Chapter 2071: Closing Remarks

"Hello everyone, I'm Apple."

"Hello everyone, I'm Fog Lamp."

"You hide first."

"Alright."

The book began on April 1, 2020, and concluded on July 31, 2025, spanning 9 million words over five years and four full months. It grew from 700 initial subscribers to an average of 7,000 steady readers upon completion, undergoing publishing, contract signing, official listing, audio adaptation, comic adaptation, and overseas distribution. Recently, there's even an incomprehensible Vietnamese electronic release on the horizon...

Writing this first book has taught me many lessons and brought even more rewards. In fact, everything exceeded my expectations from the moment I signed the contract; every subsequent gain felt like a gift and immense validation.

Thank you, every reader who has made it this far. I often can't help but laugh when I read the chapter comments, seeing those reader IDs etched in my mind, whether they were posting hilarious remarks, offering serious advice, or critically appraising the book. Unless you change your names, I doubt I'll ever forget them. My heartfelt gratitude for your support.

Farewell always comes, even if the transition feels abrupt.

Hooray for completion!

A thousand readers, a thousand Hamlets.

Some prefer open endings, others like every detail to be tied up before a proper farewell, while some, with unique tastes, prefer an abrupt stop.

After writing 9 million words, I truly understand why so many authors choose to abandon their novels. It's incredibly easy to just drop everything and walk away irresponsibly; the sheer relief must be immense.

I seriously considered various ways to end the story and realized that most of the plot holes had been filled, and all important matters had largely been addressed throughout the narrative.

There's no need to drag it out further.

The final stroke isn't a period; it's a line drawn up into the sky.

The cumulative experience of these five years and four months is like a seashell I offer to readers who loved this book. Now, I'll address some potential lingering questions (plot points):

The Great Calamity was never meant to be written about. Sections beyond the Holy Divine Continent, including the New Heavenly Realm, would not be explored in this book. Nuo might appear in an extra chapter or as the protagonist of a future book, but that's still undecided.

Sifang Si, like Nuo and the Great Calamity, were merely catalysts—threads leading to other worlds. They were never meant to be extensively developed in this book; doing so would have made them redundant rather than surprising.

Whether it was the New Heavenly Realm or Bazun An returning to the past Heavenly Realm, it's not important. I also considered bringing back some significant supporting characters at the end to reconnect, which might have added a few more chapters. However, that would have felt like padding and made it even harder to let go, truly just dragging things out.

The story ends here. It's time to say goodbye.

There will be many emotions, mostly reluctance to part ways.

Now, let's turn to the new book, which I imagine many of you are curious about...

From what I've shared, you can probably tell I already have many ideas for the new book. In fact, while writing this one, I often had insomnia, and new book inspirations would pop into my head.

I even contemplated unrealistic notions like abandoning this project or writing two books simultaneously, but I suppressed those as inner demons. Of course, I didn't lose the inspirations; I wrote them all down, filling a long, unfinishable page of notes on my phone.

This book has yielded so many insights. I need to take time to thoroughly analyze the results of this "experiment"—identifying pitfalls to avoid, areas to elaborate on or condense, spaces to leave open, and aspects to emphasize. I've gained a whole basket of lessons.

I need to rest for a good long while.

Maybe a few months, a year, or perhaps even longer?

Until one night, inspiration awakens me again. I suppress it. Inspiration knocks again. I hold it back. It keeps coming, naturally weaving everything together, and then the new book will flow into existence.

I need to rest until at least after Chinese New Year. I want to have a carefree Chinese New Year; I'm too tired...

Coincidentally, you might also be tired of reading, so feel free to explore other highly-ranked books. I don't have many author friends, so I won't be recommending any specific titles. I'm sure the top-ranked ones are excellent, and I'll be studying them carefully myself.

Once the new book is ready to emerge, I'll let everyone know in advance—to live up to the expectations of potential fans, perhaps? I'll share details like its genre, theme, and tentative word count (it definitely won't be this long again, by the way), and much more.

I also have another idea: I'm considering disbanding the QQ chat group. Once the book is finished, the group's focus will likely drift from serious plot discussions, so perhaps it's better to end it now. Of course, I'd like to hear your opinions on this as well.

So, this is where it ends. There's someone who has been eager to meet all of you. If you have any complaints, you can beat them up, but don't beat Apple; Apple is just a baby.

"Hello everyone, I'm Fog Lamp."

"Apple has finished writing the book and plans to meet you again in the future. As for me, this is my first formal introduction to everyone here. Is it the first time? It should be, right? Anyway, thank you all for your continued affection for me. And here, I'd like to officially say..."

"Return date undetermined, Fog Lamp."