Discussion The Empyrean Overlord Conspiracy

https://www.reddit.com/r/noveltrans...mpyrean_overlord_is_not_an_actual_translated/
Fufu, this is interesting. What do you think?

Spoiler: For people who can't get reddit

 

Yeah, I saw that.

I'm a little amused by the drama, but my thoughts are, if the allegations turn out to be true: I don't like being lied to.

I want to see how the translator (or "translator") responds.

Here's the post for those who can't access reddit:

Spoiler: long post

I found it a curious work and wanted to do some research to see what else the author wrote. Unfortunately, I no longer believe the author, "Ageless Heart", exists at all, unless we are going to start calling the so called translator "Ageless Heart."

Here is what I found.

First, let's look at the title picture the "translator" uses for this work.

This image here



Well, it's very nicely put and certainly looks authentic. Characters are spot on, I could see this being the front image for a book.

Oh, wait? What's this?

Here's that same image.



This time, however, it's in its original format, a front piece for a Vietnamese Work known as Perfect Mask.

Edit: This work stole the image too, it was originally a normal painting in China, or something. The whole image stealing thing doesn't really matter, it is just what piqued my interest in whether or not this work was actually real.

Okay, so the translator stole an image to use as the title image. While that's a bit weird, the translator did say the author didn't post the work online, so I guess he had to create his own title image. Maybe the original didn't have a title image on it, this proves nothing.

So let's look at what I researched next.

Who is Ageless Heart?

What other books has he published or works has he written?

The answer: Nothing.

There is no information on the author Ageless Heart, a friend of mine on the Discord server that is an actual translator found nothing while searching in Chinese, it's as if this author doesn't exist. He's published nothing under the name, no online works, is unknown.

Okay....

That's a bit weird, but maybe if we delve into the novel itself, things will become clear.

There are no records of the novel The Empyrean Overlord that I can find. Absolutely nothing. It is as if the novel did not exist before this Wordpress.

Alright...

So there is no online trace of the author, Ageless Heart, and there is no online trace of the novel, The Empyrean Overlord.

You only find gaming websites when you search for things related to The Empyrean Overlord. No novel, no book review, nothing.

The light novels I translate are mostly original works written by freelance Chinese writers. I guess they can be considered semi-professional writers, but their work is decent. At least, I found them quite interesting, so I wish to share them with others.

Despite this novel being written by a semi-professional writer, there are no online reviews, no discussion boards online, no novel reviews, no analysis' or summaries. Nothing. The title itself does not exist in use.

Apparently, they wrote an entire Xianhuan novel either by hand or with a typewriter.

That, or the author typed the entire novel up and printed it, but did not publish it online or publish it all in general. Because no one knows about it. Literally no one.

Oh, and he also typed it in web chapter format. How convenient for our translator.

...

That leaves two choices left.

Choice 1

The author of this novel, Ageless Heart, has written(in web chapter format) an entire Xianhuan work of unknown length (the "translator" has not released how long the work is), and printed out copies of this piece, but never had his work posted online, published, uploaded to the internet in any way/shape/form, been reviewed, or had anyone speak about it.

This work is so unknown, that the only person that has access to the internet that has seen the work, thankfully, is our "translator," who no doubt must live in China and have stumbled miraculously upon this work through word of mouth, seeing as the novel does not exist online in any format.

The translator has not posted any pictures of the work, has not posted the original writing in Chinese, and has not responded to emails asking for proof that the raws exist at all. He didn't even post where he got the raws from.

Choice 2

The "translator" is the author and is writing it himself. He has some background in Chinese and makes use of this in his work.

He is impersonating being a translator to instead publish his own work.

Why?

Well, I would have to venture he is doing it for two reasons:

1 - To make $$$. Sponsored chapters are a big thing, and a solid way for translators to create some quick personal income. Do you know how many chapters The Empyrean Overlord posts regularly? One-two a week according to his schedule. All else require $50 per release, and he has been receiving quite a lot of money for this.

2 - This ties in with reason 1, but Chinese novels are very popular on this subreddit. People would much rather read a Chinese translated work then an English work. Translating is an intense job, and it is a possibility that the "translator" only has a basic knowledge of Chinese terminology, and is writing his own work because he cannot in fact translate. By impersonating a Chinese novel, he can gain quick popularity and a large amount of money quickly.

Final takeaway.

I don't dislike the work, or the author.

I just don't enjoy being lied to, that's all.

If the "translator" can post any type of proof, I would concede that I am wrong.

Till then, I would like to request that the novel not be tagged with a [CN] tag, but instead a [EN] tag.