Ultimate Hell

What is wuxia? As Sun Dadao puts it in The Hero's Will: A xia is someone caught between two sides. On the left is benevolence, on the right is righteousness, above is a gray sky, and below is muddy ground. Love gives rise to hatred; a compassionate heart gives rise to sorrow. Since victors become kings and losers are branded outlaws, the xia aid the weak and uphold the fallen. Since the world has lost the Way, they defy its laws with martial force. Grief and resentment are empty; benevolence and righteousness are dreams. They believe in the sword, and so they follow the Way to its end. A xia is not bound by time or place. The word lives in the human heart. That is wuxia.

What is an online game? Put simply, it is a form of entertainment and leisure. Put grandly, it is a second life, a place where people can cast off the constraints of social norms and reveal their true selves. That is why I believe that in today's society, a wuxia-themed online game is the place where modern people can truly show who they are.

I honestly had no idea how to write an introduction to my work, so I left it blank for nearly a month. Today, I read a comment from fellow reader Low-Pass Decision Maker, and I was delighted. It hit the heart of this book exactly. I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to Low-Pass Decision Maker for the review. I believe that the most fair and genuine introduction to a book comes from readers who enjoy it. I also hope that more readers will leave comments. Your support is my greatest motivation to write. So I have borrowed Low-Pass's review as this book's introduction.

A comment from fellow reader Low-Pass Decision Maker:

What I want to say is that although this author's work may not have the grand scope of those by the masters who came before, its careful detail, thoughtful execution, complete plotting, fresh ideas, and command of language all show real skill. It is in a different league from the glut of wish-fulfillment online games. A few things drew me in most. First, it uses a setting similar to The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, though the author's overall framework is far more complete than a simple game, encompassing both the martial world and life itself. In a few words, it is a modern jianghu in a virtual world. Second, the protagonist is not the so-called "professional player" one finds in real life. (In reality, apart from esports teams, "professional players" in MMORPGs are more or less the same.)

The book's greatest strength is that the author wants to develop it into "traditional wuxia" set against the backdrop of an online game. This is the subgenre of online fantasy fiction that comes closest to "literature." As fellow reader Jamisne said, "The interaction between people is groundbreaking for online wuxia games." Beyond superhuman martial arts and chance encounters, wuxia draws us with its spirit of chivalry and the joy of settling scores, the bonds of brothers who live and die together, and kindred spirits who understand each other without words. Those of us who grew up reading Jin Yong and Gu Long won't pass up a promising work like this. One final note: This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental. Some familiar online game players' names are used in this book, but the story is still fiction, so please don't imagine yourself as a character. And finally, if anything I've said is offensive, please forgive me.