Starting from a Fake University-Chapter 1573 - 830: Skyrocketing Viewership, Igniting a Xianxia Craze_2

Chapter 1573: Chapter 830: Skyrocketing Viewership, Igniting a Xianxia Craze_2

Every single data point was exciting for the team behind "The Legend of Fairy Sword."

If sales exceed ten million purchases, with each costing 31 yuan, ten million sales would mean more than 310 million yuan.

The production team for "The Legend of Fairy Sword" had calculated that if revenues exceeded 100 million yuan, they’d already start turning a profit. Now, forget 100 million—sales have already hit 310 million.

And that’s just counting the revenue from sales. There’s also the audience traffic brought to the Feiyue Home streaming media platform, generating streaming revenue for the platform.

Keep in mind, in this era of traffic data, metrics like viewership while audiences watch TV can also be converted into financial income.

What’s more, the 310 million yuan in sales seems far from reaching its limit. Even in the wee hours of two or three a.m., sales of "The Legend of Fairy Sword" on Feiyue Home streaming media platform continued to climb—ceaselessly. Every minute, plenty of these little cash transactions from fans buying "The Legend of Fairy Sword" rolled in.

On Twitter and other social media platforms, countless netizens were self-promoting and recommending "The Legend of Fairy Sword," this homegrown Xianxia-style drama.

Twitter especially showed signs of going viral, with posts flooding people’s feeds.

Usually, only phenomenally successful films or shows achieve something like this. The last time Feiyue Media’s work went viral on Twitter was Feiyue Animation Studio’s production of the animated series "Love, Death, and Robots."

Now, "The Legend of Fairy Sword" is once again going viral in the same way. Many people unfamiliar with its creators were left astounded: "Wow, it’s Feiyue Media again?"

Is Feiyue Media really that incredible?

From the early days of "Super Combat Team," to the sci-fi hit "Wandering Earth," and now the animated masterpiece "Love, Death, and Robots"—all top-tier domestic creations from Feiyue Media.

"I’m literally obsessed with the CP pairing of Xiao Yao and Ling’er—it’s killing me!"

"Ahhhhhhh, my Li Xiaoyao is so handsome!"

"Who’s the actress playing Zhao Ling’er? She’s stunning—looks so pure and innocent, with an ethereal charm. Is she a fairy?"

"I’ve been watching since 8 p.m. last night, and it’s now 3:30 a.m."

"Damn! It’s already 3:30 a.m.? No way, no way—I can’t keep going; I have work tomorrow!"

"Good Lord, that binge was satisfying! If I didn’t have work tomorrow, I’d keep watching."

"I’ve already requested leave from my boss."

"It’s 4 a.m. now; I’ll freshen up, watch two more episodes over breakfast, then head to work."

"Guys, are you really this intense with your drama binges?"

A lot of viewers got so engrossed as they binge-watched the show, thanks to seamless streaming playback, that they unintentionally stayed up until three or four a.m.—only to realize they still had work the next day, which led to sighs and chuckles.

All night long, discussions around "The Legend of Fairy Sword" kept escalating in popularity. It didn’t matter that it was three or four, even five or six in the morning—people were still talking about it. These young folks shouldn’t be underestimated when it comes to staying up late, especially for drama binges.

On Twitter’s trending list, topics related to "The Legend of Fairy Sword" remained firmly in the top ten rankings.

Meanwhile, on Douban, the number of ratings kept climbing. By the next morning, ratings had surpassed 150,000, with the show’s score reaching a new high: 9 points.

A 9-point drama—what does that mean on Douban?

It means near-legendary status, at the very least making it the best domestic drama of the year. Judging by this trend, "The Legend of Fairy Sword" might see its rating climb even higher.

...

a.m.

Penguin Group.

A senior executive at Penguin Video, upon receiving news about the massive success of Feiyue Media’s "The Legend of Fairy Sword," was furious beyond words.

Originally, Penguin Video had planned to acquire the rights to stream "The Legend of Fairy Sword," as one of this year’s domestic hits. Who’d have thought Feiyue Media outright dismissed the offer, refusing to give them the rights or cave to Penguin Video’s demands?

And now, seeing how wildly popular "The Legend of Fairy Sword" has gotten—on course to become this year’s blockbuster—it’s only natural that Zhang Wu, the head of Penguin Video, would be seething.

As Zhang Wu raged, a call came in from Chen Xueming, the chairman of Q Entertainment Group.

"Mr. Chen."

Zhang Wu picked up the call.

"Mr. Zhang, I’m sure you’ve heard by now. Look at Feiyue Media; they’ve produced yet another hit drama. What’s going on with Penguin Video? It’s already April, and you haven’t managed to deliver a single quality drama worth bragging about. What exactly are you people doing over there?"

On the call, Chen Xueming spoke in a fit of rage.

After all, Chen Xueming had lost to Feiyue Media numerous times before. Several films financed by Q Entertainment Media were defeated by Feiyue productions, like "Super Combat Team" and "Wandering Earth." Chen Xueming couldn’t stomach this humiliation.

Now that Feiyue Media has made its move into the domestic drama industry, a critical pillar for future survival in China’s entertainment landscape, the threat to Penguin Group’s dominance was undeniable.

This is why Chen Xueming was berating Zhang Wu on the call.

"Mr. Chen, from last year to this year, none of the dramas we released have delivered satisfactory results. We... we really don’t have much choice in the matter. These days, it seems viewers have stopped caring for dramas starring young male stars. Mr. Chen, perhaps we should shift strategies for now—drop the flow-star-based approach in favor of casting veteran actors and develop deeper, well-written scripts to see if this works?"

Zhang Wu replied helplessly, offering a suggestion.

Truth be told, Zhang Wu had a solid grasp of the challenges facing China’s domestic drama scene. Why were domestic productions, particularly those backed by Penguin Video and AiYi Video, failing to resonate?

The glaring issue is production quality—from casting to scripts—nothing goes through rigorous refinement. Everything is rushed to release once filmed. Initially, hyping projects with flow stars might yield seemingly successful works, but over time, audiences stop buying in.

Now, Penguin Video was slowly losing users. And where had these users gone?

Unquestionably, they’ve migrated to Feiyue Home streaming media platform, where they can find dramas they genuinely enjoy.

"Mr. Zhang, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you implying our grand entertainment strategy was flawed? Do you really think our self-developed stars can’t hold their own?"

Chen Xueming snapped at Zhang Wu over the call.

"No, no, Mr. Chen, I mean... I..."

For a moment, Zhang Wu was at a loss for words.

If Q Entertainment Media’s executives refuse to rethink their reliance on flow stars, Zhang Wu believed it’d be nearly impossible to reverse fortunes in the drama sector.

Meanwhile, Feiyue Media was busy cultivating top-tier talent—actors known for real substance. They’ve already laid a strong foundation, even forming ties with domestic veteran actors. If, in the future, Q Entertainment Media tried to shift gears and collaborate with seasoned actors, they might struggle to find willing partners.