Chapter 89: A Personal Negotiation, Part Two

When the opening prologue of Slaying the Immortals first appeared and drove countless readers half mad, countless heads of comic studios were also tearing at their hair.

As always, given the present fame and heat of the master author, after Slaying the Immortals was published on Hundred Read Literature, Hundred Read Literature immediately began to place the derivative series on the agenda.

This kind of treatment existed only for authors who had attained the title of Master or above, and the master author was the first exception at Hundred Read.

The derivative division of Hundred Read Literature was steadily tallying derivative-series applications for each web novel, including the one for Slaying the Immortals.

As subordinates reported data one after another, the expression on Division Director Ding Qianhui's face gradually turned peculiar.

"Dragon Martial Sky has interest in comic adaptation from five companies, and interest in animation adaptation from one."

"Lovely Cat-Girl Friend has interest in comic adaptation from two companies, interest in animation adaptation from three, and interest in TV drama adaptation from one."

"One Sword Unrivaled has interest in comic adaptation from one company, animation adaptation from one, and film adaptation from one."

"Endless Deep Space has interest in comic adaptation from three companies, and film adaptation from one."

"Dimwitted Little Bride has interest in animation adaptation from one company, and TV drama adaptation from two."

"At the Start, I Became Invincible has interest in comic adaptation from one company, animation adaptation from one, TV drama adaptation from two, and game adaptation from one."

The tally was still continuing, but Ding Qianhui's face was growing darker and darker.

Inside the company, they were extremely optimistic about Slaying the Immortals. They had even broken precedent by allowing two editorial departments to jointly handle a single book for it.

The chief editor himself had opened a direct express lane, making a special backdoor for Slaying the Immortals.

In truth, the master author was still only a level 5 writer. Though it was only a matter of time before he earned the Master rating, for now he was still a level 5 author.

To open derivative-series access the moment a work was published was a privilege reserved only for authors rated Master or above.

For works by authors below the Master rating, derivative-series access could only be opened after the work went on sale for paid reading.

The main reason was that lower-rated authors generally had a weak reader base, and derivative works depended not only on quality, but also on that base and its stickiness.

As web fiction flourished, there were in fact many authors who still bore the Master title, yet book after book performed miserably, and their old readers drifted away in wave after wave.

Their reader base and reader loyalty were extremely low, and did not match the Master title at all.

There were quite a few such authors; it was simply that their thinking could not keep up with the pace of web fiction's development.

Readers' tastes were becoming more and more exacting, their demands higher and higher, while some Master-rated authors still remained frozen in place, refusing to move forward.

Like xianxia novels, they had once been glorious, embraced and worshiped by countless readers, but now few even bothered to ask after them.

Meanwhile, among new authors, most relied on novel and striking ideas to quickly gather a large following.

The most representative of them was the master author.

The master author could be said to be the leading figure among new writers.

Hundred Read Literature had opened Slaying the Immortals' derivative channel in advance, seemingly convinced that this book would, like its predecessors, set the entire web-fiction circle ablaze.

But the master author's first release was only a prologue, and it left everyone thoroughly puzzled.

Ding Qianhui was also furious at this move by the master author, cursing under his breath nonstop. It was infuriating.

They were over here frantically building momentum for Slaying the Immortals, trying to push its derivative series from the very start.

At the very least, they wanted to lock down the comic adaptation.

Within derivative series, comic adaptation was the easiest to develop and the one with the largest customer pool.

But the master author's baffling move threw the derivative division of Hundred Read Literature into disarray, leaving them unsure how to proceed.

Although comic adaptation was the easiest derivative to promote, the owners of comic studios were not fools. They were not going to spend hundreds of thousands of summer coins on a comic adaptation right after reading only the prologue.

Hundred Read Literature's derivative division had done plenty of promotion for Slaying the Immortals, and had also privately contacted more than a dozen comic studios they usually worked with, yet none responded.

Even Wind-Chasing Comics, which had obtained the comic adaptation rights for Battle Through the Heavens, failed to show itself.

Originally, the master author's move into xianxia had been viewed skeptically by countless people, who were all waiting for him to run into a wall, abandon the book, and return to fantasy, where he would continue writing the underdog power fantasy.

Yet the master author had only released a prologue and still would not post the main text.

"This won't do," said the deputy director of the derivative division with a frown. "We've put a huge amount into promotion this time, and with the master author's current reputation, there should be some movement on Slaying the Immortals' derivative series. It looks like these studios and companies, like the rest of the web-fiction industry, are not optimistic about the master author, or rather, they're not optimistic about xianxia in general."

When the news spread that the master author was switching to xianxia, forums, message boards, and similar places quickly filled with skeptical voices, nearly unanimously assuming that the new book would crash and burn.

Xianxia was no longer what it used to be. Who still read xianxia these days?

Anyway, I don't read it. What kind of decent person would read xianxia?

There were also people who felt that, given the master author's built-in readership and writing skill, the book might not necessarily fail completely, but its results would certainly not be ideal, and falling short of Battle Through the Heavens was all but certain.

There was even a poll on the forums about it, and the result showed that eighty percent did not think much of the master author's move into xianxia.

That eighty percent did not mean everyone doubted the master author; in truth, more of them doubted xianxia itself.

Especially since the master author's new book had only released a prologue at first, the voices of doubt became even louder.

Looking at it now, the major studios and companies must have the same view. None of them thought much of the master author's new book, so no one dared step forward to place an order.

Even the cheapest comic adaptation rights cost hundreds of thousands of summer coins, and that was only the listed price.

The length of the book would determine the final actual transaction price.

But hundreds of thousands of summer coins was no small sum.

If the master author's new book flopped and he wrote only a few tens of thousands of words before dropping it, there would be nowhere for them even to cry about it.

Hundred Read Literature had done more than enough promotion, yet no company placed an order.

Ding Qianhui decided to report to the chief editor and ask whether the derivative channel for Slaying the Immortals should be closed for now.

Chief Editor Sun Haitao of Hundred Read Literature was currently planning the overhaul of the editorial department.

When the master author switched from fantasy to xianxia, the fantasy editorial group and the xianxia editorial department nearly came to blows.

The fantasy editorial group refused to let him go, while the xianxia editorial department would not release resources unless they got the author.

The drawbacks of having one department manage one category were laid bare in an instant.

He had long had the idea of reforming the editorial department, but the plan was not yet complete, and he had never had the chance to carry it out.

Seeing Ding Qianhui come in, he set down the folder in his hand and smiled. "How is the launch of Slaying the Immortals' derivative series going?"

Sun Haitao was very confident in Slaying the Immortals. Otherwise, he would not have made the decision to let the fantasy editorial group and the xianxia editorial department co-manage a single book.

"Still no company is willing to take on the first derivative adaptation for Slaying the Immortals," Ding Qianhui said, looking somewhat hesitant.

He knew very well how optimistic the chief editor was about Slaying the Immortals, but it was also a fact that no company was willing to buy the derivative adaptation rights.

Whether or not to mention closing the Slaying the Immortals derivative channel was a question.

Sun Haitao was clearly stunned. No company was willing to buy the derivative adaptation rights?

How could that be?

He knew all too well what kind of quality Slaying the Immortals had.

Soon, he said with a smile, "You can't blame them. Put yourself in their shoes. If it were me, I wouldn't dare spend hundreds of thousands of summer coins buying adaptation rights for a book that is highly likely to flop."

Ding Qianhui: Chief Editor, do you have any manners?

If you knew that, why the hell did you open the derivative channel in advance?

The channel was opened, yet no one came asking.

This not only slapped Hundred Read Literature in the face, it would also have some impact on the master author's new book.

But Sun Haitao seemed not to care at all. He waved a hand and said to Ding Qianhui, "Keep the channel open. I'll personally negotiate the comic adaptation rights for Slaying the Immortals."

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