Chapter 81: The Online Academy
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[Notification! You have a new message.]
After spending several days thoroughly testing the game, Yin Jian was just about to relax with a new title when he noticed a notification pop up in the background. He clicked on it without hesitation.
[Hello, we are pleased to inform you that your work "The Xuan Practitioner" will receive a Rising Star Recommendation on the QiYou platform homepage at 14:00:00 on February 5, 2021. If you encounter any urgent issues, please contact your assigned operations manager promptly. Thank you for your cooperation!]
The Rising Star Recommendation appears on the homepage of the QiYou platform, just below the carousel recommendations, within a secondary page labeled "Rising Star." It represents the most significant recognition a new game can receive during its launch period on QiYou.
The true significance of this recommendation far exceeds its surface value. It is coveted by countless struggling designers, regarded as the ultimate goal. There’s a popular saying among QiYou designers: “Without the Rising Star, you’ll always be a nobody.”
Here, the "Rising Star" refers precisely to the homepage’s Rising Star Recommendation. Only by securing this recommendation can a designer be considered to have escaped the ranks of the obscure.
What? Some say only those who can’t sign a contract are nobodies? Nonsense, at most, those are just hobbyists.
Yet despite the prestige of this recommendation, Yin Jian remained extremely calm.
It’s just a Rising Star Recommendation on the homepage—anyone with hands can get it.
Of course, though he tried hard to suppress it, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl upward in a wild, uncontrollable grin.
“I’ve made it to Rising Star.”
Yin Jian felt a sense of clarity and fulfillment wash over him—a feeling of accomplishment beyond words.
After indulging in his triumph for a moment, he opened the official QiYou forum.
After a brief consideration, he typed out a title:
[QiYou, so high and mighty!]
After entering the title, Yin Jian thought for a moment, then took a screenshot of his recommendation, scribbled over the game’s name with a mosaic, and continued writing.
“As a struggling designer, I labor day and night to create games.”
“And yet, all I receive is this kind of worthless recommendation.”
“QiYou, I’ve had enough of you!”
“[Screenshot]”
——————
Deputy Minister of Shock and Disbelief: Someone, break the poster’s arms and legs and drag them out.
I Only Read After All the Chapters Are Out: If you’re not careful, I’ll kill you!
Rakistouter: Tch!
Lone Shadow Soaring: No patience? Open a chat with your operations manager and let them have it! How dare they give you such a lousy recommendation?
Everyone Else Sober While I Alone Am Drunk: What a terrible recommendation. I strongly suggest you just cut the game—there’s no need to put up with this.
You Brightened My Days: I suggest the poster be permanently banned!
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——————
“These people are so aggressive.”
Watching the flood of comments continue to rise, Yin Jian clicked his tongue twice. He was about to close the forum and unwind with a bit of gaming, but just as he was about to exit, he suddenly noticed a scrolling message on the forum’s homepage.
[Limited-time registration! QiYou Online Creative Academy “Professional Designer Training Camp” Session Eighteen]
“An online academy? Does it teach game design?” Yin Jian muttered, frowning, then clicked for more details.
Very quickly, the full information on the online academy appeared before him.
[QiYou Creative Academy Training Summary]:
Courses: Game Design Techniques, Topic Selection, Game Analysis, Market Forecasting
Training Dates: February 27 to March 1, 1203
Training Location: Xiahua Education Platform
Special Note: This training will be led by the twenty-year veteran operations manager “Yue Shan,” with guest lectures from master-level designers sharing their creative processes and insights.
Click to Register ☜
Note:
[1. This session is open to contracted QiYou designers.]
[2. No fees are required to register.]
[3. Spots are selected at random; successful applicants will be notified via the game assistant backend.]
[4. If you are unable to attend, please inform your assigned operations manager in advance.]
...
“Intensive training, huh?” Yin Jian stroked his chin, thought briefly, and clicked to register.
Whatever you do, you must keep learning to make continuous progress—only then can you one day stand at the pinnacle of the industry.
...
...
Time passed quickly.
Soon, another week had gone by.
After dominating as a biological overlord in “Spore Evolution,” Li Shang checked the time.
“It’s almost noon—‘The Xuan Practitioner’ is about to go live,” he muttered, then exited “Spore Evolution” and opened the comment section for “The Xuan Practitioner.”
[If I don’t get to play ‘The Xuan Practitioner’ soon, I’m going to die!]
[Logically speaking, there are still 604,800 seconds until ‘The Xuan Practitioner’ launches!!]
[Shocking! The damn designer halted the plot because of the players…]
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“Tsk, tsk, tsk~”
Li Shang clicked his tongue at the carnage in the comment section. As the game’s number one fan, he understood “You’re Forcing Me” all too well.
Delaying chapter releases at launch—standard procedure.
So this time, he resisted the urge to play the game the moment it dropped.
Initially, seeing the harmony in the comment section, he even wondered if he was being too cynical. He nearly couldn’t stop himself from diving in.
But judging by the current misery in the comments…
Li Shang shook his head. “‘You’re Forcing Me’ is still the same old ‘You’re Forcing Me.’”
He understood completely.
Li Shang was convinced that nobody on QiYou understood “You’re Forcing Me” better than him.
“But after holding out for so many days, I can finally play.”
Putting aside his sighs, Li Shang eagerly rubbed his hands together and launched “The Xuan Practitioner.”
Although he hadn’t played before, he’d been browsing the comments every day, longingly eyeing the brand-new immersive mode. Finally, today, he could experience it for himself.
“Hope I get a quintuplet pharmacist girl.”
Having been single since birth for eighteen years, he longed for that kind of pure romance.
While his mind wandered over these thoughts, his consciousness was already syncing with the game.
After a few screen transitions, a time setting prompt appeared.
Without even glancing at it, Li Shang set the time limit straight to six hours.
And as the self-proclaimed number one fan of “You’re Forcing Me,” he naturally wanted to experience the unfiltered, authentic story. So he immediately disabled the bubble text feature.
With all that done, he didn’t hesitate further and hit “Start Game.”
...
...
“Li Shang, Xuan Qi Level Three!”
...
“Li Shang, you and I are people from different worlds. This engagement ends here!”
“Hahaha, Yan Li, today you scorn me for my weakness, but one day I’ll make you regret it for life. What of the Yan family? What of the Xuanqing Sect? The world is vast—perhaps even the whole Xuanwu Kingdom is but a grain of sand in the Xuan Continent. To be so self-satisfied just for joining the Xuanqing Sect, to have such a narrow perspective…”
“That’s enough! Li Shang, get out of my sight! Go to the Cliff of Reflection and contemplate your actions for three months!”
Watching Li Shang drone on for over ten minutes without any sign of stopping, the head of the Li family felt thoroughly disgraced before Yan Li. He slammed the table and thundered in anger.
ps: I originally wanted to write a Sanjiang statement, but had to make a sudden trip yesterday and only got home around seven in the evening. My first Sanjiang statement is gone just like that… sob sob~
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