Lingdian Editorial Department, Editor-in-Chief's Office.
'How a Bad Guy Is Made.'
Inside the office, Yang Guang, also known as 567, looked thoughtfully at the application form submitted by Group 7's editor, Wuyue, for the novel 'How a Bad Guy Is Made' to enter the Four Seas Recommendation.
Yang Guang was the editor-in-chief of Lingdian Chinese Web, but like many editors, his real name was relatively unknown. Instead, it was his pen name "567" that had earned legendary status within the industry.
There was a story behind that name. Years ago, after returning from studying abroad in the UK, 567 had the chance to work at a top state-owned enterprise. But driven by his deep love for online literature, he instead entered the web novel industry.
Back then, web fiction was still a barren wasteland. The entire market was only worth a few million. 567 started as an editor at Lingdian and slowly worked his way up to chief editor. His contributions to the industry were undeniable, and he eventually became the editor-in-chief of Lingdian.
With years of experience under his belt, 567 didn't view 'How a Bad Guy Is Made' the same way others did. While the writing was undeniably noob-style, 567 also saw the novel's unique brilliance.
That brilliance alone was enough to justify placing 'How a Bad Guy Is Made' on the Four Seas Recommendation.
However, just as he approved 'How a Bad Guy Is Made', another novel also came under his scrutiny.
This novel was called 'Peak of Martial Dao', a fantasy novel written by a Level-7 Lingdian author named Badao.
According to Lingdian's author tier system, only those who had earned over a million yuan in royalties could reach Level 7.
Such authors were considered god-tier, known simply as "masters."
'Peak of Martial Dao' had also applied for a recommendation spot on the Four Seas Recommendation.
567 was optimistic about 'Peak of Martial Dao' as well.
Written by a seasoned author with a loyal fanbase and refined writing skills, the book had already accumulated nearly 30,000 favorites since its release. With a final push from the last major "Strong Recommendation" before its launch, surpassing 30,000 and going premium was within easy reach.
Under normal circumstances, 567 wouldn't hesitate to approve 'Peak of Martial Dao' for Four Seas Recommendation as well.
But this time, something unexpected had happened.
'How a Bad Guy Is Made, ' with even better metrics and a strange, mysterious momentum, had burst onto the scene.
One was 'How a Bad Guy Is Made', the other was 'Peak of Martial Dao'. Technically, the Four Seas Recommendation had over a dozen spots. Both could fit with no issue. But who in this world understood the true weight of a Four Seas Recommendation better than the person who created it, 567 himself?
The Four Seas Recommendation is less than five years old. At the time of its creation, Lingdian was a second-tier site, far behind competitors like Lianheng and Huanyue. When 567 became chief editor, he wanted to introduce something new, and the Four Seas Recommendation was his brainchild.
Unlike other recommendation slots, Four Seas didn't depend on stats, genre, popularity, or even whether the novel had a contract. As long as a work was innovative, thoughtful, and meaningful, even a debut novel from a complete newbie had a chance to make it onto Four Seas.
This unique approach attracted a legion of diehard veteran readers, so-called "hardcore grays." These were veteran readers with refined tastes, long dissatisfied with the average novel offerings. Yet Four Seas's eclectic mix of strange and creative works made them feel like they'd found true love.
Over time, Four Seas became a proving ground.
Works with potential, innovation, or depth were quickly discovered and celebrated through Four Seas, often becoming breakout hits based on reader word of mouth.
But Four Seas also had a hidden danger.
Whenever a truly exceptional novel appeared on the channel, it would overshadow every other work in that batch. At best, those other books would become just "another new release"; at worst, they couldn't even go premium, doomed to be dropped and unfinished.
This was why Four Seas had the highest number of unfinished works of any recommendation channel.
And now, 'How a Bad Guy Is Made' and 'Peak of Martial Dao' were on a collision course.
From 567's perspective, 'How a Bad Guy Is Made' was destined to explode on Lingdian.
Even though 'Peak of Martial Dao' was written by a god-tier author, it might be completely crushed if released alongside 'How a Bad Guy Is Made'.
As editor-in-chief, 567 wouldn't let that happen.
In the past, when faced with this situation, 567 would use his experience to choose one work to "step aside."
Only by dodging the storm created by a soon-to-be sensation could the other novel survive.
If not, releasing both on Four Seas at the same time would spell disaster for one of them.
And this time was no different.
But the one stepping aside wouldn't be the newcomer's 'How a Bad Guy Is Made'…
It would be 'Peak of Martial Dao', the new work of a Level-7 god-tier author.
"Anyi, notify Badao, the author of 'Peak of Martial Dao', that we won't be placing him on this round of Four Seas. He'll be scheduled for the next round."
Badao lived up to his pen name; his characters were always domineering, and his writing style had won him many fans. 567 was doing this to protect Badao's new work. But after he finished speaking, Group 3's chief editor Anyi looked hesitant.
"Editor-in-Chief, we've been strongly promoting Badao's new book. With this round of Four Seas, he was set to go premium next week and compete in the monthly votes on the first of next month. If his novel can't go on Four Seas now, he'll miss the vote window on the first."
The monthly vote chart was the most important list on Lingdian, and all sites offered support to their god-tier authors.
Lingdian was no different.
"I know."
567 nodded. "This round of Four Seas is highly competitive. Just to be safe, please explain everything to him."
"…Alright then."
Anyi nodded, though still uneasy. "Editor-in-chief, you know Badao. His temper is fiery, and he's a bit arrogant. I'm not sure I can convince him."
"Do your best. If you can't get through to him, I'll talk to him myself."
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