Of course, at midnight, it wasn't just Nanshan who was awake, but also those disciples of White Jade Hall who had been waiting in front of their computers.
They were also the die-hard fans of The Number One White Under Heaven.
The moment 'The School Belle's Bodyguard' was released, these White Jade Hall members immediately clicked in to read.
Within a dozen minutes, the White Jade Hall fan group exploded like a bomb had been dropped. Everyone still online was thrown into a frenzy.
"Hahaha, it's the same familiar flavor, the same noob-style. White Boss, I support you, this book is great!"
"If you ask me, this one's even better than 'How a Bad Guy Is Made'. That one was hype, but I skipped quite a few parts. This one, I don't know if it's because it's a new book or something else, but I read every single word, afraid of missing anything."
"Agreed. I felt the same just now. The anticipation is insane. Damn, this book feels like it has some kind of magic; it just keeps pulling me in."
"Haha, if this momentum keeps up, crushing 'Starcloud Swordsman' is guaranteed."
"Of course. Who is White Boss? He's the one who slaughtered elites to prove his path. Everyone, let's vote together!"
Readers didn't have Nanshan's analytical ability, nor did they know about the so-called "Golden Three Chapters." But readers had something even more sensitive than authors or editors: their reading experience.
Whether a book is good, whether it's engaging, whether it's well-written, they can all judge it themselves.
They didn't dare say yet whether 'The School Belle's Bodyguard' was a classic. But they knew one thing: it was incredibly engaging and filled them with anticipation. It felt as though an invisible thread in the story was constantly pulling at their hearts.
It was a strange feeling, one they had never experienced before. Even when they carefully examined it and realized the plot was ordinary and not particularly innovative, it was like a master performing a simple punch. No matter how basic the move, in the hands of a true master, it carried unmatched power.
Could this be the highest realm of writing?
That sounded a bit mystical, and the readers naturally couldn't understand it.
But what they did understand was simple: if a book captivated them, they would give it their full support.
White Jade Hall Hongmeng: "Listen up, disciples of White Jade Hall. Get ready. It's time to support White Boss fully. Follow my lead. Step one: alliance leaders, move out."
"Didn't 'Starcloud Swordsman' boast five alliance leaders in a single day? Do they think White Jade Hall is empty? We'll send ten!"
As soon as the command was given, within one minute, ten alliance leaders appeared on the fan ranking of 'The School Belle's Bodyguard'.
The ten donors all used the same slogan:
"When September 8th arrives, after my flowers bloom, all others fade.
A soaring fragrance fills Chang'an, the city adorned in golden armor."
"Step two: spam the reviews. 'Starcloud Swordsman' has over 1.000 comments. Each of us post one, let's hit 3.000."
Another minute later, 3.000 comments flooded the book's review section.
"Step three: the rankings. 'Starcloud Swordsman' reached #8 on the new book list in 24 hours. We'll push White Boss's new book to #3. What, you think that's hard? Bullshit. The ranking is based on 'clicks + bookmarks + recommendation votes.' Recommendation votes carry huge weight. As long as we all vote for White Boss, #3 is absolutely possible. Get ready, everyone, vote now!"
With another wave of action, 3.000 recommendation votes were cast.
With the support of those 3.000 votes, 'The School Belle's Bodyguard' shot up from rank #300 to #3 on the new book list.
"Step four: bookmarks."
As the leader of White Jade Hall, Hongmeng looked at 'Starcloud Swordsman', which was nearing 10.000 bookmarks, and felt a bit frustrated. But after recalling the first three chapters he had just read, he couldn't help but say with anticipation:
"Everyone, 'Starcloud Swordsman' is close to 10.000 bookmarks. White Boss has only been writing for a few months and hasn't fully built his reputation yet. Our fanbase can't match that elite author's pseudonym for now. We might not surpass them in bookmarks immediately. But let's wait and see. I believe when we wake up tomorrow, we'll find that 'The School Belle's Bodyguard' has already crushed 'Starcloud Swordsman' in bookmarks."
The night grew deep. After showing their support, the die-hard fans gradually went to sleep.
But in this world, there were still countless night owls.
They entered Lingdian late at night, searching for books that interested them.
For most of them, they only read three chapters of any novel. After that, they either kept following or dropped it entirely.
'The Legend of the Great Han': meaningless rambling. Three chapters in, and I don't even know who the protagonist is. No way I'm continuing. Pass.
'Football God': nice title, but why the hell is he playing with elementary school kids the whole time? Trash.
'Starcloud Swordsman': seems like a top author's alt account. Let's see… okay, somewhat creative, grand setting. But it doesn't really hook me. I'll bookmark it for later.
'The School Belle's Bodyguard': this title feels kind of dirty and intense… but I like it. Let's check it out. Holy crap, who wrote this? It feels so ordinary, but why can't I stop reading? Damn it, only three chapters? No way, I need to go to the comments and curse the author. You think three chapters a day is enough? How are we supposed to read that? If you don't post at least 20 chapters a day, how dare you call yourself an author? Hurry up and update, I can't wait!
And just like that, bookmarks began to rise naturally.
1.000 bookmarks.
2.000 bookmarks.
3.000 bookmarks.
4.000 bookmarks.
By 8 PM the next day, 'The School Belle's Bodyguard' had surpassed 10.000 bookmarks, completely crushing 'Starcloud Swordsman'.
When data analysts posted a comparison between the two novels on the Feilong forum, chaos erupted.
Alliance leaders surpassed.
Comments surpassed.
Recommendation votes surpassed.
On the new book rankings, it shot up to #2 within a single day.
In almost every metric, 'The School Belle's Bodyguard' completely outperformed 'Starcloud Swordsman'.
"No, this is fake. It has to be fake."
That was the first reaction of countless people.
How was this possible?
Ten alliance leaders in a day? Maybe.
3.000 bookmarks in a day? Understandable.
Even 10.000 recommendation votes? Still possible.
But 10.000 bookmarks in a single day? That was impossible.
Was The Number One White Under Heaven a 9-star author? Was he Wuhen?
But their disbelief was quickly drowned out by the flood of explosive reviews for 'The School Belle's Bodyguard'.
"The reason 'The School Belle's Bodyguard' crushed 'Starcloud Swordsman' is simple. Just read the first three chapters."
A Feilong user commented.
"'The School Belle's Bodyguard' is far more than just a noob-style novel."
The Feilong Shennong Review Group declared firmly after reading the first three chapters.
"Is writing an art or a skill? I used to think it was art. But after reading this, I realized that within the grand hall of literary art, there exists such a profound technique. The Number One White Under Heaven, I'm convinced."
A Lingdian author sighed on the forum.
"To take such an ordinary plot and make it this compelling, this is the work of a master. The Number One White Under Heaven, from now on, I'm your die-hard fan. I want to become your disciple."
Another author declared.
"Only after reading the first three chapters did I understand what a true noob-style novel is."
An author who had previously criticized noob-style writing said tearfully on Feilong.
"I think the noob-style genre pioneered by The Number One White Under Heaven is finally being validated today."
At this moment, Feilong's founder, "Yuse," gave this weighty evaluation of the novel.
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