I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Ophelia turned to the last page of the manuscript, closed it gently, and her fingertips lingered on the two characters "Ji Tian" on the cover for a moment.

"The writing is delicate, and the plot is moving," she commented honestly, "but..."

"Just what?" Alice leaned closer, her face full of anticipation.

Ophelia looked up at her, a hint of guilt flickering in her icy blue eyes. "Have you ever thought about... changing the protagonist's name?"

Alice was taken aback. "Change your name? Why? Ji Tian is such a nice name, it's both powerful and ethereal, readers love that."

Ophelia carefully chose her words, "What if... what if Master himself sees it?"

Alice blinked, then laughed. "How could that be? Master lives in the Eastern Territory and never reads romance novels. Our books aren't sold there, so he wouldn't see them. Besides, even if he did see them, he's a magnanimous man, devoted to the Dao. Why would he hold a grudge against us? At most, he'd just copy the scriptures a few more times. I know those well."

Ophelia was speechless for a moment. She lowered her head, handed the manuscript back to Alice, and said in an even softer voice, "Then... change the name, okay? Just to... give me peace of mind."

Alice took the manuscript, tilted her head, and thought for a moment. "Does Senior Sister have any brilliant ideas?"

Ophelia poured herself and her third junior sister a cup of tea. The tea was warm and just right for drinking.

Holding the cup, her gaze fell on Alice's face, and she tentatively asked, "Just... write down any male lead's name, completely fictional, is that okay?"

Alice shook her head vigorously: "No way! Senior sister, you know how chaotic the romance novels market is right now. Apart from the character name we painstakingly crafted, which male lead is purely fictional? They either use a famous historical hero, a prince from another country, or a genius magician. Readers love this—it has to have a name, a background, and preferably a legendary figure they can hear about in their daily lives, so they can relate to it."

"We've written so many books in this series, and the main character has always been 'Ji Tian.' It's been a long and hard-won reputation, and readers have all come to love him. If you suddenly switch to someone who isn't famous, the sales will definitely drop... Most importantly, every time I see those fans sending me feedback saying 'Ji Tian is so handsome' or 'Ji Tian is so affectionate,' I feel incredibly satisfied, and I feel like my efforts haven't been in vain."

Ophelia tucked a stray strand of short hair behind her ear, lowered her eyelashes, and unconsciously drew circles on the rim of her glass with her fingers. "Well... surely we can use the name of someone else famous throughout the continent?"

"Who is it? Tell me, senior sister."

Ophelia picked up her teacup, took a sip, and pondered, "What about a contemporary hero? Alex. Blonde hair, blue eyes, upright character, rising reputation, and no... romantic entanglements yet. There's plenty of room for writing about him."

Alice chuckled. "The Hero? Senior Sister, the Hero is fighting in the Western Regions right now. Who knows if he'll come back alive? Besides, readers love the kind of character like Ji Tian, ​​who's clearly very strong but always looks innocent. The Hero is too upright; I can't write that 'I don't understand anything, but you just like me' vibe."

Ophelia's ear tips turned even redder.

She lowered her eyes, staring at the leaves floating in the cup. "That... Prince Victor of the Kingdom? He is shrewd and capable, proficient in poetry and songs, and a frequent subject of storytellers."

"The eldest prince?" Alice shook her head vigorously. "I've seen him. He's so fake, he reeks of scheming. You want him to cry while holding the elven princess? Readers will think he's plotting to seize the elven race's wealth! Besides, there are many rules in the aristocratic circles. What if the royal censors spot us and say we're alluding to the royal family? Then the book won't be printed at all. No way!"

Ophelia put down her teacup, her fingertips slowly tracing the rim, the firelight flickering in her eyes.

"What about... that dragon tamer who is already famous throughout the continent? It is said that he travels all over the world, and even the most ferocious dragons bow down to him. His strength is unfathomable. Apart from failing to draw the sword on the Holy Mountain eight years ago, he has never shown his face in public. He is surrounded by a mysterious aura."

Alice thought for a moment, then shook her head: "How to Train Your Dragon? That guy is elusive, we don't even know his name, he's just a legend, no real person, readers will find it too unrealistic. And what if he's ugly? Readers won't be able to connect with him. Our novels need to be realistic, readers need to know what the protagonist looks like, what clothes he wears, what he says. Only Master, we've seen with our own eyes, we know his appearance, his expression, his tone of voice, that makes it believable to write about him."

Ophelia's brow twitched again. "So... it has to be 'Ji Tian'?"

Alice nodded firmly: "It has to be him! Senior sister, don't worry about it. Anyway, Master won't see it, and even if he does, he won't really be angry—" She suddenly leaned closer, "Besides, if Master really punishes us, I'll just say that you insisted on writing it, and I was just responsible for providing the material."

Ophelia was startled by the sudden closeness of her face. She leaned back slightly, the teacup in her hand wobbling, spilling a few drops of tea that soaked into the tablecloth. She bit her lip lightly, "You..."

"Hehe, just kidding. We're fellow disciples, like sisters, I would never betray you! Besides—" Alice took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, then whispered devilishly, "I know that you, my senior sister, actually long to be like the heroine in the book and…"

"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense." Ophelia denied it directly and interrupted, then suddenly realized that she had overreacted. She breathed a sigh of relief, put down her teacup, and said, "I just feel that... Master's reputation should not be abused by us like this."

Alice smiled, her eyes narrowing, and downed the rest of her tea in one gulp. "Senior sister, you're overthinking it! Why would Master care about that? He doesn't even look... Besides, if you don't say anything and I don't say anything, how will anyone know it was him?"

Outside the window, the last rays of twilight sank into the mountains, and the first star lit up the horizon.

Achoo!

She sneezed again.

This time, even Alice fell silent for a moment.

"Senior sister...you're really not just having a cold?"

"Half-elves don't catch colds," Ophelia emphasized again. She stood up, gathered the tea set, and her voice carried a hint of urgency that she couldn't quite explain. "It's late, you should go back and rest. I... I'll take a look at the manuscript for you tomorrow."

Alice skipped and hopped out the door, her clear voice echoing in the hallway: "Goodnight, senior! I'll bring you honey tea tomorrow!"

Ophelia did not respond.

She simply walked to the window, gazing at the deepening night, her icy blue eyes reflecting the blurry outlines of the distant mountains.

She took out several tortoise shells from her sleeve. These were her usual divination tools, the spiritual tortoise shells obtained from the Eastern Seas. The divination results were more accurate than magical prophecies.

The tortoise shell landed on the table with a crisp sound.

She looked down, her pupils slightly contracting.

The divination indicates that a noble person is coming from the west, a sign of questioning one's crimes.

"I knew it..." she murmured to herself, put away the tortoise shell, and got up to walk towards the bookshelf.

There were more than a dozen of her novels neatly arranged on the bookshelf, all with the words "Ji Tian" printed on the cover.

She pulled out the oldest and thickest book, opened the title page, and there was a sentence she had written years ago: "Dedicated to the best man in the world—though he doesn't know it."

Ophelia smiled wryly and put the book back where it belonged.

"At least... hide the draft backup first."