A leave note brimming with hidden meaning.

My condition hasn't been great these past couple of days, so I’d like to take a day off to rest and recover.

...

The story is about to undergo what I consider a significant transition, as you can probably tell. Most of the main supporting characters have already stepped onto their respective paths, and these threads I’ve introduced—some will be resolved by the middle of the narrative, others not until the very end.

There are still pits left to be dug. Liang Yu is still playing a minor role for now; his arc will have to wait for the right moment in the story.

As for Zhang Nianchen, Li the Carpenter, Hu Su, and Yang Yanlang, my plan is to fully flesh out their storylines in this first volume. Not a single plot thread has been filled in yet—the groundwork is still being laid, and there’s a long road ahead.

With the main storyline of this first volume now coming to the fore, its conclusion will soon follow as a natural outcome.

I’ve been feeling particularly restless and anxious lately, perhaps because my biological clock is off again, or maybe it’s the approach of the New Year making me unsettled. As a result, even writing the entrance of someone as important as Yu Bai hasn’t come out as I’d hoped.

Though I’ve revised her introduction several times, it still feels like something is missing. Perhaps I made her too straightforward, stripping away the aloofness I wanted to convey, and accidentally turning her into an overly righteous and naive heiress?

At least the latter part I wrote last night felt better—especially the section with Feng Ning. I think I managed to capture the ethos of the Penglai Palace family: strict adherence to rules, great importance placed on etiquette.

I’ll also take some time to organize my detailed outline. So far, I only have the outline for the borderland storyline of the first volume (it seems thirty thousand words won’t be enough; it’ll likely be closer to forty thousand). After the first volume ends, the second volume’s wandering-the-martial-world arc still has many transitions left to smooth out, and even more legendary figures will take the stage. My intention is to at least complete the stories of all thirty-six legends on the Celestial Heroes List. In that span, there will be tales of old legends passing and new legends rising, with some attention paid to the Earthly Fiends List as well.

Though I’ve dropped hints earlier, such as the protagonist’s father, his uncle Qin Xiong the Invincible, Hu Su the archer, Swordmaster Su Tingyou, and the fate-unknown Elder Nanhua...

There’s also the earliest to appear among the protagonist’s allies, Liu Chengyin—the birth of a new legend. His early entrance is a sign of his importance.

Guo Dexing is another—an extraordinary legend who doesn’t appear on the rankings, yet his power is legendary. He’ll also be compiling a list of immortals.

The news of Hua Wuyu’s death marks the passing of an old legend; the announcement will be made public. As for his successor, it’s complicated and involves too many spoilers to discuss here.

There are several others connected to the legends, but again, to avoid spoilers, I’ll say no more.

Once Guo Dexing concludes his northern journey, the martial world’s new Legends List will be reorganized and published for all to see.

All told, there will be at least thirty new characters introduced, not counting the main supporting cast who interact heavily with the protagonist. Even the more minor characters will need several thousand words of background and story apiece.

Let this serve as a little teaser for everyone, as well as a brief summary from me.

That’s enough for now. I’ll go work on refining the outline, so that the story that follows the Dragon’s Awakening will be even more exciting.