113: Low start and crazy run

Back then, Penguin said the prime advertising spots were already fully booked and they could only offer them the secondary spots. Yet, "palace lock" had approached Penguin after them, so why were they given the prime spot?

Xu Dalong was unsurprised by this. These people were all driven by profit; they chose whoever could bring them the greatest benefits. They had bet their chips on "palace lock," so naturally, they gave it the best treatment.

"palace lock" premiered with four episodes, while "Zhu Xian" released eight.

"Zhu Xian" only had 24 episodes in total, so releasing a third of the plot at once made Meng Wei sneer as he watched.

Television dramas aren't won just by having more episodes available at the premiere.

If a show's pre-launch promotion is done right, you can see the results in just one night.

The online buzz for both "palace lock" and "Zhu Xian" was significant, and tonight's data was crucial.

At past eleven in the evening, clicking on the first episode of "palace lock," just looking at the comments scrolling across the screen told you the show was quite hot, while the comments for "Zhu Xian" seemed a bit desolate.

Sure enough, by midnight, "palace lock" had surpassed two million views, which was considered a medium-to-high level for an S+ production.

Meanwhile, "Zhu Xian" only had 490,000 views. Meng Wei felt at ease, thinking "palace lock" had secured the win, and went home to have a good night's sleep.

Wang Ning couldn't sleep, and many people from the "Zhu Xian" crew were also unable to sleep; the data was not optimistic.

Even Su Jixing didn't sleep particularly well. He had watched the plot of "Zhu Xian" and thought the show was genuinely good, but it was heavily overshadowed by the impact of "palace lock."

The only person who could sleep well tonight was probably Lu Qingyu.

The next day, "palace lock" hit the hot search topics, while "Zhu Xian" didn't make a splash at all.

The third and fourth days were the same. Meng Wei thought he had won, but just as he let his guard down, things started heading in a direction he couldn't control.

The viewership ratings for "palace lock" plummeted, while "Zhu Xian" suddenly exploded in popularity!

"The plot of 'palace lock' is cliché. I've been watching for several days, and the male and female leads are just dawdling with no progress."

"Can't a palace drama have a romance between social equals? Does a prince have to fall in love with a maid?"

"I really can't watch 'palace lock' anymore. I can't keep going; it gets more awkward the more I watch."

The rating for "palace lock" had dropped from 7.9 at its premiere to 6.5. Suddenly, a bunch of negative reviews appeared, and if it dropped any further, it would be failing.

Conversely, "Zhu Xian" had risen from a 5.6 at its premiere to 8.2, and its view count had surpassed one hundred million!

"Have you watched 'Zhu Xian'? It's super good."

"No, I'm watching 'palace lock'."

"That piece of junk isn't good. Drop it quickly and go watch 'Zhu Xian' instead."

Everyone never expected that the word-of-mouth for "Zhu Xian" would explode on the fifth day.

The view counts followed suit and exploded as well.

Wang Ning's mood had been below zero for the past few days. He also thought "Zhu Xian" wouldn't make it, but he never expected that when he woke up, "Zhu Xian" had hit four hot search topics.

#"Zhu Xian" female lead acting skills#

#Lu Qingyu Zhang Xiaofan#

#"Zhu Xian" is good#

#xianxia dramas are saved#

The explosive popularity of "Zhu Xian" panicked Meng Wei. On one hand, he had people delete the negative reviews for "palace lock," and on the other, he had people spam negative reviews for "Zhu Xian," but the situation was completely uncontrollable.

Good things are universally recognized. They discovered that under the negative reviews spammed for "Zhu Xian," there would be many people who liked "Zhu Xian" retorting or arguing back.

"Zhu Xian" had a low start but a crazy run.

Lin Qiu had watched "Zhu Xian" first. After finishing the first four episodes, she was incredibly excited.

This show completely exceeded her imagination and fulfilled all her fantasies about xianxia.

The high-quality plot and cinematography made Lin Qiu fall in love with it instantly; the daily update of two episodes simply wasn't enough.

During the first few days of the premiere, the discussion volume for "palace lock" was very hot, and everyone was watching that. Lin Qiu felt the plot of "palace lock" was mediocre and couldn't compare to "Zhu Xian" at all. She crazily recommended "Zhu Xian" to others, and finally, on the fifth day, "Zhu Xian" exploded.

She just knew "Zhu Xian" would definitely make it.

"Zhu Xian" was a massive hit, and the internet was filled with discussions about the plot every day.

When Lu Qingyu was discussing the production of "Zhu Xian," he learned from the lessons of his past life and compressed the pacing of the plot. Therefore, even with only two episodes released daily, everyone could see high-energy scenes every single day.

Many netizens said that ever since they started watching "Zhu Xian," there hasn't been a single day where they didn't cry.

On Liubo Mountain, Bi Yao risked her life to see Zhang Xiaofan, who was being punished by kneeling.

Netizen: "So touching, it hit me right in the heart. Just be together!"

Su Ru died in martyrdom for Tian Buyi.

Netizen: "The love between Master and Mistress is so moving."

In this show, everyone not only saw the righteousness of xianxia, but also the precious affection, friendship, and love between people.

In the Yuqing Hall, Lu Xueqi said: "Disciple Lu Xueqi is willing to stake my life to vouch for him," pleading for Zhang Xiaofan.

In the Death Swamp, Lin Jingyu said: "Whether we are locked in a life-or-death duel or standing as sworn enemies, I don't care what you righteous seniors think. In my heart, even though the righteous and demonic paths cannot coexist and a battle is inevitable sooner or later, whether he wants to kill me or I want to kill him, I will always consider him my brother."

When everyone saw the joint death of Sanwei and Liuwei, the love between the Beast Deity and Linglong, and finally, the sacrifice of Bi Yao.

"Spirits of the Nine Netherworlds, gods and demons of the heavens, I offer my blood and body as a sacrifice. For three lives and seven incarnations, I will fall into the eternal abyss of hell. It is only because of love that I do not regret this, even in death."

The Hehuan Bell rang, and beneath the Zhu Xian Sword, when Bi Yao chanted the Love Curse and blocked the way in front of Zhang Xiaofan, in a single night, all of Zhang Xiaofan's beliefs completely collapsed.

Only at this moment did Zhang Xiaofan suddenly realize that there was someone in this world who loved him so much, but at the same time, in this very instant, he lost the person who loved him the most.

When everyone saw the scene where Bi Yao blocked the sword for Zhang Xiaofan, they were moved to tears.

"Wuwuwuwu, oh my god, this sword wasn't stabbed into Bi Yao, it was stabbed into my heart!"

"Can't you just let them be together? Poor Zhang Xiaofan, can't you just give him a Bi Yao?"

"I'm crying to death. A 'bad ending' really makes me sad for a hundred days."

The popularity of "Zhu Xian" went crazy, and Qingcheng Entertainment made a fortune!

Xu Dalong had been beaming with joy these past few days. Although he hadn't invested money in "Zhu Xian," he still received a significant share of the dividends from it. He had made his company's actors popular, and his company had also become one that produced S+ blockbusters.

As for Qingcheng Entertainment, it goes without saying. Meng Wei originally wanted to use this opportunity to acquire Qingcheng Entertainment, but now that plan was shattered; he simply couldn't suppress Qingcheng Entertainment anymore.

During this period, Lu Qingyu's Weibo inbox received tens of thousands of new messages every day, and he couldn't possibly read them all.

Su Jixing had never been as happy as he was now, because Lu Qingyu had risen to the status of a quasi-first-tier celebrity!

And from being a nobody to a quasi-first-tier celebrity, it had taken him less than a year.