Chapter 163: The Book Starts Making Money

Liu Qingshan chuckled and said, "Contrary to your opinion, I actually believe its final version will surpass *Flash Point*. That is because I intend to craft it into a masterpiece with multi-dimensional and comprehensive character portrayals. Therefore, even those characters like Ma Jun and A Zha who excel at fighting will have a wealth of dramatic emotional and inner-psychological performances. Written this way, the audience will witness how a criminal mastermind not only commits ruthless acts of violence without batting an eye, but also shows the filial piety of feeding his elderly mother; likewise, the hot-tempered police officer Ma Jun will be depicted not merely engaged in intense, brutal combat with thugs, but also grappling internally with his thoughts on morality, justice, and right versus wrong."

In truth, the narrative flow of both screenplays was not entirely smooth, and he was already contemplating spending more prestige points to let the Super Star-Making Machine thoroughly optimize them.

Seeing the lingering doubt in their eyes, he went on to explain further.

"I will play the role of A Zha myself, and I plan to incorporate an MMA action style that blends various fighting techniques such as jiu-jitsu, boxing, and wrestling, striving to make it the biggest highlight of the film. I even want to invite top-tier martial artists and fighters from countries like South Korea, Japan, the United States, and Thailand to enrich the overall martial arts style of the movie."

Only then did expressions of astonishment appear on the faces of the others.

Donnie Yen remarked, "Wouldn't this make the film a blockbuster production? Won't the investment requirements be significantly higher?"

Liu Qingshan nodded inwardly. Donnie Yen truly lived up to his potential as a director, capable of cutting straight to the core issue.

The total future investment for this film would reach sixty million, yet it would ultimately gross only forty-five million. Based on the revenue-splitting ratio, they would only recoup about thirty-three percent of the total box office.

The film would suffer quite a loss, though subsequent revenues from television and DVD copyrights could recover a substantial portion.

However, with the Super Star-Making Machine at his disposal, almost all unexpected expenses would be eliminated, allowing him to avoid numerous pitfalls.

He was confident in driving the actual production cost down below average, and combined with his additional personal influence, this could be reversed into a profitable venture.

Furthermore, with him mediating, both films stood an extremely high chance of securing theatrical releases in mainland China, which would at least double the box office earnings.

If one added promotional exposure through online media akin to *The Myth*, the box office returns would undoubtedly be even more impressive.

Therefore, he smiled and explained, "The expenses might be slightly higher, but they will definitely not exceed thirty million. If the investors lack confidence, I can personally contribute a portion of the funds."

He purposely omitted any mention of a mainland theatrical release because of lingering resentment; he had no desire to promote the box office prospects of *SPL: Sha Po Lang*.

Besides, he had his sights set on Qinghuang Pictures, alongside reasons to distance himself from Sanyou Pictures.

It was now close to midnight, and everyone had scenes scheduled for the following day, so they hurriedly brought the conversation to a close.

During this time, Liu Qingshan had received a phone call from Kim Hee-sun. Although the two of them would reunite in three days, calling this late naturally meant there were matters to discuss.

She brought two pieces of news, both concerning the two books.

The new publishing contract for *Battle Through the Heavens* had already been tentatively signed on his behalf by Wang Huansheng, awaiting only Liu Qingshan's signature on the physical contract Kim Hee-sun was bringing over.

Moreover, she was the one managing the daily updates for the book. Barely a month after its debut, the new novel had already garnered tens of thousands in tips.

Over the phone, Kim Hee-sun repeatedly exclaimed that they were getting rich, sounding precisely like a greedy soul who had fallen deep into a money pit.

Upon hearing this, Liu Qingshan merely smiled and praised her a few times, thinking to himself that this was only the beginning.

The original author of this book had actually earned very little initially, having signed away the copyright to a web novel platform due to youth and inexperience.

This era marked the accelerating peak of the web novel industry, with immensely promising market prospects. In the coming month alone, the tips alone could potentially multiply severalfold.

Ten years later, the total subscription revenue generated by this book would reach one hundred million, proving that a runaway bestseller during its serialization phase could easily net tens of millions by the time it was completed.

If subscriptions built from mere cents were already this staggering, tips running into hundreds or thousands of dollars would undoubtedly be even more terrifying.

Thus, he had no worries whatsoever about *Battle Through the Heavens* and its ability to rake in wealth; this was the primary reason he had chosen it.

Since the book was only officially published mid-month, the subscription statistics for that month had not yet been compiled, but based on his estimation, half a month of paid reading would not yield less than one hundred thousand.

As for *Those Stuff About the Ming Dynasty*, it had been officially published and distributed nationwide yesterday.

The first day's sales figures were not particularly extraordinary, but the second day—today—saw deeply encouraging sales numbers, surprisingly reaching fifty thousand copies.

One had to bear in mind that this came on the foundation of a mere eight thousand-plus copies on day one. Such a massive surge in a single day was clearly closely linked to the book's unique style of writing history in a popular and entertaining manner.

In other words, a mere day later, its word-of-mouth reputation and the impact of its unconventional literary style had already begun to ferment, and the subsequent overall sales figures were bound to enter a period of rapid ascent.

After its serialization concluded in 2009 and publication began, it accumulated tens of millions of copies sold within a short span of three years, earning the original author over forty million in royalties.

Since this publishing run lacked prior online serialization, he estimated that the initial batches of sales might fall slightly short.

However, he knew deeply that once his true identity was leaked in the future, it would inevitably usher in another sales boom, potentially surpassing tens of millions of copies by a wide margin.

Aside from these two matters, Kim Hee-sun also spoke to Liu Qingshan about his birthday.

Because his birthday had already passed, Kim Hee-sun had only managed to send her congratulations over the phone.

Nevertheless, she intended to make this trip an opportunity for the two of them to celebrate it properly together, seeing as it was his first birthday since they officially became a couple.

Had it been up to Liu Qingshan, birthdays meant little to nothing, and he had never paid attention to them before.

Yet, hearing the resolute tone in Kim Hee-sun's voice, he simply decided to go along with her wishes.

Even so, he specifically instructed her not to leak the information to anyone under any circumstances; a cozy, intimate celebration between the two of them alone beat everything else.

The second and third days were spent bustling about the film set. Liu Qingshan's scenes were sparse, not even containing a single line of dialogue.

Yet, during the intervals between filming, he kept himself extremely busy, not only personally coaching the actors from India but also occasionally giving pointers to the observing stuntmen.

If there was one major change over the past two days, it was the explosive surge in fame brought about by that online video.

Although he had little time to browse the internet, he could roughly gauge the immense benefits he had reaped from the constant, real-time increases in his prestige points.

The rapid expansion of his influence was palpable even locally in Hong Kong.

Among the crowds watching the filming, the sound of people calling out his name could be heard with increasing frequency.

What was rare was that Liu Qingshan possessed not only a tall and robust physique but also striking, manly facial features. While lacking the jade-like complexion of pretty-boy idols, his brow was broad and his features well-defined.

Furthermore, owing to his background as a martial artist, his imposing stature made him stand out like a crane among chickens wherever he stood. Coupled with an elusive aura of inner Qi, he naturally exuded a masculine charm capable of driving women wild.

Consequently, merely two days after the video's release, a dedicated fan forum thread had already been established for him on local Hong Kong internet boards, accumulating thousands of registered users in a remarkably short span of time.