At the peak of the excitement on star network, Yu Mian saw the flood of “Soldier King” fans speaking up and suddenly realized something.
It seemed that, aside from “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King”, all his other works had indeed received massive updates at some point.
“The main reason is that all the new books I started later were just too captivating.”
Yu Mian pulled up the manuscript for “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” on the light brain. The latest two volumes were only missing a final chapter, which, once completed, could be published immediately.
But it was precisely this final chapter that he had kept delaying, forgetting to just sit down and finish it before the next deadline arrived.
After all, deadlines were the ultimate productivity driver.
The real question was, how had “Soldier King” fans been this patient all along? They had barely made a sound.
This strange sense of guilt. [Fish wipes sweat.jpg]
However, after the animation fan’s identity-swapping incident exploded, “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King”, also widely regarded as the most pitiful ongoing work, just happened to take advantage of the popularity of this wave of events to enter the public eye.
In a way, it was a perfect opportunity.
As a classic refreshing and upgrade flow novel, “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” had a broad audience.
Whether it was younger readers or older ones, whether male or female, anyone who picked it up and read a few pages would find themselves immersed in the story.
[And the bookstore downstairs actually had it in stock! I bought a copy and flipped through a few pages…turns out it’s really good? It has that same yet slightly different exhilarating feel as “Bei Xing’s Necklace”.]
[Same here! Plus, it’s a rebirth-and-revenge story. I love it! The protagonist, Lin Mu, is also a teenager after his rebirth. Reading this alongside “Bei Xing’s Necklace” kind of gives the feeling of having both a big brother and a little sister?]
Many fans of “Bei Xing’s Necklace” felt a bit guilty after the whole identity-swapping incident, so some decided to give Fish Soup Noodles’ novels a try as well.
As a result, the first novel many TV show fans checked out was “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King”. To their surprise, they found it very addictive.
Even just a few pages in, their emotions were already drawn into the story.
Seeing these self-proclaimed newcomers to the fandom, the veteran book fans were more than happy to promote and recommend the series.
[Of course it’s great! I think “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” just suffered from having an older and more traditional reader base. QwQ Like my dad, he loves it, but he doesn’t even know he can urge for updates on StarBlog. He only buys physical copies from bookstores.]
[Same here! The copies at home are practically falling apart from being read too much. Especially older relatives who used to serve in the military, they really love it! When they visit during holidays and see it on my bookshelf, they get so hooked that they immediately go buy the whole series for themselves.]
[And apparently, this is Fish Soup Noodles’ most popular novel among alien readers? Those alien fans have an even harder time urging for updates than we do, hahaha.]
With all this buzz, fans naturally started analyzing why “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” ended up being the least “favored” by Fish Soup Noodles.
“Ahem, in fact, there’s an important reason,” Shaxs explained. “Back then, the impatient military department signed a contract for the entire series in advance, so Teacher Fish Soup Noodles has always been updating it at the originally agreed-upon pace.”
“But no one expected Teacher Fish Soup Noodles’ writing speed and skill to improve over time! His output has skyrocketed compared to before.”
As one of the few insiders, Shaxs couldn’t help but explain when his curious editor colleagues in the office asked about it.
After all, once you had seen Fish Soup Noodles’ daily updates of six thousand words, three thousand felt pitifully small.
And once you had seen his daily nine thousand, or even ten thousand-word updates, six thousand suddenly seemed like barely a snack.
The appetites of the majority of Fish Soup Noodles’ readers have been fattened up little by little by him.
Meanwhile, the Dwarf Tavern was also bustling with activity.
With the explosion in popularity of “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King”, the rundown tavern on the Garbage Star had become an interstellar hotspot. Many adventure anchors would make a stop here while live broadcasting their explorations in outer star systems.
They would pick up the very first edition of “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” that had circulated long ago, order a glass of special inferior wine brewed by the dwarf Foss, and experience the raw, untamed atmosphere of a primitive planet.
With this newfound success, the tavern owner, Fos, eventually saved up enough money to hire a communications engineer, another drifter stranded on the Garbage Star due to various reasons. Together, they managed to set up a crude yet functional signal receiver.
Though the connection to the Federation’s star network was unstable and weak, it was no longer a completely isolated world.
So, when the screenshot from Yu Mian’s live broadcast appeared, the eyes of countless star pirates nearly popped out of their sockets, and their usual fiery temper, ready to demand updates, suddenly faltered for a moment.
“Do all the people on the Federation Star look this… this good-looking?”
To say “good-looking” was actually a bit lacking, but most space pirates had a limited vocabulary. After struggling for a while, they could only come up with those two words.
“Is it because their living conditions are better, and the environment is good, so they turn out like this?”
“I heard that interstellar radiation is really weak over there, so their fingers and faces don’t get rough!”
For a moment, the group of burly men in the tavern inexplicably found themselves discussing this strange contrast.
They were all human, so why was there such a huge difference in appearance between those from the Federation Star and those from the Garbage Star?
The more they looked, the more they couldn’t tear their eyes away, wishing they could print out the image and stare at it forever.
“No, no, I swear, even on the Federation Star, people like that are rare.”
Boss Fos, who had been to the Federation Star in his younger days, almost swore to the heavens.
“Next year, I’ll be able to take the exam and move up. When the time comes, I want to be like Lin Mu, go to the Central Star, and become a super-powerful hero warrior! Maybe I’ll even get to meet Teacher Fish Soup Noodles himself?”
The little guy in the tavern was full of fighting spirit, making the gathered space pirates inexplicably moved.
Ah, it’s great to be young.
“But I’m also planning to try my luck in the outer regions of the Federation Star next year, starting with the simplest legal mercenary jobs.”
A space pirate’s words drew the attention of many.
“Old buddy, if you make it, we’ll have to celebrate. Don’t forget to come back to the tavern for a drink.”
In a way, thanks to the cultural influence of “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King”, many space pirates on the Garbage Star, who once only lived one day at a time, had started to harbor an unspoken wish.
That one day, they too could leave the Garbage Star like Lin Mu and search for a new life.
Most importantly, the renowned space pirate-turned-author, “Stellar Medal” Omirs, had become a role model for many space pirates due to his own experiences.
Unfortunately, not all space pirates could write books, but doing physical labor wasn’t too complicated.
In the latest fifth and sixth volumes of “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King”, Lin Mu finally secured a spot to leave the Garbage Star and enroll in the Advanced Academy, where he met an old acquaintance of his teacher, God Of War Hachir.
This old acquaintance, Brian, had once received a great favor from God Of War Hachir. After confirming that Lin Mu had indeed inherited his benefactor’s heart of a soldier king, he immediately examined Lin Mu’s dug out star core.
However, the results of the examination left all readers both shocked and furious.
Because Brian told Lin Mu with an extremely grave expression that the method used to extract his star core was eerily similar to the long-banned interstellar secret technique–”Talent Plunder”.
This method allowed a newborn’s innate star core to be forcibly extracted and implanted into another child of the same age.
The technique was exceptionally cruel, and the enormous profits it generated fueled a black-market trade in human star cores. Many impoverished parents, desperate for money, ended up selling the star cores of their newborns. That was why this practice was strictly outlawed in all legitimate star systems.
[[“So… my parents sold me? Just for the star core in my chest?”
As an orphan, Lin Mu had thought he no longer cared about such things. But upon hearing this from Teacher Brian, a bitter taste spread in his heart.
It turned out the so-called familial love still couldn’t compare to profit.
Just like in his past life, where he had believed in the camaraderie of war, only to realize that it paled in comparison to the temptation of a huge bounty.
“…That might not be the case. There could have been an accident,” Brian tried to console him, but his words felt empty.
In the end, Brian proposed a solution.
“The only fortunate thing is that the pseudo-core you’ve condensed using the heart of the soldier king can still play the role of gathering mental power. I can help you stabilize it into a permanent form, but the process will be extremely painful.”
“Moreover, even if you successfully form a stable pseudo-core, every bit of mental power you accumulate will be ten times slower than others. At the same time, whenever you use it, your depletion rate will be ten times faster.”
It was like others drawing water with a sturdy wooden bucket, while Lin Mu had to use a sieve riddled with holes.
Truthfully, someone like Lin Mu was no longer suited for this path. Living an ordinary life might be the wiser choice.
But when Brian saw Lin Mu’s unwavering determination, he swallowed back those words.
“Because even so, I can still stand on equal footing with anyone else, as long as I train ten times harder than them.”
Lin Mu looked at Brian, whom he could trust, and voiced his decision.
“In three years, I will make it into the most prestigious Seventh Special Forces Legion of the Federation Star.”
This choice was, in fact, very fitting for Lin Mu.
Compared to the first six major legions, the defining trait of the Seventh Special Forces Legion was its extremely difficult missions and staggeringly high mortality rate.
Because of this, it became the best path for soldiers from commoner backgrounds to earn military merit. The elites from powerful families rarely volunteered for it. As long as you were willing to risk your life, you could rise through the ranks.
“Your choice is both rational and wise.”
Brian was momentarily speechless but ultimately acknowledged Lin Mu’s decision.
Facing the young man who had endured such misfortune yet still grew strong and determined, Brian finally understood why his benefactor had chosen this young man from Garbage Star.
Lin Mu was like a stubborn weed, no matter where he was thrown, he would absorb every bit of nutrients around him and strive to take root.
On the surface, he was just an unremarkable blade of grass. But beneath the ground, his roots had long spread deep and firm.
Compared to the privileged young masters who relied on various culture media, serums and wealth, Lin Mu’s every step forward was a thousand times harder, and thus, his foundation was a thousand times more solid.
Perhaps the heart of a soldier king had never belonged in a greenhouse, but was forged only through the trials of cruelty and bloodshed.
