and helping him become famous, I wouldn't even know who he is. What's more, I checked his author level. He's completely a newbie, not even Level 1 yet. A pure newcomer actually daring to challenge a Level 7 Badao, he must have too long a life."
"Exactly! And besides, The Number One White Under Heaven's novel is way too noob style. Even though so many people are reading it, I still think he doesn't have many diehard fans at all. He absolutely can't compare to Badao. I really don't know what Lingdian is thinking this time. Suppressing veteran authors and supporting newcomers?"
"Heh, I've long heard that Badao's personality is a bit strange. Maybe he offended some Lingdian editors, so they set up this PK. But Lingdian has completely failed with this move. Of all people to choose, they actually picked a pure newbie to challenge Badao's position."
"If I were Badao, I'd definitely leave. Why stay at a crappy place like Lingdian? Didn't I hear that Huanyue has been secretly trying to poach Badao?"
In a certain god tier contract group, quite a few well-known authors were discussing heatedly.
It was obvious that before the battle even began, they already believed Badao had won.
However, the web novel world was divided into many levels.
Aside from these god tier authors, there were also many middle and lower-tier authors.
Among them, quite a few authors also spoke up in their groups.
"Even though I don't know The Number One White Under Heaven, and even though I cursed his novel before, no matter what, he still represents us, middle and lower-tier authors. I raise both hands in support of The Number One White Under Heaven. I hope he blows Badao's chrysanthemum."
"I support him too. I don't even know who The Number One White Under Heaven is, but I admire his breadth of mind. Think about it, not long ago on Feilong, he was trashed countless times, yet he never got angry. Instead, he wrote that peerless line 'When the world bullies me'. Someone like that, who else should we support if not him?"
"Well said, everyone might as well go take a look at Badao's novel and Badao himself. In his novel, the protagonist does every evil imaginable, killing without blinking, casually exterminating entire families of nine generations. It's disgusting. And as for Badao's personal character, just talk about last year. It's said that a newbie author competed with him on the new book ranking. Badao pulled a bunch of his readers into that newbie's comment section and cursed him for three days and three nights. In the end, that newbie author was so enraged he vomited blood and directly abandoned his novel."
"Holy crap, I didn't expect Badao to be that disgusting. Next week, I'm definitely voting for The Number One White Under Heaven."
"Hey, hey, hey, support him if you want, but in my opinion, The Number One White Under Heaven can't possibly win this battle."
As soon as that sentence came out, even some of those who had been supporting him fell silent.
There was no need to say more. They all understood it in their hearts.
The Number One White Under Heaven was just a newbie author, while Badao was a Level 7 god tier author.
The Number One White Under Heaven wrote noob style novels, while Badao wrote fantasy leveling novels.
The Number One White Under Heaven had no diehard fans, while Badao had accumulated a massive readership over the years of writing.
One had nothing, while the other had fame and status.
What's more, they had already seen Badao's battle manifesto released in advance. It was written with extreme hot-blooded fervor.
Once that speech was posted, not to mention his own readers, even bystanders would probably cast a vote for him.
Lingdian Chinese Web.
Editor in chief 567 summoned all the chief editors of Groups 1 through 10 and held a Four Seas meeting.
"I believe everyone already knows that next week's Four Seas will be an arena match, Level 7 author Badao versus newcomer author The Number One White Under Heaven. This arena was not originally arranged by me. According to the rules, we have always only recommended one key work per Four Seas. If there were two key works, we would split them into separate rounds. But something unexpected happened, and so this arena was set up."
Even though this Four Seas arena was specially proposed by Badao, Editor-in-Chief 567 did not want to discuss that aspect.
Lingdian Chinese Web had far too many authors. Regardless of their personal character, 567 treated them all equally.
"Hehe, since the arena was set up rather hastily, quite a few people outside are cursing our Lingdian editorial department for having water in our brains. But since the stage is already set, let them curse if they want. I called everyone here today to hear your opinions. Wudao, you are the chief editor of Group 1. You go first."
The head of Group 1 was a tall man with thick glasses, looking very scholarly. His pen name was also very refined, Wudao.
Being called on by Editor-in-Chief 567, Wudao spoke up.
"I'm not optimistic about The Number One White Under Heaven. Of course, I'm not saying his novel is bad. I just think that having a newcomer who isn't even Level 1 yet, PK against Badao doesn't have much meaning."
"Group 2, Yisuo, what about you?"
"My opinion is similar to Wudao's. I also feel that this arena was indeed set up too hastily."
567 nodded and continued. "Alright, Group 3. What's your view? Badao is an author from your group, so you don't need to comment for now. Group 4, you go first."
The chief editor of Group 4 was a young woman with the pen name Dingdong. Don't underestimate her just because she was a woman. Back in university, she was a widely known talented scholar. In the end, because of her love for novels, she joined Lingdian Chinese Web.
"I actually think this arena might become an opportunity for new authors to rise."
"Oh? How so?"
"Editor-in-Chief, online literature has developed for over ten years. All kinds of genres and innovations have already appeared. By now, it's very hard for the market to see cases of a single book making someone a god. This phenomenon has also caused it to be very difficult for new authors to break out in the past one or two years. Even if some new authors write novels that are actually quite good, due to various reasons, their popularity can never surpass veteran authors. Meanwhile, veteran authors, even if their novels aren't that great, remain popular simply because their accumulated popularity keeps growing."
"I find this phenomenon unhealthy. Although it seems to follow market rules, it is extremely unfavorable for the development of online literature. Why do we create one ranking after another? Isn't it better to let these rankings select better works? But in the end, we discover that whether it's click rankings or recommendation rankings, they're all filled with god tier authors' works. It's hard to see newcomers. This Four Seas arena, although it looks rushed, allows me to see an opportunity for newcomers to rise. Whether The Number One White Under Heaven wins or not, I believe this is a path for nurturing new authors."
"Well said."
567 took the lead in applauding.
After Group 4 chief editor Dingdong finished, 567 turned and asked Group 7's chief editor, Call Me Captain.
"Group 7, The Number One White Under Heaven is an author from your group. What's your view?"
"How should I put it…"
When it came to Group 7, Call Me Captain felt a bit awkward. "To be honest with everyone, I initially rejected this novel. It was editor Wuyue who felt it could work. With the intention of nurturing my editors, I signed it. Even after signing it, I had essentially given up on this book. But unexpectedly, it was given only one trial recommendation, and its popularity skyrocketed. When Wuyue reported The Number One White Under Heaven's results to me, I really wanted to crawl into a hole."
As soon as Call Me Captain spoke, the entire meeting room burst into laughter.
"Captain, it's a good thing you signed this book. Otherwise, you'd regret it to death."
"Yeah, Captain, you really should reward Wuyue properly."
"Hehe, jokes aside, even though misjudging this work made me lose some face, no matter what, seeing The Number One White Under Heaven achieve such good results makes me very happy. However, regarding this arena, I want to apply to the editor-in-chief to cancel The Number One White Under Heaven and Badao competing in the same round."
"Why?"
567 was puzzled.
"I don't want to see this work die prematurely. Of course, I know what Dingdong from Group 4 said makes sense. Four Seas arenas do look like a way to nurture new authors. But this path is extremely dangerous. Success means everyone is happy, but if it fails, this newcomer who originally had the potential to grow into a god tier author may end up reduced to an ordinary author."
After Call Me Captain finished speaking, 567 fell silent for a while, seemingly thinking. In the end, he nodded.
"Captain, what you said isn't without reason. But the recommendations have already been arranged. Canceling them is basically impossible. And the site has its principles. Although canceling The Number One White Under Heaven's Four Seas recommendation may seem to protect his work, it is not beneficial to Lingdian's future development."
Hearing the editor-in-chief's response, Call Me Captain could only sigh helplessly.
Finally, 567 asked Group 3's chief editor, Anyi.
"Editor-in-Chief, I don't really know what to say."
As Badao's chief editor, Anyi also did not know what to say at this meeting.
"I did try to advise Badao, but his personality leaves me no choice. I also think that what Dingdong and Captain said both make sense. I agree that this arena is a kind of attempt to nurture newcomers. But if The Number One White Under Heaven were my author, I would also provide him with some protection. As for Badao's Four Seas speech, I've read it. I have to say, although Badao is arrogant, his writing power is domineering, and his readers are as diehard as ever. Facing such a domineering author head-on, I think it would be better to avoid a direct clash."
"So it seems everyone doesn't think highly of The Number One White Under Heaven."
After asking Anyi from Group 3, 567 did not want to ask the others anymore.
"Then let's take a final vote. Those who think Badao will win, raise your hands."
"Group 1, Group 2, Group 3… Group 10."
All chief editors from Groups 1 through 10 raised their hands, including Group 7's Call Me Captain and Group 4's Dingdong.
Seeing this, 567 smiled mysteriously.
"Alright. Since you all think Badao will win, then I'll deliberately support The Number One White Under Heaven. I cast my vote for The Number One White Under Heaven."
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