Chapter 368: Publication

"Hey, sir! Do you have the manga 'Rage War King' published by the Rising Sun Press? I can't find it here."

At Vic Street in northern Atlanta, the owner of the Red Umbrella Bookstore, Kadir, looked with surprise toward the manga section not far away. There, a girl in a beige trench coat, wearing a hood and large sunglasses that covered half her face, was asking with confusion in his direction.

"I'm sorry, we don't have that manga in our store."

A server near the manga section replied politely: "Due to some reasons, we didn't stock it."

"Is that so?"

The hooded girl's voice carried a hint of doubt, and then she turned and left directly.

Meanwhile, the owner Kadir asked the person beside him with confusion: "Lori, is this the seventh or eighth person asking about that 'Rage War King'?"

"The twelfth, eight of them women."

The server named Lori shrugged: "That fighting star really has a way with women. I bet the Wind Chime Bookstore around the street corner is selling like crazy—they didn't refuse to stock it. Boss, should we order some now?"

Kadir let out a sneer: "Twelve? So I lost a hundred and forty gold shields in business today? Come on, Lori, that's still less than the benefits Ferguson Media gives us. Just watch—right now, the people buying this manga are all his fans. Once that group's purchasing power is exhausted, how many more will sell?"

"Boss, I've read that manga. Although the art style is strange, it's really great. I'm looking forward to the protagonist advancing to Level 3 and defeating that John. And those two sword strikes he used to beat Shara—they make me wonder, can they really counter the warrior skill 'Falling Leaf Slash'?"

"I don't think so. The plot is too childish, like it's for kids. The protagonist isn't a hero; he's a little brat who won't even speak up when bullied. A story purely about a little brat's fighting matches—how many people would like that?"

"Wow, the fan base for cold weapon fighting matches is the biggest in America. At least half of America's 6.4 billion people like it. Boss, didn't you dream of becoming a fighter or even a star when you were a kid?"

Kadir hesitated, but then shook his head: "There have been similar manga before, but none ever succeeded. I'm not optimistic anyway."

"Of course, you're the boss. You decide."

Lori didn't argue further, but asked curiously: "I'm just wondering, why would Ferguson Media go after a manga? Did the author offend them?"

"Who knows?"

Kadir was also puzzled, but then he shook his head with a snort: "Who cares? Maybe the boss of Ferguson Media lost money betting on the author? That lucky Andre has offended plenty of people in this city, including me."

He felt a pang in his heart thinking about how his wife had spent over ten thousand gold shields at a Nathan Sports Group store just to exchange for a pretty but useless 'lucky ring'.

...

The hooded girl walked half a street and finally found 'Rage War King' at another bookstore. After buying it, she hurried back to the nearby Hilton Hotel.

When the hooded girl stepped into her presidential suite, her agent, Sheena, glared at her with dissatisfaction: "Belinda, did you sneak out again? For Angela again? Don't forget this is Atlanta. Not long ago, dozens of upper-class children were slaughtered by the Inhumans. That guy called Fenrir the Magic Wolf is still on the loose in this city—I heard someone died yesterday. Do you know how worried we are? Belinda?"

Belinda Harris rolled her eyes at her, then walked over to the window and sat down, picking up the manga she had bought and started reading.

The manga's plot was simple: the protagonist was a boy named 'Xielek', who was frail from birth and suffered bullying throughout elementary school. In middle school, to change his situation, he mustered the courage to join the school's cold weapon fighting club.

However, this only brought him more trouble. His former 'enemies' continued to bully him, and his clubmates looked down on him, deliberately making things hard for him in practice matches, beating the protagonist black and blue.

It wasn't until one day that the protagonist was given a sword at an antique shop that his fate changed. The sword housed the soul of an ancient great warrior, 'Roland', the most powerful paladin under Charlemagne of the Holy Roman Empire.

Under Roland's guidance, the protagonist used the resources around him to train his body step by step, and soon became a Level 2 magic swordsman. Then, in a practice match, Xielek used two brilliant sword strikes to finally break his opponent Shara's 'Falling Leaf Slash'.

It's worth noting that this wasn't taught by Roland, but a flash of inspiration from Xielek himself.

After finishing, Belinda Harris was momentarily stunned. Not because of the manga's plot—in Belinda's view, it was quite childish, though still engaging.

What truly amazed her was that the protagonist's physical training process in the manga looked plausible, as if it could actually strengthen the body.

The dozen or so movements resembling Eastern guidance techniques and the breathing methods—Belinda had never seen them before, but she felt they weren't fake.

This reminded Belinda of the 'Green Temple Sword' that Li Mochen had taught at the Dream City Fighting Club. She had practiced it too and found the effects excellent. Although it hadn't reached the point where she could skip makeup, her facial skin had indeed improved recently, with pores shrinking, earning praise from several makeup artists.

Perhaps her classmates had also benefited; no one missed Li Mochen's classes. His public lectures were always packed, with tickets nearly impossible to get on the market.

Belinda thought these movements were probably not just for show.

And what about the diet in the manga? Could it really work?

Two eggs in the morning, plus a purple konjac, milk mixed with horsetail grass juice, and a bit of bone powder from a Level 7 magical creature—this was indeed affordable for ordinary people, costing no more than one gold shield for breakfast. But could it really help with physical training and repairing internal injuries?

Belinda Harris was skeptical, so she made a phone call.

Ibu Harris, her cousin, a retired fighter who had been selected for six All-Star games in NMOSA (National Comprehensive Cold Weapon Fighting Alliance) and had almost won a championship belt.

"I've already read the manga 'Rage War King'. Ms. Drew mailed it to me and recommended it. It's really great—the process of building physical fitness is very good, all excellent training methods, and not expensive. But what's most impressive are the two sword strikes that break the Falling Leaf Slash—that's a genius idea."

Ibu Harris praised the manga: "I have a show tomorrow afternoon, and I'll recommend this manga to my fans. They can't miss it. Trust me, Belinda, this manga might become a huge hit. I discussed it with Bessen. Which Bessen? The one who won three championship belts and is called the 'Divine Power War Emperor'. He also likes it a lot. Of course, Ms. Drew sent him a copy too—they have a history."