Chapter 762: Closing Remarks

On November 3rd, *My Senior Brother Is Too Steady* concluded, though I was very reluctant.

As the final chapters were being written, I found myself in a state of reluctance to finish, which led to some delays in updates.

I had originally intended to write more lighthearted side stories from the Primordial Era for everyone, but to maintain the overall pace, concluding the series now was the best decision.

There are many other stories I want to tell and a long creative journey ahead. *Senior Brother* is "my representative work at this stage," but it shouldn't be "my only representative work."

This book, I believe, is a relatively complete work, and the concepts and core ideas I wanted to convey were quite fully explored. Within the narrative, I delved into Taoist philosophy, materialism, and dialectics, extending these concepts with some imaginative twists.

Moving forward, I will reflect and consolidate my thoughts. I plan to re-conceptualize plot points in *Senior Brother* that I didn't handle well, dedicate myself to learning, diligently improve my writing, address my weaknesses, and continue to leverage my strengths.

I am always grateful to my readers. I accept all friend requests sent through the reader group and strive to maintain normal communication with them.

I've even become an author who's a regular in the chapter comments — how about that?

Many criticize me for caring too much about reader feedback, but it's my readers who support me and allow me to provide for my family while pursuing my literary aspirations. What I can give back to them is to carefully conceive and refine my stories.

Respecting readers means avoiding their "pain points." As for my writing techniques and creative approach, my esteemed readers... mostly can't guess them, hehe.

In *Senior Brother*, I told Li Changshou's story, but it was more than just his story.

Mythology.

Mythology is a symbol of national culture, and each era interprets myths differently. Through Li Changshou's perspective, I aimed to reinterpret a small part of Chinese mythology, hoping to present a fantasy world where readers might exclaim, "Oh, it can be like this!"

In fact, if online novels didn't inherently require conflict and climaxes, I wouldn't have intended to portray the Dao Ancestor as a villain at the beginning. Instead, it would have been a simple clash of ideals between two opposing viewpoints, with the loser eventually "eating dust."

This was a conscious trade-off; the presence of conflict was meant to make the reading experience smoother for everyone.

Later in the series, the increasing power levels of the Primordial Era setting combined with a narrowing plot scope created a sense of disconnect that put a lot of pressure on me. In the early and mid-stages, Li Changshou could "lie low" under the protection of powerful figures. However, in the later stages, he had to step forward, which conflicted with the initial premise of the story and caused a lot of discomfort.

Fortunately, he managed to stay cautious and "lie low" until the very end.

In my personal opinion, one major downside of *Senior Brother* was how much time and energy it consumed.

Over a year, I wrote a novel of 3.5 to 3.6 million Chinese characters, with each chapter starting at four to five thousand characters, averaging nearly ten thousand characters updated daily.

This doesn't even include simultaneously serializing *First Sword* before that, nor the brief period of writing two novels at once.

To be honest, it was truly exhausting.

However, the creative process was quite enjoyable.

To write words that can move readers, the most fundamental thing is to love those words themselves.

As an author, it's quite pathetic to make yourself cry with your own story; but when I wrote the chapter about Master Qi Yuan's death, I was truly on the verge of an emotional breakdown. I couldn't understand why I had set up such a plot point, yet that chapter was absolutely necessary.

After finishing the first draft of that chapter, I quickly adjusted the pacing to alleviate the overall emotional intensity. After all, the general tone of the writing is lighthearted, not meant to be overly sentimental. This consistency was important, as there wasn't a lot of deep-seated bitterness or hatred in the story.

Sometimes, writing these massive ten-thousand-character chapters felt like writing with my life. I'd get so immersed that I wouldn't move for hours. When I finally stood up to stretch, my feet would be numb, and my throat would be swollen from forgetting to drink water, making me unable to speak... but it was quite exhilarating.

Fortunately, these long chapters turned out quite well.

Which long chapter or plotline did you all like the most? Leave a comment in the chapter discussion; I might do similar things in the future.

Webnovel authors on serialization schedules have no holidays. There were many times when I wasn't in good shape, feeling irritable, low, or even too exhausted to move, just wanting to sleep for two days. Consequently, the quality of the writing inevitably fluctuated, and I could only try my best to maintain it.

But in the end, I persevered and presented the story I wanted to tell, to the best of my current ability.

During the serialization of *Senior Brother*, I grew a lot and learned how to regulate myself.

My only comfort is that my nearly three-year-old daughter isn't estranged from me, and my wife has always given me the greatest encouragement.

After *Senior Brother* concludes, I will rest for a few days, then finish *First Sword*, and then take another half-month break. I'll visit my parents and grandmother in my hometown, go out with my wife and child, and then begin writing my new book.

I will write the new book until I am satisfied with it before releasing it to everyone. The overall framework and world-building concepts are already complete. During this period, I will also write some *Senior Brother* side stories. In fact, six months ago, after the overall structure of *Senior Brother* was established, I was already brainstorming the framework for the new book.

The world view of the new book will have some connections with *Senior Brother*'s world view. For example, there will be a distant, informal disciple of Changshou who acts as a strategist side character (a nod to fan memes). However, it will be a new story with a new world view, not following the old path of *Senior Brother*. Of course, my writing style—lighthearted xianxia comedy—will not be abandoned; I will continue to refine it.

Many people think I'm under immense pressure for the new book, but that's not quite true. I'm just anxious (whining sound).

From my perspective, if the new book doesn't perform well, many people will surely say it was just a fluke, that I've run out of ideas, or that *Senior Brother* was merely a coincidence.

Even if the new book does reasonably well, there will certainly be people who remain pessimistic.

But honestly, none of that really matters.

I don't overly focus on these external opinions (though I do pay some appropriate attention). My main focus for the new book is on the core message I want to convey, the story plot I want to write, how to develop and maintain the lighthearted writing style, and how to continue improving and innovating character designs.

My anxiety about the new book actually stems from not wanting to disappoint the readers and editors who are looking forward to it, and even my own family.

*Senior Brother* has brought me to a moderate peak. I will descend from this mountain to climb the next, higher one, dedicating all my energy for the next one to two years to create another fantastic work.

Even if the new book doesn't "explode" in popularity like *Senior Brother*, pursuing quality and aggressively deleting drafts will remain our constant guiding principle.

The new book's genre will still be lighthearted xianxia comedy, but with more passion, growth, and warmth, and more unique Heavenly Court jokes for everyone.

If all goes well, the new book will be released in December. I will interact with everyone in the reader group and regularly check the book reviews and chapter comments on this conclusion note.

Farewell, Little Qiong Peak.

Farewell, Li Changshou, Ling'e, Yunxiao, Zhao Gongming, His Majesty the Jade Emperor, Teacher Taiqing, Old Daoist Qi Yuan, Uncle-Master Jiu Jiu, Sister Youqin, Jiuwu, Lü Yue, Holy Mother Jin Ling, Yuding, Taiyi...

And a temporary farewell to all the readers who have supported *Senior Brother* in various ways.

This wasn't just *My Senior Brother Is Too Steady*, written by me; it's also a long-form xianxia story that we, the readers and I, witnessed and accompanied together through our interactions in the chapter comments.

The path ahead is long and winding; let's embark on the new battle with my next book.

Let's continue our story, getting back to business.