[Photo provided to China Daily]

Once an electrician in East China's Jiangsu province, Liu Ye never imagined he would become an internet sensation or see his name on the big screen.

But now thanks to China's thirsty for quality intellectual property－in this case, content with a large fan base－the online writer will see his novel, Age of Legends, developed into a franchise.

At a recent Beijing event hosted by ChineseAll.com, one of China's largest digital-publication platforms, the company announced it would team up with five leading studios to turn a number of novels into movies, television shows and games.

As one of the most popular novels on 17k.com, a literature site affiliated to ChineseAll, Age of Legends has received more than 300 million "clicks" and a score of 8.5 points on 10 on the influential review site Douban.com.

Unlike most online novels depicting time-travel romances, Age of Legends is somewhat a real-life, rags-to-riches tale. Set in a fictional city, it talks of a security guard who aims to become a business tycoon.