USAW Book 3 Chapters 358-361 & End of Book 3 Ending Comments

And with the last chapter, Book Three is now at an end. As you may be able to tell, this book is a lot longer than the first two--it’s practically bigger than the sum of the previous two books in fact--it was so long, I was debating if I should split it into a fourth book at some point. But I really wanted Book Three to be of when Bai Yunfei joined the Crafting School to when he left, and to when he came back, so I didn’t split it.

All in all, I feel quite satisfied with how this third book ended up. It’s only natural, I suppose, haha, to feel a sense of satisfaction over the things I write. It’s a bit similar to a child being praised by his/her parents in a way. But whether Book Three was really good remains to be seen by the readers, so I hope that everyone will see it the way I see it and will be happy with the end results.

There was of course, some lacking points in Book Three that I have to address. Most prominently was the segment of the story where Tang Xinyun was injured. There were quite a few readers that complained to me, saying that the arc was dragging on for far too long. As an author, I have to say that I’m quite bad at controlling the flow of the story, but every reader in the end has their own opinion and preferences for how a story should be enjoyed. Not every book or plot can satisfy the expectations of every reader, so I’ll make do with what I can to meet the expectations of as many readers as I can. And if I can do that, I’ll be happy.

And for those readers who weren’t satisfied with a plot point or something in my story, I, Yun Hai, would like to apologize. If these same readers can find it in themselves to continue reading, I hope that the future story will be enough to change your minds.

Book Three is the book where Bai Yunfei should be growing obscenely stronger and establishing his central base. Furthermore, the introduction of several important figures and foreshadowing of several important plot points were to be had here. Some of my more frequent readers complained to me before that USAW didn’t quite seem to have a central plot or definitive storyline, and I have to admit, that’s a problem I’ve had ever since I started this story.

But on the other hand, I never really had any desire to have Bai Yunfei follow a central storyline like dominating the world, sexing up any beautiful woman he sees, taking revenge on those who slighted him, or even going on a journey of self-discovery. While each of those goals are very definitive and clear cut, it’s also quite tiresome, isn’t it? I don’t want Bai Yunfei to be burdened with such heavy goals, so to really summarize what I want Bai Yunfei to be, I just want Bai Yunfei to walk the path of ‘freedom’.

With all that said, a story like this can’t have no main storyline. As of so far, the Soul Refining School and the Beast Taming School have already appeared several times as the controlling hands that manipulate certain events in the world. In that, there’s a storyline waiting to happen, it’s just lacking emphasis on the description.

But that’ll be improved on as the story progresses.

I’d like to pause here to talk about an issue several readers brought up to me: the inconsistency that is the character ‘Doraemon’ AKA Huangfu Rui. Many readers have said that her personality is very inconsistent with her age. A 17 year old girl acting like she’s only a few years old? I’ll be honest and leak a little foreshadowing here, haha….

The reason why Doraemon acts like she’s extremely young is actually foreshadowing a rather large plot in the future. There’s been several points in the story so far that has already hinted at it--I wonder if anyone paid attention to them?

As for what this plot event is, well…..I won’t tell, haha.

Like Yunfei, I’ve encountered plenty of things on this journey that was Book Three. I’ve been working as a salaried worker for four months after graduation, but because I didn’t feel really satisfied with it, I resigned. Just thinking about those four months leaves a bitter taste on my mouth, but there’s been its happy points as well.

The road that is Life has plenty of paths to walk. For now, I’ve given up on one of the paths and am currently standing at a fork in the road. I can only hope that I won’t take a step onto the wrong path….

Lately, when I opened up my reading list, I was disheartened to see that so many of the stories I’ve been following were eunuched. After writing a story myself, I’ve really come to understand the harshness and difficulties an author experiences. Work, family, environment, love, grades, income….the list of difficulties an author can face goes on and on. More than half of the authors on here are guaranteed to not see their story through from start to finish.

Thus that is why I’m happy to have persisted up to this point without ever thinking about giving up. It’s all because of my many readers who’ve supported me thus far. Without you readers giving me this support, I wouldn’t ever have the courage to continue on writing.

As like before, I’ve been listening to each and every comment so far. There’s a reader who said that my story was trash, and that I was a stupid author, etc etc….

It was hard to read, and I still don’t know if that person was really reading my story or not, but it was hard to stomach at the time nonetheless. The hard work I’ve put into bringing enjoyment to everyone being stomped on so harshly without being able to say a thing is extremely hard to face. I wrote a little line about it that next chapter just to vent really, but for the next two days, I received several dozen comments comforting and encouraging me.

In all honesty, I felt like a complete mess after reading those comments….

The warmth I received after reading those comments were many times more powerful than the sadness I felt from the other comments, so what reason have I not to continue?

I’ve gained plenty of new friends in the course of the three months since Book Three started. There were perhaps some real life obligations or something else that prevented them from reading my updates every day, so I wasn’t able to talk to them very often, but there’s still plenty of people that’ve stuck with me from the very beginning still….

But no matter if you’re a new or old reader, I just want to say one thing: Thank you for your support!!

I’d like to thank Mo Xiaoxi, Uncle Balls-breaking, War Saint Zi Jin, and Black Like Night for their practically nonstop support--I’d like to thank brother Zi Jin most in particular for being the main contributor with the ZH coins he earned from the Zongheng minigames.

Really, thank you, brother Zi Jin.

The many readers who’ve given me their support without me ever recompensing, your support has given me a great amount of inspiration to write.

I’d also like to thank two more readers who’ve followed me practically since when I joined Zongheng, Spirit Drifter and With the Blooming Maple Comes A Smile. Your continued support has left me with an unbelievable amount of gratitude.

And for those readers who’ve given me their red envelopes and comments, I’d like to thank you all. With each red envelope, each addition to their reading list, and each comment, I feel a great amount of determination and faith.

Selethky, Chi You of Zongheng, Rice Pomelo, Notch of Sunset, Little Monster 111, Endless Ocean of Books, Have to Pick A F*cking Username Again, Sima Dongdong, One Autumn Leaf One Autumn Night, www.piaotian.comy, Xuanyuan Xiaofan, Ah Long, bobozz, Run Fast Piggy, Only Reads Pirated Books, Waning Moon, Thousand Mile Winds, Abroad Migrant, The Soul Follows the Life Ghost, Cross_Huaxiao, Teeny-tiny, Rain’s, Half Sand Lake, Breaking Eggs When the Chicken Flies, Pained Love, 丿r丨Thousand Bird, Profound Palm, yyUnsentimentalWorldOfMortalsyy, Xuanyuan Huanjie, Demon Son, Bury….

This is only a small segment of the readers I’d like to thank since there’s just far too many names for me to memorize. For those readers who weren’t included, please don’t feel offended, there’s just far too many to include….

Well then, I won’t drag on my ending remarks any longer and end it here.

Book Three is done, and the next book is now officially starting. I hope that the story that’ll unfold in Book Four will be a happy read to everyone else, and I hope that the path we’ll travel together will be long enough for you to find a companion of your own to support you all!!

I’d like to offer one last bow of gratitude to all my readers.

Thank you!!

~Endless Clouds