I built the Black Tower City in Sumeru.

Chapter 86 Encountering the Eightfold Divine Child, Bathhouse Fan Meeting

Chapter 86 Encountering Yae no Miko, Bathhouse Fan Meeting

The streets of Inazuma Castle were not as bustling as those of Sumeru; in comparison, they seemed much quieter.

"Our first stop is Yaedo." After asking for directions a few times, the group successfully arrived at Yaedo.

On the one hand, it's about submitting the novel to earn some royalties; on the other hand, it's about buying some light novels for Cole.

The facade of Yaedo is simple and elegant, and the bookshelves are filled with all kinds of novels and art collections.

A few young people were gathered in a corner, quietly discussing the plot of the latest episode of "Chen Qiu Picks Up the Sword".

Upon seeing the dazzling array of novels, Cole's eyes lit up immediately.

Chen Bo then went straight to the editing counter.

Behind the counter sat an editor who looked somewhat listless. His name was Arakuya, and he had faint dark circles under his eyes. He was idly tapping the table with his pen.

"Hello, this is for submitting an article."

Without wasting any words, Chen Bo placed the first part of Battle Through the Heavens directly on the table.

Huang Gu lifted his eyelids slightly.

He glanced at the thick light novel, then at the extravagant clothes of Chen Bo and his two companions that didn't seem like those of locals, and had already made his judgment.

Which arrogant rich kid is it again, thinking he can become famous overnight by writing a few things?

He'd seen plenty of people like that.

"Just leave it there. We'll review it according to the procedure. We'll notify you in one to two months." Huang Gu's tone was lazy, revealing a perfunctory attitude.

And I glanced at the cover and title casually.

"Battle Through the Heavens? It's going to break the sky? The name sounds impressive—" he muttered to himself, glancing at the opening chapters.

"Another reincarnation? Ugh, this trope is so overused, can't young people come up with something new these days?"

I glanced at a few pages of the book, but I was surprised to find myself getting more and more engrossed.

Especially the line: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; never underestimate a young man's potential!"

It made the barren valley's head buzz.

This sentence —

What a grand vision!

In just a dozen words, the image of an indomitable and patient young man leaps off the page!

The youthful spirit, suppressed to its limit and about to erupt, rushed towards us.

This—is this a sentence a newbie could write?

Huang Gu immediately labeled the book as high-quality and insisted that it be given priority for the Hall Master to review.

He read on impatiently, his eyes growing brighter and his heart beating faster with each word.

The pacing! Perfect pacing! The humiliation of the annulment, the family's contempt—each element is linked to the next, gripping the reader's emotions and making them unconsciously hold their breath for the protagonist while eagerly anticipating his moment of triumph!

That's so well-written, it's addictive, it really gets you hooked.

I have to cut in line and let the editor-in-chief review it.

Before that, we must not neglect this author.

Thinking of this, Araya hurriedly apologized to Chen Bo: "Sir! Please forgive my rudeness! Your two works—they are truly too tempting!"

"As an editor at Yaedo, I assure you that your manuscript will receive the highest priority review!"

"No, it's not a review process. I'll report to the editor-in-chief immediately! At the latest, a week—no, three days! I'll definitely give you a reply within three days!"

The normal submission process takes one to two months, but now it has been shortened to three days.

This unexpected turn of events left Cole, who was browsing books nearby, completely dumbfounded.

That's a really fast change of heart.

Farusian, on the other hand, gave a satisfied hum, crossed her arms over her chest, slightly raised her chin, and curled up the corners of her mouth.

This is a work I translated myself, and I deserve some of the praise.

She glanced at Chen Bo and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Hmph, see? Without my polishing, how could your manuscript have achieved this effect? ​​You still have a lot to learn about the art of word choice and sentence structure."

"Thank you for your help, Senior Farusan," Chen Bo said with a smile.

The key is actually the pacing of the original story, which is very addictive.

Of course, the translations by senior translators are also very important.

Farusan looked at Cole happily. The book Cole was holding was titled "Please, My Fox Fairy Priest".

Fiona also read two pages.

"Yae Masako is the master of the Thunder General—"

Is butter crab really that delicious?

"It's less of a light novel and more like Raiden General's love letter to Yae Masako—lacking a bit of a story."

Farusan flipped through a few more novels, and her final assessment was, "Sigh, the quality of light novel authors these days is really uneven."

She shook her head, then looked at Cole, adopting the air of a senior, and said earnestly, "Cole, you should just read Anil's novels from now on."

"Many books possess both narrative and literary qualities, making them well worth studying."

These words made Chen Bo a little embarrassed.

"Actually, none of them were written by me," Chen Bo thought to himself.

With his manuscript successfully submitted, Chen Bo was in a good mood. He then asked the still-excited editor, Araya, "In that case, I'll leave the submission to you. Also, are there any good places to relax in Inazuma City? Top-notch ones."

"Sir! You've come to the right person!" Araya explained earnestly, "Akisa Hot Spring is currently undergoing renovations. The owner has spared no expense, introducing indoor hot spring technology from 'Nata Ryusen no Shizuku,' guaranteeing a truly unique experience! It's said that after reopening, they will be offering a new dream therapy service."

Nata? The Crowd of Flowing Springs?

"Nata's technology—a completely new experience," Farusan said, stroking her chin before immediately deciding, "Let's go to this one."

Ordinary hot springs are always a bit lacking; if you're going to have an experience, you should experience something new and exciting.

Meanwhile, Qiusha Qiantang (a type of herbal soup).

The newly painted wooden door exuded a faint fragrance of varnish, and the interior decoration was elegant, revealing meticulous craftsmanship in every detail. However, there was not a single person in sight at the entrance.

Another boss, Lan Chuancheng, stared at the huge banner hanging at the entrance of the old-established bathhouse "Yutang Fengxing" across the street—"Grand Opening Special! Top up 1,000 and get everything free!"—his face scrunched up like a bitter gourd.

"Boss! Look! That bastard over there is clearly trying to ruin us!" Lan Chuancheng complained to the girl behind the counter, on the verge of tears. "We just opened, and they're already dumping our products! Who can compete with that?!"

The cost of Qiusha Qiantang (a type of soup) is too high.

The equipment imported by Nata, the aromatherapy purchased from Sumeru, and the dream therapy services make the cost much higher than other hot springs.

A price war is simply unsustainable.

"Relax, relax, Cheng!" The girl nicknamed Yumezuki Mizuki, though inwardly nervous, still wore a bright smile, offering encouragement: "Quality! Our trump card is quality! Once the first customer experiences our exclusive dream therapy service," word-of-mouth will quickly turn around!

"The Imperial Hot Spring Attendant has been maintaining such a level of discounts, and even they can't keep up with it."

As soon as the words were spoken, a languid yet alluring voice came from the doorway.

"Oh dear, what's going on here? It's so deserted I thought I'd come to the wrong place."

Before the words were finished, a pink figure swayed gracefully as she entered. The newcomer was none other than Yae no Miko, the priestess of Narukami Shrine.

She wore wooden clogs, held a folding fan to half-cover her lips, and her pair of purple fox eyes looked around the empty hall with great interest.

"Divine Child!" Mizuki was surprised that the Divine Child would visit her store on the opening day, even though she had not invited her.

Mizuki was already happy that the other party even came, but she was somewhat unconvinced by the goddess's mockery. She puffed out her chest and said defiantly, "Don't be so smug! My bathhouse will be more popular than your Yaedo sooner or later!"

"Oh? Then I'll be watching with bated breath." Yae no Miko covered her mouth and chuckled, not bothering to argue with her, and walked straight into the inner room: "Give me the top-of-the-line set meal, let me see just how much innovation you've come up with."

Just as the priest was about to enter, the wooden door of the public bathhouse creaked open again.

Chen Bo led Fiona and Cole in.

The three were dressed in Inazuma local clothing and looked like a wealthy family from Inazuma.

Lan Chuancheng and Ruixi's eyes lit up at the same time.

A guest! And a guest who looks very wealthy!

Because he was very familiar with the goddess.

Ruixi let Lan Chuancheng lead the Divine Child inside, while she herself went first to greet this new group of guests: "Three guests, would you like me to introduce the types of services available?"

Chen Bo glanced around and was surprised to find so few people on opening day, but it was better that there were fewer people.

Chen Bo took out a bag of Mora and said generously, "No need for introductions, the best service, the best private bath, the whole package. Mora is no problem."

This "not short of money" attitude moved Lan Chuancheng to tears. A savior! This is a savior!

Today is the opening day, and having such customers means we've had a fantastic start!

Yae no Miko, who was about to go in, stopped in her tracks.

She turned around, her insightful fox-like eyes scrutinizing the strange trio with great interest.

The divine child, with keen observation, immediately noticed that the three people's walking posture in wooden clogs was improper.

Although I've studied it, I clearly don't wear it often, which is why my walking posture is so unnatural.

Is it really Inatsuma-no-hime?

The divine child immediately made a judgment.

Seeing that a wealthy customer had arrived, Mizuki became even more enthusiastic in her introduction: "This guest has come to the right place! In addition to Nata's hot spring techniques, our shop also offers Inazuma's unique—Dream Therapy! Using calming aromatherapy products from Sumeru, combined with the steam from the hot spring, you can release all your stress in a half-dreaming, half-awake state!"

"Incense from Sumeru?" Farusan became interested. "As far as I know, Sumeru scholars do use incense to enter a meditative state. Although it has a calming effect, if the formula is not appropriate, prolonged inhalation can be harmful to the body."

Farusanne disliked scholars who practiced meditation, considering it opportunistic, and therefore rarely used incense, though she did know a little about it.

Seeing that Mizuki was busy attending to the new customer and leaving her standing to the side, Yae no Miko pretended to be dissatisfied and tapped the counter with her folding fan.

"Oh dear, Mizuki, you've forgotten about your old flame now that you have a new VIP? I was the first one to come and support you."

"Or is it that because they see Yaedo as a competitor, they also consider me, the editor-in-chief, as a competitor?"

The priest's tone was filled with resentment.

Chen Bo was just looking for a reason to talk to the Divine Child, and now that he had a chance, he immediately followed the Divine Child's lead.

"So you're Yae Masako, the editor-in-chief of Yaedo. We just came from Yaedo and bought a lot of light novels."

"I never expected to run into Yaedo's editor-in-chief here."

The goddess smiled and said, "I just finished reading the book 'Please, My Fox Fairy Priest,' so you called me by the wrong name too?"

"I also really like that light novel."

Upon seeing Chen Bo and Ruixi, Ruixi struck up a conversation, introducing, "This is the editor-in-chief of Yaedo, and also the chief priest of Narukami Taisha Shrine—"

Chen Bo feigned even greater surprise: "Our family originally planned to go to Narukami Shrine to pray for blessings tomorrow, but we didn't expect to meet Lord Miyaji today. We're really lucky."

The divine child carefully observed Chen Bo's expression.

A disguised surprise?

Interesting, the divine child is becoming more and more curious.

Chen Bo continued talking, then took out a book and handed it over.

"This is my new work. I just submitted it to Yaedo Publishing House, and the editor on duty there gave it a very high evaluation. Since I've run into the editor-in-chief here, how about I ask you to personally give me some feedback?"

Yae no Miko raised an eyebrow; this time, she was genuinely surprised.

She stared at Chen Bo with her purple eyes that seemed to see right through people, her voice tinged with amusement: "Submitting a manuscript to Gong Si in the bathhouse—little guy, you're good at seizing opportunities, huh? Well then, I'll take a serious look."

"Editor-in-chief, I also have quite a bit of knowledge about literature," Farussan said with a light hum. "My child's work is of a very high standard; it will definitely surprise you."

Cole added firmly, "It's really—really good! When I'm engrossed in a book, I often read it all day long and forget to eat."

"Oh?" The goddess's smile deepened.

My mother looks so young; I thought we were three people the same age.

Yae no Miko looked at the manuscript in her hand, then at the abnormal family in front of her, and her smile deepened.

"Since it's a fan meeting, standing must be tiring." She closed her folding fan and suggested, "How about—"

"Bubble, shall we? Perfect. Let me soak in the hot spring while I examine this book to see if it's a rare masterpiece or just a self-aggrandizing mediocre work."

Mist rises from the luxurious private pool.

Yae no Miko, wrapped in a bath towel, leaned against the edge of the pool, letting the warm spring water soak her body, while holding the manuscript protected by a waterproof spell in her hands.

She originally just wanted to browse around casually to pass the time.

But once she turned to the first page, she was hooked.

The boy named Lu Mingfei at the beginning is practically cursed with bad luck, completely different from the "reincarnated overpowered protagonist" novels popular in Inazuma.

The writing is delicate yet dry, conveying a palpable sense of loneliness.

When the red-haired girl named Nono burst into Lu Mingfei's gloomy world like a flame in the torrential rain, even Yae no Miko couldn't help but cheer in her heart.

Pretty!

This narrative tension and character development are something I haven't seen in many years—a truly excellent light novel.

She gave Chen Bo a very high evaluation and even started planning how to promote and publicize him.

This book seems to resonate with Inazuma's current mood, and it's sure to be a huge hit!

Meanwhile, Chen Bo was soaking in the water with Flossanko, also reading the light novel they had just bought from Yaedo.

The two of them watched very attentively.

Yes, Chen Bo is daydreaming.

Judging from the goddess's expression, she must really like this book.

Once you become her "official author" and an acquaintance, then you can find a way to take the Heart of God from her through a transaction.

As for the cost of the transaction, it is naturally the shadow.

I wonder if I could write a light novel about what will happen to Inazuma in the future, and first trick the God's Heart into coming from the God's hands.

With the help of Sumeru's technology, I can simultaneously create a set of divine armor for myself.

This way, I'll have the confidence to face a PhD candidate directly.

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