Chapter 137: A Staggering Unveiling

The Southern Weekly feature on Zhang Tan occupies a significant amount of space.

"The Hero of the Eagle Shooting Retires, the Couple of the Divine Eagle Emerges—An Exclusive Interview with Wuxia Fiction Prodigy, Tan Zhang."

"In the early 1920s, the emergence of the 'Southern Xiang and Northern Zhao' stripped martial arts fiction away from old-fashioned knight-errant legends, laying the foundation for modern wuxia novels. Later, in the 1930s and 40s, the 'Five Great Masters of the Northern School' brought the genre to new heights, sweeping across the country. By the 1950s and 60s, a large number of renowned writers emerged from Hong Kong and Taiwan, innovating in content and further enriching wuxia culture."

"With the arrival of the new millennium, the older generation of Hong Kong and Taiwan masters has faded away, leaving only a few successors like Zhang Feifan and Li Tiebi. The genre as a whole has shown a trend of decline. Yet, at this very moment, a group of excellent wuxia writers has emerged in mainland China, beginning to take up the mantle."

"Among this group, the most eye-catching is undoubtedly the young writer born in 1986, Tan Zhang, hailed as the 'New Grandmaster of Mainland Wuxia.' Southern Weekly has previously interviewed Tan Zhang; he is a sixteen-year-old boy, born into an ordinary working-class family, who has shaken all of China and even Southeast Asia with his pen."

"In less than two years, Tan Zhang has created four novels: the 160,000-character 'The Four Great Constables Shake the East of the Pass,' the 440,000-character 'The Four Great Constables Meet in the Capital,' the 1.2-million-character 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' and the soon-to-be-published 1-million-character 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' totaling 2.7 million characters."

"The appearance of the 'Four Great Constables' series allowed Tan Zhang to make his mark in the wuxia world, and readers held high hopes that he could open a new chapter for mainland wuxia. Tan Zhang did not disappoint; the release of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' last year solidified his title as the new grandmaster."

"Renmin University professor Li Qiru once gave this evaluation of Tan Zhang: 'Tan Zhang’s wuxia is like Han Yu’s impact on Tang literature—he revived the decline of eight generations and seized the command of the army.' He praised Tan Zhang’s novels for their simple yet magnificent prose and their grand, twisting plots, noting that he possesses the style of a grandmaster capable of creating a new school."

"Whether 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' has truly established a new school is a matter of opinion, and we will leave that for time to judge. But its sales figures truly record this frenzy: the mainland simplified edition had a single-volume circulation of 830,000 copies, totaling 6.64 million copies for the full eight-volume set, topping the 2002 bestseller list. The Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas traditional editions saw a single-volume circulation of 390,000 copies, totaling 3.12 million copies for the eight-volume set. Combined, 9.76 million authorized copies were sold, and that is not even counting the pirated ones."

"At the age of sixteen, Tan Zhang achieved what 99 percent of writers could never do. The explosive popularity of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' brought Tan Zhang immeasurable wealth and fame. Now seventeen, how does this young man handle such immense fame and fortune?"

"This issue of Southern Weekly takes you into the wuxia world of Tan Zhang."

...

In this era, the Tianya Forum is still bustling with a large group of wuxia fans. Countless posts about wuxia appear every day.

Last night, someone posted a thread titled "A One-Sentence Review of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'." For some reason, it sparked great excitement, and the comment section became very active, growing by eight full pages in just one night.

"I love Huang Rong and Zhou Botong so much."

"I got through the SARS period relying entirely on this book!"

"I thought the 'Four Great Constables' I read in 'Legend of Past and Present' was incredibly good, but after buying 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' I felt like I had wasted my time on previous novels. This is real wuxia!"

"A classic."

"I feel that with this one book, Tan Zhang has reached the pinnacle of the wuxia path."

"Starting my third read now. I'll write a review once I'm done."

"Rong'er is my ideal wife."

"Can you even read other novels after finishing 'Condor Heroes'?"

"The person above is exaggerating too much. It's just average. I feel the protagonist is an idiot, not interesting at all."

"The foolish have their own luck, and Guo Jing isn't stupid; he's simple-hearted. If he were truly a fool, how could he learn the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms?"

"Who do you think has the highest martial arts, Eastern Heretic or Western Venom?"

"Damn, the person above is trying to start a fight again! Can you go somewhere else for posts about martial arts rankings? I'm sick of it; all day long it's just who is stronger."

"When I finished it, I really liked Guo Jing and hated Yang Kang. But now that it's been over a month, I suddenly feel that if it were me, I would definitely choose to betray my country for glory. I suddenly understand Yang Kang."

"Love Huang Rong, love Huang Rong, love Huang Rong."

...

"I was reading 'Condor Heroes' in class and the teacher confiscated it. A few days later, the teacher returned the book and actually asked me if there was a next volume... I wanted to say even if there was, I wouldn't let you read it, but seeing the longing in the teacher's eyes, I gave it to them. Am I too kind-hearted?"

Looking at the content of the posts, everyone is praising 'Condor Heroes.' Calling it a work with zero negative reviews would not be an exaggeration. There are many, many similar posts discussing the book. Every day, people gather under these posts to praise or incite debate, arguing about which part is written well, whose romance is better, or whose martial arts are stronger.

Today, another post appeared.

This post was also about 'Condor Heroes': "Latest Breaking News: 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' author Tan Zhang's new book, 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' will hit shelves on August 1st. It consists of six volumes, with one released every month! This news is cited from 'Southern Weekly'."

As soon as the post appeared, it quickly ignited the wuxia fans on Tianya. They all stepped away from the various fan threads and bickering posts to crowd into this one.

"Is this for real?"

"Strongly claiming the first spot; who is as fast as me?"

"Tell me loudly, am I the second-floor comment?"

"'The Return of the Condor Heroes'? OP, don't tease us. The eagles have all been shot! What kind of 'Return of the Condor Heroes' could there be?"

"Great! Something new to read."

"Tan Zhang is too awesome, so prolific! 'Condor Heroes' took half a year to write 1.2 million characters. Is this new book also written in half a year?"

"The person above underestimates our Boss Tan. The newspaper says 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' is already finished, totaling 1 million characters. It was just delayed due to the SARS outbreak."

"Holy cow, are you kidding me? Is Tan Zhang a human typewriter? It hasn't been long, and a new set is already coming out."

"I also read the 'Southern Weekly' interview with Zhang Tan. The protagonist of 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' is Yang Kang's son, named Yang Guo."

"Good guy above. Can you share the report?"

"I took a picture, but it won't upload. The Tianya website is trash."

"Will Yang Kang's son marry Guo Jing's daughter?"

"The person above has a bit of a twisted taste."

"Ah, I wrote it wrong; it's Guo Jing's daughter."

"Don't know. Have to ask the author."

"On August 3rd, at the Sanlian Bookstore in Huainan, Anhui Province, there will be a book signing. You can chat with Tan Zhang about 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' up close. August 10th in Nanjing, August 17th in Guangzhou, and two more locations on August 24th and 31st yet to be decided. Fans who support Tan Zhang, please pass this news along."

"Huainan signing? I live in Huainan! I'll definitely go!"

"It doesn't hit shelves until August; I'm so anxious, I want to read it now."

"Although I can't go to the Huainan signing, I will definitely buy it when it hits the shelves. Tan Zhang is my favorite wuxia writer."

"Me too, count me in."

The news spread across the internet as if it had wings.

It must be said that Zhang Tan's popularity has surpassed that of any historical wuxia master. Perhaps in terms of status, he still lacks a bit, but there is no doubt that he is currently the most popular wuxia author; even Hong Kong and Taiwan's Zhang Feifan and Li Tiebi have to avoid his锋芒 (sharp edge). Standing on the shoulders of giants, the height at which Zhang Tan started is truly exaggerated.

One must know that Jin Yong is like a bug in the wuxia circle; it is said that his novels have sold over 100 million pirated copies, which is heaven-defying. Even without those, his works have been adapted into countless film and television shows, showing the charm of his work.

Even if Zhang Tan doesn't write as well as Jin Yong, his work is still beyond compare to ordinary books. His prose is not bad, he has talent in writing, and he has ample film and television resources to draw inspiration from. It is not impossible for him to write something even better than Jin Yong.

Now, with two 'Four Great Constables' books and one 'Condor Heroes' book, he has earned enough popularity. With such a foundation, the influence of releasing a new book is self-evident.

...

Sina Entertainment: "Mainland Wuxia Leader Tan Zhang's new book 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' is released with a bang!"

Dangdang.com: "'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' author Tan Zhang's new book 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' pre-sale opens with a bang."

Sohu.com: "Do you remember the wuxia masterpiece 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' where the hero serves the country and the people? The second installment of the trilogy, 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' is about to set off the next wave of wuxia craze."

"China Youth Daily": "An ordinary boy's extraordinary literary path; 'Constables,' 'Condor Heroes,' and 'Return of the Condor Heroes' forge a wuxia legend."

"Life News": "For Chinese-language novels, look to wuxia; for wuxia novels, look to Tan Zhang."

"Legend of Past and Present: Wuxia Edition" is still serializing "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," but that doesn't stop it from advertising Tan Zhang's new book: "The second installment of the Condor trilogy, 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' will be available in major bookstores nationwide on August 1st. Please stay tuned."

In the sweltering heat of July, wuxia fans across the country are looking forward to Tan Zhang's new book. It can be said that, unknowingly, Tan Zhang's fame is already comparable to singers releasing new albums or directors releasing new films; some minor singers and unknown directors don't even have his level of popularity.

However, Zhang Tan ignored all the noise before the new book's release. He and his father, Zhang Quanshun, followed Li Yan and flew to Beijing because the film and television adaptation rights for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" had been negotiated there.

The television adaptation rights for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" were sold to Zhang Dahu's studio for 500,000 RMB. The rights are one-time only; after the show airs, the rights automatically revert. At the same time, Zhang Tan will serve as the cultural consultant for the series, mainly responsible for supervising the script adaptation.

This flight to Beijing was specifically to sign the contract.

"Young Master Zhang, I've heard of you for a long time."

Arriving at Zhang Dahu's studio and meeting each other, the bearded director gripped Zhang Tan's hand with great enthusiasm.

The other party was enthusiastic, and Zhang Tan felt the atmosphere was good, joking half-heartedly, "Director Zhang, your name is like thunder to my ears."

"You're too polite, too polite." Zhang Dahu laughed heartily and shook hands with Zhang Quanshun, "You must be Young Zhang's father. You have raised an incredible son."