Chapter 56: My Bottom Line Is 12%

Having his own house, Cao Sheng reluctantly bought a computer.

He called it "reluctant" because computers today were too expensive and too underpowered, offering abysmal value in his view.

A Pentium processor, 8MB of RAM, a 6.4GB Quantum Fireball VII hard drive…

Every specification, in his eyes, was garbage.

The hard drive's capacity couldn't even match the storage of his phone before his rebirth.

And this thing cost him over nine thousand yuan.

If not for the sake of no longer handwriting manuscripts and going to internet cafes to upload them, he would never have bought such a computer.

Notably, he deliberately bought a desktop, not the laptop he originally intended.

Because desktops were easier to upgrade in the future.

As computer hardware technology advanced and better processors, memory, graphics cards, and larger-capacity hard drives became available, he could buy upgrades anytime.

In comparison, upgrading a laptop's specs was far harder.

With a computer and a dial-up internet connection, he no longer had to visit internet cafes every two days.

On the evening his computer successfully connected to the internet.

He sat before his computer in the second-floor study, logged into Rongshu Xia, and read the reviews for *I Wish to Become an Immortal*.

The novel had already reached Chapter 12.

Each chapter was about three thousand characters, totaling over forty thousand characters.

The opening plot had been preliminarily unfolded.

The xianxia world within the book had revealed a corner to readers.

Thanks to promotion on Rongshu Xia's homepage, the novel's metrics were astonishing—far beyond what other authors in the industry could achieve.

Page views had surpassed 280,000.

The number of comment threads had exceeded 16,000.

The review section was extremely lively, with a flood of new posts every day.

Today, the review section Cao Sheng saw looked like this:

"So good! Update faster, update faster!"

"I thought *Living with the Air Hostess* was Zhongyuan Yidianhui's peak, that he was an author who peaked at debut—but I never expected him to write *I Wish to Become an Immortal*! So awesome! I really want to crack open his skull and see what's inside."

"Update too slow! I heard Taiwan has already published up to Volume 8—can't you update more? Don't we deserve to read your book just because we don't pay? If you're capable, publish it on the mainland! Let's see if we can afford it."

"What are mainland publishers hesitating about? This divine novel is already published in Taiwan—why isn't it published here? Are you blind to money?"

"I'm back again, and you didn't update. I pay for internet too, you know! You're wasting my internet fees!"

"When will the protagonist start flying on a sword? Does anyone know where the author lives? I'll sneak into his house and steal his drafts—he must have backups!"

"Zhongyuan Yidianhui is an anomaly on Rongshu Xia—look at what others write, look at what you write—how can you possibly write something this good?"

…

Looking at these reviews, Cao Sheng's face was full of smiles.

He couldn't help feeling a pang of reflection.

In his rebirth-era Qidian Chinese Network, this level of work would have been considered average, at best drawing an average subscription of three or four thousand.

To most people, it was a flop.

But now, it was seen by many as a divine masterpiece.

After reading the reviews, he logged into his email, preparing to add an extra chapter today to celebrate his computer finally being online.

Wasn't there a saying before his rebirth: "Happy to be online"?

That meant getting online was something worth celebrating.

He successfully logged into his email and saw one unread message.

It was from Wang Jing.

"Cao Sheng! I have two good pieces of news. First, the second print run of *Living with the Air Hostess*—100,000 copies—has sold out. The publisher says market demand is still insatiable; they plan to print another 200,000 copies. The advance payment for these 200,000 copies should hit your account tomorrow—please check.

Second, Huacheng Publishing has decided to collaborate with you again to publish *I Wish to Become an Immortal*. The sales of your previous book, combined with the extremely high popularity and excellent reputation of *I Wish to Become an Immortal* on our site, have finally convinced them to stop hesitating.

We will also honor our prior agreement: for this edition of *I Wish to Become an Immortal*, we will not take any cut of the royalties—all will go to you. The royalty rate remains the same as your previous book: 8%. If you have no objections, I'll have them send you the contract—you can sign anytime.

Finally, congratulations!

—Wang Jing"

After reading the email, Cao Sheng narrowed his eyes—still 8% royalty?

He was dissatisfied with that number.

The runaway success of *Living with the Air Hostess* had proven his strength.

According to industry norms, his new book should command a higher royalty rate.

Not the same as his previous book.

Otherwise, what was the point of his previous book's success?

He could guess why Huacheng Publishing wouldn't raise his royalty rate this time.

Simply put—he wasn't writing romance anymore; the style and genre differed entirely from his previous book, and there was no precedent for a successful mainland publication of this type.

For Huacheng Publishing, publishing *I Wish to Become an Immortal* was a risk.

But…

Understanding aside, when it came to his own interests, he could not accept these terms.

After a moment's thought, he replied to Wang Jing: "Sister Wang, thank you for the news, but could we renegotiate the royalty rate? 8% is the rate for new authors—I've already proven my strength; shouldn't I be given better terms?

I will absolutely not sign for 8%. My bottom line is 12%. If you can help me negotiate above 14%, I'll still choose to serialize my next book for free on your site. Please try harder for me—thank you."

…

"What? He wants more than 14% in royalty share?"

The next morning, in the Banyan Tree conference room, after Wang Jing stated Cao Sheng's terms, all attendees except the station chief were astonished.

The station chief had already been astonished.

Wang Jing had informed him of this news first, and only then had he decided to convene this meeting.

Wang Jing: "Fourteen percent isn't his bottom line—his bottom line is twelve percent. But he promises that if we can negotiate his terms up to fourteen percent, his next book will still be serialized for free on our Banyan Tree. This is his condition—and our opportunity! After all, everyone here has seen his strength; his previous book's popularity was unmatched, and this book, after just a few chapters, has already shown a sweeping momentum over every competitor in the industry."

"Personally, I also think Huacheng Publishing's offer of only 8% royalty share is too low. Given the current popularity and momentum of 'I Wish to Become an Immortal' on our site, along with his previous book's performance, I believe we can absolutely negotiate better terms for him. If Huacheng Publishing lacks the courage to do so, we'll find another publisher—I refuse to believe no other publisher is interested in this book. That's all I have to say."

In the conference room, participants exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.

Station Chief Zhu Weilian observed everyone's reactions closely.

After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat softly, drawing everyone's attention, and smiled: "Zhongyuan Yidianhui is our flagship author at Banyan Tree—and the most popular online writer in the country today. His achievements are our achievements."

"If we help him secure 14% or even better terms, he benefits, Banyan Tree gains reputation, and once word spreads, many renowned authors will come to publish here, hoping we'll advocate for them the same way."

"Therefore, I've decided to deploy all our network resources to meet his demands!"

"This is his chance to reach a new level—and Banyan Tree's chance to reach a new level too!"