The "mountain of books" formed from the pile of discarded drafts was violently leveled by half.
A large area of space was cleared on the Azure Jade platform.
A wide leather lounge chair materialized out of thin air, steadily occupying the central position of the Temple.
Lin Qingyue sank comfortably into the soft cushion, tossing and catching a juicy spiritual fruit in her hand.
Her posture was as relaxed as a black-hearted instructor reviewing a student's homework.
Qingxuan, the Celestial God who commanded the Vitality of the East and stood high above, was sitting upright and kneeling before the writing desk.
Her lifeless fish-like eyes were staring fixedly at Lin Qingyue.
The priceless Runic Pen in her hand was being used as the cheapest carbon-ink shorthand pen.
Qingxuan scribbled furiously on the parchment scroll, desperately recording each of the shocking "web novel theories" Lin Qingyue threw out.
Her face, which had been frantic due to writer's block, was now filled with focus and awe.
"The broken engagement trope?"
Qingxuan's pen suddenly paused, and she looked up.
Her messy bird's nest of hair shook, and a few scraps of paper fluttered down.
"Brilliant! This sense of conflict is absolutely superb!"
His mouth hung slightly open, then he lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing some law of heaven and earth.
"Starting as a useless fool who endures endless humiliation for three years, only to crush the dignity of everyone who looked down on him in public!"
Qingxuan's breathing turned rapid, her knuckles whitening as she gripped her pen.
"This kind of extreme emotional tension is more thrilling than the High Priestess dancing on the altar for three days and three nights!"
Crunch.
Lin Qingyue took a bite of the spiritual fruit, the crisp chewing sound echoing through the empty Temple.
After shedding her social anxiety and inferiority complex, the Ancient Celestial God's imagination was truly terrifying.
As long as you gave her a fulcrum, she could pry up the entire novel world herself.
"The System-genre is even more brilliant!"
Qingxuan slammed the table, making the ink bottle rattle.
"Digitized growth? A mission reward system?"
"Isn't this just the decentralization of our divine authority? So mortals actually fall for this!"
She smacked her thigh in sudden realization.
"Use the most direct numerical values to flatten class barriers and fulfill the mortals' greed for supernatural power. This directly maximizes the sense of anticipation!"
"Mortals always strive for divine potential, but when we actually grant it to them, they complain that cultivation is too bitter and too abstract."
"And this System just happens to materialize this 'grant'!"
The laws governing the deity's existence and the tropes of web novels collided wildly in her mind.
The gates to a new world swung open with a crash.
"So stories can be written this way! My previous approach was too narrow!"
Qingxuan shot to her feet.
The sudden movement knocked over the half-meter-high pile of discarded drafts behind her.
Those "Oracles" that believers had once fervently worshipped were now stamped with a dusty footprint from her shoe.
She didn't care in the slightest.
This exalted Celestial God abruptly bent her waist.
Her hands pressed against the floor.
She performed the most formal kowtow to the pink-haired girl eating fruit on the lounge chair.
"Master!"
Qingxuan's voice cracked with extreme excitement.
She lifted her head, her bloodshot eyes filled with fervor.
"You are the Morning Star of my destiny!"
"Please, you must take me as your disciple!"
She shuffled forward on her knees, her voice pleading:
"Teach me how to write stories that mortals will truly love!"
Lin Qingyue looked at the shut-in girl with a bird's-nest of hair and a green glint in her eyes, her lips curving into a distinct smile.
Her "troll" DNA was tingling fiercely.
A notification timely popped up on her professional panel.
[System Notification: Congratulations, by imparting advanced cultural knowledge, you have successfully ignited the creative passion of Celestial God: Azure Dragon and preliminarily soothed the void in her heart.]
[Task "Soothe Celestial God: Azure Dragon's Endless Void" Completion Rate: 50%.]
The progress bar was half full.
The theory lesson was over; next was the practical application phase.
"You don't need to formally become my disciple."
Lin Qingyue held up her juice-stained index finger and wagged it.
"But there is a core principle that you must carve into your very bones."
"Shutting yourself away to write blindly is a dead end."
She sat up straight, shedding her casualness and switching into the oppressive mode of a strict Editor-in-Chief.
"Why were your previous fanfic drafts full of toxic tropes? Because they lacked real feedback."
"You hid in your Temple, using your stories as trash bins to vent your emotions."
"And the result? Grudges festered, and you ended up creating a mess like the Spirit of Pride."
Hearing "Spirit of Pride," Qingxuan shrank back and guiltily turned her face away.
"You need real readers."
Lin Qingyue continued her relentless critique.
"Not those fanatical cultists who would overinterpret even a sneeze from you."
"But the kind of real readers who would draw swords and argue with you in the comments section over plot details."
She pulled out a tissue and slowly wiped her fingertips.
"Since you intend to start over, you must completely bid farewell to the past."
She pointed to Azure Dragon's mountain of discarded drafts.
"To avoid repeating the same mistakes and suffering social death again, and especially to escape the influence of the Divine Halo, you need a new persona."
Qingxuan tilted her head in confusion.
"Adopt a completely new identity."
"Pick a pen name that has no divine connotations."
"Directly distribute your new book to street tabloids and mass publications that mortals can buy."
Lin Qingyue tapped her knuckles rhythmically on the Azure Jade tabletop.
"I recall the Pandaren have several newspapers and magazines aimed at the common people. They have the channels to deliver those written materials into the hands of mortals all over the place."
Qingxuan thought for a moment, and the gloomy clouds between her brows dispersed quite a bit. "Publishing in mortal publications... How do we go about that?"
"Pay the Pandaren to run errands."
Lin Qingyue smiled slightly, a cunning glint flashing in her eyes.
"The Pandaren merchant network spans every continent. They even deliver herbal medicines right to your door."
"We'll mix your manuscripts with ordinary merchandise and send them out for publication."
Qingxuan wrung her pajama hem with both hands.
"What about reader feedback? How will I know if they're cursing me out or praising me?"
"Set up a physical reader mailbox."
Lin Qingyue laid out the final commercial closed-loop plan.
"Establish a fixed mail collection point in a remote village or an inconspicuous relay station."
"Have the Pandaren regularly bundle the readers' demands for updates, razor blades, and ten-thousand-word reviews, and deliver them to that secret address."
"You won't have to show your face once."
"Just by sitting in the Temple and unsealing the letters, you can absorb all the purest emotional value from thousands of readers."
The great hall fell into a dead silence.
Qingxuan froze on the spot.
The eyes behind her glasses burst forth with a staggering light once again.
No need to go outside.
No need to face the Obsessive High Priest.
And yet still able to possess a genuine reader base.
Hiding behind the scenes, watching mortals squirm and claw at their hearts over the plot she had designed, slapping the table in awe at the twists.
This ultimate thrill of secretly manipulating the emotions of all living beings.
Smashed straight through the social-phobia-stricken Celestial God's psychological defenses.
"What should my pen name be...?"
Qingxuan spun around and pounced back to her desk.
She grabbed a runic pen and scribbled wildly on a scroll, muttering a jumble of words to herself.
She was completely immersed in the grand blueprint of building a web novel empire.
The Heavenly Order, the majesty of the gods, all of it was swept into the trash.
Lin Qingyue leaned back against the soft cushion in satisfaction.
This Ancient God had been completely bamboozled.
The remaining 50% of the progress was now a sure thing.