Chapter 91: It Exploded (Fourth Update—Please Subscribe)

After giving the illustrators their urgent assignments, Ma Litong hurried straight to the studio's publicity department.

“Post on all our official platforms—announce that Samsara has acquired the adaptation rights for both the comic and the animation of ‘Zhu Xian’.”

“I want the world to know that the only place to read the ‘Zhu Xian’ comic is at Samsara.”

The publicity staff were visibly stunned. When had the studio managed to acquire the adaptation rights for the ‘Zhu Xian’ series? Why had they heard nothing about it? Normally, the publicity department would be the first to know about such news, since they needed to craft follow-up promotion plans. Yet now, it seemed, they were the last to find out.

“Yes, President Ma,” they responded.

The department instantly sprang into action. Although the news had come at short notice, their experience served them well; they knew how to handle even the most abrupt announcements.

Such a major move from Samsara could hardly go unnoticed by other studios in the comics industry. As soon as they saw the statement from Samsara, every one of them reached the same conclusion:

Ma Litong had lost his mind.

The pressure of restructuring had driven him mad.

No one could guess what kind of deal Ma Litong had struck with Bai Du Literature, a deal compelling him to acquire the adaptation rights for a series with such uncertain prospects at a pivotal moment in Samsara’s transformation.

What else could this be but madness? He was gambling the fate of Samsara itself.

“Has Ma Litong realized the shift is hopeless and taken a kickback from Bai Du Literature to make his escape?”

“The pressure’s driven him to desperation—he’s taking one last shot.”

“Transforming from comics to animation is just too hard. Ma Litong has gone insane. Let’s wait for the next one in line.”

“What is he thinking? Even if he wanted the adaptation rights to ‘Zhu Xian,’ was there any need to rush? Couldn’t he wait a single day?”

“Does Ma Litong have some inside information? Is ‘Zhu Xian’ about to explode in popularity? If so, I’ll have my cousin’s company start negotiating for the film rights.”

Many industry insiders called out to Ma Litong, hoping for a hint from him. Was he charging ahead blindly, or did he have inside information? For other studios, this was crucial.

Just as online platforms competed with one another, so did comic studios across the country. Watching Samsara make such a bold move, many in the industry couldn’t help but smirk.

Samsara was a leading force in the comics world, and with Ma Litong steering its transformation, his ambition was clear: he aimed to build an integrated comic-and-animation company. Should he succeed, no one would be able to shake Samsara’s position.

Adaptations handled in-house best preserved the spirit of the original. This was a belief shared not only by comic studios but also by animation companies. Having the same company adapt its own work gave a creative advantage.

If the great author failed in his turn to fantasy, and ‘Zhu Xian’ crashed and burned, the consequences would bury Samsara under the rubble. This was exactly the outcome the competition longed to see. Misfortune for one meant opportunity for others.

The result would be clear tomorrow. After the author’s next update, all would be revealed. The fate of Samsara now hung on the success of ‘Zhu Xian.’

Despite his friend Sun Haitao’s reassurances, Ma Litong was still restless, plagued by worry over unforeseen mishaps. At times like these, caution was paramount.

Once again, Ma Litong spent the night sleepless. This had become a pattern ever since he decided to transform the studio—a string of sleepless nights brought on by relentless anxiety.

“Why am I even more nervous now than when I first made the decision to restructure?” he muttered, massaging his aching neck. The dark circles beneath his eyes grew deeper, evidence of yet another sleepless night.

Now, not just the web fiction world but the comics and animation circles as well had their eyes fixed on ‘Zhu Xian.’

At last, after hours of torment, six o’clock in the evening arrived.

‘Zhu Xian’ updated.

Ma Litong, rubbing his sore eyes, hesitated to click in. Now that the moment of truth had come, his courage wavered.

More than ten minutes passed before he finally opened the ‘Zhu Xian’ homepage.

The fan count was climbing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Ma Litong refreshed the page—thousands more.

Refreshed again—thousands more.

He was stunned.

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him. He quickly clicked open the fan section. The first five entries gleamed gold—each a golden reward. Next came twelve silver rewards, shining brightly, followed by a whole row of bronze supporters.

Ma Litong was dumbstruck.

It had exploded!

‘Zhu Xian’ had exploded!

And this was only the beginning. The fan count continued to surge, with new bronze rewards popping up in quick succession.

“Damn it all!”

Bloodshot eyes wide, Ma Litong roared out the words, his voice twisted with wild excitement.

He had gone mad—Samsara had gone mad as well.

No one had expected that the great author would turn to fantasy—and that ‘Zhu Xian’ would explode in popularity.

“This hasn’t even been half an hour, has it?”

Some authors watched with strange expressions.

In less than thirty minutes, the lowest entry in the top hundred fans was a bronze reward.

Damn!

If this qualifies as a flop, then may every one of my books flop like this.

It was terrifying.

The fan count kept rising, and the rewards poured in without end.

‘Zhu Xian’ was hotter than ‘Battle Through the Heavens’ had ever been.

The reward notifications for ‘Zhu Xian’ filled the screen, as though money were no object.

Other comic studios and animation companies, who had been watching closely, quickly noticed the change.

Something was off!

This was nothing like what the internet had predicted.

Wasn’t the great author supposed to fail? Wasn’t ‘Zhu Xian’ doomed to flop? Who said no one would read fantasy anymore?

Who were all these people sending rewards—ghosts?

Heads of studios and companies everywhere were left dumbstruck.

To call such a popular book a guaranteed flop—who the hell had started that rumor?

“Who was it who first said ‘Zhu Xian’ would flop? Who claimed no one reads this kind of trash anymore? Whoever it was, come forward—I promise I won’t beat you to death!”

But now, it was too late. Samsara had already secured the comic and animation adaptation rights for ‘Zhu Xian.’

For comic studios, it was little more than an episode of envy and regret.

The ones truly panicking were the animation production companies.

With a strong IP, as long as the animation was decently produced, Samsara would have a solid foothold in the animation world.

Ma Litong wasn’t a fool. Once the ‘Zhu Xian’ animation was made, there was no way its quality would be lacking.

The explosive success of ‘Zhu Xian’ meant their efforts to block Samsara had utterly failed.

Just when everyone thought it was over, the next day at five in the afternoon, Samsara officially began serializing ‘Zhu Xian.’ The comic’s content matched exactly the chapters updated by the great author. However many chapters the author released, Samsara would release the same number the following day.

Now, the other comic studios could no longer sit still.

Competing on speed with the great author—how were Samsara’s illustrators holding up?