Before I knew it, "Bright Sword" had been updating for a week. Although Yang Yi posted one chapter a day, this pace was far slower than his previous work "Soldier Assault," driving readers crazy with complaints. Yet even so, they still grumbled while reading with rapt fascination.
However, after the release of Chapter 7 yesterday, Yang Yi sparked public outrage.
"Damn, did you really kill off Sister Xiuqin? Author, do you have a conscience?"
"Seven chapters in and the female lead dies. Great, a promising read turns into poison, extremely toxic!"
"Dropping this book. Damn, it pisses me off. A perfectly good female lead, blown up by artillery! Couldn't you have saved her somehow?"
In truth, these were genuine fans venting their frustration out of tough love. By now, Yang Yi's loyal fanbase had grown strong enough to keep most trolls at bay.
Some emotional readers lamented: "Even though I had a feeling after Xiuqin was captured, I couldn't believe the author would actually go through with it! I spent a whole day refreshing for this chapter, and it made a big guy like me, over six feet tall, cry like a baby. It hurts so much!"
"Monk knelt down and begged you for ten minutes to lead a rescue charge. Maybe they could have saved her! Bastard, why didn't you give Xiuqin a chance to live?"
"Li Yunlong did nothing wrong. As a soldier, he couldn't let personal feelings stop him from wiping out that Japanese special forces unit, nor could he forget avenging his fallen brothers on the mountain. He ordered the artillery strike. I respect him as a true man and a qualified general!" Finally, someone spoke up in Yang Yi's defense.
"'Li Yunlong slumped down weakly... His mind went blank, his body drained of strength.' That line made me cry... If he loved her that much, why couldn't he save her? Li Yunlong, you coward!"
There's no denying this chapter was a major pain point. Over ninety percent of readers found it nearly impossible to accept.
Especially the readers from Qiyue Chinese Network, these web novel fans cursed Yang Yi even more fiercely. Even his die-hard fan Mu Yucheng couldn't help but complain: "Dude, do female leads have no value in your works? 'Soldier' had no female lead, and in 'Bright Sword,' the female lead only appears for a few chapters, just got married, and you kill her off?"
After all, everyone was used to the web novel formula. No matter how the protagonist started—whether as a domineering figure or an ordinary nobody—he would eventually become an all-powerful "superman." Whether there was one female lead, two, or many, the hero would protect them all and build a harmonious harem.
If anyone dared to make the protagonist seem incompetent or let the female lead suffer even a little, those readers with overflowing machismo would tear them apart.
Yet Yang Yi did exactly that. Not only did he let the female lead suffer, but he also made the protagonist ruthlessly blow up his own woman and the Japanese with artillery.
Wasn't this asking for trouble?
Wasn't this poisoning his own readers?
Wasn't this driving his readers away?
Sensing trouble, the editors at Iron Army Network, who had been closely monitoring "Bright Sword's" progress, were delighted to see this.
After all, the release of "Bright Sword" had posed a real threat to them. Hu Da's clever move had hit them right where it hurt.
It wasn't some underhanded scheme. Yang Yi's book was openly competing with Iron Army Network, blatantly poaching their readers, and Iron Army Network could do nothing about it.
Now, Iron Army Network's veteran readers were showing a new trend: they went to Qiyue to read Yang Yi's book and spend money on tips, but they still read on Iron Xue Network. However, their spending had significantly dropped—this was clear from the backend data.
Though it wasn't a fatal blow, and Iron Army Network trusted its own foundation and appeal to keep readers from abandoning them entirely, seeing their income siphoned off by Qiyue was infuriating.
But what could they do?
The Iron Army editors had considered poaching Yang Yi before. During the serialization of "Soldier Assault," when many Iron Army readers begged them to recruit him, they seriously thought about it.
Bringing Yang Yi over would clearly be beneficial. But Qiyue's secrecy was too tight—at least from their perspective. The author's personal info was completely hidden, and the author himself didn't interact with readers in the comment sections.
If Qiyue knew about this, they'd protest loudly. After signing a long-term contract with Yang Yi, they didn't want to hide him; they wanted to promote him heavily and turn him into a rising star author.
But Yang Yi refused. He not only didn't want his personal info exposed but also had no interest in even a text interview for the site. This left Qiyue's eager marketing team deeply disappointed, while readers kept clamoring for attention with no response.
Of course, there was another option: they could get Yang Yi's contact info from the Copyright Association, but that would require significant favors. The site's management couldn't pull that off unless they begged the backing of "Military Literature Journal."
However, Iron Army Network's top brass thought it was overkill and shut down that idea.
So how could they recruit him? They were left swinging their pickaxes in confusion.
All they could do was watch "Bright Sword's" explosive success, powerless to act.
Now that "Bright Sword" had dug its own grave, the Iron Army Network's editorial office erupted in cheers and celebration.
But it seemed their joy came too soon.
After Chapters 8 and 9 were released one after another, the Iron Army editors were shocked to find that the readers who had threatened to drop the book hadn't left. Instead, they kept cursing while subscribing to the new chapters.
Of course, these two new chapters sparked massive controversy.
After killing off the female lead, Yang Yi went and killed off Monk too!
Monk was just a supporting character, Li Yunlong's bodyguard, but his martial prowess and unwavering loyalty had earned him many fans.
How could such a vivid character die so pointlessly? And not at the hands of brutal Japanese invaders, but at the hands of bandits—their own Chinese people!
Readers' hearts bled.
They didn't blame Li Yunlong. He had done his best—not only breaking discipline to lead a raid on the bandits to avenge Monk but also making the controversial decision to execute prisoners.
Readers adored Li Yunlong to the bone, but they hated Yang Yi just as fiercely.
How could he kill off Monk too?