Truth be told, Lin Yuan had no interest in these territorial disputes. However, it was often a matter that was not driven by his will alone.
If Jin Mu held such views, it was even less surprising for the Chu people, who were famously proud in the anime world.
The next day.
The news that Shadow would be releasing a new work in August appeared in the websiteâs information bar, attracting quite a lot of attention from readers and fans alike:
âShadow has a new work? He just finished âFood Wars: Shokugeki no Somaâ and is already working on something new?â
âThatâs pretty fast. Seems like this is another original comic?â
âShadow obviously isnât content with just being an artist. After all, the success of âFood Wars: Shokugeki no Somaâ has already proven his originality.â
âAlthough Iâm not a fan of âFood Wars: Shokugeki no Soma,â I do hope that Teacher Shadowâs new work will be a success because I am a fan of Chu Kuang!â
âI started following Shadow because of Xian Yu out of curiosity, but I ended up liking this comic artist because of âFood Wars: Shokugeki no Soma.â Although people have always joked that Shadow is invisible, I hope he can shed this title soon.â
âHahaha, it seems that quite a few people discovered Shadow through Chu Kuang and Xian Yu.â
âYou could say heâs practically invisible.â
ââ¦â
Even though die-hard fans continued to emphasize Shadowâs status in the comics world, it seemed that his âinvisibleâ label was not easily shaken off.
A few days later, Tribe Comics released a live interview.
Website interviews were a common occurrence ahead of releases by well-known comic artists.
However, this particular interview had nothing to do with Shadow.
Shadowâs interview hadnât begun yet.
This one was about Sea of Blood and Pacific Sauryâ
Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury were the two famous Chu land comic artists who would be releasing new works in August.
As both of them were Chu people and were releasing new works in August, they accepted a joint interview with the website to hype up their new works.
Lin Yuan had also done this type of interview before the release of âFood Wars: Shokugeki no Soma.â
There was nothing unusual about this.
However, some of the remarks made by the two during the interview seemed to annoy Luo Wei.
Like this comment from Pacific Saury:
âI didnât expect that Teacher Sea of Blood would also be releasing a new book in August. If I had known, maybe I would have considered changing the date.â
And this one from Sea of Blood:
âBoss Pacific Saury is very strong. In August, I wonât be lonely with him.â
At first glance, the two didnât seem to be saying anything too unreasonable. It just seemed like they were casually promoting each otherâs work.
But whereâs Shadow?
In August three GOATs were supposed to compete, but you two were already trying to steal the show. Are you pretending Shadow doesnât exist?
Or do you think Shadow doesnât deserve to be your competition?
Clearly, these two were intentionally leaving Shadow out.
They both declared cheerfully, âThis August will be a comic derby for Chu people.â
The term âderbyâ generally refers to a competition between two teams from the same place.
This was why Luo Wei was feeling frustratedâ
Shadow was being ignored!
The last few lines of the interview took Luo Weiâs irritation to another level.
This started when the host pressed the two guests on their opinion of Shadow, who would be releasing his new work around the same timeâpresumably because the host felt they should mention Shadowâand forced the topic into the conversation:
âWhat do you two think about Teacher Shadow releasing a new work at the same time?â
âShadow?â
Pacific Saury looked at his own shadow: âI canât see clearly.â
Sea of Blood made a pun: âIsnât Shadow invisible?â
Anyone who knew the memes would know that Shadow had often been joked about as being âinvisible.â
Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood were clearly making fun of Shadow.
Then, Pacific Saury said casually, âIâm just joking. Shadow is a quite powerful comic artist. I believe his music talents must be great, since he is a Qin person.â
Sea of Blood followed, âJust like we Chu people are naturally gifted in making comics.â
The two were quite witty, joking back and forth like comedians delivering punchlines.
But their intention was clear.
Chu peopleâs comics were the strongest.
This was why Luo Wei was rolling her eyes.
Surprisingly,
The interview drew a considerable response on Tribe Comics, with numerous comments underneath and even a bit of a controversy brewing.
âWas it really a joke?â
âHahahaha, the two teachers are hilarious! Did they arrange this roasting of Shadow in advance?â
âI feel like the joke went too far and was disrespectful to Teacher Shadow.â
âThey actually considered it a Chu competition, not even taking Shadow into consideration.â
âThese two Chu people are such masters of sarcasm!â
âPacific Saury and Sea of Blood are showing off. You could say they are joking because their words seem to be mocking Shadow, but if you said they are mocking Shadow because they seem to be joking, it doesnât seem like they said anything too excessive, considering that Shadow being invisible is something netizens joke about.â
âAs a fan of Shadow, I feel slightly nauseous from hearing them say all this. These two have really lost my respect.â
âAre Shadowâs fans so fragile? It was just a joke.â
âHere we go again. Fans are considered sensitive if they retort a bit, and fans are considered rude if they criticize a bit. It seems like you are the ones who are the most open-minded.â
âHonestly, these two do have skills, stronger than Shadow.â
âIâm neither of their fans, just a passerby speaking fairly: it doesnât seem like mocking, just some frivolous bragging. However, it definitely seems like these two donât hold Shadow in high regard.â
ââ¦â
People were analyzing this interview.
Some speculated about how Shadow would react.
The next day, the routine interview before the release of Shadowâs new work took place.
But to everyoneâs surprise, Shadow didnât seem affected by the interview with Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood.
He didnât discuss much else, just promoted âDeath Noteâ dutifully.
âWell, look at that.â
âHahaha, Shadow just straight up ignored Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood.â
âNice, I like Shadowâs attitude!â
âWhat grace! Teacher Shadow is truly graceful!â
âI feel like Shadow has already responded. His response is: I just want to focus on drawing comics.â
âCheers to Teacher Shadow! Go!â
âLet them do their petty squabbles. Letâs just focus on what we do best!â
âI thought Shadow would retaliate. But this is better, why should he stoop to their level?â
ââ¦â
Of course, there were some fans of Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood who accused Shadow of chickening out.
A user named Liangliang commented, âThis is because he doesnât have confidence in his own work.â
However, this kind of comment was soon overwhelmed by criticism.
âNot responding is chickening out?â
âSo he should just start cursing like a shrew?â
âRegardless of whether they were being sarcastic, letâs just assume they were joking.â
âI think Shadow handled it perfectly.â
âAs expected of the man stuck between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang!â
âAlthough I also admit that comics from Chu are amazing, as a casual reader, I enjoy Shadow more.â
âShadow is the real genius, pretending to ignore Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood while actually completely ignoring them.â
ââ¦â